Rotary News July 2014

Annual Subscription Rs.480 Vol.65, Issue 1

July 2014

RI President Gary Huang and his wife Corinna Yao

11 President Speaks 13 First Thought 18 Q & A 21 Rotary International’s new President, Gary C.K. Huang 25 Rotary’s Incandescence Down Under - RI Convention 2014 38 Reminiscences 2013–14

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66 RI District 3131 is No.1 District in India 67 Marching towards Total Literacy 70 Grooming Leaders 72 Rotary Showcase 74 Reaching Life Savers 84 Very Briefly

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74

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

DG

S.P. Balasubramaniam

PRID Sushil Gupta

RI Dist. 3010

RI Dist.3000

DG

Jagannathan Paramasivam

PRID Ashok Mahajan

RI Dist. 3140

RI Dist.3010

DG

Sanjay Khanna

PRID Yash Pal Das

RI Dist. 3080

RI Dist.3020

DG

Dr. G.V. Mohan Prasad

PRID Shekhar Mehta

RI Dist. 3291

RI Dist.3030

DG

Dattatraya Shantaram Deshmukh

RIDE Dr. Manoj D. Desai

RI Dist. 3060

RI Dist.3040

DG

Narendra Kumar Jain

DG

Ramesh Agrawal

RI Dist.3052

RI Dist. 3051

DG

Jagdish B. Patel

DG

Vyankatesh Metan

RI Dist. 3132

RI Dist. 3053

DG

Anil Maheshwari

DG

Sanjay Khemka

RI Dist. 3250

RI Dist. 3060

DG

Ashish Ramesh Ajmera

DG

I.S.A.K. Nazar

RI Dist. 3230

RI Dist. 3070

DG

Gurjeet Singh Sekhon

PDG Rabi Narayan Nanda

RI Dist. 3262

RI Dist. 3080

DG

Dilip Patnaik

PDG Radhe Shyam Rathi

RI Dist. 3053

PDG Hari Krishna Chitipothu

RI Dist. 3150

RI Dist. 3090

DG

Pardeep Kumar Chehal

RI Dist. 3100

DG

Sanjiv Rastogi

RI Dist. 3110

DG

Ashok Jyoti

RI Dist. 3120

DG

Satpal Gulati

RI Dist. 3131

DG

Vivek Aranha

RI Dist. 3140

DG

Ajay Gupta

RI Dist. 3150

DG

Malladi Vasudev

RI Dist. 3160

DG

G.S. Mansoor

RI Dist. 3170

DG

Ganesh G. Bhat

RI Dist. 3180

DG

Dr. S. Bhaskar

RI Dist. 3190

DG

Manjunath Shetty

RI Dist. 3201

DG

P. Venugopalan Menon

RI Dist. 3202

DG

K. Sridharan Nambiar

RI Dist. 3211

DG

K.S. Sasikumar

RI Dist. 3212

DG

M. Ashok Padmaraj

RI Dist. 3230

DG

I.S.A.K. Nazar

RI Dist. 3240

DG

Swapan Kumar Choudhury

RI Dist. 3261

DG

Shambhu Jagatramka

RI Dist. 3262

DG

Ashok Bihari Mohapatra

RI Dist. 3291

DG

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 Acting Editor Jaishree Assistant Editor S. Selvi

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

Your Comments Well Done Mr. Director!

Congratulations for a brilliant piece of message ‘First Thought’ published in June issue of Rotary News! The first year of your tenure as RI Director (2013–15) was a period of great significance in which you have given your best to raise our Zone to new heights which will be cherished forever!

Some Highlights: z

z

z

z

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First ever Rotary Institute aboard a sailing ship Super Star Virgo (25–28 August 2013).

Magnificent Presidential New Generation Conference at Chennai (5–6 October 2013).

Guinness World Record established by 7,600 Rotaractors.

Record accomplishment of RI District 3131 in Membership Growth (1,139 new members) and TRF Contribution (USD 1.82 million+).

Polio Free India Celebration on 13th January.

PDG Jagmohan Katakia RI District 3040

Every month, through Rotary News, we keep getting complete information about multifarious activities Rotary clubs all over the country are doing. I also appreciate all the articles which are very informative. I also thank you for publishing reviews of both my books, ‘What They Don’t Teach in Educational Institutions’ and ‘Yes, Together we can.’ which brought me in touch with many Rotarians from all corners of India.

Most such relationships developed through Rotary News are still continuing to date.

Rtn. Capt. Ravi Mahajan RC Madras Esplanade RI District 3230 I would like to convey my congratulations to our RI President Ron D. Burton for being part of polio eradication campaign from its very beginning i.e. about 29 years back.

Rotary has saved millions of children from being paralysed by polio. It is possible only with the help of every single Rotarian in the world. It is indeed our nation’s victory over the invisible enemy which was crippling our innocent children. But we have to keep the momentum going.

Rtn. R.K. Kapoor RC Roopnagar RI District 3080 April 2014 issue brought out a wonderful article, ‘Reminiscing San Diego International Assembly, 2014.’ The venue San Diego is indeed a unique place. You have highlighted the hotel facing the bay.

San Diego also stands for America’s will power and gratitude to its martyrs who died in wars. The speech of Rotary International President, 2014–15 was indeed inspiring.

Rtn. Madhuraa Chandrrasekhar Rao RC Srikalahasti RI District 3190 In May 2014 issue, expert analysis of RI President Ron Burton on ‘why members leave and what

we can do about it’ was informative. Being a past GSE member and now a young Rotarian aspiring to take leadership, I am motivated to ‘Engage Rotary, Change Lives.’

Rtn. R. Murali Krishna RC Berhampur RI District 3262 I would like to offer my thanks to Rotarians for their efforts to achieve the goal of Polio-free India and the brilliant coverage for ‘Polio Free Conclave’ in May 2014 issue of Rotary News. I am sure with continued efforts of Rotary, ‘Polio Free World’ will be achieved very soon. I am disappointed as culture articles have not appeared in recent Rotary News issues, but it may be due to space constraints.

The contribution to society by different clubs published under the title ‘Around the Districts’ is motivating.

Rtn. S.P. Tiwari RC Rohitashwa Rohtas RI District 3250 We have been reading Rotary News magazine for more than ten years but this year all the articles and layout design of the magazine is quite good.

In May 2014 issue article titled ‘Blue & Green’ is really appreciable. I am really impressed by the writing and composing skills of Kiran Zehra.

Through this letter our club sends a token of appreciation to the editorial staff of Rotary News.

Rtn. K.S. Saggu RC Goraya Midtown RI District 3070

The editor welcomes brief comments on the contents of the magazine, but reserves the right to edit submissions for style and length.

Published letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or the R I leadership, nor do the editors take responsibility for errors of fact that may be expressed by the writers.

Only letters that include a verifiable name, address and day and evening phone numbers can be considered for publication.

Readers are our source of encouragement. Some of our esteemed patrons share their valuable feedback….

Dear Fellow Rotarians, I find many traditional Chinese values reflected in Rotary: values of service and responsibility, of respect for family and for others. Sometimes I call Confucius the world’s first Rotarian, because even though he died 2,500 years before Rotary was founded, his ideas are very much Rotary ideas. And one of the things he said was: .

In English, you say, “It is better to light a single candle than to sit and curse the darkness.”

I think that one line sums up the way we in Rotary approach the problems of the world. There is so much difficulty. There are so many people who need help. Many people look at this and say, “There is nothing I can do.” So they do nothing — and nothing changes.

But this is not the Rotary way. The Rotary way is to light a candle. I light one candle, you light one candle — and so do 1.2 million other Rotarians. Together, we can do so much more than we could ever do alone. Together, we can light up the world.

In 2014–15, I am asking each of you to light your own Rotary candle — and Light Up Rotary together.

PRESIDENT

SPEAKS

There are so many ways to Light Up Rotary. I hope many of you will choose to host a Rotary Day, to show your community what Rotary is and what we do. I hope you will involve your Rotaract and Interact clubs in your service, to bring the new generation of the Rotary family closer to Rotary membership. And I hope you will keep Rotary strong by inviting new members into Rotary — including your own spouses and family.

Perhaps the most important thing we can do to Light Up Rotary is to finish the job we’ve been working on for more than a quarter of a century: the eradication of polio. We are so close to our goal. But we will get there only if we keep up the fight, keep up the momentum, and close the funding gap for the polio endgame plan.

Light Up Rotary is our theme for this year, but it is more than just a theme. It is how we in Rotary see the world and our role in it. We believe that no one should sit alone in the darkness. Instead, we can come together, all 1.2 million of us, to Light Up Rotary. This is our goal — and my challenge to you.

Gary C.K. Huang President, Rotary International JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 11

Message from RI President Gary Huang on the new simplified club invoice Gary C.K. Huang President, 2014-15 T +1.847.866.3467 F +1.847.866.3390 gary.huang@rotary.org 1 July 2014

Important Announcement

Dear Club Officer, Clubs around the world have asked for a less complicated way of paying their dues, and so I am very pleased to announce that beginning 1 January 2015 semiannual invoices will be much easier to pay.

In January, you will receive a simple invoice that clearly states the amount due. This straightforward invoice will replace the complex eight-page Semiannual Report. You will no longer need to recalculate your invoice or make adjustments to the semiannual invoice. Dues amounts on semiannual invoices will be calculated based on the membership number filed by your club secretary – online or via email or mail – by 1 January and 1 July of each year.

You will find detailed information on our website at Rotary.org/clubinvoice. Also, you may email any questions, comments and concerns to clubinvoice@rotary.org.

We want to hear from you.

Starting in January, let’s all be sure to take the time saved on paying dues and invest it in the fun and rewarding experiences we all enjoy as Rotary members and in inviting others to join our dynamic Rotary organization.

Thank you,

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

Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.

- Chinese Proverb

ONE ROTARY CENTER 1560 SHERMAN AVENUE EVANSTON, ILLINOIS 60201-3698 USA • WWW.ROTARY.ORG

The year is beginning The book is open The pages are waiting To Light Up Rotary!

May happiness and hope Concern and care Along with dreams Be written there …

My dear partners in service, I would like to share with you, a few lines, which best describes the spirit of Rotary: Witold 0DáFXĪ\ĔVNL, the famed Polish pianist, was once receiving admirers after a concert. “Incredible!” one of them exclaimed. “How in the world can you perform so with just a pair of hands?”

“It is really quite simple,” the maestro replied. “I merely follow the advice of Bach … put your fingers on the right notes, at the right time and let the instrument do the rest.”

It is the genius of the Rotary instrument that produces the lively music of service. Each of us only place the fingers, and the fingers are many, one better than the other, each important, but none indispensable. This is Rotary’s guiding precept.

I am confident that each and every one of you, will put your fingers on the right notes at the right time and the sweet music of Rotary service will flow through each and every corner of our country, through every one of the 4,000 clubs.

Let us now look at our priorities in the coming year. No doubt our total commitment to the ‘Keep India Polio-free,’ is our No.1 priority. We should not become complacent because we have been certified polio-free. To prevent the polio-virus from slipping through our borders, we need to strengthen our routine immunisation and carry out the NIDs, with the same vigour, with which we have been doing for the past many years.

Our second priority will be to take up RI President Gary’s membership challenge to be No.1 country in membership growth, in the world.

Thirdly, in line with RI President Gary‘s priorities we have to direct our attention to Rotary Days, which will be a great public relations exercise for Rotary. Not only the Rotary districts, but clubs also can have Rotary Days and showcase Rotary’s service projects in their respective areas.

To achieve this, I request each Rotary District and Rotary club to plan for a Rotary Day. For the Rotary Day of Districts, President Gary Huang will depute a senior Rotary leader, as his (President’s) Representative (at no cost to RI).

Hence, it is imperative that all District Governors plan right

now, the Rotary Days and inform me and RI President Gary Huang.

Sydney Convention, held on June 1– 4, 2014, with an attendance of over 18,000, was one of the best Rotary Conventions in the recent past! The Prime Minister of Australia, Hon. Tony Abbott MP, who inaugurated the Convention, delighted the Rotarians, with Rtn. P.T. Prabhakar his Government’s gift RI Director, 2013–15 of AUD 100 million, towards our polio eradication programme.

RI President Ron Burton’s address was full of Rotary’s achievements in India, which included our polio-free certification as well as the excellent New Generation Presidential Conference at Chennai, which resulted in a Guinness World record by the Rotaractors.

There were several world class speakers during the plenary sessions, which included Prof. Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation and Sir Emeka Offor, a Nigerian business leader who announced a USD 1 million gift to The Rotary Foundation, for PolioPlus programme.

The highlight of the third day‘s proceedings was an outstanding speech by DRR of RI District 3230, Ramkumar Raju which brought the audience to their feet and they gave him a standing ovation! It was indeed a proud moment for all of us from India!

It was again a proud moment for Asia, when our own RI President Elect K.R. Ravindran gave a thought-provoking acceptance speech.

It gave me great satisfaction to note that the South Asian Reception organised on June 2, 2014 at Sydney was well attended by many RI dignitaries, which included RI President Gary Huang, RIPE K.R. Ravindran, PRID Mark Maloney, Chair of the Sydney Convention and many members of the current RI Board and Trustees of TRF. Very soon, Rotary year 2014–15 will be upon us.

Let us, together Light up Rotary.

Yours in Rotary,

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

ROTARY NEWS 13

Siga Marketing, 09381475767.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

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

Goals for a new year

I

t is an honour and a privilege to serve this Rotary year as Chair of our Rotary Foundation.

And we should be proud to call it our Foundation, for each day millions of people are touched by the magic of Rotary — made possible only by the service and dedication of Rotarians throughout the world.

Our Foundation is the engine that drives the Rotary machine. It gives us the chance to see and fulfill the opportunities for service both within our community and internationally.

Your Foundation Trustees have set five goals for the year.

The first goal is the eradication of the polio-virus. We have much to be proud of in our efforts to rid the world of this disease, but we must finish the job. We cannot let up in our efforts. We cannot undo all the good work that has been done in the past.

Our second goal is to continue to support Rotary’s own charity, The Rotary Foundation, through our contributions.

The good that we do is limited only by what we receive. Let us ensure that clubs who have made no contributions to our Foundation do so this year.

Our third goal is to ensure the progress of our new grants programme by participating in sustainable educational and humanitarian projects.

Our fourth goal is to foster goodwill and peace by promoting and publicising the Rotary Peace Centres programme, whose purpose is to create a cadre of individuals dedicated to peace and conflict resolution.

Our fifth goal is to emphasise that the responsibility for the future of our Foundation is in all our hands so that we can continue doing good in the world as we endeavour to Light Up Rotary.

I look forward to your support.

John Kenny Foundation Trustee Chair

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 88 130 66 88 100 66 66 50 81 115 82 76 88 110 66 110 72 134 93 58 126 135 89 126 101 128 86 60 127 73 91 74 72 85 87 130 82 148 87 3,803

6,490 4,081 5,412 3,192 4,648 2,292 2,631 3,312 1,793 3,573 3,293 3,350 2,112 2,030 3,441 2,505 4,752 3,117 7,102 3,452 2,109 4,835 5,522 3,651 4,828 3,927 3,946 3,613 1,684 5,852 2,631 3,168 2,356 2,660 1,519 2,173 3,922 2,339 4,092 2,820 1,40,225

113 280 553 177 489 216 184 439 143 304 232 167 87 96 155 184 644 216 925 281 77 224 202 259 273 163 155 167 195 353 252 352 271 244 176 374 381 162 596 303 11,064

63 126 51 29 42 21 34 23 13 33 41 39 19 9 41 23 43 26 94 54 8 24 37 48 56 45 5 12 57 93 35 34 14 21 30 12 165 110 41 92 1,763

261 246 176 175 177 85 119 123 30 96 116 145 27 77 37 30 166 82 334 150 37 250 351 100 80 326 56 123 180 342 108 109 93 57 15 36 42 17 92 85 5,151

RCC

185 68 80 258 121 131 328 118 89 100 55 96 122 146 60 48 66 53 137 107 80 153 141 41 43 38 113 117 93 271 109 161 40 65 13 31 152 38 514 85 4,666

As on June 3, 2014 Source: RI South Asia Office JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 15

Light Up Rotary Membership!

Required activity Achieve a net gain in membership between 1 July and 1 March.

Check one of the following: Our club achieved a net gain of one member. (5 points) Our club achieved a net gain of 1–4 percent. (10 points)

O ur club achieved a net gain of 5–10 percent.

(15 points)

Our club achieved a net gain of more than 10 percent.

