The OEM has marked a milestone with the 1st anniversary of Maheshwari Village adoption, celebrating and pledging its endeavour towards building a progressive self-reliant environment in the village, as part of ‘Adopt a village’ initiative under its umbrella CSR programme, ‘Canon India Involve’.
Continuing its commitment towards community development, Canon India celebrated one year of successful intervention in Maheshwari Village, Haryana, under its flagship CSR initiative, ‘Adopt a Village’.
The company explained that it builds its CSR endeavours in line with its corporate philosophy of ‘Kyosei’, which embodies the spirit of ‘living and working together for the common good’. ‘Kyosei’ envisions the achievement of a sustainable society in which all people regardless of race, religion or culture, live harmoniously and work together into the future. Through their corporate activities based on ‘Kyosei’, both globally and locally, Canon strives to resolve imbalances in the world, in the core areas of 4Es, i.e. Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment.
Through ‘Adopt a Village’ which was initiated in 2012, Canon India adopts villages for a period of five years and aims to work towards their progress with a strategic focus on 4Es CSR policy. Adopted in 2018, Maheshwari became the fifth village that was adopted by Canon India and since then, the organisation has focused on the development of over 4000 villagers, with a special focus on the holistic development of children in the village school.
To celebrate this occasion, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India and Mr. Gary Lee, Vice-President & CFO visited the village. They were also accompanied by 42 employees from Canon India Head office along with five partners. As part of this visit, Mr. Kobayashi congratulated 15 girls, for successfully completing their three month vocational training at the vocational training centre in the village, facilitated by Canon India. Further to this, he also distributed spectacles to 31 children.
Reflecting on this milestone, Mr. Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India, said, “At Canon, community development remains core to every initiative undertaken by us, aided by our 4Es CSR policy. Going beyond business, we are deeply committed towards holistic progress of the society, and therefore we are determined to work towards the same through our CSR contributions. Today, as we mark the first anniversary of our adoption of Maheshwari village, I am proud to see our relentless work, which has resulted in significant improvements in the village. We have witnessed an increase amongst the children for the enrolment in school, representing their zeal to learn and explore uncharted territories. It feels rewarding to have provided 320 children in the village with a platform to excel, leading to their academic advancement. The smiles across the faces of 4000 villagers will further drive us to continue our pledge for social development under ‘Canon India Involve’.”
Highlighting on the future plans, Mr. Kobayashi further added, “Going forward, we will continue to drive meaningful and welfare driven initiatives to impact more lives and make our communities future ready. We are positive that we will be able to bring about even greater change in Maheshwari, empowering the villagers to grow in a better and sustainable environment.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Gary Lee, Vice President and CFO, Canon India said, “Commitment to the community comes very naturally to all Canon employees across the country. It is an integral element of our brand’s DNA and reflects prominently in our work ethics. Our employees take equal interest in engaging with kids from our adopted villages to create awareness and lead them to a brighter future. With Maheshwari village completing one fruitful year of association with us, it gives me immense satisfaction to see the developments made in our core focus areas of Education, Environment, Eye Care and Empowerment. With the support of our stakeholders, we are confident that we will further amplify our efforts, reach out to more communities and inspire others to come together and work for the betterment of the society.”???????
