Rotary news september 2014 by dimakh Sahasrabuddhe

Vol.65, Issue 3 Annual Subscription Rs.420

September 2014

New Generations Month

8 President Speaks 10 First Thought 15 From the Editorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Desk 16 Making Headway on Membership Development

18 A Life Worth Living 22 2014â&#x20AC;&#x201C;15 Rotary International Membership Committee Meeting 26 History in the Making 28 GROW BY Reading

ADVISORY BOARD

TRUSTEES Chairman DG Ramesh Agrawal, RI Dist. 3052

RID

P.T. Prabhakar

RI Dist. 3230

Secretary DG Vyankatesh S. Metan, RI Dist. 3132

PRIP Rajendra K. Saboo

RI Dist. 3080

Treasurer DG Sanjay Khemka, RI Dist. 3250

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee

RI Dist. 3060

RI Dist. 2980

S.P. Balasubramaniam

PRID Sushil Gupta

RI Dist. 3010

RI Dist.3000

Jagannathan Paramasivam

PRID Ashok Mahajan

RI Dist. 3140

RI Dist.3010

Sanjay Khanna

PRID Yash Pal Das

RI Dist. 3080

RI Dist.3020

Dr. G.V. Mohan Prasad

PRID Shekhar Mehta

RI Dist. 3291

RIDE Dr. Manoj D. Desai

RI Dist. 3060

RI Dist.3030

Dattatraya Shantaram Deshmukh

Ramesh Agrawal

RI Dist.3052

RI Dist.3040

Narendra Kumar Jain

Vyankatesh Metan

RI Dist. 3132

RI Dist. 3051

Jagdish B. Patel

Sanjay Khemka

RI Dist. 3250

RI Dist. 3053

Anil Maheshwari

I.S.A.K. Nazar

RI Dist. 3230

RI Dist. 3060

Ashish Ramesh Ajmera

PDG Rabi Narayan Nanda

RI Dist. 3262

RI Dist. 3070

Gurjeet Singh Sekhon

PDG Radhe Shyam Rathi

RI Dist. 3053

RI Dist. 3080

Dilip Patnaik

PDG Hari Krishna Chitipothu

RI Dist. 3150

RI Dist. 3090

Pardeep Kumar Chehal

RI Dist. 3100

Sanjiv Rastogi

RI Dist. 3110

Ashok Jyoti

RI Dist. 3120

Satpal Gulati

RI Dist. 3131

Vivek Aranha

RI Dist. 3140

Ajay Gupta

RI Dist. 3150

Malladi Vasudev

RI Dist. 3160

G.S. Mansoor

RI Dist. 3170

Ganesh G. Bhat

RI Dist. 3180

Dr. S. Bhaskar

RI Dist. 3190

Manjunath Shetty

RI Dist. 3201

P. Venugopalan Menon

RI Dist. 3202

K. Sridharan Nambiar

RI Dist. 3211

K.S. Sasikumar

RI Dist. 3212

M. Ashok Padmaraj

RI Dist. 3230

I.S.A.K. Nazar

RI Dist. 3240

Swapan Kumar Choudhury

RI Dist. 3261

Shambhu Jagatramka

RI Dist. 3262

Ashok Bihari Mohapatra

RI Dist. 3291

Pinaki Prasad Ghosh

COMMITTEES DG P. Venugopalan Menon - Chair, Finance Committee DG Dr. G.V. Mohan Prasad - Chair, Editorial Committee DG Sanjay Khanna - Chair, Marketing Committee DG G.S. Mansoor - Vice-chair, Marketing Committee

ROTARY NEWS ROTARY SAMACHAR Editor Rasheeda Bhagat Assistant Editors Jaishree Padmanabhan Selvi Kandaswamy

Send all correspondence and subscriptions to ROTARY NEWS TRUST 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34 Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008, India. Phone : 044 42145666 Fax : 044 28528818 e-mail : rotarynews@rosaonline.org Website : www.rotarynewsonline.org

34 Comfort Zones 40 Spreading Cheer 46 Shooting Stars 50 No Blind Moves 53 Inspire Influence Impress

54 Balle Balle! 56 Community First 71 A Sunday Family Treat 72 Making Herbal Salt 82 Very Briefly

Your Comments Thought Full Compliments to RI Director P.T. Prabhakar for the brilliant message in May ’14 issue on Rotary club attendance. He has rightly said that perfect Rotary service is more important than perfect Rotary attendance. Rtn. R.K. Kapoor RC Roopnagar RI District 3080 ‘First Thought’ is an informative and impressive message that describes the spirit of Rotary, quoting the statement of world renowned Polish pianist Witold MalcuĪyĔski. His subtle message that every member is important, but not indispensible is noted! Thanks for publishing such articles. Rtn. M.T. Philip RC Trivandrum Suburban RI District 3211 Reminiscences In the July issue, the keynote address of RI President Elect Gary C.K. Huang at the Sydney RI Convention was nice to read, especially the poem ‘Power of One.’ I welcome the useful column ‘Reminiscences 2013–14.’ Rtn. S. Rangarajan RC Kumbakonam RI District 2980

team for compiling a collector’s issue. Rtn. R. Murali Krishna RC Berhampur RI District 3262 You have done a marvellous job in bringing out ‘Reminiscences’ in the July issue, which is a good collection of photographs, capturing the past one year. It gives us ideas for new projects by looking at what other clubs have done. The articles and the coverage of events as usual are good and appealing. Keep it up! Rtn. Nan. Narayenen RC Madurai West RI District 3000 Inspirational articles ‘Around the Districts’ pages in June 2014 issue of Rotary News, with various club project photos and descriptions made me feel as if I were present in those places. The article ‘Love for Rotary’ was inspirational. Rtn. Yaad K. Sugandha RC Rewari Main RI District 3010 All the articles in the June issue are impressive. Please accept

my compliments for bringing out an informative and high quality magazine. Rtn. Rajneesh Arora RC Jalandhar Mid Town RI District 3070 Membership Dues The article ‘Enhancing Rotary Experience’ by Dr. Ulhas Kolhatkar in the June issue was very interesting and useful for all Rotarians. It has touched on important aspects of club activities. I also liked the ‘Announcement’ column with news about New Club Invoice and ‘7 things to know about your membership Dues.’ These articles give us an insight about Rotary in totality and help us to function as responsible Rotarians. Rtn. Sudhir S. Ghike RC Nagpur Green City RI District 3030 This is an excellent article, especially for new members. The details given provide a very clear picture about Rotary revenue and expenses to run the organisation efﬁciently. Rtn. T.D. Bhatia RC Delhi Mayur Vihar RI District 3010

‘Reminiscences’ is a new idea which will enlighten all readers. Rtn. Paramesh Dev Choudhury RC Guwahati South RI District 3240

From the President’s Desk I am a regular reader of Rotary News for the last 10 years, and am extremely happy at the content. Undoubtedly, the magazine is very much informative and useful for all Rotarians particularly new ones. RI President Gary C.K. Huang’s address is very motivating and inspiring. Compilation of all the Rotary International District projects under the title ‘Reminiscences 2013–14’ is a novel idea. Congratulations for giving a new look to the magazine. Rtn. Dr. Y.K. Dogra RC Dharamshala , RI District 3070

The photo feature ‘Reminiscences 2013–14’ was impressive. It is a good opportunity to see the best projects across districts and we could try and replicate them. Cheers to the editorial

The ﬁrst Chinese RI President Gary C.K. Huang’s theme ‘Light up Rotary’ is not just a theme but represents the heart and the soul, the essence and the cream of Rotary movement. Captivating articles in the July issue — President Speaks, First Thought and ZAN! Rtn. M.R.K. Murty RC Narsaraopet, RI District 3150

We welcome your feedback

Dear Fellow Rotarians, One of the great privileges of being President of Rotary International is having the chance to visit so many parts of the Rotary world. Usually I travel to participate in Rotary events; speak at Rotary clubs, conferences, and institutes; and encourage Rotarians in their service. But as President, I am responsible for all branches of the Rotary family. This means that it is also my privilege to support the service of Rotary’s youngest generations: our Rotaractors, Interactors, Rotary Youth Exchange students, and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards participants. When I see the work Rotarians do, I am always impressed, always excited, and always inspired. When I see the work of our New Generations, I am all of this — and frequently I am surprised as well. Not by the quality of their work — for I have learned to expect great things from them — but by the creativity and ingenuity of their thinking. I look at what they have done and think not just, “What a great job!” but, “What a great idea!” Because every generation sees the world in a unique way, and every individual has a unique point of view. Faced with the same problems, we arrive at different solutions. This is why, in Rotary, our diversity — of culture, language, expertise, gender and age — is our strength.

PRESIDENT

In Rotary, we try to take the long view in our service. We aspire to serve in ways that will make a lasting difference, that will continue to have an impact after our participation ends. Our younger generations, in my experience, share this sentiment, and apply it globally, by focusing on environmental iissues in new and innovative ways. When I became a Rotarian, eenvironmental issues were barely on our radar. To young people today, these concerns are front and centre. Their perspective is a valuable contribution to the world of Rotary service, and it is one that we should all encourage and support. Just as they are learning from us, so should we be learning from them.

SPEAKS

The young people who are serving in Rotaract and Interact, and participating in Youth Exchange and RYLA today, are the Rotarians of tomorrow. When we support them, we are supporting the future of our entire organisation. We are helping to train the men and women who will be the club Presidents, District Governors, RI Directors, and RI Presidents of tomorrow.

Gary C.K. Huang President, Rotary International

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ohn F. Germ, a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, and Chair of the International PolioPlus Committee, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of RI in 2016–17. He will become the President-nominee from 1 October if there are no challenging candidates. For Rotary to thrive, Germ says, members must face current and future challenges and opportunities with “passion, enthusiasm, perseverance, and above all, integrity.” “I envision Rotary boldly and creatively engaging the success of polio eradication, membership and identity issues, strengthening clubs, work with youth — our future lifeblood, and the creation of critical, strategic partnerships,” says Germ. “The 2016–17 Rotary year offers a tremendous opportunity for Rotary International

and the Foundation partnership unified and thriving, on all levels, via the Six Areas of Focus.” Germ says no one should ever have to ask, “What is Rotary?” “We will enhance Rotary's public image by successfully and enthusiastically marketing who we are, what amazing things we are doing, and incredibly, have done locally and globally,” says Germ. With the global economy still unpredictable, Germ says Rotary must make participation affordable and “also be unfailingly diligent in efforts to ensure we spend every dollar effectively and efficiently,” he says. In 1965, after four years in the U.S. Air Force, Germ, an engineer, joined Campbell and Associates Inc., an engineering consulting firm. He now serves as the company’s Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer. He also serves on the boards of several organisations including the Public Education Foundation, Orange Grove Center Inc., and the Blood Assurance Inc. He is the founder and treasurer of the Chattanooga State Technical Community College Foundation and is president of the Tennessee Jaycee Foundation. In 1970, he was recognised as Tennessee Young Man of the Year, Engineer of the Year, and Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year in 1992. A Rotary member since 1976, Germ has served Rotary as Vice President, Director, Foundation Trustee and Vice Chair, Chair of Rotary’s US $200 Million Challenge, and RI President’s

aide. He is a recipient of Rotary's Service Above Self Award and The Rotary Foundation's Citation for Meritorious Service and Distinguished Service Award. He and his wife, Judy, are members of the Arch Klumph Society. “Rotary will adapt to a rapidly changing world by embracing innovation within the guidelines of our tradition and values,” says Germ. “By aggressively embracing new technologies, social media and new opportunities, individuals and businesses will see that Rotary helps promote a good civic and public image while adding credibility to their people.” The Nominating Committee members are T.D. Griley, Newark, Ohio, USA (Chair); José Antonio F. Antiório, Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil; Keith Barnard-Jones, The Island & Royal Manor of Portland, Dorset, England; Kenneth R. Boyd, Kerman, California, USA; Michael Colasurdo Sr., Brick Township, New Jersey, USA; Yash Pal Das, Ambala, Haryana, India; John Eberhard, London, Ontario, Canada; Barry Matheson, Jessheim, Norway; Shekhar Mehta, Calcutta-Mahanagar, West Bengal, India; Carlo Monticelli, Milano Net, Italy; Samuel Owori, Kampala, Uganda; Kazuhiko Ozawa, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan; Ekkehart Pandel, Bückeburg, Germany; Juin Park, Suncheon, Jeonranam, Korea; John C. Smarge, Naples, Florida, USA; Barry E. Thompson, Padstow, New South Wales, Australia; and Thomas M. Thorfinnson, Eden Prairie Noon, Minnesota, USA. Source: www.rotary.org

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 9

Rotarians in overdrive With major membership drive! Worthy service projects too Chapter Two is through! My dear partners in service, September has been designated as New Generations month. Our focus should be on the youth of today. They are the key to the door of tomorrow’s prosperity. They are the foundation to the edifice of tomorrow’s salvation. India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people (2011 census), more than a sixth of the world’s population. India is projected to be the world’s most populous country by 2025, surpassing China. Its population is expected to reach 1.6 billion by 2050. India has more than 50 percent of its population below the age of 25 and more than 65 percent below the age of 35. It is expected that, in 2020, the average age of an Indian will be 29 years, compared to 37 for China and 48 for Japan. These statistics highlight the importance of inculcating core values of Rotary in the youth, who are at a most impressionable age! Rotary International believes that youth of today are the future of tomorrow. 10 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

It was the famous football champion, Pele who said, “Show me the youth of a nation and I will predict its future.” It was Swami Chinmayananda who said, “Youth are not useless. They are used less.” There is a subtle difference between the two! Swamiji also said, “Youth are not careless. They are cared less.” RI’s youth programmes like Interact / Rotaract / RYLA etc., are all designed to show that “Rotary cares” for the youth. It was John F. Kennedy who said, “If we cannot prepare our future for the youth, let us prepare our youth for the future.” Yes, we are preparing our youth for the future! Our Interact / Rotaract clubs, through RYLA programmes are doing exactly that. As Rotarians, let us help in caring for the youth and making them useful to themselves and to society. It is said that, “Every Rotarian is an example to youth.” This puts the onus of responsibility on us, to inculcate in the youth, the best of discipline, moral and ethical values. I will share two real life stories with you. Story No. 1 Easy Eddie was the lawyer of Al Capone who ran Chicago’s largest crime syndicate, in 1930’s.

