Smiths Group India supports SOS Children’s Village

KOCHI:
Smiths Group India, part of the British-based global industrial technology company improving the world through smarter engineering, is supporting India’s largest self-implementing NGO, SOS Children’s Village of India in Kochi, with the installation of solar panels worth over INR 44 lakhs.

The solar panels have been set-up at SOS Children’s Village and Youth Home in Kochi under the CSR programme ‘Akriti: Reshaping Lives by Smiths’. Akriti aims at engaging Smiths colleagues in India in a meaningful way to contribute to the communities. In turn, this forms part of Smiths Group’s wider sustainability efforts.

The installed solar panels will play a vital role in encouraging sustainability, vital for the preservation of the environment, and indirectly for securing wholesome development of children / youth. In addition, three family homes at SOS Children’s Village Kochi, Bawana and Pune are being sponsored by the Company.

Sumanta Kar, Secretary General, SOS Children’s Villages of India, said: “We would like to thank Smiths Group in India for supporting SOS Children’s Village of India with solar panels, helping us take another step towards sustainability and green technology. This will not only help our Village in Kochi reduce its carbon footprint, but also reduce the outward cashflow for electricity consumption.

With growing threats to our ecosystem due to excessive carbon emission and to have a healthy community, it is vital to preserve environmental health. The solar panels set up at SOS Children’s Village Kochi helped educate children even more about sustainability and make sense of their role as the guardians of the environment, making changes to protect the planet for the future generations.”

Vikrant Trilokekar, Chair, MD Council, Smiths Group India, said, “It is extremely encouraging for us to see how our partnership with SOS Children’s Village of India is progressing in India and that we are able to meaningfully add value to the lives of children, who are the future of our nation. Being a responsible organisation, our commitment is toward the communities we operate in and also towards our environment for a greater good.”

Solar energy is essential used for meeting growing energy demands, while staving off climate change. Although at a relatively small scale, solar panels installed at SOS Children’s Villages by Smiths is a step in the right direction for a sustainable future. With the help of sponsorship received for the family home, expenses for education, food, clothing, and other amenities will be covered, ensuring further enhancement of wholesome child development.