On occasion of World Yoga Day celebrated on 21st June 2022, Ambuja Foundation conducted Yoga sessions at various locations involving a variety of community stakeholders - including community members, village leaders, SEDI trainees and their parents, school students and staff, ASHA and Anganwadi workers, SHG members and Sakhis.

Vikram Chouhan, Principal at SEDI Udaipur, has a problem on his hands. Hotels across the state have been calling him to fill 500 new jobs in the hospitality sector, and he simply doesn’t have enough trainees to fill the jobs!

Walk into rural government schools, and you will often find a number of the teachers ‘absent’ from the classroom. In fact, according to Pratham’s ASER study, before the pandemic, approximately 30%, or roughly one in three teachers, were found to be absent on any given day in rural areas. The cost of this? Teacher absence in India in 2019-20 cost the country approximately Rs. 333.97 billion (USD 4.6 billion)*. However, the cost to children is much higher - the loss of their education and future potential.

Sanjib (name changed) is a long haul truck driver who, like most other truckers across the country, spends an average of 12 hours on the road – driving freight over long distances and spending months at a time on the road. Irregular schedules, long hours, little physical activity, limited access to healthy food on the road, and stress make healthy living a challenge for long-haul truck drivers.

In July 2021, in the wake of the brutal second wave of the pandemic, India was at the height of its ‘vaccination’ effort and often the demand for vaccine outstripped the supply. It was no different in Talipur village Farrakka West Bengal, where 25-year-old Masters of Science student, Krishna Saha was volunteering as an Ambuja Foundation ‘Covisainik’ Volunteer.

Ambuja Foundation’s Skilling Centres (SEDI) across India, have welcomed various high-level dignitaries and guests over the last month. Whilst guests appreciated Ambuja Foundation’s skill training models, the visits created an opportunity for trainees to interact with, and grasp insights, from such eminent individuals.

Setting an example of self-reliance, good infrastructure and scenic surroundings, Ambuja Foundation’s adopted core village - Mangi in Chandrapur, Maharashtra - was awarded the R.R Aba Patil Smart Village Award at the district level. Being Open Defecation Free, having a well maintained drainage system, safe drinking water supply, quality road network, 100% vaccination of community members and a widespread ban on plastic, scored brownie points for Mangi to be declared ‘Smart.’

Ambuja Foundation joins hands with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for the implementation of Watershed Development projects in Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh. Owing to Ambuja Foundation’s successful past experience in the field of Watershed Development in Solan under CSR mode where Ambuja Foundation is implementing 9 watershed projects, NABARD has now selected the Foundation to support farmers in the Mandi region – improving their production and livelihood.

When it comes to community development, the selection of the right ‘Leaders’, can either make or break a project. Ambuja Foundation’s veteran rural development professionals, Ravi Nayse, Vice- President (Skills) and Manov Maity, Area Program Manager have a lot to say on the topic, simply because the success of their work relies upon it, so heavily.

India is the largest cotton producer in the world, with 5. 8 million farmers making a living from the crop, along with millions of people who work in the sector. But in the past the industry has had a bad name, labelled as one that ‘consumes too much and produces too little’ – too much water, too much pesticide, and low productivity per hectare.

A variety of opportunities exist for experienced and passionate development sector professionals to join the 'Ambuja Foundation Parivar.' The following vacancies are available at Ambuja Foundation locations and interested candidates should send their CV along with a cover letter to ceo.acf@ambujafoundation.com

Chinmay Jain is the Cluster Coordinator at Ambuja Foundation and has been instrumental in driving Ambuja Foundation’s partnership with Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) on the ground in Rajasthan. Built on a foundation of trust, the collaborative partnership is producing outstanding results in the area of skill development in remote pockets around Udaipur, and is now set to make waves in the area of Water Conservation, as the partnership expands. Chinmay shares the journey, key challenges and the bright future ahead