Covid 19 Rescue project update

A destitute woman was found, identified, necessary paperwork done with the Chennai Corporation, Chennai Police and rescued from the streets of Chennai.

We are glad that we have been able to help in these difficult times. We hope other Rotary Clubs in the city of Chennai identify destitutes and call us for help so this service can help more people.

These images show what Rotary is capable of doing and why Rotarians believe in Service above Self.

She had been now moved to an Old aged home, Little Drops in the suburbs of Chennai.

Thank you so much for your continued support

RCCK

We painted the gate at corporation school in Thiruvanmiyur as Independence Day project using Flag of India as background

Most of the schools walls and gates are dilapidated. Hopefully children will have higher self esteem and motivation to attend regularly with these painted gates.

Thanks to Arnish Uberoi and his mother Anuradha Uberoi for making this happen.

RCCK continues its good work

RCCk this morning handed over equipment requested by a night shelter for destitute women.

RCCK handed over a blender, tiffin boxes, grinder, water bottles and flasks, ceiling fan and water heating kettle.

Rtn. Mukund Bhaiya ensured that the required materials was acquired Indore of the lockdown.  Rtn Mukund Bhaiya said 'Rtn Vasanthi has been in touch with this shelter and we have helped them earlier also during crisis times with her help, we have done this project'.

We have received this message from the night shelter

Dear Madam

We would like to thank you and your rotary club of kilpauk for the generous help you have given us.  We are so glad that you were able to take time out of your schedule time to help us. 

It was an honor to receive 8 fans, mixie and grinder for the kitchen. Lunch boxes and flask too. We once again thank you all very much for helping us. God bless you all

With regads

Matilda

Night Shelter.

RCCK continues its good work

RCCk this morning handed over equipment requested by a night shelter for destitute women.

RCCK handed over a blender, tiffin boxes, grinder, water bottles and flasks, ceiling fan and water heating kettle.

Rtn. Mukund Bhaiya ensured that the required materials was acquired Indore of the lockdown.  Rtn Mukund Bhaiya said 'Rtn Vasanthi has been in touch with this shelter and we have helped them earlier also during crisis times with her help, we have done this project'.

We have received this message from the night shelter

Dear Madam

We would like to thank you and your rotary club of kilpauk for the generous help you have given us.  We are so glad that you were able to take time out of your schedule time to help us. 

It was an honor to receive 8 fans, mixie and grinder for the kitchen. Lunch boxes and flask too. We once again thank you all very much for helping us. God bless you all

With regads

Matilda

Night Shelter.

RCCK hands over provisions and masks

Outreach Centre - Corona Relief

Club Pres. Mita, Rtn PPs Sudhir Takker, Sai Prasad and Ravikrishnan arranged for essential supplies for over 600 families which were under lockdown. They were prohibited by the Govt from accompanying the supplies because of the lockdown. Permission was obtained and the supplies sent to the outreach centre.

With shops closed and the daily wage earners suffering from lack of earning the Club swung into motion, secured the supplies and drove to the Outreach Centre to distribute the relief material to the needy.

Rtn. Vasanthi at work during the Lockdown.

You just cannot keep down a dedicated Rotarian, lockdown regardless.

Rtn Vasanthi was approached by a home for disabled women; located in a night shelter they needed supplies immediately adult diapers, masks, gloves etc etc.

Vasanthi immediately reached out and with her usual energy and zeal she not only managed her own fund raising drive from amongst Rotarians, she also managed to go out source all they wanted, put the supplies in her car and drove down to the home 20 kms away defying the lockdown orders and handed over the required supplies.

This very act of Vasanthi's brings to our mind "If Rotarians cannot do it, then who will?"

A small project during the Lockdown

Little Drops an NGO which runs a home for the destitute and aged and orphanages too. On receiving an appeal from them, the members of RCCK pledged monies and President Elect Rajasekhar transferred the monies to Little Drops.

Little Drops responded with a thanks stating that they will be using the monies for Sanitisers, Dettol and Gloves.

Great work Community Services Team headed by Rtn Mukund Bhaiya

Be Positive

ON 6th Aug.,  RCCK  worked with the District on the state level Blood Donation drive – Be Positive. The event held at the Honda facility, with participation from Writer and Toll, all operating out of Sai's warehousing park, saw over 140 participants volunteering to donate blood. However, many were rejected on various grounds, biggest being low hemoglobin in girls, on account of iron deficiency. 
Finally we collected 95 units against a target of 100. This was the highest in Region 11 of the district. 
Thanks to Reddy San, of Honda, for his interest and support. 
Also many thanks and personal appreciation to Rtn. Sai Venkat, Comm. Services Director, for a wonderful day of 3 events. 
Thanks Rtn. Revathi and Rtn. Ravindran for being there.

