Unstoppable women across sectors awarded

CHENNAI: With so many women going out of their comfort zone and making their mark across sectors, the Ooruni Foundation initiated the Working Women Achiever Awards (WWAA) in 2018 in which working women across India were recognised. The second edition of the award function was held on March 2. Awards were handed out to outstanding women from various fields like education, manufacturing, IT and ITES, service and retail, media and entertainment, government and public sector, selfemployed, start-ups and also from unorganised sectors.

A book titled 100 Working Women Achievers 2018-2019 was released at the event. The book includes stories of achievers, apart from the awardees, whose contributions are ineluctable. Former Madras High Court Judge, Justice KN Basha was the chief guest. He gave away the special awards and released the book. The first copy was given to the guest of honour, Dr V Chockalingam. Justice Basha congratulated the Ooruni Foundation for its work in identifying talented working woman and recognising them on such a large platform. “It is commendable that the Ooruni Foundation is awarding women from every sector — be it organised or unorganised.

The awardees include doctors and lawyers and also fruit vendors,” he said. S Rathinavel Rajan, founder of Ooruni Foundation, spoke of how women have to strive hard to achieve their goals as working women. He emphasised the need for an award like the Working Women Achiever Awards as it helps in highlighting women as leaders. An illustrious jury picked the winners from the countless nominations that poured in this year. The glittering night was made unforgettable by the women, their families, and the enthusiastic audience as they clapped, hooted and cheered for the winners.

Among the awards, the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Ranga Kumar for serving more than 25 years in counselling cancer patients. She founded ‘Sanctuary,’ which caters to the emotional needs of cancer pat i e n t s. She said that it was imperative that both the patient and the family members are educated about the disease, its treatment, and the side effects.

“It is foolish to dismiss their worries and panic as irrational,” she said, adding, “In fact, they have to be prepared to undergo rigorous treatment bravely and confidently. This helps the patient to co-operate with the doctor.”