Vol.1, Issue 1
A new
dawn
@Rotaract_India
@RotaractNewsIndia
January
2018 (Quarterly)
Content 34 Quenching thirst 40 Rotaract: the magic that transforms the world 44 Fighting hunger & illiteracy
8
Making girls comfortable and confident
28 Footwear for children
32 Giving Vapi’s children a smile
20
Koramangala Club’s mixed bag of projects
On the cover: The Rotaractors of RAC Guwahati Luit, District 3240, at a school they had painted as part of their endeavour to enhance its facilities.
42 From darkness to light JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 3
RI Director C Basker District Rotaract Representatives
Rotaract News
Zone 4, 5 & 6A 2981
T Ramkumar
2982
D Praveen Kumar
3000
B Balachander
3011
Anmol Chawla
3012
Vivek Pangasa
3020
M V B Manognya
3030
Arti Jaywant Goswami
3040
Jitendra Singh Baghel
3053
Abhay Dubey
3054
Ronnie Vaishnaa
3060
Vaibhav Vyas
3070
Nitika Pahwa
3080
Yashika Sagar
3090
Yatin Sehgal
3110
Puspendra Trivedi
3120
Ashok Tripathi
3131
Pratik Joshi
3132
Pritish Kishor Govindpurkar
3141
Om Chawla
3142
Nikhil Lokhande
3150
Sneha Naraparaju
3160
Anilkumar Raiker
3170
Swapnil Dilip Ingale
3181
Jackson Herald Saldana
3182
Manjunath Karanth
3190
P Naveen
3201
Ajay Chandran
3202
R Nagarjun
3211
Achu Prakash
3212
S Ashwin P Rayen
3220
Anuradha Charithree Senanayake
3231
S Vijaysundar
3232
C Dhanakodi
3240
Namra Kar
3250
Vaibhav Thakur
3261
Bijaya Kumar Jena
3262
Smrutiranjan Biswal
3291
Pradip Dutta
3292
Hari Chandra Satyal
Editor Rasheeda Bhagat Senior Assistant Editor Jaishree Padmanabhan Senior Sub Editor Muthukumaran V Sub Editor Kiran Zehra Designers Vishwanathan K Gunasekaran L Krishnamurthy N Krishnapratheesh S Send all correspondence to
ROTARY NEWS TRUST rd
3 Floor, Dugar Towers, 34 Marshalls Road Egmore, Chennai 600 008, India. Phone: 044 42145666 e-mail rotarynewsmagazine@gmail.com facebook @RotaractNewsIndia twitter @Rotaract_India instagram @Rotaract_India website www.rotaractnews.org
Published by Rotary News Trust from Dugar Towers, 3rd Flr, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008.
The views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Editor or Trustees of Rotary News Trust (RNT) or Rotary International (RI). No liability can be accepted for any loss arising from editorial or advertisement content. Contributions – original content – is welcome but the Editor reserves the right to edit for clarity or length. Content can be reproduced, but with permission from RNT.
Editor’s Note
Let your dreams soar I
vividly remember at the outgoing RI President K R Ravindran’s Seoul Convention, 2017, incoming RI President John Germ’s speech… made at the South Asia Reception hosted by the then RI Director Manoj Desai. After complimenting Rotarians in Zones 4, 5 and 6A (India, Sri Lanka and Nepal) for doing so well on membership and giving to The Rotary Foundation, Germ dwelt on Rotary’s future, and the huge challenge before it to induct young members. He said wryly: “The average age in this room could be 65, or 70; we can’t afford to keep aging this organisation.” He added that he was coming from a meeting with a group of Rotaractors. “They don’t believe Rotary respects them as individuals or as an organisation and only looks at them as labour, not as equals. We should be embarrassed that they feel this way about us.” So he asked them what could Rotarians do differently to help Rotaractors and pat came the answer: ‘Treat us as equals.’ “And we should do that because this organisation will help us to grow and prosper,” added Germ.
Well, at the Atlanta Convention earlier this year, I had the opportunity to meet the bubbly President of the Rotaract Club of Birmingham, Jeris Gaston, a smart young woman, who is into wealth management. Started in 2003, unlike most Rotaract clubs in India, all its members are professionals. With its motto being ‘Learn, Socialise, Serve’, the club is targeted at youngsters in the 25–35 age group who are out of the universities and are young professionals. The objective is to groom them for leadership roles. Its mother club — RC Birmingham — offers a mentorship to the Rotaract club, pairing selected Rotaractors with their Rotarian mentors. About 10 Rotaractors are also allowed to attend RCB meetings. Also, when the Rotaract club was started, it was decided that RCB would encourage it by its members nominating their young sons and daughters, or young professionals from their organisations, to this club, to give it a firm footing. While RI has to worry about the missing smart, educated, professional women from its membership, this Rotaract club has some of the who’s who of the young population in Birmingham, and its gender ratio is 50:50, compared to that of RCB being a staid 80:20! As for the Rotaract club’s board, “most of our board members are women,” grins Jeris. Arguably this is the largest community-based Rotaract club in the world with 290 members. A few years ago it set up its own foundation, which has raised, hold your breath, over $1 million, and prides itself in doing some of the best literacy and learning programmes in Birmingham, pushing young people to go for university education. The nice thing about being young is that while the seniors see problems and limitations, the young see opportunities and challenges that beckon them. As we at Rotary News come out with a quarterly issue of Rotaract News, aim for the stars, and explore new avenues. Set up your own foundations, plan projects that are so huge and so life-changing that they will leave many Rotary clubs gasping for breath. And then go ahead and execute them… without ego, without conflicts, without lecturing anybody, but with efficiency, transparency… accounting for every rupee that you have raised. And then come to us... with your beaming beneficiaries, and tell their stories which we will be only too happy to report. Good luck, and god speed!
