June 2015 - The Golden Orange

June 2015

VOCATIONAL VISIT

PROJECT HISTORIES

DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP SEMINAR

TAKE ROTARY HOME

ROTARY TWEETS

BEST CHAIRPERSONS AWARDS

LADIES COMMITTEE

BLOOD DONATION

DISTRICT TRAINING ASSEMBLY

R OTARY T W EETS - Vindhya Sanjana Dear All, This column is aimed at allowing our members a platform in which to air their thoughts, grievances, and to basically have a voice. We will present a new topic every month and publish your responses with your photo, subject to space availability.

Prizes will be awarded to three most pertinent responses. However, please let it be understood that we value ALL the tweets coming in. This is a democratic organization and we value every single sentiment or opinion that is sent to us. So interact with us, tell us what you think, and let others too hear your voice!

Our Club has over the years come up with unique projects, a need of the hour when conceived and many of them continuing to yield the “service” returns! Some examples of these are the Mobile mortuary units, Walkathon, Udaan and the Nirmalya collection. This is not an exhaustive list and only indicative.

We believe the membership is a treasure trove of ideas and innovative projects and therefore ask you in this background:“Name a project and area of service under which it would fall which you believe is worth taking up in the next Rotary Year 2015-16”

Please send in your tweets ASAP to vindhyasanjana@yahoo.com or SMS / Whatsapp or even call me on 9423103916 / 9890715526. Do remember that the tweets should not be more than 140 CHARACTERS or LETTERS, & NOT 140 WORDS. That's far too long!! On the other hand, if you have a little More to say, then please don't hold back, just say it!

Awaiting your views! Remember - the idea is to be FREE, FRANK AND FEARLESS!!

Happy Tweeting!

Last m onth, we asked you “Is our Club, w ith its 375 m e m ber strength re a dy to t a ke on m eg a projects w ith a cost of Rs 1 crore or m ore?”

Winner 1st Prize

For- Why do we even need all of 375 for mega projects. if companies with staff strength less than 100 can do tens of crores in turnover or asset management in the brick & mortar kind of business, why not RCN? All we need is dedicated leadership with sound management knowhow to do large projects, which a lot of our club members

have. Another way to do it could be by RCN taking responsibility of channelizing social sector funds (CSR etc) and doing the project thru capable agencies.

Against- No, it is impossible to do a large project within the frame work of Rotary since permanent projects are not accepted. A mega project will need sustained attention & will have to be treated like a permanent project. 375 as a

Winner 2nd Prize

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

Wow, yes , why not, it's a Dream come True. With a club of our size, we should definitely think n plan for mega project which is beneficial for our society. It is indeed need of the hour. We can positively generate required funds, build a team to work, motivate n instigate the members who are not involved. This thinking can give us a new direction to work in. Many new ideas will come in once we plan for this. Like minded people should be consulted n than we can move ahead. I am definitely inn for this Mega Project. Good luck to this Happy Thinking.

Sunil Bhatia

02

Dear vindhya ji Projects with a cost of rs 1 crore or more!!!!We definately should give it a thought..

But more money means more risk, more responsibilities, more manpower... More so many things r required... Is our club ready to handle the whole package coming with mega project! Well, let it go like it is,, going step by step is clever

number sounds great but given the average number of hours put in by the members towards service in Rotary, it doesn't add up to more than 10-15 actual man years of service per year, which is insufficient. Since no direct accountability or responsibility can be assigned to anyone in a social organization, a large project can go haywire Sandeep Badjatia

Winner 3rd Prize The question is about our aspiration, not in absolute commercial value.

Are we ready to innovate, collaborate and give our time and resources for large, sustainable humanitarian projects? Of course we should be ready to take on the challenge.

Vijay Naidu

choice than jumping!!

So...Increase gradually n raise smoothly,, N after all its a leaders choice,, to think n take action which should b in benefits of members also! Veenita pasari Dedication and determination of one person is enough to take up mega project of 1 Cr or more provided 374 do not oppose, if they can not support.

Hemant Lodha..

The strength of the club has nothing to do with the size of the project because the amount required for such projects do not come only through personal contributions. Rotary has a wonderful TRF, the contributions could come through different schemes and organizational. Strength matters where personal involvement matters. This needs to be addressed. Give time and money both Dr. Manmohan Daga continued on page no.4

THURSDAY TH O U G HTS

? ???? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ????? ? ? ? ??? ???? ??????, ?? ??????? ?? ???? ? ? ? ???? ? ? ?, ? ? ????????????????? ?, ? ? ??? ?? ?? ? ?? ????? ???? ? ? ?? ???????????? ?????? ??

Greetings to my Rotary Family!

In a month's time, I will be passing on the torch to my successor. The post of President was one which I upheld for a year - to the best of my circumstances & capabilities. A Rotarian, I shall remain for the rest of my life, continuing to do good for my club & for society. Titles do not matter.

But even as I say this-I correct myself to say that yes, in every organisation, ?ig or small- people have to be lead. b

Everyone is willing to work & contribute in some manner, but there has to be someone at the top to motivate, take responsibility and is answerable. Someone who can channelise all the resources available towards achieving a higher goal.

Chanakya. Considered the most masterful political strategist of his times. His momentous life brings to mind a great philosopher, teacher, king maker. His famous books- Arthashastra & Nitishastra, though written centuries ago, are very relevant to modern times. Read on...

Chanakya. Prime Minister of Magadha, a powerful kingdom ruled by king Bindusar Maurya. He stops mid-way, the coronation of prince Sushim, as heir apparent to the throne & then reveals the qualities a king or elected representative should have.

An ideal leader is one who has the highest qualities of leadership, intellect & personal attributes.

1) Leadership attributes which attract followers- are intellect, prowess, association with elders, being righteous, truthful, resolute, enthusiastic, disciplined, not breaking his promise, showing gratitude( to those who help him), having lofty aims, not being dilatory & having ministers of high quality.

2) Intellect :- desire to learn, listening ( to

others), grasping, retaining, understanding thoroughly & reflecting on knowledge, rejecting false views & adhering to true ones.

3) Energetic :- A leader who is valorous, determined, quick & dexterous.

4) Personal attributes :- He should be eloquent, bold & endowed with a sharp intellect, a strong memory & a keen mind.

He should be amenable to guidance.

All this and more he should be just in rewarding, he should have the foresight to avail himself of opportunities, by choosing the right time, place & type of action ? e should preserve his dignity at all times H & not laugh in an undignified manner. He should be sweet in speech, look straight at people & avoid frowning. He should eschew passion, anger, greed, abstinence, fickleness & backbiting.

Such a leader gives peaceful enjoyment of prosperity to his people & establishes a solid nation. "in the happiness of his people lies his own happiness ...”

So if, you have read the whole thing, don't you agree how apt it is today also?

This was written sometime before 283 B.C. Bharat Goenka President

Aruna Shanbagh, the longest surviving comatose patient in the world, passed away after 42 years in May. She was raped / sodomized by a man on her last working day before she was to proceed on leave to be married to a doctor to whom she was already engaged. The assailant gagged her with a dog chain and the resultant lack of oxygen caused her permanent brain damage. She was found the next morning, probably 10 hours or more after the assault, barely alive. She had slipped into a coma.

