Micro Projects

Patient Assistant Course Introduced at Backward Class Girls’ Hostel, Solapur

With the help of Johnson & Johnson’s India Contributions program, the Backward Class Girls’ Hostel, a Solapur-based NGO has introduced the Rugnasahayak (Patient Assistant) paramedical course of the Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University.

This course will equip the underprivileged girls residing in the hostel with the basic knowledge necessary to provide health and medical care in hospitals, nursing homes, old age homes etc. They will also be able to assist those in remote and rural areas with no access to medical care. Moreover, the underprivileged and unemployed girls enrolled in this course will have a means of livelihood and, therefore, economic freedom.

The program has directly benefited 30 girls enrolled in the course. It will also benefit hospitals and nursing homes employing these girls, as well as the many patients who avail of their services Charudatta Aradhye of Johnson & Johnson’s Mahim office has championed this project with unerring commitment and has ensured its success.

Savitribai Phule Patient Assistant’s Course

Johnson & Johnson has funded 50 underprivileged students enrolled in the Savitribai Phule Patient Assistant Course in partnership with Dr. Hedgewar Hospital. This course trains underprivileged girls as nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants etc, and encourages them to lead independent lives. It also enables underserved rural communities to access healthcare more easily. Johnson & Johnson arranged for an exposure visit for these girls to the company’s Mumbai Branch in Mahim, where they were taken around the EISE training facility to observe cutting edge surgical equipment.

Adopt-a-School Program

Under the Adopt-a-School program, any Johnson & Johnson employee can identify a worthy school for the underprivileged and underserved in his/her vicinity. The program benefits underprivileged children by giving them access to education and garners employee participation in CSR activities. Under this program, funding is provided for basic facilities (class-room furniture, safe drinking water, hygienic toilet facilities, laboratory & library facilities etc.) that many of these schools lack.

Vidya School

The Vidya School in Delhi offers education to children who are victims of poverty or who belong to low income groups. In addition to educating these children, the school has a different approach - mentoring them and enabling them to have a successful and happy future. On April 15, 2010, Project Champion, Nitin Charekar and 50 others from Johnson & Johnson’s Vision Care team, Delhi, visited the school; conducted vision tests for the students and interacted with them, as part of an orientation program on individual volunteerism.

BES School

BES School (Bengali Education Society’s High School) was established 76 years ago to offer students a high standard of education at reasonable cost. The school has grown from two rooms with 15 students to a huge building with 1000 plus students. Johnson & Johnson supported the renovation of the school’s Science Laboratory which was greatly appreciated. The headmistress wrote, “I would like to convey our heartfelt thanks and also to appreciate your support (financial and moral) for the developmental project in our school to renovate the Science Laboratory.”

Zilla Parishad Khakurdi

At the Zilla Parishad School in Khakurdi, Malegaon, Nashik District, Johnson & Johnson’s funding has been utilized to provide 100 benches and a water tank to ensure clean drinking water. The school was inaugurated in mid-July 2009. Johnson & Johnson was represented by Ram Vaidya, who heads the India Contributions program and Project Champion, Milind Bhate. The latter’s unwavering commitment has played a major role in ensuring that the project was completed successfully.