Canon India celebrates the 1st anniversary of Maheshwari village adoption

Canon India has celebrated one year of successful intervention in Maheshwari Village, Haryana, under its flagship CSR initiative, ‘Adopt a Village’. The imaging leader builds its CSR endeavors in line with its corporate philosophy of ‘Kyosei’, which embodies the spirit of ‘living and working together for the common good’. ‘Kyosei’ envisions the achievement of a sustainable society in which all people regardless of race, religion or culture, live harmoniously and work together into the future. Through their corporate activities based on ‘Kyosei’, both globally and locally, Canon strives to resolve imbalances in the world, in the core areas of 4Es, i.e. Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment. Staying true to these values, the organization has brought forth various community driven initiatives, aimed at social development.

Through ‘Adopt a Village’ initiated in 2012, Canon India adopts villages for a period of 5 years and aims to work towards their progress with a strategic focus on 4Es CSR policy. Adopted in 2018, Maheshwari became the 5th village that was adopted by Canon India and since then, the organization has focused on the development of over 4000 villagers, with a special focus on the holistic development of children in the village school.

Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India and Gary Lee, Vice-President & CFO visited the village. They were also accompanied by 50 employees from Canon India Head office along with 5 partners. As part of this visit, Kobayashi felicitated a batch of 15 adolescent girls, for successfully completing their three month vocational training at the vocational training center in the village, facilitated by Canon India. Further to this, he also distributed spectacles to 31 children.

Kazutada Kobayashi, President & CEO, Canon India, says, “At Canon, community development remains core to every initiative undertaken by us, aided by our 4Es CSR policy. Going beyond business, we are deeply committed towards holistic progress of the society, and therefore we are determined to work towards the same through our CSR contributions. Today, as we mark the first anniversary of our adoption of Maheshwari village, I am proud to see our relentless work, which has resulted in significant improvements in the village. We have witnessed an increase amongst the children for the enrolment in school, representing their zeal to learn and explore uncharted territories. It feels rewarding to have provided 320 children in the village with a platform to excel, leading to their academic advancement. The smiles across the faces of 4000 villagers will further drive us to continue our pledge for social development under ‘Canon India Involve’.Going forward, we will continue to drive meaningful and welfare driven initiatives to impact more lives and make our communities future ready. We are positive that we will be able to bring about even greater change in Maheshwari, empowering the villagers to grow in a better and sustainable environment.”

Gary Lee, Vice President and CFO, Canon India says, “Commitment to the community comes very naturally to all Canon employees across the country. It is an integral element of our brand’s DNA and reflects prominently in our work ethics. Our employees take equal interest in engaging with kids from our adopted villages to create awareness and lead them to a brighter future. With Maheshwari village completing one fruitful year of association with us, it gives me immense satisfaction to see the developments made in our core focus areas of Education, Environment, Eye Care and Empowerment. With the support of our stakeholders, we are confident that we will further amplify our efforts, reach out to more communities and inspire others to come together and work for the betterment of the society.”