R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, APRIL 9
Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME) and Congruent Solutions have felicitated three ‘Unsung Heroes’ in the city on Friday.
The three unsung heroes Shammi Bhatia – Paracycling and Parabadminton National Player; S Gokila – Football Coach, SDAT, Namakkal and BR Arumugam – Founder, Viduthalai Social Welfare Trust – were chosen to acknowledge their contribution to the downtrodden, the organisers said.
Shammi Bhatia, 60, aims to conquer Mount Everest
Shammi Bhatia, a Mechanical Engineer and Paracycling and Para Badminton Nation player, is undergoing training to take part in the 2024 Paris Para Olympic Games. He was honoured with Rotary award. Bhatia lost his left leg in an accident while helping a breakdown commercial vehicle on the roadside, but that does not deter his passion.
He represented India at the international para-badminton tournament in Uganda and in the para-cycling road race. He pedalled his way from New Delhi to Mumbai in five days. After taking the required training, he now aims to conquer Mount Everest and would become the 8th specially-abled person to conquer this at the age of 60.
S Gokila plans to empower women
S Gokila – Football Coach, Sports Development Authority of India (SDAT), Namakkal – is passionate about football coaching and has skilled hundreds of youngsters, taken more than 50 schoolchildren to the national level representation, and raised 5 children to attain international fame. Through her service and the sport, she endeavors to have representation for women at the State and National level and firmly believes that this will enable empowerment for these girls and women in the coming days.
B R Arumugam – education, employment & health are his forte
B R Arumugam – Founder, Viduthalai Social Welfare Trust – is dedicated to improving the villagers’ standard of living and providing free education to children. Over the years, 15 tuition centers were set up in 15 villages. 850 children were given education in private and government schools. 114 houses were built for the homeless people with proper documentation. Self-employment campaigns were organized for 300 families and they have benefited from it. Major and minor surgeries have been conducted over 10 years for 1,500 poor people around the Thiruvallur district.
Commenting on the initiative, M Srinivasa Rao – President of RCME, said, “We, at RCME, wanted to identify those heroes amongst the common man who are equally deserving of the accolade but whose contribution to our community remains unknown. These heroes keep stretching beyond their comfort zone, face challenges with a smile, have put service above self, and their inspiring life story is a source of motivation to our community.”
Balaraman Jayaraman, President and CEO, Congruent Solutions, said, “Congruent Solutions has been partnering with the Rotary Club of Madras East over the last few years in recognising ‘Unsung Heroes’ in the community around us – people who, by their sheer determination and will power, have moved mountains far beyond what their profile is expected to, as per conventional norms. These ‘Heroes’ also stand as a testimony to the power of the human spirit and serve as examples to the rest of the society that one should not get bogged down by one’s circumstances and stop dreaming. These individuals have not had any significant visibility in the community but deserve that recognition if only to inspire the rest of us.”
Divya, Director, Community Service, RCME proposed vote of thanks.