The case registered was not rape, because the colleagues felt it would ruin her reputation. Having said that, it eventually transpired that her engagement was cancelled and the doctor married someone else because there was really no likelihood of revival. But that is a side story. The assailant, who should have been tried as a rapist or worse, was tried and sentenced to

a mere 7 years for “murderous assault”.

Notice the irony : Assailant – 7 years imprisonment, following which he moved to Delhi and got another job And, as for Aruna – · Remained in Coma for 42 years · Had her engagement broken off · Force fed and voluntarily cared for by nurses of KEM through these 42 years · Abandoned by her family and fiancé · Denied both active and passive euthanasia even by Supreme Court Let's talk of punishment now. Who do you believe got punished? Am I thinking wrong, or does it appear that the victim herself became the punished?

Is it time to revive the debate on euthanasia though there may be some laws in place already? A murderer or rapist or terrorist is executed by hanging in India. Taking life in this case is justified, but not allowing

someone to die when there is no possible hope, seems to me a rather unusual choice whether on religious, moral or ethical grounds. It's not even about the hippocratic oath because a doctor has sworn to save life, but about freedom of choice to a patient and /or the family to stop treatment in a country where even suicide is not a crime.

NImish Sutaria Editor

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

JUST SAYI N G ...

03

continued from page no.2

Most certainly 'YES' ! Our club size, talent and resourcefulness of members will certainly help.

However, I must mention that as TRF Cadre, I have inspected several successful mega TRF grant projects (costing INR 1.Crore and above) in India, Nepal, Thailand and Bali, Indonesia, and each of them was sponsored by much smaller c l u b s w i t h m e m b e r- s h i p ranging from 30 to 70. What is needed is the will power and a committed team of 10.

Rotarians, who are conversant with the working of the project.

We can initiate big projects with the help from Corporate through their CSR and get matching funding from TRF provided they are in their Six thrust areas and are in tune with The Rotary Foundation guidelines. If and when this happens, this 'Tweets column' will be remembered for a long long time!

Vishwas Sahasrabhojanee

th

8 May 2015 Dear Rtn. Pres. Bharat,

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

Thank you for sending me your Club Bulletins and for publishing my photo.

Please thank Rtn. PP Shiraz too for sending me the bulletin.

From the pictures of activities of your year of Rotary, I am more than convinced that your year as the President has been very useful to the community and enjoyable to your members.

Congratulations.

04

Robert Browning's famous line “Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for� certainly applies to the question. Whether it's the distance to be covered by a runner, or a project undertaken by our Club, one always has to set the bar higher than before, or become uncompetitive or relegated to the also ran category. Certainly the reach and ability, mostly unknown, of our members must be properly examined and understood, eventually exploited to aim for bigger stuff. I guess we would have to push for value rather than numbers when selecting projects, but yes WE MUST, because WE CAN. Nimish Sutaria Deep introspection and even deeper pockets are required !

Jimmy Sanjana

Of course. When we can generate 2 lacs with just a message on the What's App. Why not?

But Rotary has other programs like Matching Grants & District Designated Funds etc which partner you financially for big projects. If the project cost is $ 30,000+ you are eligible for a matching / global grant.

Manju Shahani It is not the strength of members but the vision and passion of even a few members togather can make mega project possible either through their own CSR initiatives or throgh innovative fund raising activities. A lot would mainly depend upon the social impact and sustainability of the project.

IPP Prashant Kale

I must specially compliment your Bulletin editor, Rtn. Nimish for bringing out exquisite and colourful Bulletins month after month. Incidentally, late Rtn. D.C. Sutaria was my contemporary in the club and I have very fond memories of him.

Please remember me to PDG Bobby, PDG Satish, PP Sati, PP Shiraz etc. and convey my good wishes to all my old friends and your fellow Rotarians.

I am enclosing 3 copies of our weekly Bulletins. As far as I know, this is one of rare weekly Bulletins in the country. I

once again thank you for your support and wish you a wonderful Rotary year ahead Yours-in-Rotary Rtn. PP M. Gopinath Kochi

N EPAL C ATASTR O PHETAKE R OTARY H O ME 2nd May

V O C ATI O N AL VISIT It was not just a usual visit to industry but it was an engaging and enchanting visit packed with fun and lots of knowledge.

On May 3 rd we had a wonderful experience when we gathered together in the evening at Sivana Green a weekend holiday destination which is fashionably carved out in the sprawling 100 acres of land scaped space with its own lakes and swimming pool wired with solar light system and well equipped cottages enveloped with lush greenery all around with all varieties of shrubs and trees. Apart from the club

chilled cocktails, mocktails, salads, veggies and juicy tropical fruits !

Amidst unending music (provided by the musical couple Beena and Shibu Mathews) Priya Upganlawar was declared the 'Hawaiian night ' queen !

Before we move on to another lovely TRH ...A special Thanks to the Senior Mokadam couple for their hospitality!!

-Shivani Bidaye

Sivana Green Farms 3rd May

house facility and recreation activities we also saw how the water dripping system and rain water harvesting, systemized for keeping the area green and the environment comparatively cool. The concept was brought to r e a l i t y b y L a n d s c a p e Architect Kalpak Y Bhave.

Most of us had our meeting point at Ketan Hyundai showroom on Amravati Road where we were welcomed with chilled glasses of Lassi by the Hyundai staff thanks to the Area manager Mr Prasad Poojari and from there we drove around 40 kms to Sivana Green f a r m s a t Kondali.

We got a warm welcome of snacks and cool panna drinks which we all savoured on

reaching there. The Proprietors and staff at Sivana were more than eager to take us for the vocational tour showing, guiding and explaining us very clearly every modern system that they had adopted to run this project. The weather was quite friendly as the evening descended, and children enjoyed the amusement rides in the theme park. But there was more fun in store. We all gathered at a lovely spot where we again had wonderful snacks and live music with many of our Rotarians & their children singing and entertaining all.

It was like a family get together.

A fourway test board was handed over to the team of directors of Sivana Green at the venue leaving the Rotary impact there.

A delicious dinner summed it all.

President Bharat Goenka gave vote of thanks. Chairperson Shibu Mathew had planned this lovely visit.

-Rt Beena Mathew

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

HOLA!!

On the sizzling hot night of 2 nd May, the

cool & refreshing magic of Hawaii (sans the sea!) was recreated on the lush green lawns of Dr. Shaunak and Shriya Mokadam's home!

Keeping the theme of 'Hawaiian nights' in mind, chairpersons Shivani Bidaye and Mamta Kahai, welcomed guests with colourful garlands ! As the night moved on, all the 'florally' bedecked guests were kept engrossed with Cool games and

05

J O I N T B O ARD MEETI N G 4th May

BUSI N ESS MEETI N G

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

The tenth business meeting was called to order and a half minute silent prayer was observed following which the customary Four Way Test was read out by Prsident Bharat. He greeted the members and spouses for their birthdays and anniversaries. Secretary Manjot Kahai read the minutes of the last Business Meeting held on 23rd April.

