Indian educational philanthropist hopes to support children of expat workers in UAE

Indian educational philanthropist hopes to support children of expat workers in UAE

Dubai: Prominent educationist, philanthropist and social worker from the eastern Indian state of Odisha, Dr Achyuta Samanta, hopes to support the education of the children of expat workers in the UAE. Known for providing free, residential school education to thousands of indigenous tribal children in his home state, Dr Samanta, who is also a member of the Indian Parliament, expressed his desire to contribute to the education of Indian expat blue-collar workers during his recent visit to Dubai. He was here to take part in ‘India Dialogues’, a flagship talk series arranged by the Indian Business and Professional Council (IBPC) and another interactive session organised by the Consul General of India in Dubai, Dr Aman Puri. Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the events, Dr Samanta said the idea of supporting the workers’ children stemmed from a CSR [Corporate Social Responsibility] proposal by IBPC Chairman Suresh Kumar. While the IBPC wanted to explore the opportunity of upskilling the blue-collar Indian workers here with the support of Dr Samanta’s foundation, Dr Samanta said he could support the higher education of some of their children back home. “I would like to explore the opportunities here, but that might take time.