Easy Eddie had everything. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he could not give his son... he could not pass on a good name or a good example. He decided to come clean. He confessed to the Law enforcement authorities. Within the year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street. But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read: “The clock of life is wound but once. No one can tell just when the hands will stop, Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. For the clock may soon be still.” Story No. 2 World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O’Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific. One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realised that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet. As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold. A squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie and the fleet was all but defenseless. He could not reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet. Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he continued his mission and dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O’Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. This took place on February 20, 1942 and for that action Butch became the Navy’s first Ace of World War II and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this World War II hero to fade and today, O’Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man. So, the next time you find yourself at O’Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch’s memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It is located between Terminals 1 and 2. SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES ... HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER? Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son. Easy Eddie had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, highest ethical standards, at the greatest price he could ever pay! Let us all learn from Easy Eddie’s life and in our own humble way, be an “Excellent example to youth.” It was the famous poet Khalil Gibran who said : “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams! You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday!” Through RYLA camps and career guidance programmes we can present the vision of the Promised Land to them and fire their desire to reach that destination. Through conferences for the new generations we can help them think about goals actively instead of reactively and shape ideas instead of merely responding to them. Let us be the music makers And the dreamers of dreams Let us be the leaders and the movers And work together in teams. Let us fashion Rotary’s glory And “Light Up Rotary” Out of each of our district’s success story! Yours in Rotary,

P.T. Prabhakar Director Rotary International (2013–15) SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 11

HOLISTIC THOUGHTS

Yesterday was over yesterday. Today is a new day. Today is a new beginning. The rest of your future begins today. Accept this reality and your suffering will cease that very instant. Draw a line to your past and move on.

Get enriched with inspirational thoughts reproduced from renowned new-age life guru and spiritualist, Shri. Mahatria Ra. He is also the founder of Alma Mater, an organisation dedicated to self-mastery and holistic personality. His spiritual foundation, Infinitheism encourages a path that inspires breakthroughs in people by thinking abundance in all spheres of human endeavour.

Your past has left you a long time back. Don’t continue to carry it in your head and continue to be affected by it. Your past has no reality except in your own memory.

The trouble with living from the ‘past’ is that it gives you scratched spectacles to view the future. When your spectacles are scratched, everything you see appears to be scratched. You become incapable of seeing life as it is or as it can be; you only see it through the experiences of your past. You need new spectacles to view your today and build your tomorrow. Treat your past not as a source of hurt and agony, but as an experience that you needed to gain maturity. You needed those experiences to become the person you are. But remember, maturity must be used to construct your future, not to dissect your past. Bitter yesterdays has the power to create better tomorrow. When bad things happen to good people, they become better people.

A saying goes: “Today can be the last day of your life.” True! Equally true is the fact that “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” The beginning is from where you begin. Begin today. Begin now. Begin here and move on. The person you will become in life is waiting for you in the future. Go and meet him.

Life is not about the opportunities missed in the past. Life is all about the opportunities you can create in the future. Live with this belief that your future begins today. 12 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER JUNE 2014 2014

Membership in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives

otarians are generous people. They give to many good, charitable causes in their communities but in many instances do not support their own charity: The Rotary Foundation. This Rotary year, I would like to see every Rotary club make a contribution to our Rotary Foundation. Remember that the good we do in the world is limited only by the contributions we receive. And when we give to our Foundation, we are not sending cash to Evanston â&#x20AC;&#x201D; we are helping a blind man to see, a polio victim to walk, a child to grow to adulthood healthily, a student to become better educated, and a family to have food to eat. Each year, the Trustees of The Rotary Foundation set a goal for the Annual Fund â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the fund that feeds the World Fund. This year, the goal is US $123 million, with each Rotarian being asked to contribute a minimum of $100. I am conscious that this figure would mean more in some countries than others. But Rotarians should give according to their means. The slogan Every Rotarian, Every Year means exactly that. Every Rotarian should make a contribution to our Foundation every year. Make it a priority this year to impress on your club the importance of every club supporting our Foundation in some way. As I said at the outset, Rotarians are generous people. I am sure you will translate that generosity into giving to our Rotary Foundation. It is up to each and every one of us to do so.

John Kenny Foundation Trustee Chair

As on August 1, 2014

RI RI Rotary No. of Women Rotaract Interact Zone District Clubs Rotarians Rotarians

5 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

2980 3000 3010 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3220 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3271 3272 3281 3282 3291 3292 Total

157 92 133 63 87 90 65 71 50 81 115 78 70 87 101 64 116 72 142 91 58 122 136 84 120 101 125 79 61 126 74 88 72 77 80 89 134 83 149 88 3,771

6,484 4,161 5,439 3,180 4,663 2,234 2,559 3,449 1,847 3,585 3,291 3,237 1,775 1,992 3,083 2,471 4,795 3,086 7,329 3,262 2,046 4,736 5,538 3,551 4,624 3,945 3,907 3,360 1,669 5,680 2,630 3,103 2,345 2,744 1,415 2,081 4,094 2,362 4,050 2,856 1,38,658

131 299 560 173 510 217 185 454 160 305 268 159 74 100 135 189 673 204 989 254 94 229 198 245 231 165 151 159 194 369 245 388 283 265 165 376 417 163 599 314 11,289

64 130 53 29 42 25 35 23 13 33 42 39 19 9 42 23 44 27 96 54 8 24 37 48 58 48 6 15 58 97 36 34 14 24 35 13 182 110 42 92 1,823

262 247 178 123 177 87 119 124 30 95 116 146 27 76 29 30 167 82 335 152 37 241 354 104 83 342 59 124 182 350 109 110 93 59 14 33 68 20 93 86 5,163

RCC

185 68 80 258 121 131 329 120 89 100 55 96 122 146 60 48 66 53 137 107 80 153 141 41 43 38 113 117 93 271 109 162 40 65 13 31 169 38 518 85 4,691

Source: RI South Asia Office SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 13

Rotary News has a new Editor B

eginning September 1, Senior Journalist Rasheeda Bhagat joins as the Editor of Rotary News. She brings with her 36 years of experience in

the media, 18 years with the Indian Express in Chennai, which she left in 1996 to join The Hindu Business Line, where she was till now an editorial consultant.

During her illustrious career, Rasheeda has held several senior editorial positions, travelled extensively across the world and written on politics and foreign affairs, agriculture and rural economy, environment and health care, education and human rights, gender issues (with particular emphasis on the evil of female foeticide), travel and lifestyle, food and small investors.

She has travelled to conflict areas such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and reported from there on the devastation caused by conflict and war in those societies. She has visited several times India’s neighbours such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, covering elections in both Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and interviewing Nobel Laureate and the ‘father’ of the self help group movement Mohammed Yunus who set up the Grameen Bank.

It is her connect with the rural and social sectors, writing about social entrepreneurs and the voluntary sector, telling positive stories about the changing face of India, with vivid details, conviction and passion, that makes her most suitable to take up this new assignment. Incidentally, the awards she has bagged during her career include one given by Rotary News Trust for the best Indian Journalist in 2009!

Rotary News magazine welcomes her and wishes her all the best.

14 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

As we celebrate our 68th Independence Day, millions of young Indians — the well-heeled as well as the poor and disadvantaged — are looking up to the new Government with a primary promise it had made while sweeping the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. And that has to do with rozi-roti. Consider the numbers; in this election a record number of about 150 million youngsters in the age group 18–23 years had qualified to vote for the first time. Just imagine … this number is the voting population of several European countries put together. If we raise the bar to the 35-year-olds, 65 percent of Indians belong to this group. Both the new Government, as well as the leaders in our voluntary and social sectors know only too well that the hopes and aspirations of this group are phenomenal. What is more, young Indians have, or are, moving away from the mai-baap or high-reverence towards our rulers. They are impatient, they are angry and they want to see a positive change in their lives. On their part, they are willing to do whatever it takes … study hard, work hard and become eligible for a decent livelihood. But they need a helping hand to do so. As start-up enterprises need angel-investors (Venture funds, sometimes called Vulture funds too!), India’s young, particularly those from the disadvantaged sections, need an “angel” to bring hope to their lives. Sridhar Vembu, founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation, who is featured in the cover story of this issue, is an entrepreneur who has perfected a win-win formula to run a successful business enterprise — annual sales of his Zoho Corporation is $180–200 million — while helping bright and talented youngsters from disadvantaged families. He recruits Plus Two or polytechnic students from villages of Tamil Nadu, trains them for 18 months at a Rs.7,000 stipend, and those who clear the rigorous training are all absorbed at a salary of Rs.20,000 a month. Connect such inspiring stories with the inspirational address Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave from the Red Fort this Independence Day. The most endearing and moving feature of his speech was that for the first time a top Indian politician spoke on gender issues, ranging from female foeticide and sexual harassment of girls/women to the urgent need for building separate toilets for girls in all government schools. He got the nuances, sensibility and sensitivity of the gender debate right, when he urged parents to ask the same questions to their sons as they do to their daughters — where are they going, what are they upto, who are their friends, and so on. He also urged doctors not to fall prey to the greed factor and in order to “fill their coffers” murder the girl child growing in a mother’s womb. India’s sex ratio had fallen to an alarming low of only 940 girls to 1000 boys. The PM reminded us that this is not an “imbalance” caused by nature; it was our own doing, and it was this imbalance which was responsible for so many problems in our society, he cautioned. India looks upon its young to heed such sound advice, so that both the genders can walk side by side, shoulder to shoulder to take India forward … and to great heights.

Rasheeda Bhagat SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 15

MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Making Headway on Membership Development D-3000 inducted 66 new members

RC Karur honours its new members on stage.

otary Club of Karur, chartered in 1955 is one of the oldest clubs of RI District 3000. The club enhanced its membership count from 296 at the start of the Rotary year 2014–15 to 362 by inducting 66 new members

that includes 24 women Rotarians also. Inspired by RI President Gary Huang and RI Director P.T. Prabhakar’s encouraging words on membership development, the Club President M.P.

Ramasamy confidently says that the club intends to bring in at least 34 members making it a total of 100 new members for the Rotary Year 2014–15. With inputs from RC Karur RI District 3000

D-3170 gives warm welcome to new members

otary International has designated August as Membership Development Month. Our District

3170 organised a District Membership Development Seminar to stress on the importance of membership.

The seminar hosted by RC Belgaum North, was held on August 10, 2014 at Belgaum.

RID PTP and DG Ganesh Bhat with 212 new members, inducted since July’14 in various clubs of D-3170. 16 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

We had the privilege of having RI Director P.T. Prabhakar as our chief guest. We had an audience of 1,000 Rotarians and RID P.T. Prabhakar had an interactive session with all of them! In his own inimitable style, he convinced the audience of the necessity to induct young members and women members in line with the

emphasis on membership by RI President Gary Huang, who is also laying great emphasis on spouse members. RID PTP recognised on stage, the 212 new members inducted in various Rotary clubs in the District since July 1, 2014, along with the respective club presidents and the Assistant Governors. District Governor Ganesh Bhat, exhibiting keen interest on

membership development, is determined to fulfill his target of inducting 1,701 Rotarians by June 30, 2015. DG Ganesh G Bhat, PDG Mahesh Raikar ARC, PDG Avinash Potdar Officer on Special Duty (OSD) together motivated the Rotarians to go all out for increasing membership in their respective clubs. Rtn. H.S. Chandrashekhar, RI District 3170 Coordinator

D-3212 organised a motivating Membership Seminar

he Membership Development Seminar of Rotary International District 3212 was organised by Rotary Clubs of Rajapalayam and Rajapalayam Central on August 17 at Rajapalayam. The event aimed at inspiring Rotarians with strategies for new member recruitment and retention of existing members. RI Director P.T. Prabhakar was the chief guest for the meet and his motivational address enthused the Rotarians to execute the slogan, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Each one Bring one.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He pointed out that recruiting members is not merely increasing the numbers; it means ushering in new attitudes, ideas and new ways. Stressing on bringing in more women to Rotary, RI Director requested the District Governor to waive the District dues for women Rotarians and also appoint a lady coordinator for Membership Development. He urged the Rotarians to infuse young blood in Rotary by inducting former Rotaractors, and that would bring in new inspiration and make the club younger and more zealous. Brimming with constructive ideas, RID Prabhakar suggested to the Rotarians to encourage former Rotarians to re-join Rotary and involve them in club activities and, to identify and induct quality members into the Rotary family. In keeping with the time, he also advocated the need for forming e-clubs to attract the netsavvy youngsters.

RID PTP interacting with the Rotarians at the seminar.

RID Prabhakar requested the citybased clubs to have a minimum membership base of 40 and town-based clubs to have a minimum membership of 30. He requested all weak clubs, below 30 members to immediately increase their membership strength so as to make the clubs more vibrant. In short, RID PTP mesmerised the audience and, all of them went home, clearly convinced about the need for qualitative membership growth.

The District team promised to add 10 e-clubs, two all-women Rotary clubs and improve upon the membership of weak clubs. Thanking the RI Director for his inspirational message, we along with DG Ashok Padmaraj promised to achieve the District target on membership growth. Rtn. Ramasubramania Raja Chair, Membership Development RI District 3212 SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 17

COVER STORY

A life worth

LIVING by Rasheeda Bhagat

Sridhar Vembu, Co-founder and CEO, Zoho Corporation.

