Rotary New Publication May 2015

Vol.65, Issue 11 Annual Subscription Rs.420

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RotaryNews India

May 2015

Making Education Accessible

T

he Velavadar National Park, 42 km from Bhavnagar in Gujarat, is one of the largest refuges for blackbuck antelopes in India, housing about 4,000 of these animals. This is India’s fastest land animal and clocks a speed of 80 km an hour. While both young male and female are light brown or fawn in colour, the adult male gets a shiny black colour on its upper body. Only the male has horns which spiral upwards and are unique in design.

This antelope’s high jump or the leap forward while it is running is a stunning spectacle to watch.

I photographed this juvenile blackbuck male in the evening sunlight when it was in a hurry to cross the road.

Text and picture by M Swaminathan

CONTENTS 07

From the Editor’s Desk

08

President Speaks

44

10

26

10 Making magic with free online learning 16

The lost age of innocence

20

Why not women?

26

Making WinS a winner

16

50

30 Dil ki baat ...

Indo-Pak style 42

Why I love my iPhone 6

44

A dream school for poor children

50 Rotary Clubs of UAE honour Robert Scott 54

The Kattanchimalai Story

60

Spreading light of learning in prison

66 From Mumbai to Ethiopia 72

To school against odds

74

Find a happy balance & care for your body

On the Cover: Mike Feerick, Founder CEO, ALISON.

30 20 72

LETTERS Household Magazine Content and material-wise you have turned Rotary News into a household magazine. Therein lies your speciality and uniqueness. Besides presenting details of service activities of great Rotary leaders, you provide useful and meaningful information with attractive photos like Don’t be bound by gadgets, Tree stories and more, Make farming attractive to the young. The get-up and format are fantastic. The heading Wash & Smile on the cover page is pregnant with meaning by silently advising that Rotarians should wash out the deficiencies, help the needy and make them smile.

But a suggestion. Any organisation grows from the bottom. The real foundation of Rotary International lies at the grassroots at the Club level. It will enthuse Rotary clubs if you select at least two clubs from each Rotary District and publish their service activities with pictures. Publicity helps in encouraging service activities. Your District Scores is great but going down to the club level in a more meaningful

Captivating issues I must admit under your able leadership Rotary News is getting better and better with every issue, making us go through the entire magazine.

Your concept and layouts are excellent and keep us Rotarians engrossed with superb issues every time. Thanks for bringing life into Rotary News.

Rtn Sashi Dhacholia RC Calcutta Metropolitan-D 3291 How can you go on like this — issue after issue — making it better and better and we have to hold our breath!

Simply awesome. The front cover of the April issue is captivating but the front inner cover reminds us of the many things that remain to be done.

WASH in schools, as you rightly said in your editorial, “if done diligently can dramatically reduce childhood morbidity and mortality through 4 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

way will encourage them and bring greater involvement in club activities.

Rtn M R K Murthy, RC Narsaraopet-D 3150 Editor’s response: Thank you Rtn Murthy for your kind words and suggestions. This is what we’ve been trying to do. Jaishree’s Of Bits & Bytes by RC Pune Cantonment (computer literacy), Of depression & greeting cards, a project for special children

by RC Trivandrum, Selvi’s Water harvesting by RC Barshi and Conducting operations, building toilets

by RC Tirupur, Kiran’s Enhancing Education by RC Daltonganj (school for underprivileged) and From Ambush to Amity by RC Puri (restoring peace in a troubled area) are some examples. I have written on Pune’s Jalpari, water projects by RC Pune Hillside, Building schools in Garhwal (D 3080), and Greening the desert by building check dams in Rajasthan’s villages. This is only a fraction of the projects we cover. We’d love to do more. Send us your stories and pictures. But please do not project only yourselves. Give us the faces and voices of beneficiaries, and then watch the magic of your work unfold on the pages of Rotary News.

preventable diseases.” Quoting RIP Gary in his President Speaks: “In an age of constant communication, with so many ways to find new information, do we still need a Rotary magazine?” Absolutely correct, Mr President.