(20 points) “Best Class” Club President’s Challenge (optional)

Our Club President personally sponsored two new members. (5 points) Additional activities

Submit and achieve membership development goals for 2014–15 on Rotary Club Central. (5 points)

Ensure that every club member has a profile on My Rotary. (5 points)

PRESIDENTIAL CITATION Gary C.K. Huang 2014–15 RI President

Light Up Rotary is not just our theme for the year — it is a call for each of us to take action and make Rotary stronger. The 2014–15 Presidential Citation will recognise Rotary clubs that take action to increase their membership, enhance their service impact, and expand their network.

Procedure Clubs are asked to use this form to plan and report their accomplishments for the 2014–15 Rotary year. To qualify for the Presidential Citation, clubs must achieve a specific number of points in each of the three activity categories and must conduct one required activity per category. Unless otherwise specified, all activities must be undertaken and completed between 1 July 2014 and 31 March 2015.

Qualifying clubs should complete the form and send it to the District Governor no later than 31 March. Forms sent to Rotary International will not be processed.

District Governors must report the names of their qualifying clubs to RI no later than 15 April. District Governors will receive special recognition if 50 percent or more of the clubs in their districts qualify for the Presidential Citation.

16 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

Promote member engagement by ensuring that each club member is assigned a specific role in your club’s leadership development goals for the year, either in a leadership position or as a member of a club committee, subcommittee, or project initiative.1 (5 points)

Increase your club’s member retention rate by at least one percent over the previous year. (5 points)

Increase the diversity of your club’s membership by recruiting at least two new members who belong to a demographic group (for example, gender, age, profession, or ethnicity) that is underrepresented in the club.

(5 points)

Successfully recruit the spouse of a club member or successfully refer a spouse to another Rotary club for membership. (5 points for each spouse that becomes a Rotarian this year; maximum of 15 points total for this activity)

Successfully recruit a former Rotaractor or Rotary alumnus to join your club or successfully refer them to another Rotary club for membership. (5 points for each former Rotaractor or Rotary alumnus that becomes a Rotarian this year) To qualify in this category, your club must score a minimum of 30 points. How many points did your club score?

Light Up Rotary Service!

Required activity Participate in a local or international service project related to at least one of Rotary’s areas of focus:2 • Peace and conflict prevention/resolution • Disease prevention and treatment • Water and sanitation • Maternal and child health • Basic education and literacy • Economic and community development Check one of the following: Our club completed this activity. (10 points)

Our club completed this activity as part of a global grant project. (15 points) “Best Class” Club President’s Challenge (optional)

Our Club President personally donated to The Rotary Foundation. (5 points) Additional activities

Submit and achieve 2014–15 Rotary Foundation giving goals on Rotary Club Central. (5 points)

Support polio eradication through a community fundraising initiative or implement a public awareness campaign to inform the community about Rotary’s contributions to polio eradication. (5 points)

Have at least 10 percent of club members enrolled in Rotary’s recurring giving programme, Rotary Direct.

(5 points)

Sponsor a Rotary Peace Fellow or assist another club in its support of a Rotary Peace Fellow. (5 points)

Increase the total number of Benefactors, Bequest Society3 members, and Paul Harris Society4 members in the club by at least one. (5 points)

Attain 100 percent participation in Rotary Foundation Annual Fund giving (that is, every active member contributes).5 (10 points)

Attain a minimum Annual Fund contribution of US $100 per capita. (10 points) To qualify in this category, your club must score a minimum of 30 points. How many points did your club score?

Light Up the Family of Rotary!

Required activity Sponsor or participate in a local or district Rotary Day6 event to introduce non-Rotarians to Rotary.

Check one of the following:

At least five members of our club participated in a Rotary Day event. (10 points) Our club hosted a Rotary Day event. (15 points) “Best Class” Club President’s Challenge (optional)

Our Club President registered to attend the 2015 RI Convention in São Paulo by 31 March. (5 points) Additional activities

Have club members (not including the President) register to attend the 2015 RI Convention in São Paulo by 31 March. (5 points for each club member that registers; maximum of 10 points total for this activity)

Have at least 10 percent of the club’s members join a Rotary Fellowship or Rotarian Action Group and connect with people from around the world who share their interests. (5 points)

Have at least half of the club’s members participate in an online community discussion board on rotary.org.

(5 points)

Hold a career day or vocational mentoring programme for young people. (5 points)

Implement Rotary’s new visual identity guidelines on the club’s website and social media pages. (5 points)

Sponsor a new Rotaract club or Interact club.

(10 points)

Sponsor a new Rotary Community Corps. (10 points)

Sponsor a new Rotary club. (20 points) To qualify in this category, your club must score a minimum of 40 points. How many points did your club score?

Rotary Club of

Rotary Club President Submit this completed form to your District Governor no later than 31 March.

1

Refer to Leade rship Development: Your Guide to Starting a Program (250-EN) for ideas.

2 Refer to Rotary’s Areas of Focus (965-EN) for ideas.

3 Consult the Your Rotary Legacy brochure (330-EN) for information.

4 Consult the Paul Harris Society brochure (099-EN) for information.

5 Consult the EREY brochure (957-EN) and The Rotary Foundation Reference Guide (219-EN) for information.

6 Consult the Rotary Days brochure (900B-EN) for information.

JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 17

RI President Elect K.R. Ravindran (KRR) interviewed by RI Director P.T. Prabhakar (PTP) on the efficiency of RI’s publicity machinery with special relevance to PolioPlus.

We are at a key moment in the fight to end polio. To finish the job, we need to keep polio at the top of people’s minds, and the only way to do that is to get people talking about it. That’s been the role of Rotary’s PolioPlus communications campaign, which aims to energise the public and boost support for eradicating this disease. However especially in India there has been some adverse writings in the net that we are not doing enough to propagate the benefits of polio eradication sufficiently.

RIPE K.R. Ravindran was in Chennai and I decided to ask him these candid questions so that he can address this issue, if at all such an issue existed.

PTP: Recently there has been much web traffic in India about lack of communication in our polio eradication efforts. Do you agree with it?

Rotary News Trust office at Chennai was privileged to host RI President Elect K.R. Ravindran and RI Director P.T. Prabhakar on June 28, 2014 where the two leaders were engaged in discussion about Rotary’s PR and the various promotional campaigns for polio eradication efforts.

18 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

KRR: Let me first deal with the international situation.

It’s a misconception that Rotary isn’t getting credit for our work to end polio. While obviously not every story about polio will mention all of the partners, Rotary’s role in polio eradication has been highlighted in top traditional media around the world, including Time, CNN, Economist, BBC, Die Welt, Jeune Afrique, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Rolling Stone Brazil and National Geographic. In 2013, Rotary won an award for the ‘Best Global PR Campaign,’ competing against well-known brands such as Wyndham, Bacardi and Yum! Brands.

PTP: What were these prestigious magazines saying about us?

KRR: I can’t obviously remember everything but some major ones I do remember.

Time Magazine said: “A lot of the progress that’s been made so far is due to the efforts of Rotary International...”

The New York Times said: “The club, founded in Chicago in 1905, started the global polio eradication drive in 1988...” The Economist said: “All this is in large part thanks to the efforts of Rotary International.” The Wall Street Journal said: “Rotary and Gates intensify push against polio. Rotary launched its first fundraising campaign...”

PTP: How do these magazines pick up the Rotary polio story?

KRR: These publications I mentioned are the most prestigious in the world and to have us quoted in them does not happen just by accident. It means that firstly we have a story worth sharing with the rest of the world.

And secondly it means that our PR division, headed by the very efficient and influential David Alexander are making great headway in building relationships with the media.

a problem with the press and not with us, because the Government media was also in attendance. If the Government’s own media could not secure a coverage as expressed, I ask who else can do it?

PTP: What do you say about the feeling of some of our own Rotarians that the PR in our region is not good enough?

PTP: What about the “This Close” campaign? Have we seen any success with that?

KRR: Well, I was following the traffic on this subject and it seemed to me that the number of persons who thought so was very small and indeed they are entitled to their opinions. Perhaps even by their own high standards they felt that the publicity we derived was insufficient and we should welcome such comments. I believe they were particularly referring to the big Polio event that was held in Delhi. But I also saw a very good response to the negative opinions which covered the many things I would have wanted to say. I only need to add that having the President of India grace that event was our crowning glory. That it was ‘apparently’ not reported in the press — that’s

KRR: More than 100 global and regional celebrities have participated in our campaign, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Jackie Chan, Bill Gates, Angelique Kidjo, Amitabh Bachchan, Archie Panjabi and Ziggy Marley. None have been paid for their involvement. In addition to earning the Guinness World Record for largest photo awareness campaign, our “This Close” ads have generated US $26 million in donated free placements on TV stations throughout North America, ranking in the top 5 percent of all public service announcements. Celebrity ambassadors have posted our message on social media, sharing the story of Rotary and polio JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 19

Now) Celebrity Engagements and the making of a complete End of Polio documentary with a renowned documentary film maker.

PTP: Why do we need to spend money to communicate about polio? Shouldn’t all of our money go toward vaccinating children?

KRR: The International Monitoring Board — the group that serves as the watchdog for the entire Global Polio Eradication Initiative — said in its January 2012 report that communications is a key element in eradicating polio. That means that spending money on communications isn’t optional: It’s a fundamental piece of our plan, and all members of the partnership are participating.

We need to make sure people around the world are talking about polio so we can have the broadest support possible for eradication, both within the countries where polio still exists and in other countries whose financial support is critical to our success. with their nearly 46 million total followers. And our digital version of the campaign, the ‘World’s Biggest Commercial,’ has attracted 1,04,000 participants, including Rotarians, celebrities, and members of the general public, from more than 170 countries.

PTP: What else are we doing online?

KRR: In 2012, we launched endpolionow. org, which averages 40,000 new monthly visitors and has been used by our partners as an online destination for content and storytelling related to ending polio.

We take advantage of the low cost of digital placements (versus the high cost of print, outdoor, and broadcast ads) to target a non-Rotarian audience, and to make resources available at www. endpolionow.org/resources for people to help spread the word. We have also used 20 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

targeted ads on Facebook and Twitter to drive traffic around key dates such as World Polio Day (24 October), and we receive $40,000 per month in free text ads through a Google AdWords grant.

Among our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary leads in the number of mentions containing the word ‘Polio’ in online conversations outside of our own channels.

PTP: What is our budget for communications especially in reference to Polio?

KRR: USD 2 million has been set aside for our PR in 2014–15. This will largely be subdivided into the following areas: traditional Media/Media Relations; Public Service Announcements/Ads; Paid Advertisements; Virtual Exhibits; Special Events; EPN (End Polio

PTP: What are some other opportunities that we have made use of for publicity?

KRR: In 2013, Rotary hosted a World Polio Day event that was streamed live, with viewers in more than 15 countries. Video footage of the event attracted more than 11,000 views in five days, and more than 31,000 people talked about it online.

We’ve also held two concerts to End Polio with Itzhak Perlman and, for several consecutive years, have illuminated landmarks around the world with the End Polio Now logo — all efforts that have generated media coverage.

Rotarians around the world have helped plan special events to engage their own communities in the fight to end polio, and resources are available to help at www.endpolionow.org/ resources.

G

ary Huang played a lot of sports when he was younger, but basketball was his favourite. He was captain and point guard of his high school team. “I’m not tall, but I was quick.” He flashes a grin. “I knew how to move the ball and set my team up to win.” That was decades ago, but whether in basketball, business or Rotary, moving the ball continues to be Huang’s game. He likes action and progress. He relishes a challenge. When the Rotary Club of Taipei told him he was too young to be a member, he persisted, attending every meeting for nine months until he hooked an invitation at age 30. Since then, he has not stopped moving forward. Five years after joining Rotary, Huang became club President. Then he became Taiwan’s youngest District Governor, first RI Director, and first Rotary Foundation Trustee. This month, he becomes the first Chinese President of Rotary International.

Huang was born in Fujian, a province in southern China. He is the third child of seven. Like many others, his family fled China during the civil war, unhappy with the Communists who were taking over the country. The family settled in Taiwan in 1947, when Huang was one year old.

Huang’s parents pushed him to excel in school, but they also believed that grades were not the only things that were important. “My father used to say to me that getting B’s was OK, but I had to participate in activities and join clubs. He said that would help me in the future,” Huang recalls.

Although Huang’s father was not a Rotarian, he instilled similar ideals of service in his son. Helping others, his father said, would help him learn how to be a leader. As a result, Huang was president of his high school class. Besides playing basketball, he played soccer, ran track and, at the urging of his mother, participated in (and often won) speech competitions. He also led the daily morning pep rallies at his school for six years. “My father was happy I did those things,” Huang says. “Every time there

!

ZAN!

JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 21

Huang and Yao at home in Taipei with their children and grandchildren. Front row: Yao, Huang, and daughter Linda with her husband, Eddie Lucero Jr., and their sons, Eddie Lucero III (age 4) and Evan (age 1). Back row: Son Billy with his wife, Vesta, and sister Nancy. Yao, an artist, painted the scrolls on the wall behind the family.

Previous Page: RI President Gary C.K. Huang wears a traditional Chinese Tangzhuang jacket at the Grand Hotel in Taipei.

was a school celebration, no matter how busy he was, he would always attend.”

After high school and two years of serving in the military, Huang moved to Michigan to attend the University of Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti. He recalls those years with fondness, remembering how clean and wide-open the Midwest felt to a city boy from Taipei. He lived with an American family, who gave him the name Gary because they liked the actor Gary Cooper. He worked through school at a gas repair company, where he started at $1.25 an hour and ended at $4.75 a few years later. When he graduated with a business degree in 1971, he was so happy, he bought himself a graduation ring. “It was the first, most expensive thing I’d bought with my own money, so I wear it all the time,” he says.

But his education was far from over.

Huang’s father was president of an insurance company in Taiwan and wanted his son to be well prepared for a career in the same field. Huang went on to graduate school at New York University and spent time in England, Switzerland, Germany and Japan, learning about the insurance business and making international connections. Years later, Huang would again be making connections all over the world as RI President.

22 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

Huang returned to Taiwan to work for a small insurance firm, which over the next 15 years he built into one of the largest in the industry. He made one agreement with his chairman: that he had to be able to fit Rotary into his busy schedule. “I wanted to continue my work in Rotary no matter what,” he says.

When Huang began to experience success in his profession and in Rotary, his mother kept him grounded, something she still does at the age of 95.

“I know she is proud of me,” he says.

“But no matter how successful I am, she never praises me.”

The year Huang joined Rotary was also the year he met his wife, Corinna Yao, at a church Bible study. “He kept calling me,” Yao says. But Huang remembers it differently. “She’s the one who picked me up!” he claims.

He was outgoing and social. She was an introvert. “I wondered how we would get along,” she says. “But it’s 38 years later, and we are still good.”

Together they raised three children — two daughters and a son — and now they have two grandchildren, Eddie and Evan. Evan was born on the same day that Huang found out he was the RI President-nominee. His name is a play on “Evanston.”

Huang and Yao raised their family with Rotary, so it plays a part in their children’s memories. “I always wanted what you had with your Rotary friends.

Growing up, they were my aunties and uncles,” eldest daughter Linda tells her father. Nancy, his second daughter, remembers visiting an orphanage with Huang when she was young. “It was the first time I learned about what Rotary does. My dad was so passionate,” she says.

The orphanage was one of the first Rotary projects that inspired Huang more than 30 years ago. When he toured the facilities, he was taken aback, seeing the kids crammed into one room at night, watching them share a pot of rice at mealtime. Many of the orphans were the same age as his young children at the time. The orphanage needed so many things — a new roof, a refrigerator, an air conditioner and diapers and other supplies. The Taipei club provided these things, but Huang wanted to do more.

He and another Rotarian decided to sponsor two of the girls. They chose two four-year-olds with the same Chinese zodiac sign as Huang and his friend: the rooster. They took the girls to dinner once every other month. They paid for the girls’ school fees every year and eventually sent them to college. After graduation, they paid for a celebratory trip to Hong Kong and helped them find jobs when they came home. Thirty years later, Huang and his friend still meet them regularly for dinner, now with their own families.

Huang believes that Rotary should be about lifting people up. The theme he chose, Light Up Rotary, is a reflection of his desire to encourage Rotarians to bring light where there is darkness. Huang also hopes that Light Up Rotary inspires Rotarians to lighten up Rotary’s image. He wants Rotary to be fun, not just for fun’s sake, but because having a good time builds genuine bonds of friendship, retains members, and helps recruit new ones.

From Top: Huang and Yao look into the garden of the home where Huang grew up. The house is on Yangmin Mountain, known for its cherry blossom trees, waterfalls and hot springs; Huang with Grace Chang, a member of a choir made up of Taiwanese polio survivors. Huang helped bring the group, called Kwang Ching, to Philadelphia to perform at the 1988 RI Convention.

