Every Friday morning, for the 5th year running, IWCBB continues to warm hearts by serving a warm meal to patients and their relatives outside Tata Memorial Hospital. One of our earliest projects, this weekly service remains uninterrupted since the inception year of IWCBB, and continues to be a flagship project of our Club.
Our commitment to serve weaker sections of society is not just limited to people....caring for birds and animals is as much a need today, especially in cities. Strays and abandoned pets left to fend for themselves are looked after by organisations like Bombay Panjrapole in Bhulehswar, and we will do our small part through a monthly contribution.
A new project, started this year on President Meena's Installation Day, these monthly contributions will go towards food and medical treatment for the birds and animals with whom we share our city.
The J.J. Dharamshala at Nagpada is an institution that provides succor to those abandoned and destitute elderly who turned out from their homes at the end of their lives - an unfortunate trend of our times. Such helpless vulnerable old souls would usually end up on the streets, were it not for organisations like J.J. Dharamsala, who not only provide food and shelter, but also bring smiles and a measure of happiness to the last days of such elders.
IWCBB is glad to contribute to bringing smiles to our city's abandoned senior citizens through monthly visits, bringing them food and drinks, and spending time with them - letting them know they have not been forgotten.
Special thanks to Shweta, Supriya and Manisha for sponsoring this event! I thank Mita, Mamta, Manisha, Kanan, Priti, Shweta, Tejal, Hema, Mohini, Aditi and Supriya for taking part in the event with such enthusiasm, and for supporting me with their presence. Looking forward to the same love and support from every member for all the upcoming projects and fellowships. Vande mataram & JAI HIND!!
Ashramashalas is an extended program of multiple projects undertaken by District 314, which was inaugurated on 26th August by DC Dr Sandhya Bhat. A hour and a half's drive from Mumbai, Wakdi is an area adopted by District 314. On the day of the inauguration, we left early in the morning to beat the traffic. Upon reaching there, we were greeted with a lavish Indian buffet breakfast - yummy puri aloo and halwa and sabudana khichdi, to name just a few of the long list of items served!
Vendors from around the area were selling lovely fresh vegetables for just Rs. 20/- per kg - so it's no surprise they were all sold out in half an hour flat!!!
This was followed by the inauguration of the water tanks in a beautifully simple yet lively ceremony, at the hands of our DC, and witnessed by all the presidents who were in attendance. And then it was finally time for us to go for a superb dance program that the kids had prepared for us. Pushpaji concluded this show by offering all of us tokens of their love.
IWCBB contributed a cow, whose milk will be sold to Amul, thus providing a daily income to the people there. Clubs also sponsored the children of Wakdi in various ways. Dr Sandhya acknowledged the contributions of all the clubs in her speech when she addressed the assembled group, after which there was a photo session.
Ladies of IWCBB, here is a personal request from your Club President: Inner Wheel provides a wonderful platform to give back to society, and while every member wholeheartedly contributes to the projects, your presence and personal attendance is as important as your generosity - so please do attend project events in larger numbers.
We celebrated Gokulashtami with a Joint Project by Bombay Bayview, Hanging Garden and Nariman Point Inner Wheel Clubs, on the first Sunday of September. Children from Kamla School for the Blind, Wockhardt Foundation and Khel Khel Mein were invited to compete in the handi-breaking - and guess what? It was the visually challenged kids who succeeded, amongst loads of cheering, frolic and music!!
A delicious lunch of pav bhaji, dosa and rasmalai followed a session of very enthusiastic dancing and cheering, with "jai kanhaiya lal ki" echoing throughout the society. Gifts of dresses, choclolates and bedsheets brought a happy smile to each and every child's face, making our Govinda that much more special.
A very warm and grateful thank you goes out to IWCBB members Manisha, Mamta, Mita S, Aditi, Kanan, Vrinda, Lotica, Charu, Vinisha,Arehna,Meghna, Smita J, Vinn and Tejal D for making this event a true celebration with their presence.
Tuberculosis is a dreadful disease of the lungs. In recent times, it is making a comeback in even deadlier forms such as MDR/XDR resistant TB. A District initiative, to create awareness about this epidemic and to educate the most vulnerable sections on the do's, don'ts and precautions, has been given the form of multiple Lung Camps by IWCBB member Samina Khorakiwala.
