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NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 25:
 

Consulate General of Japan, Chennai, Yoshiaki Kodaki at a function held to hand over grants to NGOs in Chennai recently.

        The Japanese government has provided grants to four non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in South India to support their projects aimed at uplifting the lives of the disadvantaged.

        The NGOs including the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai, HelpAge India, Chennai, Mitra Jyothi, Bangalore, and Dale View, Thiruva-nanthapuram, exchanged the grant contracts and received their cheques at a function held at the official residence of the Consul General of Japan here yesterday.

        MSSRF received $87,812 for a project to build a facilitation centre in Kerala's Wyanad district, where it has set in number of initiatives for natural resource management, improvement of the livelihood of tribal farmers and bio-diversity conservation.

        HelpAge India will buy vehicles, furniture and equipment for the organisation's regional offices in four southern States to enhance its mobile medicare services and provide counselling and rehabilitation of elders with the assistance of $69,273.

        With a grant of $88,417, Mitra Jyothi would construct residential and dining facilities at its training centre in Bangalore. Dale View, which runs a de-addiction centre, would upgrade its hospital, besides purchasing an ambulance, with a grant of $89,775.

        Presenting the grant to the organisations Consul-General of Japan in Chennai Yoshiaki Kodaki said, 'I hope this signing ceremony will mark the renewal of our existing partnership with some of the NGOs and the beginning of a new one.'

        The partnership with local organisations would help to address the needs in healthcare, education and skill training through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects. This was a programme the government of Japan launched in 1989 to uplift the lives of the people at the grass roots, the Consul General added.

        Vice Consul of Consulate General of Japan, Chennai, Sakura Ozaki, and Senior Development Consultant-GCP R S Shanthakumar Hopper also spoke.

        Director of HelpAge India Indrani Rajdurai, managing trustee of Mitra Jyothi Madhu Singhal, executive director of MSSRF M Velayutham and director of Dale View, Thiruvananthapuram, Christudas participated in the function.