EXPERT ANALYSIS
A CONVERSATION WITH MERCY SHIPS FOUNDER DONALD STEPHENS
M
ercy Ships, a nonprofit that uses the hospital ship Africa Mercy to deliver free health care, is a global model of vocational service. Each year, more than 1,600 volunteers from dozens of nations board the ship, including surgeons, dentists, nurses, teachers, cooks and engineers. (Rotarians can get involved with Mercy Ships through its strategic partnership with The Rotary Foundation, which offers packaged grants for Vocational Training Teams (VTTs) of medical professionals.) Donald Stephens and his wife established the charity after their child was born with disabilities; the couple asked themselves how they would face similar circumstances if they lived in the developing world. Since 1978, Mercy Ships has provided services valued at more than US $1 billion to almost 2.5 million people.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY OTTO STEININGER
Why did you choose a ship as your health services delivery system? What are the advantages over building hospitals? Our hospital ship can arrive in the port of a developing nation with a self-contained, state-of-the-art surgical unit, along with the housing and infrastructure for the expertise we provide. The hospital on board can also serve as a centre of excellence for health care training in a controlled environment. I’ve spoken with those who have built hospitals in difficult areas of the developing world, and it is extremely challenging. The hospital may not be guaranteed electricity or running water. Supplies can be difficult to keep stocked, and can often be stolen.
Long-term volunteers are aboard the ship for at least two years. That is a long time. What’s the appeal for professionals who take a break from their careers to serve? Our volunteers know that what they are doing serves a cause far greater than themselves. That is a tremendous motivator. Joining with hundreds of others who share a common vision provides a powerful experience that money can’t buy.
You and so many Mercy Ships volunteers live on an oceangoing ship nowhere near your homes. What types of adjustments are necessary? The old adage is true: Home is where your heart is. There is a tremendous community spirit aboard our hospital ship, where crew are living and working in the same place. The friendships can last a lifetime. It can be difficult to find a quiet place sometimes or to have a boundary between “work” and “home.” The close quarters aren’t easy for everyone to adjust to. The ship changes ports every year, so while your “home” stays the same, your surroundings are always changing. Cabins may be small, but they’re no less “home” than on land.
Marriages and humanitarian nonprofits can be demanding endeavours, yet you and your wife, Deyon, have managed to succeed at both for many years. Do you have any advice for other couples who want to undertake a humanitarian mission together? First of all, it’s a team effort. Each one of you is only 50 percent of the team. It is important to have open discussions about roles, responsibilities, and how best to show love for each other. It’s also important not to let the work of the mission become first in your lives, but to find NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 41
USE YOUR VOCATION TO SERVE: JOIN THE ROTARY CADRE
W
ith nearly 40 years of engineering experience, Francis “Tusu” Tusubira understands construction. He understands pricing. He understands procurement. But most important, Tusubira understands how things can go wrong. He shares his expertise with Rotary clubs and districts when he visits project sites as a member of The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers, a group of Rotarian volunteers who evaluate grantfunded projects around the world. “You learn from your own mistakes,” says Tusubira, Vice Chair of the cadre and a member of the Rotary Club of KampalaNorth, Uganda. “So what you’re passing on is not just a technical perspective — it’s that you’ve seen what can go wrong in real practice.” Cadre members volunteer in each of the Foundation’s six areas of focus, and in grant management and finances. So, for example, a lawyer, mediator, or social worker might advise Rotarians who are implementing a project in the peace and conflict prevention/resolution area of focus, while a doctor, nurse, or epidemiologist could provide technical expertise on an effort that’s addressing maternal and child health. Cadre members review the feasibility of a project, conduct site visits to monitor implementation, and evaluate impact. Their audits ensure that grant money is used responsibly. “You get a chance to help shape projects and point out where things have gone wrong and where there can be improvements for the future,” Tusubira says. You also get to meet Rotarians who are giving everything they have to improve their communities, he adds. “You learn something new every visit. You get inspired.” The cadre is recruiting volunteers in the following areas. Write to cadre@rotary.org for details. • Maternal and child health professionals (such as nurses and obstetricians) in Africa and Asia • Water and sanitation professionals (such as civil and mechanical engineers) in Africa and Asia • Spanish-speaking auditors in North and Central America • Portuguese speakers in Europe and Africa, in all areas of focus • Rotarians living in Africa, in all areas of focus • Rotarians with professional expertise in monitoring and evaluation 42 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
that balance of spending time with each other beyond the task you’re both called to.
Mercy Ships has provided hope and healing to underserved communities around the globe for many years. What do you consider the greatest stride the organisation has made recently in continuing its mission? Our greatest joy continues to be the thousands of individual lives transformed in each field of service, but the greatest stride is in building capacity in the nations we serve. Using our hospital ship as a platform, we train African surgeons and health care professionals. These professionals learn techniques and procedures that will serve the nation long after the ship sails to its next port of call. Our emphasis on building health care capacity through training is intentional and ever-present. Surgeons are trained in ophthalmic, general and maxillofacial surgical specialties. Other health care professionals are trained in dental hygiene, dental assisting and palliative care. Through our strategic partnership with Rotary, we’re providing training in hygiene and infection control, and in cataract surgeries. Continuing education conferences focus on mental health, anesthesiology, midwifery and leadership principles.
You focus on improving health in the developing world. How does good health care influence countries’ stability? Healthy people are more productive people. We serve the world’s least-developed nations. In some of these countries, health care is often non-existent or expensive. The arrival of
TIPS FOR A VOCATIONAL TRAINING TEAM PROJECT
V “the big white ship” is often the single most tangible sign of hope for many. By providing care to address immediate medical needs and offering training to meet future medical needs, we improve delivery of health care.
When did you know that Mercy Ships was succeeding? After the first surgery. Just one changed life brings everything into perspective.
How can Rotarians best leverage the partnership between Rotary and Mercy Ships to meet their humanitarian goals? Mercy is a group effort. The Rotary partnership is vital in helping to deliver health care and build capacity in the countries we serve. Rotarians can build teams of medical professionals to train local health care professionals. Together we meet both the immediate health needs of individuals and the longer-term need of strengthening a country’s health infrastructure. Each act of mercy is the result of those who volunteer and those who share their resources.
How will Mercy Ships decide when to expand its fleet? We’ve already made the decision to expand our fleet, although the timetable is still in development. Our international board of directors has developed a comprehensive plan to build a second ship that will more than double the number of people we can serve. While significant capital is required to begin this project, a new purpose-designed ship would allow us to offer urgent medical care and medical training to even more people.
ocational Training Teams (VTTs) build on The Rotary Foundation’s longstanding commitment to vocational training. They take the concept of Group Study Exchange (GSE) — providing young professionals with a chance to observe their profession in another country — a step further by offering participants the opportunity to use their skills to help others. Teams can be funded through a district, global, or packaged grant, and requirements vary by grant type. “I loved the GSE programme. But I’m now convinced that VTT is the way to go,” says Janet Kelly, a Rotarian who has headed up GSE programmes and three VTTs for District 6400 (parts of Ontario, Canada and Michigan, USA). VTTs are “a brilliant strategy to provide on-theground service,” she explains. Here’s her advice on how to ensure a successful VTT:
(1)
Identify projects based on connections you already have. VTT projects should increase the host community’s ability to solve problems and improve quality of life. When developing ideas, rely on District Governors and club members who already have extensive international contacts, Kelly suggests. “Every year, District Governors meet for training with their counterparts. Some approach others with ideas about projects they can do together.”
(2)
Take advantage of the new rules. GSE teams were required to include one Rotarian leader and four to six non-Rotarians between ages 25 and 40. VTTs are more flexible in that you can send as many team members as you want, and some can be Rotarians. For GSEs, each district had to send a team to the other district. For VTTs, there is no reciprocity requirement.
