Vol.1, Issue 3
@Rotaract_India
@RotaractNewsIndia
July
2018 (Quarterly)
Adding colour to their lives.
Inside 20 A club with a Healing Touch 27 Project 50 smiles feeds 2500 people 44 Doing good in Matunga
50 birthday bash in Rotaract’s 10 Abirth city Charlotte th
8
Baking cakes for a cause
Human Eye to promote 38 Largest organ donation
16
Barry Rassin meets Rotaractors in Mumbai
On the cover: Rotaractors of RAC Bombay Bayview, D 3141, celebrating Holi with children of Navjeevan, an NGO.
Rotaractors host a special 46 Delhi edition of Model UN JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 3
Rotaract News 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 3rd 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
A proud moment for Indian Rotaractors
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t is always exciting to go back to your roots and as the 256,000-odd Rotaractors across the world celebrate their 50th birthday, did you know that the first-ever Rotaract club was set up 50 years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States? And as greening the planet becomes a serious concern of Rotary International, that the first Rotaract project was to plant a tree? Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth programme in 1968 at the Charlotte North Rotary Club in Charlotte, RI District 7680, US. Over 50 years it has now blossomed into a powerful organisation with 11,153 Rotaract clubs and over 256,000 Rotaractors. Recently the founding club of Rotaract — RC Charlotte North — decided to host a grand 50th birthday bash for Rotaractors, and the chief guest was none less than RI President Barry Rassin. The new RI President’s constant advice to Rotarians has been to pay more attention to Rotaractors, mentor them, be more inclusive, and above all, concentrate on converting them into Rotarians. Rassin has made it clear that a focus area during his year as President will be much deeper engagement with
Rotaractors. He has described how in his own home club, Rotary Club of East Nassau, Bahamas, Rotaractors attend club meetings, not as guests, but sign in just as members do. There were many fun events at the birthday bash which included a picnic on the lush green lawns at a scenic spot, painting “caring canvases” depicting a forest filled with trees for kids in a local hospital who couldn’t receive colourful gifts such as balloons, flowers, etc due to medical restrictions. But what did not escape the attention of the assembled Rotaractors, and Rotarians as well, was that President Rassin spent a lot of time at this event, addressing them, answering their questions and listening to the Rotaractors, who were energetic, brimming with new ideas and shared their concerns with Rassin. District Governor Scott Van der Linden, who gave me highlights of the Charlotte event reported in this issue, later told Rotaract News that “though the first Rotaract club was chartered in Charlotte 50 years ago, we have not been as active with our Rotaract clubs as you have been in India. I know this because the current President of the Rotaract Club of UNC Charlotte was in a big Rotaract club in India, and speaks highly of the Rotaract culture in your country.” If the current governor of a district where Rotaract was born, all the way across in the US, is taking note of your energy, enthusiasm and achievements, which include the meaningful projects you do in the communities you live in, you are surely on the right path. By your serious involvement in lessening the pain and suffering of the less advantaged in your communities, and giving them a ray of hope, you are sending out a strong signal that not all youngsters are self-centred and have time to think only about themselves — their own education, careers, entertainment, holidays — but are ready to utilise their time and energy, and even money, to help others. Surely, India has reason to be proud of you. Now the challenge before you is to motive more Indian youth to emulate you.
Rasheeda Bhagat JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 5
Message from the
RI Director
Inspiring your team Dear Rotaractors, First July is the beginning of Rotaract and Rotary year. Soon after taking over as the President of the Rotaract club, one of the most difficult transitions for leaders is to shift from doing to leading. As new leaders, you can get away with holding on to service. People around you and your community may even admire your “rolling up your sleeves attitude” to serve the community around. It’s essential to stay involved, but the degree matters. You should maintain engagement levels good enough for you to deliver the necessary support and accountability for all programmes during the year. As a leader, you can inspire your fellow Rotaractors to care when you can express the reasons why it matters to you, so this essential step sets the table for effective partnering. Otherwise, people draw their own conclusions about what you’re asking them to do and why. The risk of turning your team against you is highest during the first conversation, so make sure you articulate your reasons from day one. Members get excited about what’s possible, but they commit only when they understand their role in making it happen. Once you’ve defined the role, clarified the scope of their contribution and ensured that it meets their capability, carefully
communicate the expectations for complete understanding. This is crucial when you have a precise outcome or plan in mind. Many Rotary clubs provide great support to community- or institution-based Rotaract clubs and their activities. I have taken part in many projects of the Rotary clubs and Rotaract clubs, found Rotaractors and Rotarians jointly perform several Rotaract and Rotary programmes and events. Rotarians encourage their efforts, greatly assisting their community and international projects. I see every Rotaractor as an upcoming young leader and future Rotarian. I wish Rotaract clubs collaborate with their parent Rotary clubs and provide professional development opportunities through activities that suit the present-day world. Technology plays a vital role in our career and lives. It is advisable to plan and organise special professional and vocational forums, business-related technology updates, business and professional ethics conferences to promote the career of the youth. Such activities will attract the attention of the youth to participate in our programmes and promote the growth of Rotaract movement. Be the Inspiration — and together, we can and we will inspire the world.
C Basker Director, Rotary International 6 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
Rotaract Europe
promises a Viking treat Kim Hall
Emmy Hall
Rotaractors of Sweden and Denmark welcome all Rotaractors in Europe and other parts of the world to the biggest event ever in the land of the Vikings.
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hree times every year Rotaractors from all over Europe meet to learn, exchange experiences and explore a new country. In 1998, the very first Rotaract European Meeting was hosted in Stockholm, Sweden. Since then no Nordic country has
hosted an REM. Now for the first time in 20 years, the Vikings are welcoming Rotaractors from Europe and other parts of the world, inviting them to visit the Oresund Region in Sweden and Denmark. This event has become a cross-country event and project engaging Rotaractors in both Sweden and Denmark who are involved in the organisation and conduct of this meet.
To be hosted in Malmö, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark between Jan 17–20, 2019, this event promises to provide a true Viking experience, where its participants will learn about the history of the Vikings. Dinner, workshops, seminars, guided tours, beer tastings, are a few the activities planned. For those who want to explore
more of Sweden and Denmark there will be a Pre-event hosted in Copenhagen and a Post-event hosted in Stockholm for a limited number of Rotaractors. Tickets to REM Oresund will be released in September 2018. To find out more check out remoresund. com or follow our official facebook page The Game of Winter Rem. JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 7
Baking cakes I for a cause Jaishree
8 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
t was so much fun to be with the little children at Navjeevan. The excitement and joy on their faces can never replace anything that we do otherwise, says Rashida Jasdanwala, President of RAC Bombay Bayview. She is talking about her team’s visit to the NGO that takes care of the children of commercial sex workers in Mumbai. The Rotaractors visit the home frequently and engage the children in some fun and learning. “You should hear them scream and shout to welcome us every time we go there. You too will get addicted to them,” she smiles. This time it was Holi and the club members taught the children the art of hand-painting. They had bought new w T-shirts in white for the children and d lots of fabric paints. They made the children do their own designs on their T-shirts and taught them what Holi was all about and the significance of each colour. “More importantly, it was a learning experience for us — the childhood innocence, the happiness in little things and the value of life — these are our takeaways from each of our visit,” adds Rashida. The club also sponsors the training for a football team, called Worli Wolves, consisting of 12 teenagers. It takes care of their coaching, basic literacy and nutritious food. “It cost us `1,50,000 and we plan to repeat this the next year too.” Rashida is happy that these children won a match in an event organised by their parent club, RC Bombay Bayview and her team is planning a day out for the children to celebrate their victory. It will be a perfect opportunity for bonding with them, she says. The club has some enterprising fundraisers to sponsor their service projects. The Annual Bake Sale cashed in around `50,000 and it helped in providing training in nursing and beautician course for the women of Alibag. The sale was for two days and “our cookies, cupcakes and pastries sold like hot cakes not because it was for a charity but people really loved the taste. We got more orders too.”