To be held every Sunday for 4 weeks in various slums, these drives are named Lung Health due to the social stigma TB still carries in our society. While giving up family fun on Sundays is not always recommended by Inner Wheel, this time the cause is well worth it!! So we request members to attend at least a few Sundays and support our District's drive to spread awareness about tuberculosis.
Friends, we really missed your presence at this one. The blessings and love which these elderly people showered us with was heart warming. For the first time ever, a bhajans program was arranged at this old age home. We sang Lord Ganpati and Sri Krishna bhajans with the inmates and danced a small garbha with them. Two of the residents sang for us a beautiful garbha song, the well known to us all "O re mara nandji na lal murli" as well as a touching Ganpati Arti.
We distributed fruits and sweet meats as pasad and later shared a mouth watering pav bhaji with them. A heartfelt Thanks to my guruji's disciple Ashaji, to Smita Jhunjhunwala and Krishna Engineer who sponsored this event, to our dedicated members Manisha and Sejal, and my dear friend and Vice-President Mita.
Today, thanks to our member Samina, who works closely with the Wockhardt Foundation, we were able to conduct a much needed Eye Camp, during which 29 of 53 people examined tested positive for cataracts and were guided towards aided operations for the same.
The gratitude and appreciation expressed by all involved, especially the elderly who benefitted from this is what makes all the time and energy spent in IWCBB activties so worthwhile!!
Diwali is traditionally celebrated with our beloved friends and family, but this time we decided to do it differently - by meeting children and young adults of OM CREATIONS as our Second CC event. The Magician played his role of bringing happy smiles on their bright faces which is surely the most cherished memory of this event.
Thanks to our CC Smita Jhunjhunwala for spearheading this event. Our heartfelt appreciations to Manisha, Dipa, Charu, Shweta, Nimisha, Mamta, Poonam, Sanju and Anonymous.
It was sheer HAPPINESS seeing the kids enjoying and dancing to the tunes and it brought TEARS to our eyes seeing these kids passing through a period which we all pray should never touch anyones life.
Today we brought smiles to the faces of senior citizens by taking them for the movie DILWALE and serving them snacks (their favourites - samosa popcorn and tea). A big thank you to Reepa Kaanan for sponsoring the tickets and to Charu for providing the snacks, and last but not least, to Manisha Shah who handled the project so superbly!
We had a New Year party with the Vatsalya kids whose central feature was a magic show. We also played housie and musical chairs, then cut the cake and had yummy snacks (dhoklas, gulab jamun, kachoris, wafers). All prizes were given out in cash, which pleased the kids no end!!
Hearing about so many wonderful projects taken up by IW Clubs and others, just one thing would come to my mind - to do something close to my area so I can visit often and see how it is doing. It seems God heard me, as the opportunity to set up a playground for underprivileged children opened up at Worli Pochkanwala Road.
It took 6 months to prepare the surrounding gardens and to install IWCBB sponsored slides, sandpit and other playground equipment, as well as construct the concrete road and build a wall. Existing swings were renovated and trees painted in bright colours.
PDC Hemadri Nanavati, District ISO Devangi and Joy Kapoor of Copper Chimney & Blue Sea graced the opening to cut the ribbon. I was happy to see quite a few of our members as well as PP Rajni at the event, and even happier when they appreciated our Club's work in person.
Garden ho aur Sevpuri na ho aisa ho sakta hai? Samosas, pav vadas and pendas added flavour to the proceedings. It was such a delight to see the kids from the Vatsalya foundation enjoying this garden! Truly a dream come true for me!!
Our flagship CC event of the annual art competition INDRADANUSH was a smashing hit this year too. 139 children from 5 NGOS - Khel Khel Mein, Vatsalya Foundation, Angel Express, Shraddha School and Balanand - came as enthusiastic participants.
District Vice Chairman Falguni Mehta was our Chief Guest and her encouraging words really meant a lot to all of us and to the children. Our Rotary President Kunal Todarwal was also present and interacted with alot of interest with the children. Our brilliant Rotractors helped us entertain our little friends by playing games and giving out prizes. The magician really got a roar of laughter from the audience. It was such a heartwarming experience to see these talented young children perform.