Rasheeda Bhagat JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 5
Message from the
RI Director
Hearty welcome to Rotaract News Dear Friends, It is a great joy and privilege to bring out a quarterly digital Rotaract News edition as we usher in a new year. Rotaractors are true “partners in service” and key members of the Rotary family, who work hand in hand with Rotarians. This Rotaract News is a feather in the cap of Rotary News family as it will be an effective communication tool for Rotaractors to strengthen the Rotaract movement in our zones. Rotaract News will pave way for better understanding between Rotary and Rotaract by creating healthy interaction. Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth programme in 1968 at Charlotte North Rotary Club in North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major Rotary-sponsored organisation of over 10,800 clubs spread around the world with 248,400 members as on Dec 6, 2017. It is a service, leadership, professional and communitybased organisation for young men and women between the ages 18–30. It is high time Rotarians support Rotaract clubs through active participation at Rotaract meetings and events, providing guidance, support and advice, even while helping to provide continuity in the Rotaract leadership. In the next few years, Rotaract will be an active breeding and training ground for the next generation of Rotarians. The motto of Rotaract is Self-development — Fellowship through service. I am sure more Rotaractors will join Rotary and strengthen Rotary’s hands in reaching out to the community. All young adults, who are becoming business leaders or professionals, are encouraged to get involved in Rotaract and later join Rotary. If more young adults are Rotaractors, the world will be a better place to enjoy peace and happiness. Wishing the new born Rotaract News great success in the coming years. Wishing you all a happy and purposeful new year 2018.
C Basker Director, Rotary International 6 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
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e want to keep the girls in school, by helping them manage their periods better.” This was the aim of the Rotaractors of Rotaract
Club of Guwahati Luit, D 3240, when they launched the #WeForHer campaign in mid-November. By the end of the month, they had “distributed 1,100 sanitary pads to
400 adolescent underprivileged girls in two schools in Guwahati,” says Tushar Jalan, the President of this oneyear-old club. Each student was given three
Rotaractors paint the Shankardev Shishu Niketan School.
8 ROT ROTARACT OT O TA AR ARA RAC RA AC CT T NEW NEWS N EW WS JJA JANUARY AN A NUA UA UAR AR RY 22018 018 01
packets to last for three months. A month-long social media campaign crowdfunded the contribution of the sanitary pads. Experts from the
Narayana Super Specialty Hospitals were engaged to educate the girls about menstruation, benefits of using sanitary pads and personal hygiene. The project was executed in the Lalchand Goenka Hindi High School and the Rang Mahal High School. “One in five girls in India is forced to drop out of school at puberty. Eighty-eight per cent women in India use cloth, ash or sand during this time. Such heart-rending messages impelled us to address the issue in some way and thus was born the #WeForHer initiative,” says Saurav Jhunjhunwala, the Club Secretary. The team proposes to follow-up with these schools
JANUARY JAN JJA AN ANU UA UAR ARY 2018 AR 20 018 18 8 ROTARACT ROT RO R OT O TA TA AR ARA RA R ACT T NEWS NEEEW NEW N WS 9
Distributing sanitary pads to girls.
after three months; a donor will be attached to a school for regular supply of the napkins and reinforce awareness in the girls. “The teachers welcomed our campaign and were happy that finally someone is taking the initiative,” says Jalan.
Other endeavours In yet another initiative, the Rotaractors brought colour and life to the Shankardev Shishu Niketan school in Maligaon. “We want every child who walks through
Warm clothes for children.
1100 RRO ROTARACT OT TA ARA A AR RA R AC CT TN NEWS NE NEW EEW EWS WS JANUARY JJA AN A NU UAR UA AR A RY 2018 20 018 01 18 18
the school’s portals to enjoy the days of schooling in a beautiful and vibrant campus,” says the president. They have painted the school building and propose to add a toilet block in January with support from a District Grant. A walkathon, where 250 Rotaractors walked 500 m, shoulder-to-shoulder, blindfolded and led by 50 visually-impaired people, was held to promote eye donation. The march, flagged off by MLA Siddharth Bhattacharya, was supported by the Rotary clubs,
Lions clubs, Art of Living Foundation and other NGOs. The club’s Donate, don’t dump campaign fetched a large number of blankets and woollen clothes. The Rotaractors donated new woollens and accessories, blankets and toys for children residing in the Parijat Academy hostel in the city. They also cheered them up with games and entertainment. “At the end of the day, after completing each project, more than the beneficiaries, we feel a sense of fulfillment that we’ve shared our goodness with them. We’re thankful for the opportunity to be of help to someone and more than anything, it binds us together,” says Jalan, echoing his team’s sentiments. Designed by N Krishnamurthy JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 11
g n i t a r b Cele
T C A R ROTA
Rotaractors with DG Prafull Sharma.
14 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
Jaishree
T
he Rotaractors of D 3141 came together to ring in the new Rotaract year with an enthusiastic participation for a noble cause. Fifty-five Rotaract and 60 Rotary clubs of D 3141 together organised a mega blood donation drive, Jeevan Daan, across Mumbai. The initiative collected over 2,156 units of blood which will help to save several lives. “What better way could we have started our year? Each year we start off with this brilliant initiative to mark our stance in helping the society, striving to achieve a better year,” says DRR Om Chawla. Several footfalls marked the blood donation camps set up at 31 different locations. “We came across many first-time donors who felt a sense of achievement and satisfaction as they realised how 15 minutes of their time and 350 ml of blood from their body
A Rotaractor donates blood at the camp.