(3)
Remember that the pre-trip process isn’t just one person’s responsibility. Kelly and her VTT cochair, Armando Sardanopoli, shared many of the preparation duties and recruited other Rotarians to help them. To find team members, one committee reached out to medical professionals, developed fliers, distributed them to Rotary clubs, and contacted local media. Kelly and a few others reviewed applications from candidates, and another committee conducted interviews. NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 43
HOW TO USE GRANTS TO SUPPORT VOCATIONAL TRAINING TEAMS DISTRICT GRANT District grant VTTs must support The Rotary Foundation’s mission to promote goodwill and peace, improve health, support education and alleviate poverty. TEAM COMPOSITION: Determined by the district. Teams may include Rotarians or non-Rotarians of any age. FOCUS AND LENGTH OF THE VISIT: Determined by sponsors. Districts may decide, for example, to incorporate cultural and social activities along with hands-on training or to sponsor an exchange with the partner district. BUDGET: Determined by sponsors
GLOBAL GRANT Global grant VTTs must align with one or more areas of focus (peace and conflict prevention/resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development). They also must build the capacity of either the team members or the beneficiaries, and have a sustainable and measurable impact. Each VTT must be sponsored by Rotary clubs or districts from two countries. A grant may support the travel of more than one team. TEAM COMPOSITION: Teams must consist of at least two members (either Rotarians or non-Rotarians) with at least two years of professional experience in the designated area of focus. The Rotarian leader should be an expert in the area of focus and have international experience and general Rotary knowledge. In certain cases, the Foundation may permit a non-Rotarian to serve as a team leader. There are no age restrictions. LENGTH OF THE VISIT: Determined by sponsors BUDGET: At least US $30,000
PACKAGED GRANT All packaged grants are carried out with one of Rotary’s strategic partners. The partner defines the scope of activities, develops relationships with local professionals, and ensures that the outcome will be sustainable. Rotarians put together a team of Rotarian and non-Rotarian participants with the appropriate skill set. For example, working with the strategic partner Mercy Ships, Rotarians assemble teams of medical professionals who perform or assist in surgeries and provide skills training to local health care professionals. TEAM COMPOSITION: Similar to that of a global grant VTT, except the leader must be a Rotarian BUDGET: The Foundation and strategic partner pay all costs. 44 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
VTTs around the world HOST COUNTRY: Australia INTERNATIONAL PARTNER: Canada GRANT TYPE: District RESULTS: Two multidisciplinary teams of professionals participated in reciprocal exchanges to share information about programmes and best practices in treating depression and addressing suicide among youth. HOST COUNTRY: India INTERNATIONAL PARTNER: England GRANT TYPE: Global RESULTS: A team trained gynaecologists and other medical professionals involved in prenatal, natal and postnatal care in the tribal regions of Jawhar, Mokhada and Vikramgadh.
HOST COUNTRY: Ghana INTERNATIONAL PARTNER: Canada GRANT TYPE: Global RESULTS: A team conducted eye surgeries, provided oral health education and screening, and trained local nurses and midwives in methods to reduce infant mortality in the Upper West Region of Ghana.
HOST COUNTRY: Guatemala HOST COUNTRY: South Africa
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER: USA
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER: USA
GRANT TYPE: Global
HOST COUNTRY: Bolivia
GRANT TYPE: Global
RESULTS: A team from District 6420
INTERNATIONAL PARTNER: Germany
RESULTS: Two reciprocal teams of
(Illinois, USA) trained teachers at a
GRANT TYPE: District
teachers from rural South Africa and
vocational school run by Ak’ Tenamit,
RESULTS: Doctors, nurses and
urban Bridgeport, Conn., USA, taught
a nonprofit that provides education
Rotarians provided plastic surgery for
one another about best practices in
and health care in the rain forests of
children with cleft palate, scarring
early childhood education, focusing
Guatemala. Team members taught
from burns, and other medical issues
on preschool curriculum, facilities,
faculty in the sustainable tourism
in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and offered
community support and continuing
programme about the hospitality
training to local doctors on recon-
education with online training mod-
industry, food preparation, marketing
structive techniques.
ules for teachers.
and entrepreneurship. NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 45
ETHICS AND VOCATIONAL SERVICE THE FOUR-WAY TEST and Rotary’s CODE OF CONDUCT provide an ethical roadmap for Rotarians in the workplace and other areas of life. “I believe that Rotary’s reputation for integrity and high ethical standards is one of its strongest assets for attracting young people,” says Paul Netzel, past chair of the Vocational Service Committee. Here are some ways to take action: • DEDICATE TIME to discussing the importance of The Four-Way Test and the Rotary Code of Conduct.
Be sure to talk to new members about the importance of these documents as guiding principles. • ORGANISE A WORKSHOP on ethics in the workplace and invite local business leaders to attend. To help
participants build practical skills, consider including an open discussion on ethical dilemmas. • GIVE AWARDS to businesses or professionals who demonstrate high ethical standards in their
treatment of employees, customers and the community. • SPONSOR AN ESSAY OR SPEECH CONTEST for young people. Hold local or regional competitions for
students to address the theme “What The Four-Way Test Means to Me.”
CONNECT WITH COLLEAGUES THROUGH A ROTARY FELLOWSHIP
MEET OTHER ROTARIANS in your line of work. The fellowships below focus on sharing best practices and promoting friendship among Rotarians of a certain vocation: Rotarian Doctors Fellowship Fellowship of Rotarian Editors and Publishers Honorary Consuls’ Fellowship of Rotarians Vocational Fellowship of Law Police/Law Enforcement Professionals Fellowship of Rotarians International Fellowship of Travel Agents Fellowship of Literacy Providers Learn more about these fellowships and others at www.rotary.org/fellowships.
46 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
Membership in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives RI RI Rotary No. of Women Rotaract Interact Zone District Clubs Rotarians Rotarians
5 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
2980 3000 3010 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3220 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3271 3272 3281 3282 3291 3292 Total
152 88 132 65 82 94 62 62 50 79 113 82 74 88 110 67 101 70 132 91 56 127 132 87 123 98 124 81 61 123 72 86 69 68 72 84 121 80 141 84 3,683
6,193 4,052 5,473 3,072 4,305 2,119 2,538 3,166 1,792 3,386 3,278 3,258 2,134 1,971 3,448 2,489 4,226 3,077 6,891 3,435 2,059 4,776 5,198 3,559 4,675 3,838 3,797 3,528 1,680 5,805 2,564 3,090 2,188 2,463 1,278 1,807 3,578 2,217 4,047 2,734 1,35,184
101 282 568 176 388 219 182 430 149 234 257 152 98 81 180 157 541 237 838 259 74 224 194 241 257 186 161 117 183 334 231 334 123 189 148 263 331 150 564 293 10,126
46 89 45 20 33 15 30 11 9 24 35 37 10 3 38 18 33 24 82 50 4 19 33 31 44 33 4 3 47 85 34 25 9 14 24 11 137 109 37 83 1,438
250 209 159 171 167 79 114 110 28 94 105 135 27 78 36 30 147 81 329 147 37 245 343 92 70 325 54 122 178 318 103 96 93 57 15 33 40 16 91 83 4,907
RCC
183 67 80 258 120 131 328 115 89 98 55 95 122 146 59 48 62 52 133 107 80 153 139 41 43 36 111 115 93 268 106 157 40 63 13 31 74 36 503 82 4,532
As on October 1, 2013 Source: RI South Asia Office
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
Celebrate Rotary Foundation Month November gives us the chance to build greater ownership and pride in our Foundation. PolioPlus is successful because Rotarians believe in our commitment and support it financially. We give to the polio eradication effort because we see clearly what our money is doing and what we are helping to achieve. We all take pride in knowing that the money we give is helping to fund a polio-free world. But many Rotarians do not have the same pride and ownership of the Foundation’s Endowment Fund and Annual Fund. We are still falling short of our goal of Every Rotarian, Every Year. Why? Because Rotarians do not know what good works the Endowment Fund and Annual Fund enable us to do. The Endowment Fund and Annual Fund are what make Rotary more than just an association of Rotary clubs. They allow us to share our resources, work together and bring our work to a higher level. The greater our Foundation’s resources, the greater our ability as Rotarians to meet the needs of our communities. And when every one of us donates to The Rotary Foundation, it truly becomes our Foundation — and we all share the pride in the good that it does. This is why we have Every Rotarian, Every Year. And this is why our goal for the Annual Fund in 2013–14 is US $120 million, which represents a donation from every Rotarian, averaging $100 each. If we want the freedom to be ambitious in our service, we must know that we have a strong Foundation supporting us. And if we want to know that Rotary will endure, we need a strong Endowment Fund — for whatever lies ahead.
Dong Kurn (D.K.) Lee Foundation Trustee Chair NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 47
48 ROTARY NEWS SEPTEMBER 2013
ETHICS ON TAP How do you get people talking about moral dilemmas? Take the debate to your local pub.
NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 49
C
onsider this situation: You are caring for a hungry girl whom you can’t afford to feed. What do you do? Do you steal food, or do you let her starve in the name of law and order? For many people, thorny ethical questions can be difficult to swallow. For one nonprofit in Michigan, USA, and the Rotarians who support it, moral ambiguity is a dish best served with a cold beer. In February, A2Ethics.org hosted the third annual Big Ethical Question Slam at Conor O’Neill’s Irish Pub in Ann Arbor, drawing a diverse crowd of students, retirees, professionals and academics to weigh life’s dilemmas over a few pints. During this spin-off of a pub trivia night or poetry slam, teams compete by responding to hypothetical questions drawn from a hat. Subjects include the theoretical (how do we quantify ethical dilemmas?) and the topical (can doping athletes like Lance Armstrong redeem themselves?), with some broaching sensitive territory (should drone warfare be prohibited on moral grounds?). A three-judge panel critiques and rates the teams’ two-minute responses, while about 75 onlookers 50 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
fill out scorecards to determine the “people’s choice.” “We conceived of the slam as a ‘think-off ’ version of Dancing With the Stars or American Idol,” explains Jeanine DeLay, president of A2Ethics, which aims to promote ethics through education, social networking and community events. (A2 is a nickname for Ann Arbor.) “We didn’t want it to be too highbrow. The point is to engage people in ethics discussions in a fun way.” “Rotarians look to The Four-Way Test when we’re ethically evaluating whether to do something, but people come from different perspectives and have their own moral yardsticks,” says Karen Kerry, one of several Rotarians in the audience at Conor O’Neill’s. Kerry is President-elect of the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, which hopes to enter a team in next year’s contest. “People have gotten away from this long history of gathering in places for issue-based discussions: The Greeks had their Acropolis, and the Romans had their Forum. At least we can do it here in our Irish pub.” Kerry’s husband, Brad Chick, an Internet entrepreneur and former philosophy student, agreed to be a judge for the competition. The atmosphere in the bar is congenial; after all, it’s a snowy Thursday night in a college-town pub. People whisper to one another and jot
down notes over fish and chips. Erin Mattimoe, an A2Ethics board member and the evening’s master of ceremonies, keeps the crowd on task as she reads the question at hand, anonymously submitted through the organisation’s website before the event: In an election, is it unethical to vote for a candidate you feel isn’t qualified if you agree on one key issue? Teri Turner steps up to the microphone as the sounds of conversation and clinking glasses fade. She represents a team of staff from the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. Her argument is grounded in the ethical principle of autonomy, which recognises individuals’ right to selfdetermination, and she ups the ante by giving the matter a human face. “I would argue that voting on one key issue is not unethical,” she says. “For example, I might be a pacifist who does not want her children to go to war, and I might find a candidate who’s unacceptable in every way except that he’s antiwar. In this country, I’m free to make my own decisions based on the information I have available to me.” “Having spent most of my life voting for the lesser of two evils, I think that was a great answer,” responds judge Peter Jacobson with a laugh.
Clockwise: Brad Chick, spouse of Rotarian Karen Kerry and a judge at the event, tallies his scores; Judge Mary Larkin questions a team’s response to an ethical dilemma; two members of the Greenhills School team; The public submitted questions anonymously before the ethics competition; The Greenhills School team celebrates their win; A member of Team Darcy, a group of mediators from the Dispute Resolution Center.
“Nicely argued.” Jacobson is a professor of health law and policy at the University of Michigan and director of the Center for Law, Ethics, and Health at the School of Public Health. Another judge, Mary Larkin, a diversity programmes coordinator at neighbouring Eastern Michigan University, agrees: “I was mad about
this question at first, but what just happened is you schooled me. You changed my frame of reference for what I was mad about in the first place, and you did a good job.” DeLay looks on from the sidelines, beaming with pride: This kind of intellectual turnabout is exactly what the planners had in mind. “Everyone
in our community has views about ethics and about the issues they face in their work and in their public lives,” she says. “The slam gives people who are not in the same professional orbit a chance to come together for an evening and talk in a setting that isn’t confrontational, that doesn’t encourage taking sides.” NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 51
How to organise a Big Ethical Question Slam (1) CHOOSE A LIVELY VENUE with enough space for team tables and audience seating. (2) CREATE A WEBSITE for your event and establish the rules and prizes. A2Ethics.org has found that six teams, with no more than six people, is the ideal number for a two-hour event. Each team answers three questions. The team has two minutes to confer once a question is drawn from the hat and two minutes to present the argument. (3) MARKET YOUR EVENT so community members know they can submit questions. A2Ethics asks that they be no more than 150 words and focus on topics of broad impact. (The group does not use questions related to abortion or capital punishment.) Teams receive all potential questions one week before the slam. (4) RECRUIT TEAMS that reflect your community. A2Ethics likes to include a mix of people from businesses, nonprofits, schools and universities, and the government. Choose judges with expertise in different subjects. (5) PASS OUT CARDS printed with The Four- Way Test, Rotary’s ethical yardstick; the Rotary Code of Conduct; and materials with your club’s contact information. (6) MAKE IT FUN by printing up T-shirts, choosing a master of ceremonies with a good sense of humour, and encouraging each team to invite family and friends to attend.
52 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
From Left: Kerry, a slam supporter and President-elect of the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor; Team Darcy, the 2013 “people’s choice” winner.
Teams come from a range of institutions and groups, including a liberal-arts-focused prep school, an integrated marketing communications agency, the clinical research administration programme at Eastern Michigan University, and the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, a nonpartisan political organisation that promotes civic engagement. “Bringing together this many people to talk about ethically focused questions — all from different backgrounds, from organisations with different mission statements — you’re going to hear something new,” Mattimoe says. “All communities have traditions of civic-mindedness and ethics engagement,” DeLay says. “We’re providing a new showcase to people like Rotarians who are working to make their communities places that value, support and celebrate ethics and civic-minded practices.” Jennifer Conlin and Sallyann Price Photography by Jim West Reproduced from The Rotarian
Each year an internationally eminent person in the science world is invited to address the British scientific community at the Zuckerman Lecture, named after Lord Zuckerman, a distinguished scientist who was at the heart of British science for over 60 years. In 2003, Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, the leading architect of India’s science and technology policies was invited to deliver the Lecture at the Royal Society, London. Transcript of his acclaimed address is reproduced in these pages. (Continued from the previous issue)
T
he data collected by NASSCOM in India shows that over 25,000 professionals have returned over the past three years. These first faint signs of the reversal of brain drain in India are due to increased opportunities in the IT sector and also in the new multinational R & D centres. Reversal of brain drain will only take place, when there are improved opportunities in one’s chosen field and improved economic conditions — this is true universally.
Global Knowledge Pool for Global Good through Global Funding Are we doing enough to fund those areas of research which will benefit the poor? I am afraid not. Let me illustrate this by dealing only with the issue of diseases of the poor. Today, there is a problem about creating the drugs for treating the diseases of the poor. For instance, in 1998, the global spending on health research was $70 billion, but just $300 million was dedicated to vaccines for HIV/AIDS and about $100 million to malaria research. Of 1,223 new drugs marketed worldwide between 1975 and 1996, only 13 were developed to treat tropical diseases and 54 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
only 4 were the direct result of pharmaceutical industry research. It is obvious that there is a pressure on large drugs and pharma companies to provide the maximum value to their shareholders. Their research portfolio is obviously heavily slanted towards drugs, which bring in maximum profits to the firms and not towards the drugs for the poor. Incidentally, this is true of the pharma companies in India too! Even though there is an orphan drug law, the developed world does not have
an incentive to work on diseases, which do not affect at least some part of their own population. Therefore, there is no substitute to creating new drugs for the poor excepting through public funding (national as well as international) and also through meaningful public-private partnerships. Can new drugs be effectively developed by public funding? Two issues arise here. First, the track record of the government in commercialising research is generally poor. Secondly, the governments of the developing countries will not have adequate R & D budgets of their own for supporting research for diseases of the poor, especially the tropical diseases. These problems can be circumvented by using successful models like the ones that have been used in agriculture. Research in agriculture was supported through public funding. It has given immense benefits to the developing countries, heralding green revolution in several countries. The solution is to create a global knowledge pool for global good through global funding. The global fund should be created and managed by an international body. The funding
should be given for creating new knowledge and products for identified diseases of concern to the poor. The research agenda can be set and programmes monitored by this body. The norms for sharing the intellectual property arising out of this could be decided in such a way that access at affordable prices to the poor is ensured. There are three ways of funding. The first is to create new world-class R & D centres in countries, which have the intellectual capacity to deliver. These centres could be specially fenced, structured and managed. The second is to fund already existing public institutions in developing countries, who have a successful track
record, and whose performance could be bolstered with additional and directed funding. The third is to create a global knowledge network with partnership between the public and the private as is being done, for example, by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) or International AIDS Vaccine Initiative. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that supporting R & D for the poor in the developing nations can bring rich benefits. India’s Central Drug Research Institute produced a drug to treat cerebral malaria. Themis, an Indian pharma company sells it under the brand name E-Mal to 48 countries at affordable prices. These include the
poor nations in Africa. India’s Shantna Biotech came out with a recombinant DNA vaccine (Shanvac) on Hepatitis B. This vaccine was being sold for US $15 per dose. Thanks to the entry of Shanvac, the prices of the vaccine kept on tumbling till they came to less than a dollar per dose. Shanvac is supplied to UNICEF for 50 cents today! The message is that strengthening S & T and manufacturing capacity in the developing world can benefit the poor of the whole world. Global funds directed towards this goal can accelerate the process of providing access of medication to the poor. (Continued…)
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION AWARD WINNERS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD 3030
Vishwas Sahasrabhojanee
3050
Joitabhai Patel
3100
Lalit Mohan Gupta
3140
Nitin Vijaysinh Mangaldas
3190
S.R.Yogananda
3250
Kamal Sanghvi CITATION FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE
2980
V. Gnanasekaran
3050
Ratneshwar Kashyap
3060
Bipinchandra Vadhar
3090
Bagh Singh Pannu
3100
Ravi Bhargava
3131
Sadanand A. Shanbhag
3140
Bansi Dhurandhar
3140
Madhukar Deodhar
3150
Krishnanandam Damaraju
3170
Gurudatta D. Bhakta
3190
Somasekharappa Nagendra
3202
Palanisamy Balasubramaniam
3211
Koshy T.N. Panicker
3250
Chiranjiva Khanelwal
3260
Bhabani Prasad Chowdhury Source: The Rotarian NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 55
ROTARY ACTS
Seven years of dedicated efforts of the Rotarians of Rotary Club of Bombay Airport, RI District 3140, to effect a better life for the tribal community of Maswan has given shape to the sprawling school building at the village that would now dispel darkness and empower the villagers through education.