Member recruitment is a hallmark of Huang’s Rotary career. When he was club President, his club grew from 102 to 138 members. When he was District Governor for Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, he added

19 new clubs. “If you want to invite people, you need to make things interesting,” he reasons. “Then they will love it and come again.”

Huang’s friend and RI Director Celia Elena Cruz de Giay supports this

approach. “Rotary is a serious organisation but not a solemn one. President Gary is putting an emphasis on making Rotary fun because he can see the winning combination of Rotarians having fun while they serve,” she explains.

He also champions the idea of opening Rotary’s doors to younger people and recruiting more female members. “Some Rotarians are too conservative. They disagree with having women or younger members,” he says. “With younger people, they are our future. In a few years, they will be bigger, better, maybe richer than us,” Huang jokes. “It’s good for them, good for Rotary, and good for society.”

Even though he jokes, Huang is so serious about membership that he recruited his own family into Rotary.

His wife joined first, then his three grown children followed suit, each in a different club. His son, Billy, believes that being in Rotary has made the family closer. “We participate in activities together,” he says. “I understand my dad better.”

Huang is thrilled to bring together the most important parts of his life, giving new meaning to the idea of the family of Rotary. He hopes that others will follow his example. “Why leave your family to do your Rotary work?

You can do it together,” he suggests.

“Then doing good becomes a family event.”

These days, Huang plays golf instead of basketball, but he’s still in the game of setting up his team — the team of Rotary — to win.

Susie Ma Reproduced from The Rotarian

Congratulations – District 3010!

Hearty congratulations, DG Vinod Bansal, RI District 3010 for your District’s Achievement in topping the country’s charts for Total TRF Contributions of around US $1.7 million for the Rotary Year 2013–14.

JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 23

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

District Number 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 India Total

APF

1,08,952 19,990 4,23,988 37,994 1,921 48,575 16,698 2,27,676 19,722 1,07,741 30,709 58,354 3,170 67,469 1,16,959 32,490 2,65,927 56,715 4,97,393 89,937 32,645 74,504 1,06,024 1,74,362 1,00,353 97,065 53,155 34,365 1,47,777 1,71,667 25,586 43,461 68,174 1,68,818 35,30,336

3220

80,740

3271 3272

64,727 26,639

3281 3282

1,05,235 63,650

3292 South Asia Total World Total

97,939 39,69,266 9,60,65,209

PolioPlus*

Other Restricted

India 23,628 1,120 611 0 1,335 13,528 484 102 121 47,929 156 62,355 0 4,824 8 38,979 1,650 0 691 45,491 7,531 6,005 36,462 23,439 8,687 0 0 18,371 2,312 0 0 938 2,71,677 6,09,332 1,639 1,770 3,695 51,995 4,089 34,011 33 0 1,268 2,223 619 15,633 484 1,42,883 34,657 7,860 19,898 0 62,129 1,485 2,279 0 7,144 24,133 2,810 0 6,176 100 0 0 0 1,533 705 53,959 10,00,000 15,02,979 12,10,001 Sri Lanka 3,273 24,851 Pakistan 225 4,165 1,521 2,379 Bangladesh 14,338 2,531 0 7,500 Nepal 50 36,930 15,22,385 12,88,357 2,79,52,605 1,21,22,612

* Excludes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Endowment Fund 7,277 0 59,816 2,000 7,979 40,191 0 0 0 25,000 0 0 0 0 0 0 3,841 2,033 53,729 97,720 0 49,698 730 24,764 0 0 2,000 408 71,915 180 211 0 8,500 3,000

Total Contributions

4,60,990

1,40,976 20,600 4,98,666 40,581 57,950 1,51,277 21,522 2,66,663 21,372 1,78,923 44,245 1,18,254 11,857 85,840 1,19,271 33,428 11,50,778 62,158 6,06,813 2,25,757 32,678 1,27,694 1,23,006 3,42,492 1,42,870 1,16,963 1,18,769 37,052 2,50,969 1,74,657 32,073 43,461 78,208 2,26,483 10,00,000 67,04,306

1,000

1,09,863

3,187 0

72,305 30,539

3,200 100

1,25,305 71,250

0 4,68,477 2,33,59,950

1,34,918 72,48,485 15,95,00,376

Source: RI South Asia Office

CONVENTION

Rotary in Brazil Rotarians who travel to the 2015 RI Convention in São Paulo, Brazil, 7–10 June, will find themselves in a country with the fifth-highest number of Rotarians: 56,000, in 2,381 clubs and 38 districts.

Women represent 22 percent of the nation’s club membership.

In 2012–13, Brazil was the ninthlargest contributor to The Rotary Foundation, giving US $5,109,889.

The Brazilian Association of The Rotary Foundation encourages companies to make contributions to the Foundation by offering tax incentives for corporate donors.

Brazil has 11,300 Rotaractors and 19,800 Interactors. More than 1,500 Youth Exchange students each year are either hosted by local clubs or travel to other countries to experience another culture.

The Foundation of Rotarians of São Paulo is the largest educational complex in the Rotary world.

It educates over 6,000 students at all levels, from preschool to postgraduate; offers professional development and extension courses; and engages in community service projects.

Three RI Presidents have hailed from Brazil: Armando de Arruda Pereira in 1940–41, Ernesto Imbassahy de Mello in 1975–76, and Paulo Viriato Corrêa da Costa in 1990–91. São Paulo hosted the convention once before, in 1981, and Rio de Janeiro was the site of Brazil’s first RI Convention, in 1948.

Register for the 2015 RI Convention in São Paulo at www.riconvention.org.

The 105th Rotary Convention at Sydney was a spectacular meeting ground for all Rotarians who chose to attend it; those four days gave the attendees an overwhelming international experience and Sydney was awash with the incandescence of Rotary and its tangible connectivity among people from various international backgrounds.

Rotarians atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

JULY JJUL JU U ULLY 201 22014 014 0 144 ROT ROTARY R RO O OT TAR AR ARY RYY NE N NEWS EW WSS 2 255

RI President Ron Burton introducing RI President Nominee K.R. Ravindran and 2014–15 Board of Directors.

S

ydney — the name brings to mind the stunning Opera House, the multi-venue performing arts centre hosting approximately 1,500 programmes annually and visited by around seven million people each year.

Designed by Danish architect Joan Utzon, this distinctive building has been declared a World Heritage Site

by UNESCO in 2007. There is more to Sydney than one can imagine — but the most magnificent event that stole the hearts of millions of Rotarians and their families, and that which made them proud of being part of Rotary was the Rotary International Convention held at Sydney, Australia from June 1–4, 2014 — the occasion that made every Rotarian feel cherished and dream big to engage Rotary and change lives.

From the iconic Sydney Opera House to the Harbour Bridge, the Kiama Beach, the Hunter Valley, the majestic Blue Mountains ... Sydney

26 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

Convention Committee Chair PRID Mark Daniel Maloney.

has it all. And virtually every one of these sites could be visited using free public transport provided by the New South Wales government for the days of the Rotary Convention. Rotarians and their families and Rotaractors were seen excitedly executing their elaborate plans of exploring the beauty of Down Under, visiting places such as the Great Barrier Reef, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to name a few.

But apart from the fascinating sight-seeing, Rotarians seemed to have been enriched by the experience of the convention that had inspired them, informed them about Rotary beyond their borders, and had provided them with resources and motivation to move their club forward. Rotarians went back home fully charged, raring to go and do more for their community in the best possible way. That is the magic of Rotary and its international meet-ups.

Sydney proved to be the perfect venue for the convention and the Convention Chair PRID Mark Daniel Maloney and his team made sure that it stayed that way. The city, the state capital of New South Wales, is a vibrant international hub, a gateway between the East and West. The Sydney Convention would be cherished by those lucky people who chose to attend it for the records created and the surprises that the attendees were part of.

A Guinness Record was created for the highest number of people climbing up the Sydney Harbour Bridge and for the highest number of flags flown there!

The climb was a ticketed event and the proceeds were meant for protecting children from the crippling polio-virus.

The 3 km (1.8 miles) walk, ‘Make History Today,’ was another event that had participants enthusiastically pulling up their socks to raise awareness for Rotary and polio eradication.

And as the Rotary members from around the world filed into the Allphones Arena for the opening ceremony of the 2014 International Convention, they were greeted by the news that the

South Asia Reception at Sydney TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta at the Rotary South Asia Reception.

South Asia Reception at Sydney was held at Hotel Hilton Sydney, on Monday June 2, 2014. More than 300 Rotary Leaders attended the event. The guestslist included RIPE Gary Huang and Corinna Yao, RIPN K.R. Ravindran and Vanathy, PRID Mark Maloney, Chairman, Sydney Convention Committee, PRID John Germ, Chairman, International Polioplus Committee, most of the 2013–14 Board, Past RI Presidents Glen Kinross, Rajendra K. Saboo, Kalyan Banerjee, PRIDs Yash Pal Das, Shekhar Mehta, RIDE Manoj Desai and host of other dignitaries. The highlight of this evening was a cheque for $250,000 presented by Rtn. Sufi Mohamed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh to RI President Elect Gary Huang.

RI Director P.T. Prabhakar welcomed the gathering. RIPE Gary Huang, RIPN K.R. Ravindran, Trustee Sushil Gupta also addressed the gathering. RIDE Manoj Desai welcomed his batch of 2015–16 Directors to the event. PDG C. Basker, who had organised the entire event, very efficiently, proposed the vote of thanks.

RI President Ron Burton and family.

JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 27

WELCOME

ADDRESS RI President Ron Burton

Good afternoon and g’day!

It is a joy to be here in Sydney today and to welcome all of you to this 105th Rotary International Convention!

In this Rotary year, I have asked all of you to do your best to Engage Rotary, Change Lives. And now, as the incredible 2013–14 Rotary year comes to an end, we’ve come together to celebrate all the ways we’ve done just that and to find the inspiration to do even more.

Here in Sydney, we’ll have the chance to share the stories of our good work. And my friends, there are so many stories to tell. Because every second of every day, in just about every corner of the world, something good is being done, someone’s life is being changed — in the name of Rotary.

These precious few days together are a time to learn from each other, a time to find out just how much we can accomplish when we put on a Rotary pin — and live with Rotary, not just on our lapels, but in our hearts.

Because when we realise just what we can accomplish — when we make the choice to truly engage Rotary — that is when lives change. And that is exactly what Jetta and I have seen, over and over, in every Rotary community that we’ve visited this year.

We saw so many projects that are changing lives in so many ways. And we saw, again and again, how all of Rotary’s work — from the simplest projects to the most ambitious — has the power to make the world a better place for everyone who lives in it.

It might be as simple as reading books to children in a first-grade class in Decatur, Alabama, USA, or passing out 28 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

dictionaries to third-grade students in Norman, Oklahoma, or teaching children how to wash their hands in Kampala, Uganda.

And it might be something much more complex, such as administering life-saving medical procedures in Chandigarh, India, or teaching nursing skills in Kampala, Uganda, or equipping and maintaining classrooms in Rosario, Argentina.

For Jetta and me, this entire year has been an opportunity to see our long-held beliefs about Rotary in action. We’ve always known that whatever we give to others through Rotary is repaid many times over — in the happiness and satisfaction it brings to us, and in the good it does in the lives of others. But there is such a difference between knowing something in your heart and seeing it with your eyes.

With every new project we saw, every innovative and exciting way Rotarians have found to change lives, Jetta and I said to each other, “If only every Rotarian in the world could see this.” And even more, “If only we could bring people who are thinking about Rotary here to see this.”

Because when you see, when you know, when you truly understand what a power we have in Rotary —what we can do through Rotary — it makes you want to do as much as you can. And that’s what I mean, when I talk about engaging Rotary.

And that’s what all of us need to be doing. Engaging Rotary, and doing more to bring new Rotarians into our clubs, so that they can add to our strength.

I doubt that it is any secret to this audience that our membership worldwide has been stagnant for a dozen years, hovering around 1.2 million members. We could come

Rotary’s Historic Climb in up with a lot of reasons why we haven’t been attracting new members, and why we aren’t keeping the members we’ve worked so hard to bring in to our clubs. But instead of doing that, maybe we should start with looking at our own clubs and asking ourselves, honestly, “Would I join this club today?” If your answer is no then ask yourself “Why?” And then, What am I going to do about it? Because if we enjoy Rotary and want to see it not just survive, but thrive, then we must address this issue head on.

And we have to start getting serious about the family of Rotary. We invest a lot of money and effort into Youth Exchange, RYLA, Rotaract and Interact but the question is, are we getting a fair return on our investment? If not, why not? I would submit to you that we fail to adequately capitalise on our investment. It’s our own fault. We need to start treating our New Generations as family and welcome them all into Rotary before we lose them.

The bottom line is that Rotary’s future — its very survival — is up to us. We can either get up, out of our chairs and really make something happen, or we can just sit there and become an endangered species and eventually die off.

Each one of us has to make that decision. What will your answer be? Do you think Rotary is worthwhile? Do you want Rotary to be around for another hundred years? I for one say, let’s get busy! Let’s do it, not only for ourselves, but for our children, our grandchildren, and all the peoples of the world. Let’s engage Rotary and let’s change lives.

One of the most memorable events of this Rotary year was the New Generations conference we held in Chennai, India. It really was amazing, with so many thousands of young people excited and involved in Rotary service. We had a great programme, and one of the best parts was the polio walk we did, down by the beach.

It would have been a great event under any circumstances. But it was so much more special, because we were having that polio walk in a polio-free India. An India that had become polio-free, in large part because of Rotary.

And when we left Chennai on that last evening, when Jetta and I got on the plane and flew out over that vast city, full of so many countless thousands of people, I looked out the window and down at all the lights, and thought: None of those people down there ever need to fear polio again.

Not one mother, not one father, not one child.

We did it. We eradicated polio in India. And if we could do that — well, my friends — there isn’t anything we can’t do.

So as we begin this convention together, with a spirit of fellowship and friendship and love of Rotary service, I want you all to remember that the only thing that limits us in Rotary is our own ambition, our own willingness, to Engage Rotary, Change Lives.

Thank you.

Source: Rotary International

SYDNEY During Friday’s world record-breaking Sydney Harbour bridge climb, Rotary members raised enough money to protect 2,40,000 kids from polio.

Despite the physically gruelling four-hour trek up and down the bridge’s storied steel arches, the 340 participants kept their good spirits and stood side-by-side waving 278 flags.

“When the helicopters were going around, you just felt like one great big nation,” says Graeme Davies, District Governor of the Rotary Club of Kincumber in Australia.

The massive turnout eclipsed Oprah Winfrey’s worldrecord climb in 2011 when she summited the bridge alongside 315 of her most ardent fans. But for Rotary members, the record paled in comparison to the experience and the opportunity to take a step closer to ending polio forever.

The event raised 110,000 Australian dollars (US $102,300).

“It made me even prouder to be a Rotarian,” said John Avakian from Healdsburg, California, USA. “It was an incredible experience of tremendous camaraderie.”

Rotary members cheered for each of the 26 groups as they made way through the lobby to the entrance of the bridge climb. Cloud cover hid the sun for most of the morning, but light broke through briefly as the climbers unfurled their flags, which had been tucked into their sleeves during the ascent. Helicopters circled overhead from a variety of local Sydney news stations. Climbers cheered, danced and even broke into the “Wave” from 400 feet above ground.

“I think that’s exactly what Rotary needs,” said Nate Harimoto of Thousand Oaks, California, “a show of force from all around the world.”

Climbers from Taiwan, Australia, China, Japan, United States and dozens of other countries and regions supported each other during the event. They watched each other’s backs, literally and figuratively, helping to steer climbers’ heads away from hanging steel beams. For a day, their commitment to help others also became a commitment to help each other. And in the process, they raised enough money to show the world how committed they are to polio eradication.

For Leilani Ross of Queensland, however, the climb was also about closing an important family chapter. She had long wanted to climb the bridge with her father, but didn’t get the chance before he died a few years ago.

“The friendliness is just wonderful,” Ross said. “Everyone is very welcoming.”

Cheryl Drozdowicz, a former Youth Exchange student from Wisconsin, USA, who stayed with Ross 35 years ago, watched her go up. After the convention, Drozdowicz will travel back to Queensland for the first time since her programme all those years ago.

“I always feel like a piece of my heart is still there,” Drozdowicz said.

Fondly known as the “Coat Hanger,” the bridge officially opened in 1932. The bridge is also referred to as the “Iron Lung” because it employed so many Australians during the Great Depression. Tourists began climbing the bridge in 1998, which is now considered a tourist must with over three million visitors from more than 130 countries from that time.

Source: www.rotary.org

WELCOME

ADDRESS Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott Well, I don’t normally get such an enthusiastic welcome.