Likewise, the Treasure Hunt helped to raise funds to sponsor fitness classes for children housed in Asha Sadan, an orphanage in Mumbai. They are orphans or children rescued from begging or of convict parents. “So we cheer them up with Zumba and other physical activities with the help of trainers,” says Rashida. Apart from such community activities, the Rotaractors enrich themselves with sessions on personality development, career opportunities and other educational lectures from various resource persons. An interactive talk was given by Karishma Mehta who runs a hugely popular Facebook page on Humans of Bombay. It showcases the spirit of Mumbaikars as Karishma engages in a conversation with them, capturing their success and failures, hopes and heartbreaks. “The session enlightened us to the fact as to how fortunate we are as compared to our contemporaries on the other side of the fortune scale. All our ventures help us in our personal growth one way or the other and transform us as better and more empathetic human beings,” concludes the president. Designed by N Krishnamurthy JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 9
RIPE Barry Rassin, Esther, RI Director David Stovall, DG Scot Van der Linden and other Rotarians and Rotaractors at the Rotaract anniversary celebrations.
RI President Barry Rassin and spouse Esther with Rotaractors.
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id you know that the first-ever Rotaract project was the planting of a tree? “To honour our history, we’ve decided to paint a forest of trees for kids in the hospital who can’t receive balloons, flowers, or other cheery items due to medical restrictions. Caring Canvases proves a fun, inspiring way to brighten their days! Join us on Saturday morning as we gather to paint fun sayings and images on canvas. Locals will later deliver these canvases to the kids.” This was one of the fun activities that marked the 50 th birthday of the Rotaract movement in the city where the first Rotaract club was set up 50 years ago — Charlotte, North Carolina, US. The three-day birthday bash had incoming RI President Barry Rassin, one of whose focus areas during his presidential year will be a deeper engagement with Rotaractors and an all-out effort by Rotary clubs across the world to strive for a maximum conversion of Rotaractors into Rotarians. Another highlight of the birthday party was a picnic on the lawns at a scenic spot in the city. Said the programme booklet: “Grab a blanket, some food and may be a Frisbee or two and hit the grass with your new found friends.” 12 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
It is interesting to note that Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth programme in 1968 at the Charlotte North Rotary Club in Charlotte, RI District 7680. Over 50 years it has now blossomed into a powerful organisation with 11,153 Rotaract clubs all over the world having over 256,000 Rotaractors.
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otaract focuses on the development of young adults as leaders in their communities and workplaces. While in India the membership is mainly concentrated in the student community, in the developed world Rotaractors form some of the most promising and powerful young professionals in their cities. While RI is these days focussing in telling the world that Rotarians are “people of action” and this branding strategy has taken firm root at the RI headquarters in Evanston, did you know that the word ‘Rotaract’ stands for ‘Rotary in Action’? RIPE Barry Rassin has been very clear in every interaction he has had with Rotarians that if Rotary’s membership has been stagnant at 1.2 million over long years, one of the reasons is
While RI is these days focussing in telling the world that Rotarians are “people of action” did you know that the word ‘Rotaract’ stands for ‘Rotary in Action’?
the failure of Rotarians to ensure that Rotaractors make the transition into Rotary once they pass the threshold age of 30. He spent a lot of time at the Charlotte conference and addressing the assembled Rotarians told them that Rotary considers them as an important arm of the organisation and gave examples of how his own club — RC East Nassau — makes it a point to invite Rotaractors for their club meetings where they are not guests, but sign in their attendance just as members do. Also, as the younger people anywhere are more adept at technology and social media, Rotarians could benefit a lot by learning these tricks of the trade from Rotaractors. Rassin spent much time listening to the Rotaractors and the concerns they raised and they in turn listened intently during his presentation, where he gave his outlook and vision to inspire Rotaractors to better utilise their passion and energy to do good in the world.
(From R) RI President Barry Rassin, RI Directors David Stovall and Ron Ferrill and D 7680 DG Scott Van der Linden.
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here was also a question-answer session where an “RI Board of Directors” comprising Rassin, RI Director Elect David Stovall and RI Director Ron Ferrill answered questions from Rotaractors. Addressing the youngsters, District Governor Scott Van der Linden spoke about the future goals for
Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth programme in 1968 at the Charlotte North Rotary Club in Charlotte, RI District 7680.
Rotaract and the need for Rotary clubs to be more inviting to Rotaractors. Later, he told Rotaract News that “though the first Rotaract club was chartered here in Charlotte 50 years ago, we have not been as active with our Rotaract clubs as you have been in India. I know this because the current President of the Rotaract Club of UNC Charlotte was in a big Rotaract club in India, and speaks highly of the Rotaract culture in your country.” There were interesting discussions in various sessions on marketing, social media and membership strategies, the huge advantage that can be garnered by forging strong partnerships and how to create sustainable service projects. But above all, great stress was laid during the whole conference on devising new and innovative strategies to help Rotaractors and Interactors make a smooth transition into Rotary. Designed by Krishnapratheesh S JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 13
Unearthing
talent Jaishree
C
ome mid-April, the stage is set for ‘Rainbow’ — a cultural show organised by the Rotaractors of District 3291 for differently-abled and underprivileged children of Kolkata. The district has been hosting the show since 2007 and with every year the number of participants and the talent unearthed have been on the rise. “The programme has been close to all our hearts for so many years and we look forward to organising it every year. It aims at including these children in the cultural space that is largely denied to them due to their peculiarities or economical status,” says DRR Pradip Dutta. Rainbow is a district project and all Rotaract clubs of the district pitch in with their efforts to bring children onto the grand stage on a particular day. Children from schools and other rehabilitation centres participate in the event. This year 37 children from various organisations across Kolkata showcased their talent in music, dance and skit. The participants were provided lunch and refreshments on this day. “The beauty of the programme is that we do not judge any child. Every child is gifted; every child is special. So we gift every participant a memento and certificate,” says Dutta. The district funds for the programme and few clubs also pitch in with their contributions. A ten-member committee takes care of the logistics for the show. Programme Chair Oindrik
1144 ROT ROTARACT OT O TARA ARACT ARACT T NEW NEWS N NE WS JULY WS JULY JUL ULLY 2018 U 2018 01
Music and arts see no religion, language or social status and reach out to the senses and the soul without discrimination.
