Clean drinking water for rural students
Now more than 1,200 students at three government schools at Kanakapura taluk of Ramanagara district, around 70km south of Bengaluru, have access to clean drinking water as they have new water filter units installed by the Rotaract Club of Koramangala, RID 3191, under its maiden Project Paatashala.
Recalling the project’s genesis, club president Sowmya Prasad says, “under the leadership of our immediate past president, Ram M Narayanan, we conducted a mega fundraiser, Gamepoint V 5.0, its fifth edition, in May 2024 in which over 100 Rotarians and Rotaractors took part in a shuttle badminton tourney. We began with aim to install at least one water filter at a government school badly in need of drinking water.” But once they started pitching the fundraiser idea to the sponsors and Rotarians, “many Rotary clubs wanted to take part in the sports meet for a noble cause.” The Koramangala club mobilised ₹1.37 lakh from the event, and started to install three water filter units at schools in Kallanakuppe, Aanamanahalli and Kallalli villages in Kanakapura taluk (one primary and two government high schools) in November last year.
filter system.
Finding the children not having dining sets for the midday meals, the Rotaractors donated 150 stainless-steel (SS) plates and 80 cups for drinking water to two primary schools at Banavasi and Kallalli vilalges, and an Urdu medium school nearby. “The food plates and cups which will be benefit 500 students from LKG to Class 5 were sponsored by my father, Renuka Prasad, a non-Rotarian who is into textile business,” smiles Sowmya. Her father is doing charity for over decades now, and “he believes in doing social service and charity at his personal capacity.”
It was the idea of past president Narayanan to conduct a mega tournament to fund the “water, sanitation and hygiene project in schools. He appointed a three-member project team —Rtrs Jamal, Swaroop and Aravinth — which spearheaded the Gamepoint event that earned us much goodwill among the Rotary fraternity,” recalls Sowmya. And for Paatashala, the club’s Community Service director Yashik P K coordinated with the Rotary Club of Kanakapura for a “smooth rollout of our installation process.”
On their part, Rotarians from RC Kanakapura did the ‘needs assessment’ study to identify the beneficiary schools which were in dire need of potable water.
Gamepoint V 6.0
On March 8, box cricket was played by 16 Rotary, Rotaract teams led by women captains under Gamepoint V 6.0 which also marked Women’s Day. “Around 30 Rotarians and over 40 Rotaractors formed cricket teams to contest this year’s Gamepoint. We have raised ₹3.91 lakh from the sports contest which will be used for women’s education projects,” explains Sowmya, who is also a member of RC Bangalore Koramangala, their parent Rotary.
After finishing her higher education, she is now helping her father in garment business, and reflecting on her seven-year-old Rotaract journey, she says, “I like doing community service, and in Rotary, though this is my first year, I will do long-term sustainable projects with the help of club members.” Right now, she is quite happy leading RAC Koramangala, a 15-year-old community-based club.
All the club’s 75 members, who are drawn from various professions, have registered themselves at the My Rotary portal as mandated by RI Board.