A Nukkad Natak being performed.
can save a life,” says Jalpa Oza, the District Secretary.
Nukkad Stars Yet another activity that excited the Rotaractors was Nukkad Stars, a street play contest for Interactors. The two-day event was a joint initiative of Rotary and Rotaract and it forged a mighty bond between the Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors. “It was a perfect platform for Interactors to come forward and showcase their flair in street plays while having us get goose bumps
on the social causes that they portrayed,” says Oza, highlighting the performance by the deaf and mute students of Mulund Rotary School as “just phenomenal”. District Governor Prafull Sharma motivated the Interactors, sharing his thoughts over street play as a concept and the potential it carries. Thirty teams participated for an audience of 300 people. The winners were awarded certificates and an opportunity to compete at the District 3141’s big festival, the RED — Rotary Rotaract Entertainment Destination, held in December. JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 15
V Muthukumaran
A student facing the interview panel of Rotarians.
W
ith an objective to provide professional mileage for the final year students, the Rotaract Club of Anna UniversityTrichy, D 3000, organised a five-day training programme followed by two days of interviews in an event called the New Generation Week. The project, held for the second consecutive year, aimed to secure job placements for students. Certified professionals from different disciplines mentored the aspirants on resume preparation, facing an interview panel, group discussions, corporate awareness and striking a professional attitude. Twenty of the 80 participants were selected 18 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
for interview by a panel of industrial experts from the parent club, RC Tiruchirapalli Fort. “One of the panelist, Rtn P Bhaskaran, Director, Special Projects of D 3000, has assured lodging facilities for two selected candidates from disadvantaged families. They have got placement in the civil engineering wing of Cliff Engineering Services and a final-year student has already joined MyTVS after completing his studies,” said Mani Prahaspathy, a past DRR and faculty advisor to the Rotaract club. Club President V Kethar Eswaran, a III-year CSc student, happy with the success of this exclusive
training-cum-talent search, said that 20 students from streams such as Civil (6), Automobile (4), Mechanical (2), Pharma (2), CSc (2) and IT, ECE, Petrochem and Biotech (one each) have been shortlisted for the final round, of which the top 10 will get job placement and internship training in the firms of the parent club Rotarians after completing their final semester exams. More job openings The parent club has promised to hold another round of interview for campus hiring by the end of May 2018 after the final semester exams. “Not less than 20 technical graduates will be hired in the Automobile
and Mechanical divisions of MyTVS and Rtn J Vinoth has confirmed to us that they will be visiting the college for the recruitment drive,” says Eswaran. Civil Engineering students have a longpending grievance that they don’t get internship opportunities. “We took up this issue with the Civil Engineering Association of Tiruchirapalli with the help of Rotary and they have assured us that arrangements will be made for students for industrial training,” he added. The Rotaract club is confident of ushering in a positive change in the profiles of job aspirants with this productive workshop.
Global Partnership Summit in Delhi
Team Rotaract News
A
four-day summit — the Global Partnership Summit (GPS) — a joint initiative of India and Japan, was organised by the India Center Foundation in Hotel JW Marriott, Delhi, from Dec 11–14. Rotaractors from Districts 3080, 3090, 3131, 3141, 3220, 3240, 3250 and 3282, including DRRs Vaibhav Thakur (3250) and Yatin Sehgal (3090) attended the meet where Rotaract Club of Ardent Youth, D 3011, was chosen as the ‘Youth Partner’. “It was a wonderful opportunity and a big privilege to be part of this
Above: (From L) RAC Ardent Youth President Ritanshu Sharma, DRR Vaibhav Thakur, Rtr Gautham Sharma with TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta (second from left). Top: Rotaractors at the GPS Delhi.
prestigious programme,” says the Club President Ritanshu Sharma. The summit discussed ways to expand trade between the two countries, develop global partnerships with focus on healthcare, infrastructure and logistics, agro economy, art and culture and more. The programme on Youth Leaders discussed ways to involve youth in rural development, nurture youth leaders and promote unity beyond culture and socio-economic differences. “It was a celebration of the spirit of youth,” says DRR Vaibhav Thakur. The summit began with an address by the Chairman of GPS Vibhav Kanth Upadhaya. Union Health Minister J P Nadda and corporate leaders such as Doga Makiura, CEO of Oblige; Rothin Bhattacharya, Director of Philips; Vinod Shekhar, CEO of the Petra group; Mudit, CEO of Access; MD of Kolkata Ventures Avelo Roy; Saurav Panda, Consultant at the World Bank; and Kishav Ambikapathy, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council were few of the notable speakers. TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta was also present at the summit. More than 3,000 delegates including think tanks, government and policy makers, industrialists, entrepreneurs and NGOs from 100 countries attended the meet.
JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 19
Koramangala Club’s mixed bag of projects Team Rotaract News
B
e it community service, cleanliness drive, trekking or extending a platform for the startups, the Rotaract Club of Koramangala (RACK), D 3190, has joined hands with Rotaractors of other clubs and like-minded groups to organise such projects on a Rotaractors with school children after distributing g footw footwear twea earr to tthem. hem. he m.
20 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
grand scale. In one such initiative, 28 Rotaractors including 17 from RACK donated footwear, library books, stationery items and hosted a range of entertainment activities involving children at a government primary school in Byragondlu, 90 km from Bengaluru.