18 ROT 18 ROTARY RO R OTARY OT ARY AR RY N NE NEWS EWS WS SEPTEMBER SEP SSE EEPPT TEEEM TEM MB BER BE ER 2014 ER 220 01144

ridhar Vembu is a tech guru with a difference. He co-founded the IT company Zoho Corporation (in another name) in 1996 at the age of 28. With annual sales of $180–200 million, it employs 2,500 people, but what makes it unique is its recruiting philosophy. In the beginning, knowing well that academic achievers, IITians, etc., would anyway opt for the IT majors and not the then unknown Zoho, he recruited from lesser known engineering colleges. By 2004 he realised that his top performing managers didn’t have a great academic background, and those they recruited had to be trained for the job anyway. So why not go directly to schools. So Zoho University was set up; when a professor of engineering, B. Rajendran, agreed to come on board, they found six students and the “university” was operational! Last year I met one of the first six students, Saran Babu. All of 24 years, he was already a manager handling a team of five and his salary had crossed Rs.70,000. So what is he earning now, I ask Vembu. “Oh, much much more; I can’t embarrass him by telling you the figure,” he laughs. “He is one of our star performers.” In this business, the pay rises very rapidly once they reach a certain level and they become globally competitive. Two years ago, when Saran Babu had to replace a senior manager for a task in Japan’s Zoho office, the client, Yahoo!, was so impressed by the youngster that it offered him a job in Japan. But Saran turned it down. “Because I am doing so well here, enjoying the challenge and I think I will grow faster here,” he tells me. Saran, like many of his younger colleagues, passed out of Class XII from a government school in Chennai. He wanted to become an engineer, but

Vembu (centre), the friendly, supportive boss with his staff.

his father fell ill and he had to start working. Today he earns much more than what a degree from a passable engineering college might have allowed. His younger brother is on board too, and together they not only run the house, Saran has invested in a flat and FDs, and gives his mother Rs.10,000 every month. “I work hard, but I really enjoy my work,” he says. Who wouldn’t, when the boss is so friendly, supportive and informal. I have a meal with Vembu and several youngsters at the Zoho canteen in Chennai. Vembu is dressed casually in a Tee shirt and jeans. The entire office is spanking clean, colourful and exudes a cheer and energy that warms the heart. No fuss, no frills In the canteen, when he joins them, nobody makes a fuss over the boss. Apart from India, Zoho has offices

in the US, Japan, China and “we will soon be opening our European office as there is a lot of demand coming in from Europe.” He spends 30 percent of his time in Chennai and the rest in the US. At the Zoho office, I meet youngsters from poor and lower middleclass families, recruited from the villages around cities like Madurai, Tiruchi, Vellore. Their stories warm the heart, as almost all of them are first generation white collar workers. During study/training at Zoho, they get a stipend of Rs.7,000 for 18 months. Most of the money goes to their parents/families in the villages. But admission to the Zoho University isn’t a cakewalk. “We screen about 60,000 Std XII and polytechnic students to select 60. It is basic intelligence, some math skill, abstract pattern matching and an aptitude for hard work.” About 10 percent can’t make it through the

rigorous and challenging training and drop out. Where learning is fun In Prof. Rajendran’s class, there is camaraderie and laughter. Now 64, he has been told by Vembu: “There is no retirement for you!” Here, I had earlier met Gunasundari, 17, nicknamed Great Guna, as she was very fast with software code-writing. From a village near Vellore in Tamil Nadu, she had lost her father and her mother was a construction worker. She shared a room in Chennai with a co-worker, and was happy she didn’t have to “mug up as in other colleges.” Later, Vembu says that till a few months earlier, Guna hadn’t even used a computer. “But within six months she was writing complicated codes. All of them write codes which I’d find difficult because I’m out of touch!” Most students are from Tamil medium schools, and have to SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 19

Democratisation of education is spreading ourselves. We didn’t seek official sanction or accreditation. It’s not important. We compete in the market with our products and what our customers care about is the quality of the product. Not who built it and what is her grade. They don’t care. So we focus only on that.” Another important point Vembu makes is that education and related employment Zoho CEO with Zoho University students in Chennai. opportunities opening up thanks to the Internet are going to lead to a decentralised n India’s youth Vembu says, “India has a big demosociety in a big way. He points to India’s history; 30 years graphic dividend, and the young today are hugely ago the Central government was all powerful. “No more. aspirational. Earlier our parents or elders would say this is Our States have now become powerful. In the next stage my fate. But no longer; today’s young have both aspiration the district governments will get more autonomy. Today no and ambition and we see that in our recruitment. Through district administration has any real depth to it, but all this the social media and the Internet they have much more will change in the next 10 years.” exposure.” This, adds Vembu, is great news for India as greater On why more Indian companies are not doing what development will take place. The same thing is happening he has done — taking talented youngsters from modest in the private sector and in “our individual lives too; we background and giving them an opportunity, Vembu says, are in charge of our destiny. That’s why I never complain: “I believe the realisation is slowly kicking in, particularly in ‘Oh, the government should do this or that. I don’t believe the US, with people questioning the value of college and in that. We have to take charge and solve our problems.” the idea of home-schooling is spreading. Many more alterIt is here that the voluntary sector has a lot of scope and natives are emerging thanks to the Internet, and based on the positive thing is many youngsters doing voluntary work this our education system is going to face a massive change in India, he says. in the next 5–10 years.” Looking back, he feels good at the course he has charted That, he adds, will create opportunities for a larger numfor himself and his company that he started at the age of ber of people. “Today, even if you come from a rural college, 28. “When I was 25, I’d wonder what is the measure of there is a strong exposure to new technologies, compared worth, the purpose of life, and whether life was worth livto 10 years ago. So the confidence that I can learn on my ing. All philosophical questions which led to the single own or I can learn in small groups is spreading.” question … if I didn’t live, what difference would it make Initially people hankered after “official sanction. But anyway. But I do feel now that it has been worth living. now what I call the democratisation in education is spreadI want to live and continue the work we’re doing.” ing. Earlier only government colleges had official sanction, He dismisses the question about his message to Indian and private institutions were on the margins. Now they’ve youth with, “Oh, that sounds too grandiose.” But he is “very come to the forefront. Similarly 25 years ago, working for the optimistic about India’s future for several reasons. As poor government was the right or ‘official’ thing to do; working as we are there are lots of things that are right about India. for the private sector was not cool. That has now changed.” Look at the level of communal harmony we have, not taking This process, he believes, will only strengthen. Small into account minor skirmishes. Look at Iraq. We have to be groups of people will take charge of their lives, their desthankful for what we are and have. And we can build on all tiny. “To me, Zoho University is a reflection of that process. this. Law and order might not be perfect, but it is decent. It’s We say we need good employees and we see a massive not as though we are fearful for our lives when we step out.” pool of talent out there, so why not put the two together

compulsorily undergo a daily one-hour English class. Whether Mohammed Afsar, whose father working as a ward boy in a government hospital, Vijayaraghavan from Srivilliputtur, G. Aruna and Madan from Madurai, or Asghar Khalid, Saravanan, Maharajan, … all of them have similar tales of poverty and tough lives to share. If they successfully complete 18 months’ training Zoho will absorb them with a starting salary of Rs.20,000, a windfall for these youngsters. What makes the eye moist is that these students, who have 12-hours classes 6 days a week, would love to come in on Sunday too because of the air conditioned environs and, more important, wholesome food, but Vembu insists that they should take a break. Small wonder that the loyalty quotient is so high and attrition so low in this company. The beginning The company began in 1996 in a room in his Chennai house, with two computers his brother Kumar had brought from the US. Today the company employs 2,500! With his father a stenographer in the Madras High Court, the boy studied in Tamil medium, becoming the first from his school to get into IIT Madras. In 1989, the electrical engineering graduate got a scholarship to do his Ph.D. at Princeton. Interestingly, at both IIT and Princeton, he avoided computer science as “it meant writing software and I felt building was better than sitting in front of a computer.” Interested in maths and economics, he wanted to become a teacher. But after getting his doctorate he had doubts about his vocation. “The best analogy is that of the Catholic Church; I trained to be a bishop and I started to question God. If you do that, you are in deep trouble,” he laughs. He turned down a teaching assignment in Australia and finally joined

Sharing some light moments with his staff.

Qualcomm, then in San Diego, preferring its sunny weather to the “freezing winters in Princeton. Just like you marry a girl because she looks good … a superficial reason!” After two years of writing codes, he realised the power of software; “whether a car engine, camera or anything else, they were all first designed and tested on the computer through software.” With his brother Kumar, a software engineer, also at Qualcomm (“those days you could literally board a plane to the US and find a job as there was a great shortage of software engineers”), the two brothers would discuss how India was on the verge of something big in software. The year was 1994, and “we’d say how in this industry you don’t need capital, equipment or infrastructure; only your brain. That’s how Infosys started! So should we start something too.” When Kumar became home-sick and left the US with two computers, a small software venture began. After many an obstacles and pitfalls, tiny orders for $2,000–5,000, came in. This was 1996; by 1998 their sales touched $300,000, and next year jumped to $1 million, “and we kept growing to $3 million and then $10 million, and knew we had a successful business,” he recalls. In 2009 the firm’s name was changed to Zoho Corporation.

Simplicity, candour Vembu disarms you with his simplicity and candour. On Zoho going public, he shakes his head and says, “Not really; I like the freedom to do what I want and dress the way I want. I don’t care how I look, I don’t like to talk to Wall Street or our Dalal Street guys wearing a suit and a tie. I don’t socialise in those circles. I don’t play golf — I’m not interested and consciously avoid all of it. I do whatever I do with passion.” Another reason, he says with a smile, for his not taking Zoho public, was he wants to avoid being talked about in terms of his networth. “I don’t want to be defined by the zeroes in my name. I am more interesting than that!” And those “interests” include running 10-mile marathons and helping his wife Pramilla, who runs her own company in the US, to home-school their 14-year-old autistic son. “He is learning at home at his own pace; if we send him to a school he will be miserable. He is very good at playing the piano.” Ask Vembu what he loves the most and he says: “Any peaceful place. Watching harvest in my village in Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu).” His home in the US is in the countryside too and has a big farm attached to it. “My son loves the solitude, and so do I. Our office in Tenkasi is also very peaceful and scenic.” SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 21

MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

2014–15 Rotary International Membership Committee Meeting 31 July – 1 August 2014

s the Liaison Director, I had the pleasure and privilege of attending 2014–15 RI Membership Committee Meeting on July 31 and August 1, 2014 at RI Headquarters, Chicago. The importance of the meeting to RI can be gauged from the fact, that, it was attended by RI President Gary Huang, General Secretary John Hewko, TRF Trustees Jackson S.L. Hsieh (Taiwan), Monty Audenart (Canada) and PRID Barry Rassin (Aide to RIPE K.R. Ravindran). The committee was chaired ably by PRID Allen Jagger. I give below the highlights of the Membership Committee Meeting: Status Report on Membership An update to the committee was presented on membership statistics and progress with respect to the regional membership plans. Rotary is at a critical point with respect to membership. For 18 years membership has remained stagnant. The 30 June 2014 number is a decline from 30 June 2013: 1,207,102 versus 1,208,660 from 30 June 2013. Based on our typical loss of approximately 2 percent between the 30 June and 1 July figures, we might estimate that the 1 July start-figure will be below the start-figure from last year. For the first time we see two years of decline, in succession, perhaps an indication of a declining trend. The committee discussed the importance of retention and retaining new clubs and existing members in general. We lose approximately 1,20,000 members each year!

Research Studies Staff presented results from the Strategic Planning Committee’s Membership Satisfaction Research. Under the direction of the Strategic Planning Committee, strategic plan surveys have been conducted to gather Rotarian feedback. In March 2014, a survey invitation was emailed to a random and representative sample of over 67,000 Rotarians. Achieving a response rate of 15 percent, a total of 10,334 Rotarians provided their feedback on a variety of strategic planning topics. Overall, the survey results affirm the strategic direction of the RI Strategic Plan. As in 2012, Rotarians continue to strongly endorse the priorities and the goals. The results also point to areas of strength and areas of opportunity for Rotary in achieving its objectives. Areas of Strength Consistency of Rotarian views on the priorities and goals of the strategic plan — Regardless of country or club, most Rotarians share similar aspirations for Rotary

Increasing awareness of the importance of strategic planning at the club and district level

Proud to be Rotarians and recommend our organisation to their family, friends and acquaintances

Support for both the New Grants model and sustainability in Rotary’s humanitarian efforts

RI’s Membership Committee Meeting in progress. 22 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

by P.T. Prabhakar RI Director, 2013–15

Tremendous amount of Rotarian pride in the success of Rotary’s campaign to end polio

Agreement with the Strengthening Rotary Initiative’s aims

membership, and to review the role of Rotary Coordinators and Assistant Rotary Coordinators at President-elect Training Seminar; The committee made the following suggestions:

Areas of Opportunity z Ongoing worries about the decline in membership

Promote the availability of Rotaract e-Clubs;

Consider how membership development is presented, in all training materials, ensuring that membership is positioned as the top priority of the organisation, when publications are next revised;

Feeling that there is insufficient diversity, particularly of age and gender, in their clubs

Lack of awareness of the new online tools — Rotary Club Central and Rotary Showcase

Frustration with ‘old-fashioned’ processes, bureaucracy, requirements and slow pace of change

Provide an update on the translation pilot programme at the 2014–15 Membership Committee’s March meeting;

Fears that attendance and meeting frequency rules drive away prospective new members

Emerging concerns about financial sustainability of Rotary as a whole and individual clubs in the next ten years

Review the leadership responsibilities for membership development, with emphasis on the role of the Assistant Governor, for review at the 2014–15 Membership Committee’s March meeting; Study the regions currently defined in the regional membership plans to better align with the Rotary Coordinator appointments and the RI Directors, for consideration by the 2014–15 Membership Committee at its March meeting.

Membership Committee Workgroups The 2013–14 Membership Committee identified five key issues and established workgroups to address them. The RI Board received an update on these groups and endorsed them at their May 2014 meeting. The workgroups met in small groups and discussed the following topics in detail: z

Communication

Rules vs. Engagement

Governance Structure

Training for club Presidents

New membership models

In discussion of the reports from each workgroup, the committee discussed and decided to make the following recommendations: z

Request the General Secretary to conduct a focus group of alumni and young professionals to help in the development of a new membership model that appeals to the 25–40 age group;

Expand the Innovation and Flexibility pilot from 200 to 1,000 clubs effective 1 July 2015;

Based on the success of the recent membership pilots, request the Constitution & Bylaws Committee to draft legislation for possible submission to the 2016 Council on Legislation that would allow for global implementation of the provisions of the Meeting Frequency, Corporate Membership, Associate Membership and Satellite Club pilots;

Request the Leadership Development & Training Committee to consider the quality and consistency of President-elect Training Seminar with respect to

Regional Membership Plans The committee discussed the regional membership plan implementation of the last two years and discussed the strengths and weaknesses to this approach. The committee felt strongly that this regional approach is the best approach for membership and discussed some possible opportunities to improve the implementation of the regional membership plans, including: z

Getting the plans and membership goals to the club level

Develop a simple and clear explanation of the goals in the region (not distribute the full plan but some key action steps)

Use metrics to better inform goal setting

Better inform District Governors and club Presidents as to their roles in support of the goals

Improve the definition of responsibility for the regional membership plans — ensure that each leadership role understands their individual responsibility for the plans.

