PANAJI: Business has a responsibility to the community and the environment is Sesa Goa’s mantra and it certainly walks the talk when it comes to corporate social responsibility (CSR). This perseverance and contribution to the needy of the surrounding areas of its mines, is Sesa Goa’s hidden profile.

As the saying goes: ‘instead of giving the needy to eat, teach them to catch fish’, and thus employment is provided. Till date over 568 needy students then, trained by Sesa Goa are earning five and six figures salaries. 
This untold legend has been going on for the past many years in the vicinity of Sesa Goa’s 250 hectares of exhausted mines that comprises two football academy schools; a full-fledged football field;  a technical training school; huge dug out pits serving as reservoirs from rain water harvesting;  pisciculture,  a beautiful manicured medical garden with over scores of saplings, plants and trees, a bamboo pavilion, and much of the 250 hectares of waste land and dumps are converted into bio gradable soil growing cashew, pineapple, mangoes, chickoos  and the list of fruit trees goes on enjoyed by the students.  Side by side are a range of spice plantations.
The students from the technical and football schools after completion of their training course, they professional service value starts from Rs15,000 plus a month. Well known multinationals absorbs the technical students.
Whereas in the soccer field, well known football names such as Micky for Mohan Bagan; Bernard, Rowlison and Ashley for Churchill Brothers; Lavino for India under 20; Gerard and Late Raymond for Sporting Clube, Anthony, Tyson and others are the product of Sesa Football Academy (SFA).
In a two-year training course, the SFA takes in 18 juniors and 18 senior students from all over Goa. Trained by coach Mr Anthony D’Souza, a veteran who played for several top Indian clubs and represented India in 1987.  SFA provides free lodgings, special diet, tutors for their education, and health advice by Dr NN Bhatiker. Till date SFA has established 57 top class footballers, plus 18 trained footballers will be leaving on April 30 to play
professional soccer. 
They will be replaced by a new batch of 18 students. Today, most of the footballers trained by SFA are earning in the range of Rs40,000 and above, some are raking in over a lakh of rupees. Sesa spends nearly Rs1.30 lakhs annually on each footballer.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) entails companies performing in a socially responsible manner, and dealing with other business parties who do the same, said Captain K Sarath Chander associate manager public relations.  “Every year multinational companies have been responding well and absorbing the passed students from the technical school,” said Mr Vinayak Bhavsar, principal of Sesa Technical School.  Some smart students are provided with scholarships for further studies.
The Sesa Technical School (STS) established by the Sesa Community Development Foundation, is located on the reclaimed Sanquelim mines. The premises of the earlier mining workshops and offices have been renovated and utilized for running the school. Affiliated to the National Council of Vocation training, courses are designed on the market requirements, said Mr Bhavasar. The five courses it teaches are in demand, they are: fitter, machinist, instrument mechanic, multi mechanical and electrical trade. Till date 568 students have passed out.  The schools ensure that the students have safe living conditions, taught at reasonable hours and are given time to entertain themselves.
It is not far, when parts of Sanquelim, which is going through a conversion phase for ecotourism, will attract tourists. Under the Sanquelim Management Plan, it intends to include a butterfly park, bamboo pavilion, a bamboo house for environment and social programmes, bird watching centre and much more. The plan has been approved by the Forest Department of Goa.