The Golden Orange was released at the hands of our dedicated Rotary help

06

Dinesh Vaidya. Editor Nimish announced prizes for the Tweets. Rotary Information was read by Prashant Rajurkar. Next week's projects were announced by respective chairpersons. Treasure Kapil Bahri read the Treasurer's Report, updating on filing of Income Tax returns and discussed Service Tax. President Bharat informed the house of

7th May

the amendment to Bye Laws and progress on the same. He also informed of the donation made to Bhartiya Jain Sanghtana and for Nepal relief fund. GML for the month of April was displayed.

In important Board decisions, he shared that 3 new member proposals were put up for acceptance, which after preliminary discussions were accepted by the board. Attendance Report and Distribution of 100% attendance Awards for the month of March were announced

by Ashok Malani and given by The President. The Meeting was adjourned after the National Anthem.

-Team GO

IN THIS ISSUE We bring your the stories of some major projects like Walkathon, Udaan, Smiling Faces & Global Grants on pages 13, 24, 25 & 27.

-Ed.

Beating The Heat With Exotic Mocktails & Cool Salads 7th May

the gathering, and this continued till the last salad!

'Virgin Sangria' was an eye catching fruit drink which could easily replace wines in parties. The Oreo cookie madness was capable of bringing out the taste of CCD's devils delight, but from the home kitchen!

Waldorf salad was a healthy option and easy to make at home! Greek salad was freshness added to food! Prints of all the recipes were provided to the ladies. A Memento was presented to Dhiraj Rajput Archana Javery lent a helping hand in

by Rina Sinha as a token of appreciation. making this event a success.

CP Nidhi Gandhi proposed the vote of -Kirti Jain thanks. Chairpersons Kirti Jain and

BL O O D D O N ATI O N

R & Y Group 9th May

A Blood donation camp was organized at R & Y Group's offices at Saraf chambers. A total of 56 units were collected despite nearly 20 rejections due to weight or other factors.

Those who were present or attended were Nimish Sutaria, Shivkumar Rao, Prashant Rajurkar and PDG Vishwas Sahasrabhojanee.

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

The way to a man's heart (and also kids!

Wonder why they never thought about including them in the expression?) is through the stomach!! So, to add to their already formidable culinary skills, the Ladies Committee, organised "Beat the Heat ' with live demonstration of exotic mock-tails & cool salads. Nagpur's leading gourmet catering service "Rajput" agreed to present a live demo.

Dhiraj Rajput, a pleasant personality, himself volunteered to share the secrets of their famous mock-tails & delectable salads. The first sip of kiwi ka panna elucidated an involuntary "Wow" from

LADIES C O M MITTEE

07

RE G ULAR MEETI N G th

On Thursday, the 14 of May during the regular weekly meeting Advocate Mahendra Limaye, the practitioner of cyber law and techno-legal expert gave a talk on 'Myths and realities of Cyber Crime'. He began by asking a question to the learned audience “Are you confident that cyber crime has not touched you as yet? He narrated in detail as to how the criminals are using 'true callers' with dexterity to their advantage. There is a limit on physical withdrawals from a bank account. But unlimited on-line withdrawals are permitted. He cited an example of an illiterate who received forty odd messages of withdrawals on his cell phone. He did not understand as he could not read English. “Banking fraud can rob you of your savings of entire life

Myths and Reality of Cyber Crime 14th May

time” he added. There are less than two percent instances wherein money lost is recovered or returned to the concerned individual. Normally the bank refuses to refund the amount to the account holder.

Reporting the crime to the police does not help either. Out of one hundred cyber crimes committed only ten are reported and FIR is filed in case of one crime only.

The police are overloaded with other duties. It is an open secret that they discourage filing of FIRs. The burglars have become techno savvy. An ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) was switched off for a few seconds and after words it was operated only to siphon the entire money, more than one crore. He shared with the audience that information on websites like matrimonial.com or

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

DISTRICT MEMBERSHIP SEMI N AR

08

District Membership Seminar was held on Sat.16th May, hosted by the Rotary Club of MIHAN Town.

After the customary formalities, the Seminar took off on a vibrant note. After a welcome by Forum Leader PDG Vishwas Sahasrabhojanee and good wishes by Dist.

Trainer PDG Dr. Prafull Mokadam, Dist.

Governor Elect Dr.Nikhil Kibe spoke on Our Goal Today.

The Keynote Speaker, IPDG Deepak Shikarpur, in his highly motivating address, impressed upon the participants the importance of innovative ideas. He cited ideas which were successfully implemented during his term as DG. Such ideas go a long way in Membership

Development; be it getting new members, retaining the existing ones or getting back those who left, he said.

The other highlight of the Seminar was the Keynote address by PDG Dr.Ulhas Kolhatkar who spoke on Rotary Vision India- a Paradox. With an interesting and entertaining power-point presentation he drove home his point.

THE TWO Speakers from the Rotary Club of Nagpur who had the honour of speaking at the Seminar were President Bharat Goenka and President-Elect Khushnoor Chugh. While President Bharat spoke on Success Mantras of Large Clubs, PE Khushnoor spoke on Women's Role in Rotary.

naukri.com is easily accessible. For example, your name, DOB, father's name, surname. And some of these can be tried by the criminals as passwords to invade your account. He further cautioned “Beware of free apps”. Firstly, nothing comes free in this world, so there can be a hidden cost/agenda attached to it and secondly, the information can be used without your knowledge. 'Cloud computing is also not very safe' he added.

Rtn Khushnoor Chugh, President elect chaired the session.

Rita Aggarwal introduced the guest speaker. Rtn Sharad Bhave offered vote of thanks. The meeting ended with national anthem.

-Rtn Sharad Bhave

16th May

Others who spoke included PP Vivek Pathak and PP Vineet Mohunta and AG Vishakha Rao. The Seminar concluded after a Vote of Thanks by PE Madhu Nair.

President Prashant Pattiwar of Rotary Club of MIHAN Town was in the Chair.

-Team GO

DISTRICT TRAI N I N G ASSEMBLY

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

17th May

09

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

DISTRICT TRAI N I N G ASSEMBLY

10

President Bharat started the meeting with the mention of the Four Way Test. Jhanvi, daughter of Urvashi and Rajiv Yashroy spoke a few words of her forthcoming trip to District 5100 to Portland for 6 weeks as a RYE student. Ajinkya Saraf the youngest Rotarian of the club at 25yrs was congratulated by the President for

purchasing a Mercedes Benz.

The introduction of the youth organizations, Parinde and Make a difference was given by Rtn. Ann Kanchan Naidu who termed Charity as something more than kindness and the spontaneous flow of our sense of

humanism. Miss Tripti Rai the President of MAD Nagpur spoke about her organization which is a social forum for people between the age group of 15-25 yrs who take their forces forward to change lives. MAD started in 2008 in 1 city-Cochin and has spread to 23 Cities in India with 4300 volunteers.

Tripti said for all people their goals and desires from childhood to present day was influenced by external factors but

W EEKLY MEETI N G

unfortunately for the underprevileged children out of every 3 children, 2 didn't have parental homes, 97% of them were school dropouts,56% have criminal records and 40% lived in shelters. Though the government has undertaken many institutions they are under resourced.

