The COVID19 pandemic outbreak of 2020 has disrupted economies and livelihoods around the world. In such circumstances, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari not one of those to sit back and do nothing to fix the world around her leaped into action and made sure she did her bit to make a difference.
Bridging the Gap between the IPBWA and the Government
The Indian Professional Beauty and Wellness Industry (PBWI) covering hair and nail salons, spas, barbershops, fitness centers employing more than 90 lakh people have suffered greatly from the ensuing lockdown, affecting livelihoods of millions of service providers.
Formation of the IPBWA
The IPBWA is an industry body formed to mitigate the COVID19 impact on PBWI and to drive initiatives leading to the PBI business continuity and the safety and security of its stakeholders.
With her foresight, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari realized certain steps were necessary to be taken during the lockdown to restart the industry. She started on this mission by bringing all the industry players together under the same roof, which included names like Pushkaraj (Lakme), Vikram Bhatt (Enrich), Spurthy (BBlunt) and Rajiv (Kaya), Sahil (Bodycraft), and other chains of spas and salons. Together with them, she worked towards reopening the industry.
Read MoreWith her foresight, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari realized certain steps were necessary to be taken during the lockdown to restart the industry. She started on this mission by bringing all the industry players together under the same roof, which included names like Pushkaraj (Lakme), Vikram Bhatt (Enrich), Spurthy (BBlunt) and Rajiv (Kaya), Sahil (Bodycraft), and other chains of spas and salons. Together with them, she worked towards reopening the industry.
The MSME Ministry Inclusion
She focused on the MSME industry and bridged the gap between the MSME and the Beauty and Wellness Industry by drawing the attention of the MSME government towards the industry, organizing seminars, and scheduling meetings with the Honourable Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari to share the industry’s problems with the government. She along with the other players worked day and night to accomplish their mission of reopening the industry.
Reopening & Educating the Industry
Once they could get the permission to start the industry, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari did not stop at that but took over the responsibility along with the other players to educate the entire industry, (approx. 25 lakh people), about beauty and wellness hygiene.
Dr. Rekha played the lead role in bringing together the PBWI Industry Stalwarts and created version 2 guidelines that are based on practical experience. She had dialogues with the Government to restart the Industry. Her efforts, along with those of her colleagues, finally, paid off and except Maharashtra, the industry’s services were restarted on 1st June 2020, and in Maharashtra, the big day of re-opening was 28th June 2020. After the industry reopened, she along with the industry players educated a huge number of the workforce to successfully achieve their goal of a safe and secure industry.
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Dr. Rekha played the lead role in bringing together the PBWI Industry Stalwarts and created version 2 guidelines that are based on practical experience. She had dialogues with the Government to restart the Industry. Her efforts, along with those of her colleagues, finally, paid off and except Maharashtra, the industry’s services were restarted on 1st June 2020, and in Maharashtra, the big day of re-opening was 28th June 2020. After the industry reopened, she along with the industry players educated a huge number of the workforce to successfully achieve their goal of a safe and secure industry.
Enabling Government Support
She could create a buzz in the industry by working closely and being associated with the MSME ministry. As a result of her untiring efforts many industry players got themselves registered in the MSME sector. Further, she is leading the movement by educating the industry about the various MSME schemes and other related matters.
Training on Safety and Hygiene via Webinars
Dr. Rekha Chaudhari led from the front in the battle against COVID 19 to enable the industry to be COVID-ready and ensure the safety of all the customers of the industry.
It is her vision to bring together all the industry leaders and subject matter experts to train and ensure that the lives of the beauticians, hairdressers, hairstylists, therapists, and the like are protected with the right training and knowledge. This would ensure the industry is prepared to create a safe and hygienic environment for the customers and mitigate the COVID cases in the country with proper sanitation and precaution.
Read MoreFree of cost webinars and online training sessions have been held in various languages to cater to the diverse members of the Professional Beauty and Wellness Industry. Active participation from all the industry leaders has made this initiative a big success. ‘ONE INDUSTRY, ONE GUDILIENE’, which is her slogan, has created a strong impact by educating thousands of workforce on the version 2 guidelines.
Spearheading the App that Monitors and Mitigates COVID-19 Cases
The app has been developed by University of Warwick UK, outreach operation headed by Aarogyam UK and Dr. Rekha Chaudhari. Dr. Rekha has been leading the international alliance on behalf of UK India collaborative initiative at the forefront in India. With her efforts, the app has successfully been used in health care and trial settings in both nations.
Speaking on her involvement in this, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari, Global Wellness Ambassador (Mothers Touch), said, “This app is a scientific marvel and a need of the hour for medical teams, patients, and the average individual. In a country like ours, it would certainly help everyone to be more aware and help our doctors make the necessary decisions regarding the treatment for their patients. Additionally, this one-stop-shop app is interlinked with clinics, testing labs, and has telemedicine capabilities. We foresee this app as greatly benefiting our fellow Indian citizens.” The app has been successfully set up in South Africa and Saudi Arabia and is working efficiently since 20th March 2020.
Read MoreSpeaking on her involvement in this, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari, Global Wellness Ambassador (Mothers Touch), said, “This app is a scientific marvel and a need of the hour for medical teams, patients, and the average individual. In a country like ours, it would certainly help everyone to be more aware and help our doctors make the necessary decisions regarding the treatment for their patients. Additionally, this one-stop-shop app is interlinked with clinics, testing labs, and has telemedicine capabilities. We foresee this app as greatly benefiting our fellow Indian citizens.” The app has been successfully set up in South Africa and Saudi Arabia and is working efficiently since 20th March 2020.
