“Reliance Foundation is committed to scale up, sustain and stand with the nation to overcome this crisis and every other challenge”: Smt Nita M Ambani, Founder & Chairperson, Reliance Foundation.

Reliance Foundation’s constant endeavour is to transform the lives of communities holistically for a new, healthy, self-reliant India and a note of hope and new, energized enthusiasm marks the transition into 2022.

With a 360-degree COVID 19 response, Reliance Foundation supported and strengthened India’s efforts to push back the pandemic.

Mission Anna Seva delivering over 8.5 crore meals to vulnerable communities; Mission Oxygen provided medical-grade oxygen free to over 100,000 COVID patients daily; Mission COVID Infra supported over 2000+ COVID beds and 1.3+crore masks; Mission Vaccine Suraksha enabled free vaccination for lakhs of vulnerable communities; Mission Employee Care supported all-round well-being for employees and family members.

As 2021 comes to a close, Reliance Foundation looks back on its journey of ‘Touching Lives’, serving over 5.1 crore people (51 million) across 44,700 villages and several urban locations of India.

There were many challenges for people across the country, but there was also opportunity to learn and support. Here are five key social development learnings through the year:

1. Local institutions provided timely, local support: When people started moving back to the villages, the pandemic needed to be contained and new employment opportunities had to be created. Reliance Foundation supported and guided Gram Panchayats and community groups to avail livelihood schemes announced by the government. This was also the time Self-Help Groups took the lead in COVID awareness, safety measures and supporting people.

2. Health Outreach services were crucial: Mobile Medical Units (MMUs, Static Medical Units (SMUs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) played a critical role during the lockdown especially since public transport was suspended or limited. Reliance Foundation managed to provide around 2.3 lakh+ health consultations through these means. Frontline healthcare providers like Dr. Rajkumary Nishad from Shahdol, Madhya Pradesh would travel every day to three villages and spend hours raising awareness around safe hygiene practices, prenatal care and child malnutrition

3. Addressing nutrition at the homestead was crucial: During the lockdown, supply chains were disrupted; people still needed food and adequate nutrition and new ways of finding them. Reliance Foundation promoted 10,000 Reliance Nutrition Gardens (RNGs) providing food and nutrition security for not just families but also for communities. Several Anganwadi Sevikas set up their own RNGs providing for the nutritional needs of children and young mothers. “Reliance Nutrition Gardens helped improve nutrition of children at these times. We now have 13 types of vegetables, fruits and lemon plants, providing nearly 2 kg of fresh produce daily,” says Mahananda Phad from Gangakhed village in Maharashtra.

4. Equitable access was important for education: Enabling teachers and students was crucial to ensure that education continued through the pandemic. Besides capacity building for teachers, Reliance volunteers and school teachers also connected with most-at-need children to provide support and ensure uninterrupted learning. “DAIS students reached out to children in remote villages, creating opportunities for them in various curricular and co-curricular activities. These students got a valuable learning experience and an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to the community”, says Sreeraman Ramanathan, Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) Co-ordinator, Dhirubhai Ambani International School (DAIS). Learning continued in sports as well, with Reliance Foundation sports team providing virtual training and other support with over 4,500 participants reached across 30 virtual sessions on fitness, nutrition and well-being while 250 coaches were trained across eight digital education workshops.

5. Bridging the gender divide was more crucial than ever, now: With the world relying more and more on digital connectivity, equitable access to technology, especially for women, was even more important to ensure balanced development. Reliance Foundation rolled out new initiatives such as the Women Connect Challenge India with USAID which was launched during the year, specifically to bridge the gender digital divide, funding 10 innovative projects across the country. In another initiative connecting women across the globe, Her Circle (a digital platform for women) was launched during the year.

With the guiding force ‘We Care’ at the heart of the empathy that shapes all of its work, Reliance Foundation aims to empower every Indian and help build an equitable nation. Moving ahead, in 2022 and beyond, Reliance Foundation is steadfast in the mission to achieve inclusive development for all.