Vedanta celebrates 'Sakhi Da' on International Women's Day

The Vedanta group companies conducted a series of awareness programmes on health and nutrition benefiting over 11,000 women and adolescent girls.

The celebrations included 19 health camps in various rural locations around the business operations and 9 Mobile Health Units travelling in remote locations, with the focus of treating women and creating awareness on the importance of health & hygiene practices.

The group wide celebrations were across the states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Goa and Punjab.

In Rajasthan, Vedanta’s group company in oil & gas, Cairn India benefited over 3750 women and adolescent girls in the Barmer district with a week long campaign by 6 Mobile Health Vans. Multi events organised included health camps with gynaecologists and awareness campaigns in collaboration with the Women & Child Development Dept., Integrated Child Development Scheme and the District health department, of Barmer.

Vedanta’s group company, Hindustan Zinc celebrated the ‘Sakhi Day’ by organizing a Mega Health Camp for the women in 7 locations of its operations in Rajasthan, benefiting about 2000 women.

A series of tests to check Haemoglobin levels, Blood Sugar, Bone Mineral Density and BMI were followed by the distribution of medicines for iron and calcium deficiencies.

In Chhattisgarh, Vedanta’s group company in Aluminium, BALCO, organised day long celebrations in collaboration with the Dondro Gram Panchayat, the BALCO hospital and BALCO’s corporate social responsibility department. Attended by almost 300 women, the camp saw held a fully equipped medical health van with capability for early diagnosis of cancer as well as a health lab for undertaking any pathological tests at the site. The event also created awareness and counselled women on cervical cancer, dietary recommendations and family planning.

In Odisha, Vedanta organized a maternal health camp at Jharsuguda with an awareness session on nutrients and availing medication, followed by a health check-up and nutrient supplements to about 70 women of Bhurkamunda and Bhagipalli, villages. The weeklong campaign was run by the Vedanta CSR team, women employees at Vedanta and the Board of Directors of Subhalaxmi Cooperative.

The event also felicitated Vedanta’s over 200 women employees. In the Lanjigarh block of Odisha, Vedanta’s event was attended by over 250 women, who were educated on literacy rates, child discrimination, female foeticide and empowerment through entrepreneurship projects. The event also had a medical health center for treatment and consultation, while a Mobile Health Unit catered to about 60 women from 12 villages.

Vedanta’s iron ore business in Goa, held health awareness and check-up camps in partnership with the Integrated Child Development Services. While a Mobile Health Unit covered 3 villages, at Community Medical Centres at 5 villages, women were diagnosed and administered treatment for health problems. The ‘Sakhi day’ celebrations also created awareness on self-defence and women’s safety, benefitting about 130 women.

In Tamil Nadu, Vedanta’s copper business unit organised an event for the ‘Sakhi’ women self-help-groups, which saw participation from over 2200 women, and felicitation of the women achievers. A Mobile Health Unit at the event was availed to all Sakhi members with a special focus on pregnant women and adolescent girls.

Speaking at the event,  Roma Balwani, Group President, Group Communications, Sustainability & CSR, Vedanta stated, "We, at Vedanta have always strived to encourage a healthy environment in communities around our business operations. By empowering and benefiting women, through health camps, we aim to benefit our societies and the future generation. We will continue to remain committed to the cause of empowering women.”

In Tamil Nadu, Vedanta’s group company, MALCO Energy celebrated the Sakhi Day with 800 women from self-help-groups and the company’s women employees. A talk on the importance of hygiene and nutrition, the need for physical, mental and financial well-being of women and awareness on various diseases that affected women was addressed.

Vedanta’s operations in Punjab, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, celebrated the day with medical camps in four villages, Raipur, Chehlawali, Manbibriyan and Sadda Singhwala for the women, consulting and treating over 350 patients. The company also installed two incinerators in government schools of Mansa for safe disposal of sanitary napkins, benefiting over 1100 girl students.