B
ringing education for the economically deprived community has been a passionate endeavour for Rotarians. The high point of being a Rotarian is that the organisation provides ample opportunities to its members to bring about unimaginable transformations in the life of the underprivileged through various humanitarian services and what better way to sustainably enhance the life of the downtrodden than through education! “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself,”
56 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
said John Dewey. While we place so much significance on basic education that would empower mankind, there are hamlets which do not have any such facility and ‘school’ is tragically an unheard of word for the unfortunate people. Or worse still, there are structures in ramshackle that villages identify as ‘school’ which just turns off
children from attending classes — if at all they are conducted! The Adivasi Seva Mandal’s Adivasi Ashram Shala is one such school in the village, Maswan situated in Palghar tehsil of Thane District in Maharashtra. The village is inhabited with tribal community and lacks proper infrastructure. The Adivasi Ashram Shala is a chain of residential schools to impart education for the tribal community across Maharashtra. These tribes exist in nearly all districts of the state and this school serves as a boon for the people. They belong to the very low income group and cannot afford to pay the educational expenses for their wards. When the Rotarians of RC Bombay Airport, RI District 3140, visited the
Above: ARRFC Vijay Jalan visiting the new dormitories; Previous page: Adivasi Ashram Shala School.
residential school at this village in 2007, they were appalled at the sight of the woeful state of the building; yet it had 90 children on its roll and this included girl students too. The entire premise was nothing more than a thatched structure — there were just two toilets that had to be shared by both boys and girls; the kitchen was a tin structure and the food was prepared in such unhygienic environment and the utensils were equally unkempt. The store room doubled up as a bedroom for the children at night; the living quarters and the study room were one and the same. Water for drinking and washing and for other purposes for the students had to be hand-drawn from a well. In no way was it an ideal environment for the children to gain knowledge. The members of RC Bombay Airport were so moved by the plight of these tribal students at the Ashram Shala that they decided to embark upon rebuilding and upgrading the entire campus on priority. The transformation project was undertaken in various phases. The construction work of the new kitchen, store room, dining room, activity cum study areas, totaling 4,800 sq.ft., were undertaken at earnest in the
first phase and it was completed in 2008. In the next phase, the club undertook the construction of the accommodation quarters for boys and girls in separate dormitories of 5,600 sq.ft. each, to provide boarding for 350 children. Bunk beds were provided at the dormitories to enable better comfort for the children. Bathrooms and toilets were given significant importance and special care was taken to provide proper amenities such as water connection and privacy for both genders. Substantial thought was given to the need for outdoor recreational activities for the children to develop a sound body and a sound mind; play equipment were installed separately for boys and girls. The third phase consisting of construction of classrooms and administrative quarters was completed in 2012. The Rotarians did not just stop with the rebuilding of the school. They also set up a vocational training centre within the premises in 2013, as part of their silver jubilee celebrations. Courses in various fields such as computer education, tailoring, beauty treatment, auto mechanics and welding were started within the sprawling 2,500 sq.ft. area earmarked for this purpose, christening it as Smt. Sushilaben Chimanlal
Modi Vocational Training Centre. So far, 84 children have enrolled in the five courses which are being conducted in two batches. With training in such life skills, the children not only acquire academic knowledge but are empowered with self-confidence and optimism, ready to face the future challenges and lead their life with dignity. The new school building was formally dedicated to the village by ARRFC Vijay Jalan. The club also installed 21 solar lights around the school campus under Global Grants to provide safety and security for the children and this was inaugurated by PDG Rahul Timbadia. It was a moment of pride and joy for the 400 Rotarian attendees at the inaugural ceremony. Uniforms were distributed to the school’s students and a medical check-up was also organised for them as part of the occasion. The club has plans to put up a medical centre at the village in the coming years. The Rotarians of RC Bombay Airport experience a sense of fulfillment as they see that the temple of learning that they have facilitated over the years is a much-sought after building for the tribal children and today the school imparts knowledge to 300-plus children and have to refuse admission for more for want of space. “Education is the movement from darkness to light,” said the celebrated American academician, Allen Bloom. How true! Education and the associated facilities in its proper infrastructure would certainly elevate a family’s social status. And Rotary brings this light to millions of communities across the world through its group of compassionate Rotarians. Here at Maswan, by building the school, the Rotarians have cohesively worked to make the dream of complete literacy come true, lifting the tribal villagers out of poverty and help place them in rewarding careers in future. Jaishree with inputs from Rtn. Kevin Colaco, RI District 3140 NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 57
ROTARY ACTS
Terry Fox Run Movies across the globe ironically celebrate heroism of an imaginary sort. No pain, no sweat and a flawless macho define the characteristic of the hero. Have we ever inferred the meaning of heroism in the correct aspect? A real life hero is brave in spite of the pain; he imparts values that come out of sheer strong will and leaves behind an inspiration. Such is the allegory of Rotary Club of Madras East, RI District 3230 and the Terry Fox Run in their fight against cancer.
A
Canadian athlete who decided to raise funds for cancer research after one of his leg was amputated, ran a marathon for 3,339 miles in 143 days and raised $23 million. Terrance Stanley succumbed to cancer but inspired millions of people across the world to keep his combat against cancer going. He is still considered a national hero by the Canadians and his story still holds mettle to make anybody go out and join his cause. He was also conferred
58 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
the title ‘Companion of the order of Canada.’ There are streets, buildings and roads named after Terrance Stanley but his marathon is the living and breathing proof of his legacy. This legacy is now universal. Many nations across the globe have made it part of their efforts to create awareness and research about cancer. The marathon famously known as the Terry Fox Run is named after the brave heart athlete. Chennai has
Get Set Go.
How did the Terry Fox Run come to Chennai? Ask Sujatha Dube how she feels about the success of the Terry Fox Run in Chennai, and she would have just one answer: “I wish he was here to see it.” Sujatha and Ravi Dube, parents of Akash Dube supported the young man in his endeavour to initiate the Terry Fox Run in Chennai. From the age of 11, Akash who was inspired by Terrance Stanley’s story supported the cause for cancer research. He participated in the run in Dubai where he lived with his family. At the age of 17, he was diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukaemia (cancer of white blood cells). He was rushed to Apollo Hospital, Chennai for his treatment. Akash Dube, all of 19, aspired to study at Stanford University and enrolled in the university to pursue engineering; his aversion for studying for doctor is very well understood because while he was in Chennai undergoing chemotherapy he saw how his humble doctor was undergoing immense turmoil while convincing her child-patients during the painful cancer treatment. He was passionate about motorbikes and wanted to be a motorbike designer in the future. During his treatment in Chennai he required blood for transfusion. Sujatha Dube sent out random emails to organisations and various companies. The been the reception point of the Terry Fox Run in collaboration with Rotary Club of Madras East for the last five years. What makes the Terry Fox Run in Chennai so special this year? Rotary Club of Madras East, RI District 3230 tasted the fruit of hard work when their efforts were flooded with support from 15,000 participants at IIT Madras campus. Registrations were announced through SMS and online registrations were undertaken to avoid hassle free entries. Each participant was determined to show their support towards fighting cancer and helping those suffering from it. The IIT open air theatre witnessed the blend of inspiration and passion of both the host and the participants. The air was filled with enthusiasm and the participants had reached the venue before time, waiting to display their patronage towards
response was overwhelming. The blood transfusion was made easy because of the donation made by strangers. Akash wanted to fight cancer, at the same time he wanted to thank the city which held its hand out to help him. He wanted to thank Chennai. So he decided to host the first Terry Fox Run in Chennai. When he approached his parents they were more than just willing to support him. He was referred to Rotary by a relative Rotarian, the then Governor Rtn. Worathur Anand. Rotary decided to support Akash too. In the year 2009, the first Terry Fox Run was initiated in Chennai. The funds collected were donated to Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. In 2010 Akash came back to Chennai and spent time at schools and colleges spreading awareness about cancer. He organised the second Terry Fox Run in Chennai. Many people supported the cause. On May 11, 2011 Akash succumbed to cancer but left behind a legacy. Today as many as 15,000 people participate in the run. Akash handed over the baton to Rotary. Today Rotary has made the Run an event that embeds passion in the hearts of both young and old to fight a battle against cancer and to keep the lamp of life ignited through humble action.