Chatterjee and Co-chair Soumik Nath were responsible for this year’s version of Rainbow held at the Rotary Sadan. Music and arts see no religion, language or social status and reach out to the senses and the soul without discrimination. This is the foundational premise of Rainbow. The idea is to bind all children — differently-abled or economically deprived — into an inclusive society and give them the joy of experiencing the beauty and harmony of creative arts, besides promoting healing and therapeutic effects in children with special needs, explains Dutta. Highlighting the classical dance performance of Anurag Bhowmick, a child with Down’s Syndrome, and a visually-challenged Shiny Tarik, the DRR reiterates how amazing it is to see children rise above their challenges, given the right platform and “a little bit of encouragement and love.” Designed by N Krishnamurthy JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 15
Barry Rassin meets Rotaractors in Mumbai Jaishree
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ecently in Mumbai, the DRRs had an exclusive meeting with RI President Elect Barry Rassin on the side-lines of the District Rotaract Zone Institute. “Rotaract is the secret weapon in Rotary which we have ignored for so long. You’re not workers; you’re leaders. You’re the future of Rotary,” said Rassin, acknowledging the valuable role played by Rotaractors. With a call to the Rotaractors to become Rotarians in due course, he listed out the expectations of Rotaractors from Rotary: “I know that basically you don’t want to go to a lot of meetings; you want to be efficient when you go to a meeting; you want to do service, you don’t want it to be expensive, and you want to enhance your leadership skills.” While joining Rotary, he advised the Rotaractors to “look for a Rotary club that satisfies your needs. If you
Look for a Rotary club that satisfies your needs. If you don’t find one that engages you, start your own Rotary club.
16 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
don’t find one that engages you, start your own Rotary club. Do it the way you want to do it with your friends so that you don’t lose the passion for Rotary. Our rules are very flexible
today; so it can happen the way you want it to happen.” Rassin appealed to the DRRs and the Secretaries to update the Rotaract data with RI. “I understand from RI
that we have over 10,000 clubs, but less than 40 per cent have confirmed their existence. We must know the exact data so that we’ll know what you are doing and how we can help you.” Currently, Rotaract data is being updated at Evanston with help from Rotaract club presidents. The long-term goal is to ensure that Rotaractors enjoy the same rights and privileges as Rotarians. A big applause greeted his announcement when he said that eventually he’d like to see Rotaractors have the same access to global grants, as Rotary clubs. He also hinted about a new programme being designed for Rotaract in association with the
I love your youth. Your energy and optimism are fantastic. I want to spread that to Rotary.
Toastmasters International. The content will have more of public speaking and leadership skill development and will be launched in July. To a question on what he liked about Rotaractors and what he expected out of them, Rassin quickly replied: “Well, I love your youth. Your energy and optimism are fantastic. I want to spread that to Rotary. What I want from you is to take the lead and go to a Rotary club and say, ‘we want you to be involved with us and we want to involve with you’. Be proactive; don’t wait for Rotary to come to you.” Sharing his views with the Rotaract leaders at this impromptu meet,
RIPE Barry Rassin, RID C Basker, D 3141 DG Prafull Sharma, RI Rotaract-Interact Committee member Karthik Kittu, Rotarians Rajat Menon and Preeti Shah with the DRRs. JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 17
RI Director C Basker called for a better coordination between Rotarians and Rotaractors. “The connect between Rotary and Rotaract is vital for both partners to work in tandem. Don’t think that you are young and hence insignificant. Together you are a force. You can make a difference,” he said. Rotaract Zone Institute 2018 The Rotaract Zone Institute was a four-day training session specially designed for the Incoming Rotaract District Representatives and Secretaries from 31 districts. It was held under the
The long-term goal is to ensure that Rotaractors enjoy the same rights and privileges as Rotarians.
18 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
Chairmanship of PDRR Harikrishnan Pillai. Over 200 Rotaractors and 50 Rotarians attended the opening ceremony for which the Chief Guest was DG Prafull Sharma and the Guest of Honour DGN Harjit Singh. RI Director Elect Bharat Pandya was the RI President’s Representative. PDG T N Subramanian introduced the delegates to the Rotaract bye-laws and guidelines, through his session titled Leading by the book. Other speakers included Ashish Vidyarthi who spoke on Service across age groups and Prof Uday Salunkhe who reiterated the importance of skilling to stay relevant to today’s jetset age. A panel discussion on health and wellness was made interesting by Paediatric Surgeon Dr Suresh Rao, Mukesh Batra, the CMD of Batra Positive Health Clinic, Abhishek Sharma, the CMO of GOQII and football player Mayuri Morey. Senior journalist Bhawana Somaaya and Aditya Singh, Founder of The Athena School of Management, spoke on leadership skills. While the iconic Dabbawalas of Mumbai enthused the audience with a talk on their efficient food delivery service, PDRRs Harikrishnan Pillai and Ravikiran Apte spoke on team building.
The connect between Rotary and Rotaract is vital for both partners to work in tandem. Don’t think that you are young and hence insignificant. Together you are a force. You can make a difference.
RI Director C Basker
The district secretaries had an orientation session on process adherence and leading the leader by PDRRs Manish Solanki and Ravikiran Apte. DGE Shashikumar Sharma presided over the closing ceremony. D 3141 DRR Om Chawla thanked the host governor, Prafull Sharma, Youth Service Chair Rtn Manish Motwani and the Rotary clubs for extending their support in celebrating the golden jubilee of Rotaract.
Kolkata celebrates 50 years of Rotaract Team Rotary News
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galaxy of DRRs had an eventful day at a special event called #Rotaract 50 organised by D 3291
in Kolkata to mark the golden jubilee year of the Rotaract movement. The event, a brainchild of DRR Pradip Dutta, saw free exchange of ideas and fruitful interactions
between PDRRs, District Council members, club presidents and senior Rotaractors in a friendly ambience. PDRR Somnath Nag, the very first DRR of
PDRR Somnath Nag felicitates DRR Pradip Dutta at the golden jubilee meet.
the district, was there to share his experience with the future Rotarians. The event served as a platform to celebrate lineage, tradition, growth and the spirit of Rotaract movement. An ensemble of 28 DRRs on stage, all united to become torchbearers of ‘service through fellowship’, was a sight to behold. They gave insightful talks on their journey so far, their hardships, and achievements through a process of learning, all of which turned out to be an inspiring-cum-educative session for the Rotaractors of D 3291. JULY 2018
ROTARACT NEWS 19
A club with a Healing Touch Jaishree
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otaract Club of Caduceus has a unique composition of Rotaractors — all 42 of its members are medical professionals. Drawn from 19 medical colleges from across seven cities including Delhi and Nashik, the club was chartered 20 years ago by Rotary Club C Cl ub of Bombay Central, Centrall, 3141. D 31 3141 411. A representative ve college from eeach achh coll ac llege servess a the as the link lin ink between betw be t ee tw eenn the the club andd ttheir heir he i rrespective espe es pective ccollege. co llegge.
