Oct 2020 Issue 4
MELAWATI VIBES RC Melawati Official Monthly Newsletter
We Meet Every Wednesday | 8 PM | Rotary Melawati Community Centre Chartered on 14 June 2000
Rotary, the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. In 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation joined Rotary in its commitment to ending polio. This is a special edition of how RC Melawati celebrated World Polio Day.
Leadership
EMBRACING THE NEW NORM BY GOING FULLY DIGITAL AND THROUGH FINDING NEW WAYS OF RAISING FUNDS President Siva Kumar Raghavan
In these first 4 months of Rotary Year 2020/2021 we had undeniably learnt so much in adapting to the new norm and in creating possibilities to be continuously effective as Rotarians. As we embraced the new way of meeting virtually, we now have to be creative in identifying worthwhile projects and think out of the box to raise funds. It would be an uphill task to overcome these challenges as the scenario that we are in is new to all of us. There are many new ways that we need to explore and should be willing to explore to achieve our desired goals. Strengthening our main 3 Pillars of Rotary Club of Melawati 1. Membership We have 41 members to date. Our main objective is to keep our members motivated and focused. Our weekly Zoom meetings with effective Speakers and our monthly Newsletter - Melawati Vibes have engaged members and created public interest. It would be great if our members could introduce potential members during these trying times. Membership growth will help club’s sustainability and its financial strength. Such steady growth would yield a positive long term impact to the club.
In short, we can never get the best of Rotary without participation.
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2. Service We are proud to mention that we are currently embarking on some significant projects that will take us a long way. Most are at the preliminary and needsanalysis stage. As these potential Global Grant projects are in the pipeline, smaller projects are important to keep our momentum going. There are many groups in the community who are affected by the Movement Control Order and if we look into the Rotary’s 7 areas of focus, there could be many more opportunities for service that are yet to be explored. 3. Fundraising Financially, we have sufficient funds to run projects for the next 12 months and more but without new funds we may be facing major financial crises. Fundraising may be challenging with the current scenario. We should innovate and use digital technology to reach out. We have to leverage on the current sentiments when many organisations and individuals are willing to lend a hand. Recently, it was heart-warming to see how engaged and spirited the members were during the Kenduri #wgm, sharing their meals virtually, while raising a whopping USD1,643 in just one sitting! Rotary Club of Melawati had been a consistent PolioPlus contributor since our charter year and yet our members did not really feel the impact of PolioPlus contribution till we personally got involved to raise the funds and participated in listening to some real touching stories. In short, we can never get the best of Rotary without participation. Let’s Engage and Enjoy Rotary! #RotaryOpensOpportunities. Yours in Rotary.
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Leadership
BOARD OF DIRECTORS RY2020-21
Annual Plan for RY20-21 10/2020
07 21 24 31
President Siva Kumar Raghavan cikgusiva@gmail.com President Elect Mahendran Jerry Daniel mahen@i-visionsb.com Immediate Past President Rajindran Irusan rajindran.irusan@gmail.com Honorary Secretary Rtn Raja Yasmin Raja Yusof ryasminy@yahoo.com Honorary Treasurer PAG Sudhaharan Nair sudhaharannair@gmail.com COMMITTEE CHAIRS Membership PP Surindran Ramasamy surind76@gmail.com Club Administration Rtn Mark Krisnan mark_krisnan@yahoo.com (standing in as at 27 Sept) PP Sunthar Raj raj@bridgit.biz Community Service CP Dr. Navin Patel dr.navin.lablink@gmail.com
11/2020
12/2020
International Service Rtn Ooi Soo Kang oosk@cimalaysia.com.my The Rotary Foundation PAG Dr. Selva Kumar Sivapunniam selvakumar.sivapunniam@gmail.com Public Image Rtn Salina Hussein salinahussein@yahoo.co.uk
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Assistant Governor's Visit District Governor's Visit World Polio Day (World's Greatest Meal) Fireside
ROTARY FOUNDATION 14 18 21 TD
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Deepavali Engineers Without Borders Global Grant Workshop Be the Magnet to Employers (TTC)
DISEASE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT TD - Medical Camp for B40 25 - Christmas
01/2021
VOCATIONAL SERVICE 01 - Happy New Year TD - Vocational Service Award 28 - Thaipusam
02/2021
PEACE & CONFLICT PREVENTION/RESOLUTION TD - Rotary Day 12 - Chinese New Year
03/2021
WATER AND SANITATION 08 - International Women's Day 17 - Women in Business
04/2021