RID Prabhakar says we need to build our PR. I am passing on the Rotary News after I read it, to a school, where we have Interact clubs.

The articles District 3131 rocked, PRIP Kalyan Banerjee’s plan to meet our Honourable Prime Minister, Tree Stories and more... are noteworthy.

Rtn Nan Narayenen RC Madurai West-D 3000

Women not welcome in Rotary?

A recently inducted member of RC Bhusawal, I was overwhelmed to see the amazing content in Rotary News.

My heartfelt thanks to the Editor for her coverage in Women have strengthened Rotary. It made a very interesting and thought-provoking reading. But it is sad to note that there are only 18 per cent women Rotarians.

Why? Perception is that in some parts of the world women are not welcome in Rotary. We need to think seriously on this issue for things to change.

Rtn Dr Ravindra Shukla RC Bhusawal-D 3030

Motivating I am very much impressed with your editorials in the recent issues of Rotary News. I was touched to read about the project of building toilets in schools and I am planning to take up a similar project for our club.

Rtn Brij Kishore Maheshwari RC Bangalore Jeevan Bima Nagar-D 3190

LETTERS The Editor is doing an excellent job and her complete effort is seen in the magazine. She has recognised the hard work of Rotarians and made their Rotary experience much better. I suggest you start new columns such as, ‘Rotary Vision’ and ‘My experiences in Rotary.’

Rtn Ramesh Chopda RC Ratlam-D 3040 Wonderful write up on Youngseed.

Thanks to Rotary News and Kiran for the amazing job.

Rtn D Selvakumar RC Tiruchirapalli Elite-D 3000

When do you Sleep?

Rasheeda, when do you sleep?

You are writing so much!

If you continue to produce such an excellent magazine then you may find more requests like this one! The April issue with its focus on WASH and literacy gives many good examples of the effectiveness of Rotary in India and I would appreciate you sending a copy to two friends who are seeking to assist Indian Rotarians in the Swachh Bharat campaign.

Stephen Sobhani of Sesame Street, who you will recall as he was in San Diego, and John Oldfield, WASH Advocates.

Rtn William B Boyd RI President 2006–07

Moving picture The eye-catching and attractive design on the cover page of March 2015 issue, tells the importance of the Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) and the role of Rotarians. The innocent eyes of the child in the picture speaks volumes on the gravity of the problem.

Rtn Dr A Ganesha RC Parkala-D 3180

First Thoughts in the March issue have thrown light on the efforts of Harakhchand Savla. Information of this kind truly inspires us Rotarians to do a better job. A toy bank for children suffering from cancer and 60 humanitarian projects are a great achievement.

Rtn P K Bhatnagar RC Jhansi-D 3110

With each issue Rotary News is becoming more informative and carefully chosen articles makes it more interesting and inspiring. The April issue focused on literacy and WinS and the related topic of gender equality is nicely covered.

Rtn Rajendra Singhania RC Raipur West-D 3261

Sorrow of the illiterate is sorrow of the blind. The symbolic cover photo highlighting the necessity of education is touching. All the articles in the March issue are inspiring and illustrate the role of Rotarians in lending a hand to the underprivileged. It is encouraging to see some silver linings such as the work done by Magsaysay award winner Shantha Sinha. The magazine team deserves kudos for the transformation in the design and content of the magazine.

Rtn TV Ravindran RC Trikarpur-D 3202

Woman power

Our entire club was very happy that our Annets’ project, The World of Words was so well projected. Thank you very much; it gives immense satisfaction and motivates us to do more.

Wish our RYLA was also showcased as that is very close to our hearts.

Rtn Suresh S Lund RC Coimbatore Texcity-D 3201

The editorial, Let’s give them wings to fly in the April issue is very impressive. The two photographs on the inner wrappers speak louder than words. The articles I enjoyed most were Jumping into uncharted waters, Gender equity through separate girls’ toilet and Literacy in top gear.

