056 - Roshni Don Bosco Celebrates Diversity and Equality of Women

By: Mahesh Kumar 

Baroda, 08 March 2017: “International Women’s Day” was celebrated on 08-March-2017 at Roshni Don Bosco, Baroda. The participants were from the 40 Self Help Groups (SHGs) actively working in Baroda, with over 492 women from the various slums coming together. Fr Rolvin D’Mello (Executive Director-DBDS) was the Chief Guest of the programme, the Guests of Honour were Mr Patankar (Collaborator - Roshni) and Mrs Shashi Singh (Chief Manager- Allahabad Bank).

The programme began with the lighting of the lamp and was followed by a variety cultural programme on the theme “unity in diversity.” Women presented the traditional dances of various states dressed in colourful attire, dancing to the folk tunes and lyrics.
Addressing the gathering, Fr Rolvin stressed the need to build equality among sons and daughters in the family. He emphasized, “the perception of society must change towards the girl child.” This was followed by a short documentary on “oppression of women” highlighting how women were denied their rights for centuries.

Mrs Jagruti Patil (Coordinator – Roshni) being the main organizer of the event thanked all the women and the others who had helped in the Women’s Day Celebration. The programme ended with a Gujarati dance and a sumptuous dinner sponsored by Tulsi SHG, which manages canteens at three hospitals in Baroda city.