Hearing Impaired Screening Camp - MG with RC of Galesburg - ROTI Project

This matching grant project which is partnered with Rotary Club of Galesburg, Illinois, started yesterday with the first screening camp and had a wonderful response.

Many residents of close to 19 villages  surrounding the camp had come and some of them staying as far as 35 kilometers away on the outskirts of North Chennai.  The campaign for calling people to get checked was extremely effective and from these villages whose population is close to about 4000 numbers, we were able to call about 200 of them to visit in a single day.  The effectiveness of the campaigning done by Dr Sandhya Ruban (of Eternity Foundation)  and her team of volunteers was fantastic, enabling it specifically call for patients with hearing abnormalities.

We had team of the following specialists :

DR KAMATCHIPANDIAN – DOCTOR ATTACCHED TO E N T DEPARTMENT K M C

MR PRAVESH – AUDIOLOGIST

MR SANDEEP – AUDIOLOGIST

We were also honoured to have the presence of Mrs Neela Govindaraj ( Speech Therapist and Language Assessor of specially challenged) who had accompanied with Ms Uma (a social service initiator who also works with IBM).  Both Mrs Neela and Ms Uma sat for a long time and helped in coordinating and handling the visiting patients. They interacted and counseled the visitors on a one to one basis, which was really interesting to see them doing their roles in gathering more insights to the various challenges faced by the villagers.

We also witnessed misery at its lowest point  in the case of certain individuals who felt extremely helpless with their lives.  Hence we could sense there was lots to be done in terms of community service to these villages, and there was potential for plenty of them who needed to be living in standard basic amenities.

Finally coming back to hearing impairment and hearing aid cases, we have crossed 100 deserving beneficiaries and individuals cases are being discussed in a couple of days with the Doctors, to analyse and shortlist hearing aids beneficiaries.

 A True Moment of Freedom - Celebrating India's 66th Independence Day at Arambakkam Village - August 15th, 2012

President Rtn. Nirmal Nahar, Rtn Ravindran
and Rtn Vasanthi handing over the Mobility
Aids at Arambakkam village

All set for being mobile

Rotary Club of Chennai Kilpauk under its Helping Hands Project in association with Rotary Club of Strathcona Sunrise, Canada, distributed 20 Tricycles and 1 wheel chair, of a total value of Rs.1,05,000/- to the disabled people of the village of Arambakkam, Gummidipoondi Taluk, with the all round efforts of our Directors Community Services, Rtn Vasanthi ,  Rtn. Ravindran under the able guidance of President Rtn Nirmal Nahar. It was truly a celebration of Independence for the recipients on the occasion of the Independence Day of the nation as well. And through Rotary, we were able to bring a sense of freedom through the Mobility Aids to the disabled.

A Sense of Freedom - Driving
away their tricycles after RCCK handed them the
Mobility Aids at Arambakkam village

One of the Tricycles handed over
by RCCK at Arambakkam

21 Prosthetics to disabled - 28th Dec 2011

On the morning of 28th of Dec 2011 members of the Rotary Club of Chennai Kilpauk gathered at Mukti at Meenambakkam to hand over prosthetics to poor and needy disabled. For many of the beneficiaries this was the first time they were receiving prosthetics. The first timers needed to be trained in maintenance, usage and car.

At every camp that is held for prosthetics there are always stories which need to be told and this camp was not different. The suffering of a disabled person is much, while we provide them with mobility aids, these people still suffer, a prosthetic alone does not take them to a normal life and this may never be possible for many of them.

The need is so much that even after we take many steps forward the target has been pushed further away. There are still so many disabled in remote and far flung villages who live without hope and in misery. If Rotary cannot help them who will?

This Artificial Limb Camp was funded by a Matching Grant with RC of Strathcona Sunrise.

Technicians at Mukti giving finishing touches to artificial limbs to be handed over to beneficiaries.

A beneficiary trying out his new limb.

Some of the beneficiaries

Waiting for their limbs

An old limb of one of the beneficiaries, could not be repaired

An improvised limb of one of the beneficiaries, the limb was heavy and difficult to use as there was no flexibility. The owner of this limb was relieved to get a new limb that works well.

Rtn. Varadarajan's Speech

Hearing Impaired

We had received requests from 15 people for hearing aids. These children were not able to hear and their parents believed that they would start hearing if they were able to get them hearing aids.