Membership Development Business Plan The staff presented an update on the staff activities supporting membership development including publications, social media, webinars, district membership chair survey, pilot evaluations and research. It was one of the most professionally run and actively participated meeting in RI, that I have ever attended. I will keep you posted of the developments in membership plans, after the October 2014 Board Meeting. SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 23

CELEBRATING

ROTARY DAYS LIGHT UP ROTARY This year, I am urging all Rotarians to Light Up Rotary by participating in Rotary Days. The Rotary Day concept is a simple one: hold a fun, informal event in your community for the nonRotary public and use it as an opportunity to introduce them to Rotary. It’s that easy.

Rotary Days

Rotary Days can help your club drive up interest in membership, strengthen your club’s relationships with local institutions and community members, and improve Rotary’s image in your community. Imagine the collective impact we can have if all 34,000 Rotary clubs worldwide make a concerted effort to introduce the public to the fun, rewarding experiences that we all enjoy as Rotary members.

Gary C.K. Huang 2014-15 RI President Gary C.K. Huang President, Rotary International, 2014–15 24 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

Hosting a Rotary Day Any club, big or small, can host a Rotary Day. Neighbouring clubs can pool their resources and co-host a Rotary Day event, and even entire districts can come together to host a large-scale Rotary Day. Rotary Days can take any form, as long as they are fun and appealing to the non-Rotary public. Here are just a few possibilities: • Hold an outdoor picnic or barbecue • Host a sporting event or concert • Organise a family fun run

• Collect participants’ contact information and follow up within two weeks to invite them to attend a club meeting or event.

National Rotary Days In addition to the many club- and district-level Rotary Days that will take place this year, there will be a select number of national Rotary Days facilitated by current RI Directors and other senior leaders. These events will convey Rotary’s relevance, highlight our good work, and appeal specifically to residents of the countries where they take place. Visit President Huang’s page on rotary.org for details on these events.

• Align the event with a public parade or festival • Sponsor an event at a museum, art gallery, or cultural centre • Secure an auditorium or arena and plan a ticketed reception or buffet dinner

Rotary Days recognition for clubs District Governors are encouraged to give special awards to clubs that undertake successful Rotary Day events during 2014–15. Rotary will provide Governors with an electronic template for a certificate.

Tips for Rotary Day planners • Feature guests that will appeal to a non-Rotary audience. Consider inspirational speakers, celebrities, musicians, or other public figures. • If the event will offer food, keep it simple — for example, a barbecue buffet rather than a formal, sit-down meal. • Keep admission prices low. Approach local businesses to sponsor your event. • Make your event welcoming to families. Encourage members to bring their spouses, children and other relatives. • Avoid using Rotary jargon or referring to internal traditions; present Rotary as an enticing opportunity for prospective members to make new friends, exchange ideas, and take action to improve their local community and the world. • Highlight the work of ordinary Rotary members doing extraordinary humanitarian work.

Rotary Days photos Post photos from your Rotary Day event online using Instagram or Twitter and use the hashtag #RotaryDay to share your impact with Rotary’s online community. Photos of Rotary Day events around the world will be collected and shown at the 2015 Rotary International Convention in São Paulo, Brazil. Some photos may also be featured in The Rotarian magazine.

Rotary Days video contest Clubs and districts are invited to submit brief videos highlighting their Rotary Day events. President Huang will recognise one grand prize-winning club or district with a special award plaque. The winning video, along with videos from select finalists, will be featured on rotary.org and possibly at the 2015 Rotary International Convention in São Paulo, Brazil.

• Recognise non-Rotary community members who embody Rotary’s service ideals.

Submissions must be less than three minutes long, use English or English subtitles, and be uploaded to YouTube. To submit your video for the contest, visit President Huang’s page on rotary.org between 1 July 2014 and 31 March 2015 and complete the online submission form.

• Seek coverage for the event in local newsmedia.

Source: www.rotary.org

• Consider including a hands-on service project as part of the event to give visitors the chance to see firsthand how Rotary benefits the community.

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 25

RI District 3230 by Kiran Zehra RI District 3230 all set to paint the city in colours of patriotism and set a world record.

otary International President Gary Huang has urged the District Governors and club Presidents all over the world to Light Up Rotary by organising a Rotary Day in their community during the Rotary year 2014–15. Rotary Days would give Rotary, marvellous PR opportunities across the world. During a Rotary Day, Rotary clubs could host a fun, informal event for the larger community

which would enhance Rotary’s image and also boost the membership of the club. It is a perfect occasion for clubs to showcase their service projects in their communities. In line with RI President’s focus, DG I.S.A.K Nazar, RI District 3230 has planned to host a Rotary Day — Rotary My Flag My India — on December 7, 2014, in Chennai which would be the biggest PR event in the Rotary world.

Tamil Nadu Governor Dr. K. Rosaiah unveiling the logo as RID P.T. Prabhakar, DG I.S.A.K. Nazar and Rotary Days Chair Mohan Raghavan look on.

26 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

A curtain-raiser for ‘Rotary My Flag My India’ initiative was launched on August 18 in Chennai. With this event, RI District 3230, in its endeavour to create a new Guinness Record of forming the largest human Indian National Flag with the participation of 50,000-plus Rotarians, Rotaractors, NCC cadets, college and school students and others from various walks of life, opened

its registration counter for the mega event that is to be held on December 7, 2014 at Chennai. More than two lakh spectators are also expected to witness the magnificent show. Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr. K. Rosaiah, unveiled the logo and released the brochure which was received by RI Director P.T. Prabhakar. The Governor praised and congratulated RI District 3230 for its efforts to raise patriotic fervour in the hearts of Indian youth. Calling it a “Mega Event,” Rtn Mohan Raghavan, Chairman - Rotary Days, inspired the audience to join the initiative and lend their support to provide education, sanitation and clean water to the underprivileged in our country. Britto Educational Institutions, with submission of 1,000 participants took the lead in registration, which was handed over to RID Prabhakar. He congratulated DG Nazar and Rtn Mohan Raghavan for coming up with such an incredible concept. Addressing

RID P.T. Prabhakar receiving the brochure from Tamil Nadu Governor Dr. K. Rosaiah. Also seen: Rotary Days Chair Mohan Raghavan, DG I.S.A.K. Nazar and PDG A.P. Khanna.

RID P.T. Prabhakar decorating RIP Gary Huang with Rotary Days pin at RI Head Quarters, Evanston, USA on August 1, 2014.

the audience RID PTP said, “It is a great time to be a Rotarian from India because: India is No.1 in the world in membership development, No.3 in contribution to TRF, and most importantly India is polio-free making Rotarians in India truly proud of having achieved a milestone.” A special feature at the launch was the promo video that featured handmade clay dolls depicting various social welfare themes that Rotary brings about in India. DG Nazar urged the support of Rotarians and

non-Rotarians “to reiterate the importance of our nation’s values and principles” and together enforce the much awaited change. When this extraordinary concept was communicated to RI President Gary Huang, he was very much impressed with the elaborate idea and enthusiastically accepted to be the Chief Guest for the grand event. For registrations or to pledge in this initiative log on to: www.rotary myflagmyindia.com or email at rotarydays@gmail.com. SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 27

LITERACY

GROW BY READING A Guide to Setting up Library

Colour coding with GROW BY Code

Colour

Standard

Nature of Books

Green

Class II

Pictorial Books with 1–2 sentences per page with very simple, understandable words for children

Red

Class III

Pictorial books with 1–3 sentences per page and more difficult words than in Green coded books

Orange

Class IV

Pictorial books with 3–4 sentences per page and more complex words

White

Class V

Books with 5–6 sentences per page with construction more complex than in previous levels

Blue

Class VI

Books with 6–7 sentences per page using more complex structure and difficult words than in the previous label

Yellow

Class VII

Books meant for good readers. This will include books with scientific explanation of natural phenomena like solar eclipse

PRID Shekhar Mehta Chair, Rotary India Literacy Mission

n an overwhelming response to the ‘A Million Books A Million Smiles’ campaign, Rotarians in India have collected 15,83,427 books. The number continues to grow as more and more clubs upload their collection data on the www.rotaryteach.org website. By definition, a library is “a building or room containing collections of books, periodicals and sometimes films and recorded music for use or borrowing by the public or the members of an institution.” It may be large or small. When a library is created in a school, the thumb rule allocates at least three books per child. Thus, for a school with 40 students the library must contain a minimum of 120 books. A school library can be of two types: • Traditional Library • Classroom Library*

Book Sorting and Labeling • When sorting you will have books of different languages like English, Hindi and other local languages. So the sorting needs to be done, both, language-wise and colour-wise. • Ear mark a different space for a different colour of books while sorting. • Under each colour there should be allocated space for each language of books. • The colours and the corresponding level of book is given in the table (see top right). • Stickers have to be printed with the corresponding colours. Design of stickers is in Fig.1. • The books have to be sorted and placed, according to the classification given in the table above in the area designated for a given colour. • Label with the corresponding colour is to be stuck on the spine of each book, such that, half the sticker shows on the front cover and half on the back cover of the book. 28 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

Fig.1 • Each colour indicates a bunch of books that is suitable for a student class. • Once all books collected by a club are sorted, the club may find that it has too many books of one colour. • In that case the club will need to join hands with neighbouring clubs to get the correct mix of books for a library. • The colour of books to be considered for a particular classroom will depend on the standard/ability of students for whom the library is being created. • The clubs in a city/area/Rotary District can sort the books together at a common location and convert it into a PR event with press coverage.

• The Classroom Book Hanger can be of the following types:

Traditional Library

Hanger with 8 pockets 6 pockets 4 pockets Size of Pocket

Fig.2 To set up a traditional library, the following needs to be done: • A room or space in the school building needs to be designated for setting up the library. • Cupboards need to be bought and installed to store the books. • Books need to be sorted and put into the cupboards. (The process of sorting books to create a traditional or classroom library is the same and as described above). • For a traditional library a librarian has to be appointed to keep record of books acquired and borrowed by the children. Note: The library cupboard in Government schools, in rural areas, is usually kept in the Head Teacher’s room. The children are often scared to go there to browse through or even borrow books for reading. Classroom Library To set up a classroom library the following needs to be done: • Portable libraries, Classroom Book Hangers (Fig.3) are put up against a wall in the classroom at the beginning of the day and folded and kept away when school gets over. • The Classroom Book Hanger is made of canvas or waterproof material (used for making school bags) with four to six transparent pockets capable of holding at least thirty books each.

Length in Inches Breadth in Inches 42.5 24 32.5 24 22.5 24 9 10

• The pockets are labeled according to the GROW BY colour coding system and language-wise. • The books are sorted and labeled with colour coded stickers to be put into the corresponding pockets. • This is accompanied by a colour coded Book User Chart as shown in Fig.4.

Fig.4 • This chart is to be pasted on the wall beside the Classroom Library. • When a child picks up a book to read he looks at the colour of the sticker on the spine and accordingly ticks a box of the same colour in the corresponding month on the chart. • The chart helps the teacher to keep track of the progression in reading habits and comprehension ability of the students in his class. Note: In a Classroom Library the books stay in the classroom and children feel more comfortable to pick them up for reading. The books can be taken home by the students — however, it is advisable not to permit this as, then, record will need to be kept of which child is taking which book. Let us begin the process of library creation. It will be, I am sure, both enjoyable and educative for us adults too! Together we will create more than 1,500 libraries and light up the faces and eyes of lakhs of children with smiles, children who may have never seen or touched books like these.

Fig.3

*The process and guidelines on Library creation are provided by our knowledge partners Akshara Foundation and Hippocampus. SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 29

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ROTARY ACTS

Comfort Zones Rotary Club of Madras, RI District 3230, gives a big thrust to community sanitation and aims to make Tamil Nadu open-defecation free by the end of the decade!

alf the population of India — over 600 million people — defecate in the open. The result is a host of diseases including diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid, stunting of children’s growth, high infant mortality and assaults on women who defecate after dark. The Government of India has been generous with its toilet subsidies and numerous NGOs have constructed and donated toilets, but this has had little impact on open defecation. In order for sanitation to improve, behavioural modification of the target communities to sensitise them to sanitation is a must before toilets are constructed. The Rotary Club of Madras, the third oldest Rotary club in India, has launched a sanitation programme to end open defecation through its path- breaking pilot project in Gummidipoondi near Chennai, Tamil Nadu to create an open-defecation free community. The project uses a variant of the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) method pioneered by Dr. Kamal Kar which has been successful in several countries around the world, including parts of India. Bangladesh, for instance has reduced the number of open defecators to under ten percent. At the heart of CLTS is the recognition that merely providing toilets does not guarantee their use. It relies instead on triggers such as disgust and shame to make communities change their behaviour in a sustainable manner. Likewise, the “unglamorous” project of RC Madras works to create a “sense of disgust” among residents.

34 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

Rtn. S.N. Srikanth, President, RC Madras sensitising the issue of open-defecation to the villagers.

Panchayat Presidents eager to bring in the change.

The success that the pilot project of the club has seen is incredible. Immediately after being ‘triggered,’ the villagers of Amarampedu in Gummidipoondi have, on their own started digging leach pit toilets.

