| |
Past Activities
|
EARLY YEARS
1941- Then Cochin State was ravaged by a devastating cyclone in July 1941 and many were rendered homeless. Our club under the leadership of T.K. Krishna Menon rose to help the needy. A “ Dance Pageant “ was held under the auspices of our club at the Menaka theater Auditorium. A Sum of Rs 634-8-0 was collected of which 34-8-0 was generously donated to the School for the Blind and Rs 600 for the cyclone relief.
1942-The ripples of the Second World war had reached the shores of India, making our Rotarians restless to do something in aid of War Funds. A carnival was organized at Ram Mohan Palace gardens and Lucky Dips, Entertainment stalls and refreshment stalls yielded a sum of 6637-11-11. The proceeds were presented to Rtn. A.F.W.Dixon the Dewan of Cochin.
70’s and 80’s
1.An ambulance van – the first one in Cochin, was donated by the Rotary Club of Cochin to the authorities.
2.Construction of a much-needed women and children ward at the Mattanchery Hospital was achieved during this time.
3.Rupees One Lakh was contributed by the members and given in aid of the Bangladesh situation.
4.A housing project at Cheranellore was undertaken, building about 45 houses and a vocational center. This was then handed over to the local community through the Panchayat.
5.A maternity ward and child welfare center at Kaloor Hospital donated by the Rotary Club of Cochin was then later converted as a Regional Cancer Detection Center.
6.A significant achievement was the building of Rotary Bal Bhavan. This was made possible by various projects like AGINEX – 79 Exhibition at Marine Drive , two souvenirs brought out by our club, another HOMEX – 86 Exhibition and some international cooperation through Rotary Foundation and Rotary Club of Brace Bridge, Canadian International Development Agency etc.
7.Kumbalam, a remote island, which till late 1980’s was not connected by road was adopted by our club and various facilities were provided as follows:-
a.medical facilities in the form of a free clinic
b.tailoring and vocational classes
c.a dental chair
d.toilets for the houses of weaker sections.
e.The first ROTARY VILLAGE CORPS (RVC), was inaugurated by the RI President Matt Caparas, at Kumbalom.
8.A public health unit, which was incomplete at Panangad was taken over by Rotary, completed and handed over to the authorities. Building and facilities were provided.
9.A tailoring center was started at Panangad.
10.A ward was donated to the Sir Dorabjee Memorial Hospital at Chottanikkara.
11.A pavilion was built By Rotary Club of Cochin in the children’s park in Marine Drive and handed over to District Child Welfare Council.
1990’s
The nineties saw emergence of large projects. Some of the major ones were:-
1) Donation of colposcope, histopathology unit and an airconditioner to the Early Cancer Detection Centre in Cochin
2) 50 sanitary units were built in the villages of Pizhela and Moolampilly
3) "Operation Rabies 94" to eradicate menace of Rabies from the city
4) Aids Awareness campaigns
5) Pulse polio immunisation camps together with the Government health authorities
6) Supply of a Stand by generator to the General Hospital
7) Renovation of the Leprosy Home of the Cochin Community Welfare Society
8) Special emphasis was given for assistance to mentally challenged children. The club arranged for supply of a school bus, wheel chair, first aid kit and Early Intervention Programme equipments totalling Rs.4,50,000/- to Vimukthi School for Special Children
THE NEW MILLENIUM
Some of the major projects during 2000 - 04:-
1) Five Dialysis machines at a total cost of Rs. 5,50,000/- supplied to Lisie Hospital in Ernakulam
2)Constructed a vocational Centre at Vimukthi School and installed a laundry machine, a dryer and envelope cutting machine
3) Constructed a play park including a wading pool in Vimukthi School. Provided a computer system, medical equipment, teaching aids and learning toys, all totally over Rs. 3,50,000/-
4) Supplied a washing machine, dryer, ironing board and iron to Reena memorial Samrakshana Special school.
5) A Vocational block was constructed at the new premises of Reena Memorial Samrakshana School at a total cost of Rs. 10,00,000/- of which M/S Rolls Royce Ltd., provided Rs. 7,00,000/- and the remainder was raised by the us.
6) Together with Cochin City Corporation, we built 36 homes for the Homeless in Pullepaddy at a total cost of Rs.31,00,000/- of which our contribution was Rs. 7,00,000/-
|
|
Current Activities
|
1.Vocational visits to workplaces of Rotarians are regularly arranged.