MAD's vision is to have equal opportunity for all underprevileged children. She listed the following projects undertaken by MAD. Ed support-its vision is to ensure every child attains the necessary skills and certification to pursue higher education in the field of their choice. The time committed by the volunteers for this project is 3.5 hrs/week and as English is very important they teach English and teacher student ratio is 5:1.

Discover-vision is to p r o v i d e a n environment that facilates the holistic development of the child such that they identify their abilities and skills to make choices in life. The time committed is 6hrs/ week. Propel : the vision is to empower the 11th and 12th standard children of shelter homes by providing them support to make a sound career choice. They do this by appointing a wingman or guide to ensure the child gets career counselling and college admission.

MAD also organizes a Dream camp for 15 days annually to help the children

discover themselves. MAD Nagpur has 4 centers and has media partners CNN, BBC, NDTV and the Times of India and they raise funds through events like Backathon - walking backwards and accept individual donations too.

President Sagar Thakur of PARINDE,

spoke about the 4 year old NGO. They celebrate all festivals with the under previleged children like Sankranth, Holi, Christmas and New Year. Navtez is an annual full day cultural event sponsored and celebrated by Parinde for the children on Friendship day. They celebrate in Udasa, a small village in Umred, where they show an animated movie to the children. Masti ki Patshala is a 15 day workshop organised by Parinde with Yoga, Art of Living classes, clay modelling etc. They also fund major

operations for the children with the help of Rotary clubs. The children of Parinde organisation put up a scintillating dance performance for the Rotary members which was appreciated by all present that evening. After listening to work done by these smart dynamic youngters and their team, I can proudly say today’s generation is giving back to society whatever they received with humbleness and love. It was heartening to hear about their work and future vision. Three cheers to these youngters. Dr Shantala Bhole gave the vote of thanks.

-Rtn Ann Shalini Naidu

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

21st May

11

W EEKLY MEETI N G

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

The regular meeting of 28th May, began on a note of thanks to all Club members who have come generously forward to save the life of a young boy who needed brain surgery after he met with an accident. The scholarship committee so well nurtured by Rajiv Behal and others, made an appeal to all members to come forward and donate so children are benefitted. The benefit of this committee was reflected when a cheque for Rs. 32,000 was handed over by President Bharat to a deserving engineering student who completed the studies from MIT, Pune. Certificates of appreciation were given to various chairpersons for the work they have rendered throughout the year!

12

– Art of Living and Best Chairpersons Awards 28th May

The Art of Living, is not only about spirituality and understanding the fundamentals of life. It has gone one step ahead where followers of this mission have decided to start projects where the everyday man is benefitted. To elaborate more on the work they are doing we had Mr. Manish Badiyani, Mr. Sandeep Shirkhedkar and Mr. Aashish Sharma.

Introduced by Vilas Kale the project is called the "Jal Jagruti Abhiyan" this project was started around the Hingna area where series of dams were built for water catchment. The aim is to trap rain water where it falls. It's a scientifically designed project and it was primarily started to fulfill the requirements of the

villagers for farming and drinking water.

So far this project has covered close to 35 kms. of nallah deepening and widening.

It's an ambitious project where they would like to cover close to 150 kms. The government has been very supportive and so has the media. They went on further to describe how satellite surveys, technical studies and water sheds were identified before actually embarking on the project.

Passionate about the work they do, they have also appealed to our Club to help them in any way we can. Perhaps a visit next year!

Vote of thanks by yours truly!

-Anita Chitaley

Continued on page 27

WALKATH O N

I discussed it with a few friends and the idea of the Walkathon took shape. The one person who backed me all the way was my old friend and our member, the late Phiroze Patel.

THE WAY FORWARD With so many other 'Me Too' events cropping up, the way forward is to upscale and innovate, otherwise 'The Walkathon' as we know it now will slowly but surely fade away.

One or more of the following things can be done to give this hugely successful event a fresh impetus and take the Walkathon brand to the 'NEXT' level:·

Start simultaneous or staggered alternate route for 3 Kms segment from the same venue to decongest the main circuit

Getting sponsors for an untried and unproven event was proving virtually impossible but finally we managed to rope in PEPSI & Arneja Heart Hospital who are now the chief sponsors for the last few years.

·

Start a serious segment like the half marathon (21 Kms) and Dream Run (6 kms) from a different starting point and following a different route but ending at the common venue around the same time as the other walks.

The response and the overwhelming success of the first Walkathon took us all by surprise. We had optimistically aimed at 1600 participants but the number went well beyond that and we had to stop registrations!!

Shivkumar Rao adds that a runners group in Nagpur is planning a marathon sometime in October / November and a tie up can be explored. The marathon is being supported by NMC. Maybe some maneuvering of the dates can be considered should both sides agree.

What was planned as a revenue neutral event also generated a decent surplus!! It has since become a regular contributor to the Club's coffers.

· Replicate the existing template and

format at multiple locations in the city on the same date and time so that more people get an opportunity to participate. · Involve other Rotary Clubs to either independently or in collaboration with our club organize it in the areas of the town where they have a strong presence A project like Walkathon which has a strong social and health message creates excellent Public Relations for the Club and also generates a sizeable surplus for our community service projects, needs to be nurtured to yield bigger and riper fruit !!

-PP Sanjiv Chugh How about partnering with HeForShe, (a solidarity campaign for gender equality initiated by UN Women which now boasts of Emma Watson as its global face) which had a cause related ride in Pune and perhaps other cities in India. Gender equality and women's empowerment is a Rotary thrust area as well.

Check out www.heforshe.org and https://www.facebook.com/HeForShe –Ed.

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

The Nagpur Walkathon was conceived as a spur of the moment thought when I happened to watch the Mumbai Marathon on TV in January 2005. Being the Centennial year of Rotary and our Club's Diamond jubilee year, I thought we could try to leave a lasting imprint by ensuring that Nagpur also have a sporting event which the common man could identify with and participate in.

13

MI N D IT ACROSS 1 Pulled repast (anag) dessert (5,7) 9 Was unwell (5) 10 Anxiety (7) 11 One of seven deadly sins (4) 12 Person of exceptional importance and reputation (8) 14 Scarcely (6) 15 Sudden total disaster

DOWN 2 Fuss (7) 3 Covers (4) 4 Corset (anag) (6) 5 Attempt to escape (3,3,2) 6 Clothe (5) 7 US dockers (12) 8 Accept unpleasant consequences of one’s actions (4,3,5) 13 Crying (like a lamb?)

(6) Chinese language (8) Genuine (4) Marine animal (3,4) Able to move and

(8) 16 Withdraw — abrasion

bend gracefully (5) 24 Acutely embarrassing

canteen (5) 21 Confused impression

18 20 22 23

(12)

(7) 17 Small fish (6) 19 Armed services

1

2

3

4

5

6

8 9

10

11

12 13

14

15

19

20 21

22

The Winners of each of these mind games will win a Tub of Dinshaw’s Ice Cream.

In case of Multiple correct entries, lots would be drawn and winner declared.

