4 Annual Report 2021-22 I Atul Foundation Chairperson’s foreword Dear All, 2021-22 was yet another disquieting year that tested our mettle and enabled us to narrow our focus on things that truly matter. Such unforeseen circumstances test the resilience of humanity. I am glad that Atul Foundation rose to the occasion amidst the second and third waves of the COVID-19 pandemic to live out its Values and mission with deeper convictions. The Foundation continued to address the needs of the communities through 34 meaningful projects under education, empowerment, health, relief, conservation and infrastructure programs. Atul Foundation collaborated with various experienced organisations, government departments, local governing bodies and communities to amplify its outreach. The collective impact of all the collaborative initiatives has touched the lives of many belonging to the rural communities inwhichwe operate. This year was also a remarkable one for the Foundation as 31 members joined the team. Tablet laboratory project at Kalyani Shala and Atal Tinkering laboratory at Atul Vidyalaya were established to promote self-paced learning among students. For the first time, 28 special children and 136 children living in difficult conditions in and around Atul village were provided need based intensive support. The Foundation renovated school buildings, toilets and anganwadis to provide safe and welcoming spaces for children. It also imparted vocational training to 983 young people and successfully created 29 selfhelp groups. It is our hope that these 348 women beneficiaries of the self-help groups will play a meaningful role in strengthening the economy of their respective villages. The Foundation managed to collect the highest number of blood units (3,258) thus far through 35 blood donation camps. The highest number of eye patients (5,876) were treated through 15 eye camps this year. The Foundation envisaged a comprehensive health project to improve anaemia and nutrition among adolescents and women from 10 surrounding villages. The rural parts of India were the most affected during second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Foundation stepped in to play an active role in the smooth functioning of hospitals and health care centres. Atul Institute of Vocational Excellence at Dharampur was temporarily converted as a COVID-19 care centre, which treated 672 patients with the able support of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission. Ujjwal Atul, the solid waste management project became fully functional in 2021-22. As a part of this project, 259 tonnes of waste from 1,500 households of Atul village and plastic waste from five surrounding villages were collected. Out of the total waste collected, 196 tonnes have been recycled and added to the circular economy. This is a unique project that has generated a lot of interest among conversationalists, educational institutes, gram panchayats and various government bodies. We look forward to the upcoming year with the hope of incorporating our learnings and scaling up our projects, thus expanding the outreach. We hope to continue brightening the lives of the less privileged and leave a lasting impact to perpetuate the vision of our Founder. On behalf of Atul Foundation, I thank all supporters and well-wishers for their continued support and encouragement. Sincerely, (Vimla Lalbhai) Chairperson
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