Importantly, the Government of Tamil Nadu, impressed with the pilot project, organised a meeting of all Panchayat Presidents in Gummidipoondi and had the expert facilitators of the RC Madras,

OCTOBER 2013

ROTARY NEWS 67

“Triggering” the residents of a village.

address them. The Panchayat Presidents committed to dates by which they would make their villages open-defecation-free. The Tamil Nadu Government is now looking at making the whole of Tamil Nadu open-defecation-free. The success of this pilot project has come at a very opportune time. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi has given a clarion call for “Swachh Bharat” or Clean India by 2019. Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi, he called for an end to open-defecation,

36 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

an end to the injustice against millions of women who are compelled to refrain from relieving themselves during the day for reasons of modesty and yet are subject to violence if they do so after dark. President S.N. Srikanth of RC Madras says, “It is our objective to act as a catalyst for an open-defecation-free India through our pilot project which stresses the need for behaviour modification before the toilets are constructed. We will also assist the Government in evolving an enabling policy environment to

Leach pit toilets being dug.

make the Prime Minister's dream come true.” Director, Community Service, Rtn. P. Suresh and Chairman, Rtn. M.S. Nagarajan say, “The Rotary Club of Madras was a pioneer in PolioPlus. We will be the pioneer in sanitation too!” The club plans to initiate action in phases at Amarampettai, Kimalur and Panjalai villages in Gummidipoondi, and Rotary Nagar in Chennai. With inputs from RC Madras RI District 3230

Rotary leaders visit Rotary News Trust Office

We at Rotary News were happy to receive PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, RI Director P.T. Prabhakar, RI Director-elect Dr. Manoj Desai and Advisory Board member DG I.S.A.K. Nazar who visited the Rotary News Trust office at Chennai in August 6, 2014.

Your meeting place for Funding Donated goods Matching Grant partners Model projects Volunteers

Connect with projects worldwide www.rotary.org/projectlink SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 37

Bookmark Rotary Rotary Social Media www.rotary.org/socialnetworks

PRIP Nitish C. Laharry PRIP Rajendra K. Saboo

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee

he pencil sketch portraits of the three RI Presidents from India PRIP Nitish C. Laharry (1962–63), PRIP Rajendra K. Saboo (1991–92) and PRIP Kalyan Banerjee (2011–12) were unveiled at the installation ceremony of Rtn. Sundaram as President of RC Mysore West for 2014–15. The portraits were unveiled by PDG R. Guru, RI District 3180, amidst widespread applause from several Rotarians and Past District Governors and their families. The idea was to recognise and honour the three leaders from India who had reached the pinnacle of success in Rotary, bringing laurels to the country through their leadership and selfless support. These remarkable sketches were done by Rtn. K. Raghavendra of RC Brindavan, RI District 3180; the artist was complimented by both Past RI Presidents Rajendra K. Saboo and Kalyan Banerjee. PRIP Rajendra Saboo said, “These pencil sketches have come out extremely well. I am deeply touched by the thoughtful event perceived by the leadership of Rotary Club of Mysore West. Please convey my special compliments to Rtn. Raghavendra for the superb job that he has done. He has created something so beautiful, that we are all flattered.” PRIP Kalyan Banerjee also complimented Rtn. Raghavendra’s work: “I am both surprised and honoured and shall always cherish this gift of love.”

by Jaishree

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Rtn. K. Raghavendra, the artist being honoured by PDG R. Guru. SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 39

Spreading

Cheer

Compiled by Kiran Zehra

RC Vikravandi RI District 2980 School bus at a cost of Rs.20 lakhs donated to Vela Special School along with Global Grant partner RI District 5500, USA and TRF.

RC Cumbum Green Valley RI District 3000 Notebooks and stationery donated to government school children.

RC Rewari Main RI District 3010

RC Palakol RI District 3020

A car rally to promote literacy was undertaken by the Rotarians.

Educational books distributed to government college girl students.

40 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

RC Jalgaon West RI District 3030 The club along with Rotary Clubs of RI Districts 5280 andd 6940, 69 USA and TRF installed water purifiers at various government schools.

RC Indore Greater RI District 3040 Rotarians opened a Rotary Poly Clinic at Khajrana to assist poor and needy patients.

RC Deesa RI District 3051

RC Srimadhopur Sunrise RI District 3052

Medical check-up and welfare camp for nomadic and de-notified tribes.

School furniture donated to Bidami Devi Government Girls Upper Primary School.

RC Bikaner RI District 3053

RC Shindkheda RI District 3060

Educational kits distributed to the students of Government Upper Middle School.

Rain coats and educational kits distributed to students of Krushi Madyamik Vidyalaya.

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 41

RC Pathankot Greater RI District 3070 Educational kits distributed to students from slum areas.

RC Central Hisar RI District 3090 Stationery items were distributed to students of Chetna School, Hisar.

RC Shahjahanpur City RI District 3110 Medical check up conducted for students of Government Swargiya Banwarilal Memorial School, Mauzamppur. 42 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

RC Roopnagar RI District 3080 Technical training imparted to students with hearing and speech impairment at Blue Bird School.

RC Moradabad Civil Lines RI District 3100 Books and pens donated to students of Saraswati Vidya Mandir.

RC Basti Midtown RI District 3120 Blood donation camp was organised by the club at Keli Basti.

RC Kharghar RI District 3131 English communication classes inaugurated at Zilla Parishad School for Marathi medium students.

RC Aurangabad West RI District 3132 Chess Board for the visually challenged were donated to Interact Exchange team of Johor Centennial, RI District 3310, Malaysia.

RC Palghar RI District 3140

RC Armoor RI District 3150

A fully equipped Palghar Rotary Dialysis Centre was inaugurated by the Rotarians.

Notebooks distributed to students at a primary school in Armoor.

RC Tadipatri RI District 3160

RC Amritsar East RI District 3170

Vocational training in tailoring imparted to underprivileged women and certificates given to them on successful completion of the course.

Furniture and food kits donated to the inmates at Shri Guru Ram Das Old Age Home.

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 43

RC Hungarcutta Sasthan RI District 3180 Auricular check up followed by distribution of hearing aids for children suffering from hearing impairment.

RC Irinjalakuda North RI District 3201 Notebooks distributed at Government VHS School, Nadavaramba.

RC Sherthallai RI District 3211 Newspapers distributed to school students.

44 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

RI District 3190 Rotaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s T-E-A-C-H initiative was inaugurated in RI District 3190.

RC Tirupur Metropolis RI District 3202 Passenger shelter constructed at a bus-stop to protect commuters from sun and rain. This structure would also serve to enhance Rotaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s public image.

RC Tinnevelly RI District 3212 Students who topped the Std. X and XII Board exams were honoured.

RI District 3230

RC Jalpaiguri RI District 3240

Paediatric cardio check-up and treatment for the needy organised by city and city-plus Rotary clubs of the District at a cost of Rs.2.25 crores.

Annapoorna Day observed at Anubhab, an orphanage. Nutritional diet served to the inmates.

RC Patna Midtown RI District 3250

RC Rourkela RI District 3261

Sewing machines donated to poor women to help them pursue the vocation and thus improve their financial status.

RC Shri Jagannath Dham RI District 3262 The National Chess under-11 Chess Championship was organised to promote and encourage sports skills in children.

Club collected 18,000 books for Rotary’s literacy promotion programme T-E-A-C-H under the ‘A Million Books - A Million Smiles’ initiative.

RC Port Blair RI District 3291 Saplings planted on Vanmahotsava week at Haddo Jetty to promote a greener earth.

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 45

Compiled by Selvi These youngsters define ‘New Generation’ in a manner that does India extremely proud. The 20th Commonwealth Games 2014, held in Glasgow, Scotland had 4,950 athletes from 71 countries participating in 18 different sports. Indian athletes sparkled as they won 64 medals — 15-gold, 30-silver and 19-bronze, placing India in an impressive fifth position. What impressed most was the humble background of many of our heroes.

GANESH MALI Bronze medallist in the 56 kg weightlifting category is the son of daily wage labourers Chandrakant Mali and Anita from Kurundwad village in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. This 21-year-old weightlifter has been a cadet with the Indian Air Force, and helped his parents in the fields. Inspired by his cousin Ravindra, he took up the sport. Ganesh’s parents survived on their income and whatever little their son could send from his salary. This youngster, who won a medal in his first international event, has made both his parents and country proud.

PRAKASH NANJAPPA (38), from Bangalore, brought home a silver medal in the men’s 10-metre air pistol shooting. It is heart rending to know that he suffered a facial paralytic attack last year during a competition in the World Cup in Spain. Prakash fought back his illness with courage, defied all barriers and won the medal for India. He still needs to use eye drops to avoid dryness in his eyes.

SANTOSHI MATSA, from Kondavelagada village in Nellimarlamandal, Andhra Pradesh, won a bronze medal in the 53 kg women’s weightlifting. This 19-year-old is the daughter of a jute mill labourer Satyam Matsa, who encouraged his daughter to take up this sport and invested in her training despite the family’s poor finances. It is significant that the young woman underwent training in her small village as she could not afford to do so in bigger towns.

46 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

ANISA SAYYED won the silver medal in women’s shooting in the 25-metre pistol category. She belongs to a lower middle class and conservative Muslim family in Pune, Maharashtra. Anisa had already bagged two gold medals from the 2010 Delhi CWG. This courageous woman has fought many battles including her family’s poor economical condition, inability to afford expensive training required for a professional shooter, and according to media reports is yet to get the job promised by the Haryana Government in 2010. Her proud husband Mubarak Hussain has been a pillar of support.

SANJITA KHUMUKCHAN, 20, is from Manipur and has won a gold in the 48 kg women’s weightlifting event. The woman, who took a two-year-break from international sports due to an injury, had to practise vigorously to compete with strong contenders from across the globe. Her story is truly inspiring.

SATISH SIVALINGAM, who comes from a village in Vellore District, created history in his debut Commonwealth Games, by setting a new game record and winning the gold medal in weightlifting. This 23-year-old weightlifter battled poverty and many hardships to win this gold and has made the nation proud.

VINESH PHOGAT has won a gold medal in her first Commonwealth Games in the 48 kg women wrestler’s category. Hailing from Balali village in Haryana’s Bhiwani District, this 19-year-old comes from a family of wrestlers. She followed in her sisters footsteps, who was a trail blazer in a village dominated by Khap panchayats, who frowned on girls participating in sporting events.

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 47

A Welcome CSR legislation by PDG Dr. Sudhir Rashingkar RI District 3131 Under Sec. 135 and 439 (subsection (1) and (2)) of The Companies Act, a new legislation on CSR has come into effect from financial year 2013–14. It is now mandatory for corporates with certain size of profit, net-worth or turnover, to spend at least 2 percent of profits (Terms apply) on some form or other of community service. The law is known as ‘Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Law’ and is under the Companies Act, Section 135 and 439 (subsection (1) and (2)). Rotarians should note the opportunities that like for funding development and community service projects, thanks to this legislation, which is bound to change the dimension of community service.

CSR activities are not to be linked or carried out by the HRD department; they wil come in a separate category.

Eligible Companies: Following are the eligibility criteria for companies coming under CSR. They must fulfil any of the following three parameters

• Promoting gender equality and empowering women,

• Net profit of Rs.5 crores or more, • Networth of Rs.500 crores or more, • Turnover of Rs.1,000 crores or more CSR Committee: Every company coming under the legislation will have to appoint a CSR Committee. It will consist of three directors of the company, of which one should be an independent director. This committee shall formulate and recommend to the Board a CSR policy indicating the activities to be undertaken; the amount to be spent; and monitor the CSR policy periodically.

SCHEDULE VII - Activities which may be included by companies in their CSR

• Eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition; promoting preventive healthcare and sanitation and making available safe drinking water;

• Promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocational skills especially among children, women, elderly and the differently-abled and livelihood enhancement project; setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans; setting up old-age homes, day-care centres and such other facilities for senior citizens and measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups;

• Ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agro-forestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air and water;

• Protection of national heritage, art and culture including restoration of building and sites of historical importance and works of art; setting up public libraries; promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts;

• Measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents;

• Training to promote rural sports, nationally recognised sports, paralympic sports and Olympic sports;

• Contribution to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development and relief and welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women;

• Contributions or funds provided to technology incubators located within academic institutions which are approved by the Central Government;

• Rural development projects. 48 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

Opportunities for Rotary clubs and Districts The CSR legislation says that CSR activities can be undertaken by Corporate themselves; under their Foundation or trusts; with the help of other sister corporate; with cooperation of NGOs/NPOs, provided they have necessary credentials and good track record. This gives ample opportunities for NGOs/NPOs like Rotary clubs for getting funds from corporates, who should be happy to work with us rather than duplicate such work. For this, Rotary clubs need to approach corporates in a professional manner and give confidence that they can do quality work that will make a difference to the region or the community. The Rotary Foundation has six focus areas for community service which in many ways are matching with designated areas under CSR legislation vide schedule VII as mentioned above. It will be useful if corporates can explore the possibility of working with Rotary International and clubs. Under schemes of The Rotary Foundation such as Global Grants, Packaged Grants or Term Gifts, money can get multiplied if the project is handled under The Rotary Foundation frame work. There are schemes in which corporate and Rotary clubs can identify areas for the projects and Rotary, which

has a ready and experienced volunteer force, can implement the projects efficiently. For this Rotary clubs have to be a registered charitable trust with its up-to-date accounts and report submission as required to the designated authority; they should have good track record of minimum three years of handling service projects on better scale, have a board of trustees who are chosen at regular intervals and in general, the club and its trust should be creditworthy. Such clubs can identify the corporates in their area coming under this legislation, establish contact with its CSR department and concerned directors of the CSR committee, find out the priority areas of the said corporate for CSR work and then explore possibilities on how they can work in cooperation with such corporates. To get advantage of TRF schemes and funding, such clubs can discuss with their district TRF team and prepare a roadmap. Apart from making more funds available under CSR legislation, another positive aspect is to get corporate involved in attending community needs through Rotary to make life of common citizens more comfortable by providing some basic needs. In this context, we need to welcome this legislation. Â&#x201E;

A picture can speak a thousand words.

ROTARYIMAGES WWW.ROTARY.ORG/ROTARYIMAGES

Now Rotarians can search and access thousands of high-quality photos taken by Rotary International photographers. Rotary Images is a database of pictures that bring Rotaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stories to life and can help enhance club Web sites and other publications.

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 49

ROTARY ACTS

by Jaishree

he audience at Rotary Community Centre at Nagercoil zealously cheered the chess players for the moves they made on their board — but what is new about it? These players were all visually challenged. The event was the South India Zonal Chess Competition for the Blind organised by Rotary clubs of Nagercoil Central and Nagercoil West, RI District 3212. The ‘blind,’ so to speak, are not disabled; instead, they are ‘speciallyabled.’ “People who consider themselves victims of their circumstances will always remain victims unless they develop a greater vision for their lives,” observes Stedman Graham, an American author and educator. The participants at the South India Zonal Winners with the Rotarians.

