72 THE WEEK • JUNE 30, 2019
FOCUS
The Glitter of giving
B
eing a socially responsible organization, Malabar Group
has been dedicating a part of its profit for the general
welfare of the society irrespective of caste, creed and
religion. The charitable work of Malabar Group started decades
back and it took formal shape as two trusts, the Malabar
Charitable Trust (MCT) in 1999, and the Malabar Housing
Charitable Trust (MHCT) in 2004. As the names suggest, while
MHCT focuses exclusively on extending housing-related
assistance to the needy, MCT provides medical aid and
educational scholarships to the deserving, offers wedding
assistance to needy families, and supports actions aimed at
women empowerment and environmental protection.
Medical assistance is normally offered on reference so that it
is not misused, and those with chronic diseases are provided up
to $ 8,000 per year. For those who need medicines, the company
has tie-ups with pharmacies from where the beneficiaries can
collect the required medicines, and the pharmacy bills the
company.
Says Chairman, MP Ahammed, “Profitability is mandatory
for any organization to survive, but that is not the sole purpose
of doing business. One has to be honest in what ever one does,
and there must be an unshakable commitment to society.”
MCT currently runs three mobile clinics in Kozhikode, Kochi
and Thiruvananthapuram, and the plan is to not only to extend
that service to all 14 districts in Kerala, but also to take it to Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, covering all
of south India.
The mobile clinics are equipped to do a range of basic tests
including blood pressure, blood sugar, ECG, serum cholesterol,
serum creatinine and urine albumin. In Kozhikode the services
are offered in collaboration with the IQRAA Hospital and
Snehasparsam, and in Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram
districts the company extends these services in association
with the Kerala Social Security Mission.
In Kozhikode, the company has a signature CSR initiative
in the form of the IQRAA Kidney Care and Research Institute
which addresses the needs of the less privileged who are faced
with extensive suffering and steep financial burden imposed by
kidney ailments.Key social initiatives of the Malabar Group
Golden Heart
Golden Heart is an initiative by Malabar Group to support
girls who are of marriageable age but not married due to
financial constraints. This initiative is to support eligible brides
in terms of their jewellery needs. Malabar Group through it’s
Malabar Charitable Trust donated 101 kg of gold through this
charity programme. This initiative is a non-profit movement
with the support of the Malabar Gold & Diamonds corpus and
the donations received from customers & well wishers
Prathyasha
This programme is a joint venture between Malabar Group
and the Kerala Social Security Mission. Its main objective is
to provide marriage expenses to deserving families for their
daughters’ weddings. Over 2,000 girls from underprivileged
families have received financial aid.
Empowering education, empowering women
Education provides women and girls with better
understanding of health, nutrition and family welfare, and
gives them confidence to set their goals in life. This scheme
of the Malabar Group provides educational scholarships to
girl students for higher education. The programme has been
launched in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana.
Leading Schools projecta
Quality education at school level is imperative for good
quality secondary education and to develop the human
resource base of a nation. The Malabar Group has partnered
with IIM Kozhikode to promote quality education in schools
through a nationwide series of teacher-focused workshops.
Several such programmes have been conducted across the
country. The group will extend 200 scholarships to deserving
teachers and principals and has announced four gold medals
for outstanding achievement by teachers.
Environmental Conservation
The group has earmarked resources for environmental
conservation, and has been active with initiatives for environment
conservation in several locations including Kozhikode,
Mangalore and Bengaluru.
Litter-free Kerala
This project is undertaken in association with the Kerala
government’s ‘Suchithwa Mission’ to enhance public
awareness about the importance of cleanliness and proper
disposal of plastic wastes. A number of roadshows and
seminars have been held to raise awareness about these
issues.
Other initiatives
A number of programmes have been conducted in Karnataka,
including ‘Clean Mangalore’ and ‘Clean Mysore’. The ‘Act now,
do something’ citizen awareness programme was held in
Bengaluru in association with the state pollution control board
to reduce air and water pollution.Malabar Gold and Diamonds, Thodupuzha, gave 16.18 gms of gold
sovereign to Ashly Jomsy Mathew