the noble cause. The participants were patient which exhibited that they in right terms were there for a cause that was above individual comfort. The six kilometre run that took place on 25th August 2013 within the
IIT Madras campus had more than 200 volunteers who were Rotaractors from the IIT Madras and other schools and colleges in Chennai. These volunteers administered the entire event in a vigilant manner.
Enthusiastic Rotaractors.
NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 59
Running for a cause.
Directing the runners in the right direction, providing water bottles and regulating traffic was all handled in a commendable fashion. The volunteers backed the marathon which led to a smooth conclusion. Anns and Annets too lent a helping hand. Stupendous support by the Anns at the T-shirt sales counters along with a few Rotarians highlighted their quality of perfection that is praiseworthy.
The Terry Fox Run Chennai made an outstanding donation of Rs.1.2 million to Sankara Nethralaya for eye cancer research. These funds are a medium to boost research of the malignant disease — a step towards reaching out to those who are lying helpless in their depressing cancer wards. These funds are a showcase of support to those affected by the disease. At the Terry Fox Run nobody is a stranger, an all for one
and one for all passion is what has made the Terry Fox Run such a grand success. A hero resides in each and everybody. A hero who can feel, understand and associate with the pain of others, a hero who guides like a star, someone who can fight all odds not with a fist but with a mind that is at peace — that is a true hero, that is Rotary. Kiran Zehra
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60 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
District Wise Contribution Totals to The Rotary Foundation as on September 30, 2013 (in US Dollars)
District Number
APF
2980 3000 3010 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3291 India India Total
38,230 6,553 2,49,528 10,220 905 32,821 0 50,000 0 5,753 6,041 6,234 1,135 39,540 34,801 1,000 83,774 21,659 1,93,594 22,626 2,100 18,881 10,263 84,724 3,309 23,289 13,434 3,550 36,441 46,374 3,530 22,143 8,174 6,558
PolioPlus*
Other Restricted
3220
24,983
3271
17,010
3272
10,667
3281 3282
13,558 2,200
India 1,043 0 475 0 283 3,413 0 0 0 21,226 (244) 4,953 0 3,939 0 4,877 0 0 0 9,385 0 (100) 1,807 (1,426) 3,085 0 0 7,650 1,305 0 0 0 2,61,275 1,83,000 0 0 1,402 1,100 1,405 9,635 0 0 26 2,223 0 4,030 0 0 671 759 105 0 1,099 (500) 0 0 1,624 1,350 1,600 0 1,603 100 0 0 0 0 0 16,050 10,00,000 12,78,565 2,71,663 Sri Lanka 298 17,021 Pakistan 0 2,151 Pakistan & Afghanistan 0 1,563 Bangladesh 11,113 2,131 0 0
3,074 11,58,676 1,75,46,650
Nepal 0 10,614 12,89,976 3,05,143 94,15,965 32,53,581
3292 South Asia Total World Total
10,87,184
* Excludes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Permanent Fund 6,600 0 51,316 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 741 0 0 62,058 0 0 705 (1,852) 0 0 1,000 0 23,474 105 1 0 0 0
Total Contributions
1,44,148
45,873 7,028 3,04,540 10,220 22,131 37,530 3,939 54,877 0 15,138 5,941 6,615 4,220 47,190 36,106 1,000 5,28,790 21,659 1,96,096 95,724 2,100 21,130 14,998 82,872 4,739 23,394 15,033 3,550 62,889 48,079 5,234 22,143 8,174 22,608 10,00,000 27,81,560
0
42,302
3,187
22,348
0
12,230
1,000 0
27,802 2,200
0 1,48,335 29,38,641
13,688 29,02,130 3,31,54,837
Source: RI South Asia Office
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ROTARY ACTS
Beside the fourth longest river in India is a small village that has its veins running dry without any water. A miracle bestowed by Rotary Club of Chilakaluripet, RI District 3150 and Rotary Club of The Hills-Kellyville, RI District 9680, Australia has restored the land with water. Here is the success story of Rotary in Zinkapalem village.
“
The future of India lies in its villages,� asserted Mahatma Gandhi and his statement stands true to this day. Our villages contribute towards 80 percent of economic development. Agriculture, forestry, fishery and handlooms are the backbone of India in the global market. India is the largest producer of wheat and rice in the world today and all of this produce comes from villages where agriculture is the main source of daily bread. But for the villagers of Zinkapalem it was difficult to earn their livelihood by means of agriculture as the area suffered from water scarcity. Monsoons hit the land dry. The ground water was nothing more than a trickling solution which left the village dependant entirely on the Edurumandi Reservoir for the irrigation of 250 acres of agricultural land and drinking water. Today the scene has comprehensively changed. Rotary stepped into the frame of a distorted agricultural image and began the process of embellishment. Rotary Club of Chilakaluripet, RI District 3150 and Rotary Club of 62 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
Happy villagers of Zinkapalem.
The Hills-Kellyville, RI District 9680, Australia in association with TRF under its Matching Grants facility initiated the Zinkapalem Irrigation Project. The stupendous task included building of tanks of various sizes to store water and the setting up of nine diesel motors and pumps. The total project cost worked out to a thriving amount of Rs. 17,60,000. The contribution was colossal and so was the task. Tanks of various sizes were being dug up in various parts of the 250 acre
stretch. These tanks would nourish the land and make cultivation possible. But what if the tanks dried up and no monsoon came to the rescue and the reservoir ran dry? Well Rotary comes from an all-round school of thought. The next step Rotary initiated was to construct diesel motors and pumps to siphon water from the irrigation canal at Guntur district and from the Krishna River during monsoons. This would leave the village irrigated throughout the year immaterial of rainfall, dried
Rotarians dedicating a pumpset to the village.
reservoir and saline water. This could also be called the introspective appearance of Rotary — Water for Life. Work was completed under the support of PDG Jashti Ranga Rao, PDG Ravi Vadlamani, Rtn. E.V Girish Babu, Rtn. Shaik Abdul Rahaman, President Mohammed Yousuf Ali and Secretary Dr. Perni
Krishna Mohan. On 19th September 2013 Zinkapalem saw the inauguration of their dreams. The gateway to growth channelised through 90 tanks and 9 diesel motors and pumps held the villagers in excitement and tears of joy. For them it was an answer to their prayers and cure to an ailing wound. For Rotary it was yet another
milestone of success, a tale of passion and humanity and the inference of the joyful smile on the face of the villagers in Zinkapalem. Kiran Zehra with inputs from PDG Jashti Ranga Rao, RI District 3150
NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 63
ROTARY ACTS
The launch of the mobile mammography unit mounted on a bus by RC Bangalore West, RI District 3190 and RC Gold Coast Lake Success, RI District 7255, USA is an enormously beneficial service for the rural women of Karnataka in the detection and creation of awareness of breast cancer.