Rtn CA V Jayaprakash RC Salem East-D 2980 April issue’s inner cover story, A lot of hope ... a little despair gives us an interesting picture and lot of hope. Girls and women are full of motherly love, and give lots of hope for the future. We have a hospital and a university where more than 60 per cent of employees and students are female; they are the lifeline of our organisation. So there is really lots of hope from girls and women in the future.

PDG Dr Narendranath Dutta RI District 3240

We welcome your feedback. Write to the Editor: rotarynews@rosaonline.org; rushbhagat@gmail.com MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 5

ADVISORY BOARD

TRUSTEES Chairman DG Ramesh Agrawal, RI Dist. 3052

RID

P.T. Prabhakar

RI Dist. 3230

Secretary DG Vyankatesh S. Metan, RI Dist. 3132

PRIP Rajendra K. Saboo

RI Dist. 3080

Treasurer DG Sanjay Khemka, RI Dist. 3250

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee

RI Dist. 3060

RI Dist. 2980

DG

S.P. Balasubramaniam

PRID Sushil Gupta

RI Dist. 3010

RI Dist.3000

DG

Jagannathan Paramasivam

PRID Ashok Mahajan

RI Dist. 3140

RI Dist.3010

DG

Sanjay Khanna

PRID Yash Pal Das

RI Dist. 3080

RI Dist.3020

DG

Dr. G.V. Mohan Prasad

PRID Shekhar Mehta

RI Dist. 3291

RIDE Dr. Manoj D. Desai

RI Dist. 3060

RI Dist.3030

DG

Dattatraya Shantaram Deshmukh

DG

Ramesh Agrawal

RI Dist.3052

RI Dist.3040

DG

Narendra Kumar Jain

DG

Vyankatesh Metan

RI Dist. 3132

RI Dist. 3051

DG

Jagdish B. Patel

DG

Sanjay Khemka

RI Dist. 3250

RI Dist. 3053

DG

Anil Maheshwari

DG

I.S.A.K. Nazar

RI Dist. 3230

RI Dist. 3060

DG

Ashish Ramesh Ajmera

PDG Rabi Narayan Nanda

RI Dist. 3262

RI Dist. 3070

DG

Gurjeet Singh Sekhon

PDG Radhe Shyam Rathi

RI Dist. 3053

RI Dist. 3080

DG

Dilip Patnaik

PDG Hari Krishna Chitipothu

RI Dist. 3150

RI Dist. 3090

DG

Pardeep Kumar Chehal

RI Dist. 3100

DG

Sanjiv Rastogi

RI Dist. 3110

DG

Ashok Jyoti

RI Dist. 3120

DG

Satpal Gulati

RI Dist. 3131

DG

Vivek Aranha

RI Dist. 3140

DG

Ajay Gupta

RI Dist. 3150

DG

Malladi Vasudev

RI Dist. 3160

DG

G.S. Mansoor

RI Dist. 3170

DG

Ganesh G. Bhat

RI Dist. 3180

DG

Dr. S. Bhaskar

RI Dist. 3190

DG

Manjunath Shetty

RI Dist. 3201

DG

P. Venugopalan Menon

RI Dist. 3202

DG

K. Sridharan Nambiar

RI Dist. 3211

DG

K.S. Sasikumar

RI Dist. 3212

DG

M. Ashok Padmaraj

RI Dist. 3230

DG

I.S.A.K. Nazar

RI Dist. 3240

DG

Swapan Kumar Choudhury

RI Dist. 3261

DG

Shambhu Jagatramka

RI Dist. 3262

DG

Ashok Bihari Mohapatra

RI Dist. 3291

DG

Pinaki Prasad Ghosh

COMMITTEES DG P. Venugopalan Menon - Chair, Finance Committee DG Dr. G.V. Mohan Prasad - Chair, Editorial Committee DG Sanjay Khanna - Chair, Marketing Committee DG G.S. Mansoor - Vice-chair, Marketing Committee

ROTARY NEWS ROTARY SAMACHAR Editor Rasheeda Bhagat Assistant Editors Jaishree Padmanabhan Selvi Kandaswamy

Send all correspondence and subscriptions to ROTARY NEWS TRUST 3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34 Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008, India.