I just hope there are plenty of Australians out there. My friends and fellow Rotarians, it is a real honour for me to be here with you today, to officially welcome so many Rotarians from right around our country, but from right around our world, to this beautiful city and our marvellous country of Australia. It’s good to follow our Premier Mike Baird, and Mike has given you some advice about the good places to see while you are here in Australia. I hope I can give you one or two insights into our character as Australians and I hope to give you some sense, something about what it means to be an Australian, in your time here. There are two things that I would like you, as Rotary International visitors to understand about this country of ours. First we are a nation of immigrants and that should help everyone who is here from another country to feel welcome in Australia. Some 25 percent of Australians are either born in another country or their parents were born in another country. These are people who came to Australia with a dream, with a dream of a better life for themselves and for their children. I know every Rotarian has a dream of a better life for his or her neighbours, for his or her community, for his or her world, for our world and the willingness to seek common ground. This is a marvellous character trait which has always moved Rotary and which we should have more of, in this fractious world we live in.

And that’s why Rotary is so present in all our community events; that’s why Rotary is so present in every worthy cause. The great thing about Rotary is yes, Rotarians look for the things we have in common; Rotarians look for the things that unite us; but Rotarians don’t just talk about all the good that might be done, Rotarians act to bring that good about. Rotarians have not just been lobbyists, they have been doers. Rotarians have not been people who demand that others do what’s needed. You are people who roll your sleeves up and do what’s needed, yourselves.

30 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

You won’t be surprised to know that for months and weeks past, I have been lobbied by you and by your leaders for a substantial Australian Government commitment to the campaign to eradicate polio. And today our Foreign Minister did announce an AUD 100 million Australian Government commitment.

Please do not applaud the Australian Government for what it does. Applaud yourselves for what you do. You do not demand that others do the heavy lifting; you are out there doing the heavy lifting yourselves. And before the government was interested in this and long after the government has moved on, the Rotarians of Australia and the Rotarians of the world will be doing your bit for a better world and a better country. And that’s what I want to celebrate today. I want to celebrate that spirit of ‘Service above Self.’ I want to celebrate that spirit of rolling up your sleeves and getting things done.

We have a phrase for that in Australia — it’s called ‘having a go.’ And there are two things that we believe in, in this country — we believe in a fair go for everyone, particularly those who are doing it tough; we believe in having a go, rolling up our sleeves and doing what has to be done to build a better world to help our neighbour.

We believe in that and Rotary is the living, breathing embodiment of that have-a-go spirit, which is so much at the heart of what it means to be an Australian. So, I say to all you Rotary members from overseas, because of that have-a-go spirit, which animates you, I welcome you as honorary Australians. I think this is precisely because you are aware of that have-a-go spirit that characterises our nation that you finally chose this country for your great international convention. Thank you so much. Welcome to Australia.

Source: Rotary International Courtesy: www.eflashonline.org

RI Director P.T. Prabhakar and Nalini being introduced along with 2014–15 Board of Directors.

RIPE Gary C.K. Huang and family being introduced.

Australian Prime Minister will commit AUD 100 million over five years to help eradicate polio. And further surprising the Rotarians was the announcement by Nigerian business leader Sir Emeka Offor, to pledge yet another USD 1 million contribution to Rotary International for polio eradication. This dynamic entrepreneur and philanthropist is Rotary’s PolioPlus ambassador in Nigeria and a member of RC Awka GRA, RI District 9140, Nigeria. These financial contributions are certainly significant for Rotary’s endeavours on

polio eradication. Carol Pandak, Polio Plus Director thus remarked, “We are already this close to ending polio and so every dollar helps. And a commitment of AUD 100 million places us that much closer to our cause.”

The five plenary sessions through the four days from June 1 to 4 gave Rotarians a huge slice of Rotary as Rotary leaders from across the world shared stories about Rotary’s good work exemplifying Service above Self. Latest news about polio eradication, updates on Foundation Grants, inspirational

addresses by other distinguished speakers filled the convention days; and all this was made available for all Rotarians through simultaneous interpretation in Mandarin Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish and other languages depending on the registrants’ needs.

On May 31, RI President Ron Burton, made the grand opening of the Billabong House of Friendship at the Sydney Showground, welcoming the approximately 18,000 registrants, a huge number — making it the biggest JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 31

KEYNOTE

SPEECH RI President Elect Gary C.K. Huang

Fellow Rotarians, Ni Hao! In Chinese, this means “How are you?� Now, please repeat after me: “Ni Hao!�

Good. Please give yourself a big round of applause.

Fellow Rotarians, I am honoured to be here. My wife, Corinna, and I want to thank you and look forward to serving Rotarians worldwide during the 2014–15 Rotary year!

I am very happy to see so many of you here! Thank you for making the trip to Sydney.

It is important for us to come together, as the family of Rotary. These days, we can email or FaceTime, but there is nothing like meeting each other in person.

It is important to get to know each other, to build relationships across countries and cultures. That is what Rotary is all about. This is where President Ron did a wonderful job to Engage Rotary, Change Lives.

I would like to tell you a story. There was once an old man who had many sons. But they were always arguing with each other. One day, the old man grew tired of hearing them fight. So he told them to bring him a bunch of chopsticks. He tied the chopsticks together and told each son to break them.

None could. Then he handed a single chopstick to each son and told each to break it.

Each one could break it easily.

Then the old man said, “My sons, if you stand together, you will be strong and no one will be able to break you.

But if you are divided, you will break as easily as a single chopstick.�

In Rotary we stand together. Like a bunch of chopsticks, we cannot be broken. We can do so much more together.

That is why partnerships are so important to our work. That is why being here, with other Rotarians, making connections, is so important.

I know everyone here cares deeply about Rotary; otherwise, you would not be here. Maybe you love Rotary because you enjoy volunteering in your community. Maybe you love 32 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

Rotary because you like making a difference around the world. Maybe you love Rotary because it is fun.

Whatever it is, you have a reason. I want to give everyone a reason to love Rotary. I want to make sure people know that we enjoy being together and working together. That is how we recruit new members and keep current members.

I think all of you know the Chinese philosopher Confucius.

Sometimes I call him the world’s first Rotarian, because even though he died 2,500 years before Rotary was founded, his ideas are very much Rotary ideas. And one of the things he said was â€œâŻ…ŕśźá˘Şá›ˇ ୙ዴᨾㆰ â€?

In English, you say, “It is better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness.� That sums up everything that we think in Rotary. There are so many problems in the world, so many people who need help.

And many people say, “There’s nothing I can do.� They sit there. Do nothing. Everything stays dark. But this is not the Rotary way. The Rotary way is the Confucius way. The Rotary way is to light a candle. I light one. You light one.

1.2 million people all light one.

Together, we can light up the world.

And this is what I want you to do. I want you all to Light Up Rotary. This is our theme for 2014–15.

How do you Light Up Rotary? That is the fun part. You can do whatever you do best, by showing people what you love about Rotary. Whatever it is, it’s OK with me!

I hope many of you will go home and encourage your clubs or districts to host a Rotary Day. It can be anything you like. It can be a day to educate your community about polio, what Rotary is doing to fight polio and what others can do to help! It can be a service project or a celebration. Just make sure to invite members of the public, our families, and friends. Invite the young and old! Invite your town mayor and his family to join you!

You can make it simple, you can make it fancy, you can make it a whole day or just a few hours. Do something for

your community to show your community what you do, both locally and internationally. Make sure your community knows that Rotary is there, Rotary is active, Rotary is fun, and Rotary is doing good work!

If you have a really good idea, make a video of your Rotary Day. We will show the best videos at the São Paulo Convention next year. Also, send in your pictures of your Rotary Day. We will share them in The Rotarian magazine.

You can inspire other clubs and districts. Hosting a Rotary Day is a perfect way to show off our theme, Light Up Rotary.

Light Up Rotary is a keyword representing our action to pursue the happiness of mankind. It encourages you to be proactive, positive, and powerful. It is telling you that your courage and sincerity can give happiness to many others.

Another one of my favourite sayings from Confucius is “Sincerity is the end and beginning of things. Without sincerity, there would be nothing.” If you are sincere, your Rotary light will shine. You will Light Up Rotary with your love of Rotary and everyone will be able to see it!

I am just calling this sincerity a light. It is this sincerity that is the source of our greatest joy. The moment you find your greatest joy through the growth of sincerity, is the moment I call “light up.” Light Up Rotary is our action for the happiness of ourselves and others.

Let us show our community that what we are doing is good. Let them know that we are proud and happy to be Rotarians, and urge them to be a part of the Rotary family. The stronger our light, the better place the world will be. It is still true, what Paul Harris said, almost 100 years ago: “Friendship is the foundation rock on which Rotary was built.”

How do we start? We start close to home, we ask our spouses into Rotary. My wife, Corinna, after attending Rotary events with me for 37 years, finally became a Rotarian in July last year. It made perfect sense. She was a great match for Rotary. Then, Corinna enjoyed it so much that our three children joined Rotary as well. They have been around Rotary their whole lives. They did not need to be convinced. It was a natural step for them. So we really are a family of Rotary now!

This is a true story. There was a small club in Taiwan.

It had only six members left, five were past Presidents! But three months later, they have 29 members. Why? First, they asked their wives to join; they did not realise that their wives had many more friends than they did!

I want to remind everyone that sometimes getting a new member is as easy as asking. Last year I was in Australia at a Rotary Institute. I heard a great speaker. She is the CEO of Mizuho Bank in Australia. I invited her to join Rotary. No one had asked her before. At first, she said she didn’t think she was qualified. The CEO of a bank! I said, “That’s ridiculous!

Of course you are qualified!” I took my membership pin off my jacket and inducted her that day! All I had to do was ask. I do this wherever I speak and you would be surprised at how many qualified people are happy to join!

Well, some of you may like my ideas, some of you may not. This is the beauty of Rotary. We hear many different viewpoints, from many countries, but I only hope that you will be open-minded and try it out.

We have a clear goal to reach 1.3 million members.

In our year, we shall let our community see Rotary. We shall ask them to be involved. We shall ask them to become Rotarians. Confucius also said: “People are distressed by their inability to do it. The problem, however, is simply that they don’t do it.”

I am a businessman, same as many of you. And I like to think of Rotary as a business and Rotarians as the customers.

A business can only succeed if the customers keep coming back. If you do not provide a good product for your customers, they will not purchase from you. If you do not provide good service, they will not come back again!

I want to give you, your co-workers, your friends, and your neighbours reasons to buy from Rotary, to stay with Rotary, and to bring more customers to Rotary.

As we close this wonderful convention, there are three words that help guide me in my life (3Hs): hand, head and heart. Use your hand to help, give a helping hand. Use your head to make sure you are helping in the right place. And use your heart to make it sincere. Without your heart, nothing else matters. My father always reminded us of these three words. Today, I would like to pass them on to you all. Please let your hand, head, and heart guide you in our year. I know we will have a great year together, as we Light Up Rotary!

Last but not least, I want to share with you the wisdom of ‘The Power of One:’ One song can spark a moment One whisper can wake the dream One tree can start a forest One bird can herald spring One smile can start a friendship One hug can lift the soul One star can guide a ship at sea One word can frame the goal One vision can change a nation One sunbeam lights a room One candle wipes out darkness One laugh will win over gloom One step starts each journey One word starts each prayer One hope will raise our spirits One touch can show you care One voice can speak with wisdom One heart can know what’s true One life can make a difference!

That difference can be you, as you Light Up Rotary.

Source: Rotary International Courtesy: www.eflashonline.org JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 33

ACCEPTANCE

SPEECH RI President Nominee K.R. Ravindran To describe this moment with a sense of utmost humility, to acknowledge the trust you have placed in me, I need to borrow the words from the late Martin Luther King’s Nobel Prize lecture: “Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words; their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart. Such is the moment I am presently experiencing.”

When I was inducted into Rotary as a 21-year-old charter member, I called my grandfather and gave him this wonderful news. My grandfather himself had to wait for

some time before he was admitted to Rotary membership in Sri Lanka’s premier club! So, when he heard from me, delighted though he was, he must have believed that the standard of Rotary had come down; that it would invite into its fold a 21-year-old with long hair and hippie looks and holding his first job! Truthfully, those were the days when my grandfather worried whether anyone would even marry me, for the way I appeared!

But Rotary was already progressing and changing with the times and that change is tangibly visible today, when you elect as your president a simple Rotarian coming from a small, one-district island.

Australian cricketer Bret Lee (right) at the convention.

34 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

ever convention held in New South Wales. The service opportunities exhibition at the House of Friendship let every Rotarian realise the reach of Rotary as they moved from stall to stall awed by the variety of projects done internationally.

The opening plenary session on June 1 started off with a cultural programme by the NSW Public Schools Aboriginal Dance Company, after which the convention was called to order by the Convention Committee Chair PRID Mark Daniel Maloney.

This was followed by an orientation talk on Australia in the form of a warm welcome by Mike Baird, Premier of New South Wales.

The highlight of the first plenary session was the address by

In doing so, you have established that in the eyes of Rotary, every member stands equal, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, creed, community or country and that by itself is an ineffably beautiful tribute to the magnificence of our great organisation.

And today as I stand here before you with Vanathy, I accept this role with a deep sense of duty and a solemn resolve knowing that I follow in the wake of those great architects, the former Presidents of Rotary International (many of whose presence I acknowledge today) together with President Ron Burton and incoming President Gary Huang, who would have forged the history of our organisation with vision and with vigour.

With Vanathy by my side, I pledge to enhance their legacy and extend its borders to wider frontiers. I realise that we are at a momentous period in our history. The great battle we waged against the insidious polio-virus is slowly but surely drawing to its finite end, and we are continuing to reach out to thousands with our humanitarian services. The alumni from our Peace Centres are beginning to play an increasingly important role, whilst our global grants are creating projects which are larger and more potent and more beneficial. But let us continue to be vigilant; let us not lull ourselves into complacency for we know our membership lingers and languishes (in areas where it should really grow). We know we have the technology created at our headquarters to help us communicate better, but falter because it is not being taken advantage of by many of our clubs, and we know that the glow of our Rotary brand must be made to shine brighter and louder, especially to those outside our organisation.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The Prime Minister had been at the centre of attacks in recent days for his proposed federal budget, but he walked in to a standing ovation at the auditorium.

“I don’t normally get such an enthusiastic welcome,” he quipped after the audience returned to their seats. Identifying the ‘have-a-go’ spirit identical to the Australians, the Prime Minister extended a welcome to all registrants naming them as ‘honorary Australians.’

He also made the official announcement of his government’s contribution of AUD 100 million to Rotary towards polio eradication.

The audience was bowled over by the speech of Australian cricketer Bret Lee as he spoke about his foundation, Mewsic that supports music centres for

These are the challenges we must face and face them we will; for the future before us is positive and our name and fame, as an organisation founded on ethical standards and promoting humanitarian service activities, will flourish and will soar.

We will be fuelled by the proven capacity of our members to show passion in their work as they will continue to extend their arms in support to those who are starving and weak, those who are ignorant and illiterate, those who are elderly and infirm, and in general, to those who are trapped in the margins of our society.

This passion, together with the values inculcated within us, will be the fulcrum on which our progress will be founded, and as I say this I am conscious that like many of you, I too owe much to Rotary for reinforcing within me the values that my parents taught me. Today I can proudly proclaim that I am what I am in my life, because I was moulded by Rotary. Yes, I can personally vouch for the ability of our organisation to blend commerce with cause, friendship with service, and I know firsthand that each of us is lifted even as we lift others.

My dear friends, with the fervent faith that you will walk this path with me, and with the certain conviction that you will share the high tides and the low points of this journey with me, Vanathy and I accept this lifetime opportunity with great humility.

We will embark on this voyage confidently, with the blessings of the divine to guide us and the power of your prayers to sustain us.

We thank you.

Source: Rotary International

Rotaractors enjoy the convention.

JULY JU JJUL ULY 22014 UL 014

ROTARY RO R ROT OTA OT AR ARY RY N RY NE NEWS EWS WS 3 355

From Top: DRR Ramkumar Raju and RI Director P.T. Prabhakar handing over the Guinness World Record certificate to RI President Ron Burton at Sydney convention; Rotary Foundation Global Alumni Service to Humanity Awardee Maya Ajmera flanked by RI President Ron Burton (on her left) and TRF Trustee Chair D.K. Lee (on her right); DRR Ramkumar Raju speaking at a Rotaract event.

36 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

the disadvantaged. He informed that he along with the Rotarians from Sydney and India has helped put up a music therapy centre in India that has benefitted 1,200 children so far. A music therapy bus has been introduced in Delhi and one more has been proposed to be coming up in Jaipur, he said. In the coming years, the former pace bowler aims to start 100 centres in India and expand to Australia.

Prof. Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation reiterated the importance of constructing toilets to ensure hygiene and to stay healthy.