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH 08 - Wesak Day 21 - Life of Beauty Queens
05/2021
YOUTH SERVICE 01 09 13 16 19
Vocational Service PAG Shanti Jayaram shajay13@hotmail.com Youth Service Rtn Somphong Klop Col (R) phongevelyn@yahoo.com
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
06/2021
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Labor Day Mother's Day Hari Raya Aidilfitri Teacher's Day Career Wrestle from the Machines
ROTARY FELLOWSHIPS 15 14 20 TD TD
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World Environment Day Club Anniversary Father's Day Family Day Environment Day
WEEKEND CLUB ACTIVITIES
1st Sat 2nd Sun 3rd Sat/Sun
Gotong-royong Board meeting Projects
WEEKLY CLUB ACTIVITIES
1st Wed 2nd Wed 3rd Wed 4th Wed
Sharing/learning Business meeting Speakers Fellowship
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International
PRELUDE TO WORLD POLIO DAY
The Final Dash in Polio Eradication Synergy Rotary Friendship Alliance, comprising 12 Rotary Clubs from 10 countries honoured Rotary hero Dr Tunji Funsho, for his instrumental leadership and work with Rotary members and partners to achieve the eradication of wild polio in the African region at the “Prelude to World Polio Day” virtual event on 18 October 2020. Dr Funsho, chair of Rotary’s Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee was recently recognized as one of TIME's 100 most influential people for 2020. The “Prelude to World Polio Day” garnered more than 200 participants from as far as Switzerland, the UK, Australia and Brunei. In commemorating October as the World Polio month, the event presented Trustee Aziz Memon and Susanne Rea as keynote speakers. Also present were DG Ajit Weerasange; PolioPlus India Chair PDG Deepak Kapur; PolioPlus Afghanistan Chair PDG Mohammad Ishaq; and District Governor Elect Cindy Bachtiar, RID3420 Indonesia.
District 3300 Malaysia recorded a healthy representation of 40 Rotarians and Rotaractors including Past District Governor Kirenjit Kaur, District Governor Elect Dato' Bindi Rajasegaran and District Governor Nominee Dr Krishna Kumar. Trustee Aziz Memon delivered the first keynote address with some insightful sharing. Having served the Rotary cause with exemplary selflessness and intense
TRF TRUSTEE AZIZ MEMON Chairman of Polio Plus Pakistan
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18 OCTOBER 2020 EVENT HOSTED BY RC AMPARA, SRI LANKA compassion, he has been at the forefront in the mission to eradicate polio from Pakistan as Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee member and Chair of National PolioPlus Committee. In his address, he shared that while the world today is going through a very bad pandemic where many countries are still struggling to find ways to protect their citizens, Rotary and The Rotary Foundation are needed now more than before. He said, “When Covid-19 struck, The Rotary Foundation went into immediate action. Almost 362 grants of USD25k were approved within a short period and the Foundation has so far approved 400 global grants for Covid-19 relief items including ventilators.” Trustee Aziz Memon said that countries like Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan fully leverage on the existing polio-plus infrastructure and that was pivotal in fending against the spread of the coronavirus. Though he admitted that the battles for both polio and Covid-19 have yet to be won, the experience with polio has availed Rotary the readiness in rising above the crises with more coordinated and concerted actions. The next keynote speaker was Susanne Rea, the Founder of World’s Greatest Meal (WGM), a program in which Rotarians host meals and through such events, raise funds for polio.
DR TUNJI FUNSHO Chairman of Polio Plus - Nigeria & TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the World
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SUSANNE REA Founder of the World's Greatest Meal
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International
Susanne, who is a childhood polio survivor herself, channeled her energy, enthusiasm and spirit to speak at Clubs, and motivate and inspire the members to organize various WGM programs to raise awareness and and funds for polio. She said, “From as little as a dinner for two and a minimum gift of USD10, to leaping out of a plane with a banner to raise awareness, to tramping in the wild bush with coffee and biscuits and then donate generously online, nothing is too small or too big!” Her zest was truly inspiring! Needless to say that to date, her efforts in rallying Rotary Clubs in the world through WGM programs have raised over $7 million, with matching funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The event culminated in an inspiring sharing by Dr Tunji Funsho. A Rotarian for 35 years, Dr Funsho is a member of the Rotary Club of Lekki, Nigeria, past governor of District 9110, and serves on Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee.
