Women Social entrepreneurship is vital for our future. Collectively we can make a change by closing the gap between men and women in the workforce.
entrepreneurs are those adventurous, daredevils who drive deep into the pressing problems of society and try to find solutions to them, not by leaving the responsibilities in the reins of the government or business, but by trying to change systems as a whole and persuading societies to take new initiatives
In our Inner Wheel Social Entrepreneur series in this episode We are introducing you a very dynamic and popular face of International Inner Wheel Dist.311 who always believes in Women Empowerment and social entrepreneurship . Yes we are talking about Dr. Divya Lehri District Chairman of inner wheel District 311 , she shared her Inner Wheel journey with Hello Womeniya.com Correspondent Priyanka Yadav
Hello Womeniya : Please share your first reaction and feeling on being District Chairman of IWC.
Dr. Divya Lehri : After a long journey in Inner Wheel, I got this prestigious post of DC of the largest District ( Distt 311) in India.
Above all it is world’s largest women organization for friendship and services. On becoming DC, I felt very honoured but at the same time I was very much aware of my responsibilities. This is a beautiful platform to work for the needy at the ground level as well as to develop friendship among IW members.
Hello Womeniya : what will be your priority in the growth of Your Dis.
Dr. Divya Lehri : My priorities, first of all, is to strengthen the club, ensure the retention of members, encourage formation of new clubs and membership growth.
In this regard, I opened 11 new clubs and 105 new members were inducted on 10th Jan which was International Inner Wheel Day.
My next priority is to maintain harmony and develop leadership quality. For the first time, I started training programme for general members. Next, I motivated President’s and other group leaders to work hard to achieve the goals given by Association President Saroj Katiyar.
Hello Womeniya : what are the current challenges your Dis is facing due to this post pandemic .
Dr. Divya Lehri : Post pandemic, the situation was crucial. It takes a lot of efforts for retention and membership growth. I feel proud that members have supported me. Though the physical work suffered due to strict covid guidelines and psychological effects on the minds of people, still many noteworthy tasks have been completed by the members.
Hello Womeniya : What is your future agenda to solve these problems
Dr. Divya Lehri : According to the changing demand of the situation, we switched to online modes of meeting and communication. In future, when situation allows we will also hold physical events following appropriate covid guidelines.
Hello Womeniya : Share your Inner Wheel journey with us .
Dr. Divya Lehri : I joined Inner Wheel in 2000 in IWC Aligarh. Step by step, I learnt and gained experience in social work. I won many awards such as Excellent President, Best Secretary. For 3 consecutive years, I got Best Speaker award. After that I held various posts like district editor, ISO, treasurer, secretary, ESO, Vice Chairman and now chairman. These posts gave me wide vision, knowledge and courage. Along this journey, I also developed strong bonds of friendship.
Hello Womeniya ::could you please share your lockdown experience and how your District performed during this difficult time .
Dr. Divya Lehri : During lockdown, my first emphasis was to motivate members to fight this situation and to develop a positive approach. We organized many webinars by motivational speakers and bhajans and workshops were also held to help divert people’s minds. We were connected with the members using social media. When we encountered any problem in any member’s family, we always tried to stand by their side. This time made us realize the true meaning of friendship.
Hello Womeniya ::what is your appeal and message to Inner Wheel women .
Dr. Divya Lehri : As chairman and as a female, I want to tell Inner wheel members – Identify your inner beauty, your skills. Don’t hesitate, develop confidence. Improve your personality by gaining knowledge. When any woman becomes independent, then only she can do something for others.
Spread awareness for the betterment of the society specially for the girls. I would like to ask them to go ahead and achieve their dreams while maintaining their family values.
Hello Womeniya :Do you agree this pandemic brought a lot of changes in our personal and professional life
Dr. Divya Lehri : Yes, I feel the pandemic has brought a lot of changes in personal and professional life. During this time, family members have come closer to each other. They have started sitting together and enjoying, developing a strong feeling of “Hum saath sath hain”.
On the professional front, we, specially the middle aged women, learnt using computers and online tools. Now, we have become more sound technically.
The effectiveness of online shopping, marketing and classes has eased our life.
Hello Womeniya : can you highlights some important service projects you did during this pandemic
Dr. Divya Lehri : Some important projects completed –
1. Nearly 108 sewing machines were distributed.
2. 42 slum area/ village adopted by clubs where special attention was given to health, education and skill development centres were established.
3. Special attention was given to Mahila jail inmates. Many workshops were organised, motivational lectures were delivered. The inmates prepared items such as gloves, mufflers, apron, table covers, paper bags, trash bags, candles which were purchased by members.
4. 63000 diwali cards were made for Indian defence forces by children and IW members and sent to them.
5. Many clubs made rainwater harvesting system, adopted parks, solar panels and solar lights were given, bus shelter and yaatri shade were also made, ACs were donated to hospital.
Hello Womeniya : Being a Social entrepreneur what is your goal and vision about the upliftment of the society.
Dr. Divya Lehri : As a social entrepreneur, I look forward to empowering the weaker sections of the society while ensuring that our projects are sustainable and environment friendly. Our vision is to reach more and more number of people and spread awareness among them. The key areas of improvement are health and education.
Brief Introduction of International Inner Wheel :
International Inner Wheel Club is an international women’s Social organisation to create friendship, service and understanding. It has clubs in over 100 countries with over 100,000 members.IWC has very strong presence in India. It has more than 3000 thousands clubs in Urban and rural India. Since the Covid 19 Pandemic breaks out Inner wheel club launched charity campaign worldwide. In our Inner wheel Social entrepreneur series in this Episode we are introducing very popular face of IWC, she doesn’t need any kind of Introduction.
Brief Introduction District Chairman 311 (for 2021-2022) :
Dr. Divya Lehri
Dr. Divya Lehri has completed her education of M.sc.Phd from Allahabad university. After that done PG diploma in orthoptics from JLN medical college Aligarh. Presently working as Lecturer in paramedical training Gandhi Eye Hospital also associated with other organization. Dr. Divya Lehri is member of National committee of Bharat vikas parishad(mahila bal vikas) . Member of Ahimsa foundation,gyaan dhara club (President Mahila Prakoshth) etc. Interested in writing.reading traveling,social work received many awards.