“When Paul Harris started a Rotary club, the first project he did was a public toilet. That was a 100 years ago.

The reason he did that was because the toilets were unspeakable. All countries have toilet problems — whether they are developed countries or developing countries — they all face toilet issues.

This has been endorsed by 193 countries across the world. There are more cellphones than toilets in the world today,” he observed. His organisation helps people to build and sell toilets.

Leadership formed the central theme of the day as a slew of speakers shared their success stories, their sacrifices and their challenges. There were inspiring and informative speeches by Prof. Martin Silink, Past President International Diabetes Federation; Tommy Spaulding, the leadership expert; Ade Adepitan, a polio survivor and a paralympic medalist; Mwila Chigaga, former Rotary Peace Fellow and Senior Regional Gender Specialist for the African region of United Nations International Labour Organisation; Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-general for Polio, Emergencies and Country Collaboration at WHO; and many more.

The attendees experienced a remarkable presentation by Maya Ajmera, award-winning author of children’s books and founder of Global Fund for Children. Through her nonprofit, Maya provides seed money to community-based groups that

Above left: Sir Emeka Offor (second from right) who announced US $1 million contribution to PolioPlus at the convention, seen here with polio survivors from London.

Above right: PRID Dr. Robert Scott (extreme right) with Pakistan National PolioPlus Committee Chair Aziz Memon, Coco Cola VP Fahad Qadir and International Polioplus Committee Chair John Germ.

educate youth and protect the welfare of at-risk children. The organisation transforms the lives of children on the edges of the society — trafficked children, refugees, child labourers — and helps them regain their rights and reach their potential. In recognition of her work, the Trustees of TRF chose Ajmera to receive the 2013–14 Rotary Foundation Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award.

Rotary’s future took the centre stage on the fourth plenary session on the last day of the convention. The Acceptance Speech by RI President Nominee K.R. Ravindran had the audience spellbound.

The later programmes featured young speakers who thrived under Rotary’s New Generation and educational programmes. District Rotaract Representative, RI District 3230, Ramkumar Raju took the stage by storm with his overwhelming speech. He highlighted the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest high-five formation by the Rotaractors of RI District 3230 during the Presidential New Generations Conference held in Chennai in October 2013, which attracted 2,000 new Rotaract members in the district. “We wanted to show the world that we are agents of change. I believe we accomplished that,” said Raju.

Rotary leaders participate in the 3K Walk.

Promotions were made for the 2015 Rotary International Convention which was announced to be hosted at São Paulo, Brazil, by PRID Jose Alfredo Pretoni, 2015 São Paulo Convention Committee Chair. The closing hours of the last plenary session of the convention saw the introduction of the RI President for 2014–15, Gary C.K. Huang and his family, and his address to the Rotarians. The closing remarks of RI President Ron D. Burton were equally poignant. Reflecting on his Presidential year, he urged Rotarians to engage Rotary and change lives of the unfortunate and the downtrodden.

“The more you engage Rotary, the more you pour your heart into the joy of Rotary service, the greater your own joy will be,” he said. The day also saw the recognition of the centennial clubs

by President Ron Burton.

Thus closed yet another show of solidarity packed with great fun,

even greater fellowship, a host of educational and inspirational programmes. On the entertainment side, the visitors were thoroughly awe struck by the light show that they witnessed every evening and their taste buds were treated to the wonderful Aussie cuisine and the famed Aussie BBQ while an evening of concert at the Sydney Opera House was a treat to the ears.

Every convention, whether it is the first or the hundredth, is a lifeenriching experience and an attendee to one would never be saturated with just one; he would automatically register for the next. Such is the magic of the international interaction and each one is a unique celebration of Rotary and its ideal of service.

Jaishree with inputs from PDG Sunil K. Zachariah RI District 3201 JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 37

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3000

DG Sundararajan Gopal and spouse Padmavathi

The monthly Artificial Mobility Aids Distribution Camp sponsored by RC Trichy Midtown which benefitted 21 physically-challenged people.

Cardio Camp by RC Madurai North in association with Chettinad Super Specialty Hospital, Madurai.

Cardio Camp at Pudukottai by RC Pudukkottai Palace City.

Distribution of hearing aids to 13 hearingimpaired persons – RC Pudukkottai Midtown.

Donation of six Deep Freezers to store Polio Vaccine to Deputy Director of Health Services at Madurai – RC Madurai West.

Donated school desks for K. Poiyur Village Elementary School – RC Ariyalur.

Inauguration of RO plant and drinking water facility installed at Iyyanar Higher Secondary School at Srirangam – RC Srirangam.

Medical Camp – RC Chinnamanur.

Distribution of Sewing Machines – RC Aranthangi.

Sleeping Children Around the World (a Canadian Project) – Kits containing essential items gifted to 750 school children at Jamal Mohamed College, Trichy.

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DG Vinod Bansal and spouse Dr. Sangita

Rotary Rajdhani Diagnostic Centre at Maharaja Agarsen Hospital, Dwaraka, New Delhi set up by RC Delhi Rajdhani to cater to the economically weak societies.

An initiative of Rotary clubs of Noida Central, Delhi Vivek, Delhi Safdarjung and Delhi North helped in providing 20 dialysis beds at a dialysis centre.

The International RYLA empowered more than 1,100 delegates from various countries with leadership skills and personality development.

The spouses of Rotarians of the District facilitated a huge check dam at Alwar, Rajasthan to store water that could be used for agriculture and household purposes.

RC Rewari City took out a rally to sensitise the public on protecting girl children and preventing female foeticide through a campaign – Save Girl Child.

An exclusive Thalassaemia Centre was set up at Rotary Blood Bank, Noida and Delhi.

Thalassaemia tests would be conducted at subsidised rates at these centres.

RC Delhi Vasant Valley along with RC Faridabad Central and Rotaplast International restored smiles in young children by performing cleft lip/ palate and other facial deformities surgeries on the needy.

RC Southend Sparsh set up a paediatric dialysis centre at Batra Hospital, New Delhi.

Shelter kits were distributed to victims who had lost their home and property in the Uttarakhand flood disaster.

‘Delhi Come out & Vote’ – an awareness campaign was undertaken by RC Delhi West in association with Election Commission of India calling out to the people to exercise their vote.

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DG Kishor Kedia and spouse Uma

District Conference DilSe called to order by President Neeta Kakkad, and inaugurated by Former President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil.

Well known speakers addressed social issues.

Thanksgiving organised by Rotary clubs of Akola in appreciation of support from Government and NGOs for India’s Polio-free status.

District Rally for Polio Awareness organised on World Polio Day at Nagpur. RRFC Madhu Rughwani, DG Kishor Kedia along with Mayor of Nagpur Mr. Anil Sole flagged off the rally.

RC Jalgaon West celebrated Republic Day with school children at the club’s adopted village and the Rotarians donated education materials to the students.

Walkathon - ‘Walk for Heart’ organised by RC Nagpur had a participation of 5,000 people spreading awareness on heart care among the public.

Under Global Grant programme, bicycles distributed to 750 students to help them attend school in comfort. The gift would encourage students to pursue education without discontinuing.

RC Amravati Midtown provided artificial limbs to 28 needy people. The prosthetic hands have been made by Midoz Foundation, USA.

About 150 computers donated to schools at Nagpur, Amravati, Jalgaon and Nasik, to enable students to gain knowledge and stay updated on computer skills.

Inter-college debate contest conducted by RC Nagpur West had a participation of 28 teams.

Such programmes help develop latent skills in youngsters and enhances their confidence level.

RC Chandrapur sponsored RC Hirai Chandrapur, the second all-women Rotary club of the District.

The club with 28 members received the Charter at the hands of DG Kishor Kedia.

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Rotary Premier League Cricket Tournament enhanced the spirit of camaraderie among Rotarians.

DG Dr. Gyaneshwar Rao and spouse Dr. Alka Rao

Swarg Prayan Dham, gas-based crematorium constructed by RC Bhuj Flamingo.

The ascent of the Charter Governor for the newly trifurcated District in the presence of PRIP Kalyan Banerjee and wife Binota.

District Conference, ‘Impact’ makes an impact on the Rotarians of the District.

RC Gandhinagar motivated women through the women empowerment programme, ‘Shakti.’

RC Ahmedabad Majesty improved school infrastructure implementing the ‘Happy Schools’ initiative.

Carnival to celebrate India’s Polio-free status.

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DG Anil Agarwal and spouse Seema

The Rotarians of the District were inspired by the visit of RI President-nominee K.R. Ravindran to the Intercity Meet held in March 2014.

RI President-elect Gary Huang and Lady Corinna Yao were special guests at the Intercity Meet held at Jaipur.

RIPE Gary C.K. Huang presented Charter to the IISU Rotaract Club President Shraddha Kapoor.

The club holds 4,000 Rotaractors.

RC Jaipur Midtown hosted a unique RYLA for children with special needs. About 65 children with various forms of disabilities, from all over the district, participated in this three-day programme.

RC Jaipur Midtown with MG from RC Senremo Hanbury, RI District 2032, Italy and TRF sponsored smart classrooms at Disha and this facility was inaugurated by RIPE Gary Huang.

H.E. Margaret Alva, Governor of Rajasthan kick started an NID programme by administering polio drops to a child at Raj Bhavan to sustain the polio-free status achieved by our country.

RC Kota Padmini organised Masterchef programme to bring out the culinary skills of the participants. This served as a great public image exercise for Rotary.

Weddings were solemnised for youngsters hailing from underprivileged families by RC Kota thus relieving the parents from a major financial and moral burden.

RC Udaipur Heritage with TOI and Nandhini Foundation hosted an event where 175 kites flew up in the sky to bring awareness to save girl children.

Rtn. Suresh K. Poddar and Rtn Kiran Poddar of RC Jaipur Midtown through their contribution of USD 250,000 to TRF became the District’s first Arch Klumph Society member.

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DG Radhe Shyam Rathi and spouse Chandrakanta

Promoting blood donation through a car rally by RC Gwalior Imperial.

Inculcating morals through workshop, ‘Jeevan ek Vardhan,’ at Central Jail – RC Gwalior Veerangana.

Ambulance dedicated for the general public by RC Bhiwandi.

Computers donated to a school for the visuallyimpaired – RC Jodhpur Midtown.

Illumination of important buildings by Rotary clubs across the district, commemorating World Polio Day.

Cardiac care seminar and heart check-up camp

by RC Shivpuri.

Sweaters and woollen caps distributed to children by RC Beawar.

Tree plantation drive by RC Guna City.

Vocational training imparted to differently-abled

by RC Ajmer.

Drinking water facilities installed by RC Bikaner Marudhara.

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DG Dineshsinh P. Thakor and spouse Veena

A competition was conducted among the Rotary clubs to design a unique flag for the District and this flag was the chosen one.

A massive rally with participation of Rotarians from all Rotary clubs across the District undertaken from Porbandar across 2,500 km and culminating in the District Conference to celebrate India’s victory over polio.

Around 200 women gifted with sewing machines to help them gain financial strength by pursuing a vocation in tailoring. This is a joint project of 35 Rotary clubs of the District.

Kalyan Rahat, the mega medical camp organised

by RC Ankleshwar saw the screening of 3,769 patients and providing treatment for various diseases.

Launch of Kalyan Home Hospitality Programme in the Land of Gandhi. Rotarians around the world will be home hosted along the track of Gandhi every year and they will make gift to the foundation. This year ten Rotarians from Latvia, Sweden and USA participated.

International multidistrict RYLA at the idyllic Gir Forests had a participation of 74 students including 12 IYE from USA, France and Germany.

Twenty toilet blocks for girls constructed by 20 Rotary clubs of the District to provide better sanitation and hygiene for the children.

On World Polio Day, Laxmi Vilas Palace was illuminated with ‘End Polio Now’ message and the Maharaja Samarjit Singh Gaekwad of Vadodara was inducted as honorary Rotarian.

RC Veraval sponsored plastic surgery for the needy to enable them to have a better life. This has been a permanent project of the club since 36 years.

Around 560 sets of classroom furniture given to 28 schools by 21 Rotary clubs to improve the seating facility for the children and to induce them to attend school comfortably.

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DG Dr. Pawan Gupta and spouse Dr. Sunita

Around 200 children affected with congenital heart disease were surgically treated at Fortis Heart Institute under Rotary’s Gift of Life programme.

RC Adampur donated 187 artificial limbs amounting to Rs.35 lakhs enabling the physically challenged to be independent.

RC Amritsar Midtown facilitated the marriage ceremony for 22 couples hailing from underprivileged families. So far, the club has solemnised the marriage of 450 poor girls.

RC Hamirpur donated oxygen concentrate machines to a hospital to be used for life-saving emergencies for patients.

RC Akhnoor donated eye slit lamps to Sub Divisional Hospital for treating patients with eye disorders.

RC Jullundur donated uniforms, stationeries, school bags, sweaters, shoes and socks to students of National Child Labour School. The clubs has adopted more than 50 child labour schools.

RC Amritsar North facilitated the installation of an RO plant at the Rotary Vocational Centre to provide clean drinking water to the students and staff who visit the centre.

The blood donation camp that was organised

by RC Akhnoor enabled collection of 30 units of blood. The Rotarians of the District have helped collect nearly 1,400 units of blood during the year.

RC Kangra donated a hearse van for the use of the local residents of Kangra.

Rotary Club Dharamshala donated a water purifier having capacity of 1,000 litres, costing Rs.1,10,000 to Teacher Training College, Dharamshala.

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DG Rakesh Agarwal and spouse Neelima

The ten-day Mega Medical Mission to South Africa provided immense medical relief to the underprivileged community in Africa.

Prominent buildings were illuminated by RC Mussoorie in observance of World Polio Day, thus spreading the good work of Rotary among the public.

An End Polio Now Rally to commemorate India’s polio-free achievement was undertaken around the District. The event was flagged off by PRIP Rajendra Saboo.

District Leadership Academy – grooming Rotarians as leaders.

Marriages were solemnised for couples hailing from economically strapped families by RC Panipat South.

Paediatric heart surgeries were performed on children suffering from cardiac disorders, thus saving tender lives and enabling them to live healthy.

Freezer boxes were dedicated for use in the community by RC Panipat South.

Cleft lip/palate corrective surgeries were performed at two camps by RC Saharanpur Continental to correct the genetic disorder in infants.

A seminar on bio-sand water filters was organised at Rishikesh for the public by RC Rishikesh in association with RC Mityana, RI District 9211, Uganda and RC Kolar, RI District 3190.

RC Saumya Kashi distributed umbrellas to children at Uttarkashi School. The Rotarians also organised a medical camp at Gangotri and Uttarkashi with RC Bhavnagar Royal, RI District 3060.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3090

DG Dr. Arun Gupta and spouse Dr. Suman

Blood donation camp organised by RC Suratgarh.

Tricycles for the physically challenged donated

by RC Uklana Mandi.

Polio Awareness Rally at Husainiwala, Indo-Pak border.

Quilts distributed to the underprivileged by RC Hissar.

Illumination of State Bank of Patiala Head Office building on World Polio Day.

Comprehensive healthcare camp by RC Rajpura.

Adult Literacy at Central Jail, Patiala by RC Patiala Midtown.

Heart care and disease prevention awareness programme organised by RC Sri Ganganagar.

Marriage ceremonies solemnised for couples hailing from poor families by RC Moga Royal.

Eye check-up camp by RC Patiala Midtown.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3100

DG Rakesh Singhal and spouse Shikha

Rohit Bhargava Memorial Rotary Bhavan constructed by RC Bulandshar.

Solar energy lighting facility set up in Hasanpur

by RC Hasanpur.

Blood donation camp at R.N. Kela Inter College organised by RC Najibabad.

Vocational Excellence Awards conferred on Prathama Bank Chair B.K. Pandit and Cardiologist Dr. Anurag Mehrotra at District Conference.

Wheel chairs donated to physically-challenged with Global Grant from TRF, RC Vianen Vreeswijk and RC Nieuwegein, RI District 1570, Netherlands – RC Moradabad East and RC Dhampur Royal.

Aimed to promote sports, sports rifles were donated to National Shooting Team members.

Mobility aids donated to orthopaedically challenged under Global Grant with RI District 9780, Australia; RI District 3630, South Korea and TRF – RC Sanskriti, RC Civil Lines and RC Naveen.

Medical camp organised by RC Muzzafarnagar Midtown at Prempuri in association with Appollo Hospitals, New Delhi benefitted over 200 patients.

Anti-polythene rally to create environment awareness among the public organised by RC Muzzafarnagar Galaxy.

School furniture and computers donated to Shri Bihari Singh Kanya Inter College by RC Hassanpur Aastha.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3110

DG Devendra Kumar Agarwal and spouse Rekha

A Literacy Centre that educates adults was established by RC Aligarh City.

