Mumbai: Nanma Charitable Foundation, a Malayali community organization that has been working for nearly one and a half decades for the upliftment of underprivileged communities in Mumbai and the tribal regions of Maharashtra, has launched a year-long rural development project.

As part of the initiative, the foundation distributed school bags, notebooks, umbrellas, and other educational materials to around 354 students studying in 10 Zilla Parishad schools in Vehloli village of Shahapur Taluka in Thane district.

The programme was inaugurated by the Foundation’s General Secretary, Sunil Raj. Prasad Nair presided over the event. Divya Nair, Suli Kunjupillai, Pramod Pille, Nandana, Santosh Balachandran, and Subin led the programme.

Foundation Secretary Sunil Raj said the organization has launched the project with the objective of improving the health and educational progress of children in the village, where literacy levels remain significantly low, while also enhancing the environmental standards of schools.

In the next phases of the project, the foundation will distribute computers, plant saplings, establish rainwater harvesting facilities, provide utensils for students’ meals, medicines, nutritional supplements, water purifiers, and sweets for Diwali.

The Kalyan-based Nanma Charitable Foundation had earlier this year extended financial assistance to around 100 students with disabilities through its ‘Nanma Educational Assistance Initiative’.