Rotary Club of Chandigarh is actively engaged in rehabilitating the 47 families affected in the fire that devastated their lives on 14th November.
President Rtn. Sukhjiit Singh Gill informed that Rotary Club had been working in Saketri village with a major community development project for the last two-and-a-half years providing sanitation, education, and health services to the children and families residing in this tenement.
Rotarians were first to reach the site when the fire broke out at 3:15pm on 14th November and mobilised its resources to rescue the families, inform the fire brigade and the DC office.
Today, dry ration bags were distributed to the affected residents so that now onwards they are able to cook their own meals. And the Rotary Raahat project will continue to serve these slum dwellers of Saketri
A big thanks to Rtn. Sangita Vardhan, coordinated with the local authorities to organise help, and to Rtn Dr Seema Gupta, Saketri project Coordinator, for providing the material for rebuilding of jhuggis.
The residents were immediately provided with food, blankets and masks to survive the ordeal, and a big tented accommodation was created for the affected families to spend the night. Rotarians have been coordinating with the administration for the immediate support to these slum dwellers.
It was on the eve of the 2018 New Year’s when Rotarians of Rotary Club Chandigarh were doing blanket distribution in Saketri that they found the slum residents in a state of absolute neglect with barely any clothes to keep themselves warm or food to eat. Rotary Club then started spearheading the community upliftment project at Saketri. Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Vidyalaya was brought on board as the education partner for the children. SEWA Punjab came in for implementing a holistic participatory community development program for the Saketri slum dwellers. There are 133 families having more than 500 members that are being taken care of under this holistic development project of Rotary Club of Chandigarh The educational classes for children are being run by Rotary Club for last 2-1/2 years in association with the Bhavan Vidyalaya Chandigarh
