Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs of Madras: Chennai

The ICT has a long-standing relationship with both the Rotary and Inner Wheel Clubs of Madras (Chennai). These organisations raise funds to help provide residential homes and education centres for severely disadvantaged boys and girls. This work could not continue without their generous and consistent involvement.

 

The Rotary Club of Madras provides educational support for boys from extremely poor and vulnerable backgrounds through centres in Gummidipoondi – a rural area outside Chennai, and Selaiyur - a Chennai suburb. The children come from severely economically deprived backgrounds and often, broken homes. Without the Centres, these children would have little hope of a fulfilling childhood or the chance to reach their potential. 

 

The Centres change children’s lives by giving them the kind of integrated support they need to break out of poverty.  They are clothed, educated and fed a nutritious diet as a basic platform for development.  Released from the daily pressures of survival, they are able to explore their talents and discover their potential in a supportive, encouraging environment. 

 

Gummidipoondi caters for children from remote rural villages. The farmers have only a small acreage and find it hard to eke a living from their land. The children of such families rarely attend regular school, or drop out early to work with their families in the fields.

 

A second centre was established in Selaiyur and caters for children from Chennai city slums. Many children in this area are from broken homes where lone parents, often single mothers, struggle to raise large families on very little income. Children are at riskof early labour and petty crime.

The Barbara Kelly Home is a residential centre in Chennai that was built and equipped by the ICT and UK Inner Wheel Clubs. It caters for severely disadvantaged girls who need intensive, personalised education to break out of discrimination, exclusion and poverty. It is one of the few residential programmes for girls in Tamil Nadu.

Many of the girls are from one-parent families living below the poverty line. As well as a sound education, the Centre gives the girls a safe environment in which to grow and develop. The girls’ confidence and life-skills develop well here and most leave the Centre empowered and equipped for a self-supporting future. Family contact and visits are of course maintained and encouraged throughout their time at the Centre. The centre also has a Vocational Training Centre which provides computer and tailoring classes for the Centre’s residents and other young women from the community.