When it comes to promoting swachhta or encouraging youngsters to prepare for Olympics 2020, the Delhi Police Welfare Society seems to be setting new milestones.
Everyone is hoping Indian athletes to win big in Olympics 2020. But, one organisation that is working to make the dream come true is Police Families Welfare Society (PFWS). It is training the children of Delhi Police for Olympics 2020.
Suchana Patnaik, president, PFWS, is happy that two children, Nishta and Dhruvay — trained under the society — have qualified for nationals, in shooting. “The previous president Shefali Verma took many initiatives. There are about 155 police colonies in Delhi, and we had only one welfare centre. But in the last one year, we have opened 10 centres, and planning to come up with more,” says Suchana, who has been heading PFWS since February; after her husband, Amulya Patnaik took charge as Commissioner of Police, Delhi.
The society, which was established in 1972 for the welfare of police personnels, wasn’t prominently active until a few years back. Recently, the society organised a Swachhta drive from October 2 to 5. “We meet twice a week. The meeting is attended by centre staff, wives, team leaders and we work on the road maps and sort out the issues,” shares Patnaik.
Members of PFWS during the swachhta drive organised from October 2 to 5.
“We initially built trust in the community, and it wasn’t an easy task to do so. To ensure a sense of belongingness, we addressed their needs and provided them with opportunities,” says Sushi Singh, vice-president, PFWS.
Today, there are a lot of activities that PFWS is engaged in. Among other initiatives, Mission Olympics 2020 is their dream project, and has covered the maximum number of police colonies. “We started training children at Summer Camps this year — choosing five games from the Olympics format. In the first season, we selected 100 kids. In the second season, 150 are shortlisted. We help them, but being an NGO, we need sponsors, too,” adds Patnaik.
Children show posters painted to create awareness about clean environment.
Alongside, there are regular workshops and seminars organised twice a month. The training centre also has stitching, yoga, aerobics, dance and other activities. “Celebrities, physiotherapist, nutritionists and sports experts conduct sessions to boost the morale of our kids. This is apart from the everyday training session at New Police Lines Ground, Kingsway Camp in north Delhi; by trained Delhi Police coaches,” adds Patnaik.