Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) Day was celebrated on Friday at Nagrota military station here.
AWWA came into being on August 23, 2019, when a need of a welfare orgzation within the Army was felt very strongly after the 1965 Indo -Pak War.
"On August 23, 2019, 53rd AWWA Day was celebrated at Nagrota Military Station where 4 Veer Naris (wives and mothers of the deceased soldiers) and five widows were felicitated by Dr (Mrs) Bandita Singh, Zonal President, and White Knight AWWA with cheques of Rs 25,000 each," an official release said.
During the function, twelve ladies who have carried out exceptional work towards women empowerment and welfare of families of soldiers, disabled children and Veer Naris were felicitated including 14 defence children of Nagrota Military Station who excelled in academics, sports and extra-curricular activities.
Indian Army, while being committed to safeguard the sovereignty of the country, is equally concerned about the welfare of its soldiers and their families, Veterans their families, widows and 'Veer Naris' of soldiers who lay down their lives protecting their Motherland.
"AWWA is a cohesive, vibrant and responsive institution dedicated to the welfare of army wives and dependents. As a large number of soldiers lay down their lives in the call of duty, it mfests into corresponding numbers of family members known as 'Next of Kin', who are essentially wives and mothers of the deceased soldiers called as 'Veer Naris," read the release.
In order to take care of the challenges being faced by the Next of Kin, Indian Army has dedicated this year as the year of 'Next of Kin', during which special initiatives have been launched throughout the country to reach out to them and solve any problems that they may be facing.
White Knight Corps has reached out to 4 veer Naris, 50 widows, their children and 181 Ex servicemen and their families in the 27 villages located around Nagrota Military Station.
"Teams visited them in their homes and connected with them as well as documented their problems during such home visits from May to June this year. On July 18, an NOK Rally was orgzed at Nagrota where 350 Veer Naris, Next of Kins, ex servicemen and widows participated. During the rally, various departments dealing with Ex-servicemen matters like ECHS, Resettlement Directorate, J&K Ex servicemen Directorate, SBI and ICICI Bank representatives briefed them in a very simple manner about various defence, govt and public sector schemes meant for them. Issues like jobs, ECHS and Canteen Card etc were taken cognizance of and most were sorted out then and there," read the release.
( With inputs from ANI )