Reaching out to war widows

JSW Foundation at Torangal in Ballari district that handles the corporate social responsibility activities of JSW Steel, has come out with an initiative to bring war widows on one platform in a bid to extend social and psychological support to enable them to reorient with the life.

 

As many as 38 ‘veera naaris’ from Ballari, Dharwad, Bagalkot, Belagavi and Vijayapura districts shared the platform on July 2 and 3.

 

“The aim is to promise the ‘veera naris’ that the people recognise both their and their spouses invaluable contribution to the country. The initiative also aims to identify and resolve basic issues and concerns of a martyr’s family and expedite their rehabilitation process, besides providing moral support, counselling and empowerment to the wives and children of the martyrs,” Lata Nowal, wife of Vinod Nowal, Deputy Managing Director of JSW Steel, who conceptualised the idea, told The Hindu. JSW Foundation has been able to identify around 400 war widows and their children registered in the Kendriya Sainik Board in Karnataka.

 

To flag off the exercise, the first group of 40 martyr families arrived in JSW facility, Vijayanagar, to share their perspectives and concerns. JSW collated data on their requirements. It will now chalk out an action plan to support them.

 

In order to instil confidence in these families, a counselling session was organised with Dr. Saiba Saldanha, a psychologist, and an interaction session with Wing Commander Ishwar Kodolli, Assistant Director, Kendriya Sainik board, to enhance their awareness and help them gain knowledge about their rights and other necessary information.