National, May 27, 2021 – Supporting the country in the battle against COVID-19, Canon India, one of the leaders in the imaging space, is conducting a vaccination awareness drive and setting up support camps in its adopted villages- Maheshwari Village (Haryana), Parivali Village (Mumbai), Kalyanpur Village (Kolkata) and Annadodi Village (Bangalore), to help them register for vaccination. Canon India is helping the villagers with the required information on vaccination, its benefits, after-effects, and procedures. Additionally considering the lack of access of digital resources amongst the villagers for vaccine registration, the organization is also helping them to get registered on the government portals, in case walk-in registration is not available. Keeping in mind the misinformation surrounding the vaccines especially in small villages, Canon India aims to raise awareness in rural India and debunk all myths related to COVID-19 vaccinations and encourage them to book their slot.
Apart from volunteers taking individual sessions with villagers at their homes, village authorities and leaders are also supporting the drive by circulating the right information and encouraging the residents to learn about the vaccination process. Within a week of the awareness drive, the organization has helped over 1000 people with vaccination regarding procedures and get them registered on portals.
Commenting on this initiative, Mr. Manabu Yamazaki, President & CEO of Canon India said, “As a socially responsible corporate entity, it is extremely imperative for us to stand united in our fight against COVID-19, especially now more than ever as we are battling the second wave of this pandemic. At Canon India, the safety and well-being of our people continue to be a top priority and this includes our employees, their families and also our extended families from our adopted villages. In line with our corporate philosophy of ‘Kyosei’, which is at the heart of Canon India’s CSR endeavours, we consider it our responsibility to empower our adopted communities in their fight against COVID-19 in whatever ways we can. With the ongoing vaccination drive in the country, our volunteers are working round the clock to bring in a behavioral change and increase uptake of vaccine in these villages. We expect this awareness to create a ripple effect and increase to larger communities and have more people understand the criticality of COVID-19 vaccination. I am proud to see that within a week, we have been successful in mobilizing over 1000 people through this initiative.”
Last year, Canon India had commenced its COVID-19 relief efforts by donating essential ration kits to over 12,500 beneficiaries including the daily wagers and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in its adopted villages and sanitation items to children from SOS Children’s Village Family homes. Along with distributing essentials such as surgical masks, sanitizers, liquid soap, and home & surrounding cleansing items, informative and awareness sessions were also conducted for the children of SOS Children’s Villages in Faridabad & Hyderabad. They also provided over 732 PPE kits for healthcare workers of the country to safeguard the paramedical staff and to the government hospitals near their adopted villages in Mumbai, Haryana, and Bengaluru, ensuring the safety of health workers involved.
About Canon’s corporate philosophy ‘Kyosei’
Canon India’s CSR endeavours are driven by their corporate philosophy of ‘Kyosei’, which mean the ‘spirit of living and working together for the common good’, which is considered foremost in the organization’s way of working and day-to-day operations. However, their definition of the word is much broader and encompasses “all people regardless of their race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together for the common good.” Moving forward with this philosophy, they believe in standing in unison when it comes to their commitment to the community and strives to make a positive impact on society and the environment. The organization is involved in various community welfare programs aligned with their 4Es CSR policy implying Education, Eye Care, Environment and Empowerment, to build progressive self-reliant communities. Along with the ‘Adopt a Village’ project, the organization is also associated with SOS Children’s Village across the country to encourage and support the overall development of children in these villages.