16

17 18

7

SOLUTIONS TO MAY PUZZLES CROSS WORD

23

24

(4)

NOTE PAD

May Winner Prashant Rajurkar SUDOKU

May Winner Fateema Zaheer Akolawala PS: Winners names were drawn by lot out of the correct entries received.

Editor

FR O N T PA G E

CREDITS

A red mangrove tree in the tropical Bahamas, reminds us of Rotary International - not only below the surface, but also deep rooted.

District Membership Seminar Short term IYE Student Weekly Meeting Best Chairpersons

Director: Rina Sinha Chairperson: Nilufer Rana Editor: Nimish Sutaria Processing: Eskay's Scanner Designing: Gurushree Graphics Printing: Shabbir Shakir Paper: Courtesy BILT Coordination : Prashant Rajurkar Team Golden Orange

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

STAY CONNECTED

16

We sincerely request you to share your comments about this issue.

We look forward to your candid views which we will publish verbatim.

Send in your responses to nimish.sutaria@gmail.com, You can also send your feedback by SMS or Whats app to +91 98231 07884

– Dinesh Naidu

SH O W C ASE

Collective Action for A Better Life for Citizens Cancellation of Nagpur Municipal Corporation's property tax simplification Reduction of electricity tariff for the benefit of consumers

As the name suggests, “Janaakrosh” was established to bring active citizens together to highlight important issues through education, discussion and agitation. More importantly, citizens are expected to voluntarily act as a team in securing relief for the community as a whole. ''Janaakrosh'' have been actively running campaigns on various issues for each of the last 100 weeks uninterruptedly. Be it the condition of government hospitals, rising onion prices, hikes in electricity tariff or even traffic rules awareness, JANAAKROSH has been educating people of Nagpur on what their rights & duties are, and also working with the administrative departments of

Improvement of Government Medical College & Hospital services to patients: In 2011, JANAAKROSH aroused public opinion over the pathetic condition of Nagpur's Government Medical College & Hospital & Indira Gandhi Medical College, which were not getting required injections and medicines for want of required sanctioning authority with their Deans. After a sustained campaign, involving meetings with concerned officials and pursuing with the elected representatives of the region, the matter was resolved with the Deans' sanctioning authority raised ten times.

Water tariff revision by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation Road safety through education of all road users and special training on safety aspects for licensed heavy vehicle drivers at RTO Nagpur. Janaakrosh have been carrying out this campaign for the last 75 weeks to control and reduce the number of accidents on Nagpur's roads in collaboration with the Traffic Branch of Nagpur Police, which has recognized the organisations 20 campaigners as additional traffic officers.

FOR COMPLETE SOLUTION OF YOUR DIAGNOSTIC NEEDS & HEALTH CHECK UP, NABL ACCREDITED

Dhruv Pathology Laboratory, Aditya Enclave, 3rd floor, Opposite Somalwar School,Nagpur-10, 0712-3265328

DIRECTOR DR. SHAILENDRA MUNDHADA

Dhruv Laboratories. J-11 Laxmi Nagar WHC Road, Nagpur. Ph: 3295328

For Complete solution in Blood Banking, NABH Accredited

JEEVAN JYOTI BLOOD BANK

JP Chambers, Madhav Nagar, Nagpur-10, Ph. : 0712-6640411, 2230876

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

Government to secure the required quality of services. JANAAKROSH's way of action has been communicative, organized and agitating, as the cause demands their activists are themselves educated, aware and law-abiding citizens

17

I N SH O RT

- Sneha Fafat

Small Changes = Big Difference

Always Fresh - Eat Like Our Fore Fathers. Eat Fresh, Eat Healthy.

TASK 9 –

Why – Packaged food is often processed, which implies a decline in nutrients compared to fresh equivalents and often involves the addition of unhealthy fats, sugars and starch, excess salt, preservatives, flavorings, fillers, etc What - Food packaging is a major source of hormonedisrupting chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) and plastic softener DEHP. Many such chemicals can damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, and reproductive system.

Environment-friendlier - both through the production and the disposal of packaging - all the waste you generate when preparing fresh vegetables, fruit, fish or meat is biodegradable.

Add to the list or ask your question on www.facebook.com/dietlane Sneha is a registered dietician and consulting Nutritionist practicing in Nagpur.

ART

paintings by Anna Taut

theartidote The Artidote is a new platform on Instagram and Sharetagram to bond, storytell, empathize and heal through art. It is curated by Jovanny V. Ferreyra. Writings shared by contributors from across the world are combined with images and art by Jovanny to make a complete story. Jovanny was earlier the creative brain of @berlin.artparasites

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

http://instagram.com/theartidote You can also follow artidote on http://www.facebook.com/the.artidote

18

DIET LA N E

Sample this : “every time you tell your daughter you yell at her out of love you teach her to confuse anger with kindness which seems like a good idea till she grows up to trust men who hurt her cause they look so much like you.”

—to fathers with daughters, Rupi Kaur

Medha Dixit on

Hello Bastar by Rahul Pandita.

Romancing the Bloodshed!!

Pandita's Hello Bastar talks about the class strife in India's Red Corridor. It is high calibre story journalism, with incisive analysis of the Maoist insurgency. The author has detailed the inception, spread and status of the Naxal movement with dispassionate ease.

Although Pandita has been accused by intelligentsia of token journalism, he has been very effective in presenting and citing facts.

All chapters begin with catchy headings and verse by revolutionary poets. It almost seems like Pandita has romanticised the entire movement- the

Black Mirror

“If technology is a drug – and it does feel like a drug – then what, precisely, are the side-effects? This area – between delight and discomfort – is where Black Mirror… is set.”

Charlie Brooker, creator

cause, ideology, the thought leaders, the people and also the bloodshed. The layout of the book is simple and the reader never experiences information overload. At the same time, one does long for an insider's viewpoint of the movement in today's context. Most of the arguments that he makes for the class struggle are well placed – landless labour and landlords; development deficit, urban and rural divide; atrocities of the police and the powerful; the inclusion and outreach of government policy. These and such other arguments have been strategically dovetailed in the narrative.

The ideologies of Mao and their interpretation by Charu Mazumdar, KS, Kobad Ghandy, Anuradha Ghandy, Varavara Rao, Ganapathy, Kishenji, the various teachers, doctors and professionals who have been contributing to the cause has been well inscribed in the tale. It opens our eyes to the history that is being made every day in our own backyards.

At 190 pages, it is a simple read but a haunting memory.

-Priyanka Sutaria

Black Mirror is Brooker's attempt to d e v e l o p a n understanding of the disadvantages of technology. Although a tool to guide humankind as we journey through an unknown socioinformative landscape, it has birthed a new paranoia set in a realm which is as virtual as we are real. In bringing to the viewer this battle between the real and virtual worlds, Brooker has created a series of almost-documentaries, speculative fiction bordering on dark satire.

