Pratham Receives CA Technologies Grant to Support Science and Girls' Education Programs
We are pleased to announce that New York-based multinational software corporation CA Technologies has awarded Pratham a $100,000 grant. The contribution will help more than 15,000 rural, low-income children served by Pratham through two programs:
-Science Learning, which engages kids in Science through activity-based, experiential learning, and
-Girls’ Education, which assists girls who have dropped out of school with earning their secondary school certificate.
The grant continues CA’s previous support and will expand the Science Learning program in the state of Maharashtra, where a science center has been set up in a rural area near Mumbai, and a mobile science van will bring science education to remote villages, enabling students to participate in workshops and fairs. Additionally, Pratham will develop comic books in multiple languages, including Hindi, Marathi and Kannada, to make learning science exciting and accessible to a wider range of children.
“Pratham’s Science Learning program brings a new way of learning to rural schools, inspiring children and transforming their education,” said Sarita Gupta, senior development advisor for Pratham. “We’re grateful to CA Technologies for their generous and sustained support of our students. It will be exciting to watch this partnership flourish and make an even greater impact.”
Funding will also support girls’ education through funding for a Pratham Open Schools Centre in Hyderabad in the southern state of Telangana. The main center, which caters to 100 students, is supported by a network of smaller learning sites, which each serve 30-40 communities. Students attend residential or non-residential centers five days out of the month for intensive learning from subject specialists.
“CA Technologies is committed to advancing STEM education and empowering women and girls to succeed,” said Erica Christensen, vice president, Corporate Social Responsibility, CA Technologies. “We are proud to support Pratham’s mission to inspire a love for learning in every child and to make educational programs accessible to all.”
Through their support, both here in the US as well as through the company’s CSR initiative in India, CA Technologies has been a valuable partner in promoting education for India’s poor.
With the passage of India’s corporate social responsibility law in 2014, which requires companies with annual revenues of more than $140 million to give 2% of their net profits to social sector programs, companies now have to think seriously about public-private partnerships and to align with strategic partners that can help them achieve change. “Pratham is an attractive NGO partner because of its 21-year track record, scale, effectiveness, rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and leadership”, said Deepak Raj, Chairman of Pratham USA.
Learn more about Pratham’s programs and how you can become a Pratham CSR partner.