EXPRIMERE NOVEMBER EDITION (ENG)

ROTARACT CLUB OF GCT COIMBATORE ISSUE NO.5 | NOVEMBER 2021 EDITION Parented by Rotary Club of Coimbatore East Group 2 | Rotary International District 3201 EM XE PR IR E Expressing Rotaraction

02 Editor ’s Note I Project Kannamma 10 03 RaC GCT Calendar RID 3232 05 Those Three Days 06 Rape Cul ture N Rotaract Happenings 11 07 Bitter Reality 09 Rotary Happenings S Notable Projects 12 I Happy Birthday 13 D E Know About TRF 14 01

EDITOR’S NOTE Rtr. SOWMIYA S Rtr. HARINI S Rtr. SABEERA JENISHA M Rtr. HITESHWARAN G Rtr. MUTHUKUMARAN M Hola Peeps! After a long while offline classes have been started and yeah we were all extremely exhausted. Take a short break and give a read to this extremely different edition from the previous ones. It is an individu- al's perception of treating another person at par with himself/herself. Observing Mother’s Day, Fa- thers’ Day, International Women’s Day or International Men's day is meaningless if we do not under- stand the nub of the meaning of equality. Ultimately, it is something that we need to internalize and reflect in our actions as well. The time has come where the whole world needs to come together and fight against gender inequality. “Men are from Earth, women are from Earth. Deal with it.” 02

RAC GCT CALENDAR 01 02 03 04 05 06ROTAFEST 07 08KITH 09 10AAYUTHAM 11 AND KIN F(L)OOD 12 13 14BACK TO 15 NOVEMBER SCHOOL 03

16 17 18 19NOVEMBER 20BLOOD 21THE DIARIES DONATION SURVIVORS CAMP 22 23 24 25 26 27 28NAATU 29 30 NOVEMBER NADAPU 04

THOSE THREE DAYS Menstruation is unique to girls. However, it has always been surrounded by taboos and myths that exclude women from many aspects of socio-cultural life. Such taboos about menstruation present in the society, impact girls’ and women's emotional state, mentality. Menstruation is still considered to be dirty and impure. Women and girls on their periods are often subjected to discrimination. We the girls are literally undergoing so much physical and mental stress in those three days and to get added, these taboos. Menstruation is a normal and regular event in every adolescent girl's life. Mood swings are common around the time of menstruation. From feeling excited to crying our eyes out, we often have to deal with a rollercoaster of emotions in a short period of time. This is only because of the game played by hormones. When the pureblood comes out, our hor- mones must work according to it and cause all such mood swings. 'Hormone-like Substances' are to blame. We become stronger and ready to face anything. It is important to be at peace with yourself and to feel confident in your own body. Most of all, it is really nec- essary not to be ashamed of something you are biolog- ically programmed to have. It is time to realize that menstruation is just a biological process and the secre- cy surrounding it must go. It is important to normalize menstruation and destroy taboos around this natural process. Talking is all it takes to begin a transformation and it's time we did it. 05

RAPE CULTURE I saw her weeping and her heart aching, Eyes flickering and Tears sneaking. Blood boiling in every vein, The sight is very hard to explain. When it happened, her heart skipped a beat, For them, she was just a piece of meat. Blood streamed out from her bosom, Unbearable pain of wound and spasm She cried in agony and pain But, no one heard her in vain. Cursed of being bold and brave, Crushed and made a slave. Free from the fear of being doomed and shamed, By the hands of those monsters, She was ‘Raped’. - Rtr. Meharun Halidha M Vice President 06

BITTER REALITY Abuse is not just a story or case, it’s a shame to the society and depicts the lack of education, disci- pline, and good parenting. Girls who are being abused are not only physically hurt. Life after that is very much hard for them. But they are not victims, they are survivors. Recently in Coimbatore, A private school teacher was imprisoned for sexually harassing a Class XII girl student and abetting her suicide. Ac- cording to sources, the 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted repeatedly by her physics teacher. He in- vited the minor girl to the school in the name of special classes and sexually assaulted her in April 2021. This incident is a shame to each and every citizen. One in three women will surely experience physi- cal or sexual abuse in her lifetime, most often at the hands of someone she knows. ‘Fear is the key’, many girls do not find the courage to raise their voices. The atmosphere of fear can choke the courage. ‘You save yourself, or remain unsaved' 07

02 Toxic masculinity and Violence against Women and Chil- dren are all pernicious diseases prevalent in our world. We are living in REPUBLIC, not in RAPE PUBLIC. Not every man is a rapist. Still, there are boys who have self-control and have visionary eyes to see women as 'human beings'. The Man who respects girls should be saluted. People saw stains on her body But they were unable to see the scars on her Heart. People saw her torn clothes But they were unable to see her soul tearing apart. Whenever we talk about sexual assault, the only thought that comes to our mind is that it only happens to a woman. What doesn’t come to mind as quickly as the idea of a man ex- periencing abuse. The truth, however, is that men can and do experience abuse in their relationships. Men don’t come out and speak up against such things due to the fear of facing so- cietal backlash. The Indian upbringing of a man has created a stereotype that a man can never feel pain, and if he does, he is not a man. “Be a man” is the term that every boy has heard. Whenever he cries, he gets hurt, and whenever he expresses his emotions, he is told, “Don’t behave like a girl, be a man.” This upbringing of men in society has given rise to toxic mas- culinity. I CONCLUDE WITH THE HOPES OF JUSTICE, FASTER! 08

