Nalco is committed to nurture the dreams of marginalised children of the Maoist-infested and tribals-dominated Koraput district through mainstream education and shall encourage the hidden talents by instituting annual awards,” said Nalco CMD Dr Tapan Kumar Chand while addressing a kaleidoscopic programme ‘Indradhanush’ here on Sunday.
The programme was organised for the 162 children of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar, whose education is being taken care of by the Nalco Foundation, the CSR arm of the company.
In fact, the Nalco Foundation is taking care of the education of 655 children from the periphery villages of the company’s Mines & Refinery Complex at Damanjodi. It provides formal education to the children through three residential schools, KISS, Koraput Development Foundation (Jeypore) and Bikash Vidyalaya (Koraput).
The company on Sunday organised an interactive session with the 162 children pursuing their education at the KISS. “This year, we are adding 100 more children from the Pottangi area,” informed Dr Chand. He also said annual awards would be given to four out of these children for their excellent performance in academic and co-curricular activities on the Nalco’s Foundation Day celebration. The awards would carry a purse of `25,000 each.
Addressing the children, Nalco Mahila Samiti president Preeti Roy shared her motivational thoughts with them. The children also shared their feelings with Dr Chand and senior officials of the company. A colourful extravaganza of music, magic and dance regaled the children.