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TRANSFORMING         TRANSFORMING         TRANSFORMING
 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT  FY 2023                      COMMUNITIES           THE PLANET         THE WORKPLACE









 Aim 2  Aim 3


 Empowering over 2.5 million families   Uplifting over 100 million women and children through


 with enhanced skillsets  education, nutrition, healthcare and welfare




 Key Material Issues

 Community  Engagement & Development  Women Empowerment


 Project Nayi Kiran - Menstrual Health Management



                                                   In the four years since its launch, BALCO has spent
 At Vedanta, we believe that the well-being of the   close to INR 170 million and the project has now

 communities where we do business is crucial for the   reached over 48,000 individuals, including women,
 long-term prosperity of our company. Communities give us   men, adolescent girls, and boys. The project has
 the social licence to operate and are therefore a top   Menstrual health and hygiene play a significant role in   indeed proven to be a ray of hope, as its name
 priority in our efforts to strengthen our bonds and gain   womens’ health and wellbeing and in safeguarding   promises, spreading awareness and dispelling myths
                                                   about menstruation and truly ‘Transforming Together’
 trust and support. Building and maintaining a social license   their dignity, privacy and self-worth. However,   as it has been overwhelmingly embraced by the
 menstrual health has often been a subject of social
 to operate is essential for the long-term sustainability of   stigma, particularly in rural India, leading to low   community across 45 neighboring communities at
 our operations; which, in turn, provide employment   awareness, poor access to menstrual hygiene   BALCO, covering all the 5 blocks of Korba district viz.
 opportunities, stimulate local economies, and contribute to   products and lack of support and understanding from   Korba, Podi Uproda, Kartala, Pali and Katghora. The
 local development through various community   other family members.   success of the project lies in its multi-level outreach

 development initiatives at the site level.        and its use of powerful local influencers like SHG
 BALCO realized the gravity of this issue, and its ability   women, health workers and adolescent youth leaders
 to limit the potential of young women. To address this   to drive the message home.
 problem, the company partnered with Sarthak Jan
 Vikas Sansthan (SJVS) to launch Project Nayi Kiran in   The project’s success has been driven by certain key
 2019. The project objectives were developed on the   levers:
 recommendations of the need assessment study
 conducted by TARU Leading Edge and sought to:     Use of multiple modes of communication
 •  Raise awareness about menstruation, hygienic   The primary project objective was to demystify all the
 practices and product choices among women and     misinformation around menstruation and highlight its
 In FY 2023, we   young adolescents and important stakeholders   biological and health-related role for women, so that it
 allocated `4,460   and community members          would be viewed as a natural bodily process requiring
 million to various                                appropriate attention. The change which was sought
 community   •  Build capacity, so that awareness initiatives could   required both attitudinal and behavioural change, and
 programmes,   multiply and penetrate deeper to reach
 positively impacting   marginalized and less accessible groups like   the means of outreach were thus diverse, with the
 the lives of 44   differently abled girls and women  intent of communicating strongly and repeatedly.
 million people. Over                              From door-to-door campaigns to nukkad nataks;
 the past five years,   •  Foster leadership among women, adolescent girls   school awareness sessions to gram sabhas – the
 we have spent  and even young men to spread the message far   message was communicated to people across
 `17.5 billion for this   and wide.                genders and age.
 same purpose.



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