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The club is therefore aptly named after the Caduceus, the symbol of medicine. It refers to the staff of Hormes, the messenger of gods in Greek mythology and is represented as a winged staff with two snakes entwined around it. The ‘Caduceans’ as the club members call themselves aim to “use use our medical and clinical knowledge to comfort, treat and refer appropriate course cour co urse se of of actionn for for those wh who ho are arre inn need,” nee eed, d,”
in the words of Vidhi Dave, the President of the Club. Needless to say, the club focusses on healthcare projects conducting medical camps in various specialties especially in rural and semi-urban areas where access to medical care and awareness is limited. “We We recently won the th outstanding project award at the Rotaract Zone Institute for conducting an exhaustive health check-up camp
in the villages of Chattisgarh,” says Vidhi relating the lead up to their working on the project. Sarguja district in Chattisgarh is dotted with coal and bauxite mining industries and most of the villagers there are miners. The nature of work exposes them to occupational health hazards. The club, in associassoociation with the Sarguja ja Science group, conducted a survey to identify the various va ari riou o s health issues the vill llagers faced and treated villagers
them for lungs, eyes and oral diseases. “Organising ourselves into groups we also visited the surrounding villages to sensitise people on sanitation, menstrual hygiene, antenatal care, nutrition, waste disposal and use of contraceptives. We even struck partnerships with Shreh Foundation and Mitti ke Rang — two organisations who have agreed to sponsor waste segregation and sanitary systems in the villages,” she says.
The Caduceans aim to use their medical knowledge to comfort, treat and refer appropriate course of action for those who are in need.
Rotaractors cheer up a child in a hospital under their Mitra project.
The Rotaractors also promoted enrolments in schools by stressing on the importance of educa ation education among the villag agers and villagers helped in revamp mping some revamping of the local sschools. choools. They ch planted sapl plings of native saplings trees in the he quarries which
will help in improving air quality in the long run. Other projects Meducation Medu duca cation is one of the club’s cl lub ub’s ’ flagship projects where medical specialwh iists sts are invited to deliver deliveer lecture on various topics top opic icss
At the Kairagad hills in Lonavala.
which help to enhance the knowledge on the subject for the club members. “It is open to the public too. In fact, it is a major fundraiser which fetches us at least Rs 1 lakh by the end of the year,” says Vidhi. Through Vision 6/6, the Rotaractors provide eye care and treatment for the needy. They help in performing cataract surgeries for those who can’t afford it and conduct regular eye camps in schools and colleges and provide Vitamin A supplements and spectacles for children hailing from poor families. The Breakfast Revolution aims at providing nutritious breakfast to children in anganwadis while their Wings programme promotes menstrual hygiene and proper use of sanitary pads and their safe disposal amongst adolescent girls, besides working on removing stigma attached to menstruation in rural areas. Project Semicolon JULY 2018 ROTARACT NEWS 21
Rotaractors interact with the senior citizens at an old age home.
is an international campaign that reaches out to mentally ill and depressed people, helping them to rebuild their lives instead of resorting to suicide. “We are working extensively for the cause and Caduceans
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everywhere make it a point to address the public to not take depression of any form lightly. The psychologists in our team urge people to give a patient ear to their loved ones and not ignore any sort of abnormal
behaviour. Often people resort to extreme steps only when they feel neglected and are unable to vent out their thoughts and feelings,” says Vidhi. Through their Antilitter campaigns teams of Caduceans go trekking up the hills and, on their way back, collect garbage and plastics littered along the way and dump them in the government disposal sites after reaching the base. They have recently installed eco-friendly jute bags as dustbins in few areas. “It is a fun way of bonding, team work and service,” says Vidhi. Other trekking groups are also invited to collaborate and are rewarded for the good work in different areas. Project Prophylaxis trains the general public to administer first aid and intervention at the initial level for any untoward incident such as a heart attack, stroke, burns or common conditions such as dehydration, treating
Rotaractors go trekking up the hills and, on their way back, collect garbage and plastics littered along the way.
acne etc. “We have an active social media group through which we share useful first aid tips so that it reaches as many people as possible.” Other community projects include regular visits to orphanages and old age homes and cheering the children and elders there with gifts and conducting regular geriatric camps. “We really take our medical oath and ceremonial Rotaract oath seriously and go that extra mile to serve humanity in every possible way,” smiles Vidhi as she prepares to leave for the club meeting.
Rotaractors hit bull’s eye on road safety Team Rotary News
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nsuring road safety through education and creating awareness among motorists has been an ongoing project of the Rotaract Club of Anna University, Tiruchirappalli, D 3000, to prevent accidents on the National Highways near their college campus. “All vehicle users must be taught basic principles on road safety to prevent accidents. In this regard, we have undertaken a drive to paste Bullseye stickers in a major way,” said Club President V Kethareswaran. The programme, organised earlier in February 2015, was selected as one of the best community projects by RSAMDIO. “The single-point aim in pasting Bullseye stickers on headlights of vehicles is to reduce light refraction during the night, as this is a major cause of accidents in the dark,” said Dr Mani
Prahaspathy, Faculty Advisor to the club. Around 25 Rotaractors from Anna University took part in the exercise, pasting the stickers on over 20,000 vehicles across the
city. The event was flagged off by the Rotarians of RC Trichy Fort Club along with a senior IPS officer at the Lechchumanapatti (NH-210) toll plaza. Pamphlets on road rules were also distributed.
Rotaract treat for food, poetry lovers
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ew eateries and food joints were given an opportunity to showcase their cuisines at Food Crawl 2018, a fundraiser event for the RAC Smart City Navi Mumbai, D 3142, at Nerul Gymkhana. Rotaractors took to social media to publicise the event. There were over 300 participants at the food fest, 40 of whom were Rotaractors from the home club. The club raised `1.15 lakh from this project, with an expenditure of `90,170. “The food outlets enjoyed the fair and assured us they will participate in the coming years
too,” said Rtr Archit Junaghare, Chairperson, Food Crawl. ‘Poetica’ show
Poetica was an event to showcase poetry and storytelling skills, that saw 150 visitors from all walks of life. Rtn Pramod Mishra was the guest of honour and the parents of Rotaractors were there to encourage the participants. There were 38 participants, including 15 Rotaractors, from around Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Pune and Vadodara. The event netted `11,200 which the club proposes to use for their various projects. JULY 2018
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A Rotaract club strikes a meaningful CSR partnership Kiran Zehra
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hile Rotary International and the Rotary clubs in India are on a drive to set up partnerships with corporates for their CSR funds, a Rotaract club in India has done just that with the Rotaract Club of Mumbai Ghatkopar (RACMG), D 3141, striking up a partnership with Burns and
McDonnell Engineering, a Fortune 55 company, to convert a rural school into a Happy School. Despite the government’s best efforts, many schools in India, particularly in rural areas, have “broken roofs, lack of teachers, poor or no toilets and no water. But the silver lining is that at
least these students have a chance to go to school,” says Prathik Chedda, President, RACMG. This Rotaract club is active in the Palghar region of Maharashtra. “We distribute clothes and conduct medical camps in a few villages in this region. But we want to do so much more,” he says. Coming
across the Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) website, he left a query and “was very impressed by their immediate response. The website is well planned, provides effective navigation and you have all the information you need to know about Happy Schools right there,” he says. Having made up their
mind to create a happy school the next step was to spot a school. Seeing the plight of the government schools in the region, Chedda zeroed down on the Zilla Parishad Prathmik Shala, located in Navaze village near Palghar. “The survey was hard and the ground reality is so harsh you want to help them all. But we decided to see how many children will be benefitted and this school had students coming in from four other villages and was educating over 80 students across classes 1 to 4,” he explains. Next came finding the money. “We knew what we had was not enough,” he says. So, they approached a few corporates for whom his club had conducted
Rich Mahaley, CEO - Burns and McDonnell Engineering India, inaugurating the Happy School.