ABOUT
Synergy is Rotary friendship alliance of 12 Rotary clubs from 10 countries in Asia. Synergy aims to: 1. foster strong friendship among clubs across nations 2. organise joint meetings on a scale that a single club or country cannot do 3. progress later to international exchange programs and global Grants 4. harness the power of the OCTOBER 2020 | ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY internationality of Rotary
"Without Rotary I wouldn’t have come to notice. The award is for Rotary. Rotary has been on this mission for 35 years and incidentally that was the year I joined Rotary. And I literally dived into handling polio eradication because of my profession." Dr Funsho is a cardiologist and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London. He became the Chair for polio and set out the road to raise USD120 million which was actually nominal. "At the last count, we spent almost USD20 million dollars and still counting." Dr Funsho said, in 1996, when the Kick Polio Out of Africa initiative was inaugurated through the prompting of Rotary International by former South African President Nelson Mandela, Africa was having 70,000 cases of wild poliovirus every year. It was this initiative that galvanised African countries to start regular mass campaigns, going from house to house to make sure that we don’t lose any child with the oral polio vaccine. "If we can do it in Africa, we can do it in the world. If we can do it with polio, we can do it for any other kind of intervention."
RI DISTRICT 3201/3202 RC Kalamassery RC Cochin Harbour RC Udumalpet Central
RI DISTRICT 3292 RC Thimpu
RI DISTRICT 3220 RC Ampara
RI DISTRICT 3292 RC Dhulikel
RI DISTRICT 3271 RC Karachi
RI DISTRICT 3300 RC Melawati
RI DISTRICT 3272 RC Jalalabad
RI DISTRICT 3420 RC Semarang Kunthi
RI DISTRICT 3281 Mavericks D E VRC E L Dhaka OPMEN T MONTH
RI DISTRICT 3790 RC Baguio Summer Capital
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The Rotary Foundation
KENDURI FOR A CAUSE Little by little, a little becomes a lot
INVOCATION Rtn Dr Indigo 4-WAY TEST Rtn Asha Sandhia TOAST TO AGONG Pres. Siva Kumar TOAST TO RI PAG Pushpa GUEST INTRO PAG Dr Selva Kumar VOTE OF THANKS DGN Dr Krishna ATTENDANCE 60%
It all started when we met Susanne Rea, Rotarian and Polio Eradication Advocate who was one of the guest speakers at the "Prelude to World Polio Event" on 18 Oct, organised by Rotary Synergy Friendship Alliance of which RC Melawati is one of the partner clubs. We were so inspired by her sharing that we decided to do a #WGMeal project at our Club meeting on 21 October. Yes! Miracles can happen within just THREE days! We gathered our resources, informed our members, prepared the EDM and we messaged Susanne that we were going to do a "Kenduri" (a community/family feast) and was seeking her assistance on checking out our submission for the #wgm number. Susanne did better than that! She helped us through the process and even agreed to drop by at our event to say hi to the members! The rest, as they say was history.
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#WGM6778 We had roughly 30 participants attending the event. Besides our guests Susanne, Assistant Governor Dr Rajesh (WGM Coordinator for Malaysia), District Governor Elect Dolly Yeap from District 3310, Rotarians from various clubs from as far as Washington D.C also lent their support! Just for that one evening of the Kenduri, we managed to pool USD1,093. That included the entertainment we had during dinner - per song request at USD5 and a penalty of USD1 for wrong answer during our Polio Quiz. On 31 October 2020 our Treasurer announced the total collection made towards The Rotary Foundation has reached USD1,643.00!
Contribution to the polio plus fund: US$1643.00, transformed into US$4929.00 with the matching by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, funds for 8215 vaccines.