Training Rural Women to Make Trendy Masks
With ZEP Foundation India, Dr. Chaudhari had taken the initiative to help and train farmers and tribal women through WhatsApp audio and video to create trendy masks from their homes. It was a first-time endeavour to train these rural people through modern technology, an approach they are not familiar with.
The result was stunning and the rural women proved that there is a huge pool of talent that is untapped. In her words, “We made this attempt to utilize their creativity and provide them a means of sustenance in these trying times. I personally coached them along with a designer from Mumbai, and the outcome is trendy masks with a creative twist to go with people’s love for fashion”.
Read More These handmade masks were priced between Rs.20 and Rs.60 and made available for bulk purchase. This has purely been an initiative to help the rural people and hence all masks are being sold at their cost price. These masks have also been exported to America where there has been a huge demand for handmade artisan masks. To purchase these masks, contact Zep Foundation India at http://www.shop.zepfoundationindia.com.
Read More The result was stunning and the rural women proved that there is a huge pool of talent that is untapped. In her words, “We made this attempt to utilize their creativity and provide them a means of sustenance in these trying times. I personally coached them along with a designer from Mumbai, and the outcome is trendy masks with a creative twist to go with people’s love for fashion”. These handmade masks were priced between Rs.20 and Rs.60 and made available for bulk purchase. This has purely been an initiative to help the rural people and hence all masks are being sold at their cost price. These masks have also been exported to America where there has been a huge demand for handmade artisan masks. To purchase these masks, contact Zep Foundation India at http://www.shop.zepfoundationindia.com.
Mission Parasmani – An Initiative by Dr. Rekha
Harnessing the power of social media, Dr. Rekha has been strongly advocating the message of wellness and making health a priority through her Parasmani Mission. It has become highly successful and touched lakhs of lives.
We all know the story of the Philosopher’s Stone (The Paras Mani) and in today’s times, the real gold is our health. With this metaphor of building health (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual), since the time lockdown was implemented in India, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari has been motivating, inspiring, and encouraging more than 50,000 people through her 250+ WhatsApp groups and directly empowering them with the importance of mental wellness and physical well-being.
Read More These people have been also encouraged to be the Parasmanis and carry the mission forward by reaching out to more people and being a support to each other. Through the digital platform, this message was tweeted on every post of Dr. Rekha, – “I want to invite you, all my viewers, friends, colleagues, and followers to ‘Become a Parasmani, a Philosopher’s Stone’. I invite you to be a part of our collective mission. Touch as many lives individually with your warm support and spread the right knowledge of a healthy and wellness mindset. Let’s support each other in today’s COVID-19 world. Let’s create physical and mental wellness health, which is our real wealth”. A small action when channelized for the growth of others, especially when done with a pure intention to uplift others, it certainly creates a big impact, and Dr. Rekha Chaudhari has lived and reinforced this powerful message.
Read More We all know the story of the Philosopher’s Stone (The Paras Mani) and in today’s times, the real gold is our health. With this metaphor of building health (Physical, Mental, and Spiritual), since the time lockdown was implemented in India, Dr. Rekha Chaudhari has been motivating, inspiring, and encouraging more than 50,000 people through her 250+ WhatsApp groups and directly empowering them with the importance of mental wellness and physical well-being. These people have been also encouraged to be the Parasmanis and carry the mission forward by reaching out to more people and being a support to each other. Through the digital platform, this message was tweeted on every post of Dr. Rekha, – “I want to invite you, all my viewers, friends, colleagues, and followers to ‘Become a Parasmani, a Philosopher’s Stone’. I invite you to be a part of our collective mission. Touch as many lives individually with your warm support and spread the right knowledge of a healthy and wellness mindset. Let’s support each other in today’s COVID-19 world. Let’s create physical and mental wellness health, which is our real wealth”. A small action when channelized for the growth of others, especially when done with a pure intention to uplift others, it certainly creates a big impact, and Dr. Rekha Chaudhari has lived and reinforced this powerful message.
Supporting, Motivating, and Mentoring
Dr. Rekha Chaudhari has been personally counselling and mentoring beauticians, hairdressers, spa therapists, practically everyone who has connected with her for support. Her passion, optimism, and intention have made an impact on everyone.
She has also lent her support to the ‘Beautiful Hearts’ campaign, a collective mission by the industry players. Through the ‘Beautiful Hearts’ project, those in the beauty and wellness industry (especially from villages) who have lost their jobs because of the COVID lockdown have been identified as Angels. A mentor is matched with an Angel and a small amount to help them survive through the tough times is provided. The mentor directly transfers a small amount of money to help them survive through the difficult times.
She has done countless live sessions on Facebook and Instagram to spread the message of mental wellness and has motivated lakhs of people to look at the brighter side of things and take care of their emotional and physical well-being.
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She has also lent her support to the ‘Beautiful Hearts’ campaign, a collective mission by the industry players. Through the ‘Beautiful Hearts’ project, those in the beauty and wellness industry (especially from villages) who have lost their jobs because of the COVID lockdown have been identified as Angels. A mentor is matched with an Angel and a small amount to help them survive through the tough times is provided. The mentor directly transfers a small amount of money to help them survive through the difficult times.
She has done countless live sessions on Facebook and Instagram to spread the message of mental wellness and has motivated lakhs of people to look at the brighter side of things and take care of their emotional and physical well-being.
Dr. Rekha Chaudhari says,“To do good deeds you don’t really need to have big funds, but a small effort and a beautiful heart can go a long way. We need to be like water drops and work together. Thus, we can become the ocean that can make a big difference”.
