Transforming a village
The Rotaractors of Rotaract Club of Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala College, RID 3141, have given a facelift to the government school in Pimplipada village in Palghar district, Maharashtra. “When we visited the village, we found the school in a very bad shape. The windows were broken and the floors were damaged,” said club president Ankita Singh. The Rotaractors repaired the windows in the first phase of the project. They gave bags, stationery and lunch boxes to the students. A water storage tank was installed in the school to enable the students and staff to have access to clean drinking water.
The Rotaractors also distributed sanitary napkins to the adolescent girls and women in the village. The club has adopted the village to implement their developmental projects there. It will be an on-going process and “we are conducting adult learning classes for the villagers. We take turns to visit the village every fortnight and spend time with the villagers and conduct functional literacy classes for them,” she said.
Ankita is glad that the villagers can write their names in Marathi and “we were awestruck to see the look of happiness on each of their faces when they achieved this feat. We have a long way to go but we are determined to walk with them.”
The club has plans to bring about a transformation in the village and improve its infrastructure.
The Colors Fine Art Competiton, now in its 23rd year, is a cherished tradition of RAC Ramniranjan Jhunjhunwala College. Students from Classes 5–10 participate in various categories including sketching, drawing, painting, and ‘Best out of Waste,’ to showcase their creativity and talent.
This year the programme attracted 1,200 students in each of the two phases. The competition, says Ankita, “is a celebration, a testament to the power of creativity that unites communities, stirs emotions and kindles imagination.”
The Rotaractors conducted a cycle rally to promote cycling as an eco-friendly and a healthy mode of transport. The initiative also supported awareness about mental health and environment protection.