While the project was implemented as part of community service, it also marked Children’s Day with awareness skits being staged on topics such as substance abuse, food wastage, water conservation, child labour, Swachh Bharath and mobile phone addiction. “We donated over 50 pairs
of shoes to the students. The village head and the elderly appreciated our efforts. As a token of thanks, we had an awesome village food and a guided visit to the nearby locale,� said Club President R Ravi Kumar. Encouraging startups With the aim to tap the creative potential of engineering students and open a window of opportunity for the startups, RACK partnered with Workbench Projects to organise the Maker Faire Bengaluru, a two-day exhibition of product prototypes on the Palace Grounds in the city. The fair, supported by government agencies like NITI Aayog, GoI’s Department of Science and Technology and the State machinery, had prototypes in diverse fields including robotics, space projects and
JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 21
Rotaractors with the garbage bags at the Savandurga Hills.
rocketry, food processors, electronics and electric vehicles, textile arts, vintage computers and gaming systems, alternate shelters, and unusual tools and machines, all developed by students. Of the 22 projects nominated by the club, seven made it to the shortlisted 100 final exhibits that included coir fibre reinforcement, ultra-energy
efficient vehicle, advanced teaching automation, autonomous underwater vehicle, racing Go-Kart vehicle, electric bike and low-cost security system. “We are happy that Mumbai-based venture capitalist Intel Accelerators have evinced interest in developing two of our recommended projects — teaching automation and security system — and will be investing `25
lakh initially for each project,” said Shubham Gaur, Secretary, RACK. The club arranged for the visit of 150 students to the tech exhibition which was a “great learning opportunity for them to know about the emerging technologies across multiple domains which were developed and designed by their fellow students from different colleges.” Trekking cum cleanup In another event, what began as an excursion to the Savandurga Hills, 60 km from Bengaluru, turned out to be a cleanup endeavour for the 16 Rotaractors of the club. The monolith hill is frequented by pilgrims and tourists. The team collected 10 bags of plastic waste and other garbage. “The locals appreciated our effort in cleaning the area atop the hill. We didn’t mind climbing down with heavy garbage bags,” recalls Ravi Kumar. Designed by N Krishnamurthy
22 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
Rota Girls work for
menstrual hygiene awareness Smrutiranjan Biswal
O
ut of the six goals of Rotary International, sanitation is a very important goal, which is much needed in Odisha. Girls from the Rotaract Club of Bhubaneswar Capital have adopted
the Damana slum in Bhubaneswar to make the people aware and educated about sanitation, with particular focus on menstrual hygiene. As part of their campaign to raise awareness
about sanitation, Rotaractors visit the slum every weekend and go door to door to meet the female members of every family in the age group 12 to 30 years of age. They convince them to assemble at one place where our Rotaractors teach them about hygiene and sanitation. Our volunteers then distribute sanitation pads to the girls and women in the village. The team leader of this campaign Rtr Sudeshna said that there is a lot of change now in the slum. “People were so ignorant earlier that they avoided even talking about menstruation, but they are now very friendly. We have reached around 200 girls and women in these slums till now.” On Oct 15, World Handwashing Day, different clubs in the district organised various programmes in schools.
The Rotaract Club of Bhubaneswar Friends organised one in a school where 500 students participated. “The response was the best experience of our life in this gratifying social activity,” said Rtr Samarpika Routray , President of the club. In this Rota year, our Rotaractors are trying to reach more than 1,000 families. Sanitation is a basic necessity for every human being. Half of the population is unaware and ignorant about female sanitation, and this lack of knowledge leads to many health hazards in congested slum areas. This measure taken by Rota girls is, indeed, a wonderful step towards a healthy lifestyle, and hopefully, it will really make a difference in the lives of these young women. The writer is DRR of District 3262.
Villagers with Rotaractors at an awareness workshop.
JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 23
Join Rotaract, discover the leader in you Yatin Sehgal
24 RRO 24 ROTARACT ROT OT O TARA AR A RA R AC AC CT T NEW NEWS JANUARY NEWS JAN ANUAR UAR ARYY 2018 2018 018
DRR Yatin Sehgal (fifth from left) with Rotaractors at the D 3090 District Assembly.
T
he Summer of 2011 saw the entire township of Rajpura, Punjab, gather at a community hall. It was a charity event organised to fund the School for Blind and Deaf, Patiala. “A well-managed and successful event� was what the local newspapers covered the next day. Watching the young brigades of a local NGO organise such an event, the then President of Rotary Club Rajpura, D 3090, Rishi Shahi, called a meeting with the NGO representatives and turned them into the Rotaract Club of Rajpura. I joined that club on July 1, 2011, and this was a turning point in my life. Never in my dreams would I have
Rotaract is not just a social service organisation, it is an institution in itself where we learn to adapt to new VLWXDWLRQV IDFH GLŕľśFXOW challenges and overcome fear of failure.
imagined that one day it will be more than just a club membership for me. Six years down the line, Rotaract has become one of the most important part of my life. The next year, I was made president of the club. It was then that my Rotaract journey took a massive turn. The first thing that I learnt being a president was leadership and this is something that directly motivates and inspires people around us. As a club president I made up my mind to do service for the less privileged and it has been something that I have carried with me for the last six years: Education for those who can’t afford it. Literacy, according to me, is the most important weapon to fight poverty. As club president, another important event that helped me and my team learn about Rotary culture, was hosting the District Assembly in my home club. It was attended by PRID Y P Das and other senior leaders from my district. This first exposure to senior Rotary leaders is still fresh in my mind and it has definitely made a mark on my decision-making abilities. The journey as a president still has the best memories of my Rotaract experience and I can proudly say that I had the privilege of working with one of the finest bunch of Rotaractors. JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 25
It’s always ‘service above self” that matters, while rewards and recognitions follow automatically if you serve with true spirit and keep following the 4-Way Test.