50 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

Chess Competition for the Blind proved this quote right. They did not let their disability hinder their life; instead they won over their challenges to show the world that willpower and self-confidence could take them places. The event was an excellent platform for the visually impaired to showcase their skills and proficiency in the game. It was truly a transformative and humbling experience for the facilitators and the audience to watch these talented participants make calculated moves to save their Kings; their self-confidence seemed infectious. The three-day event was inaugurated by the then District Governor Jessiah Villavarayar and, the current DG Ashok Padmaraj felicitated the

winners at the end of the tournament. Sixty-eight players from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh competed in the programme. It was organised in association with the Tamil Nadu Chess Association for the Blind which is affiliated to All India Chess Federation for the Blind (AICFB), the governing body for the game of chess among visually impaired in India. Top twenty winners of this tournament went on to represent South India at the National Chess Tournament for Blind that was held later at Mumbai. “Chess, for the visually challenged is much more than a sport,” says Rtn. Azeezur Rehman, the project coordinator of the tournament. “The game gives them confidence in

their own competency which is very helpful in their professional lives as well,” he said. Chess for the blind deviates from the regular game in a few ways: the chess board of 64 squares is modified such that the black squares are raised 3 to 4 mm more than the white ones to help the players distinguish between the two; the squares have slots and the coins are designed with pegs at the base so that the players can fix the pieces into the slots in the squares; all the black pieces have a pin on their top to help differentiate it from the white ones. The players can identify the pieces, whether it is a pawn, rook, knight, bishop, king or queen, by feeling the piece. As the player makes his move, he would announce it loudly so that it can be recorded by the opponent in Braille or on a voice recorder. Reference books in Braille, audio books and screen reading software help in improving the playing skills of the visually challenged.

A game in progress.

Several of these players were of the view that the state governments should encourage and provide ample opportunities for the differently-abled in the field of sports. Presently, India boasts of more than 65 visually challenged players who have secured international ranking in the game. The event

at Nagercoil was an eye-opener for the Rotarians to realise that the game of kings and queens is not limited to the sighted; the sightless are equally capable of achieving great heights when provided with right motivation and ambience. And the District leaders have vowed to make it happen.

Air-conditioned Conference Hall with a seating capacity of 30 persons in the ofﬁce of the Rotary News Trust Contact:

ROTARY NEWS TRUST 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai - 600 008 Phone: 044-4214 5666 Fax: 2852 8818, e-mail: rotarynews@rosaonline.org

AUGUST 2014

ROTARY NEWS 51

INSPIRE INFLUENCE IMPRESS

The Pan District Press Conference held simultaneously in all the 15 regions of RI District 3132 on a designated day, designated time proved to be an excellent image building exercise that helped District 3132 in getting the Rotary message out to the larger community. by Jaishree With inputs from DG Vyankatesh Metan RI District 3132, Secretary, Rotary News Trust

DG Vyankatesh Metan at Solapur Akashwani.

ill Gates has famously said, “If I were down to my last dollar, I would spend it on public relations.” The 1.2 million Rotarians in 34,000-plus clubs across the world have been bringing phenomenal transformations in communities world-over, ranging from healthcare, eradication of poverty, education, adult literacy, financial support for vocational training and much more. This work needs to be showcased, more than anything else, to inspire more people, particularly youngsters,

to get interested in the cause of serving humanity. To further build Brand Rotary and attract new members to the Rotary fold, District Governor Vyankatesh Metan, Rotary International District 3132, organised a Pan District Press Conference. The District encompasses 15 regions and the press conference was conducted in all the regions simultaneously. So on June 29, at the designated hour, district leaders of all the 15 regions briefed the press about the Rotary movement, the Foundation

and predominantly Rotary’s significant role in polio eradication around the world with particular emphasis on India. India has attained the historic Polio-free certification from WHO. The leaders spoke in detail about the humanitarian activities undertaken by the Rotary clubs of District 3132 and their goals for the Rotary year 2014–15. Both print and electronic media covered the event and the interviews with the district leaders were aired on Akashwani and FM radio. SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 53

ROTARY ACTS

Balle Balle!

Marriages may be made in heaven, but the Rotarians of RC Amritsar Midtown, RI District 3070, are God’s matrimonial angels for these young women.

by Kiran Zehra

n Indian wedding is always a grand event … charming, dazzling and full of vibrant colours. In what has become an annual exercise, members of RC Amritsar Midtown, RI District 3070, have helped organise and formalise the marriage of underprivileged girls. One of the brides, Harpreet Kaur was born to blind parents. She now works with a private company in Delhi, but with both her parents no more, and her two brothers being blind too, she had very little hope of finding a groom and funds to organise a wedding. When the Rotarians of this club got to know of her plight, they began the hunt to find her a groom from Delhi. They succeeded in doing so and now she is happily married and the couple continues to work in Delhi.

The wedding of a daughter means the world to a parent. These ‘angels’ from Rotary made any parent’s job of shortlisting and scrutinising their daughter’s groom that much easier by providing them with a list of prospective young men who were eligible to get their daughters’ hands. The list of men went through layers of filtering before the parents got to make the final choice. The prospective groom’s family background was checked, as well as the job he had on hand. Even the kind of friends he kept was scrutinised! Only after this the marriage was planned. “We literally went from door to door to cross check on the prospective groom’s background,” says the then President of the club Satish Kumar Babbar. Another issue to be

Brides and Grooms along with Rotarians of RC Amritsar Midtown. 54 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

safeguarded is checking on the age of both the brides and the grooms to make sure that the legal marriageable age was followed. “Otherwise there is danger of child marriage,” he added. Thanks to the Rotarians, the couple got a gift of household items to begin their married life. Beds, chairs, cupboards, blankets, utensils and other household items were gifted to them. And this was not all. A lot of care went into organising the big event. The Rotarians chose the venue, decoration, food and seating arrangements. As over 2,000 guests were to be invited, almost every member of RC Amritsar Midtown was involved in planning and executing various aspects of the wedding. On the crucial day, as the shehnai notes started wafting in the

Beautician wing of Ganesh Das Chadha Rotary Centre grooming the brides.

The white wedding.

air, brides began to assemble at the Bhavan’s S.L.Public School, wearing colourful lehengas and chunnis

— the bridal joda cost Rs.2,200, and the bridegrooms looked happy in their wedding suits which had been

sent to their homes earlier. Jewellery and accessories like the chuda, parand, kalira and a vanity kit were also gifted to the bride by the club. Bridal make-up was done by the Beautician Wing of the Ganesh Das Chadha Rotary Centre, a project run by this club for the last 15 years. It trains poor women in cosmetology and related skills, and equips them for economical independence through the beauty industry. The baraat came accompanied by band-baaja, and of course who can do without bhangra at a Punjabi wedding? A sumptuous breakfast was arranged for all the guests. The couples then exchanged garlands and rings. As some of the couples were Christian, the brides wore white and were accompanied by bridesmaids. The purohits and priests solemnised the wedding and the couples were united in holy matrimony. But the responsibility of the Rotarians did not end here. They counselled the men to treat their wives with both respect and responsibility. Lunch was served to the couples as well as the families by the Rotarians. The most remarkable factor is that from 1998 onwards the club has been helping poor parents to organise a dignified wedding ceremony for their daughters, and with this year’s celebration, a total number of 480 couples have been united in matrimony.

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 55

ROTARY ACTS

ituated on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, about 90 villages surrounding Kalol have benefitted by the ongoing projects of the Rotary Club of Kalol, RI District 3051. Right from its inception in 1959, the club has conducted blood donation, eye care and medical camps here, apart from other projects. Rotary Shantivan is a crematorium renovated by this club which has built a modern structure with three platforms for cremation, a shed and seating area for relatives to perform the final rituals, along with 15 small temples. Toilets and bathrooms with hot water facilities have also been built. The once dilapidated burial ground now has a green cover and a landscaped garden, thanks to this project which included planting of two thousand saplings. All the amenities including the firewood used for cremation is provided free of cost. The Rotary Amusement Park built from the contributions from club members and Mrs Ilaben H. Shah, a generous donor, has a beautiful garden and many free rides like toy train, baby car,

56 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

COMMUNITY FIRST by Selvi With inputs from RC Kalol, RI District 3051 disco cup and saucer, super trooper. This childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s park has become a noted landmark and a popular outing spot amongst locals. Many children

come with their family and enjoy the rides in the park which also has pay and use toilets. The park was built at a cost of Rs.21 lakh. Physiotherapy centre.

Newly donated dialysis machine.

The Rotary Community Hall built with members’ contribution of Rs.28 lakh, is constructed on two floors; this air conditioned hall can accommodate 1,000 people. It is rented out at a nominal cost for social gatherings. This Rotary club’s most prestigious community service project is the Rotary Medical and Research Centre–Rajesh Hospital. This multispecialty hospital has departments such as OP, ICCU, three operation theatres, a dialysis centre, ENT, CT scan, pathology and radiology departments, 75 beds with piped oxygen and multi-para-monitors, ambulance and 24-hour medical stores with round-the-clock medical officers and in-patient staff. All these facilities are provided with nominal charges so that even the marginalised can benefit. The total cost of this hospital is Rs.280 lakh, and a major donation came from Mr Vishnubhai P. Patel, who wanted to build a hospital in the memory of his late brother Rajesh. The rest were contributed by members of the club. Through a Matching Grant project with RI District 6650, USA and with contributions from The Rotary Foundation, a ‘Physiotherapy and Health Centre’ was inaugurated in the hospital premises in May 2014, on the occasion of the 12th Annual Day of Rajesh Hospital. The hospital is managed by Rtn Ganapati Patil and Rtn Dinesh Gajjar. SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 57

Siga Marketing, 09381475767.

India Today Reports Rotary Leadership Excellence Award D-3131

otary District 3131 has honoured Mr Vishal Gokhale, Managing Director of city-based Gokhale Constructions, with the ‘Rotary Leadership Excellence Award.’ The award was presented to him by P.T. Prabhakar, Rotary International Director (2013–15) who represents Rotary in seven South Asian countries, at an event held at Poona Club. Dr. Deepak Shikarpur, District Governor of Rotary District 3131 (2013–14), and Abhay Gadgil, District Secretary, were also present at the occasion. Mr Gokhale has carved a niche for himself in the world of real estate in a short span of 10 years. He is known for his contribution in all segments of real estate — mid and affordable, premium and ultra premium. His speciality is re-development of old buildings in key locations in the city. Source: India Today, August 4, 2014

Eye Connect by Kiran Zehra

oor blind villagers, a far off eye care hospital, a Corporate donor and to connect the dots — Rotary! Rotary Club of Bangalore, RI District 3190, in association with Timken India, under a single corporate grant project of $112,000 has donated two buses to the Sankara Eye Hospital to facilitate transportation of villagers in and around Bangalore to the eye care facility. Under the leadership of Rtn Purnima Ranganath and Rtn T.V. Raghunath, this project has given the gift of vision to hundreds of disadvantaged villagers.

66 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

District Wise Contribution Totals to The Rotary Foundation as on July 31, 2014 (in US Dollars)

District Number

APF

2980 3000 3010 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3291 India Total

14,800 2,958 (3,149) 1,177 (1,163) (5,112) 0 (72,500) 8 19,468 (697) 23,028 5,768 2,707 18,411 810 77,530 872 7,645 2,157 1,607 5,862 0 0 424 26,532 12,815 41,149 0 8,685 1,530 1,93,321

3220

32,773

3271 3272

0 500

3281 3282

22,370 800

3292 South Asia Total World Total

0 2,49,764 63,13,404

PolioPlus*

Other Restricted

India 1,971 0 0 0 0 2,700 500 3,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4,385 0 1,227 3,271 2,000 0 0 0 0 17 64,068 0 0 0 8,575 0 18,076 0 0 0 0 0 1,701 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 597 1,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,712 6,377 1,09,444 Sri Lanka 1,000 0 0 Pakistan 0 0 816 (816) Bangladesh 10,000 0 0 0 Nepal 0 0 18,192 1,08,628 12,56,542 10,63,537

* Excludes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Endowment Fund

Total Contributions

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 83,136 0 0 0 3,898 0 0 20,000 0 1,000 2,000 0 0 0 0 1,017 5,000 0 5,509 25 7,245 0 0 0 1,28,829

16,771 2,958 (449) 4,677 (1,163) (5,112) 0 10,636 8 23,853 531 32,198 0 5,768 2,707 0 1,02,496 810 87,104 20,948 0 7,645 2,157 3,308 5,883 1,017 5,000 424 32,040 14,437 48,393 0 8,685 4,242 4,37,971

5,000 0 0 0

38,773

2,000 0

34,370 800

0 1,35,829 7,06,118

0 5,12,414 93,39,601

0 500

Source: RI South Asia Office

Tel.: 011 42250101 Fax: 011 42250191

Partners in

Clean Water by Ryan Hyland and Diana Schoberg

he statistics are staggering. Worldwide, 2.5 billion people have no improved sanitation facilities. More than 783 million lack access to clean drinking water. But the message at the World Water Summit — held 30 May before the RI Convention in Sydney, Australia, and sponsored in part by The Rotarian — was encouraging: Rotary members and their clubs can make progress through collaborations with the private sector, nongovernmental organisations, and governments. “These are scary numbers,” said Jenny Da Rin, assistant secretary for the Health and Environmental Safeguards branch of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. “Reducing the numbers is a great challenge, but you are all here today because you are committed to tackling these challenges. This is a wonderful forum for us to think about how we can do things better, think about how we can work together more effectively, and think about how we can get better results.” The water summit, the sixth convened by the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group, aimed to match expertise from the industry with Rotary-led projects. For example, Past District Governor Brian Cook talked about his district’s partnerships with universities to promote water education in developing countries, including Malaysia and India. Event organisers hope participants Past RI President William B. Boyd, Chair of the action group.

