Recognition is never the reason we do this work – but it is a powerful reminder of what partnership can achieve. Twice now, projects run by the Civilian Welfare Foundation have received the Best CSR Award from the Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI): in 2022 for Icchedanar Pathshala, and in 2025 for Advancing Olympism365 Bengal.

Icchedanar Pathshala: a second chance at learning

Icchedanar Pathshala is CWF's inclusive bridge school in Pyarabagan, one of Kolkata's most densely populated slum communities. For over a decade it has been an alternative learning space for children who were pushed into child labour or dropped out of formal schooling.

The school runs six days a week and serves 100 child labourers. Alongside Bengali, English and Mathematics, students engage with social sciences including Psychology and Sociology. The primary goal is school readiness – building the academic confidence and social-emotional skills that help children move into government schools. The school is inclusive, welcoming children with and without disabilities in a shared classroom.

The 2022 award

At the IFCCI CSR Conclave and Awards 2022, Servier India Private Limited won in the Education category for Icchedanar Pathshala, delivered in partnership with CWF. The ceremony took place on 23 November 2022 in New Delhi, in the presence of H.E. Mr Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India.

The intervention aimed to make Pyarabagan a Child Labour Free Zone through the focused inclusion of 100 underprivileged children. Servier went beyond funding: its employees ran workshops in storytelling, yoga, art and craft, and the performing arts. Priyam Dhamankar of Servier India described it as a "small but well intended and all encompassing initiative, in collaboration with Civilian Welfare Foundation."

The 2025 award

In 2025, CWF received the IFCCI Best CSR Award for Advancing Olympism365 Bengal – a programme bringing structured sports training, health monitoring and psychosocial support to 600 women with intellectual disabilities in West Bengal, supported by the International Olympic Committee, Women Win and Beyond Sport.

Servier India's CSR work with CWF continues to support the participation of women with intellectual disabilities in sport, which Servier describes as fostering "psychosocial empowerment, resilience, and mental well-being while challenging societal attitudes and reducing vulnerability to gender-based violence."

What partnership makes possible

Both awards share a common thread: long-term relationships with partners who show up in person, not just on paper. Servier and the IFCCI network have also helped Unified Theatre grow, and IFCCI has listed CWF among the NGO partners of its CSR Conclave.

The work is far from finished. CWF is working to expand Icchedanar Pathshala to reach 100 more students, and to take Olympism365 Bengal to 1,000 women across 10 districts.

Walk with us

Everything described here is made possible by volunteers, partners and donors who believe that inclusion should be lived, not just promised. If this story moved you, please consider supporting CWF with a donation (80G tax-deductible), or joining us as a volunteer, intern or partner.