2021
Founded in 2002, Hand in Hand India is an Indian NGO whose mission is to promote the education of children and the professional integration of young people, in order to sustainably fight against child labor, in India. Hand in Hand India received an award from the Indian government in 2019, rewarding its work in the fight against child labor, which has notably enabled the integration of more than 300,000 children in public schools. The NGO is now active in 16 states in India.
Among its actions, Hand in Hand India provides special support to several schools, identified by the Indian government as priorities. In 2018, the Bel Foundation supported a first “Hand in Hand India” project that enabled the construction of a school canteen, in an underprivileged region of Bangalore. For more information on this project, click here.
The project supported in 2021: with the help of the Bel Foundation, Hand in Hand India is building a 43 square meter canteen in the region of Bangalore, and is setting up training workshops on hygiene and nutrition.
Within the framework of its school program to fight against child labor, (“The Child Labor Elimination Program“) the association manages about ten schools. Hand in Hand India has identified needs in a Government school located in Bangalore. The school provides healthy and nutritious lunches to the children, but it does not have a safe and large enough infrastructure for the school children to eat sheltered from wind and dust. In terms of sanitation, the school does not have adequate hand-washing facilities either.
The Bel Foundation’s support allows Hand in Hand India to improve the hygiene conditions of the 127 students at mealtime, by guaranteeing them a healthy and pleasant environment and by allowing the training of teachers and the school committee on health and hygiene issues, which are particularly important in a context of health crisis.
