Pune Interact clubs execute a clutch of service projects Jaishree
D
uring the Covid pandemic, a group of teenagers in Pune were eager to do their bit for the medical frontline staff, inspired by their Rotarian parents. “When we were busy collecting and distributing masks, PPE kits and sanitisers to frontline and sanitation staff through my club, RC Poona Downtown, my daughter and her friends kept badgering us that they too wanted to pitch in and do something. That’s when we formulated the idea for a community- based Interact club,” says Aashima Agashe, youth director, RC Poona Downtown, RID 3131.
Soon children from across various schools came together and thus was born the Interact Club of Poona Downtown, “probably the first community-based Interact club of the district.” Presently it has 24 members, including two boys, from three schools — St Mary’s, Symbiosis and Gurukul. “We made it clear to them that the club has to stay and cannot be abandoned after the Covid pandemic,” says Aashima. Project Green Period The Interact club began its service journey with Project Green Period, the district’s signature project.
Interactors of Sundarji’s Stars, along with members of RC Poona Downtown, planting saplings at the Anandavan forest.
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The Interactors wanted to reach out to less privileged children of their age. They voted on various ideas and zeroed in on menstrual hygiene with an underlying focus on the environment. “We were excited with the idea as we have been studying in school about how synthetic sanitary napkins and diapers are non-biodegradable and harmful for the environment,” says Ananya Agashe, the Interact club president. The young members made a one-minute video clip talking about this project and circulated it among friends and neighbours on the social media. By the end
