Vodafone Idea Foundation Unveiled ‘ViR ki Kahaniyaan’ - a compilation of real life stories of Vi Scholarship Beneficiaries

On the occasion of Children’s Day, Vodafone Idea Foundation (VIF) hosted a virtual ‘Vodafone Idea Children’s Day Celebration 2021’ where it unveiled the book ‘ViR ki Kahaniyaan’ – a compilation of real life stories of Vi Scholarship Beneficiaries. VIF also recognized young achievers for their academic excellence and extracurricular achievements.* 

The book was unveiled by Padma Shri Professor Harish Chandra Verma from the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology – Kanpur, Mr. P Balaji, Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, VIL and Director, Vodafone Idea Foundation; and Dr. Nilay Ranjan, Head, Vodafone Idea Foundation. The book features the superhero, ViR, who narrates stories of hardworking and talented students who have benefitted from the many education programmes organized by Vodafone Idea Foundation. 

At the event, P Balaji, Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, VIL and Director, Vodafone Idea Foundation, said, “Children’s Day is an occasion to celebrate children who are the future of the nation and citizens of tomorrow. We at Vodafone Idea Foundation have always focused on education as the key area and have developed programmes that leverages technology to increase access to knowledge for our students. Through our initiatives such as Jigyasa, Gurushala and Teachers & Students Scholarship Programme, we have impacted over 16 lakh children and our endeavor is to continue to expand because we believe the more work we can do to improve our children’s future, the brighter our future will be!”    

Padma Shri Professor Harish Chandra Verma from the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, said, “Each child, from a very young age, holds within himself/herself a natural and phenomenal tendency to learn and acquire knowledge. My sincere wish to all the students of this nation is that their learning be filled with enjoyment and endless curiosity which will help them innovate and explore. Aside from traditional academics, it is important to give back to society as children are the torch bearers of tomorrow.”

In keeping up with its theme of celebrating young talent, Vodafone Idea Foundation announced the winners of the Gurushala National Aptitude Test (GNAT) 2021 which was attempted by nearly 1 lakh students. GNAT is a Pan-India online test designed by nationally renowned experts for students of classes’ 6 to 10. It tests the skills of students along criteria’s such as verbal ability, scientific literacy, mathematical ability, social and cultural awareness, and logical ability. 

Vodafone Idea Foundation also felicitated some of the winners of the Vi Students Scholarship Programme 2021. VIF had recently awarded scholarships of Rs. 20,000 each to 1000 students across 22 states in India. The students shared their experience of winning the scholarship and how it will help enhance their learning in today’ digital environment, especially during the pandemic. 

To celebrate the young and talented minds who represent the future of the nation, VIF also unveiled story books ‘Chemu ka Jhoola’ and ‘Main Tumse Dosti Kyun Karoon?’ The stories are written by Vaghela Ronak Vishnubai and Trushti Rajibhai Rathore who study in class seven at the e-Vidya Community Learning Centres (CLCs) in Khiccha and Sarkhej, Ahmedabad, respectively. The children studying at e-Vidya Community Learning Centres spend their time playing with story prompt cards, aside from engaging in activities such as language games, reading, and storytelling. The stories written by Vishnubai and Rathore are a product of such engaging activities. 

Vodafone Idea Foundation’s flagship programme ‘Jigyasa’ aims to build capacity of teachers, introduce digital content, training tools and innovative pedagogy to make learning and teaching more enjoyable, and augment existing infrastructure as needed. Additionally, Gurushala, a knowledge sharing & exchange platform, digitally enabled thousands of teachers and students to upload and access material for students learning & development anywhere and anytime. Vodafone Idea Teachers Scholarship programme provides aid to teachers for e-learning infrastructure such as laptops, online courses etc. 

The five students who were identified and recognized for their exceptional talent include:

About Vodafone Idea Foundation:

Vodafone Idea Foundation, the CSR arm of Vodafone Idea Limited, believes that our mobile communications technologies can address some of the most pressing humanitarian challenges and our responsibility is to utilize our innovative mobile technology in mobilizing social change and improving people’s lives. The Foundation focusses on addressing challenges relating to agriculture, education, health, equality and access. We are committed to enable people and technology to drive innovation, disseminate knowledge, and create shared value to improve lives. We work in partnership with key charities, development agencies and the community to drive social change on a large scale in India.

For more information, please visit: www.MyVi.in and www.vodafoneidea.com; Twitter:  @VodaIdea_NEWS

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