RC Kashipur constructed the Handicapped Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre in order to assist physically challenged people.

The Rotary Dinesh Madhu Eye Hospital constructed by RC Visoili along with matching grants partner clubs from RI District 1070, UK provides eye care facilities to the poverty stricken.

The Pooja Seva Sansthan, a Rotary Club Bareilly North initiative works towards moulding the future of special children by training them to be independent and confident.

RC Agra Greater’s Prayas works for the betterment of destitute children, providing them with food, shelter and education.

In an eye check up camp conducted by RC Firozabad 209 patients were tested for cataract and fitted with IOL. They were provided with post surgery treatment along with spectacles and medicines.

To provide the common man with safe and hygienic drinking water RC Brahmavarta Kanpur installed water coolers at various public places.

A blood donation camp was organised by RC Baans Bareilly.

RC Kanpur Gaurav by way of a dance competition ‘Nrityangana’ brought to light the dancing talents of youngsters.

RC Mathura Central invited 14 members of Senior Citizens Council, Government of Mauritius for an idea exchange programme.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3131

DG Dr. Deepak Shikarpur and spouse Sonia (Gauri) Shikarpur

Blood donation camp organised by RC Alephata facilitated collection of over 1,750 unit of blood.

A career-oriented education complex that includes Braille-publishing facility, computer lab and library, for the visually challenged girls set up by RC Pune University.

Track suits distributed by RC Pune Sarasbaug and RC Pune East to the maimed soldiers residing at Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre, Khadki.

RC Mahad donated sewing machines to several needy women in rural areas so that they can earn their livelihood and live a life of dignity.

RC Pune East gifted sweaters to 11,000 needy students of Pune municipal corporation schools to help keep them warm and comfortable during the winter months.

Cervical cancer detection camp organised by RC Pune Hadapsar for the women of Vaiduwadi slums.

Toilets constructed in village Sangvi by RC Pune South, enabling them to get ‘Nirmal Gram’ status that would let them enjoy the benefits of various state government schemes.

A series of projects ranging from healthcare, literacy promotion and vocational training imparted by RC Pune Shivajinagar to the inmates of Yerawada Open Jail.

Hundreds of needy persons suffering from diabetes benefitted from the special medical camp conducted by RC Daund in the surrounding rural areas.

Rotary Distance Education Programme (RDEP), a signature project of the District offered at a rural school by RC Poona Midtown.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3132

DG Dr. Prafulla Mirajgaonkar and spouse Sheela

Rotary Youth Festival organised by RC Aurangabad which had 750 participants.

District RYLA conducted for 70,000 school children by 57 Rotary clubs of the District.

Interact Youth Exchange programme to Malaysia, Bander Sungai Petani Club organised

by RC Aurangabad West.

Plastic surgery camp organised by RC Jalna at Jalna Mission Hospital. Over 1,600 operations performed so far in the last 11 years.

RC Latur Horizon created a unique chess-board for the visually-challenged. Fifteen countries have sent their enquiries for the board so far.

LN-4 prosthetic hands fitted for those who have lost their upper limb by RC Solapur North.

A week-long Bal Natya Shibir organised by RC Solapur Airport which had 105 participants that also included differently-abled children.

RC Ahmednagar set up Rotary Computer Centre for the visually-challenged at Anam Prem Institute.

RC Jalna Central organised an awareness rally for the citizens on importance of exercising their vote.

The first ever Rotary Friendship Exchange Programme for Anns took place at Colombo and it had 13 participants.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3140

DG Lata Subraidu

Low cost shelters, ‘Rotary Kutirs’ at a cost of Rs.1,40,000 per dwelling were constructed and handed over by the District along with Habitat for Humanity India in Astha and Naroli villages.

The corporation is required to provide 27 articles to students every year. Each Rotary club chose one school in their vicinity to be represented in the school management committee to ensure that the students receive the mandatory items.

Sanskruti - a fund raiser event of Indian classical singing and Kathak ballet organised by RC Thane Central and Rotaract Club of Thane Central at Gadkari Rangaytan.

RC Bombay Airport inaugurated the new school building, Adivasi Ashramshala at Maswan which also includes a vocational training centre. Solar street lights, a Global Grant endeavour, were erected around the school campus.

The 9th Interact District Conference - Udaan organised by RC Mumbai Juhu and co-hosted by 11 Rotary clubs and 3 Interact clubs was an event full of learning and entertainment for the participating Interactors.

RC Bombay West along with alumni from Rotary Peace Centre, organised a course in Peace and Conflict Resolution, focussing at empowering individuals actively engaged in and committed to peace and community service.

RC Mumbai Mahim inaugurated a community development project under Global Grant with RI District 7470, USA at Shisane village. Solar street lights were installed; Foundation stone for constructing toilets in the local school was laid.

RC Chembur Mumbai on its Golden Jubilee developed Panchghar village with basic infrastructure, bio-gas, toilets, community centre, vocational training, assistance in setting up tailoring centre, music band and flour mill.

RC Bombay Juhu Beach in association with Shree Naminathji Jain Foundation, inaugurated Dialysis Centre at B.R. Ambedkar Municipal Hospital at Kandivli (W), providing it with 7 dialysis machines and an RO plant.

RC Deonar facilitated Operation Restore, free post burns contracture surgery conducted every 3–4 months at National Burns Centre, Airoli.

This is an ongoing project since 2010 and 250 surgeries have been performed so far.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3150

DG Ch. Hari Krishna and spouse Rtn. Sita

2,500 classroom furniture donated to schools under Save our Schools project by RC Guntur Aadarsh.

Artificial Limbs fitted to the orthopaedicallychallenged by RC Khammam.

Barren lands converted to cultivable lands by establishing reservoirs by RC Chilakaluripet.

Illumination of Kacheguda Railway Station in Hyderabad in observance of World Polio Day.

Celebrating Polio-free India status with school children — an excercise in public image promotion by RC Armoor.

Wheel chairs donated to physically-challenged

by RC Guntur.

Reverse Osmosis plant for supply of purified drinking water by RC Hanamkonda and RC Secunderabad West.

Empowering youngsters with leadership skills through RYLA by RC Hyderabad North.

Distribution of 500 pairs of desks and benches under Save our Schools project by RC Kothagudem.

Tricycles donated to help the physicallychallenged to be mobile by RC Parchur Central.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3170

DG Mohan Mulherkar and spouse Veena

Bal Sanskar Shibir conducted by RC Belgaum South at Koolagi forests, Dandeli for 120 school students.

Promoting blood donation and distribution of health drinks to blood donors by RC Kumta.

The first Vocational Training Team of the District had a meaningful and informative exchange on the application of Green Technology in the field of construction, with RI District 7255, USA.

Polio Eradication and Awareness drive throughout the District.

Specialty hospital by RC Panaji Midtown.

Pure drinking water project by RC Haveri.

Physiotherapy Unit by RC Shiroli MIDC, received the prestigious RI Significant Achievement Award 2013–14 from RI President Ron Burton.

Cataract surgery camp organised at Rtn. Subbarao Kasarkod Memorial Charitable Hospital, Sirsi.

Distribution of walking sticks and crutches to the needy by RC Margaon Midtown.

Facilitating pure drinking water at Public Market by RC Panaji Riviera.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3180

DG S. Gururaj and spouse Pushpalatha

RC Siddapur-Hosangady, along with Village Forest Committee distributed saplings under Vanamahotsava project to school children, to be planted in various parts of the city.

RC Udupi Manipal organised an Animal Care project where several animals were treated for various diseases.

RC Katpady facilitated free eye surgery for 21 beneficiaries suffering from cataract and other eye disorders.

RC Shankerpura organised a 10-day yoga shibira that imparted training on various yoga exercises, and its benefits for a holistic wellbeing were discussed with participants.

RC Baikampady sponsored construction of houses for the differently-abled struggling with meagre finances.

RC Saklaspur organised a camp for young girls to discuss, diagnose and treat various adolescent health issues.

RC Krishnarajanagar conducted a successful 13-day Patanjali Yoga Shibira which benefitted 120 participants.

RC Misty Hills Madikeri donated toys and teaching aids to benefit children at anganwaadis in the village Napoklu hobli.

RC Mysore organised a cultural show – Taare Zameen Par – an event that brought out the latent talents of differently-abled children.

Around 900 such special children participated.

In its efforts to preserve and promote the rural folk culture of the state and to create awareness among children, RC Bannur organised an event on traditional Janapada at Rotary School.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3190

DG K.S. Nagendra and spouse Shashikala

Nearly 50,000 dictionaries distributed to school students and to about 200 schools with e-patashala, the software education library.

Integrated Renal Dialysis Centre, an initiative of all 88 clubs to conduct 15,000 dialysis cycles per year.

MoM Express, the mobile mammography unit, an inititative of RC Bangalore West along with Rotary Gold Coast Lake Success, RI District 7255, USA and TRF, to spread awareness and early detection of breast cancer.

Various public utility facilities such as wheel chairs for the disabled, drinking water at public places provided by various Rotary clubs of the District.

Around 8,000 solar lamps donated to school children. This initiative would benefit nearly 40,000 children in the next five years.

Rotary Vocational / Skill development centres set up by various clubs — a thrust area activity of the year.

Promoting greener earth through planting of saplings at various localities.

Bus to transport patients receiving treatment, donated by RC Bangalore to Sankara Eye Hospital.

School uniforms gifted by Rotary Ramanagara to mentally-challenged children of Vaishnavi School.

Prosthetic hands provided by Rotary Peenya with RC Amaravathi, RI Ditsrict 3030, to 28 physically-challenged people.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3201

DG Dr. Ajayakumar and spouse Dr. Latha Pillai

Mobile Eye Testing Unit - Global Grant Project of RC Kothamangalam: expected to benefit over three lakh people.

Oral Cancer Awareness and Detection programme conducted by RC Perumbavoor Central benefits 1,50,000 people.

RC Coimbatore East created a Guinness World Record with a registration of 13,500 people for its Hepatitis-B Awareness Programme.

RC Coimbatore West provided functional prosthetic hands to 200 persons.

Gift of Life: RC Cochin North facilitated heart surgeries for 24 children hailing from BPL families.

Polio Cycle Rally headed by Rtn. A.V. Pathy A Public Image project cycling throughout the District spreading Rotary’s commitment to End Polio.

Organ Donation Awareness rally and Voluntary Pledge of Organ Donation by over 20,000 citizen in the District, hosted by RC Cochin Periyar.

Many clubs have implemented this project.

Recognition of Teachers: The services of more than 200 teachers were recognised throughout the District through the Guruvandhanam and Sheshtacharya programme.

Over three lakh citizen benefitted from the Diabetic Awareness & Detection programme organised by clubs across the District in association with Federal Bank.

Matching Grant Project — Jaladhan of RC Cochin City provides drinking water for 450 families at Kari Village.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3202

DG Senthilnathan Siva and spouse Karuna

Artificial limbs camp organised by RC Udumalpet Tejas provided freedom of movement to several physically-challenged.

RC Nilgiris commissioned the construction of Denalai Old-age Home.

State-level Bharatnatyam dance competition conducted by RC Erode Cosmos brought to light the traditional dance skills of school students.

Rotary Home project that would provide shelter for the homeless was inaugurated by RC Kasargod.

Inter-District Seminar on Rain Water Harvesting was co-hosted by RC Sulthan Bathery and RC Bangalore Northwest, RI District 3190.

Monthly eye check-up camp of RC Ootacumund screens and treats the underprivileged residents of hamlets around Ooty for their various eye disorders.

RC Payyanur Midtown provides training in martial arts for girl children to enable them to safeguard themselves during adverse situations.

RC Tirupur Thirumuruganpoondi undertook the Rasatha Kulam desilting project to make the pond beneficial for the residents of Tirupur.

RC Calicut Central have constructed the Rotary House on Calicut beach which would be used for various community welfare projects.

RC Calicut commissioned the construction of outpatients waiting hall, ‘Thanal’ at Calicut Medical College Hospital.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3211

DG John C. Neroth and spouse Rosie John

Shri Nikhil Kumar, Governor of Kerala, inducted as an Honorary member into RC Trivandrum, the oldest club in the District.

Padmashree Mammootty inaugurating the District Project Amrutha Dhara - Supply of Safe Drinking Water to Schools - sponsored by RC Vaikom at St. Thomas L P School.

RC Quilon installed solar-powered water purifier in a Kindergarden School in Brikama, The Gambia (West Africa) as part of their District project, Amrutha Dhara.

District Project Amrutha Dhara implemented by RC Quilon West End at the Government Girls Elementary School Shoukat, Saddar Rawalpindi, RI District 3272 (Pakistan).

RC Kollam City implemented Amrutha Dhara project in Colombo, Sri Lanka, RI District 3220.

Inauguration of Amurtha Dhara, project of RC Puthuppally by Honorable Chief Minister of Kerala, Shri Oommen Chandy.

RC Quilon distributed auto-rickshaws to 30 unemployed youth. It was inaugurated by the State Transport Commissioner Shri Rishiraj Singh IPS.

RC Tangasseri Quilon launched a radio marine weather forecast for fishermen communities, the first of its kind in India, through Community Radio Benziger.

RC Pandalam dedicating a house under the project, ‘Kudil Rehitha Pandalam.’

RC Tiruvalla distributing wheel chairs and other mobility aids to the physically-challenged.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3212

DG J. Jesiah Villavarayar and spouse J. Cyrileene

Medical camp at Sithampara Suba Luminous Nursery Primary School, Tenkasi – RC Courtallam Metro.

Students from 23 schools collected 1,15,000 used CDs and created awareness about the ill-effects of e-waste through a giant-sized India map – an initiative of RC Kovilpatti.

Rotary Heart Camp at Nagercoil organised

by RC Nagercoil in association with Sree Mookambiga Medical College Hospital, Kulasekaram.

Empowering youngsters with life skills and leadership skills and instilling confidence in them through two RYLA events – RC Tinnevelly.

Marriages solemnised for the differently-abled and essential necessities gifted to the newly wedded couples – RC Tinnevelly.

Winners of various sports were felicitated to promote a love for sports – RC Virudhunagar.

Reverse Osmosis drinking water plant installed for the benefit of the people of Sirumaruthur village – RC Devakottai.

All India Road Expedition on four-wheelers to create awareness on environment protection and global warming sponsored by RC Golden Nagercoil.

Road safety awareness programme conducted – RC Virudhunagar Elite.

South India Zonal Chess Tournament for Visually Challenged had 68 participants from different states – RC West Nagercoil and RC Nagercoil Central.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3230

DG A.P. Kanna and spouse Raghavi

Over 20,000 Rotarians and Rotaractors participated in the RI Presidential Conference on New Generations. Two Guinness Records were created – biggest Hi-5 formation with 9,000 Rotaractors and largest collection of books for Change Libraries (8,00,000 books).

The Mass Organ Donation Pledge created a record with 4,500 pledges in an hour. Rotarians and Rotaractors from city and city-plus clubs participated in the event.

The Terry Fox Run at IIT Madras for creating cancer awareness and funding for cancer research programme had over 15,000 registrants and raised Rs.1.2 million for the cause.

Project Dhanvantri co-organised with the neighbouring Districts and RI District 3300, Malaysia brought relief in a variety of ways to the underprivileged people of Sri Lanka.

A walkathon with more than 1,000 participants helped spread awareness about the benefits of breast-feeding and its effect on reducing child mortality on the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week.

RC Madras East tying up with SpiceJet Airlines took 20 differently-abled children from V-Excel Educational Trust on a flight trip to and fro Chennai and Madurai, packing it up with sightseeing too.

Nine Rotary clubs from RI Districts 3230 and 3202 along with Chettinad Health City, Chennai, organised a three-day dental camp for the tribal community of Talavadi.

The JaiHo project of the District along with Zee Tamil, a TV channel was a grand event that provided scholarships to poor children to help them pursue higher education.

Save a Heart, a paediatric heart screening camp was organised along with Apollo Children Hospital for two days. Around 500 children benefitted from this camp.

The oral cancer detection camp organised by RC Esplanade and RC Madras Downtown was a special camp for auto-rickshaw drivers.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3240

DG Arijit Kumar Endow and spouse Minaxmi The pilot Total Literacy project, TEACH, adopted

by RC Dispur was inaugurated by PRIP Kalyan Banerjee.

The District Conference ‘Ishtikutum’ held at Silchar was attended by PRID Shekhar Mehta and 1,163 delegates from all the clubs. The Rotarians pledged to work towards eradicating illiteracy.

Villagers were taught to read and write by Rotarians of RC Dispur so as to empower them to be functionally literate.

‘Maitree’ – Rotary Inter Country Meet was hosted by RC Bolpur-Santiniketan which was attended by 900 Rotarians from SAARC countries.