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Club Highlights
OCTOBER 2020 DIARY
2-3
GLOBAL GRANT PROJECT Free Artificial Limbs Screening Camp, Ongarakudil, Thuraiyur
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GOTONG-ROYONG AT RIVER THREE
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CLUB WEEKLY MEETING Visit by Assistant Governor Phillip Wong
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RTN SALMAH'S BIRTHDAY
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PP SURINDRAN'S BIRTHDAY
BOARD MEETING #4 Hybrid Meeting
ROTARY SYNERGY FRIENDSHIP ALLIANCE Prelude to World Polio Day
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RTN APSARA'S BIRTHDAY
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CLUB WEEKLY MEETING Kenduri #WGM6778 Initially planned for DG's Visit but this was postponed until further notice because of CMCO.
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RTN LAI'S BIRTHDAY
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WORLD POLIO DAY: A MALAYSIAN PERSPECTIVE
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PP SREE'S AND RTN RATNAM'S BIRTHDAY
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CLUB WEEKLY MEETING Turning the Spotlight on Pink: Why Should I Care About Breast Cancer
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The Rotary Foundation
More than 170 participants from the medical fraternity, as well as Rotarians and friends joined World Polio Day - A Malaysian Perspective. The event was hosted by District 3300 Malaysia, the Rotary Club of Melawati and Malaysian Paediatric Association. The one-hour programme was jampacked with updates, inspiring stories and sharing of efforts to eradicate polio. Past District Governor Leslie Salehuddin, the Chairman of The Rotary Foundation, District 3300 Malaysia in his opening address hoped that awareness about polio would trigger more active involvement through advocacy, contribution and projects to ensure the vision of permanently eradicating polio is achieved.
POLIO: A MALAYSIAN PERSPECTIVE Hosted by District 3300 Malaysia, RC Melawati and Malaysian Paediatric Association
District Governor Elect Dato' Bindi Rajasegaran gracefully thanked the speakers and delivered the closing remarks that reiterated the need for everyone to rally and support the cause and efforts in eradicating polio. The Organising Chairman, Past Assistant Governor Dr Selva Kumar Sivapunniam who is also the Vice President of Malaysian Paediatric Association, moderated the session. Malaysia's first polio case after nearly three decades means that resurgence after eradication is not impossible. Dato' Dr Musa Mohd Nordin, a senior consultant paediatrician and neonatologist said polio is a very dangerous disease with one in 200 infected patients suffering from paralysis while five to 10% of those infected die.
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The Rotary Foundation
Epidemiologically, Malaysia has been free from paralytic poliomyelitis since 1986 when it had one indigenous case. Together with the Western Pacific region, Malaysia was declared free from polio in October 2000. The last case in the country occurred in 1992. The return of polio to Malaysia came after the Philippines, which shared a close sea border with Sabah, was hit in September 2019 by its first polio case in nearly two decades. The first case was reported on 8 December 2019, followed by two more on 10 January 2020, an 8-year old and an 11- year old, both non-Malaysians. The last one was detected on 5 March 2020, also a nonMalaysian. All of these children have never received any polio vaccines! Dr Musa said the State Health Department targeted for 95% immunisation rate to ensure herd immunity (the national level immunisation should be at 96%). Past President John Soe shared his life being a polio survivor that moved and inspired our Zoomers. His parents, due to their superstitions and lack of understanding, abandoned him to the nuns of a Catholic orphanage in Medan, Indonesia. It was a huge orphanage of 200 children. On school holidays, relatives would come and pick up many of the children, but never him. He lamented that he had never been cuddled or carried on someone’s lap. The only love he had was the gentle kindness of the nuns who took care of him and other orphans. He used to crawl for short distances, but most of the time he used a pair of steel calipers and wooden crutches to walk freely. In 1973, a bachelor Singapore businessman and past president of the Rotary Club of Singapore West, wanted to adopt a son, and talked to the nuns at the orphanage, who recommended John. A local surgeon examined his legs, and performed an operation free of charge that
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helped straighten them. Thirty years later, while visiting a prospective client to renovate his office, John noticed the Rotary pin on his lapel. "When I told him how Rotary had changed my life, he invited me to one of his club’s meetings. It was a great moment when I was accepted and inducted as a member of the Rotary Club of Jakarta Sentral in April 2004." Dr Bernard Chan shared that it was in 1979 when Rotary first made efforts to eradicate Polio on a widespread scale. Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985 and was a founding member of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. Through decades of commitment and work by Rotary and its partners, more than 2.5 billion children have received the oral polio vaccine. The word Polio in PolioPlus was chosen to signal Rotary's request for a polio free world. Plus was added to express Rotary's conviction that a focused attack on polio would also spur a dramatic increase in immunisations against five other childhood vaccinepreventable diseases targeted by WHO's Expanded Program on Immunisation: measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus.