The date was fixed for the 13th of December and these children came into Chennai with their parents. Rtn. Divyesh Palicha had arranged for audiometry tests at Eljay Agency- a business that deals with hearing aids. Tests were carried out and results were ready and Divyesh called me and said "Let us meet at Eljay so we can go through the results and make a decision on the apparatus and further tests if any are required"

Children waiting for their audiometry tests

We met at Eljay Agencies and sqw the results, 11 were ready for haring aids, 2 children had to meet a ENT and 2 had to go through BERA tests (Brain Evoken Response Audiometry) this test was required as the 2 children were actually infants and were not able to respond properly to the audiometry tests.

Sukanya after experiencing sound

Sukanya a girl who was ready for her hearing aids was called in to see how she responded,a hearing aid was taken and affixed to her ears and then she experienced magic, she was for the first time in her life able to hear a sound though it was only our voices. She was asked what her name was and she could not answer, she was asked what her father's name was and she responded "sgumpore" mumbled, unclear. She had never spoken continuously in her life and now she had to listen and then speak, a great and wonderful task. Sukanya was used to sign language and now she could hear and the sounds in her ears made her cry. She could not belileve that it was possible. Sukanya ran out with the hearing aid to her father and mother and asked them to speak - for the first time she heard her mother's voice and then her father's, this was joy and a smile quickly followed by tears. Sukanya then heard something that we tend to ignore, a passing car playing music, she listened and then turned to look at the car and then she heard for the first time in her life, music. It did not matter  that the song was in a language that she did not know, it was music and a new experience.

Emotions were high and many children who had come for the tests realised that they too would be able to experience sounds soon.

the orders for the hearing aids have been confirmed and these 11 children will get their hearing aids on 23rd of December evening. A few days before Christmas, the gift of sound, the gift of music. To be able to listen to music, listen to the voice of their mothers', to be able to respond to ones own name.

Great project and very very satisfying.

Thanks to Rtn Divyesh Palicha for making this happen.

Washing Hands Posters

The Community Services Team handed over 300 posters to the Interact Club of Thiru vi Ka School. The posters have been designed to create awareness about Washing one's hands to bring down the incidence of infections.

Rtn. Vasanthi spoke to the Interactors about the project and what they need to do.

The President of the Interact Club accepted the posters and said that he would ensure that these posters would be put up in strategic locations not only in the school but also in the community.

Food for people at the Island of Irukkum in Pulicat Lake

30 Tricycles were distributed at Uthukottai on 27th November 2011, soon after Arumugam the boatman from Irukkum came to see me to give a CD of pictures taken at the tricycle distribution function. Arumugam made an appeal for food for his villagers at Irukkum, I immediately posted the following in facebook and also sent out an email to members of RCCK - 

The island of Irukkum in Pulicat Lake, the recent rains and the rising waters from the sea have flooded their agricultural land and all crops have been damaged. These people are suffering for want of food. I have received an appeal for food from about 300 families. When I asked them why they have not thought about a possible line of business that will sustain them throughout the year they looked blank and then said that they were islanders and not used to anything other than agriculture. If anyone could help them they would be happy to learn. Remember they live inside a bird sanctuary so there would be restrictions on what is possible. BUT right now, they need food, they are willing to eat rice KANJI, they do not want dhal, oil nothing they just want to fill their stomach for a few days and without having to borrow, which could be disastrous.

 Rajasthan Youth Association - Metro responded immidiately with an offer of 1500 Kgs of rice and RCCK will put together oil and dhal for 300 families. 

Arumugam is on his way to Chennai (11 AM on 3rd Dec 2011) to pick up the rice, oil and dhall. Members of the RCCK and RYA Metro will go tomorrow to the island of Irukkum to distribute the rice, oil and dhal and to assess what can be done for these people in the long term.

Tricycles Distributed at Uthukottai

We have over the last many years provided mobility aids to so many disabled people and every time we move to a new location to help the disabled it is always true that there are more disabled than we thought there would be. An Association for disabled people in Chithoor approached us for some help with the disabled and in the first stage we said that we would give away 30 tricycles out of a total of 67 that were requested.

The first batch of Tricycles were distributed on Sunday the 27th of November 2011. While members of the Club were not able to reach the location due to heavy rain and this coupled with road maintenance work being carried on.

The Chairman of the project Rtn Ravindran had just before the rains visited the venue and had inspected the tricycles while they were being assembled. He had a few weeks earlier met with all beneficiaries. As a process every beneficiary has to be  met and proper documentation collected, the documentation includes a disability certificate issued by the Govt, ration card copies were available, ID proof, photograph and details of disability.