Tata Chemicals partners CFT to fund student hostels
The Times of India— September 15, 2009

The challenges that the children of salt pan workers face have only one answer, education. So is the belief of Tata Chemicals, which in its flagship community initiative -- Desh Ko Arpan Program (DKAP), announced a partnership with Cohesion Foundation Trust (CFT) to support students' hostels in Kutch region of Gujarat on Monday.

Due to lack of sustained employment, salt pan workers and their children migrate to various locations across the state in search of livelihood, which disrupts the education of these children, making the drop out rate very high. Tata Chemicals has extended support for effective and sustained functioning of seasonal hostels for these children, thereby ensuring that they have continuous schooling at the village.

In the first year, Tata Chemicals will be supporting four hostels run by Cohesion Foundation Trust that accommodates 120 children, of which 39 are girls. On behalf of Tata Chemicals, Yoginder Alagh, director of Tata Chemicals and Arup Basu, chief operating officer, chemicals business handed over a cheque of Rs 11,97,400 to the project.