It was a very proud moment for Inner Wheel Club of Bombay Bayview to have given these children a platform to showcase their talent. A special Thank You goes out to the Indradanush Committee: Manisha Shah, Sejal Shah, Anuja Shah, Mitali Maniar, Vinita Maroo, Dipa Kapadia, Lotica Mehra and Smeeta Jhunjhunwala and to all the members who volunteered & were present on that day.
Valentine's day February 14, 2016 saw the culmination of months of meticulous planning and effort by our super dedicated IW team & the Mystique Team for the very prestigious Spirit Event.
The event was aptly named as "Spirit", to mark the unconditional love shown to these special children by their teachers. The efforts and enthusiasm shown by the teachers and parents of the special schools for these children at Spirit 2016 deserves a special mention. Their dedication in encouraging these little minds to enjoy themselves was truly inspiring. It really set the environment for everyone else there, including the list of dignitaries, sponsors, parents, children and our own IW members to make this event a grand success. Whether it was a game of football or the fun races these special children ran, the full crowd got into the Spirit of the occasion and backed the children with their loud cheer and appreciation.
What a sight it was when the Governor of Maharashtra CH Vidhyasagar Rao, and IWDC Dr Sandhya Bhat released those red and white balloons and everyone present followed by letting go hundreds of balloons into the bright azure sky. Among the people cheering this picture perfect moment were those innocent differently challenged girls and boys for whom this special event was organized. The smiles and whoops of joy emanating from these kids, truly marked the spirit of Valentines Day.
A big thank you to all the dignitaries who graced our event: District Vice Chairman Falguni Mehta, IPDC Himadri Nanavati, District ISO Dr. Devangi Vakharia, District Editor Amala Mehta, PDC Amita Timbadia and PDC Indira Kotak, co-Presidents and our Inner Wheel Friends who were also present to support this noble cause.
And last, but nor the least, our heartfelt appreciation to all our donors and sponsors to have made this event successful.
List of Donors from our club
>Tejal Damani for all medals and cups to the winners and participants
>Rtr Ann Smita Parekh for the breakfast for participants and their families
>Anuja Shah, Rajni, Neepa, Grishma, Sanju, Tina, Sejal, Jigna, Krishna, Smeeta, Manisha, Preyal and Hemangi donated open hartedly for this cause
As the IW team we hope to bring about continual change in society by putting together such insightful and meaningful events which make a difference in the lives of the underprivileged.
Message from DC Dr Sandhy Bhat "Dear Meena, Inner Wheel gives a beautiful platform to touch the lives of so many. Projects for Children are close to my heart. Especially if its a Special child, the project becomes more dear.
During my Official Club visit to your club i saw the basic idea and concept of Spirit and I was very impressed.
This project was the result of all the hardwork put in by you,Mita and the team members. I heard many Rotarians appreciating your project. Inner wheel was recognised by common public and the presence of Honorable Governor was icing on cake. My best wishes to you and your Club always. Your club is very dear to me as its grown side by side with my Son who will be 5 years.
Lots of love
Dr.Sandhya Bhat"
Message from IPDC Himadri Nanavati"Spirit 2016, the special Olympics hosted by IWC of Bombay Bayview was truly an event par excellence. Very well planned and superbly executed by the Team Spirit of IWC of Bombay Bayview. It is a much needed avenue for competitive sports designed for special children with extra ordinary facilities."
Message from the Principal of Priyanj Special Shahana Tai "We at Priyanj were participants of Spirit 2016, conducted by Inner Wheel club of Bombay Bayview. I take this oppurtunity to congratulate you and your team for a well coordinated event which gave a platform for our differently abled students. Chief guests at the event had our cause close to their heart.
From the first met up with Mita, to the main event at Cooperage Ground, it was smooth running. Special students were the main focus throughout the process and execution of the event which speaks volumes about your committment to the cause. We received all the essentials of assessment of participants, training, equipments, Being Human T-shirts and acessories, transportation, meals and refreshments, the funfilled activities at the venue and other facilities on time, which is Amazing.
Volunteers at the venue were extremely helpful and people made it a point to interact with our Special Children which was heart warming. At the venue we were greatly encouraged by many members of the Inner Wheel Club of Bombay Bayview.
A big Thank You to your team for selecting the cause of Special Children and providing opportunities to them. God bless.
Inner Wheel Club of Bombay Bayview, Maharashtra, India. Charter No. 5844, District 314
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