26 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
Coming to how being a Rotaractor can help you professionally, it has instilled leadership and decisionmaking abilities in me, which people around me as well as my teachers acknowledge as a gift of Rotaract. To everyone, who is reading this article, Rotaract is not just a social service organisation, it is an institution in itself wherein we learn how to adapt to new situations, face difficult challenges and overcome fear of failure. Rotaract is a goldmine of building a professional network which would help one grow individually. After serving as the club president, I have held various posts in Rotaract, notable ones being District Secretary (2014–15, 2016–17), District Editor and Literacy Chair (2015–16) and Director Media Cell in the national event Mahadan (2015–16). Fast forward to 2017, I am serving as a DRR of RI District 3090. Within the span of last four years, I have travelled with IDYE teams to so many beautiful places, met so many Rotaractors from around India
At the Rotaract Premier League, a multi-district event.
and abroad, and been a part of so many event teams at various levels. But now, when I look back at the first day in Rotaract, I feel there has been a lot of learning and my growth
Rotaractors with Rotarians from Australia.
graph has always been on the rise. Attending various district training programmes, district assemblies and IDYEs, has made me realise the avenues of growth Rotaract offers and the potential Rotaract holds for the youth.
When I look back at the
Turning point
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The turning point in my leadership and character came when I attended a two-day training programme in Hyderabad earlier this year under the watchful eyes of RI Director C Basker as well as Rotary Coordinators and ARCs Ashok Gupta and Gurjeet Sekhon. For my rise in Rotaract, a lot of people have played major roles, but the ones who really influenced me were PDGs Vijay Gupta, Dharamvir Garg; PDRR Sahil Bhateja; PP RC Rajpura Rishi Shahi; PDRR Rohan Dalmia, D 3141; and PDG Ken Hall, D 9650.
I feel there has been a lot of learning and my growth graph has always been on the rise.
From my experience in Rotaract, I would like all the young Rotaractors to understand that it’s always ‘service above self� that matters, while rewards and recognitions follow automatically if you serve with true spirits and keep following the 4-Way Test. Being in a leadership
position gives us a chance to make a difference in the society and be a gift to the world, after all we are all together stronger. (The writer is DRR of District 3090 and from RC Rajpura) Designed by N Krishnamurthy JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 27
Footwear for Children V Muthukumaran
W
hile a pair of sandals changed the fortunes for Cinderella, there are millions of children in India who walk bare foot, unmindful of the grime, hard earth and the dangerous garbage it is scattered with. While for all of us, footwear is a necessity that we even wear them inside our homes and stock several shades of them to match our clothes, it is a big luxury for the lesser privileged. The Rotaractors of District 3232 decided to address this glaring lacuna by providing quality footwear to poor, deprived children. Happy Feet, a yearlong project, was initiated by five Rotaract clubs from the district. It all began as a small project in 2016 with PMR Engineering College taking it up on a pilot basis with modest reach out programmes to deliver footwear in nearby villages. “From early 2017, our Community Service Team is coordinating the project with the host Rotaract Club of Saveetha Medical College, along with four other clubs, spreading out to slum colonies and shanties to present footwear to needy children,� says DRR C Dhanakodi.
Besides donating sandals, we speak to parents on adopting good hygiene and sanitation habits which are key for a healthy life.
The second edition of Happy Feet began in June, and the Rotaractors want to continue it throughout the year. “The scale of operation has expanded from this year as we cover not only urban slums, but also villages around our college. There are nearly 100 villages around Saveetha College and we target the anganwadi and balwadi centres where there are children below five years too,” explains Dr Prashant Rajendran, past president of the club. Before kicking off the project, the Rotaractors made a presentation to their parent club RC Guindy which pooled in the necessary funds. “Fifty Rotaractors have formed a team to visit slums and villages. Besides donating sandals, we speak to parents on adopting good hygiene and sanitation habits which are key for a healthy livelihood,” says Rajendran who is studying II-year PG in Community Medicine. On occasions like Children’s Day, the Rotaractors fan out to rural neighbourhoods and give motivational speeches for children and their parents. “So far, we have covered 1,000
children across the city including busy places like Parrys Corner, Central Railway Station and urban slums, besides government schools and villages near Thandalam, a suburb, where our college is situated,” he says. While Marilyn Munroe said, “Give a girl the right shoes and she'll conquer the world,” this is one small effort from the Rotaractors to help them in their path to success.
GRM fundraiser The district has plans to further expand the reach of Happy Feet project. All the five clubs would have delivered sandals to nearly 5,000 children by the end of this Rotary year, says Dhanakodi. In December, through a Group Rotaract Meet (GRM), the district plans to raise funds for the Happy Feet project. “We are expecting a turnout of 2,500 Rotaractors at the GRM and we have fixed a registration fee of `100 per head,” he says. Designed by N Krishnamurthy JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 29
earn money for women Jaishree
W ===
hen the Rotaractors of the Rotaract Club of BIT Mesra, D 3250, convened a meeting with the women of Pancholi and Rudiya villages in Jharkhand, little did the women realise the impact the meeting would have on their financial security.
Rotaractors teach women to make paper bags.
30 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
The Rotaractors introduced the skill of paper bag making to these women and also helped them market the eco-friendly bags. They collected old newspapers from various households and brought them to the villages, together with string, glue and the like
Old newspapers being distributed to the villagers.