Phone : 044 42145666 Fax : 044 28528818 e-mail : rotarynews@rosaonline.org Website : www.rotarynewsonline.org

From th e E d i t or ’s Desk

A tale of two visionaries

I

f senior Rotary India leaders’ dream to make India totally literate by 2017, 2018 or whatever it takes is to materialise, the Internet and online access hold the key. In this issue, you will meet Mike Feerick, the founder-CEO of ALISON, a social business venture, who is determined to take away the privilege of education from only the rich. That is, quality education that can get you admission to colleges, jobs, promotions, and above all bestow the gift of self-respect to women who are regarded as worthless. This he is doing by offering free online courses — 750 of them — after successful completion of which you get a diploma, and your knowledge of the subject can be tested online. As he says in his interview to Rotary News, when he started, people asked him: “who do you think you are, providing free education and with your own certification? His brave reply: When Harvard (from where Feerick has a management degree) started, he did so in a room, with a bunch of books. And yes, he taught well! Naturally people were upset, because education is such a huge money spinner, and not the least in India, where colossal and crippling capitation fee is often charged.

But despite opposition, Feerick is forging ahead with single minded purpose — use of “technology to break down the walls that have been created around knowledge and skills for eternity.” An important insight I got while chatting with him was on how governments across the world, including India, have some brilliant and well-meaning people, but the cumbersome systems are so well entrenched and averse to change that these people are not able to make a difference. Until a sweeping change totally outside accepted parameters comes. An alternative, “the economics of which are so compelling that those have to be adopted and the old will have to wither and die!”

While ALISON is working on gender empowerment through online learning, Nobel Peace Laureate and the messiah of microcredit, Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, has empowered a few million women in Bangladesh’s villages in myriad ways. I was

privileged to interview him in Dhaka in 1998, and was amazed by the man’s simplicity and humility. His office on the third floor at the Grameen headquarters had no air conditioning, and like everybody else, he took the stairs as the building had no elevator. When I commented on this he smiled: “We are custodians of poor people’s money and have to spend it judiciously.

This building is designed to let in a lot of air and light, so I don’t need an AC!” Like all Grameen employees he took tea without milk and sugar, and offering it to me, said: “Milk and sugar push up the cost, so we avoid both!”

One man’s vision and integrity have ensured that for the first time in 2014, when Grameen Bank disbursed $1.5 billion in loans, the total deposits of its 8.5 million borrowers exceeded that amount. “So I tell my friends in the Grameen Bank: ‘Look, it is about time you stop calling them borrowers because the actual borrower is you; you’ve taken more money from them than you have given them.’ So the tables have turned,” he told a global conference of the International Press Institute in Myanmar where I met him. And, in the 1990s, when the Bangladesh government was giving licenses for mobile phone companies, he applied, and just like Feerick, was scorned for wanting to put mobile phones, then a luxury for the very rich, into the hands of poor women. But he had a business plan for them; for the telephone ladies of Bangladesh — today there are 400,000 — it was an instant ticket out of poverty, “as in the villages nobody had a phone and there was such a hunger among people to talk to each other.”

Without such passion, vision and commitment, what hope can the poor of this world have to break the shackles of poverty or ignorance?

Rasheeda Bhagat

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 7

*DU\ & . +XDQJ

3UHVLGHQW 6SHDNV Dear Fellow Rotarians, One of my favorite parts of a Rotary convention is the House of Friendship.

G “To have friends come In Chinese, we say: together from faraway places is a wonderful thing.”

