Vodafone initiates 'Red Rickshaw Revolution' for unsung women heroes

Laura Turkington, Director, Vodafone Foundation, Carina Deegan, a Foundation support, and Sunita, Delhi's first woman autorickshaw driver, will traverse from Delhi to Mumbai in nine days

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | March 4, 2013

Post the 121 initiative by Vodafone, the telecom operator has now initiated The Red Rickshaw Revolution, organised by the Vodafone Foundation to celebrate the achievements of ordinary women doing extraordinary things across India to raise money for three NGOs – Apne Aap Women's Collective, Breakthrough and Corp India – all working towards women empowerment.

From raising awareness about India's unsung women heroes to raising funds, the initiative will witness three women – Laura Turkington, Director, Vodafone Foundation in India, Carina Deegan, a Foundation support, and Sunita, Delhi's first woman autorickshaw driver – traverse a distance of over 1,500 km from New Delhi to Mumbai in a red autorickshaw over nine days.

Departing from New Delhi on March 9, the three women will travel through Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra and arrive in Mumbai on March 18. The red autorickshaw will pass through cities like Alwar, Jaipur, Ajmer, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Daman and Mumbai.

Along the route, they will discover and encounter ordinary women doing extraordinary things, which would be streamed onto the dedicated website, www.redrickshaw.in, using innovative technology. Additionally, the event will be promoted by posting stories of women who have achieved a lot in life through the website and on other social websites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Commenting on the idea behind the initiative, Laura Turkington, Director, Vodafone Foundation - India said, “The Red Rickshaw Revolution (RRR) started from a small concept of riding a rickshaw to meet some of the amazing women in India who have been working selflessly for social good. The Foundation has launched the campaign to celebrate achievements of ordinary women doing extraordinary things and will continue to support such campaigns with social cause in future.”

“As for benefit to Vodafone as a brand, the initiative is an extensive rural reach and robust network as women across the country are being encouraged to send in a free SMS to tell 'What makes them proud to be a woman'. Vodafone users can text in at 56565 (toll-free) and non-Vodafone users can SMS on 9999056565. The website, www.redrickshaw.in, which went live on February 19, 2013, will showcase five different ordinary women each day, who would speak about why they feel proud of being a woman. We have pledged to match up to Rs 85 lakh in donation which is a great head start!” Turkington added.

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