Rotaractors setting up a vegetable garden inside the Happy School.
The survey was hard and the ground reality is so harsh you want to help them all. Prathik Chedda, President, RACMG
events and programmes. The request for help by the president of the club at the end of one such event put the club directly in touch with the CSR team of Burns and McDonnell Engineering (India). The CEO of the company Rich Mahaley, who wanted to invest his money directly into a service project, was 26 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
“happy to partner with Rotaract and he not only donated funds but visited the school with us. It is so much fun to partner with people who think alike and are not particular about their names appearing on boards or being part of every photograph,” quips Chedda. Following the guidelines prescribed under the TEACH programme and loaded with INR 300,000, RACMG step up a staffroom with furniture, constructed toilet blocks with water tanks, set up a new library, repaired the old hand-wash stations, provided clean drinking water for both, students and teachers, play material, games and sports
equipment, school bags, uniforms, raincoats and shoes for every student, note books and stationery for an entire academic year, medical kits, and levelled the playground and built a rest area. The school was inaugurated as a Happy School on June 19, 2017 in the presence of Mahaley, the local police and the head of the village. “That was a memorable day for each one of us,” says Chedda. “Whenever we visited the village while a few developments were still taking place, the kids would greet us with cheer and we took pictures together. ‘You built the jhula’, they would acknowledge and we would simply smile.”
In order to monitor the benefits of the facilities provided, increase in the attendance and improving health of students, RACMG, with the help of Rotaract Club of Caduceus and Rotaract Club of Palghar, is conducting quarterly visits to the school. “We plan to set up solar power equipment for the school, introduce e-learning for the students and also set up a public library (comprising vernacular language books) to support the adult literacy drive. But our priority as of now is cycles for four students who are coming from a far-off village.” Designed by Krishnapratheesh S
Project 50 Smiles feeds 2500 people Jaishree
T
he Rotaractors of RAC Saraswati College, D 3142, undertook several projects to bring cheer in the lives of street dwellers, war widows and inspiring women to be go-getters, through three different projects. Pavement and hut dwellers across Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, and the poor and needy in several parts of the world, benefitted from the project — 50 Smiles — initiated by the club’s international avenue. The Rotaractors reached out to their counterparts across the world through social media with a call to feed the hungry for seven days as a commemoration of the World Rotaract Week (Mar 12–18). The target for each participating club was to feed at least 50 underprivileged people in a week. Fifty-four clubs from across India and 23 other countries such as Malawi, Mexico, Colombia, Sao Paulo etc responded to the call and together they fed 2,500 hungry people over the week. “It was a massive project and we feel JULY 2018
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It was a massive project and we feel overwhelmed to realise that Rotary has been able to assuage the hunger of so many men, women and children across the world through a collective act.
Rotaractors of RAC Saraswati College 28 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018 distribute food for the needy.
overwhelmed to realise that Rotary has been able to assuage the hunger of so many men, women and children across the world through a collective act. It was such a soul-satisfying programme,” says Mihir Lodhavia, the Secretary of RAC Saraswati College. Plans to coordinate with Rotaract clubs worldwide began in December with the club’s International Services Director Amarjeet Chauhan connecting with Rotaractors through Instagram, WhatsApp and other social media platforms. “Almost every member was involved in the project in one way or the other. In Mumbai, while Nikhil Tambe got the ‘50 Smiles’ banners printed, Sairaj Pardeshi got sponsorship for meal packets from a local restaurant. Throughout the week, all the members helped in the distribution,” says Lodhavia.
Rotaractors and visitors at the exhibition.
Ride for Pride In another event titled Ride for Pride, the Rotaractors organised an exhibition of vintage and luxury cars and bikes in the college premises at Kharghar. The ticketed event collected `70,000 that was donated to the Voice of Martyrs, an NGO that works for the rehabilitation and welfare of war widows. “There are many bike enthusiasts in our college and in Navi Mumbai. The idea was to cash in on this interest. We publicised the cause for which the proceeds from the sale of tickets will be used and that too was a big draw for our collegemates,” says Chinmay Sheth, a student who volunteered for the show. The show attracted an impressive footfall including celebrities. Kenneth Kirsten, Vijay Kumar and Sairaj Pardeshi were the project chairpersons taking care of the coordination, marketing and promotion of the event. It was inaugurated
by College Principal Manjusha Deshmukh and ‘Ridergirl’ Vishakha, the first woman motovlogger.
Celebrating women The club brought out a compilation of women achievers from across the world. It was a combined initiative of Chauhan and Sanjana Singh, International Services Director of RAC Pune Kothrud Marathwada Mitramandal, D 3131. Success stories of women achievers from 50 countries have been compiled into an e-bulletin titled Wonder Women, which was circulated widely on the social media. “It was our effort to break the myth that women’s role is limited to being homemakers. It is also to highlight the fact that women everywhere are capable of breaking the glass ceiling if they set their hearts and minds to it. That’s why we included three successful women from each country,” explains Lodhavia. JULY 2018
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A fun weekend at D 3291 Rotaract Discon Kiran Zehra
A
heady mix of live music, dance, drama and business workshops made Panache, the annual Rotaract Conference of D 3291, a big hit among the 350 Rotaractors and other Rotarians who attended the event. This was the 46th year of the conference, held over a weekend in Kolkata. The programme showcased the talent of the Rotaractors and gave them an opportunity to network with young professionals and acquire knowledge related to their subject of interest.
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In addition to acquiring various professional skills, Rotaractors enjoyed two entertaining evenings. “This is where the youth get the spotlight. The Rotaract conference is all about young people who are also prospective Rotarians getting to showcase their skills. It is the ultimate balance of fun and learning after an entire year of hard work,” says DRR Pradip Dutta. Diverse in every way, the conference was sprinkled with 20 events with ‘Mr and Miss Panache’ being the
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main highlight. The two-day gala was inaugurated by DRR Dutta and IPDRR Srijita with an opening session on business development by PDG Amitabh Mukherjee. Talking about the sessions based on business and management, Dutta says that, “When young men and women step into the work arena they are bound to face competition and demands on their capabilities. Such sessions prepare them to cope with all situations with confidence and courage.” Mainak Sarkar from RAC Calcutta Metropolitan, who won the ‘Mr Panache’ title says this was a complete new experience. “Scenes before and after the Rotaract conference were so different. I know so many more Rotaractors now and although I have been a part of Rotaract only for a year it has become my second family.” Introduced into Rotaract by a friend, he has become interested in the club activities and “I hope to be able to assist my club in setting up a library for children at a Sundarbans school.” Urvashi Mukherjee was crowned the ‘Miss Panache’. The fashion show was a big hit. While some participating clubs chose to walk the ramp as characters from the gothic age and television series, some portrayed the cultures of India. “That was my favourite part of the conference,” says Sarkar, but only after the “Rotaract Quiz that helped me understand the hierarchy of Rotaract better,” he adds. No-flame cooking, a mime show, street plays, facial painting and creative writing competitions were among the many events that were organised. Dutta thanks his team “for the full support they gave for planning, promoting and executing this memorable day. On a personal level it has helped me realise how much I can contribute as an individual.” Thanking DG Brojo Gopal Kundu and DRCC Ashif Shah, for their support, Dutta adds, “When we are acknowledged and praised by our Rotarians for our accomplishments as Rotaractors it feels great and we are inspired to do more.” 32 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
A spiritual RYLA for
Rotaractors Jaishree
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T
he Vedic chants that greeted the RYLA participants at the serene Art of Living Foundation’s ashram in Bodhgaya on the first day of their three-day sojourn was just a prelude for a heady mix of spiritual awakening and personality development. It was a unique ambience and a different sort of workshop put together for the 70 Rotaractors from Districts 3250 and 3170. Aptly name Enlightenment 2018, the programme was hosted by Rotary Patna Midtown and Rotaract Patna Midtown, D 3250, under the guidance of the RYLA Convener Rtn Sushil Poddar and DG Vivek Kumar. “It was a RYLA exclusively for the Rotaractors and a way to celebrate the golden jubilee of the movement,” says Sunit Chandra, President, RC Patna Midtown. “I have emerged as a totally different and ‘refined’ person after the three days,” says DRR Vaibhav Thakur, who himself was a participant. The ‘Happiness Hour’ conducted by Rajendra Gandhi, an
34 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
International Trainer with the Foundation, was “too good”. He engaged the participants in various forms of yoga and meditation, intermittently through the day and even took them “on a journey into the past and one into the future.” To my question as to what was he in the past, Thakur says
that he saw himself as “a very happy, sensitive and generous person, living in some green, scenic village, god knows where.” Later during the night, trainer and a retired Army man Swaroop Chatterjee, related anecdotes from his Army life to the delegates seated around a bonfire.
