EY employees are set to record more than 40,000 pages for the audiobooks within a span of one month.
National: EY India has collaborated with the National Association for the Blind (NAB) to produce over 600 audiobooks, to assist more than 100,000 individuals with visual impairments throughout India. This initiative is part of the EY Ripples program, in which EY employees dedicate their time to projects centered around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), uniting their skills, knowledge, and experience to make a meaningful difference in society.
Named ‘Talking Books,’ this initiative marks the second edition created by the EY Ripples team in partnership with NAB. Its goal is to improve access to educational resources for the personal development of many visually impaired community members. As part of this effort, EY employees will dedicate one month to recording more than 40,000 pages for the audiobooks.
In India, there are approximately 5 million individuals who are blind, accounting for 0.36% of the total population, while 35 million people are visually impaired, representing 2.55%. Additionally, there are around 240,000 blind children in the country. Those with visual impairments often face challenges in accessing proper learning resources, making audiobooks an essential tool for their education.
Reflecting on the enthusiastic response from employees towards the program, Arti Dua, National Talent Leader at EY India, stated, “Initiatives like Talking Books enable us to empower individuals with disabilities, ensuring that everyone has access to the resources necessary for learning and growth. The strong response from our employees signifies not only a common purpose but also a united effort to create a significant impact where it matters most. We are dedicated to broadening our initiatives and introducing new programs that support our shared mission.”
Talking about the initiative, Prashant Ranjan Verma, General Secretary of National Association for The Blind said, “It gives us immense joy that such a large number of EY India employees have come forward to help enrich our library. This unique resource-building effort holds the potential to benefit the visually impaired community at large, making a meaningful difference in their lives.”
In India, the EY Ripples community has grown to over 4,000 volunteers and continues to expand. Over the past four years, these volunteers have positively impacted over 11.5 million lives through various initiatives around education, cleanliness drives, plantation drives etc.