Wienerberger enters into Corporate Social Responsibility
Wienerberger enters into CSR activity by opening a Community Health Care Centre, Gottikere, Kunigal
Wienerberger Brick Industry Pvt. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wienerberger AG, the world's largest producer of clay hollow bricks with 227 plants across the world and a presence in 27 countries launched its first initiatives towards Corporate Social Responsibility in partnership with Karuna Trust, Bangalore on January 18, 2009.
After conducting a Household Survey in 2008 of 10,000 people from 4 villages and 16 sub villages of 2 districts, Wienerberger identified 3 major CSR areas to be worked upon, namely: Housing and Livelihood, Health and Education.
As an outcome of this survey, it was identified that a large part of the population is suffering from health issues like diabetes, eye cataract, etc. The company started its first initiative in this regard by setting up a Community Health Care Centre, formally known as “Center for Community Health” as well as a one day eye check-up camp, “Effective Health Screening” in Kunigal together with Karuna Trust led by Dr. H. Sudarshan, a Right Livelihood and Padma Shree Awardee, on 18th January 2009 in Gottikere Village, Kunigal Taluk.
Various local NGO delegates, people representatives, government officials and Wienerberger employees participated on this occasion. Between 9 am to 4.30 pm, around 300 people from the nearby villages attended the eye camp. With the help of Bangalore West Lions Superspeciality Eye Hospital who were the implementation partners for this social cause along with Karuna Trust; the villagers were provided with free eye check ups and spectacles through out the day. Also the eye surgery costs for those who cannot afford these medical facilities were provided and treated at the hospitals in Bangalore.
The CSR initiative will focus on strengthening the Community Health Care Centre in the concerned area, which includes preventive, curative and rehabilitative services ensuring that these services are physically and financially accessible and culturally sensitive to the people. Mr. Govind Raju, President of Begur Panchayat, Mr. Shivaraj, Vice president of Kunigal Taluk, Mr. Shivaswami, K.A.S, and Mr. N.S. Laxminarayan, member of Zillah Panchayat were among the government officials from the Kunigal area to mark their presence and support this initiative.
The intention of this program is to ensure the continuous availability of these medical services through the newly established Health Care Centre. This will improve the access to public services and schemes by improving linkages among the public institutions, communities and corporations.