68 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

left with a better understanding of how they can work with other groups. Seth Womble, a former Group Study Exchange student, is building relationships between his organisation, Water Missions International in South Carolina, and Rotary clubs to take on urban water issues in the United States. “Rotary is invaluable when it comes to understanding local needs,” he said. “The knowledge base and matching the right players with the right connections helps water projects not just succeed but thrive.” “There is a tremendous amount of energy in Rotary water projects,” said Thomas M. Thorfinnson, past RI vice president and a member of the action group’s management team. “These initiatives matter because there are tangible results. But we can’t do it alone. We can be infinitely more successful by working with outside groups.” Breakout sessions focused on collaborations across Rotary’s areas

Past RI Vice President Thomas M. Thorfinnson (above left); Seth Womble from Water Missions International (above right).

of focus, advocacy and education, and monitoring, evaluation, resolution, and learning. Keynote speakers included Robert S. Scott, longtime

chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee; Braimah Apambire, director of the Centre for International Water and Sustainability at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada; Juliet Willetts, research director at the Institute for Sustainable Futures at Sydney’s University of Technology; and Peter Crowley, UNICEF’s chief of polio. Crowley, who attended a meeting of the International PolioPlus Committee before the water summit, prefaced his remarks by talking about what he has learned about Rotary and polio since starting his position in September 2013. He noted that because polio is transmitted through faecal matter, improving sanitation plays an important role in fighting the disease. “What makes Rotary special is the dedication of individual Rotarians in Rotary clubs,” he added. “They don’t just give funds or advocate for political support for polio. They get on the ground.”

Welcome to Rotary! ROTARY BASICS ONLINE A fun, multimedia introduction to Rotary. Glad you can join us!

Let’s start with a video overview

Find photos, videos, audio clips, and more! ROTAR ROTA RY

BASICS

www.rotary.org/rotarybasics

Print copies are also available for purchase (595, $0.75)

www.rotary.org/rotarybasics

SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 69

A Sunday family treat

Photos by Rasheeda Bhagat

by Rasheeda Bhagat

f you want to make lamb chops at home and get it absolutely right, here is a little tip from one of the experts — Executive Sous Chef Manvinder Singh at the Hyatt Regency in Chennai. In mid-August, the hotel’s restaurant Spice Haat launched The Super Large Sunday Brunch, and nibbling into some bits from its huge spread, I love best the prawns and the lamb chops in its grilled section. Normally I like my lamb well done; this chop isn’t too well done but it is crunchy and delicious, and so juicy. Chef Singh shares the secret of

getting it both right and juicy. “There are two ways of doing your lamb chops; the European way involves marination with red wine, garlic paste and rosemary. In the Indian variation, if you want to get it tender, you have to marinate the chops with a paste of raw papaya, garlic and ginger,” he says. But to retain the juices in your meat, the trick, he discloses, is to first cook it on the grill (or tawa) on high flame. This way the skin gets sealed and the juices remain inside, so a bite into the lamb chop gives you the full flavour. After that the lamb is cooked on slow flame.

The grilled prawn is equally delicious and crunchy. In this the highlight of the marination is dahi (curds) and Kashmir chilli powder; “that gives it the appealing red colour without making it too spicy,” he says. The brunch has an India section that includes all the kebabs — both the lamb and mushroom (veg) galauti kebabs are soft and delicious — curries from different regions of India, and of course the Awadh biryani. “I come from Lucknow,” the Chef says with pride, and his lineage is reflected in the delicious flavour emanating from the perfectly cooked basmati rice. Here too there is a little trick. While making mutton biryani, cook the meat in sufficient water so you’re left with a lot of mutton stock. Cook the biryani rice in the mutton stock instead of water, and see the difference! Apart from the Indian counter, which includes aapam with vegetable stew, and different kinds of chaats, aloo patties, paneer, etc., there is a substantial Middle Eastern or Mediterranean counter, the highlight of which are the Moroccan Tajins, and of course pastilla. I try the beetroot hummus and it doesn’t disappoint. Then there is the sushi counter, various kinds of tapanyaki, and Thai baos… they look like dimsum but are different and taken along with a thick soup. From the huge range of desserts on offer, don’t miss out on the house speciality — baked yoghurt. It isn’t too sweet and just perfect after such a heavy meal. The hot jalebis are too tempting, and a bite into a piece is justified as it is crispy, fragrant and delicious. The Brunch also has an interesting kids corner, and a vast range of freshly made ice creams to please any palate. Cost Rs.1,850 (plus taxes). For Tipplers Rs.2,150 plus taxes. (If you choose this option, do try the Australian pink sparkling wine to lift up your spirits.) SEPTEMBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 71

HEALTH

Making

Herbal Salt Photos by Rasheeda Bhagat

by Rasheeda Bhagat

hough extremely modern in its manufacturing practices and technology, the Swiss are also extremely passionate about zealously guarding the traditions that have been handed down to them over generations. It was an eye-opener to watch the detailed care with which Lydia Durig, a Swiss farmer, held a herbal salt making class for a group of eight international journalists in the Appenzell region of Switzerland. Armed with bagsful of interesting herbs and fragrant herbs, many of which just grew wild in her farm, she put us to work at mortar and pestle sets laid out neatly across a few tables. As she made us first crush some heavenly smelling lemon balm leaves … a gentle plant with “generally calming and relaxing” tendencies, Lydia said: “Today modern science can be used to analyse the health benefits of these herbs but in earlier days people intuitively chose herbs depending on their ailments as they grew up in the midst of that knowledge.” Lemon grass, she added, going around the table inspecting the work we had done in crushing the fragrant leaves, is also a good digestive and induces undisturbed sleep. Also, after an attack of chickenpox, these herbs help to ease the itching sensation. 72 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

Each of us was given 100 gm of sea salt in a ceramic jar; after the lemon balm leaves had been ground fine and mixed into the salt, Lydia gave us two tiny sprigs of stinging nettle leaves. Staying clear of its fine thorny stems, we plucked and ground the leaves that promised to remove toxins from the body — particularly kidneys and bladder — and purify the blood. “These are also good for getting rid of kidney stones … actually you can make a fine tea with these leaves; it helps to flush the system,” said Lydia, adding that some people say it is good for controlling Stage 1 cancer. Apparently, most Swiss farmers put the nettle plants on their farms to ward off insects and pests, but the better informed know its medicinal value. Next we worked on wild garlic leaves, which, as expected, were good for managing hypertension and removing toxins from the body and purifying the blood. “They have a spring cleaning effect on your system, and the good thing about this herb is that it grows wildly and plentifully. Actually it is so sturdy that it can push its way through gravel, so it shows you its healing powers!”

Then of course the very popular Italian herb and pizza essential oregano went into our salt, along with the refreshingly fragrant lavender blossoms that have a calming effect on the body and can also help to ease and relax cramped muscles. Lavender oil applied on cramped muscles also provides relief. “Add a pinch of lavender blossom to your soup just before serving to improve digestion,” she said, adding that rubbing lavender flowers, mixed with olive oil, on the stomach relieves menstrual pain. The last ingredient that went into our exciting salt were Elderflower blossoms, considered good for treating cold and fever; the beans from this plant are frequently used in making a syrup for treating cough and cold. All the herbal plants were being grown in her farm from cent percent organic cultivation, and these were hand-picked and processed without any additives. Most of these herbs could be used for making a tea that would flush toxins out of the system. “Unfortunately, we tend to lose traditional wisdom about the inherent goodness and curative powers of what is available in our backyard.” These herbs helped the body to heal itself and boost its immunity; while they took a little time to act, they cured the disease or problem instead of just suppressing the symptoms like modern medicine does. “While many youngsters have lost this valuable traditional wisdom, animals know it instinctively. So if the cow has stomach pain, she would know exactly which leaves to chew to ease the pain,” Lydia added. By the time we had carefully poured our herb-powered salt into the tiny glass jars she distributed, and labelled them, we asked if we could buy herbal salt from the supermarket. “Not from the supermarket, but from specialty food stores. But it will not be as pure and effective as the one you are taking home because there are additives to prolong shelf life,” she added.

SOLUTION FOR THE LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD

S L A M

C A S C A

C A G E

A L E C

M A N C A D E V O D E N I A T A L O S D R A R T R U O I L E P E

W A S I T V A N T S O F C A E R C E Y O T E D L T R A Y O U T L I N L A N E N E I G T E S A T S O S T E D F T Y C OO E T R E

T H O S E N E H I R N S

SEPTEMBER 2014

S E A S C A P E

E N N E A D S

AM NA GE

L E H R M E B O R N N A K E I E N E T S O

I R A N I S

A S W A N

L D R S

A S E A

ROTARY NEWS 73

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

PelĂŠ, perhaps the planetâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best-known soccer player, competed in four World Cups (in 1958, when he scored two goals in Brazilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s winning game, 1962, 1966 and 1970). He also spoke at the 1981 RI Convention in SĂŁo Paulo. The Museu do Futebol is located in SĂŁo Pauloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s EstĂĄdio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho. Admission is free on Thursdays and Saturdays; find details at museudofutebol.org.br. Charles Miller, born in Brazil in 1874 and educated in England, brought organised soccer to the country in the 1890s, when he returned home and joined the SĂŁo Paulo Athletic Club. The Brazilian tradition of using nicknames or only first names for soccer players, such as PelĂŠ and Socrates, dates back at least to 1914, with a team member named Formiga (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Antâ&#x20AC;?). The 2014 World Cup roster included Hulk, Fred and Neymar. Register for the 2015 RI Convention in SĂŁo Paulo at www.riconvention.org. 74 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2014

Goooool!

Brazil won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002.

Only five countries have won soccerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s World Cup more than once, and Brazil is among them â&#x20AC;&#x201D; in fact, Brazil has won five times, more than any other nation. Rotarians who come to SĂŁo Paulo for the RI Convention in June will find themselves among some of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest fans of soccer â&#x20AC;&#x201D; or futebol, as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known here. To fit in, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll want to have some facts at your disposal:

CONVENTION

FIRST WORDS Across 1 Debra of The Ten Commandments 6 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fancy that!â&#x20AC;? 10 Low-pitched 14 Syndicated horoscope writer Sydney 15 Longing 16 Herbal healer 17 Places to fill up your tanks 20 Blue dyes 21 Withstand the lure of 22 Garden locale 23 Artist Eric 26 Datum on an IRS form 27 Hardly well 28 â&#x20AC;&#x153;___ a bet!â&#x20AC;? 33 In this place 37 Be at odds 39 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Too complex for meâ&#x20AC;? 42 Lover, and then some 43 As ___ on TV 44 Human rights activist Bonner 45 Antiquity, in days past 47 Folk song mule 50 General public 53 Entertainer with no lines 54 Observable 58 Flew, as a plane

60 Like some healthy humor 63 Maple or oak 64 â&#x20AC;&#x153;... sunshine ___ shadowâ&#x20AC;? (â&#x20AC;&#x153;Danny Boyâ&#x20AC;? lyric) 65 Retail outlet 66 Circular current 67 Fare 68 Underwater detection system Down 1 Certain flowers 2 Modifies, as legislation 3 Faucet attachment 4 Sam of Watergate fame 5 Calc cousin 6 Swiss breakfast choice 7 Mos. and mos. 8 Bus. directors 9 Be filled with longing 10 Emceeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spot 11 The Time Machine people 12 Forever, so to speak 13 Unwelcome visitor 18 NYSE listings 19 ___ Mutant Ninja Turtles 24 Friends since childhood 25 Inter ___ 29 Scary character 30 Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smooth

31 Multi-vol. lexicon 32 Born, in a bridal bio 34 Novelist Hunter 35 Assigned an alias to 36 Philips of comedy 38 Pt. of GPS 39 Card in the hole or up oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sleeve 40 ___ Harbour, Fla. 41 Part of Y.S.L. 46 Count (on) 48 Supreme Theban deity 49 Account book 51 In ___ (wowed by) 52 [Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t blame me for this error] 53 What the first parts of 17-, 39- and 60-Across constitute, for Rotary 54 Sunny vacation spot 55 Essential thing 56 ___ the Impaler (Dracula prototype) 57 Problematic 59 Glaswegianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter 61 Master 62 Brazilian port, for short Solution in the October issue

Reproduced from The Rotarian

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

Sﾃグ PAULO BRAZIL 6-9 JUNE 2015

EXCHANGE IDEAS: www.riconvention.org

Come celebrate with us in São Paulo and experience the magic of samba, the heartbeat of Brazilian Carnival! Tracing its roots back through Rio de Janeiro to the West

Dear fellow Rotarians:

African slave trade, this AfroBrazilian music and dance form has evolved into the voice of Brazil’s urban centers. At convention time, you can experience a taste of carnival at a special event planned for visiting Rotary members.

Bem-vindo ao Brasil! Welcome to São Paulo, the site of the 106th Rotary International Convention, which will be held 6-9 June 2015. Corinna and I hope you will join us so we can celebrate together the light your service has brought to the world this year, and for the future, as we make the commitment to Light Up Rotary. São Paulo is the perfect venue for a Rotary convention because Brazil, like Rotary, reflects many different cultures and peoples who have made the country their home. The financial and creative hub of Brazil, this sprawling city boasts many expanses of parks and gardens, including the immense Parque Ibirapuera. The best way to experience São Paulo is to explore its diverse neighborhoods, from Vila Madalena, where you will find galleries, bookstores, and nonstop nightlife, to Higienópolis, known for its international cuisine. São Paulo’s churrascarias, pizzarias, bakeries, and ethnic restaurants make the city the gastronomic capital of Brazil. Visit the indoor Mercado Municipal to sample tropical fruits and enjoy a freshly made mortadella sandwich or pastel de bacalhau, a deep fried cod fish turnover. Museums such as Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), shopping centers such as Iguatemi and Morumbi, and the city’s architecture and public art will excite your mind and senses. With so much to do in São Paulo, you might forget that pristine beaches, such as Maresias and the island of Ilhabela, are just a few hours away. Adventure farther to visit breathtaking Rio de Janeiro and Iguaçu Falls, historic Salvador and the Northeast, Minas Gerais, Brasilia, Amazonas, and much more. Come for the fellowship, come to learn and be inspired, and come to meet and share ideas with Rotary members and their guests. And you’re sure to experience samba, the Afro-Brazilian musical form that best defines Brazilian culture. So bring your dancing shoes and prepare to join in a very special carnival celebration! Sincerely,

#RICON15 Gary C.K. Huang Rotary International President, 2014-15

EN—(814)

REGISTRATION AND TICKET FORM 2015 Rotary International Convention São Paulo, Brazil 6-9 June 2015

THREE WAYS TO REGISTER! 1. Register online at www.riconvention.org (RECOMMENDED)

PRECONVENTION AND ROTARY-TICKETED EVENTS

2. Fax the form to RI Registration Services at +1-847-556-2194

Please note: RI cannot accept registration forms submitted by email. Allow 3-4 weeks for processing of faxed or mailed forms. RI will email all conﬁrmations.

