Kolhapur Rotaract expands its MHM reach
Creating awareness on menstrual hygiene among young girls and women under Project Nirbhaya is on the priority list of RAC Kolhapur Central, RID 3170, a three-year-old community-based club with 25 Rotaractors drawn from diverse professions.
Giving an insight into this MHM (menstrual hygiene management) project, a two-year-old initiative, club president Ashutosh Parab says, “we have reached out to 1,150 girls studying in Class 5–9 at eight rural middle schools, both at the panchayat and zilla parishad-level through awareness sessions conducted by our team of 10 Rotaractors, who are also doctors.” Each MHM session lasts not more than two hours in which lectures, tips and suggestions are given on best hygiene practices during menstruation. So far, around 1,250 sanitary pads were distributed.
Sponsored by their parent Rotary, RC Kolhapur Central, and private donors who support their cause, the project will be conducted at 5–6 schools this year, “besides a few sanitary pad disposal machines will be installed,” says Parab.
Football tournament
A two-day football tournament titled Futsal was organised with the participation of 32 professional and amateur teams, “that will boost our public image in and around Kolhapur.”
Following the open tournament for the public, another zonal-level Rotaract football meet was held for Rotaractors from RID 3170 in which a few teams from other RI dsitricts too contested. “The Rotaract football fixture created a new sense of bonhomie among district Rotaactors as the sports event gave us the right moments for bonding and striking new friendships.”
On the last day of the week-long Ganesh Chathurthi festival, an elaborate aarthi ritual-cum-pooja was held at the homes of 12 Rotaactors wherein around “20 of us were present, and we all got soaked in spiritual vibes at our friends’ houses, thus strengthening our bonds.”
Under Project One Club One School initiated by IPDRR Nikhil Chindak (2024–25), the club distributed 250 school bags and stationary items to students at three zilla parishad and rural schools last year. “Now we are going to adopt a Government Middle School, Kasba Bawda, a neighbourhood, and around 100 students will be roped in as volunteers for Rotaract projects,” says Parab. “We are in talks with the school principal and teachers on how best to involve their students in Rotary-Rotaract projects in due course.”
On Krishna Janmashtami, 70 students of this middle school performed a Dahi Handi, a traditional sport in which butter-filled earthen pots hung high above the ground are broken by climbing the human pyramid, to mark the religious occasion. “While the nursery class children were dressed up as Lord Krishna and Radha, students of middle classes performed the Dahi Handi with fervour,” he recalls.
In the first week of September, a mega health check-up camp was held at Ramanmala, a residential colony, in a joint endeavour with their parent Rotary, Diamond Hospital, Kolhapur Cancer Care Centre and Rajashree Shahu Blood Bank. “Hundreds of patients across age groups were screened for chronic illness, cardiac issues, breast cancer and eye disorders, apart from a blood donation camp with good response from the public,” says Chaitrali Shinde, past secretary of the club.
For Parab, his three-year-old journey in Rotaract is “nothing short of a fantastic experience till now. For, I learnt how to face challenges in life, interact with professionals to climb up the career ladder and grow one’s enterprise.” He is being groomed into his family’s food retail business, and is pursuing MBA at the Shivaji University, Kolhapur. “I will take the Rotary plunge by joining my parent Rotary club after getting settled in life for good,” he smiles.
