Pink autos to empower women

The staid-looking Chennai ­Convention Centre sported a vibrant look with 100 pink ­autorickshaws parked on its grounds, with 100 women, all dressed in khaki overcoats, with pink collars on which the Rotary Wheel was embroidered, all excited and ready to drive the vehicles home. Project Pink Auto is an endeavour of RID 3233 (bifurcated from RID 3232) to mark the installation of its charter governor Mahaveer Bothra. PRIP Kalyan Banerjee adorned the collar on the new governor and handed over the vehicles to the assembled women. The project which was launched in 2020 by RID 3232 aimed to empower less privileged women by giving them financial freedom.

Accompanying one of the women beneficiaries was Vaishnavi, a transwoman who is successfully earning a livelihood from the earlier project. She said, “We came to Rotary broken and battered, and it provided us with autorickshaws, helping us rebuild our lives and regain confidence. When I met Shanti Selvam, chair of the Pink Auto initiative, she and her team treated me with respect and dignity. I am grateful to Rotarians for making me who I am today. Many women here are survivors of domestic abuse, abandonment and poverty, and they have all turned to Rotary for support.”

Lakshmi, another beneficiary, learned about the initiative through a WhatsApp group. “I registered and received my auto within a month, and it helped me to earn a living and enhance my income,” she said. Beyond the financial benefit, club members frequently called her for their commutes, “paying me well for the service. Shanthi Ma’am has also informed us about various Rotary programmes for women which we could benefit from.”

At the installation event, two vans were donated to Ramachandra ­Hospital, Chennai — one for cervical cancer screening and another to be used as a mobile hospital for rural medical camps around Chennai.

Delighted at seeing over 1,500 people attending the event, Banerjee remarked, “This looks like one of our global conferences. The Rotary service done in this district (3232) is remarkable and among the best I have seen in India.” Extending his best wishes to Bothra on his leadership journey, he urged him to initiate collaboration with the government to address environmental issues, as this was the need of the hour, he said.

PDG Muthu Palaniappan highlighted Bothra’s leadership in impactful projects such as COWIN. During the Covid lockdown, Bothra planned and executed the distribution of 36,000 grocery kits, costing ₹3.6 crore, involving 96 clubs from RID 3232 and the Guinness World Record-setting Rotary My Flag My India campaign in 2014. Bothra, a diamond merchant and member of RC Madras T Nagar, thanked his family and Rotary, saying, “I am nothing without my family and friends and together we can take RID 3233 to greater heights.”

Ramamurthy Natarajan from RC Madras Mount became an AKS member by handing over a cheque for ₹2.1 crore to PRIP Banerjee as his contribution to TRF.

A peace pole was handed over to DG Bothra by AKS member ­Ambalavanan M, who explained that “there are around two lakh peace poles worldwide. This pole will be installed in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu, serving as a reminder of the goodwill and peace that Rotary is promoting.”

An Annette Council was installed at the event. Event chair Vinod Nair delivered a vote of thanks.

Pictures by Kiran Zehra