Driving support for cancer

On November 3, four sexagenarian women drivers will hit the road to raise funds for the benefit of children diagnosed with cancer. Befittingly named the Care Car expedition, this initiative is the brainchild of porcelain artist Rina Valecha, serial entrepreneur Hansu Pardiwala, psychoanalyst Maneck Bhatia and HR consultant Chitra Hiremath. Taking off from Mumbai, they will cover a distance of 4,800 km, spanning  several cities, including Indore, Gwalior, Lucknow, Varanasi, Bodhgaya, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. “All of us are passionate drivers and, despite coming from different backgrounds, this binds us together. Earlier this year, we went on a road trip to Kutch, where we came across women bikers who were raising money to educate girl children. This inspired us to dedicate our next road trip to a cause that is dear to all of us,” Pardiwala said. The group has already raised over R22 lakh for Tata Memorial Hospital through their efforts, which will be dedicated towards supporting accommodation to the families of children who are admitted into the hospital and also for regular testing and rehabilitation for those who have beat cancer. They hope to undertake annual drives to keep supporting other worthy causes. Track their journey on Instagram via their handle @the_care_car.