SPORTS MEET ROTARY HAPPENINGS SPORTS MEET \"Sports are about those incredible moments where sheer BLOOD DONATION human will and desire overcomes the odds.\" CAMP The Rotary Club of Coimbatore East successfully presented the ROTARY EAST FAMILIES SPORTS DAY on 24th of October at Herkley, Peelamedu. The inaugural function was held in the presence of our honorable Dis- trict Governor, RI District 3201 Rtn. Rajasekhar Srinivasan along with Rtn. Shanthi, First lady, RI district 3201, and our guest of honor, Rtn. N. Gandhiprakash, Zonal Chair, Rotary Sports. The badminton match went on in full swing. Followed by the most expected cricket match took place with 4 teams each playing 4 matches. In the valedictory function, the runners and winners were provided with cups and medals to appre- ciate their victory. \"Our droplets of blood may create an ocean of happiness\" It's our responsibility and privilege to save a life. Sometimes money cannot save a life but donated blood can. We the Rotaract Club of GCT Coimbatore felt immense pleasure in joining hands with the Rotary Club of East Coimbatore and also our sister clubs (Rotaract Club of CIT, UNITY & PSGRKCW), and 123 Coimbatore for organizing a Blood Donation Camp on 20th November 2021 at Rotary Texcity hall, Coim- batore. We were able to donate 15 units of blood f rom our side and re- ceived nearly 70 plus units of blood. 09

PROJECT KANNAMMA RID 3232 Oved by the plight and agony of underprivileged girls at government schools who had to miss classes, with some even dropping out from school, due to lack of menstrual hygiene facili- ties, Sugirda Nishanth from RC Madras North, RID 3232, initiated Project Kannamma in August 2018. It began with the giving of sanitary pads and undergarments to 82 girls at a Government High School, Uthandi, near Chennai, along with regular medical check-ups. It was found that they used dirty rags, hay, dry leaves and even ash wrapped in covers and other crude alternatives for want of affordable pads during menstruation. Apart from urinary tract infections, the hapless girls were also exposed to the risk of cervical cancer. Project Kannamma reaches out to over 1,500 school girls with free sanitary pads and they were also exposed to ‘motivational talks’ by Rotarians and ex- perts on Menstrual Health Management (MHM). The sanitary napkins are provided by the Irula Tribal Women’s Welfare Society (ITWWS). The sanitary napkin, under the brand Aavaram, is prepared with natural raw ma- terials such as cotton and wood pulp, and a pack of six costs just rupees twenty two. The teachers are given the requisite number of packs per month and they distribute the pads to the students. Now, Kannamma pads will be distributed to thousands of girls in deprived areas, slums and marginal- ised societies in and around Chennai. 10

ROTARACT HAPPENINGS \"Focus on being the \"Professionalism is best you can at what knowing how to do it, you want to do.\" when to do it, and doing it.” For the first time in this The II Presidents and tenure, all the President Secretaries meeting and Secretaries of the for the Rotary year Group 2 clubs of the Rot- 2021-22 was held on aract District 3201 were 28th November at RS gathered physically at Puram. LEAD College of manage- ment in Palakkad for Incoming and outgo- TWEETUP. ing IDYE, about Ro- tasia, things related TWEET UP to elevate Rotaract and also about future Cabinet people, DRR, and district events were discussed in this our DRR elect were also meeting. present there. We got rec- ognition for our Interna- tional Service event \"Jin- galalaa\". And we received a certificate for conducting Club induction and orienta- tion on time. 11

NOTABLE PROJECTS SET TO NOVEMBER DIARIES AAYUDHAM BACK TO SCHOOL We The Rotaract Club of I Minds get just as tired as We the Rotaract Club of I We the Rotaract Club of GCT Coimbatore had suc- I GCT Coimbatore initiated GCT Coimbatore had suc- I bodies do and having a bit cessfully organized the I of fun can be very rejuve- cessfully completed the I an event called \"Back to event \"SET TO '' - Donate! I nating. We the Rotaract event \"AAYUDHAM\" in I School\" which was a huge aid! Guide! Here, we Col- I Club of GCT Coimbatore which we installed Station- I success. We visited the stu- lected the books and study happily presented the materials for entrance I event \"NOVEMBER DIA- ary item box in Govt. I dents of Govt school, School, kasthuripalayam. I kashthuripalayam and exams ( NEET, JEE, etc.,) I RIES - Let's make fun mem- We collected things like I spent quality time with and we established a I ories\". We split into teams Pencil, Eraser, Sharpener, I them by playing games Pen, Note books etc and I which were both fun and library in Madathukulam I and played dumb C and donated them to that knowledgeable. The kids Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Tirup- I pic C. This event made us school. Students who are I were really happy and this pur. These books will be all meet again physically very helpful for the stu- I and allowed us to create in need were asked to pick I gave us a different experi- dents who are interested I memories to be etched. from them and this box will I ence. in cracking these entrance I be refilled every month. I exams and they will be I guided throughout this I tenure. 12

Rtr. Muthukumaran M Rtr. Kavippriya A November 20 November 22 HAPPY BIRTHDAY Rtr. Kanimozhi K Rtr. PP. Arshad Laxman November 26 November 28 13

KNOW ABOUT TRF 1 What is the motto of The Rotary Foundation? 2 Who is the founder of The Rotary Foundation? 3 The Rotary Foundation was earlier known as? 4 Annual funds can be used only after how many Rotary years? 5 You will be recognized with Paul Harris fellow if you donate how many dollars? 14 5. 1000 dollar 4. 3 Rotary years 3. Rotary Endowment Fund 2. Rtn. Arch C Klumph ANSWERS 1. Doing good in the world

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