Over 1 lakh girls empowered through Project Asmita

RC Bibwewadi Pune, RID 3131, in partnership with its CSR ally GTPL Hathway, has expanded ­Project Asmita to impact over one lakh girls across Maharashtra, Gujarat, ­Karnataka and Goa. Since its inception in 2019–20, this project has transitioned from addressing gynaecological health to confronting critical issues like sexual abuse. Videos and booklets in three languages, reaching school girls in these four states, have been distributed.

(Rotary News had published an article about this project: A mega empowerment project for 80,000 girls in the Oct 2022 issue: https://rotarynewsonline.org/2022/10/a-mega-empowerment-project-for-80000-girls).

This year’s milestones, tailored exclusively for college girls, involve collaborative efforts from multiple Rotary districts and clubs at over 250 locations. The extensive programme introduced video content, ­practical tools and booklets encompassing financial literacy, mental health, technological skills and self-defence lessons. Girls were also given pepper spray for self-defence, and multivitamin supplements.

“With focus on teaching girls about managing money, making smart investments and saving wisely, they can make better choices with their money and have a better ­financial future,” said project counsellor and the club’s charter president Jignesh Pandya.

During the project launch, DG Manjoo Phadke shared a personal story of her early school days. “I helped a few fellow students who were being ‘troubled’ by a badminton coach. We voiced our concern and complained about him to school authorities. Probably that was the beginning of Project Asmita for me,” she said. RID 3170 DG Nasir Borsadwala commented, “The depth of this project and the lives it touches is admirable. More districts should join this initiative.”

DGE Shital Shah, along with many PDGs from RID 3131 and DGE Tushar Shah from RID 3160, were present at the project launch.