A cheerful day for little hearts

Various events mark the 47th charter night celebrations of Inner Wheel Club

One of the participants at Ramakrishna Mission Cerebral Palsy Clinic dressed up as Lord Krishna at the fancy dress competition organised by the local chapter of Inner Wheel Club in Visakhapatnam on Monday. Photo: C.V.Subrahmanyam.

Dheeraj, a six-year-old boy, was all excited as his slender body was given a silvery coat to look like Mahatma Gandhi. Teaming his spotless white dhoti with a pair of oval-shaped frames and a wooden stick, he posed for selfies.

Like Dheeraj, there were about 30 children, all aged between one and 12 years, at Ramakrishna Mission Cerebral Palsy Clinic who dressed themselves as Anarkali , GabbarSingh , Queen Elizabeth, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Swami Vivekananda, gopikas , Lord Krishna and a bunch of freedom fighters as part of the fancy dress competition held here on Monday.

Bringing cheer to little hearts was the local chapter of Inner Wheel Club’s 47th charter night celebrations along with the official visit of the unit’s district chairperson J. Maniprabha from Vijayawada. Those who have been affected with cerebral palsy in varying degrees found the avenue quite entertaining as the crowd that gathered at the venue cheered them all along.

Besides treating the children at the clinic to goodies and a hydrotherapy massager as part of the fancy dress competition, the club members visited various places across the city to reach out to the needy.

They distributed blankets to the patients at Rani Chandramathi Hospital, goodies and blackboard to one of the GVMC Primary Schools adopted by the club and gave away prizes to the winners of the fashion designing contest organised recently at Visakha Government Junior College for Women.

Aid to Hudhud victims

Reaching out to cyclone Hudhud victims, the club members have recently constructed a home for an idli vendor residing at Kummari Veedhi, Akkayyapalem. “We have taken up the reconstruction work of Ramanamma’s residence as she is the sole bread-winner of the family. Today, we are celebrating her house-warming ceremony,” says Rama Vidyasagar, editor of the club.

As part of the day’s celebrations, the club members distributed books, groceries and utility items to the people located in different areas. President of the club S. Usha Kiran, secretary Usha Gurunath and district international service officer K. Lakshmi took part in the programme, spread throughout the day.