by Suman Gupta
Mumbai: We don’t need an occasion to celebrate women, it is imperative that we celebrate them every single day of the year. However, occasions like the recent International Women’s Day give us an additional reason, that extra push to take this celebration a notch higher. Humanitarian Welfare and Research Foundation (HWARF) organised a celebratory event along with Bubble Communication for homeless, underprivileged women at the YMCA Sharan, Mumbai.
The Chief guests for the event were Smt. Vivian Silver (Pratibha Ovhal) – District Probation Officer of Mumbai Suburban, Shri. Vijay Doiphode, Shairman Child Welfare Committee, Smt. Bhawana Walke – Deputy Superintendent, Shri. Manav Seva Sangh, Ms. Supriya Waghmare and Premlata Maurya of CEO Awaaz National News & Aarti Notiyal – Director, Bubble Communication.
Smt. Vivian Silver (Pratibha Ovhal) said, “Our government has introduced lot of schemes for our women but many are unaware of the same and hence unable to take advantage. It is our constant effort to reach out to different NGO’s and make them aware of all such benefits that they can avail of. Adding to the same, Said Christine Swaminathan, Founder, HWARF, “It felt wonderful to come out here and celebrate with these lovely women, to hear about their journey. All these women have gone through different hardships; domestic violence, gender discrimination, poverty and gone through mental, physical and severe emotional torture..yet, they fought back and ready to face the world again, with a little support. Kudos to women across the world for being so strong and brave.”
The gathering had the women sing songs, perform to dance numbers and recite famous sayings by well known women personalities by Savitribai Phule, Ahilyabai Holkar, Mary Kom, Sushma Swaraj amongst others. The program not just celebrated the brave spirits of each of these women and their children but also provided them with domestic utility products which are essential needs for their daily routines. Aarti Notiyal facilitated this donation for the event and said, “Each and every woman is incredibly powerful. She not just goes through hardships but comes through each time, not just for herself but also the people around her. This event was just our way to let these women know that they are appreciated and that they are special.”
All the guests spoke to the women and shared words of wisdom and motivation and asked them to keep up with their fighting spirit and continue to inspire
