Spearheading the philanthropic drive of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) since 2010, Reliance Foundation (RF) has supported various initiatives for the visually impaired. In addition to that, the Foundation has sponsored almost 15,000 corneal transplants of the needy.
Reliance Foundation, Founder and Chairperson, Smt. Nita Ambani felicitated six visually impaired people, aged between 12 and 64, who emerged all-India winners at the Drishti Essay and Art Competition, 2015. The felicitation ceremony was held at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai, on Tuesday.
This is the first year the competition was thrown open to the visually impaired, through the Drishti Newsletter – the nation’s first fortnightly in the Braille script.
The newsletter invited entries from the visually impaired across India. The entrants were split into two categories. One category was for young children, who had to write on ‘मेरी तमनना ् हैयह बनना’. The other category involved the seniors who wrote on, ‘दरू दृष्टी जिनकेपास हैसफलता उनकेसाथ है’.
The essays written in Braille were translated into Hindi, and were reviewed by Swagata Thorat, Editor of the Newsletter. The six winners, hailing from Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat, were picked from 47 entries.
Speaking on the occasion, Smt. Nita Ambani said, “Till date Reliance Foundation Drishti has successfully completed nearly 15,000 corneal transplant surgeries for the underprivileged.
Together, we have helped these people move from darkness to light, and lead a better life with new hopes and aspirations…four years ago, we started India's first Braille fortnightly in Hindi. Today, our Braille newspaper goes out to 16 countries. Through this, we are committed to empowering the visually impaired with information and knowledge.”
The event was attended by Mr Dino Gandhi, Secretary, National Association for the Blind (NAB) and Swagat Thorat, Editor of Drishti Newsletter.
Reliance Foundation is an initiative of Reliance Industries Ltd. Among India’s largest social initiatives, it is focused on addressing the nation’s development challenges in domains of Rural Transformation, Education, Health, Disaster Management, Sports for Development, Urban Renewal, and Arts, Culture and Heritage. Its hands-on approach has directly impacted over 5,500 villages across India.
Led by Founder and Chairperson Mrs. Nita Ambani, Reliance Foundation reaches out to the marginalized sections of the population living in remote corners of the country, to provide them with sustainable livelihoods. Reliance Foundation audaciously inspires and facilitates transformative change to ensure higher quality of life by developing the nation’s social capital.
Since its inception in 2010, Reliance Foundation has impacted over four million lives through its work.
Contact person:
Tushar Pania – 98200 88536, tushar.pania@ril.com
Sejal Mody – 99306 61349, sejal.mody@reputare.co.in