In this examination of the society that occupies the time and space of the Twenty-First Century, the television series provides its audience an alternate set of realities wherein technological advancement has allowed for our species to forfeit what is most essential to our survival: humanity. Today, we rest precariously on the precipice of innovation itself, almost awaiting our fall into a technological ocean whose depths are yet unfathomable by many. And the titular Black Mirror? The cold, shiny screens of our phones, laptops, televisions and numerous other gadgets which have come to occupy exalted positions in our lives, more so than the people who surround us.

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

TV SERIES

B O O KS

19

LET US F O R TO G O

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

Havelock Island ~ Little piece of bliss in the Indian Ocean Havelock Island is part of the Andaman & Nicobar archipelago of islands in the Indian Ocean. The Andaman & Nicobar Island are part of India's territory and have played an important role in India' freedom struggle. Today, the islands are known for their pristine beaches, forests & wildlife and popular with travelers looking to fall off the map from the usual destinations.

Travel to Havelock Island - The main point of contact/travel to Havelock Island is from Port Blair(capital of Andaman & Nicobar). There are government run ferries and also private catamarans which ply to Havelock & Neil Island. Also, at the time we were there, heard that sea plane services were due to start soon, but I am not sure if they have started already. The cheapest travel mode is, of course, the government run ferry, however, be forewarned it is a tiring ride.

Staying & Enjoying at Havelock Island - The moment we landed up at the jetty on Havelock Island, we were overcome by a sense of peace.

The tiring ferry journey forgotten in an instant, the clam blue jade waters of the sea and soft breeze were welcoming to the eye, body & soul. We had pre booked at one of Havelock's many eco -resorts; it was located on Beach #2. It was one of the prettiest beach views I have had at any resorts I have traveled and stayed at till date!!

Havelock is well connected by ferries to Port Blair, hence a lot of tourists come there day trips .

Majority of the people who choose to stay at Havelock are there for the water sports.

Havelock is an excellent place to

20

– Kartik Kale

learn how to scuba dive and to go snorkeling. There a quite a few certified dive shops operating at Havelock who can introduce you to the sport. The water is calm and the underwater visibility is upto 30 meters ,this makes ones first diving experience relatively less intimidating. There are plenty of dive sites around Havelock ,to reach they take around 10 minutes to 1 hr by boat .The sea life is spectacular and one can see sea turtles, sea snakes, sting rays and also tuna and barracuda not to mention a dizzying number of coral fish species Havelock has a total of 8 beaches, numbered beach #1 to #8, with beach #1 also being part of the jetty. There are resorts set up adjacent to most of the beaches and its very easy to pre book them from here.

We spent our days on Havelock Island diving, beach bumming, beach hopping, snorkeling and having lots of local food.

The local food(fresh fish, rice and curries) are the best thing to have on the island, as the local population consists mainly of settlers from Bengal and the curries and fish are excellent.

One of the most famous beaches is the Radhanagar beach (or beach #7). Voted one of the top 10 beaches in Asia, this beach certainly deserves all the credit it has got. Awesomely huge, pristine and with wonderful views, this beach is a delight!!

One of the things we loved doing was drive around the island on our hired scooty; it was fun and the island being totally safe, it becomes an adventurous activity to drive through dark forests, coastal roads and in the moonlight night with one's partner(or alone or with friends!!!)

I like to call Havelock Island a little piece of bliss in the Indian Ocean and reminisce about the blissful times we spent there!!

– Rahul Kale

makeover including a new town beach. And then Split, with its vibrant Saturday market, excellent beaches, and the Riva esplanade lined with cafĂŠs and bars.

Officially recognised as Europe's second-cleanest (after Cyprus), Croatia's shores tend to be pebbly rather than sandy, but the water is crystal clear, albeit a little cold for us. The best are on the islands: Rab boasts a lovely bay at Lopar, Korcula has two sandy beaches near Lumbarda, while tiny Susak island is entirely composed of fine, compacted sand. There's an island to suit every taste: green Mljet (reached via Dubrovnik) is best for nature, Vis (via Split) for food, Brac for watersports and Hvar for relaxation and celebrity spotting. The best approach to hopping between islands is to focus on well-connected island groups.

Ferry timetables are available on jadrolinija.hr.

Getting there: the best way to get there is by Austrian Airways from Delhi, they have excellent connections all over eastern Europe. An alternate is Turkish Airlines or Qatar which offers flights to the capital Zagreb. Or you can always buy a ticket to any major European airport and then switch to a low-cost carrier such as Easyjet.

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

Query - We have travelled extensively in Western Europe and want a European holiday to a slightly off-the-beaten track European country. It should be beautiful of course but with great infrastructure as we plan to take our parents with us.

-Rt Ann Neeta Gupta Answer - I would recommend Croatia very evry highly. With its stunning cities, beautiful landscapes, 1,800km coastline, the islands and turquoise Adriatic, it is well established on the holiday scene, but very few in India consider it seriously because we still associate it with the Balkan War. FYI there hasn't been any fighting for over 20 years, and Croatia wasn't badly affected in any case!

Whats interesting is that one can experience the Interior which is very Central European in character and the Dalmatian coast, which is very Mediterranean in one country. I would suggest a combination of doing a coastal city, plus atleast one island.

Perched in the brilliant blue waters of the Adriatic, the medieval and beautifully restored city of Dubrovnik is undeniably gorgeous and always beguiling. Dubrovnik is essential viewing, but it's only one of many attractive coastal cities. Consider Pula, with its Roman remains, or Sibenik, which has undergone a

TRAVEL D O CTO R

21

O PI N I O N S U N VAR N ISHED

-Shivkumar Rao

Views – Unvarnished on the Draft Gold Monetisation Scheme

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

India is one of the largest consumers of gold, and imports 800-1,000 tonnes every year.

Gold stocks in India are over 22000 tons.

In the 10 years to 2013-14, India imported gold worth about $280 billion. Had gold not been imported, foreign exchange reserve of the country today would have been about $630 billion; the actual level is about $350 billion.

The Government announced the Draft gold Monetisation Scheme with three basic objectives. First, to mobilize gold held by households and institutions in the country. Second, make gold available on loan from banks to jewellery businesses and lastly, to reduce imports.

According to the draft, the gold (jewellery) will first be tested for purity, and after the consent of the customer, it will be melted. If the customer is willing to deposit the gold under the scheme, she will be given a certificate by the collection centre, stating the amount and purity of gold, and which will have to be produced in the bank for opening the gold savings account.

Some facts, which make the Gold monetization scheme, an effort by the Government in the right direction is– 1. Gold is a non-productive asset 2. The country will reduce its gold imports which otherwise is a big foreign exchange drain.

3. The jewelry sector will do due to stability of gold prices 4. Gold prices will drop due to surplus in the market.

However, according to the World Gold Council, in the past decade, 75% of the gold demand in the country has been for jewellery. Further, two-thirds of this has gone to the rural areas. In India, especially in rural areas, people tend to attach social

22

and sentimental value to gold, which probably may act as a spoiler in the success of the scheme.

Team GO spoke to a few Rotarians to seek their views on the scheme.

Rtn. Kishore Sheth, of Batukbhai Jewelers and past Director of All India Gems and Jewellery traders Federation – We had suggested this scheme to the Government last year and are confident it will be successful all over the country. The key to its success is the amnesty that will have to be provided by the Government by clearly saying – No questions will be asked on the source of income for gold deposits.

