WPP India CSR Foundation(Apr 2018-Dec 2018)

Page 1WPP FOUNDATION (INDIA)
BULLETIN 2018

A year of great strides
Last year marked great strides for the children supported by WPP India CSRFoundation in their journey from Education to Livelihood.
We thank all our implementation partners working tirelessly to help achieve
our vision and open many doors of opportunities for our children.

Being recognised for our work

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Opening doors of opportunities:

In the last two years, hundreds of children have seen their doors being knocked withopportunities, taking them a step closer to their dreams. Some of them smile as we ask them
about their dreams and some shed a tear, for they have been asked this question for the firsttime. Since the start of the academic year the children have witnessed a sense of magic in
their lives.
Within a short span of time, our children have witnessed key impacts in their education andlivelihood journeys:
1. 90% retention among children compared to the national average of around 73%
2. Doubled the ability to use and apply technology through our digital education
programme including coding, robotics and 3D designing
3. 70% placement for those graduating from our job-readiness skills training programme
4. Improved entrepreneurial skills through vocational skilling programme
Our work

While our children continue to make headways in their journeys from education to
livelihood, their successes are getting WPP Foundation recognised at various industry
and government forums.
WPP Foundation received the Best Livelihood CSR Program at the IndianInternational CSR Awards.
We were awarded the Best CSR Case Study at the NHRDN-BimTech summit.
We have won the Best Business and Corporate Communications within CSR at theNational CSR Leadership Awards.
At the same forum, we were recognised for our Impact Initiative.
At India CSR Summit, one of the largest development summits, we were a recipientof the Best Company with Impact Initiative on behalf of WPP India.
We were given the Special Commendation at the Golden Peacock Awards for CSR,
the highest Business Excellence Awards in the industry.

At WPP Foundation, we first meeta child when he/she is in their 6th grade.
We provide them with the most conducive
environment to complete their education
and after 7 years with us, make a career
choice of their own. We are enablers forthese children, so they achieve theirhighest potential in the field of theirchoice — be it a manager at Kidzania,
cashier at Big Bazar or a technician at
GE Healthcare or even an entrepreneur.
We are mindful that we have a herculean
task before us with each decision we
make having an influence on a child’s life,
especially since these children arefirst-generation learners. With their daily
problems being many, such as theirstruggle with literacy, health, sanitation,even boredom or stress of traditional
education, life keeps them unexposed to
the fast-moving world around us.
Our belief is that these children, if
provided with the same opportunities
most of us had growing up, areas capable of succeeding as us.
And so, we work with the best of breed
NGO-partners to support children inten schools across the cities of Mumbaiand Delhi.
Our children today are taking a leap
towards mainstream and diverse careers,
and they continue to feel empoweredwith each small initiative we take.

Technology at a child’s fingertips

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Bringing passion and sustainability together for a child

Page 5Every programme we introduce to a child such as digital, dance, music, arts and craft,
has an inbuilt sustainability for his/her career.

•Bridging creativity during summer camps
As the world becomes more digitised, it’s
important that our children also be equippedwith skills that will always keep them on thecompetitive edge.
Located within urban and peri urban slum
communities, most of our schools lack thedigital infrastructure to train their children incomputer skills. We have worked to establish
computer labs where they are absent andupgrade them where they are required. We
launched our first digital lab at aNalasopra-based school which will support
over 600 children in learning digital skills. It
is one of the first hi-tech classrooms in theschool, which now runs daily computerclasses with boys and girls learning thebasics. The school sees our digital lab asa huge leap for the students to bring themcloser to the digital world. We aim toempower another two of our schools withsimilar digital labs.

To further our children’s digital learning,
we have curated programmes which are
implemented through partner organisations.
Our digital curriculum has spiked interest
across our schools in Mumbai and Delhi.
The enthusiasm has been palpable withchildren attending sessions even during
their summer or winter holidays. So far,
we have trained over 200 children at 4schools in scratch coding through DIY
KANO computer kits.
With future occupations relying on 3D
design and robotics, we have successfully
piloted our 3D design course in a school
and aim to train 6 graders across 4 schools
in robotics. We look forward to witnessing
the impact these digital programmes willbring in the lives of our children. We arewitnessing a massive change in agency withevery second girl in our schools aiming totake computers as a career option after
attending our programmes.

We want each child to come closer to their creative self. During our summer
programme, we brought colours and new ways of thinking for our children. Here thestudents enjoyed learning new art forms like cubism. They even learnt
problem-solving skills through arts and crafts, with many making models ofsustainable development. Our children were vibrant and smart in articulating theirsolutions to everyday problems, including solving the electricity problem in their own
school through various renewable energy methods.

• Bringing arts and crafts to the forefront

During the month before Diwali, we brought our children together to foster
communication skills showcasing them as future creative geniuses. We adopted oneof the school-led exhibitions, ‘Hastakala’ and trained children in our expertise likebuilding creatives and communications for sale of their products, with children sharing
the research of their surrounding communities. They even learnt a few tricks of event
management. Our children’s mural based on the theme of Andheri, may compete withour creative work and may even inspire us when we design our next pitch.

• Developing our children’s passion towards music and danceWith almost 1000 children getting trained in musical instruments and contemporary
dances, we are looking at future performers, thumping their feet on each platformthey are given.
We have been able to bring diverse career opportunities in art and craft, music anddance to the forefront for each child.

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Taking a step in the world outside

Earlier in the year, we had our first cohort of children graduate from our Education
to Livelihood (E2L) programme. In our livelihood programme children in their
11-12th grades are provided career counselling and guided to pursue a career basedon their interests and aptitude. Children are provided basic training to apply forand succeed in a job interview. 70% of the children graduating have beensuccessfully placed in employment or are pursuing higher education. We also
launched our vocational training programme in Mumbai and Delhi, where over 100
children are being trained in various vocations.

Working towards a bigger and better future

WPP India CSR Foundation has established itself successfully in the journey of 20,000
students from their education to livelihood. We are witnessing our initial successes fromthe achievements of our children, who continue to spread their wings in academics andextra-curricular activities. We look forward to supporting many more children in achieving
their life-goals.
All this wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the WPP group companies,
and each individual who has contributed in the journeys of our children directly orindirectly. We are looking forward to broadening their horizons and making it all betterwith your support. Thank you for bringing magic in our children’s lives!