“We enjoyed the spiritual dancing by the fire, to the tunes of soft, melodious music. It was like Lord Krishna playing the bansuri and the nights were ethereal, touching the inner chord,” raves the DRR. The satsangs accompanied by the dhol and the sattvic food made the RYLA experience different from any other for the Rotaractors, even as they enjoyed it as much. For the RYLA Chair Tasneem E Gul, the event has created lifelong memories and built endless friendship and strong relations. “The sessions, besides energising us, helped in connecting each other spiritually too,” says Rtr Aadam, D 3170. The participants visited the Mahabodhi Temple and the Great Buddha statue erected by the Daijokyo sect of Japan in autorickshaws fitted with banners endorsing Rotary’s End Polio Now and various service projects, thus promoting Rotary’s public image along the way. JULY 2018
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A “green” Rotaract club V Muthukumaran
H
aving received fulsome praise and loads of encouragement following the successful completion of a fiveday Jaipur limbs fitment camp, in association with the parent Rotary, the Rotaract Club of Gonda Green, D 3120, now wants to make this massive exercise an annual feature, says its DRR Ashok Tripathi. The two-year-old Rotaract club has got Rotary Citation for two consecutive
36 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
years from the RI Board for its performance. More than 500 differently-abled people were fitted with artificial limbs at the camp organised at the Shree Ram Janki Marwari Dharamshala in Gonda, 120 km from Lucknow, with a 62-member team of doctors and paramedics from Ashirwad Hospital extending their service to the amputees. A technical team from the Mahaveer Charitable
Trust, Jaipur, pitched in and took measurements to design custom-built Jaipur limbs for the beneficiaries. The limb fitment event was funded by RC Gonda Green which also took care of food and accommodation of the beneficiaries. The Rotaractors did the rest, though “we also collected money through donations.” The 22 Rotaractors of the club pay an annual subscription of `500
and also seek donations from NGOs to organise community programmes. “All the 36 clubs in our district are successful in mobilising funds through membership fees, donations and partnership with NGOs to share resources to hold a number of charity events,” explains Tripathi. DG Ranjeet Singh, DGND KK Srivastav and PDG Alok Agarwal were present at the inauguration of the camp which saw a number of VIPs including District Magistrate J B Singh, police officers and district administration officials stepping in all through the five-day exercise to know the progress of the mega limb fitment, a first-of-its-kind in Gonda.
High visibility projects
Come December, Rotaractors form groups to distribute clothes and blankets to residents in underprivileged areas. “We select 4–5 areas each year like railway station, shanties and neglected colonies to donate warm clothes to the poor families. Some of our well-to-do members like government employees and teachers donate liberally for this programme,” said Club President Rajan Gupta. A water filter system worth `3,500 was donated to a primary school to ensure clean and safe drinking water for students. But the project that tops Gupta’s priority list is a tree plantation drive being undertaken by the club throughout the year. “We have named our club as ‘Gonda Green’ only to give a special thrust to green projects. So far, we have covered 6–7 educational institutes spreading the message of an eco-friendly lifestyle. We had planted around 70–80 trees on the campuses and the point is we make sure, that all our Rotaractors are present in such plantations,” he explained.
Instead of throwing a lavish party to celebrate birthdays and other personal occasions, “we plant trees to make our environment green and healthy for our future generations.” From next year, the club is toying with the idea of issuing paper bags to replace polythene carry bags with an aim to avoid plastic. “We have chosen a place for us to commence the supply of paper bags which will be produced by a core team of Rotaractors after taking bulk delivery of old papers from scrap dealers.” Membership drive
In June, there will be an addition of 7–10 members to the club and “next year, we have drawn up plans to increase the membership to 50 plus” by reaching out to college students too, though it is primarily a community-based group. Rajan Gupta is keen to leverage the power of cyberspace to increase membership and strengthen his networking “which will happen in due course as we are gaining high visibility with the impact of the ongoing projects,” he adds. JULY 2018
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Largest Human Eye to promote organ donation Kiran Zehra
8 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
W
hile the human eye formation made at the Saraswati Sishu Vidya Mandir in Madhusudanagar by 3,170 students, Rotaractors and Interactors of D 3262, on April 10 is awaiting confirmation from the Guinness Book of World Records, DRR Smruti Ranjan Biswal is busy getting his team of Rotaractors across Odisha to sign the organ donation pledge. “Pehele hum (We first),” says the enthusiastic DRR. Rotaractors and Rotarians across the State are running a 90-day campaign to promote and register 10,000 organ donors. Quoting a set of statistics, he says it is estimated that “every 17 minutes someone dies waiting for a
transplant. Every 13 minutes someone is added to the waiting list. In India around 6,000 people die every day waiting for an organ transplant. Only 34 people out of 1 crore donate organs. This is sad.” The decision to organise the event was taken in July 2017 when he stepped in as DRR, and his home club — RAC Byasabhoomi — took steps to create awareness on the subject. “Our sole objective is to sensitise people about the beauty of living even after death by donating organs. A single donor can make a difference to 50 lives,” says Biswal. After the initial approval from the Guinness Book of World Records “we had to send them the complete plan of action for pre-approval of
the event; The counting method, the entry and exit lanes, medical facility for the participants, as we were making the formation with children, had to be charted out.” When finally, they got the approval, mock drills
Our sole objective is to sensitise people about the beauty of living even after death by donating organs. Smruti Ranjan Biswal
District Rotaract Representative
were arranged but only 25 per cent students turned up. “This made me a little anxious but at the next mock drill over 90 per cent of the participants showed up.” On the D-Day, it was a sight to see the large crowd of participants, each wearing a black or white coloured T-shirt and a cap provided by RAC Byasabhoomi. They stood still for six whole minutes to create and break the previous record held by D 3000 in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, with 2,394 participants. Representatives from the Global Record Research Foundation confirmed and certified the record. “We hope that this record will help in creating adequate awareness about organ donation,” he adds.
