Every year, DHAN Foundation organizes a Walkathon centered around various development themes. Since 2007, the DHAN foundation has organized 18 Walkathons featuring 9 distinct themes. Additionally, Community Federations and locations supported by DHAN Foundation also organize Walkathons on the same day, following the same theme. The Walkathon 2025 marks the 19th version in this series, focusing on the theme of "Development Partnership." This year, the Walkathon 2025 is taking place in 50 different districts throughout India.

The theme for DHAN Walkathon 2025 is "Development Partnership", as DHAN aims to recognize and celebrate the collaborative efforts across India. Acknowledging and celebrating the partnerships among various stakeholders is vital for nurturing goodwill, enhancing relationships, and demonstrating the results of joint endeavors.

Over the past 28 years of its development journey, DHAN Foundation has worked alongside numerous stakeholders to achieve its ultimate mission of enabling the poor for move out of poverty. This is truly a collaborative effort, with significant and noteworthy contributions from various development partners, including communities, banks, government agencies, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, insurance companies, healthcare institutions, educational organizations, marketing firms, and international networks.

In recognition of the various stakeholders involved, the Walkathon 2025 embraces the theme "Development Partnerships." To sustain these collaborative efforts, DHAN invited all development partners to join in the Walkathon 2025 and celebrate their shared contributions to development. The DHAN Foundation organized Madurai Walkathon 2025 on January 25, 2025 (Saturday), alongside all development partners, including community representatives, government departments, bankers, insurance agencies, and CSR partners.

Thiru. R. Sakthivel, the District Revenue Officer at the Collectorate in Madurai, officially initiated the Walkathon 2025 by waving the flag, in presence of Mr. M.P. Vasimalai, Executive Director, and Padma Shri Chinnapillai, Advisory Leader of the Kalanjiam Movement. The Madurai Walkathon saw over 7,000 participants walking 3.5 kilometers to the Gandhi Museum.

At the conclusion of the Walkathon, a meeting centered on the theme of Development Partnership was held at the Gandhi Museum, participated by banking officials, insurance representatives, Rotarians, NGO personnel, CSR representatives, government employees, and students from colleges and schools, along with members of self-help groups and farmers' associations.

During the meeting, Mr. M.P. Vasimalai, Executive Director of DHAN, emphasized the significance of Development Partnerships involving communities, NGOs, government bodies, bankers, insurance agencies, the education sector, the health sector, Rotarians, and CSR partners for the enhancement of the lives of the impoverished. He noted that fostering robust Development Partnerships and engaging in Collective Action is crucial at this time.

Mr. Gururajan, the Branch Manager, LIC of INDIA (PNGS) Madurai, appreciated the DHAN Foundation for its celebration of Development Partnerships. He recognized DHAN for enabling a significant enrollment of poor individuals in insurance programs throughout India.

Ms. Ahila Devi, Programme Leader at DHAN, emphasized that through their development partnership, DHAN has enabled over 1000 Crore in bank linkages and has assisted more than 2 crore impoverished individuals in enrolling in various insurance products across India.

Mr. M.V. Bhalasubramanian, Zonal Manager of Indian Bank, emphasized that Self-Help Groups (SHGs) are central to development. He mentioned that banks are open to providing linkages for SHGs and discussed the "Saki" scheme, which focuses on linking individual women entrepreneurs. He urged DHAN to assist in facilitating this initiative.

Mrs. Bhagyarekha Shivakumar, Deputy General Manager of Canara Bank's Regional Office in Madurai, has invited the DHAN Foundation to facilitate a significant number and volume of linkages with Canara Bank in Madurai.

Leaders from Women Self-Help Groups and Farmers Associations across various Community Federations presented their action plans centered around the theme of Development Partnership with other stakeholders. Essay and Drawing Competitions on the theme of “Development Partnership” were held in schools and colleges, with winners receiving awards from Mr. Premanand, COO of DHAN Foundation.

At the conclusion of the program, all participants took a collective pledge, facilitated by Ms. Ilavarasi, Programme Leader. The event began with a welcome address by Mr. James Samuel, Senior Project Executive, and concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Mr. Muthukumarasamy, Programme Leader at DHAN Foundation.