Rotary India Literacy Mission in collaboration with the Embassy of Chile organizes fundraising art exhibition for girl empowerment and education

Delhi, 10th May 2023: In India, the literacy rate, especially in villages, is low and dropout rates of students in primary schools is high, most particularly among girls. To support girl child education and skill development, Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) recently launched a joint initiative, a fund-raiser art exhibition for girl empowerment together with Embassy of Chile in India, The Blue Moon, Cosmos Art Gallery and the Indian Importers Chambers of Commerce and Industry (IICCI).

Dr Meenu Kumar, a renowned artist and a Rotary member exhibited her artwork on women empowerment to raise funds to finance the ‘Asha Kiran program', an initiative that seeks to send 1,50,000 out-of-school children, between 7 to 14 years, back to school, with a special focus on increasing the literacy amongst girls and young women. These girls drop out of school due to various reasons like - lack of toilets, child labour, lack of financial resources, some also drop out due to constant migration. The objective of RILM is to bring these girls back to school under the Asha Kiran programme and give them an opportunity to get equity in the community, which can be achieved through education.

Rotary's goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy by supporting education for all children and literacy for children and adults.

H.E. Juan Ángulo, Ambassador of Chile to India said, "The project is of great importance, as it perfectly embraces the two pillars of Chile's foreign policy: Gender equality and the promotion of Human Rights. We're aligned with Rotary's vision and initiatives that support and empower millions of girls to come forward and exercise their Right to Education.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Kamal Sanghvi, Chairman Rotary India Literacy Mission said, "Rotary puts on priority projects that focus on improving the health, education, well-being, and economic security of girls across the globe. Through this collaboration, RILM aims to reduce gender parity that exists in education. Education empowers people to develop their capabilities in order to not only better their own lives, but also the lives of those around them. Driving the change is a shared responsibility and we're happy to have partners like the Embassy of Chile and IICCI supporting the initiative."

Along with fundraising through the art exhibition, the project also considers cultural activities to be to be carried out by the Embassy across schools as part of the Asha Kiran program.

Speaking about the artwork, Dr. Meenu Kumar, Director, Comos Art Gallery said, "Each of the works highlights the idea of female empowerment, linked to freedom, which is symbolised in the different works through wings and lips. We have also highlighted the links between the two countries by incorporating colours and typical elements of both Chilean and Indian artworks.