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Summer delight from Vijayawada Rotaractors V Muthukumaran
40 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
W
ith an objective to provide a respite through simple refreshments to people during the scorching summer, the Rotaract Club of Vijayawada Midtown, D 3020, held ‘Beat the Heat’ camps at busy thoroughfares in the city from midMarch to end-June. The club has been providing such relief in summer ever since it was chartered six years ago. Though a seasonal project, during peak summer at least 20 Rotaractors fan out across various areas of Vijayawada to provide buttermilk, lemon juice and soda on every alternate day for the residents and traffic policemen who sweat it out under sizzling temperatures, said DRR MVB Manognya. “It is good to acknowledge the service of public servants who are working on the roads under the scorching sun to ensure the safety of pedestrians and commuters. Our team reaches out to not less than 1,000 beneficiaries every week under this summer project.”
Working class, self-employed and young entrepreneurs form majority of this 55member community club. Three factors — budget, availability of Rotaractors and support from the parent Rotary club — determine the reach and extent of the refreshment camps. “Our parent club, RC Vijayawada Midtown, supports us financially and through resources,” said Manognya. The club collects a membership fee of `500 from its Rotaractors. “Rotaractors from the Potti Sriramulu Chalavadi Mallikarjuna Rao College of Engineering and Technology have added the strength and enthusiasm of the student fraternity to the Beat the Heat drive over the last two years, thus enhancing our visibility in the community,” said Tagore Maddali, President, RAC Vijayawada Midtown. While Maddali is looking forward to “take up many new programmes”, he is elated that a deaf and dumb girl student from Class 6 that his club had supported by paying tuition fees, food and accommodation expenses, has done very well in her Class 10 exam. JULY 2018
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Ranchi Rotaractors mobilise
unused medicines Team Rotary News
I
n a novel project, families in the Jharkhand capital, Ranchi, are urged to ‘Save your Unused Medicines’ and drop these into the collection boxes placed by the Rotaract Club of St Xavier’s College, D 3250, at 16 locations in the city, including their college campus and in few schools. Since January, the Bachi Dawai Bachaey has netted 35 kg of generic drugs for general ailments like fever, cold, BP, diabetes, etc. “We have donated two bulk consignments to the Niramaya Hospital which offers treatment to less privileged people,” says Rtr Ashvah Jawed, Project Head-cum-Medicine Coordinator. A 25-member team of Rotaractors
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takes care of sorting and segregating the medicines and “utmost care is taken to weed out expired tablets and formulations.”
How it all began Father Nicholas Tete, the college Principal and Prakash Tekriwal, a businessman, in an interaction with the Rotaractors sowed the seeds for the project that will help needy and underprivileged patients. “In January 2018, Club President Amrendra Yadav and Project Head Lisha Papneja took up the work in all earnest with support from college authorities and RC Ranchi, our parent club,” says Rahul Pandey, IPP of the Rotaract club.
Within few months, the project got media attention and praise from the community as the collected medicines will lower the cost of healthcare for the needy. “We have plans to install at least 100 collection boxes in Ranchi covering busy places, offices and residential localities,” he says. The club invites other Rotaract clubs to replicate this project in their cities. Stressing on the need to expand the collection drive for larger turnover of medicines, Jawed says, “it it is possi possible to net at least 25–30 kg in a month given the response we have got so far.” The club is planning to hold medical camps in rural areas on weekends. “Villagers will be screened for general
Rotaractors with the medicines collection boxes.
Rotaractors engage school students in music classes.
ailments by volunteer doctors, but this programme is still at planning stage,” for, he adds, the medicines they collect should have sufficient volume to cater to rural needs.
Enhancing learning
Handwash station provided by the club in a school.
Four years ago, when the club was formed, its Charter President Surbi Sinha and her team adopted the Rajkiyakrit Madhya Vidyalaya, a government middle school at Tharpakna locality under their Shiksha project, and since then the Rotaractors have been actively involved in teaching the children their regular lessons and extracurricular activities. This year, with the efforts of the Club President Yadav and Shiksha Project Head Kumari Madhu, the club renovated the school library and set up a playschool there with support from a Mumbai-based NGO, while Tekriwal extended help for painting the entire school campus and setting up a badminton court. A handwash station and gender-specific washrooms were also added. “A corpus of `60,000 has also been set aside to provide more facilities for the school,” says Pandey. JULY JUL ULYY 2018 UL 2018
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Doing good in
Matunga V Muthukumaran
S
ize does not matter, it’s only the determination and efforts that usher in change at the grassroots-level that make an impact, says Akshay Sunil Salvi, President, Rotaract Club of King’s Circle, Matunga, that comes under the aegis of RC Mumbai Mahim, D 3141. The community-based group of 66 Rotaractors put their club in the
limelight through various activities such as book donation drive, campaigning for LGBT rights, awareness rallies for leprosy and organ donation and other service projects. Over 30 children living in the neighbouring hutments in Matunga got an opportunity to showcase their drawing skills in a contest on the occasion of Mandela Day (Jul 18). “These
children had never had a platform to display their extracurricular skills,” says Salvi. He is a final year B Tech student at the Institute of Chemical Technology. Leprosy Awareness Rally was held in Dharavi with 20 Rotaractors leading from the front. They visited 350 houses in the region for a survey on the disease. “We found that most of the respondents were not aware how leprosy occurs or its early stage symptoms for timely hospitalisation,” he says. The survey report was submitted to Chota Sion Hospital, Dharavi, and free treatment was given to few patients as part of the drive. On Guru Nanak Jayanthi, 15 Rotaractors served food at the langar in a gurudwara at Vidya Vihar. “We washed utensils, cleaned the kitchen and dining hall and helped the gurudwara staff in reaching out to over 500 devotees,” says the club president.
Campaigning for LGBT rights. 44 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
Annual projects The club members make it a point to visit at least two old-age homes every year. This year they engaged with the inmates of St Anthony’s Home,
Collection of dresses for distribution.
Most of the respondents were not aware of how leprosy occurs or its early stage symptoms for timely hospitalisation.
Bandra West, and Shree Manav Seva Sangh, Sion, with fun activities and lively interaction. Gandhi Jayanthi was marked with a major clean-up drive by the Rotaractors at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali and Dadar beach.
Jeevan Daan and Mahadaan — two massive blood donation camps were held jointly with other Rotaract clubs. A meet titled Catenate (chemical term for bonding), organised by Rtr Atharwa Thigale, had the members interact with Rotarians from their parent club. The Rotarians, drawn from various professions, gave a detailed case study on skill orientation and personality development to chart out a successful career. “It was a fourhour presentation that benefitted 30 Rotaractors. Another meet on investing wisely in share markets and financial instruments was led by an expert Rotarian and turned out to be useful for us,” says Thigale. The parent club provides t-shirts, souvenirs and other merchandise at events, besides offering logistic support. They are ready to offer all resources including finance, “but we first approach private sponsors for hosting major events and only when we don’t have options, we turn to our Rotary club,” says Salvi, adding that with good sponsorship this year, they were able to save over `10,000 for the next season.