Rotaractors try their hand in making a paper bag.
needed to make paper bags. “We struck a deal with the local grocers around the village to switch over from polythene bags to paper bags and even sensitised them on how plastics harm the environment. The shopkeepers were too happy to oblige,” says Prakhar Singh, the Club President. The Rotaractors visited the villages and taught the women to make these bags and shipped the finished product to the grocers. Each bag was pegged at 50 paise. “This month,
there was a demand for 2,000 bags from four shops and “we were able to earn `1,000.” Since it is the harvest season, not all women could devote time for the job. Five of them from four households participated and each of them earned `200. “This is the first month of our operation. Now, we will look to expand in both ways. We will ask more shops to take paper bags from us, and also ensure more households to participate in this project,” says Singh. JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 31
Giving Vapi’s children
a smile Kiran Zehra
H
arsha waits eagerly for Diwali. His father isn’t going to buy him new clothes or any gift; he cannot afford it. So why is Diwali so special to him? Because “woh aate hai. Chocolate, cake, khiloney, school ki cheezey aur patakey detey hai,
32 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
(They bring eatables, toys and things I can use at school),” he says. After a long pause he adds, “I take the crackers home and burst them along with my parents.” The “Woh (they)” Harsha, is referring to are the Rotaractors of Vapi Riverside and KBS
College. For the last three years these youngsters have been visiting eight schools on the outskirts of Vapi and distributing 650 education kits, along with food and crackers. “Some of the students here are so poor that they fill up their pockets with the food given to them and take it
home for their parents,” says Rekhaben, a teacher at Sintadav Government Primary School, Valvada. She adds that the children eagerly wait for the Rotaractors because they bring with them the things the students’ parents cannot dream of buying them in the whole year.”
I have no words to describe how the children embraced us upon arriving at the school. Rotaractor Sophiya
The kit includes a pencil box, eraser, sharpener, crayons, notebooks, cake, chocolates, crackers and a diya. “I have no words to describe how the children embraced us as soon as we arrived at the school,” says Sophiya, a Rotaractor from KBS College. She added, “this is my first year in Rotaract and I can’t wait to make more of such wonderful memories.” Deepak Tiwari, President of the Rotaract Club of Vapi Riverside, explains that during their annual event Arpan, they reach out to the affluent
families in Vapi. “Many of them come forward to donate new clothes and other basic necessities for the poor and needy. We talk to them and collect donations for the school children.” The Rotaractors also pool in their contribution and buy the kits. “We hope we can increase the number of kits next year. When we visited these schools for the first time the children had the most wonderful smile on their faces; that’s how the project got its name — One Child One Smile,” adds Tiwari. JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 33
t s r i h t g hin
c n e u Q e Jaishre
When we heard that the water crisis was the big reason for the farmer suicides — over 400 — in the State, we felt miserable. Filling water into a tanker.
W
hen the Marathwada region of Maharashtra was reeling under severe drought, with scanty rainfall, rivers and dams going dry, the villagers depended solely on water tankers for their water needs. The Rotaractors of the region rose to the occasion and did their bit to help the underprivileged villagers tide over the water crisis. “When we heard that the water crisis was the big reason for the farmer suicides — over 400 — in the State, we felt miserable. That was when we unanimously decided to reach out, in whatever way possible, to help the distressed villagers,” said Dhruv Gujrati,
34 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
former president of Rotaract Club of Aundh and incoming DRR of D 3131. The club teamed up with Tahan, an NGO in Maharashtra, and Rotaract Club of Latur Midtown, D 3132, to provide water to the villagers of Latur through water tankers. Each tanker cost `2,500 and “we raised `150,000, enough to send around 50 water tankers to the village. The joy the villagers felt at the sight of the water tankers made us realise that water, that we take for granted, is indeed a valuable elixir for them.” Additionally, the Rotaractors transported 6,000 barrels of water from Pune to Latur through a train
The joy the villagers felt at the sight of the water tankers made us realise that water, that we take for granted, is indeed a valuable elixir for them.
Above
and Be
low: R
otaracto
rs of R
AC Aun
dh prov
ide wa
ter in a
village.
