Compassion Amid Calamity
A group of young girls look up, mehendi cones in their hands. They have been practicing intricate henna designs as part of a vocational training session. In a room across the corridor, children are engrossed in their books. Elsewhere in the building, patients line up at the laboratory for diagnostic tests.
This is a typical day at the Multiple Projects Building in Karsan Colony, Chandigarh. A permanent project of the Chandigarh Greater Lions Club, District 321F, the centre has become a hub for a range of service activities that are both ongoing and responsive—shaped by listening closely to what the community needs, and responding with consistency.
A free medical clinic operates here three days a week, with OPD services and medicines reaching nearly 100 patients each day. An in-house laboratory offers diagnostics at affordable rates, while dental care and essential tests remain within reach for families who would otherwise defer treatment. For adolescent girls and women, sanitary napkin dispensing machines—installed at the centre, and a nearby adopted school—address a basic need with dignity and discretion.
Education, too, finds a steady rhythm here. Evenings bring children from disadvantaged communities into classrooms for free literacy support, while computer and IT training open digital pathways for both youth and adults in the colony. These sessions do more than teach skills; they build confidence and a sense of possibility.
For women, vocational training has become a powerful lever of change. Professional stitching and garment-design classes, beauty training with certification, and traditional mehendi courses are conducted by trained instructors, enabling participants to convert creativity into income. Many graduates now contribute to their households with newfound independence.
Together, these long-running initiatives have shaped more than services—they have built trust. In Karsan Colony, Lions are not visitors; they are partners in daily life, strengthening communities one skill, one clinic visit, and one classroom at a time.