Aviva, today, announced the launch of its ‘Street to School’ programme in India working in partnership with CRY and Save the Children India. The corporate responsibility (CR) program’s objective is to provide education to 50,000 underprivileged children over the next 3 years. At the start of this program, Aviva India employees have volunteered a day’s salary, amounting to Rs 0.24 crores.
- ‘Aviva Street to School’ is part of a new international Corporate Responsibility program that aims to provide education to 50,000 underprivileged children over 3 years in India
- In partnership with CRY and Save the Children
- Unveils ‘Aviva Young Scholar Insights’ – a research report on savings habits of young parents in urban areas
- Study highlights that saving for children’s education is the top priority for parents as they feel ‘Education is Insurance’
Aviva plc also plans to roll out a series of Street to School partnerships with other charities around the world over the coming months. From 2010, 50% of the group’s charitable donations will focus on ‘Street to School’ programs.
Aviva also unveiled a research report on the savings habits of young parents – ‘Aviva Young Scholar Insights’ – on the occasion. Of the 2,250 people surveyed across 10 urban cities, 67% mentioned that planning for a child’s future takes priority over retirement and protection. 93% of parent’s mentioned college education as the key trigger for savings for their children while 80% quoted school education, reflecting the concern over the rising cost of education. This has also made parents think about investing early, as evidenced by 50% of parents beginning to invest before the child turned 3 years old.
TR Ramachandran, CEO & MD, of Aviva Life Insurance said: “As the survey suggests, parents believe ‘Education is Insurance’ to secure a brighter future for their kids. On the other hand, 50% of children aged between 6-18 years do not get to go to school at all. Through our global ‘Street to School’ initiative, we seek to empower underprivileged children with Education, thereby insuring their future.”
He further added: “We have partnered with CRY and Save the Children to impact 50,000 underprivileged children over three years. In the first year we will be reaching out to 20,000 children through nine projects in five states.”
Yogita Verma Sehgal, Director Resource Mobilisation, CRY says: “We view the association with Aviva as an illustration of the extent to which corporate houses can work towards greater social justice. At CRY, we believe that it is the right of every child to receive quality education. We as citizens, speaking in one voice can ensure this.”
Thomas Chandy, CEO, Save the Children, said: “India has the shocking distinction of having the largest number of street children in the world. Their life on the street without parental care or adult supervision makes such children highly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Besides, seven million children remain out of school in a country where elementary education is a constitutionally guaranteed right. This includes the street children, 200,000 of whom are in Delhi and Kolkata alone. Through this project with Aviva, we hope to provide quality, relevant education to street children in West Bengal and New Delhi while making sure that these children are safe.”
Key highlights of the ‘Aviva Young Scholar Insights’ survey:
- Planning for children’s future takes priority for Indian parents over retirement and protection
- Higher education and schooling are important for Indian parents. Marriage is low on priority
- Parents are keen that the child takes on traditional professions like doctor or engineer. However, a significant number also believe in letting the child decide
- Parents want to be financially prepared to cope with the rising cost of education and provide holistic education for their child
- 2/3rd of parents start saving when their child is less than 5 years of age
- Parents are willing to sacrifice on impulsive spends for their children’s education
- 2/3rd of parents surveyed saving for the child and close to half of them are looking at insurance as a savings instrument.
The study, conducted by IMRB, encompassed 10 cities across the nation – Lucknow, Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, with a sample size of 2,250 parents.
