Adithya Rotaractors train youth for employment
At the time of registration two years ago, RAC Adithya, RID 3201, got classified as a community-based club despite its location on the campus of Adithya Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, and meant for students of this college. “We are trying to rectify this wrong grouping with the help of Rotarians and soon we will get tagged under the institution category,” says J Harsha Vardhan, club secretary.
Under its district priority project, VIBGYOR, which has seven areas of focus, an event titled ‘one-day workshop’ was held at the seminar hall of the college. “Around 120 students from various colleges in Coimbatore were trained at the career guidance and placement sessions. The focus was on industrial skill sets and making the students market ready for companies to absorb them once they finish their studies,” explains Vardhan. An HR company, Adaivom Singaram shortlisted some of the students at the workshop for job placement after conducting a round of training and counselling sessions.
Project RRR (named after a Telugu film RRR with a racy song Naatu, Naatu that bagged the Golden Globe Award) was launched to “motivate tribal students to think and aim big.” Here, a team of 10 Rotaractors and career counsellor Mythili went to Tinkle Sevaa, an NGO, to provide guidance to around 60 tribal students living in that special home.
In February last week, the members have planned to distribute seed balls to over 120 government school students, under Project Vithaigal (seeds), for them “to plant them in dry, arid places where there is no vegetation. The students will nurture the saplings till they grow into trees,” says Vardhan. A tentative project is on the drawing board to create awareness on organic farming among farmers. “We will urge them to avoid using fertilisers, instead will encourage them to use organic inputs and manure for growing crops.”
Pillar of strength
Last year (2021–22), the club joined hands with RACs Coimbatore Institute of Technology and Coimbatore Majestic to host Rotaract discon titled Elite. “It was a huge success. But at the end of it, we faced a shortfall of ₹92,000 in final payments. Our parent, RC Coimbatore, intervened and cleared all our dues,” explains Vardhan, a 4th year student of B Tech (IT) who has been a Rotaractor for three years. Their parent Rotary has also sponsored five other Rotaract clubs, all of which are active.
While the Rotarians help in executing Rotaract projects through sponsorship and by providing resources, “around 7 8 Rotaractors attend the weekly Rotary meetings and observe their interactions,” he says. On Rotary mentorship, club president M Akash, batch mate of Vardhan, explains, “if we submit project bills and other expenditure proofs, our Rotary club reimburses a major part of the pending amount. They guide us by giving fresh ideas and new project initiatives which we follow.” At the start of the Rotary year, annual dues of ₹200 per head is collected from Rotaractors.
