CapitaLand Hope Foundation (CHF), the philanthropic arm of CapitaLand Group, has launched its second CapitaLand Hope School in Bangalore, India to provide more than 400 children from underserved families with access to education. CHF has contributed INR 50 million towards the construction of the school, which is the 31st of the CapitaLand Hope Schools which span across India, China and Vietnam. Through the schools, CHF aims to provide children with a holistic education for a better start in life.

Located in Krishnarajapuram, Bangalore, the 20,000-square foot Government Kannada and English Medium Higher Primary School comprises eight classrooms, a staff room, a multi- purpose room, a playground, a kitchen, a sick room, library, computer and science laboratories, an art & crafts room, and lavatories.

CapitaLand staff volunteers and partners collaborated and built the school over a one-year period. CapitaLand staff from International Tech Park Bangalore provided their real estate expertise to Karnataka Education Department including designing and managing the development of the school. Indian contemporary artist Madhuri Umashankar designed The Hope Wall which was unveiled at a ceremony for the handover of the school on 19 September 2022.

CHF also partnered with international non-profit organisation, Room to Read, to set up the school library with materials to improve literacy amongst the children. This is the 14th library that CHF has established with Room to Read since they launched libraries across Bangalore to benefit some 2,000 children in March 2022.

Mr Gauri Nagabhushanam, Chief Executive Officer, India Business Park, CapitaLand Investment said: “We are extremely proud to complete our second Hope School in Bangalore to help over 400 children and their immediate families. We are passionate about education and have contributed over INR 100 million to develop three schools, two in Bangalore and an upcoming school in Pune. We take an active role in setting up the schools and continue to engage the children as well as contribute in various ways including donating various items and organising activities for them. It is extremely heartening to be able to reach out and touch the lives of the communities as we grow our business in India.”

Mr D R Ramamurthy, Block Education Officer, South - 4, Krishnarajapuram, Bangalore said: “On behalf of the education department, we would like to extend our sincere thanks to CapitaLand Hope Foundation for building this state-of-the-art school in Krishnarajapuram for students from underserved families. These modern facilities are unmatched by any schools across Bangalore and will immensely help our long-standing need to have this school and ‘Guru Bhavana’ (education office) in East Taluk. With deep appreciation and gratitude, we acknowledge CHF’s contributions towards the children and the society, and we would like to continue collaborating with them for great work in the future.”

CapitaLand #GivingAsOne campaign
CapitaLand is distributing 2,500 school kits to the CapitaLand Hope School in Mahadevpura as well as children across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune as part of its #GivingAsOne campaign. Each kit contains a notebook, a geometry set, a pen, a pencil, and a dictionary. Held from September to October this year, #GivingAsOne brings CapitaLand staff and partners together to do good by uplifting the lives of vulnerable groups and supporting the environment in communities where CapitaLand operates. Staff are also rallied to pen messages of hope and encouragement through #Pen4Hope for children and seniors in Singapore, China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam. CHF will donate INR 1,100 for every message and volunteer hour contributed. Other than the distribution of the school kits, CapitaLand will be unveiling the upcoming hope school in Pune.

Mr Tan Seng Chai, Chief Corporate and People Officer of CapitaLand Investment and Executive Director of CHF, said: “As a socially responsible company, CapitaLand is committed to contributing to the environmental and social well-being of our communities. To provide a conducive learning environment and improve children’s access to education, we have helped to build 31 schools benefitting over 28,000 children in China, Vietnam, and India since 2005. We also support seniors and conservation efforts through various programmes. Through our annual #GivingAsOne campaign, we galvanise our staff and partners to come together to give back as it is through collective action that we can truly make a positive and meaningful impact in the communities.”