T
he Forum of Breast Cancer Protection says that over 90,000 Indian women die of breast cancer every year. Based on the current estimates, it is predicted that one in every 25 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. The predictions by WHO are all the more alarming: it says that by 2020, one in eight urban women in India is likely to develop breast cancer in her lifetime. It is also predicted that breast cancer will become the most common type of cancer affecting women, overtaking cervical cancer by the year 2020. Women in the age group of 35-45 are known to be prone to the disease. It has been clinically proven that if detected early, breast cancer is curable with survival rates at over 90 percent. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) have analysed the number of breast cancer cases in the metros such as Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai between 1982 and 2005 and the statistics report that Bangalore tops the list with a rise of 104 percent in the 24 years — while it was 15.8 per 1,00,000 women in 1982, the number of breast cancer cases rose to 32.2 in 2005; Chennai ranks second with a rise of 82 percent (18.4 per 1,00,000 women in 1982 and the number increased to 33.5 in 2005); Delhi had an increase of 30 percent and 64 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
Mumbai had a 10 percent rise in the number of breast cancer sufferers. The health ministry of the Government of India has risen to the calamity and screening for breast cancer has been undertaken on a war footing; guidelines have been issued to the states on how the screening has to be done. Screening of women above 30 years of age for breast cancer has been undertaken by the states either through special camps or at the Community Health Centre. The need of the hour is to raise awareness among our women about early diagnosis and regular screening to combat breast cancer. Women at the grass roots level are the most vulnerable as they lack education and the financial means to keep the disastrous effects of the disorder at bay. It was precisely this thought that instigated the Rotarians of RC Bangalore West, RI District 3190 to take the medical facilities to the doorsteps of the rural women; the recent launch of the ‘MOM Express’ takes care of this supreme service literally. The Matching Grant service of the Rotary clubs — Rotary Bangalore West, RI District 3190, Rotary Gold Coast Lake Success, RI District 7255, USA and The Rotary Foundation, along with Poornasudha Cancer Foundation launched Karnataka’s unique and the first of its kind Mobile On-site
Mammography bus, MOM Express. The bus mounted with the sophisticated mammography equipment would go around the state, especially the rural and the semi-urban regions of Karnataka, facilitating clinical examination for detection of breast cancer in women and also to spread awareness among the people about the disease. Poornasudha Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organisation with its registered offices at Bangalore in India and New Jersey in USA, came out with a proposal to establish the mobile mammography unit and Rotary rose to the challenge identifying it as a sustainable project that fits into its objective of Disease Prevention and Treatment besides the maternal care. The overall cost of the project worked to around Rs.77,00,000 and Rotary decided to contribute towards the equipment namely, the Siemens mammography machine, the Fuji-make ‘computerised radiography system’ comprising of the reader and the dry laser imager. The initiative and the dedicated support of PDG Ravi Bhooplapur, RI District 7255 right from the inception of the project is noteworthy. PDG Ravi Bhooplapur is one Rotarian who is passionately involved in humanitarian projects in several countries across the world; the Gift of Life project that he instigated in 2001 is saving thousands of little lives through paediatric
Above: The mammography bus; Right: Mammography equipment mounted inside the bus. cardiac corrective surgeries in India and other countries; he has helped set up cancer hospital and research centres in Hyderabad and Vijayawada in India and has also actively coordinated in organising medical missions to various countries. Associating himself with the Rotarians of Rotary Bangalore West, PDG Ravi has been instrumental in raising funds from Rotarian and nonRotarian philanthropists in the USA for the cause of the mobile mammography unit. The onsite mammography bus was sponsored by Poornasudha Cancer Foundation. It is custom-built to accommodate the mammography machines. The MOM Express has the capacity to scan 35 women on a single day and is provided with a 2 mm thick lead lining to prevent low intensity radiation from seeping outside. The inside of the bus has a reception area, an examination room and the place where the machine is mounted. Prior to the MOM Express visiting a locality for the detection camps, the co-ordinators from Poornasudha Foundation would visit the area to create awareness among the women there on issues related to breast cancer, the importance of the tests and diagnosis, what mammography is all about and teach them self breast-examination.
Once the mammography is done, the result would be communicated within seven to ten days after it is interpreted by the radiologist. If there is anything abnormal, the Foundation will guide the patient to the nearest cancer care hospital. One of them is the Ranga Durai Hospital in Bangalore which is closely associated with RI District 3190, having established a specialised paediatric care centre there under a Matching Grant in 2011. The MOM Express was formally launched by the Governor of Karnataka, His Excellency Dr. Hans Raj Bharadwaj in the presence of the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, Mr. U.T. Khader, the Founder-Trustees of Poornasudha Cancer Foundation, Mrs. Poornima Sudhindra and Dr. Ramakrishna Sudhindra, PDGs Badri Prasad, Rajendra Rai, DG K.S. Nagendra, the President of RC Bangalore West, Rtn.
G. Shantharam and Rotarians of the District. Currently, only large hospitals and very few diagnostic centres have mammography machines though mammography is the only way to detect breast cancer at an early stage. Less than one percent women undergo mammography test annually in the state. One of the Project Co-ordinators, PDG Rajendra Rai said that the MOM Express would significantly impact cancer treatment by way of enhanced awareness and early detection of breast cancer among the economically backward communities and its easy accessibility is a big plus for the regions where medical aid is almost nil. In short, Rotary has created an entity through this initiative towards the cause of breast cancer awareness. Jaishree with inputs from PDG Rajendra Rai, RI District 3190 NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 65
HEALTH WATCH
Y
ou think of Tea and the popular ‘Wah Taj’ advertisements come to mind. What is it about this drink that brings about a sense of warmth, comfort and freshness? Drunk hot with milk and sugar or cold with a twist of lime, this is the perfect way to start your day or unwind in the evenings. Let’s find out something more about this beloved brew. It was way back in 2737 BC that the second emperor of China, Shen Nung, discovered tea when tea leaves fell into his cup of hot water. But it was only in 725 AD that the Mandarin Chinese gave tea its own character and called it ‘ch’a,’ while the Fujian province called it ‘Tay.’ When ch’a went beyond the Chinese border it was called ‘Chay’ in Turkish, ‘Cha’ in Persia, which later evolved into ‘Chai’ in Arabic and Russian. Almost 800 years later, Europeans were exposed to this beverage when a Venetian author wrote about Asians and their Tay drinking habits. The drink quickly became popular in Europe and was called ‘Tea’ by the British, ‘The’ by the French, and ‘Tee’ by the Germans. As tea consumption increased, that of alcohol declined. Tea parties became quite trendy among women across the social classes. Many believe that tea was introduced to India when the British came here. But you will be surprised to know the consumption of tea was clearly documented in the Ramayana (750–500 BC) when Hanuman was sent to the Himalayas to bring the Sanjeevani tea plant for medicinal use. The tribes of North-East India have also been consuming tea since the 66 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
12th century. However, commercial production of tea began only with the arrival of the British East India Company, at which point large portions of land were converted into plantations for mass tea production.
Customs Tea drinking is a social activity in many parts of the world. Given below is a brief account of the tea drinking culture in different countries.
Chinese social life still centres around the tea house, where the traditional ‘gongfu’ tea ceremony is performed using a set of delicate tea bowls and an intricate method of making the tea. After a person’s cup is filled, that person may knock their bent index and middle fingers on the table to express gratitude. This custom is said to have originated when Emperor Qian Long would travel in disguise through the empire. Servants were told not to reveal their master’s identity. One day in a restaurant, the emperor, after pouring himself a cup of tea, filled a servant’s cup as well. The servant was so honoured that he wanted to kneel and express his thanks. But he couldn’t do it as that would reveal the emperor’s identity so he bent his fingers on the table to express his gratitude and respect to the emperor. The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the ‘Way of Tea,’ is a cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of ‘matcha’ or powdered green tea. Many of the movements and components of the tea ceremony evolved from the wearing of kimono. For example, certain
at 4 or 5 pm is still a very important event when pots of tea are served with neat little sandwiches and pastries. In Sri Lanka, lunchtime tea with ‘hoppers’ is a tradition. Hoppers are a type of pancake made with rice flour, coconut milk, sugar, salt and yeast. It is cooked in a special pan to give it a bowl-like shape.
India is the largest consumer of tea in the world. The afternoon tea, a concept inherited from the British, is generally served with biscuits, samosas and other snacks. Roadside tea stalls are very popular, brewing tea with ginger, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Kashmir pink tea prepared with spices, nuts and salt instead of sugar, is a popular drink. movements are designed with long kimono sleeves in mind; certain actions are intended to move the sleeves in mind; certain actions are intended to move the sleeves out of the way or to prevent them from becoming dirty in the process of making or serving the tea. In Mongolia, tea is crushed and brewed with water and yak buttermilk. The liquor is then strained and mixed with milk, salt, butter and roasted grain. In Tibet, tea is crushed and soaked in water overnight and the infusion is then churned with salt, goat’s milk and yak butter to produce a thick buttery drink. Both Mongolian and Tibetan teas are drunk from a bowl rather than a cup. The Russians brew their black tea in a special urn called ‘samovar.’ When tea is served, a cup is half filled with the strong tea, watered down with hot water and drunk with sugar or jam. In Turkey, a strong black brew is prepared and strained into tulip-shaped glasses and served with traditional snacks. In the eastern part of the country, a cube of sugar is placed under the tongue before the tea is sipped from the glass.
