Present at the closing ceremony of the Aviva Great Wall of Education was none other than the dashing Abhay Deol. He delivered an inspiring and a memorable speech to the school children present at the venue. He urged the kids to “start young” in spreading the joy of learning to the underprivileged kids devoid of education. Abhay Deol, prominent Bollywood actor along with Gaurav Rajput, Aviva India presented over a million books collected during the drive to the representatives of Save the Children India, SOS Children’s Villages of India, and Handpaper, the recycling partner.

1 million books… and still counting! As the third and final day of the drive came to an end, the wall had truly become great. Thank You India for this overwhelming response and for helping us bring underprivileged children closer to education!

The Aviva Great Wall of Education, India’s biggest book donation drive for the underprivileged children culminated into a book distribution ceremony today at High Street Phoenix, Lower Parel. Abhay Deol, prominent Bollywood actor along with Gaurav Rajput presented over a million books to the representatives of Save the Children India, SOS Children’s Villages of India, and Handpaper, the recycling partner.

As part of Aviva’s Street to School program, the books from the Wall will be used to move thousands of underprivileged children with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Save the Children, CINI Asha, Eureka Foundation, Hippo Campus and SOS Children’s Villages of India closer towards education. The books which are not relevant for children will be recycled into fresh notebooks by Handpaper.

Speaking on the occasion, Gaurav Rajput, Director Marketing, Aviva India, said, “At Aviva, we believe that ‘Education is Insurance’ and we are truly grateful to the people of India for making the third edition of the Aviva Great Wall of Education a big success. We have collected over a million books and still counting from across the country this year, which will go towards building a brighter future for the underprivileged children by helping them into education. We appreciate the patronage of the people of India towards this noble cause, and thank them for donating books.”

Thank you India for donating so generously and helping us in bringing underprivileged children closer to education!

The Aviva Great Wall of Education entered into the second day of the India’s biggest book donation drive. As the day progressed there were people galore, who came in to donate the books in varied languages and subjects. There were many prizes distributed to the children including Sachin signed bats and POGO goody bags to those who participated in the fun and interactive activities like quiz, art and craft and the puppet show. Also came in to lend her support to the cause was the famous fashion designer Shaina NC along with her kids to donate books. The main attraction of the show was POGO’s Chhota Bheem. The kids were completely enthralled by Chhota Bheem’s gig and had a delectable time getting pics clicked with him.

For those who still haven’t donated books yet, you still have one more day to donate. Abhay Deol will join us tomorrow afternoon at the closing ceremony of the Aviva Great Wall of Education. Donate books and help spread the joy of learning to those underprivileged children devoid of education!

Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar inaugurated the opening ceremony for the grand finale of the Aviva Great Wall of Education, India’s biggest book donation drive for the underprivileged children. He advocated promotion of education in the country, especially among the underprivileged children. Speaking at the event, Sachin said, “This cause is very dear to my heart. Please be generous and contribute.”

The day was filled with a lot of excitement, with people reaching in large numbers wall to donate books .There were special puppet shows highlighting the importance of education and urging people to make a contribution to the great wall. The puppet show captured the attention of the children present at the event and was liked by the them very much. Along with other activities there were quiz shows and street plays for kids. Small kids managed to surprise elders with their wit and understanding of the importance of donating for the cause. There were young minds coming forward and motivating people with their delightful thoughts. People from all age groups came to donate books at the wall. This was one of the classic examples of people  from different walks of life to coming together.

After a long and fruitful journey, The Aviva Great Wall of Education finally reached Mumbai on 19/11/11. The day started with a contribution of a bundle of books by Mrs. A. Naik who donated books on behalf of her daughter, Varsha. “What can be a better way to celebrate this wonderful day other than spreading joy of education to the underprivileged kids who would use this book?”, said the proud mom.

One of the donors was a student who came forward and shared his story. “My professor always urged me to donate my books to the less fortunate people who could not afford them. Today I am an established engineer thanks to him; I hope my contribution can help someone”. There were several other such inspiring and moving stories shared by the donors.