Maharashtra State Women’s Council launches centenary book to celebrate its 100 years of existence

One of Mumbairsquos oldest NonGovernmental Organisations NGO The Maharashtra State Womenrsquos Council MSWC capped off its 100 yearcelebrations recently The outfit which was started in 1919 and is currently 102 years old launched a coffeetable book mdash Maharashtra State Womenrsquos Council Centenary Book mdash celebrating 100 years of its existenceldquoWe had a function in 2019 marking our 100 years however the pandemic put paid to all plans of events around that milestone Though the outbreak has not ended we finally launched our centenary book at our South Mumbai office at Town Hall on September 1rdquo said president Fatema MerchantMultiple projectsThe book is a chronicle of the journey of MSWC The uplifting catchphrase of their mission lsquoEmpowering Lives since 1919rsquo is embodied through various projects under the MSCW umbrella The organisation began as the Bombay Presidency Womenrsquos Council which today is the MSWCMerchant who is the president of the organisation since the past two years said ldquoOur book is a testimony to the years gone by Even while marking a century we also know that it is the present and the future that will define us We have at least nine ongoing projects One of these is Asha Sadan which is a space in Dongri for abandoned children and destitute girls There is Savera which is a shelter for differently abled people in SoBo This is for girls and boys and adults too Here we have weaving yoga and dance classes which work like therapyrdquo said Merchant adding ldquoBecause of the outbreak guardians were unable to bring these people to Savera which is located in South Mumbai We moved some of these classes onlinerdquoAlso ReadAfter power elderly Sindhudurg couple now get water supplyMerchant also cited Asha Kiran as another Dongri project ldquowhich is akin to a day care facility for street childrenrdquo One of the mainstays of the Council is ldquovolunteer members who are the drivers of the organisation and dedication which is like the steering wheel giving this direction Funds from Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and individual donors comprise the fuelrdquo said the president The MSCW has also moved with the times One of the movers and shakers behind the project Misbah Mitha said ldquoWe also had an annual exhibition called Smart Mart that became a looked forward to fixture on the cityrsquos burgeoning events calendar It was a popular fundraising initiativerdquoSpirit shines throughManaging trustee Jayshree Kadambi said ldquoWe had marked 100 years in 2019 with a function at the Taj Mahal hotel In fact Taj has played host to so many of our fundraisers This current book is the documentation of a century of service The Coronavirus outbreak meant we could not release it earlier It is a compilation of different landmarks for the MSWC We have culled information and pictures from annual reports The pandemic cut the speed of the efforts as we could not go to the office as often as we should have Designing and printing had to be done and it took a little longer because of the times we are inrdquo said KadambiImmense sense of prideThe trustee claimed she felt an immense sense of ldquopriderdquo at the launch and added ldquoI have two decades of association with the MSWC and this was one among several memorable momentsrdquo Kadambi claimed the organisationrsquos USP is its ldquotransparencyrdquo and ldquowe have at least 700 members out of which about 100 are very activerdquoKadambi who is also chairperson of its Adoption project said ldquoWe are also looking forward to restarting our Balwadi in Dharavi soon which has been closed because of the outbreakrdquo In the end trustee Ziya Maskati 93 who had been working on the book said it was a collective effortShe added ldquoThe book is a story not just about the organisation but about the people who make up MSWC I believe fundsmoney will come but it is the volunteers the people power that is the life force of any welfare effort In the book even if rifling through it while idly sipping coffee and a biscotti the reader will be struck by this human spirit that shines throughrdquo