Projects On Child Education & HIV/AIDS By AIESEC
Members of AIESEC with an intern from Argentina discussing their projects. The members of AIESEC, a global non-profit organisation of the youth, are taking up projects on child education and HIV/AIDS in Coimbatore. The volunteers are carrying out discussions with corporate bodies on these issues, which they feel deserve involvement and participation of the youth as well as professionals. They have tied up with a company in Tirupur, which is running mobile schools for the benefit of economically backward children. As part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR), the company is conducting classes for socially disadvantaged children of more than six villages in Tirupur district.AIESEC volunteers will help bring in international volunteers who wish to teach children. They can teach the students English, art, music or anything that will be useful to them, say Juhi Lalka, Vice President, External Relations, and P. Malini, Vice President, non-Corporate Incoming Exchange, AIESEC. The organisation has also tied up with the Standard Chartered Bank for organising seminars and workshops on issues related to HIV/AIDS. Creating awareness on the diseases among the student community and advocating society’s acceptance of people living with the disease will be the main objectives of the seminar. They will also rope in experts to talk on the subject.
These projects will be executed in a phased manner during the course of the year, says Sivakumar Asokan, Local Committee President, AIESEC. Also among their forthcoming projects is assisting corporates in developing a CSR programme. “We hope to create awareness among the companies about the importance of CSR and help them set up a CSR wing,” says Udit Agarwal, Vice President, Corporate Sector, AIESEC. Members of AIESEC from outside the country (also known as interns), brought in as part of the exchange programmes of the organisation, can help the companies who are looking for innovative ideas and global exposure, he adds.
Marilina Belen Gimenez from Argentina is in the city as part of one such exchange programme. She will be working with Raghav Industries in the city for two months as a trainee. “I can help the company by giving them an idea about the industrial background of Argentina and South America in general. It may be of help to the company that has plans of expanding to South America in future,” Ms. Marilina says. The experience also helps in bringing about cross-cultural understanding and acceptance, she adds.
Endorsed by the United Nations, AIESEC has been constantly growing since its inception 60 years ago, the members say. Though initially founded to promote peace, the focus has shifted to promoting fulfilment of human rights in keeping with the current need. Its global entrepreneurship programme gives an opportunity to discerning youngsters to work abroad as trainees. The programme covers more than 12 countries. For more details on AIESEC, log on to http://www.aiesec.in/.