Moroccans also have a special tea drinking ceremony where incense is lit and all present watch as the host prepares the brew. Green tea is prepared with fresh mint and sugar and then poured into glasses from a height so that the liquid becomes frothy. In the UK, many people start the day with a cup of tea in bed, more tea at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Afternoon tea
The main advantage of tea lies in the fact that it is a completely natural product without any artificial flavourings, colours or preservatives. Even though it is a very healthy drink, caution must be observed because too much of a good thing makes it harmful. Source: The Indian Vegetarian Congress Quarterly
Types of Tea There are several different types of tea — all produced from the same plant. It depends on when the leaves are plucked and how much they are processed.
White Tea: This is the least processed of all teas and therefore tastes most like fresh leaves or grass — with a light, sweet flavour. It is pale yellow in colour.
Green Tea: This is similar to white tea but the leaves are plucked when mature and processed a little more. The flavour of green tea can be described as fresh, light, green or grassy. It is light green in colour.
Black Tea: This is the most common and most processed of teas. This is also the strongest in flavour and contains the most caffeine. The flavour has been described as sweet, bitter, earthy, malty, peppery, smoky, spicy, etc. It is deep brown or black in colour.
Oolong Tea: This tea is processed more than green tea but less than black tea. It is reddish in colour and has a flowery, creamy flavour.
Flavoured tea: Tea leaves are mixed with essential oils, spices, flower petals or other ingredients such as mint, orange peel, etc. to produce flavoured or blended tea.
NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 67
FOCUS RC SHIRVA RI District 3180 Students of the Pamboor Catholic Higher Primary School were gifted with uniforms by the club. This initiative of the club has encouraged many poor children to attend school without worrying about stitching a new school uniform.
RC PUNGANUR CENTRAL RI District 3190 Rotarians donated classroom furniture to Melipatla Elementary School. The benches and the desks would provide better comfort for the students and would instil interest in the children to pursue education. 68 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
RC COCHIN VYPIN ISLAND RI District 3201 School uniforms and bags were distributed to the students of Government Lower Primary School in Elankunnapuzha by the club. This move by the club will make coming to school a pleasant experience for the children.
RC SAKTHINAGAR RI District 3202 The club in association with IDEA–India and Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation, Japan donated Rs.20 lakhs to 40 children whose parents are suffering from leprosy, as educational assistance.
RC ALLEPPEY EAST RI District 3211 After the heavy floods the residents of Kuttanad village witnessed a sigh of relief by way of food relief campaign organised by the club. Food supplies were distributed amongst the flood–affected families.
RC GOLDEN RAMNAD RI District 3212 Nurses and administrative staff of various hospitals in Ramnad received a one day hands on computer training under the collaboration of the club with Indian Medical Association.
NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 69
RI DISTRICT 3230 World Breastfeeding Week was observed by the clubs and a walkathon attended by more than 1,000 participants helped spread awareness about the benefits of breast-feeding and its effect on reducing child mortality.
RC GUWAHATI RI District 3240 A three-month tailoring programme was organised by the club in order to train poor women in the skill. This would help them in taking up tailoring as a vocation and generate revenue for their family.
RC DAMODAR VALLEY RI District 3250 The club donated wheel chairs to physically challenged people. This would help them move around independently and remove the burden of depending on others.
RC KORBA RI District 3261 A general health check-up camp at Etmanagar, a remote village was organised by the club. The villagers who were in need of medical attention were delighted. Relevant medicines were also distributed to the patients. 70 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
RC BHUBANESWAR FRIENDS RI District 3262 The Rotarians have adopted a unique custom wherein the members contribute cash at each meeting. The month’s savings is given to a needy person. They thus donated cash to an old widow to help her carry out repair works for her home.
RC SALT LAKE METROPOLITAN RI District 3291 Cycle rickshaws and cycle vans were provided to poor people at subsidised rate under the club’s Swabalamban scheme. This would enable the unskilled people to earn a living and augment their family income.
RC BUTWAL RI District 3292 Study material worth Rs.2,40,000 was distributed amongst children of The Association for Disabled and Helpless Children. This would help them enhance their academic talents.
RC PONDICHERRY BEACH TOWN RI District 2980 Handwriting notebooks were distributed to students from a government school at Tirukanur, Pondicherry. The club initiated this project to enhance the writing skills of the students.
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ROTARY NEWS 71
RC PUDUKKOTTAI PALACE CITY RI District 3000 The club visited an old age home in Pudukkottai to celebrate World Senior Citizens Day. Saris and dhotis were distributed to the inmates of the old age home. The club also donated some cash to help in assisting the home for basic necessities.
RC BHUSAWAL RI District 3030 In a move to encourage and provide women with better health the club held a Rubella vaccination camp. Nursing students of Godavari Nursing College administered the vaccines to about 500 adolescent girls who visited the camp.
RC LUDHIANA NORTH RI District 3070 Water coolers with reverse osmosis purifiers were provided to the Ekjot Viklang Bacho Ka School at Ludhiana. This humble gesture would help in providing clean and hygienic drinking water for the physically challenged students.
RC FARIDABAD CENTRAL RI District 3100 Poor girls experienced their dream of marriage come true when the Rotarians of the club sponsored for their wedding in association with Sai Dham Trust. The newly-weds were provided with monetary and material help to start their new life. 72 ROTARY NEWS NOVEMBER 2013
RC MATHURA CENTRAL RI District 3110 A two day dental check-up camp was organised by the club at Vinod Kumar Koylawale Shishu Mandir. Children were checked for dental ailments and relevant treatment was offered.
RC SANGOLA RI District 3132 Bicycles were donated to water supply workers of Sangola Municipal Council. This was done with a view to assist these workers to transport water cans on the bicycles instead of physically carrying the heavy water cans from one place to another.
RC ULHASNAGAR MIDTOWN RI District 3140 New clothes, stationery items and lunch boxes were distributed to school going children at the village Bonoli Ambernath. The village is adopted by the club and this project was executed to encourage the village children to attend school.
RC SALT LAKE CITY RI District 3291 An International RYLA Camp was held at Rotary Prakash Bhaban, Kolkata. The motivational programme was co-hosted by 28 other clubs in the district and included participants from Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 73
CULTURE
About to be revealed is the chronicle of a classical dance encompassed in a religious institution, nurtured, practiced and protected by the pious. Furnishing Assam as a cultural niche of India its dance and music enchants the soul. Explore, come take a closer look at the art of dancing in Assam — Sattriya.
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ational Broadway lit up to showcase the forte of Assam’s classical dance as Indian pride. Honour was bestowed upon the centuries old dance form in the year 2000 when it was included as the eighth classical dance form of India. The media sang songs of praise and the whole world came beckoning to watch artists perform Sattriya. The power of the performance is so scintillating that the backdrops or Tinseltown-like setting need be ignored. The hand and feet movements, the eye coordinating to each movement and body obliging in divinity holds power to enchant celestial beings. When one watches Sattriya he is bound to flash eulogy. Assam, one of the states in India is a place of cultural diaspora; historic impulse and biodiversity engulfs the tale of a five hundred year old dance form. Assam well known for Right: The great saint Srimanta Sankardev. Below: A Sattriya dance troupe.
its tree produce also is the centre for traditional and cultural growth in India. Dated back to the 2nd century BC is a record of dance and music in Assam. Records describing about the dance, Odramagadhi at Pragjyotishpura (present day Guwahati) and stories of entertaining a Chinese traveller, Xuan Zang with dance and music on his visit to the Kamarupa king Bhaskar
Varman are also famously narrated. The Kamarupa inscriptions indicate dance and music accompanied with musical instruments. References of this dance form are found in the ancient Indian classical texts like Natyashastra, Kalikarpurana, Yoginitamtra, Abhinaya Darpan and Srihastanmuktavali. With a minimal compulsion and the need of just faithfully chanting
God’s name, came the Ekasarana Dharma during the 15th century. The motivational force of this religious movement was initiated by the intellectual Assamese guru, Srimanta Sankardev. He was a reformer, a polymath who believed that a religion susceptible to simplicity should be practised rather than that which lays profound rules and regulates the
From Left: Sankardev Satra of Patbausi, Barpeta; Performing the Sattriya.