We need just one more thing to end polio forever - YOU!
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Club Highlights
PINK SOLIDARITY FOR CANCER AWARENESS
INVOCATION PAG Shanti 4-WAY TEST Rtn Rajes TOAST TO AGONG Pres. Siva Kumar TOAST TO RI PP Doris SPEAKER INTRO PAG Sudha VOTE OF THANKS CP Dr Navin ATTENDANCE 55%
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with nearly 2 million new cases diagnosed in 2018, representing about 25 per cent of all cancers in women (wcrf.org) Dr M. Murallitharan, the medical director of the National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM), who is actively engaged in health system reforms especially in dealing with non-communicable diseases spoke at RC Melawati's weekly club meeting on 28 October 2020. Almost two third of cancer patients experience some form of mental health issues and a significant percentage (20-30%) of these can lead to severe depression. "What people don't realise is that cancer is also a mentally crippling disease. Apart from the symptoms of the disease and the side effects of treatment, cancer has trickle-down effects. It can impact a person's finances, relationships and other aspects of their life and these can't be treated with a prescription," says Dr Murali. If unchecked or untreated, psychosocial issues can interfere with a patient's treatment. Close to a third of cancer patients in Malaysia drop out of treatment for a variety of reasons that include fear, financial difficulties and the inability to cope. On a lighter yet educational note, Dr Murali shared about Know Your Lemons—a clever campaign that uses the common fruit to show the signs and symptoms of the disease. Past Assistant Governor Sudhaharan Nair who is also the Chairman of District Action Group on Cancer Awareness and Prevention moderated the session well. Members of the RC Melawati openly displayed their support by showing up in various shades of pink. Yes, the gentlemen too! Breast cancer is not just a cause for worry that affect only women, but men too.
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Club Highlights
F R E E
P O L I O P L U S | P U B L I C I M A G E A R T I F I C I A L L I M B S S C R E E N I N G
C A M P
RC MELAWATI ON PUBLIC IMAGE FRESH LOGO FOR REFURBISHED VAN MELAWATI, KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Almost 10 years ago RC Melawati donated a van to SK Taman Melawati 2. They have been using the van extensively since and this year the Board has approved the refurbishment and maintenance expenses of the van to a total of RM5k Besides a fresh coat of paint, the van will don a new exterior: fresher logo and design.
RC MELAWATI LISTED AMONG TOP CLUBS IN THE DISTRICT FOR POLIO PLUS As reported in District Governor's Newsletter for October 2020, RC Melawati will continue to undertake many more projects to fight polio.
PEOPLE OF ACTION CAMPAIGN
Let us all do this for our children.
RC Melawati also joined the People of Action Campaign poster competition. Our submission depicted one of our Rotarians who was a volunteer at SJK (T) Taman Melawati for the High Immersive English Program. She was just one of the many volunteers we have who dedicated two hours weekly to engage with the students in various activities while encouraging the students to communicate in English.
GLOBAL GRANT PROJECT WITH RC COIMBATORE MIDTOWN This month the project continued with taking measurements of the patients needing the artificial limbs. The next process would be to manufacture the limbs according to the cast mould.
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#MyRotaryStory
JOINED 'BY-CHANCE', STAYED FOR A CAUSE By Anita Koch
I stumbled upon, or more precisely, joined Rotary completely unexpectedly. Working for a German boss whose monthly payments in favour of Rotary I had to prepare, made me think this belongs to the high and mighty...and gave it no further thought. Along came Mr Taj, a friendly neighbor in my neighborhood who invited me one evening, quite by chance, without specifying what it was all about to follow him to a meeting. His sole request, to dress properly. The venue at least was clear, it was the Melawati Country Club. Sadly enough Mr Taj passed away not long after, after introducing me to the Rotary club of which he himself was a member. Mr Taj and I had our little differences in his anti-western views but still we did work things out. In the end, he was the one who opened a brand new door for me. At first, alas, I must say, I did not dare say a word, at least not for a whole six months if not one year. So impressed was I by the personalities present, professionals in every sense of the word: Dr Navin, Dr Sarmukh, Shan, Sree and Doris - just to name a few, having previously never been a member of any club or association. OCTOBER
Wonderful friendships, fantastic projects, great happenings have filled my life. I asked myself if this was the right place for me. I felt terribly intimidated until peu a peu I realized everyone really was a down-to-earth person. I observed, I listened, I laughed but never cried. Tears of laughter, yes! Rotary came into my life at the right time. When I was able to divert my attention away a little from family matters. Sometimes I wonder, how would I have spent my days and hours had I not have Rotary to think about and occupy my time doing service for my community. Wonderful friendships, fantastic projects, great happenings have filled my life. Ever since that fine evening in 2001, I have become a better person by helping people in my community.