Leprosy Awareness programme
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Delhi Rotaractors host a special edition of Model UN Kiran Zehra
T
he first Rotaract Global Model UN (RGMUN) 2016 Special Edition was held in New York from March 18–20 as part of the ‘Change the World’ Model UN. “It is a matter of great pride that the second special edition of RGMUN was hosted in India by my Rotaract District 3011,” says DRR Anmol Chawla. While the 2016 special edition simulated the
Delegates at the RGMUN 2018. 46 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
UN High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR), the theme for the present edition was Sustainable Development Goals: Fostering A Brighter Future. RAC Delhi Technological University Regency, D 3011, won the bid and had the highest social media score putting them in the list of the top three countries to host the Annual RGMUN 2018. “But we couldn’t be present at the Rotary Day in Geneva,
which was mandatory to be selected as the host of the next MUN. Considering our good track record, we were asked to host the special edition while Rotaract Club of Kaunas Fortress hosted the Annual Edition in the three capital cities of Lithuania. This was a dream come true for me,” he says. Founded in 2013 by Rotaract Club Baia Mare, the Rotaract MUN gives young people a chance to have
their voices heard at the UN. “The conference is hosted in a different country and is organised by a different Rotaract club each year,” explains Chawla who had been planning to host the event since 2016. As president of RAC Shri Aurobindo College, he had hosted Masashi Mito, the Brand Ambassador of the RGMUN from Kyto Japan for a week. “We walked the streets of Delhi, ate Indian food, visited historical sites and also went to the Indian soccer league matches. We bonded very well and I also got a good insight into how the MUN is hosted. I then decided that when I become the DRR, my district will host the RGMUN.” While 400 delegates from 30 countries registered for the event, only 170 people could attend “because the travel was 10 times more expensive
than the registration,” he says. DRRs Vaibhav Thakur, Yatin Sehgal, Arti and Naveen were among the170 delegates who participated in the conference that included international delegates
from China, France, Venezuela, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Lebanon. The participants were divided into five committees based on the theme and between April 20–22,
JULY 2018 ROTARACT NEWS 47
Showcasing Indian culture.
the delegates played the part of diplomats representing countries assigned by the organisers. Speaking about the MUN structure and mechanism, Chawla adds that, “there is more to RGMUN than just a simulation of the UN process. It transcends into an actual decisionmaking process providing a platform where Rotaractors, Rotarians, young professionals and University students from across the world can voice their opinion on global issues.” In general,
48 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
he says, each participant has an exclusive chance to express the views and interests of the country he/she represents. Besides accumulating strong knowledge of global issues, they also learn the art of negotiation, public speaking using the official UN language and procedural mechanisms set in motion by the UN. What makes it even more exciting is that MUN creates a possibility to explore different cultures, he adds. The process has to be facilitated by experts and
Founded in 2013 by RAC Baia Mare, the Rotaract MUN gives young people a chance to have their voices heard at the UN.
guided towards a successful resolution. “For this we thank Joshika Saraf, Secretary General, Rotaract Global MUN Special Edition 2018 and DG Ravi Choudhary for their support. We are glad that the outcome of our discussions and debates were presented to the regional decision-making bodies and the UN.” Day One saw the delegates engage in intense debates in their respective committees followed by a cultural extravaganza where the Indian hosts showcased the rich heritage of our country, through classical
dance performances and a fashion show portraying Indian textiles. The next day was dedicated to finding a resolution for the debates, followed by a feedback session by the Secretary-General and a press conference attended by the international media. The day ended with the closing ceremony graced with the presence of Deepak Vohra, an Indian diplomat, billiards player Sourav Kothari, Shastri Ramachandaran, a senior journalist, Maxton R, Youth Co-Chair — Intergenerational Dialogue, Scotland, and Nabila Jamshed, UN Programme Officer. An awards ceremony felicitated the delegates. “The advantages of preparing for and participating in a Model UN conference is that it helps us develop research, public speaking skill, technical writing and negotiation skills,” says Sarthak Katyal, the Project Manager of RGMUN. n
Nationalities blur for
Kakinada Rotaractors V Muthukumaran
F
oreign students are not left out of the Rotaract movement in District 3020. The Rotaract Club of Kakinada Global, a two-year-old club, has a strong presence of college-going youth
from countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ivory Coast and other African countries. They provide food for the hungry through the Helping Hands project which is quite popular in the locality. But the catch here is during vacation time, the project is put on hold for at least a month or so, “as foreign
students visit their countries and come back after the colleges reopen,” says DRR MVB Manognya. However, giving full credit to students from different nationalities who have adapted well to the local needs and plunge into social work with enthusiasm, the DRR explains the 40-member club is efficient at
reaching out to the needy people with food packets and donations in kind. It is basically a community-based club, but the majority of the members are foreign students with just 4–5 members being locals in Kakinada. Another major handicap is the language barrier. “Most of the Rotaractors speak
Rotaractors feeding the hungry. JULY 2018
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Rotaractors of RAC Kakinada Global.
only in English and a smattering of Hindi. They don’t know Telugu at all. Hence, they always keep an interpreter while doing their field work such as the distribution of food packets in slums and other colonies,” she says. All types of food are prepared in the rented accommodations of the students, most of whom stay in apartments or independent homes. The club members are not hostelites. They cook the food and pack them to deliver on alternative Sundays in areas where there is prevalence of hunger and deprivation. Tough early days
When the club started the project two years ago, they had to contend with less than 10 volunteers for food distribution. 50 ROTARACT NEWS JULY 2018
“Hence, we covered very small areas and used to feed just 10 people every Sunday. But soon, more Rotaractors joined in and we expanded our reach to more areas,” says Walied Eltaj, President, RAC Kakinada Global, who is from the UAE. Now, they have around 50 Rotaractors including some local members, who are ready to extend time, efforts and even donate cash to sustain the drive against hunger, he explains. Now, the average number of beneficiaries has risen to not less than 50–60 on every alternate Sunday and the total number of people who had benefitted since the project was started has gone up to nearly 1,800, mostly those from poor families. Once the project began to expand with more
Rotaractors pitching in, the club got in touch with the hotels and restaurants to brief them on the noble objectives of Helping Hands. “The hoteliers and eatery owners are happy to pass on the leftover foods to us. We arrange them in plates and serve them to the needy people on the streets so that there is no food wastage. Whenever there is a possibility of food wastage, they call us and we are happy to take those items on a regular basis from such hotels,” says Rtr Eltaj. Funding drive
Every month, the Rotaractors raise funds through a number of low-visibility PR events and conduct fundraisers such as selling handmade products created by
their members. African artefacts and knickknacks help to mobilise funds for their projects. “Our parent Rotary also supports whenever there is a shortfall of funds to sustain our projects. Apart from this, we are being mentored by a couple of Rotarians who are receptive to our ideas and ready to give their feedback,” says Eltaj. With students from nine foreign countries, the club works together to make a difference to their adopted society, he says. Recently, the club hosted an African Cultural Evening, a one-day programme and a fundraiser, that saw Rotaractors from far off places including Mumbai and Coimbatore taking part in fun and fellowship.
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