plying between Mumbai and Latur. “The Railways did not charge us anything for that,” says Gujrati. The members are now ready with bio-filters and solar lamps. About six bio-filters, each costing `5,000, and 100 solar lamps will be set up in the nearby villages by January in the first phase. There are about 50 Rotaract clubs in Pune, and “together we raised `50,000 to fund the solar lamps. The look on the faces of the villagers after we install the biofilters or the solar lamps is something to be cherished and that gives us a real high,” says this final year engineering student, who was adjudged best president of D 3131 during his year. The Rotaractors are planning to conduct awareness programmes in the surrounding villages to educate people on effective water utilisation and rainwater harvesting, besides a tree plantation drive, both for water conservation and as an ecological initiative. JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 35
%XOVDU 5RWDUDFWRUV WXUQ DQJHOV IRU D FDXVH V Muthukumaran
T
he Rotaractors of RAC Bulsar Community Round Town, D 3060, left the premises of the National Association of Blind (NAB) in Valsad with a great sense of satisfaction after seeing the smiling faces of visually-impaired children, who they had showered with Braille stationery and books. The money for the project was raised through a pasti collection drive. “We collected all forms of waste — old newspapers, scrap, unusable gadgets, and so on from our neighbours and raised money from that,” says Club President Nirav Parmar. Nearly 150 students of the NAB benefitted from the club’s initiative. “They got their educational needs and we experienced the joy of giving. Every Rotaractor felt like he has done something from within for the betterment of these people,” he adds. The NAB Secretary narrated to the Rotaractors the multi-fold achievements of the students who, despite being visuallyimpaired, have created a niche for themselves in cricket, music and other activities. On another occasion, the Rotaractors organised an organ donation awareness programme. Donate Life President Nilesh Mandlewala spoke on the whole procedure, myths and facts with an inspiring video presentation. “People lack knowledge on organ donation. We took a pledge to bring awareness to more people and being Rotaractors, to serve humanity in one more way,” says Parmar. To sensitise people on keeping the water bodies clean, they organised a swimming event in the Auranga river which was flagged off by veteran
38 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
swimmer Bakulaben Patel. Sailing in a boat, alongside the swimmers, the Rotaractors were shocked to see the amount of non-biodegradeable wastes floating in the river. The Rotaractors also promoted literacy through a drawing contest which saw the participation of around 140 students. A chess tournament, organised in association with RC Bulsar, had a participation of 150 contestants from places such as Mumbai, Silvasa, Mehsana, Surat, Valsad and Navsari. “We derive so much happiness and confidence being in the Rotaract movement, which has taught us to look around us with compassion,” adds Parmar. JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 39
Rotaract
the magic that transforms the world Pradip Dutta
L
et’s say, you are travelling in a car, and you see green blobs outside your window, and you have no idea what they are, but every time you travel, you see those green blobs. You intend to visit a doctor, and the doctor gives you a pair of spectacles. So, now you realise that the green blobs were nothing but the beautiful green leaves. Rotaract is like wearing a pair of spectacles. It compels one to look at the world in a way you’ve never seen before. I joined Rotaract while pursuing my MBA and it’s been around six years of my association with this beautiful movement. Many a times, I’ve been subjected to this question, as to how I manage my job, my family, and Rotaract at a go. Trust me, I never had to ‘manage’ Rotaract, it was there, constant. Instead I had to manage my job. Rotaract became a family, a second home, eventually. Each time I look back, I cherish the memories made, friends gained and definitely some great stories to narrate. To be very honest, being a DRR never changed the perspective I joined this movement with. I never tried to do what ‘a DRR does’, rather I wanted to do something which will tend to add value to my district and the Rotaractors around the city. I would love to enlighten people about this one project, Rotaract Roshni, which is extremely close to my heart. Kumirmari is an island in the Sunderbans. A remote village with pathetic communication with the outside world. The government couldn’t succeed much in providing electricity to them. And then, Rotaract heard them and pondered upon their distress. Our ‘engineers in the making’ members then went to Kumirmari and sorted out the problem. Through Rotaract Roshni, till now, among 2,000 homes, 314 homes have been brightened up by installing solar panels. We plan to complete the project by 2018. Surprisingly we never visited Kumirmari with the aim to set up solar lamps. The problem of electricity was something we came across by chance. And I am sure, those who were present
I never had to ‘manage' Rotaract, it was there, constant. Instead I had to manage my job.
40 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
The happiness and joy that we saw in the faces of the villagers after installing the solar panels at their respective houses was much brighter than the solar lamps we installed.
there during this project at Kumirmari will also agree with me that the happiness and joy that we saw in the faces of the villagers after installing the solar panels at their respective houses was much brighter than the solar lamps we installed. Projects like Rotaract Roshni make our lives worth living, it surely give us reasons to continue with the kind of work we do at Rotaract. We are looking at another 100 solar lamps to be installed by the end of this Rotaract year. Through Rotaract, we inspire our generation where we tend to give back something to the society we live in and try to make a difference among the people around us. At Rotaract, we transcend ourselves in a number of ways by doing a lot of projects to make the world a better place to live in. While the entire Rotary fraternity is trying to ‘make a difference’ in the world, we Rotaractors try to ‘be the difference’ we require. At Rotaract, we analyse the community’s immediate requirements, such as education, sanitation, electricity, and work together to deliberate. At Rotaract, we constantly better ourselves to better the society, where there is ‘service above self’, where help is provided to all those who are in need, and transcend ourselves at every level. And I believe that we do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already and Rotaract is a platform where we can make that magic happen. (The writer is DRR of D 3291) JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 41
Fighting hunger & illiteracy V Muthukumaran
E
Every individual can do their bit to eradicate hunger in the society and with this objective in mind, Rotaract Club of Miyapur, D 3150, took up ‘Project Lunch Box’ to distribute freshly prepared food for underprivileged children, destitute and beggars in and around Hyderabad. The Rotaractors have distributed over 350 lunch boxes since July when it was started and the club has drawn up plans to expand the project by roping in all 88 Rotaract clubs of the district.
Schoolchildren with a Rotaract trainer.
44 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
We also visit temples, government hospitals and destitute homes to deliver food.