It is also very good that the scheme has 30gms deposit as the minimum threshold and only 1-year period, which allows more flexibility to the depositor.

Rt.Ann Sharmila Sutaria – 'Gold is dead investment'. This scheme will at least ensure that we secure decent returns on our investment. Quite a few women who have old jewelry locked up will be willing to deposit. Getting women in the villages to deposit will of course be a challenge and moreover, the temples, which hold substantial gold, will never part with it. I feel that the scheme will have to be publicized well for it to be successful.

Rtn. Rajesh Yadav – 'Middle class families will never part with their family gold for sentimental reasons'. It is not possible that women see their jewellery melt into biscuits. Such schemes never yield the desired result and merely remain as tax evasion tools. Tax evaders will buy kilos of gold in cash & deposit with the government for tax amnesty.

Considering the retrospective tax amendments that successive governments enforce in this country, some kind of harassment will definitely be there a few years after the scheme becomes operational.

IN THIS ISSUE We bring your the stories of some major projects like Walkathon, Udaan, Smiling Faces & Global Grants on pages 13, 24, 25 & 27.

-Ed.

IMPA CTI N G LIVES -Atul Shah - If disposed into the lake, it can contribute to high levels of chemical and biochemical oxygen demand.

- The long term ill effect is the siltation of lakes and frequent requirement of rejuvenation.

Well, simply said it saves our environment and helps in keeping our lakes beautiful and charged with gleaming water. Telangkhedi is a popular hangout and holds a place of pride in the hearts of us Nagpurians. Our Club has toiled over the years and needs to continue doing so and be proud of creating yet another Public movement, this time to save the Environment!

This year NMC collected 260 tons of Nirmalya and promised to convert it to manure which would be approx.150 tons ! At Rs.25 per kg, start doing your calculations! Not to forget the complex calculation of savings in terms of rejuvenation of 11 lakes of Nagpur.

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

Nirmalya Collection Today it is a great sightt to see gleaming water of Telangkhedi lake, even during this peak summer. Some years ago the very existence of this lake was under threat and one of the reason being the Nirmalya during Ganesh Visarjan being dumped in the lake, year after year.

Nirmalya Collection is humongous activity today in Nagpur during Ganesh Visarjan time, with different NGO's, NMC administration and people at large having become aware and vigilant about.

Very few of our members would be able to recall that originally this project was conceived and implemented by a bunch of Rotarians from our Club, in the year Rotary 2004-5 at Telangkhedi Lake.

There used to be a lot of resistance from the public in handing over the Nirmalya to our Rotarians. With lot of explaining regarding environmental hazard and damage to the beautiful Telangkhedi lake, some of them would relent. Local Administration too responded to the fact and started participating from 2011-12.

The statistical impact this activity has on our lives and environment, is also very interesting. Talking to one of the experts, our very own Rt.Ann Rita Dhodapkar, she mentions that it is possible to work out the

statistics but it is a technical and complex process. To give you some insight, here is what she has to say – - The Nirmalya floral offerings can be composted and the manure is sold for Rs 2025 per Kg. - Nirmalya has the appropriate and maximum organic content in waste with essential nutrient making it amenable to biodegradation.

- About 100 tons of Nirmalya can produce up to 60-70 tons of manure!

Impact and preservation of lakes from organic pollution: Prevention of disposal of Nirmalya can be equated to - Reduction in the pollution levels of lakes as it has high percentage of organic content .

23

SMILI N G FA CES

-Hetal Sampat

Radhika Yakar – Recipient of scholarship funded by Scholarship Committee – Rotary Club of Nagpur Born to a humble parents, Radhika Yakar has worked hard and is on the way towards the career of her dreams. A third year student pursuing B.Sc nursing at the Wasnik Institute Dhaba, she will intern at the Wockhardt hospital next year and then she dreams of a job in a private hospital.

One of three siblings, her father is an asst. Mechanic is a private entity. Due to the family's limited means, she was selected for the Scholarship programme by the committee of St. Ursula for the Rotary scholarship program. Through Std. 7-9 she was given

an amount to cover her school fees, books and school dress.

She completed her Matric from St. Ursula and did her 11 and 12 from Vande Mataram Institute, Besa.

She has three and a half years of her training to go and is doing very well in her nursing programme too.. We wish Radhika All the Best !!!

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

“PR O JECT SMILI N G FA CES”

24

Rtn. Rajiv Behal In the Year 1999 the Eduljee Scholarship fund was initiated by Mrs. Eduljee and managed by the Rotary Club of Nagpur. The income from this fund was given to students from economically backward families to support their education. The main beneficiaries of which being selective students staying at the Ramkrishna Math. It was in the Rotary year 2007-2008 that the 'Scholarship Committee'' was formed and this task of giving scholarships was taken up on large scale in a more structured manner.

Scholarships Committee was formed with the aim of extending financial support to needy students in continuing their education up to High School and was named “Project Smiling Faces”.

It was observed that a number of students (especially girls) from the underprivileged class of society drop out of school when they are in Class V to Class IX since the parents could not afford their children's education and would rather have an additional earning member in the family.

Rotary Club of Nagpur was concerned about this alarming issue and decided to chip in by helping such students financially by way of annual scholarships, ensure the continuity of their education so that they can complete high school. The Committee did put in one condition that the student must work hard and ensure that she/he gets promoted to the next Class every year so that they

become more responsible towards building their future. This year, the Project - Adult Literacy has been taken up in a big way by Rotary International, they are motivating the beneficiary students to adopt “Each One, Reach One, Teach One” and educate at least one illiterate adult known to them in their free time.

Project Smiling Faces has since grown and in the Rotary year 2013-2014, they have handed over scholarships amounting to total of Rs 9 lacs with a Corpus Fund of Rs 13.31 lacs benefitting about 450 underprivileged students spread over 10 institutions. This year, they are targeting distribution of more than Rs 10 lacs and also a substantial increment in the Corpus Funds.

The Committee has now also included a few deserving and capable college students who were not able to pursue higher studies due to paucity of funds.

One such scholarship of a high denomination is being awarded to an exceptionally bright student for college education who is not otherwise able to afford it. These scholarships to college students will be called “The Golden Smile” scholarship. In turn, they plan to take a pledge from all the beneficiary college students that they too will support at least one needy student when they start earning comfortably.

A small amount of Rs 2,500/- is what it takes to finance a child's annual school fees, books and school uniform. A Corpus Fund of Rs 30,000/- takes care of a child's education year after year. You can contribute in multiples of Rs 2,500/- or also make a one-time donation in

multiples of Rs 30,000/- towards Corpus Fund (which can also be named by you).

And feel the joy of giving!

We discussed this with a few past presidents and vice-presidents as they have been at the helm of affairs at some point and we got some different viewpoints. Collectively their viewpoints are as under - there are some students who might not have the aptitude for doing a professional course for graduation. These 10th or 12th pass students can be directed towards and the tuition can be paid for some vocational course which will make them more employable. The donors and beneficiaries can too be broadbased through usage of social and other media.

