The Ugly Indians, as a part of the larger Domlur tech-hub transformation initiative, have taken on the significant transformation of Government Kannada Model Primary School in Challaghatta, Bengaluru. The Ugly Indians have been successfully mobilizing various corporates and residents in the area to carry out the cleaning up and beautification of the area, having widened their impact to over 58 ugly spots in Domlur alone.
A group of motivated volunteers, The Ugly Indians have been working selflessly to transform unhygienic and derelict areas around the city. They noted that the surroundings of the school were in an extremely poor and unhygienic conditions – the water and sewage lines were leaking and the open field near the school was being used as a garbage dump. To provide the students a better and healthy school infrastructure, the Ugly Indians approached the GEMS team (Golf Links Embassy Management Services) to enlist their help in clearing garbage near the school and providing alternative and sustainable methods for waste collection. They also approached the BWSSB to request they begin civil work in fixing the leaking pipes. With the Embassy Group’s assistance, they have begun the civil work to fix the boundary walls.
Long-term sustainability plans have also been put into place to maintain the area and the site has stayed clean due to the various initiatives taken up by the Ugly Indians, supported by the Embassy Group. Plans are underway to install a proper garbage system in the area to prevent garbage dumping and securing the school with a secure entrance wall. Five working toilets will also be available for students and staff.
Successful partnerships and collaborations with the Ugly Indians and its partners, WeWork and the Embassy Group have enabled significant change in the area. Embassy Group has been actively planning various community outreach programs where occupiers of office parks around Bangalore, get an opportunity to partner and support the economically weaker sections of the society. To encourage occupiers of Embassy Golf Links to participate in ensuring the areas around which they work are in good shape, they had WeWork volunteer with them in cleaning, repainting and beautifying the compound walls of the school.
Commenting on the project, Shaina Ganapathy, Head of Community Outreach at Embassy said, “We have a strong vision to build a fine social infrastructure and sustainable ecosystem in and around the communities we serve. Embassy actively reaches out to corporates to collaborate in undertaking various transformative community service initiatives. We are very delighted that WeWork employees and the Ugly Indians have come forward to help us in transforming this Government school and providing the students a better environment.â€
Through such community outreach activities, Embassy Group aims to leverage their relationship with the local schools and build connections between different parts of society and communities they operate in. Earlier this year, Embassy collaborated with NVIDIA and the Ugly Indians for an Employee Engagement Activity at the Hegdenagar Higher Primary Urdu and Kannada Medium Government Schools. They were involved in deep cleaning, painting, murals, making benches, repairing the fence, landscaping, etc. The community project was set to not only repair and renovate the old buildings but also get the whole premises deep-cleaned and tidy with a complete transformation.
A Representative for Ugly Indians added: “We follow the principle of Kaam Chalu Mooh Bandh (Only Work No Talk) and work with all stakeholders (government, corporates, residents) to solve common civic problems in the public space. This was a particularly challenging project as it had remained unsolved for several years and was directly affecting the health and well-being of hundreds of school children, apart from local residents. What is most satisfying is the collaborative nature of the solution, as it involved the entire community through silent direct actionâ€.