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Members Lounge
RC MELAWATI FAMILY Siva Kumar | Dr Navin | Sudha | Mahen | Surin | Shanti | Somphong | Ooi | Dr. Krishna | Raja Renno | Pushpa | Rema Paul | Shanmugam | Ramesh | Dr. Dhileepan | Nithiananthan | Shuseela | Sunthar Raj | Mark | Sreetharan | Suresh | Doris | Akshay | Anita | Dr. Premela | Kumanan | Lai | Ratnam | Rajes | Rajoo | Salina | Rajindran | Salmah | Dr Selva Kumar | Asha | Dr Indigo | Apsara | Zulkifli | Sreeganesh | Soundarajan | Yasmin |
100% ATTENDANCE DORIS CHANG | DR INDIGO | DR KRISHNA KUMAR | MAHENDRAN | DR NAVIN | PUSHPA | RAJES | DR SELVA KUMAR | SHANMUGAM | SHANTI | SHUSEELA | SIVA KUMAR | SOMPHONG | SREEGANESH | SUDHAHARAN | SUNTHAR RAJ | SURINDRAN | YASMIN
Members are to contact PAG Pushpa for any make-ups.
CLARITY
WHO ARE THE IDIOTS!
By Prem Rawat
Akbar asked Birbal to look for five biggest idiots in his state and produce them in his court within a month. After a month's extensive search operations, Birbal brought to the court only two people!
See clearly who you are and you won’t be disappointed See the value of each breath and you won’t be poor See the wisdom of the heart and you won’t be ignorant See the reality of existence and you will understand the divine See the value of now and you will be free Feel the infinite in your life and you will understand the mortality Feel the joy within and you will never be sad Learn to swim in the ocean of understanding and you will never drown in doubt Feel the strength of clarity and you will never be defeated See the value of simplicity and you will be filled with Knowledge Venture everyday with clarity And you will never be lost Shared by PAG Sudhaharan Nair
"But I asked for five", Akbar angrily asked. "Give me a chance to present them one by one", Birbal pleaded and went on to present his idiots: “Maharaj, this man, while traveling in a bullock cart, was keeping his luggage on his head so as not to hurt the bullocks. He is the first idiot. (In corporate parlance , the ones who take all load on themselves and not delegate) Pointing to the second man Birbal continued, "And this man here is the second idiot. Some grass grew on the roof of his thatched house and he was trying to force his cow to climb up a ladder to graze on them." (In corporate parlance, those who benchmark with those whose resources are out of reach and irrelevant for them) Birbal continued, "Maharaj, there were a lot of important jobs for me to do in the state, but I ignored them and wasted a precious month in searching for idiots. According to me I am the third idiot." (Idiots who rush obediently for wrong job assignments without any qualms) "Who are the fourth and fifth idiots?", Akbar thundered. "Beg your pardon, Maharaj", Birbal continued, "You are the king and are responsible for the wellbeing of the entire state and its people. You need wise persons to help you oversee the state affairs. Instead of looking for wise people you engaged me to look for idiots. According to me you are the fourth idiot. (Bad leaders who are themselves in dark and make others also grope in dark) And, Maharaj, the person who is glued reading this, keeping aside all his high priority assignments, oblivious of pressing needs of his familiy, just to learn who is the fifth idiot, is the fifth idiot himself. You will not find a better idiot to beat this one. What do you say, Maharaj?", Birbal concluded. Don't laugh alone. Share this. There are many other idiots eagerly waiting! Shared by Rtn Kumanan
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Rotary Malaysia
SAVE THE DATES
WARMEST WELCOME TO RC HARTAMAS Welcome to members of RC HartaMas. With this, the District now has chartered 3 new traditional clubs and 2 satellite clubs in the first 4 months in this new Rotary year, bringing the total number of clubs from 82 to 85 and membership from 1,795 to 1,952 as of 30 October 2020.
