Mumbai : Malabar Group, one of the world’s leading jewellery retailers, organised Children’s Day activities at its 1531 Micro Learning Centres (MLCs) across India. The celebrations were held for sixty thousand children supported by the centres and were led across the network of MLCs by senior representatives and community dignitaries. The programmes began with the distribution of sweets and set the tone for a day dedicated to learning, inclusion, and care.
The MLCs support underprivileged children who were forced into labour
or had to drop out of school due to social and economic challenges. Each centre
provides one year of age-appropriate primary education and helps children
transition back to formal schooling.
Parents, local leaders, police and health department officials, and
Malabar Group teams took part in the celebrations at the centres. Children
engaged in learning activities and interactive sessions designed to encourage
participation and confidence building.
The centres also provide nutrition support, offering milk, fruits, and
eggs as part of the daily routine to help children learn with better
concentration. Trained graduates from local communities serve as teachers,
following a ratio of one teacher to forty children. So far, about thirty
thousand children have been brought back to formal education through these
centres.
Speaking on the occasion, Malabar Group Chairman M. P. Ahammed said
that the initiative connects two essential needs for children: nourishment and
learning. “A child learns better when they feel secure and cared for. Nutrition
strengthens their ability to study, education gives them direction, and
together they help shape a future where each child can support themselves with
dignity. Our Micro Learning Centres reflect this belief and form an important
part of our wider CSR commitments,” he said. The centres operate under the
Group’s Hunger Free World initiative, which distributes one lakh five thousand
food packets daily in India and also supports communities in Zambia and
Ethiopia.
The Group has invested more than three hundred and fifty-six crore
rupees in social welfare programmes. These efforts have positively impacted
over seventeen lakh beneficiaries. Key focus areas include women’s empowerment,
healthcare support, educational scholarships for girls, and the Grandma Home
initiative, which provides shelter and care for elderly women.