There may be many willing persons who do not come forward as they might be wary of the credibility of the facilitating organisations. We can tap the goodwill of Rotary for converting such people to Donors. While increasing the number of beneficiaries is an onerous task as the committee is very particular about its due diligence so that the funds are channelized to worthy students only. By and by all the past presidents were of the opinion that the committee is doing a fantabulous job with special credit to the record keeping and details maintenance by the committee.

Hetal Sampat

UDAA N - THE STO RY 'UDAAN'- a sports carnival for Specially Abled Children- has since arrived these last five years. The event comprises of various sports events for around 700 students from 45 different schools belonging to Blind, Deaf & Mute, Mentally Challenged and Physically Challenged categories. The events are competitive and bring out the best in the participants.

Dinesh Naidu during whose tenure as director this project was initiated reminisces on Udaan

The event has grown such that it now involves more than 1200 people, including 700 children accompanied by 150 Teachers, over 400 Rotarians and Rotaractors as volunteers. One of the major achievements is that we have successfully sensitized today's youth towards the specially abled community.

Now we have a mad rush of young volunteers from various Rotaract Clubs and other institutions making a beeline to serve participants.

It was 2010-11, our President was Ganesh Joshi, with me as Director-Non Medical and 'Welfare of Specially Abled Committee' Chairpersons Rita Bhargava, Mahendra Kamath, Divya Dass and Ashish Mehadia, were contemplating a mega event to raise funds for specially abled children. While toying with ideas, a chance visit to the District Sports Meet organized by Zilla Parishad was an eye opener! We realized that these kids though lacking physically, have a strong mind and competitive spirit. We also noticed that the facilities extended by the government for such events were lacking and even basics like proper food was not provided. Hence the idea of UDAAN‌ hosting these kids for a day long sports carnival wherein they would be royalty, to mark this day in their life a memorable one.

UDAAN has given us tremendous PR through local media and has also made its mark amongst other Rotary Clubs of our District to the extent that now other clubs are trying to emulate it to bring smiles on more faces of these special members of our society.

With so much hue and cry about Valentine's Day celebrations, our committee decided to give a positive message to society and celebrate this day

The GO team also spoke to two other people associated with Udaan from inception for their views on the evolution thus far and the way forward as also some

With UDAAN our club has established its goodwill in more than 50 Specially Abled Schools in and around Nagpur. We have been helping these institutions round the year by the virtue of better understanding of their needs and requirements.

perceptions observations.

or

Micky Arora opines that maybe a bit more entertainment can be brught in as he felt a lack of competitiveness in the sports events which were more fun oriented, anyway.

He also feels that the food spread can be improved and maybe some additions can be thought of like juices, etc. He said maybe a talent competition can be run which can culminate in a ticketed show of the best talents which could enable fundraising which can be channelized into equipment for their schools or personal aids like calipers, prosthetics or even hearing aids, et al. Most importantly, he feels that maybe skill development programs ought to be pursued and gainful employment generated for them. He recalled how some years ago, a joint event was also done in Nagpur where 8 former Miss Worlds had a community service initiative where they had a program for these special citizens.

Mahendra Kamath almost echoing Micky's sentiments added that Rotaractors ought to be used for skill development as they are always on the lookout for such activities. He hopes that such special citizens would be employed

by Rotarians and such members would proudly display badges that they sponsored the skill training and are employing them as a recognition. He is all for making use of the experience of these years and structuring it into a standard model to be marketed better, so that other clubs and organizations can replicate the event and enable better fund raising.

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

of love and affection with people who needed love the most, hence Valentine's Day became synonymous with UDAAN.

25

FRESH ME N

New Members

They happened to be at a Vocational Visit of our club as the guests of the host and liked all the members they met. They liked our friendliness and also the enthusiasm of even elderly members!

With many friends already members of our club, all it needed was a small prod from Vishal Agrawal and Raj Shah to them; and Manish and Sonia Sibal happily joined the club.

A Nagpurian to the core with schooling from SFS and then GS College, Manish loves this town and would never think of moving out, other than the travel that his business brings on him. After graduating in Commerce, he joined the family Construction Business.

They take up projects for the Defense -Air force and the Ordinance factory.

Sonia, also a Commerce student, hails

Manish and Sonia Sibal

from Dehradoon. Chosen by her mother in law, also from Dehradoon, Sonia has settled well in the family with parents in law, a brother in law and his wife and kids.

Manish and Sonia are proud parents to Nishtha and Vania. Both the girls go to the Centre Point School and are currently in class 10 and 6.

A fitness freak, Manish enjoys his daily morning walk and regularly takes the girls for a swim. He loves spending time with his family and would love to serve the Community. Incidentally, his elder brother is also a Rotarian with Rotary Club of Nagpur Ishanya.

Welcome, Manish and Sonia!

- Manju Shahani

GLO BAL GRA N TS: year on year, every year Global Grants is one of the many initiatives of The Rotary Foundation (TRF). It is a tool available to all Clubs to plan and execute large scale community based humanitarian projects, in the Rotary Thrust areas.

Our Club has been benefitting through Matching Grants in terms of execution of some large scale projects. Recent examples of these projects are the Girad Lake – Water Conservation project, Ambulance to Go Vigyan, Deolapar and NICU at Matru Seva Sangh. Our Club has been at the forefront of conceiving and executing Global Grant Projects. In the earlier avatar it was known as Matching Grant, now known as Global Grants with some modifications.

PP Dr. Manmohan Daga who has been at the helm of affairs where Global Grants are concerned has enumerated the features of Global Grants –

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

- Global Grants were introduced in the Rotary Year 13-14

26

- These have to be in the 6 AREAS OF FOCUS of RI only

- These projects have to be of more than $30,000/- investment - They can have Multiple Partners from Host Country and also from International Partners (is must) - They should meet all the eligibility criteria of availing the Grant He feels that this is a wonderful way of executing large funding community based projects since TRF matches the contributions made by partnering Clubs by 50% and 100% to the contributions made by partnering Districts.

PP Ganesh Joshi says "Scope" & "Scale" are two things that come to his mind where Global Grants are concerned. Scope of our Club activities encompasses almost everything. This brings us to SCALE and with it the "GLOBAL GRANT'. As a member of such a prestigious club with proud legacies, it is incumbent upon us to scale-up the level of our projects. Our internal resources would always be inadequate to carry out spectrum of activities of mammoth size on a yearly

basis. We must organise every year at least one project of the magnitude of 3040 lacs or more through Global Grant.

In my opinion too, Global Grants is a fantastic and much easier way to execute large, sustainable, impactful community based projects. It also compliments the cause of building “brand” Rotary.

With funding available through Global Grants route, what is required of every incoming Club Board is to assess the need and conceive the project, identifying a credible not-for-profit partner organization, even before its term begins. This ensures a headstart and seamless execution of the process cycle i.e Due diligence, documentation, financial working, identifying interested International partners, vendor, training and finally the implementation and closure report.

All this is possible within the term of the serving Board.

PP Atul Shah

Continued from page 12

28th May

W EEKLY MEETI N G

JUNE 2015 GOLDEN ORANGE

– Best Chairpersons Awards

27