3. Mail the form to Rotary International Tickets are limited and sold on a ﬁrst-come, ﬁrst-served basis; 14244 Collections Center Dr., Chicago, IL 60693 USA advance purchase is recommended. Preconvention and Rotaryticketed events are open to all convention registrants unless otherwise noted. Participants may attend preconvention events without registering for the full Rotary International Convention.

Preconvention Events Rotary Peace Symposium

Eligibility 4-5 June

Designed for Rotary Peace Fellows and alumni and interested Rotarians and their guests

Rotary Peace Symposium Reception

5 June

Open to all Rotary Peace Symposium participants and their guests

Rotary Peace Symposium and International Institute Dinner

4 June

Open to all Rotary Peace Symposium and International Institute participants and their guests

International Institute International Institute Luncheon

4-5 June 4 June

Open to incoming, current, and past RI ofﬁcers and their immediate family members only; includes International Institute welcome reception on 3 June Open to all International Institute participants and their guests

Rotaract Preconvention

4-5 June

For Rotaractors and Rotarians interested in Rotaract

Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Preconvention

4-5 June

For Rotarians who work with Youth Exchange

Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Banquet

5 June

Rotary-Ticketed Events

Designed for networking for Rotarians who work with Youth Exchange, but all convention registrants are welcome

Eligibility

President’s Recognition Luncheon

7 June

Designed for current RI ofﬁcers, district governors, club presidents, RI committee members, and spouses, but all convention registrants are welcome

President-elect’s Leadership Luncheon

8 June

Designed for incoming RI ofﬁcers, district governors, club presidents, and their spouses, but all convention registrants are welcome

On to Seoul Convention Luncheon

9 June

Open to all convention registrants

CANCELLATION AND CHANGES All registration cancellations are subject to a US$50 service fee. Requests to cancel registrations or tickets must be received by 30 April 2015. Cancellations caused by visa denial must be received by 9 June 2015. You can sign in to your account at www.riconvention.org to cancel your registration or submit the request to RI Registration Services by emailing ri.registration@rotary.org or sending a fax to +1-847-556-2194. Cancellations cannot be accepted by phone. RI will refund registration and ticket fees if the 2015 Rotary International Convention is canceled but takes no responsibility for travel or other related costs incurred by Rotarians and their guests. Registration and tickets are not transferable.

LETTERS OF INVITATION AND VISAS Visa requirements vary by country of citizenship. For the most accurate information, contact the consulate or embassy serving your region or visit its website. To find the nearest embassy or consulate, visit www.portalconsular.mre.gov.br/sites-dos-postos/por-ordemalfabetica (in Portuguese, sorted by country). If a letter of invitation is required, RI will email you the letter as a PDF along with your registration confirmation. Letters will be sent to the main registrant and include all guests’ names. RI will send letters of invitation only to those who are registered for the convention. Registrants are responsible for all costs associated with attending the meeting and applying for visas. If you need a visa to enter Brazil, we strongly recommend registering ONLINE by 15 December 2014 so you can receive immediate confirmation of your registration and letters of invitation.

PROCESSING AND CONFIRMATION Online registration is the fast and secure method of registration and provides immediate receipt of conﬁrmations and letters of invitation, if needed. Hard copy forms submitted to RI Registration Services require three to four weeks to process; please allow more time for forms submitted on or around registration deadline dates. Once your faxed or mailed registration has been processed, you will receive an email conﬁrmation. A unique email address is required for each registration.

Event code: IC15

REGISTRATION AND TICKET FORM 2015 Rotary International Convention São Paulo, Brazil 6-9 June 2015

PLEASE COMPLETE ALL FIVE SECTIONS.

1. MAIN REGISTRANT DETAILS Membership ID (required for Rotarians) Family Name

First Name

Badge/Call Name

Classiﬁcation (Rotarians only)

Club/City

Country

Middle Name/Initial

District

Contact Information Provide your current mailing address. Any changes will be reﬂected in your member proﬁle. Address or P.O. Box

City

State/Province

Postal Code

Country

Business Phone (including country and city codes)

Home Phone

Business Fax

Home Fax

Email (Required and must be unique. Email address cannot be shared by another club member or club.)

Parent or Guardian Information Contact information for an adult is required for all registrants age 18 or younger. Parent or guardian information will be used only for contact purposes and does not register the parent or guardian for the convention. Family Name

First Name

Phone (including country and city codes)

Emergency Contact during the meeting (required): Language Preference F French F English F Korean F Mandarin

F Italian F Portuguese

Middle Name/Initial

Name

Phone (including country and city codes)

F Japanese F Spanish

Responses are used to determine the need for simultaneous interpretation, but this service cannot be guaranteed in all languages. Dietary Needs I require special accommodation (check all that apply): F Allergies F Vegetarian F Diabetic F No red meat F No pork F No shellﬁsh F No seafood F Other (please specify):

Special Needs I require special accommodation (check all that apply): F Wheelchair/Scooter (specify below if bringing your own) F Braille materials F Assisted-listening devices F Other (please specify): Additional Information F I wish to serve as a volunteer sergeant-at-arms. (Information will be sent at a later date.) F This is my ﬁrst Rotary Convention.

Registration Selection Convention Registration Category (select one): F 1 Rotarian F 3 Rotary club/district employee F 6 Rotaractor F 7 TRF alumnus (2007-08 or later)* Preconvention Events** F Rotary Peace Symposium F Rotary Peace Symposium Reception F Rotary Peace Symposium and International Institute Dinner

*Rate does not apply if you were a Rotary member before your Foundation program participation.

F 4 Spouse of deceased Rotarian F 9 Youth Exchange student

F 5 TRF alumnus (before 2007-08) F 10 Interactor

**Please see eligibility requirements

F International Institute F International Institute Luncheon F Rotaract Preconvention

F Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Preconvention F Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Banquet

Rotary-Ticketed Events F President’s Recognition Luncheon F President-elect’s Leadership Luncheon F On to Seoul Convention Luncheon

Where did you hear about the convention? (check one) F Rotary club

F Rotary district F 2014 RI Convention F Email F Social media F The Rotarian F Regional magazine F www.riconvention.org F 2015 Promotion Committee presentation F Other Personal Information Sharing RI may provide your contact information to Rotarians, including zone and district promotion chairs and those organizing regional or district events, to assist them in planning convention-related activities. If you indicate that you do not want your contact information shared with others, communications about, and invitations to, special convention events will not be sent to you.

F No, RI may not use my contact information as outlined above.

Page 1 of 3

Event code: IC15

2. GUEST REGISTRANT DETAILS If more than three guests will accompany you, attach additional copies of this page as needed. Complete only the guest section on the additional forms.

Registration Categories 1 Rotarian 2 Guest age 19 or older 3 Rotary club/district employee

4 Spouse of deceased Rotarian 5 TRF alumnus (before 2007-08) 6 Rotaractor

7 TRF alumnus (2007-08 or later)* 8 One guest of category 6 or 7 9 Youth Exchange student

10 Interactor 11 Guest age 5 to 18 12 Guest younger than 5

*Rate does not apply if you were a Rotary member before your Foundation program participation (e.g., GSE team leaders and Rotary Volunteers).

Guest 1 Category # (see above)

Guest 2 Category # (see above)

Guest 3 Category # (see above)

Family Name

First Name

Middle Name or Initial

Badge/Call Name

Classiﬁcation (Rotarians only)

Club/City

Country

Birth Year (if under 18 only)

Language Preference** F English F French F Italian F Japanese F Korean F Mandarin F Portuguese F Spanish

Special Needs (check all that apply) F Assisted-listening devices F Wheelchair/Scooter (specify below if bringing your own) F Braille materials F Other

Dietary Needs (check all that apply) F Allergies F Vegetarian F Diabetic F No red meat F No pork F No shellﬁsh F No seafood F Other

Preconvention and Rotary-Ticketed Events F Rotary Peace Symposium F Rotary Peace Symposium Reception F Rotary Peace Symposium and International Institute Dinner F International Institute F International Institute Luncheon F Rotaract Preconvention F Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Preconvention F Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Banquet F President’s Recognition Luncheon F President-elect’s Leadership Luncheon F On to Seoul Convention Luncheon

Additional Information F I wish to serve as a volunteer sergeant-at-arms.

(Information will come later.)

F This is my ﬁrst Rotary Convention.

(Information will come later.)

F This is my ﬁrst Rotary Convention.

(Information will come later.)

F This is my ﬁrst Rotary Convention.

**Responses are used to determine the need for simultaneous interpretation, but this service cannot be guaranteed in all languages.

Page 2 of 3

Event code: IC15

3. CONVENTION REGISTRATION FEES (All prices are in U.S. dollars and inclusive of tax) Register Early and Save! Registration Category

Deadline 1: 15 December 2014

Deadline 2: 31 March 2015

After 31 March (On-site or Online)

1-5

$325

$375

$425

6-8

$70

$100

$130

9-11

$10

Free

Total Registrants by Category

Total (Total Registrants x Fee)

Registration Total:

4. PRECONVENTION AND ROTARY-TICKETED EVENTS Preconvention Events

Quantity

Rotary Peace Symposium

Price

4-5 June

Rotary Peace Symposium Reception

5 June

$40

Rotary Peace Symposium and International Institute Dinner

4 June

$100

4-5 June

$150

4 June

$65

Rotaract Preconvention

4-5 June

$50

Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Preconvention

4-5 June

$50

5 June

$100

International Institute International Institute Luncheon

Youth Exchange Ofﬁcers Banquet

Total

$150

Preconvention Events Total:

Rotary-Ticketed Events (total number of tickets per event must not exceed total number of convention registrants) President’s Recognition Luncheon

7 June

$65

President-elect’s Leadership Luncheon

8 June

$65

On to Seoul Convention Luncheon

9 June

$65

Rotary-Ticketed Events Total:

GRAND TOTAL: (Registration Total + Preconvention Events Total + Ticketed Events Total)

All rates inclusive of tax. 5. PAYMENT AND SIGNATURE All fees must be submitted with this signed registration form. All personal check payments must be drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars. RI international ofﬁces and ﬁscal agents will accept payment for the convention and events. Personal or club checks cannot be accepted on-site. Credit Card Type

F Visa

F MasterCard

F JCB

F American Express

F Discover

Card Number Cardholder’s Name (as it appears on card)

Expiration Date (mm/yy) Security Code (3 or 4 digits)

Signature (if different from below)

By signing,* I submit the registration and ticket form, and I verify that I have read and agree to the notices and the cancellation policy. Main Registrant’s Signature

Name (please print)

Date (dd/mm/yy)

*If main registrant is age 18 or younger, an adult parent or guardian must sign this form.

CANCELLATION AND CHANGES

LETTERS OF INVITATION AND VISAS

All registration cancellations are subject to a US$50 service fee. Requests to cancel registration or tickets must be received by 30 April 2015. Cancellations caused by visa denial must be received by 9 June 2015. Sign in to your account at www.riconvention.org to cancel your registration or submit request to ri.registration@rotary.org or fax request to +1-847-556-2194. RI will refund registration and ticket fees if the 2015 Rotary International Convention is canceled but takes no responsibility for travel or other related costs incurred by Rotarians and their guests. Registration and tickets are not transferable.

If a letter of invitation is required, RI will email you the letter as a PDF along with your registration conﬁrmation. Letters will be sent to the main registrant and include all guests’ names. RI will send letters of invitation only to those who are registered. Registrants are responsible for all costs associated with attending the meeting and applying for visas.

THREE WAYS TO REGISTER! 1. Register online at www.riconvention.org (RECOMMENDED) 2. Fax the form to RI Registration Services at +1-847-556-2194 3. Mail the form to Rotary International 14244 Collections Center Dr., Chicago, IL 60693 USA

Please note: RI cannot accept registration forms submitted by email. Allow 3-4 weeks for processing of faxed or mailed forms. RI will email all conﬁrmations.

If you need a visa to enter Brazil, we strongly recommend registering ONLINE by 15 December 2014 to receive immediate conﬁrmation of your registration and letters of invitation.

Page 3 of 3

Make sure Rotary News Moves with you! Changing your address? Please write to us before you move, two months in advance. Mention your Club name, RI District Number and Rotary News Account Number from your magazine address label or simply attach the label itself.

Your Rotary News Account Number Name Rtn. __________________________________________________________________________________ Rotary Club of __________________________________________________ RI District ____________________ New Address (Please write your NEW Address below, in CAPITAL letters) ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________ City / Town _____________________________________________________ PIN Code ___________________ Mail this coupon to: ROTARY NEWS TRUST, 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

3PREAD THE WORD Invite someone to become a

Rotarian today.

Printed by Mukesh Arneja at Thomson Press (India) Ltd, Plot A-9, Industrial Complex, Maraimalai Nagar 603209, India and published by Mukesh Arneja on behalf of Rotary News Trust from Dugar Towers, 3rd Flr, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008. Editor: Rasheeda Bhagat.

RIPE K.R. Ravindran presented a Rotary Citation to PDG Sudhir Rashingkar, RI District 3131, for his dedicated work for more than three decades in bringing out Rotary literature in Marathi. Books authored by PRIP Frank Devlyn and translated by PDG Sudhir Rashingkar were also released by RI President Elect on the occasion.

RI District 3010 teamed up with Microsoft India to offer technology training to over 1,50,000 students and 7,500 teachers in the Region of Delhi-NCR. The MoU was signed by Mr. Karan Bajwa - Managing Director, Microsoft India Private Ltd., and DG Sanjay Khanna, RI District 3010.

RC Bangalore, RI District 3190, presented the Vocational Excellence Award to Mr. Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social entrepreneur and inventor of low-cost sanitary pad making machine. He has innovated grass-roots mechanisms for generating awareness about traditional unhygienic practices around menstruation in rural India.

REGISTRATION NO. TN/CCN/360/2012-2014 & WPP NO.68 REGISTERED WITH REGISTRAR OF NEWS PAPERS FOR INDIA 3880/57 ROTARY NEWS PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH

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Nurturing l Cultural

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