worship from the heart. The religion strictly practised the chanting of the name of God — ek sarana Hari naam dharma, comprising its name. This form of worship not just attracted the Hindus but also the non-Hindu tribes
giving them an unbiased platform to worship. Srimanta Sankardev laid the foundation of monasteries, the ‘Sattras’ and the religion’s holy text Bhagavat of Sankardev which was recreated from the Sanskrit Bhagavata Puranas by him. The Sattras created contingency for the believers of the new religion to explore the path to worship and praise by means of fine
arts. Music was dedicated to God through the Borgeet, theatre found a new avenue in Ankia Nat (a form of one act plays devised by Sankardev) and dance conceptualised as Sattriya. These dance recitals were exclusively practised within the compound of the Sattras, as Assam’s monasteries were called, which is the epicentre of the Vaishanavite culture. As the tradition
developed and grew within the Sattras, the dance form came to be known as Sattriya Nrittya. The Sattras which acted as monasteries for the followers of the Ekasarana Dharma was first set at Bardowa, the birth place of Srimanta Sankardev to fructify Neo-Vaishnavism. The Sattras aimed at teaching the common people simple ways of living, equality of all men in the field of religion, and practicing non-violence and doing away
with the belief in sacrifice of birds and animals which was largely prevalent in the society of that time in the name of religion. Governed by adhikara, the Sattras nurtured the devotion of the bhakats. Sankardev’s perception of devotion catalogued to lila — the divine sports where worship meant to listen, sing, chant, dance and enact in praise of Brahma. During the Bhakti Movement, the theatre too perceived a more pious
profile. The drama or Natya written by Sankardev was called Ankia Nat. The one act plays began with a prayer and Purvaraga where the Gayan (singer) and Bhayan (musician) performance is announced by a gong. Saru-Dhemali and Bor-Dhemali are the hand movements used by the musicians to play their instruments and perform a dance with the cymbal and dhol or drums. Sattriya was performed as part of the Ankia
Nat and the enactment was termed as Ankia Bhaona. The enactment of Ankia Bhaona was the birth of Sattriya. Initially this dance form was a display of high devotion and was performed only by the monks who regarded it as pure dance or Nrittya. Sattriya was performed in a highly ritualistic manner by the monks of the Sattras as part of their ritual calendar more as an offering of devotional prayer than as presentation of an art form. Because of its religious character its emergence from the monasteries on to the contemporary stage took a long time. Today this dance form is performed by artists, both male and female. It could be in right terms called as the enhancement of the divine art of Nrittya to Nrittya Kala. The dance that took over 500 years to be a gem in the crown of our country has its own fundamentals. The artist performing Sattriya endure rigorous exercise and practice. MatiAkhara or the ground exercise is the primary method to enhance the dance form. Sattriya has a profound syllabus that has matured over the ages and is the epitome of grace, devotion and immaculateness and Mati-Akhara is its grammar. These ground exercises lay the foundation of a healthy body, mind and a spiritually sound soul. The dance Nrittya and the dancer Nartaki have to create a spirit of oneness for its beauty to come out in full form. Brahma’s contemplation over the four Vedas led to the fifth — Natya Veda. Lord Shiva in order to vent his anger performed the tandav and Parvati gracefully transformed the violent moves of the tandav by performing the lasya. The literal meaning of lasya is beauty, happiness and grace. Sattriya dance is a form of lasya. The foot movements of this dance form are delicate and begin with Ora. The Ora
BIHU DANCE
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grarian prosperity is celebrated thrice in a year in Assam. Maagh Bihu in January followed by the Rongali Bihu in April which is observed as Assamese New year, and concludes with the Kaati Bihu in October. The word Bihu is also coined from the terms ‘Bi’ which means ‘to ask’ and ‘hu’ which means ‘to give.’ The Dimasa people or the children of Assam soil offer the first crop of the season to Brai Shibrai, the supreme God. The Rongali Bihu thus marks gaiety, fun and tradition. Rongali Bihu is a blend of many traditions as Assam borders with Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. The Dimasa people are agrarian by nature and celebrate the harvesting season with great fervour. Young Assamese men and women irrespective of caste, creed or belief participate in this festival. Bihu witnesses the performance of the Bihu dance, a merry and delightful folk dance. The dancers both men
and women dress in traditional Assamese Mekhala Chadar and jewellery and dance to the tunes of the dhol (twin faced drum), pepa and gogona accompanied with traditional Bihu music. The lyrics are romantic and the beats and rhythm more amusing and course from welcoming the new year, description of spring and the feeling of love for young couples. The audience is held in mesmerism and the feeling of joy tingles in the heart of the viewer. Bihu got an international performance platform at the Olympics in 2012. Well appreciated and recognised, the dance is relished and savoured by many minds for leaving behind a joyful and merry feeling at the stadium. Assam holds within its heart great contribution towards India’s traditional development. Assam’s cultural commission has a dose of pride and rustic glamour that leaves India with more reasons to celebrate its diversity.
is similar to the aramandi in bharatnatyam. This basic movement is further classified into purusha ora (male character), prakriti ora (female character), phul ora, lahi ora and more. Each ora has a different positioning and is executed according to the story — Ankia Nat. Dramatic situation procure the movements and play a significant role in Sattriya. These movements are a blend of the hand, eye and footwork. The hand movements are delicate and are positioned with perfection and hold spectators’ attention throughout. The foot work is gracefully synthesised with the hand movements. The amalgamation comes to a state of completion only when the Abhinaya (expression of face and body) is well coordinated. Abhinaya embodies aharya — facial makeup, costumes, jewellery and the setting; vachika — speech and songs
to be performed; angika — movements or stance by the body and; sattvika — expression of emotions. The hand movements are known as hastas in Sattriya. The gestures are so distinct and precise that the message in the movements is conveyed with ease. This form of expression using the body to convey a message is known as the angikabhinaya. Texts from the Natyashastra and Sangita Ratnakar describe twenty four of these hastas. In Sattriya we can find the usage of twenty one hastas. The use of hastas can be seen when artists performs Dashavatara Hastas (ten incarnations of Vishnu), Devata Hastas (for depiction of various Gods), Nakshatara Hasta (for planets) and Sambandha Hasta (for relationships). The core of Sattriya Nrittya has usually been mythological stories, loaded with messages of peace which
depict the life of Lord Krishna or Lord Rama. Sattriya music is based on unique raga and tala pattern set to a large corpus of composition of Sankardev and his successors. There are two broad categories of Sattriya music, one raga-based and the other is light. Bargeet and Ankiya geet fall in the first category, while ghosa, naam prasanga, diha and others belong to the second. The attire of a Sattriya artist is also an extremely well coordinated combination of fabric and accessories. The attire is usually made of Pat Silk — a silk produce of Assam, woven with intricate traditional motifs. The male attire consists of the dhoti and chadar while the female wears the ghuri and chadar. The waist cloth kanchi or kingkini is adorned by both the male and female dancers. Traditional Assamese ornaments are worn. The ornaments feature the conventional designs of Assamese jewellery. Graceful and devotional, this eighth classical form of dance in India epitomises the language of expression and faith in the Almighty. When a Sattriya artist dances to the rhythm of the flute, daba (Kerrle drum), kah (gong), nagara, drum, cymbal and violin, calmness surmounts the spectator and makes him travel to the divine world. Sattriya has stepped out of the monasteries and stepped on the contemporary stage. Artists experiment with its choreography and innovate the abhinaya to bring forth a new Sattriya that still personifies the devotional and traditional spirit of Assam. Be it a traditional performance by a bhakat on Ankia Nat or a contemporary artist performing Chandalika by Rabindranath Tagore, Sattriya beholds the soul in bliss and divinity. Rtn. Giti Bujarbaruah RC Gauhati South RI District 3240 along with Kiran Zehra
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Be it clothes, shoes, perfumes, medical facilities, software, banking, education, hospitality, immigration, travel, transportation or any other field of business, innovation holds the key to being invincible. Change of product may not be as effective as change in ideas. Life by default holds change as the only constant. Changing times demand the display of innovation for sustenance. Climbing up the ladder of success has its own set of complications. Leaders of business organisations apply untried manoeuvres to overwhelm the complexities and travel the growth road. Every company, whether individual or partnered wants to see the profit cursor move higher on the growth chart. But what remains abstruse is the craft of success. To be successful you have to know just one mantra — innovation. If you have hit dead end in making things work in favour of your business and don’t know which road to take, PDG Dr. Rekha Shetty’s Innovation Secrets of Indian CEOs holds the key. Pick up the key and unlock your route to revival. Kiran Zehra
Start with Rotary and good things happen. NOVEMBER 2013
ROTARY NEWS 81
ANNOUNCEMENT With effect from November 1, 2013 the revised RI exchange rate is
US $1 = INR 61.00 Source: RI South Asia Office
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PRID Ashok Mahajan was felicitated by Smt. Rajashree Birla and PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, for his services as RI Director and TRF Trustee at a function organised by RC Mulund, RI District 3140.
TRF Trustee Chair D.K. Lee and his spouse Young Ja were received at Kolkata by PRID Shekhar Mehta, PDG Debasish Mitra and DG Rajani Mukerji.
RC Mango City Malda, RI District 3240, is the first club to be conferred as 100% PHF club in the district.
NOVEMBER 2013
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Family Business
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