International RYLA held at Shillong was attended by youngsters from neighbouring countries and they were empowered with personality development and leadership qualities, through various programmes.

RC Tinsukia provided drinking water facility at LGB Civil Hospital for the benefit of patients, staff and attendants.

RC Greater Tezpur installed a purified drinking water facility to benefit the 2,500 students at Tezpur College.

A mega health camp was organised by RC Asansol Greater along with RCC Burnpur Prantik Club and Fortis Hospitals. The camp treated patients with various ailments.

Cataract surgeries were performed for the needy and their visions restored at a camp organised

by RC Nahakatia.

A dental check-up camp was organised by RC Asansol Greater at Asha Niketan, a school for the differently-abled. Bicycles were also gifted to the needy to help them commute to school.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3250

DG Rajiv Modi and spouse Kanta

In pursuance of Rotary’s TEACH programme, RC Pataliputra renovated a school and brought in all necessary facilities for the students. They also conducted a medical camp for the students.

A massive polio awareness rally was carried out across the District to celebrate India’s polio-free certification.

Polio corrective surgeries were performed for children affected by the dreaded disease. This service brought a huge transformation in several children from underprivileged families.

Corrective surgeries for children with cleft lip/ palate disorders and for burns victims were performed across the District.

LN-4 arms were fitted for people without upper limbs so as to enable them to lead a near normal life.

An exclusive medical camp was conducted for women of the Birhor tribe by RC Ramgarh. They were also advised on various health issues.

Rotary’s public image was given a boost through various PR activities. RC Patna West donated T-shirts and caps to rickshaw pullers.

Rotarians of RC Pataliputra visited orphanages and presented useful gifts and healthy food to the inmates there.

Towards promoting culture and traditions among youngsters, RC Pataliputra conducted an interschool cultural competition. This is the 34th such annual competition being organised by the club.

Sapling plantation drive by RC Rajgir was an endeavour by the Rotarians to promote a greener earth. Similar initiatives were also undertaken by other Rotary clubs of the District.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3262

DG Rabi Narayan Nanda and spouse Kalyani

JPM Rotary Eye Hospital and Research Institute run by RC Cuttack. More than 3,000 cataract surgeries have been performed here during the Rotary Year 2013–14.

RIHF (Rotary International Humanitarian Foundation) Rotary Royal Eye Hospital at Bhubaneswar, a matching grant project run

by RC Bhubaneswar Royal; over 500 cataract surgeries have been performed.

Eye Hospital at Balasore run by RC Balasore where more than 300 IOL surgeries were performed this Rotary year.

Rotary Patient Attendants’ Rest Shelter (ROPARS) at the Capital Hospital, Bhubaneswar, a flagship matching grant project of the District run by RC Bhubaneswar.

Matching Grant project on computer literacy for mentally challenged children by RC Bhubaneswar Heritage.

Model crematorium ground by RC Berhampur another flagship project of the District which is almost complete and ready to serve the people.

Drinking water provided by RC Dhenkanal at village Gajamara.

School building construction by RC Confluence Bhubaneswar in village Phirkinali.

Four toilet blocks for ladies constructed in the adopted village Nayak Sahi by RC Bhubaneswar Royal.

Training in tailoring imparted to women in an adopted village by RC Berhampur Midtown to help them pursue the vocation empowering them to be financially independent and support their families.

REMINISCENCES

2013–14 RI DISTRICT

3291

DG Rajani Mukerji and spouse Ballari

Beyond Cataract, an initiative on treatment of retinal disorders undertaken by Rotary Calcutta at Lokeswarananada Eye Foundation Hospital.

Rotary Hooghly inaugurated their own building of Eye Hospital, built at a cost of Rs.198 lakhs.

Treatment can be provided to 38,000 patients in OPD, 14,000 patients in Reach-Out Clinic and 10,000 surgeries can be done every year.

Kidney Transplant operation organised by RC Calcutta Lake Town for a 10 year old girl at a cost of around Rs.6.62 lakhs.

RC Calcutta Megacity and RC Belur donated a cardiac ambulance costing Rs.24 lakhs, equipped with all essential devices to Mission Hospital, Durgapur for providing patients with best care during the transition period post cardiac arrest.

RC Central Calcutta constructed and handed over 323 ‘low cost toilets’ to various families at different locations in Bengal under Project Dignity.

RC Sonarpur refurbished, extended and renovated the existing structure of Janakalyan Sishu Siksha Kendra, a village primary school.

RC Calcutta Yuvis provided access to safe drinking water by donating water purifiers to various schools at Hindmotor, Rishra, Serampore and Metiaburz which will benefit more than 2,000 children.

RC Purulia and RC Belur took up Rain Water Harvesting Project to support the poor farmers of tribal areas of Purulia to fight against draught and cultivate multiple crops throughout the year.

RC Calcutta Renaissance provided Critical Care Ambulance with Bio-chemical auto analyser, T.M.T. and E.C.G Holter Machine to Brain Diagnostics Centre under TRF MG with Rotary Parramatta City, RI District 9690, Australia.

RC Calcutta South City Towers conducted multi specialty mega medical camp for eye, dental, general health, blood testing, blood grouping, ECG and gynaecology.

Superb Performance in 2013–14!

RI District 3131 is No.1 District in Membership Development in India with addition of 1,139 new members. D3131 is also No.2 District in India in TRF Contribution (USD 1.58 Million).

RI District 3131 in the Rotary Year 2013–14 undertook all round action in all avenues and 29th June was the Awards/Recognition Day. RI Director P.T. Prabhakar visited Pune and recognised all those who Engaged Rotary and Changed Lives. Eighty clubs were recognised with Presidential citations.

RI Awards for Service projects, Membership, TRF, Spouse of the year were also given in addition to regular District awards. One hundred and fifty District officers were recognised for their Rotary contribution. Clubs with superlative performance were recognised with special Avenue-based citations. Parag Chande (RC Mahad), Vasant Malunjkar (RC Indapur), Pankaj Shah (RC Pune Sarasbaug), Vivek Dixit (RC Pune NIBM) and Sushil Arora (RC Pimpri Town) were recognised for providing outstanding club leadership.

RC Pune Central was recognised with Club of the Year award for its tremendous performance. The club remitted to TRF USD 567,000 (Perhaps No:1 club in the world), added 21 members into the club and chartered a new club of 30 members.

Literacy programme (RDEP e-learning) was implemented in over 100 schools, Happy Village programme was undertaken in a village near Saswad. Club has live: 7 Interact clubs and 3 Rotaract clubs and has sponsored 5 Rotary Youth Exchange students.

Various service projects and vocational activities were undertaken and club administration is also exemplary.

Highlights of the District Membership: 1,139 new members, 14 new clubs (No: 1 in South Asia); 25 percent new members are women 66 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

Rtn. Rakesh Bhargava, President, RC Pune Central with spouse Ruchi being honoured

by RI Director P.T. Prabhakar and DG Deepak Shikarpur in recognition of the club’s contribution to TRF (US $567,000).

and 20 percent are young (age less than 35). 90 clubs out of 113 have shown net positive membership growth.

Youth: 28 new Interact clubs; 7 new Rotaract clubs; 45 RYLAs (one Mega RYLA of 15,000 children at Indapur); RYE students grew to 15.

The Rotary Foundation: Remittance of around USD 1.58 million; 3 AKS members (out of 7 in South Asia).

Rotary Club Pune Central remitted USD 567,000 (No:1 club in the world). 25 clubs became 100 percent Paul Harris Clubs. All 113 clubs participated in TRF contribution (only District in South Asia to achieve this status). Rtn. Mukesh Malhotra gave largest Bequest Donation (USD 100,000) after making his late father S.P. Malhotra an AKS member.

Highest contribution to Polio Fund (USD 275,000 plus) in South Asia.

Service Projects: Clubs in RI District 3131 undertook service projects in excess of Rs.15 crores plus in all Six Areas of Focus; Many projects were undertaken to assist special children as thrust area; Concept of synergy of many clubs coming together helped to pool resources; Literacy e-Learning (RDEP) Installations in RI District 3131 now exceed 1,000 plus (No:1 in India); Adult Literacy Programmes (ALP) changed lives of many rural and slum-dwellers.

With inputs from DG Deepak Shikarpur RI District 3131

LITERACY

Marching towards

TOTAL LITERACY

Dear Fellow Rotarians, The New Rotary Year starts with a new challenge of achieving Total Literacy. The groundwork having been done — the club level, the district level and national goals have been set. To achieve these goals, we have prepared an Event Calendar for 2014 as given below.

We want each Rotarian, club and district to participate in almost all of these programmes.

For Polio Eradication, we had NIDs and for eradication of illiteracy, we will have LIDs (Literacy Initiative Days). Let us all prepare for and participate in these initiatives. Let us involve our friends, relatives, colleagues and the entire family of Rotary to participate in this event. Let us also spread the word of these events through local and social media. Let there be a buzz for Total Literacy, not only amongst the Rotarians but amongst the public at large. Let us make it a mass movement.

“Together we can and together we will!”

Shekhar Mehta

RILM’s calendar of events for the Rotary Year 2014–2015 are as follows: Sl. No. 1.

Date 1st July 2014 st

2.

1 August 2014

3.

5th September 2014

4.

2nd October 2014 st

Event

National Goals

Book Collection for School Libraries*

10,00,000 Books

Register Volunteers

4,600 Volunteers

Teacher Awards Programme Identify Children at Risk

1,00,000 Children

Start Vocational Centres

300 Centres

5.

1 November 2014

Launch “Happy School” Initiative

1,000 Schools

6.

1st December 2014

Set up Urban Adult Literacy Centres

500 Centres

7.

1st January 2015

8.

9.

10.

11.

Start Adult Literacy Programme

1,00,000 Persons (Urban & Rural)

st

Start e-learning Centres

10,000 Schools

st

Initiate Strengthening of DIETs**

29 DIETs

st

Start Providing Disabled-Friendly Facilities at Schools

330 Schools

st

Sensitise Teachers to be Disabled-Friendly

700 Teachers

1 February 2015 1 March 2015 1 April 2015 1 May 2015

*The tagline for the event will be “One Million Books, One Million Smiles” **DIET - District Institute of Educational Training

The Heartbeat of the T-E-A-C-H Programme www.rotaryteach.org As the magnitude of the T-E-A-C-H is huge and has many dimensions to it some of which are dynamic too, it will be very important that we have all information available to everyone at the click of a mouse. The answer is in www. rotaryteach.org — the website for the T-E-A-C-H programme.

The website is extremely comprehensive; a storehouse of information and very interactive. It is recommended that anyone who wishes to be involved with the T-E-A-C-H

programme definitely keep visiting the site frequently and using its different aspects.

We are giving a snapshot of the website for everyone’s understanding, but the best way to understand it will be to visit the site itself.

The TEACH Website - An Overview The Rotary T-E-A-C-H website — www.rotaryteach.org is a comprehensive and exhaustive attempt at extending the T-E-A-C-H programme to the masses.

JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 67

for Total Literacy in India. It includes the Scheme details within each of the five projects of T-E-A-C-H and provides “How to Implement” guidelines on each project. This information enables the visitors to the website to understand what the programme is all about including its objectives, scope and most importantly how to implement it at the grass-roots level.

This helps prospective volunteers to understand the role they can play by joining hands to make this project a grand success.

Projects This section of the website enables Rotary clubs and Districts to upload details of the projects that they have implemented or even share ideas on executing projects relevant to the programme structure.

The specific, detailed and dynamic project upload forms enable people to upload micro level details of the projects executed, thus providing the Rotary TEACH think-tank with comprehensive results to analyse and research the projects done by clubs and districts. This would help in understanding the scope of work already done and churn out new ideas for future endeavours.

The project upload forms are dynamically segmented to procure data for each of the programme verticals, enabling Rotary to get the maximum details about each project

The website is the heart of the entire project and contains detailed information about the programme and the key people behind it. It provides a birds-eye-view of the entire endeavour and strives to achieve its objective by reaching out to people who would one day join hands with Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) in its noble intentions.

The website contains detailed information on how the Rotarians adopted the cause of Total Literacy, the genesis of RILM and about its parent — Rotary International. It talks about the T-E-A-C-H programme — Teacher Support, E-Learning, Adult Literacy, Child Development and Happy Schools apart from having various interactive and dynamic features like Project Upload, Project View, Volunteer Registration, Donation, Picture Galleries, Videos to name a few.

Apart from the above, the website also contains details of various events, the National Committee of RILM, Brand Ambassadors and partnerships.

The colourful and vibrant website signifies Rotary’s multifaceted and diversified intentions in making the T-E-A-C-H programme a grand success, much like its earlier End Polio Programme.

The T-E-A-C-H Programme This section of the website provides details on the multidimensional approach Rotary India Literacy Mission takes in aiming 68 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

executed and eventually keep a track of the extent of work being done in this regard.

Once uploaded, the projects are made available on the website for the world to see and share ideas. This not only generates appreciation for the people who have executed the particular project, but also helps others to gain valuable insight as to what is being done and how is it being done.

It is a request to every club to upload each and every project of the literacy programme on the website. The club and district level awards and recognition will be evaluated by the Rotary India Literacy Mission and awarded at the next Literacy Summit solely based on the projects that are uploaded on the website.

Volunteer Registration This section of the website enables Rotarians and others to join hands with Rotary to implement this programme.

Interested persons may submit their personal details along with their chosen area of work, with details of their areas of expertise, to enable the programme managers to choose the right people to volunteer for the right projects.

The volunteer registration forms are again dynamically segmented to reach out to different sections of people like Rotarians, Non-Rotarians, Inner Wheel Members, Rotaractors, Interactors and RCC Members to name a few.

Once registered, the details of every volunteer is analysed by the T-E-A-C-H team, the prospective volunteers are contacted and briefed depending upon the area of work they have chosen.

A comprehensive volunteer management system enables the programme managers to keep track of volunteer registrations and act accordingly.

Once registered, the details of volunteers are again available on the website for others to see and get motivated to join the programme.

Please visit the www.rotaryteach.org website to register yourself today.

PRID Shekhar Mehta Chairman, Rotary India Literacy Mission

Solution for last monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s crossword 5 $ , ' 2 0 1 , & 2 1 9 2 % 2 / 7 $ % ( / ( 1 6 6 < ' 1 $ 6 / 2 : : $ 7 ( $ ' 2 ) 2 1 ' ( 5 * 2 5 ( 6 7

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JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 69

District Leadership Seminar - RI District 3291 The District Leadership Seminar organised by Rotary clubs of RI District 3291 inspired, equipped and encouraged Rotarians through a well thoughtout dosage of vision and stimulating talks by accomplished personalities.

T

he well-attended RI District 3291 Leadership Seminar held at the Town Hall, Kolkata on Saturday, 19th April was graced by the august presence of RI Director P.T. Prabhakar among others.

At the inaugural session after my opening remarks, RI Director P.T. Prabhakar was introduced

by District Trainer PDG Anirudha Roy Choudhury. RI Director P.T. Prabhakar, in one of his first remarks, requested everyone to make leadership development a top priority. “In Rotary, leadership does not end when one becomes Past President or Past

District Governor. We have to lead by example with dedication, determination and team work,” he said.

Some interesting excerpts from his speech: “President and Secretary are the two wheels of a chariot. Good planning before the start of the year is essential to ensure that the chariot is not pulled in different directions at the same time. Also the role of Board of Directors is fundamental to a club’s success.

The main attributes required for leadership include professional

knowledge, effective communication skills, vision and capacity to build teams: 1 + 1 = 11 not 2.

There are mainly three types of Rotarians: Good Rotarians (active), Dead Rotarians (inactive) and Deadly Rotarians (negative thinking). If we want 100 percent success we have to have a flexible attitude and be humble.

If we think our tenure for leadership is one year, we are mistaken; our formal leadership may end after one calendar year but our true leadership is for as long as we remain as Rotarians. Great things happen only when it does not matter who gets the credit.

Section of the audience.

70 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

As Rotary leaders we must remember that ‘service’ is a privilege to be sought not a burden to be avoided.

We mostly find that Sunday evening fellowships attract lot more Rotarians than that of Sunday morning health camps. We need to change the attitude and enjoy Rotary through service.”

RI Director P.T. Prabhakar ended by saying, “We always have difficulty in explaining TRF to members. One method could be: Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal for love of a woman; let us build TRF for our love of fellow humans.”

Overall, his lucid audio visual presentation was laced with humour and his speech was one of the most enjoyable speeches heard in recent times.

In the Business Session, the keynote speaker was the eminent academician Prof. Anup Kumar Sinha of IIM Calcutta. While enumerating, ‘What would I like my leader to be,’ from a follower’s viewpoint, Prof. Sinha cited a few real life case-studies and stated that ‘context’ and the situation of an issue should determine the line of action a leader should adopt. He adroitly brought out the importance of shared vision, which along with people’s skills matter more in contentious issues. Prof. Sinha seemed to

RI Director P.T. Prabhakar delivering his address at the seminar.

spontaneously carry the whole house with him, with his straight-from-theheart talk.