2.Classification talks on the vocations of Rotarians are held regularly.
3.Regular tailoring classes for ladies are conducted at Rotary Bal Bhavan in association with Inner Wheel Club of Cochin.
4.Regular computer classes are conducted at the Rotary Balbhavan in association with Sterlite foundation of Mumbai.
5.Classes in classical dance and music are conducted regularly at Rotary Balbhavan jointly with Dharani School of Performing Arts.
6.Donations are made to deserving candidates for starting a vocation.
7.Self employment Micro credit interest free loans are given.
8.Our program of providing mid-day mail to 150 needy children of the Govt. Girls Higher Secondary School, Ernakulam, Samraksha School, Gandhi Naar and Govt. Girls L. P. School, Ernakulam continues.
9.Our medical Clinic at Rotary Balbhavan functions regularly to provide free medical help to the needy patients in the locality.
10.The Rotary- IMA-Ashraya AIDS Helpline continues to function well and provides information and counseling to HIV affected persons.
11.We also provide Rotary Balbhavan hall to the Kochi City Action Force for conducting training courses aimed at accident prevention and trauma care.
12.Four students, two from Std XII and two form Std XI are given scholarships as part of the Azad Memorial Scholarship instituted in memory of late PDG A.K. Azad.
13.Free medical camps, eye camps and cataract surgeries are organized every year.
14.Pulse Polio NIDs are held by the Rotary Club of Cochin at 17 immunization booths.
15.Donations exceeding Rs 1,00,000/- are made every year for medical treatment. Of poor patients.
16.A sister club agreement between the Rotary Club of Colombo and our club is in existence, promoting international fellowship and Understanding.
17.A sister club agreement between the Rotary Club of Madras and our club was formally signed.
18.An International Evening is conducted in February every year, when foreign nationals from various contries like US, UK, Japan, Australia, France etc. who are residing or visiting Cochin participate.
19.We are represented every year at RI convention.
20.Rotary Balbhavan and Vocational Training Center conduct a number of regular classes for the benefit of children and youngsters.
21.Our Balbhavan School at Rotary Balbhavan was started in 1989. The school has children in LKG, UKG, and Play School.
22.We run a Day Care Center at Rotary Balbhavan which at present has 18 children.
23.Rotary Balbhavan has a well planned and equipped children’s park which is a favorite spot for the children of the neighbourhood.
24.September being the New Generation month in Rotary, we conduct our annual Inter Collegiate Ravi Varma and Rtne. Thankamma Cherian Endowment Competitions for boys and girls in English and Malayalam.
25.Inter collegiate Group Discussion Competitions and Mock Interview is conducted in Sept every year.
26.Children’s Day is celebrated at Rotary Balbhavan on Nov 14th and various prizes awarded every year.
27.Annual Summer Camps are held in April every year. Classes in Art ,Free style Dance, and Theatre are conducted.
|
|
Future Activities
|
1) We have a proposal to put up a multi-purpose hall at the Pulleppady Housing Scheme where we have made a major contribution during last year. This hall could be used by the residents of the housing scheme for various activities like community centre, clinic, etc
2) This project relates to the thrust area for the Centenary Year. This is declared as the Centennial Project of the club. The aim of this project is to provide help to the unprotected and poor children who are victims of brutal abuse and cruelty in our community. Jointly with the community, our club will initiate an ongoing campaign to ensure that these unfortunate children in our community get help to be saved from their agonizing plight and to be able to secure minimum basics of life such as food, education and healthcare. The proposal is to form a Trust to provide this continuing help. Rtn. Past President V.N. Venugopal chairs this important Committee. Rtn. PDG Venugopal C. Govind is the Special Advisor to the project.
3) This is a project which has special importance since public toilets were the first community service project that Rotary undertook. There is desperate need for this facility at many areas in the city, particularly at wayside bus stops where passengers wait for long time. The proposal is to provide a well constructed and equipped public toilets near the bus stop in front of the Government Girls High School, Ernakulam. These toilets will be handed over for running and routine maintenance to a self-help organization who will collect a nominal fee for use of the facility. The plan includes provision of few toilets for the students of the adopted school under the same project. This is the second project that we have declared as Centennial project
|
|
|
|