DEVELOP EMPLOYABILITY & ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITH RYLA 2020 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) 2020 provides leadership experience and opportunity for young adults to take part in a series of workshops conducted virtually and in-person where they will learn from industry experts and professional speakers. Focusing on two areas — entrepreneurship and employability — the programme includes creative thinking for business, building and growing your personal brand, interview skills, CV tailoring and grooming etiquette.
SEEC 2020 In conjunction with World Sight Day 2020, Rotary International District 3300 & 3310, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei jointly presented SEEC 2020 with the theme "Children Vision Care & Eye Health in Elderly". The event was hosted by District 3300 Action Group on Blindness Prevention and sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kuala Lumpur DiRaja and the Rotary Club of Singapore. A line-up of eminent speakers dedicated to eye health and blindness prevention shared their amazing work impacting the world in the work they do through vision.
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Rotary Information
Peter Salk on the Lessons Learned from Vaccine Development History
ABOUT ROTARY
Peter Salk was 11 years old when a University of Pittsburgh team led by his father, the late Jonas Salk, created the inactivated poliovirus vaccine. The day of the 1955 announcement that the vaccine was safe, effective and potent, “everything just went crazy,” he recalls. “There were so many calls from reporters that we ended up having to get an answering service. Imagine how embarrassing that would be for a sixth grader.” Today, at 76, he’s back in the spotlight, fielding calls from the media as researchers around the world race to develop new vaccines to stem the COVID-19 pandemic. As a physician, a professor of infectious diseases and microbiology at University of Pittsburg and a researcher who has studied treatment and prevention strategies for a number of diseases, Salk embraces these opportunities to help put the challenges of the current crisis in their broader historical context. He related that, "The worst year in this country was 1952, when nearly 58,000 people contracted polio. More than 21,000 were left with permanent paralysis and about 3,000 died. If an epidemic came, there was no way parents were able to protect their children. People were just terrified." "Then, overnight, the fear was lifted.My father's name is the one that is most often associated with this, but he wanted it to be called the Pitt vaccine. All of the members of the team deserve credit for the success of that effort. The people of Pittsburgh stepped up to the plate and allowed their children to take part in the early trials. And this was not a government funded program. It was funded by the people themselves, through the efforts of the March of Dimes (the fundraising arm of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis), collecting dimes in movie theaters, going door to door. This was the people’s victory against this illness. If there is one thing that we can learn from history as as we look to the future of vaccine development, it is that you need to be sure that you've done the appropriate preclinical work in animals and look carefully at what the effects of the different types of vaccines are on the immune system. Because vaccines can have effects that might not have been predicted. A few vaccines have actually made disease severity worse if you got the illness. But I think that as long as a completely scientific procedure is followed, starting with all of the right experiments, and then moving into human trials with careful monitoring along the way, we ought to be able to get to a point where we have not just one, but multiple vaccines that will end up being useful." Pitt Med magazine senior editor Elaine Vitone caught up with Jonas Salk via Zoom from his home in La Jolla, California on 13 October 2020 where he heads the Jonas Salk Legacy Foundation. OCTOBER
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For more information: www.rotary.org www.rotary3300.org
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EDITORIAL BOARD
CONTACT US
Advisors
PRESIDENT SIVA KUMAR RAGHAVAN DISTRICT GOVERNOR NOMINEE DR KRISHNA KUMAR Contributors
PAG DR SELVA KUMAR SIVAPUNNIAM PAG SHANTI JAYARAM PAG SUDHAHARAN NAIR PAG PUSHPA KRISHNA PE MAHENDRAN DANIEL RTN SALINA HUSSEIN RTN RAJES RATNAM RTN ANITA KOCH Editor
RTN YASMIN YUSOF
Rotary Melawati Community Centre 311-A, Lorong Kedah, Melawati Square Taman Melawati 53100, Kuala Lumpur
PUBLIC IMAGE COMMITTEE Rtn Salina Hussein Chair: Members: President Siva Kumar Raghavan President Elect Mahendran J Daniel PAG Dr. Selva Kumar Sivapunniam Rtn Asha Sandhia Singaram Rtn Yasmin Yusof