The panel discussion on ‘Mountains do move,’ ably moderated by Rtn. Pradeep Gooptu of Rotary Calcutta Inner City featured Prof. Sanghamitra Mukherjee, ex-Principal, Lady Brabourne College, Mr. Vivesh Oberoi Chair CII - Eastern Region and MD & CEO, mjunction Services and cricketer and coach, Mr. Devang Gandhi.

They shared their experiences from their professional lives highlighting various aspects of leadership qualities they had successfully employed and

also covered traits, such as ‘purpose,’ ‘commitment’ and ‘ethics’ that they thought were most important.

“Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others,” said the internationally renowned leadership expert and author, John Maxwell. The seminar intended to implant this essence in every Rotarian who attended it.

The grand ambience of the Town Hall added another dimension to the Leadership Seminar.

DG Rajani Mukerji RI District 3291

Why does our Rotary Year start on July 1?

Digging through history to find out why the Rotary year starts 1 July?

Dollars and some good financial sense are why the Rotary year starts 1 July — at least that’s what the RI auditors said, according to 1912–13 RI President Glenn C. Mead’s report in the September 1913 issue of The Rotarian.

The auditors found that the organisation’s affairs had been managed “honestly and carefully.” Still, RI was growing and had recently become an international organisation, and its needs were changing.

The secretary and treasurer needed more time to prepare, audit, and check the organisation’s financial statements by the end of the calendar year. The auditors recommended that the organisation close its financial books for the year on 30 June, which was after the RI Convention. The Board of Directors agreed, and ever since, the Rotary year has begun on 1 July.

Source: Internet

JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 71

Rotary Showcase T

he global network of Rotary’s volunteer leaders has been tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges since 1905. Over the years Rotary has expanded in both scale and scope, and today Rotarians across 34,000 clubs commit an incredible amount of time, money and effort towards its goals of empowering youth, enhancing health, promoting peace and advancing communities.

However, in past decades Rotary was unable to effectively communicate its approach and significance in terms relevant and relatable to audiences. Despite its tremendous impact, the collective contributions of Rotary are not fully understood either by the broader public, or, more notably, by most Rotarians themselves. One of the reasons for this has been the lack of a credible method for determining the total value of all of the service projects that Rotary clubs worldwide undertake each year. What we know is just the tip of the iceberg. We know only of the approximately $100 million per year worth of projects (excluding polio) that our clubs undertake through The Rotary Foundation. We really have no idea of the total value of all of the money raised, in-kind contributions made, and volunteer hours spent by our clubs worldwide on service projects every year. This may run into billions. This could certainly place Rotary among the top humanitarian organisations in the world. Having a credible number would also enhance our reputation, help with membership, and make us more attractive to potential strategic partners.

Recently Rotary has introduced a new brand and public image strategy focusing on telling its story in a simple, consistent and relatable manner. In

72 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

Sample Rotary Showcase webpage.

today’s digital age, the updated website serves as a critical component of this approach. The website is split into two micro sites: My Rotary, for members,

and Rotary.org, for non-members.

Both convey Rotary’s global vantage point and its active engagement in communities around the world, and

aim to encourage collaboration and participation.

In May 2012 Rotary rolled out a new online tool â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Rotary Showcase, to collect critical project data and to measure the global impact of all Rotary projects in a given year. It is a way to share club service-project information and broadcast them to the world through social media. The goal is to create a way to increase the visibility of Rotary service initiatives and help create virtual buzz around service projects, while reaching more potential partners, prospective members and supporters within the Rotary world, and the global community as a whole.

The tool is very easy to use: members just upload project data, photographs and video, and the updated project page displays this information in a straightforward and comprehensive manner. The Impact Tracker feature is particularly convenient: it quickly communicates the key project parameters such as total contributions, volunteers, and volunteer hours. This allows visitors to quickly assess and

compare the impact of several projects.

The data for a specific project will be aggregated with other club/district projects in Rotary Club Central and aggregated on Rotary Showcase for the worldwide impact of Rotary.

Visitors to the website can explore and view the projects on the Rotary Showcase, and even connect with organisers and join in as collaborators.

This tool is especially relevant when it comes to raising awareness about the many Rotary service projects which are not funded by The Rotary Foundation.

Rotary Showcase is also well integrated with the many social media platforms. This allows both Rotarians and non-members to share projects, thus developing interest in Rotaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work and spreading awareness of its impact. The simplest way to expand a projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s visibility is to use the automatic Facebook application which prompts you to post your new project on your Facebook page. This posting can then not only be viewed on your Facebook page, but also shared with â&#x20AC;&#x153;friendsâ&#x20AC;? and re-posted.

The Share app, located in the upper right corner of the site (+ share), allows you to post your project on multiple other social media sites such as Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest. Lastly, you can link to your project page from your club or district website as well as newsletters. By sharing your work through Showcase you reach a broader audience to generate interest in your projects as well as club membership.

Rotary Showcase serves as a key tool to inspire and galvanise the community. Rotarians and non-Rotarians will become better informed about our projects around the world, and clubs and districts will have a better way to get the word out, and raise their profile in their own communities and beyond. Rotary Showcase both empowers and humanises the Rotary brand. By encouraging members to share and take pride in their work, the tool builds on Rotaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths and invites wider awareness, understanding and participation.

PDG Ramesh Aggarwal RI District 3010

THEREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO LEARN ABOUT ROTARY. Rotary E-Learning Center t 7JEFP DMJQT t 4FMG HVJEFE UVUPSJBMT t # FTU QSBDUJDF FYBNQMFT

Learn something new at www.rotary.org/elearning JULY 2014

ROTARY NEWS 73

ROTARY ACTS

Reaching Life Savers “Blessed are the ones who can give back life with their blood.” The blood collection bus donated by Rotary Club Madras East, RI District 3230 would now reach donors in the city’s outskirts to enable them to donate blood in a safe and hygienic environment.

W

hile voluntary blood donation is being extensively encouraged everywhere, many willing donors cannot easily reach blood banks or blood donation camps to donate blood.

Blood donors would certainly love to donate blood at an appealing and comfortable place close to them; and more importantly, they will love to donate blood at peace in an aseptic and sterile environment. The ambience of a blood collection bus peps them up and motivates them to be a regular blood donor.

Realising the need for reaching remote interior areas, as well as the doorsteps of the donor, and to remove the constraints on finding a clean environment during blood donation, Rotary Club of Madras East (RCME), RI District 3230 donated a blood collection bus to the Voluntary Health Services (VHS) in Taramani, Chennai.

The bus, exclusively designed and built at a cost of Rs.47,00,000 can accommodate four blood donors at a time. The air-conditioned bus has a blood storage unit that can store up to 100 units until it is taken to the blood bank.

74 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

Voluntary Health Services is a referral multi-specialty hospital founded by the eminent physician, Dr. Krishnaswami Srinivasa Sanjivi in 1958. The fundamental mission of the hospital is to extend health and medical care to the poor, “based on their clinical needs and not based on their ability to pay for services.” VHS also has an extensive training programme including postgraduate education for doctors, Ph.D programmes, Diploma in National Boards, M.Sc., B.Sc., and GNM Nursing. They offer training for paramedics in laboratory, hospital administration and dietetics. This 465-bed hospital is equipped with all general specialties and a few super specialties such as a blood bank, haemophilia centre and de-addiction programmes. Fourteen out-reach clinics along the city’s periphery takes care of the medical needs of the semi-urban underprivileged population residing on the outskirts of the city.

It is no wonder that Rotary has associated itself with such a noble institution that also has similar principles of service to humanity in the epicentre of all its activities. Rotary Club

of Madras Central under the presidentship of SVRM Ramanathan jointly with TTK Group under the leadership of T.T. Raghunathan, established the Rotary Central-TTK-VHS Blood Bank at VHS in the year 1995. The TTK group are the pioneers in introducing blood donation in Chennai and have been operating a blood bank under the name Madras Voluntary Blood Bank for the past several years.

VHS provided the land for the blood bank, while RC Madras Central put up an 8,000 sq.ft structure and equipped the facility with the necessary machineries; and TTK group helped in mobilisation of blood donation and took care of the day-to-day management of the blood bank. VHS has also provided the requisite medical and non-medical staff for operating the blood bank. Around 2,000 unit of blood is collected every month and a significant portion of blood components such as plasma, platelets and packed cells are extracted from it. Dr. J. Balasubramaniam heads the blood bank and together with his team of medical officers, nurses and technicians, they have established a benchmark in blood banking in these years.

The blood bank caters to nearly 3,000 patients every month including 200 thalassaemia patients and 100 patients affected by haemophilia.

Now the sophisticated blood collection bus will enhance the services of the Rotary Central-TTK-VHS Blood Bank to a higher notch. In a simple yet meaningful ceremony at the VHS campus which saw the dedication of the bus to the Blood Bank, RCME President N. Sudhakar elaborated the significance of the bus, saying that â&#x20AC;&#x153;As 80 percent of the blood donated to DG A.P. Kanna handing over the keys of the blood collection bus to Managing Trustee of VHS, Shri. Sugal Chand Jain in the presence of RI Director P.T. Prabhakar, Project Chairman of the Blood Bank; Autorickshaw being dedicated to the school.

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ROTARY NEWS 75

VHS Blood Bank is collected through blood donation camps organised at various localities, the bus would play a vital role in safe blood collection through a clinically controlled atmosphere and induce several more donors to give blood.”

“RCME’s association with VHS goes back to ten years since when the club has been conducting outdoor blood donation camps and collecting blood from donors for the VHS Blood Bank,” he said. This year alone they have conducted camps in IT companies and other corporate offices and collected over 2,500 units of blood.

Earlier, in 2012, RCME had donated a Mallis Bipolar Cutting and Coagulation System worth Rs.20 lakhs, which helps in controlling bleeding during surgical procedures, to VHS under Matching Grant with RC Utara Subang Jaya, RI District 3300, Malaysia, RC Austin, RI District 5870, USA and TRF. The dedication ceremony of the blood collection bus had an attendance of well-meaning Rotarians who have been proud of their long association with the hospital. The guest-list included RI Director P.T. Prabhakar, District Governor A.P. Kanna, incoming Governor I.S.A.K. Nazar apart from the Managing Trustee of VHS Sugal Chand Jain, Director of Rotary Central-TTK-VHS Blood Bank Dr. J. Balasubramaniam and a host of enthusiastic Rotarians of the District along with the physicians and staff of VHS. Dr. J. Balasubramaniam, Director of the Blood Bank was excited about this new valuable addition to the blood bank and he said that presently VHS receives around 25,000 units of blood per year and with the new bus, they hope to collect 40,000 units.

Rtn. Rajmohan Reddy, Director TRF, RCME while explaining about Global Grants informed that this particular project satisfied all the criteria required by The Rotary Foundation for approval as a Global Grant project.

The blood donor bus is a Global Grant 76 ROTARY NEWS JULY 2014

project of RC Madras East with RC Utara Subang Jaya, RI District 3300, Malaysia and The Rotary Foundation.

Padmashri S.V.S. Raghavan, former chairman of BHEL and his son Rajan Raghavan have played a remarkable role in the execution of this project through their major financial contribution to the cause. RI Director P.T. Prabhakar and DG A.P. Kanna honoured Shri S.V.S. Raghavan with a crystal and diamond pin engraved with an olive branch symbolising peace in recognition of their support.

RI Director P.T. Prabhakar made a statement of the extraordinary work of VHS in just three words — ‘Temple of Service.’ He then took the gathering on a nostalgic journey as he enlightened on how the blood bank project, executed in the ’90s, formed the base for defining a Global Grant programme

by TRF. While The Rotary Foundation had the policy to fund only sustainable projects, RI Director P.T. Prabhakar had then explained to the Board about how the blood bank project of RC Madras Central was a sustainable project — RC Madras Central would fund the project; TTK would look after the operations and VHS would provide the expertise; and the entire project — the blood bank — would help save thousands of lives — which meets the criteria for ‘sustainable project.’

The RI Director was generous in his compliments for the Rotarians of RCME for “selflessly pitching in with RC Madras Central’s project.”

Although competitions exist among clubs, the Rotarians of RCME have risen above such thoughts to execute a considerate project at the VHS Blood Bank, a project of RC Madras Central. “Rotary thus takes ordinary people like us and makes extraordinary persons out of them,” he observed.

District Governor A.P. Kanna observed that a total eight Global Grants projects have been approved for the District for the year and five out of this are being undertaken by RCME.

Apart from this one, a Literacy project in Rwanda, clean water for Uganda and donation of maternal and neonatal care equipment to the District’s five major government hospitals to help reduce infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate.

District Governor-elect I.S.A.K. Nazar in his speech said the blood donor bus “was not just a vehicle, but a dream of the Rotarians.” For any project to be successful and to reach the targeted beneficiary, the President-Secretary rapport is very much essential to carry the team forward. The combo, Rtn. N. Sudhakar-Rtn. R.M. Narayanan, was hailed as the best President-Secretary team by DG A.P. Kanna.

Several Rotarians also donated blood in the bus soon after its inauguration. Mr. Jagdish Sarda, a past Rotarian twenty years ago and a prospective one too, was one such donor!

Rotarians Jagdish Babu and Ramesh Kannan were among others who were happy to donate blood joining in the celebrations.

In addition to the bus, the club also gifted an auto-rickshaw to Mary Clubwala School. The club also plans to start a dialysis unit at VHS soon.

The unit will be funded by RCME and operated by VHS. What better way to celebrate the club’s Charter Day! For it was on May 21, nineteen years ago the club was chartered. The services of the club along with the services of RC Madras Central ensure the quote engraved on the pedestal of Dr. Sanjivi, the founder of VHS: “Every citizen should be assured of the best that modern medicine can offer irrespective of his geographic domicile or economic status removing all inequalities based on poverty, illiteracy and ignorance.” The same high principles that form the bedrock of Rotary and that which is engrained in the very soul of Rotarians.

Jaishree

LOW COST SHELTERS Trustees Decision At the April 2014 meeting of the Trustees, a decision has been taken to ALLOW the construction of LOW COST SHELTERS using DISTRICT GRANTS. The Trustees eliminate the following funding restrictions from District Grants: z

z z z

Rotary Youth Exchange, RYLA, Rotaract or Interact Construction Travel for staff of cooperating organisation Activities primarily implemented by an organisation other than Rotary

Please note that removing the restriction on construction from the grants criteria will allow low cost shelters to be an eligible activity within District Grants, by Rotary clubs and Districts.

They therefore can start constructing low cost shelters using District Grants.

For clubs in India / South Asia, this means that districts abroad, can send you their district funds for the construction of low cost shelters.

Many districts abroad have such funds available.

They will be happy to help by sending you funds, after you establish the necessary contacts.

The cost of the shelter is not restricted.

We know that in our part of the world, we can get a low cost, 250 sft – 350 sft shelter in $2500.

You will need to establish contact with districts abroad who can gift their District Funds (DDF) to you for shelters, as a joint project.

Please note the land/ plot for the shelters must be donated, gifted, received from a Trust etc. It can be purchased if extra money / donor is available but NOT from District Funds.

Let’s start. Let’s get shelters going again.

A home is where the family begins. A home brings hope. It gives self respect and it brings security.

Share this information with your clubs and have a District Shelter Committee. Send me the names of the Chair.

Write to me if more information is needed.

But do mention this in your Grants.

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee Trustee, The Rotary Foundation (2013–17)

ANNOUNCEMENT With effect from July 1, 2014 the revised RI exchange rate is

US $1 = INR 59.00 Source: RI South Asia Office

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.

Acting Editor: Jaishree.

Weikfield Foods Pvt Ltd donated USD 250,000 to make Late S.P. Malhotra (charter President of RC Pune Central, RI District 3131) as Arch Klumph Society member.

The Chairman of Past Presidents Forum of RI District 3262, Rtn. Ajay Agarwal presented a cheque for Rs.2,51,000 towards Rotary Uttarakhand Disaster Relief Fund to RI President’s Representative PDG Aziz Memon and DG Rabi Narayan Nanda at the District Conference held at Bhubaneswar.

RC Madras East, RI District 3230 conferred ‘For the Sake of Honour’ award posthumously on Major Mukund Varadarajan for the supreme sacrifice exhibited while protecting his Motherland.

Ms. Indu Rebecca Verghese, wife of the officer accepted the award from Tamil Nadu Governor, H.E. K. Rosaiah, in the presence of Lt. Gen. Jagbir Singh, General Officer Commanding, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

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