At present, 50 Rotaractors are involved in Project Lunch Box. Their families prepare and pack food for extra persons in the morning. “Our teams branch out to diverse areas including busy junctions, thoroughfares where one can easily spot the poor begging for alms. We also visit temples, government hospitals and destitute homes to deliver food,” says DRR Sneha Naraparaju. While the lead club has only 26 Rotaractors, “members from other clubs too pitch in and join our team on weekends.” At present six clubs are jointly implementing the project. Share Care Smile Initiated in 2016 by RAC Hyderabad Himayathnagar, the club members visit private and international schools and talk with the students on the importance of sharing notebooks and stationery with the less privileged children in orphanages and government schools. Each student is encouraged to donate a notebook, storybook or previous year’s book, along with stationery items. Rotaractors collect the study materials and distribute to the needy students at their schools. “The project is a big hit with various Rotaract clubs worldwide,” says Sneha. Seventy Rotaract clubs from 25 districts in six countries have reached out to nearly 5,000
beneficiaries in orphanages and government schools. A toy library was constructed by a club in Brazil for students. More than 260 Rotaractors took part to make this project a grand symbol of Share Care Smile. “In our district alone, 150 Rotaractors from 15 clubs are taking part in the project,” says B Shreyas Gupta, President, RAC Hyderabad Himayathnagar. Life skill training This year the district has launched ‘Skillio’, a life-skill training programme for schoolchildren in grades 6 to 10. It is a four-year activity-based programme where they are groomed in personality development, communication and public speaking skills by certified trainers. Twenty-five Rotaractors have been specially trained by Life Skills, a facility headed by Rtn KS Sharma of RC Hyderabad, to impart lessons in skillsets. Sessions include team building, vocabulary development, brain storming among 1,500 copyrighted activities. At the end of the fourth year, children undergo a psychometric test that will help them choose an apt career. “We’ve undertaken the programme in two schools and about 500 children are getting trained. We’re adding two more schools in January,” says an excited Sneha.
JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 45
Club D 3060
RAC Vapi Riverside Nearly 650 participants expressed their thoughts on gender equality and women’s empowerment at an event called ‘Colourful Thoughts’organised by the club, in association with RAC KBS College. The doctors from Vapi Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society delievered a lecture and joined hands with Rotaractors to present a musical drama.
D 3060
RAC Bulsar Community Round Town A beach football tournament was organised for 36 teams with Rotaractors from Gujarat and Maharashtra taking part in large numbers. While the winning teams got a cash prize of `10,000 with a trophy, the runners-up won `5,000 in cash and a trophy.
D 3090 Rotaractors from several clubs distributed stationery to students to promote literacy. The Rotaract Clubs of Sunam, Sunam Royal, Mansa City Royal, Mansa Greater, Bathinda, Nabha Greater, Bhiwani, Barwala, Moga and Rajpura took part in this Share Care Smile Project.
46 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
Matters D 3090
RAC Thapar University Sanitary napkins were distributed to 200 girls and women residing in the slums in Patiala. The recipients were briefed on mentrual hygine and the proper way to dispose napkins.
D 3090 Rotaractors of the district hosted the Rotaract Premier League, a three-day cricket tournament, in Chandigarh to celebrate the golden jubilee of Rotaract. Districts 3011, 3070 and 3080 also participated. DG Bagh Singh Pannu inaugurated the programme.
D 3181
RAC Moodbidri A fancy dress competition was organised by the Rotaractors to celebrate Janmashtami. Around 150 little ‘Krishnas’ provided a treat to the eyes at the event. The club also created a Rotaract Park at the entrance to the town to promote the public image of Rotary.
JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 47
Club D 3181
RAC Mangaluru City The 19th edition of Orphanage Olympics was held, in association with RC Mangaluru Central, at the Ramakrishna College with the participation of 600 inmates from 10 destitute homes. It was a day-long fun fair mixed with sports and cultural activities.
D 3232
RAC Chennai Zenith Diwali-eve was lit up for the children of a Chennai orphanage when Rotaractors organised a celebration of the festival by bursting crackers with the children and distributing new clothes and sweets to them.
D 3232
RAC Chennai Towers A medical camp, hosted by RC Chennai Towers, along with RAC Vivekananda College, carried out screening for over 550 people for various ailments, and prescribed further treatment.
48 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
Matters
Compiled by V Muthukumaran
Designed by Krishnapratheesh S
D 3240
RAC Malda Central A rally was held for special children to mark the World Disabled Day, which also saw a mix of cultural events and toys distribution. Around 70 people were screened at a mental health camp inaugurated by DG Sunil Saraf and DGE Dr Sayantan Gupta.
D 3250
RAC Ranchi City A Dandiya Nite was organised during Navaratri, along with other social organisations, at the celebration hall in Ranchi. Nearly 2,000 people took part in the celebrations in which two celebrities Hayder Ali Khan and Kavya Kiran were the VIPs.
D 3250
RAC Mrs KMPM Vocational College These Rotaractors visited four villages near Ranchi with a mission to educate adolescent girls and women on sanitation and menstrual hygiene. The girls/women were given tips on personal hygiene, use of sanitary napkins and their safe disposal. Sanitary pads were distributed on the occasion. JANUARY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 49
A different kind of
Abhishekam Kiran Zehra
S
ome call abhishekam an act of purification of one’s soul, while some say that pouring milk on a Shiv Ling cools the hot-tempered deity. But for the Rotaractors of RAC Bhavnagar Royal, D 3060, providing underprivileged and malnourished children a glass of milk, “does the same thing. I guess you can cleanse your soul and make Shiva happy this way too,” says the Club Secretary Rushit Patanwadiya. Traditionally Hindus fast every Monday for Lord Shiva and conduct abhishekam in temple. “We decided to convince people to do the ritual with a spoon and dedicate the rest of the milk to feed a hungry child.” Club members went around the city collecting milk, which was then processed for drinking and distribution in slum areas. Every Monday since July 2017, the club collects 80–150 litres of milk from various Shiva temples in Bhavnagar. The RAC Bhavnagar’s milk van has become very famous, says the Secretary. “When we enter the basti, children run along with the van shouting ‘Dhood ki gadi aagayi.’(The milk van has come.) A few mothers bring vessels to take some milk home too. This is as satisfying as performing an abhishekam.” The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Ramniklal Rupani, has also appreciated this project.
50 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2018
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