Our Snehadhar, Balbhavan and Rehab Center celebrated International Women's Day #IWD with a range of programs for our beneficiaries, supported by Crompton CSR Foundation.
The power to build an intelligent society lies in women.
Our chief guest, Rajatji Chopra from Crompton, wished our women a special day and shared how she believes we should prioritise girls' education to enable women to stand on their own feet which will help build a prosperous society. She also extended a welcome for women and girls to join Crompton in the future. Her Foundation team then distributed gifts of hygiene kits.
This was followed by a cultural program organised by our Snehadhar project with dances, street plays, poetry readings, entertainment and a talk from Dr Ujwala Shirsath. Mamta Mam from the Bank of Maharashtra also provided information about the bank's facilities, plans, insurance and loans and promised to organise further training programs for our beneficiaries.
Our beneficiaries also enjoyed three days of competitions in the build up to International Women's Day, and prizes were distributed on the day, congratulations to all our winners!
"Everyone should be seen as a person first, not only as a woman or man."
Our Balbhavan also organised their own public awareness activities to provide more than 250 women living in our slum communities aware of their rights and entitlements. Further information on family planning, healthy diet, personal hygiene and exercise were provided by Amay Kamble. Discussions were also held on waste management, clean drinking water and the relevant government agencies taking up these issues. Our Balbhavan activities also included musical chairs, lemon and spoon races, group discussions and quizzes competition with prizes distributed to the winners.
Unfortunately, women are still underestimated in modern India and we agreed we all look forward to celebrating Women's Day in the true sense of the word when women are considered equal to men.
As part of the celebrations our Snehadhar women received hand-made cards with messages of support and inspiration from students at Ohio State University in the USA. We have enjoyed a partnership with the student chapter at the uni for the past few years and are grateful for all they do for us, from fundraising to activities that connect us. If you are interested in setting up a similar partnership please email give@snehalaya.org.
Finally, watch our founder, Dr Girish Kulkarni, share his thoughts about the plight of women during the pandemic in Ahmednagar in this interview with Media India Group, broadcast on #IWD2022.