Rotary Club of Madras (RCM) is a social service organization, operating under Rotary International carrying out multi-dimensional Community based projects for the welfare of the community. A recent example of RCM’s consistent effort to make a valuable difference in the community we serve is the Rotary Club of Madras Worth Private Industrial Training Institute, Thiruvallur or Technical Training Centre (TTC), in short. This integral example of service and commitment was conceived by Rtn. PP Ranjit Pratap, in 2018-19 as a collaboration with the Worth Trust.
As Debra Ruh said “The only disability is when people cannot see human potential.” Our TTC programs aims to educate, train, employ and empower, those who are speech and hearing impaired, or orthopedically challenged. They will be taught suitable technical trades like turning and machining using CNC Machines removing barriers and opening the doors to equal opportunity so they can lead independent lives with dignity.
The differently-abled mainly Speech & Hearing Impaired and Orthopedically Challenged persons in the age group of 16- 30 hailing from rural and economically weak backgrounds will benefit from this technical training centre. They will be identified mainly from Thiruvallur, Chennai, Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu and from various other districts of Tamil Nadu.
RCM allocated 2.55 acres of land valued at Rs.1.5 crores for this project, built up 4500 square feet, equipped it with requisite machinery ,tools, other infrastructure, and refurbished Ten residential units of 8000 sq ft to house the students. The overall value of this project is Rs.5.5 crore made possible as a CSR initiative with Global grant funding and the support of our District 3232.
2 years residential Turner and Machinist course
1 year Sewing and Cutting Technology course
6 month long Smart Phone Service course.
All courses will be certified by the National Council for Vocational Training under the Directorate of General Training, New Delhi.
The courses will be administered and run by the WORTH Trust, a fully self-sustained Rehabilitation Organization. It was started in 1963 by the Swedish Red Cross with the objective of rehabilitating leprosy-cured persons generally ostracized by society, through industrial training and employment. The Trust’s activities now focus on rehabilitating those with Hearing, Orthopedic and Intellectual Challenges, with centres in Katpadi, Trichy and Pondy. These are fully residential and provide all the basic facilities for the students.
The production centres, which employ mostly Persons with Disabilities, enable them to generate a revenue surplus, with which they meet the entire cost of the Technical Training Centres, School & Early Intervention Centre for Children with Speech and Hearing Impairment, Day Activity Centre for Children with Intellectual Challenges and Outreach Activities. The students trained in these Technical Training Centres are primarily employed in Machine Shops, Plastic Moulding operations and Brailler assembly being created by WORTH Trust.
This project holds pride of place among RCM’s projects as it involves the holistic development of an area in Mylapore, Chennai. Through this project RCM addresses the educational, health, computer literacy and livelihood needs of an entire community.
Independence day, Teachers’ day, Republic day, among other national holidays and special occasions are celebrated at Rotary Nagar with students, teachers, local populace and Rotarians. The centre is equipped with CCTV cameras and biometric attendance system is in place.
This centre is the oldest Community Service project of the Rotary club of Madras established in 1944.
Certified courses are held for ladies interested in careers as beauticians and domestic household painters. RCM has a tie-up with the professional companies to conduct these certification courses which are conducted when we have the requisite number of candidates.
Medical camps, dental camps are conducted regularly at Rotary Nagar for all the students
Rotary Club of Madras has been serving the community for the last 94 years and believes that children are valuable resources of the nation. Their future depends on how they are taken care of in their formative years.
Socio-economic conditions impact their development and often the marginalised do not get a fair chance. Boys Town was born to address this gap. Registered as a society in 1988 with a hostel facility, it is set in a verdant campus of over 34 acres near Gumudipundi in Thiruvallur district and aims to rehabilitate the young from the economically weaker section of the society.
Boys Town houses around 100 boys from Standards 6 to 12. The boys go to the Government Schools in the nearby village. RCM takes complete care of all aspects including full boarding, lodging, after school tuitions, nutritious meals, clothing, sports, other extra-curricular activities and medical assistance. The inputs they receive equip them with the necessary skills to improve their lives and that of the community they live in.
The main focus at Boys Town is to create a nurturing, empowering, sustainable environment for the boys and to provide quality and holistic education. The key aim is to provide a secure environment, increase an interest in learning, recognise and hone individual talents, develop social/leadership skills which will encourage the boys to become responsible citizens of India.