At the 106th annual Rotary International Convention, 6–9 June, the House of Friendship will reflect the excitement and the diverse blend of cultures of São Paulo, the host city.

In between general sessions, you can relax and enjoy all that Brazil has to offer — sample the cuisine, browse locally made gifts, and take in top-quality entertainment. You also can get ideas for service and find partners at booths showcasing Rotary projects and Rotarian Action Groups.

And best of all, you’ll have the opportunity to spend time with old friends and make many new ones.

The House of Friendship is a wonderful place to bring your convention guests — your family and your friends from home. By attending conventions with me, my family experienced the true internationality of Rotary. Eventually my wife, Corinna, and all three of my children joined Rotary clubs.

“

By attending conventions with me, my family

“

experienced the true internationality of Rotary.

You and your guests will want to be sure to come early for World Water Summit 7, on 4 June, sponsored by the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group, or for the Rotary Peace Symposium, 4–5 June.

This year we are honoured that Dr. Oscar Arias Sánchez, former president of Costa Rica, will be the keynote speaker at the Rotary Peace Symposium.

Dr. Sánchez received the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering a peace agreement that ended the brutal civil wars in Central America.

Other events 4–5 June include the Rotaract Preconvention Meeting, the International Institute, and the Youth Exchange Officers Preconvention Meeting.

When the convention is over, spend time exploring all that Brazil has to offer — pristine beaches just a few hours away, the excitement and glamour of Rio de Janeiro, and the wonders of the Amazon rain forest.

Every year, I return from the Rotary convention inspired to do more, to give more in Rotary service throughout the year. Register today at www. riconvention.org. I look forward to seeing you in São Paulo!

Gary C K Huang President, Rotary International 8 ROTARY NEWS MAY APRIL2015 2015

)LUVW 7KRXJKWV From ideas to achievements From concepts to completion All that we have done Make chapter ten a Perfect Ten! Dear Partners in Service, As a Liaison Director to the membership committee, I had the pleasure of attending their meeting on March 25–26, 2015 at Evanston. The committee discussed important topics like innovative and flexible clubs, engagement, governance, communication, training and dual growth strategy.

The dual growth strategy discussed by the committee over the last year seeks to focus Rotary’s recruitment efforts on a multi-generational approach to membership targeting baby boomers and young professionals (millennials).

It is encouraging to note that as of February 2015, India is just 4,611 members short of our Regional Membership target of 1,40,000 by June 30, 2015, which we will definitely reach.

I started my tenure as RI Director with 1,19,000 members on July 1, 2013, in Zones 4, 5 and 6A. It is heartening to note that we have had a net growth of 20,000 members in the last 20 months, which represents 60 per cent of worldwide growth in this period, making India No. 1 in the world in membership development!

May is the month which we should all use for selfassessment of our performance during 2014–2015. We should now compare our plans made in July 2014 with actual achievements till date and chalk out a plan of action for the unfinished work, in the remaining weeks.

W Somerset Maugham said, “It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the very best you will very often get it.” So let us do our utmost in the remaining time and achieve nothing but the very best.

The 52-week Rotary year is like a 50-over one day cricket match. During the recently concluded World Cup, we saw world class cricket teams keenly competing for the cup.

Though all teams were good, the Australians won because they made the best use of the last 5 or 6 overs in every match and so is it in Rotary.

The clubs, who make the best use of the last 5 or 6 weeks completing unfinished projects and achieving planned targets, will be the winners.

In May, many Rotary clubs face the problem of poor attendance at the weekly meetings. This should not deter us because many of our Rotarians are taking a well-deserved break and will be back soon, with their batteries fully charged, ready to do more service. That brings me to the subject of attendance and service.

Recently I completed 32 years of perfect attendance and this reminded me of what Past RI President Cliff Dochterman wrote about attendance and serP T Prabhakar vice. He recalls an episode Director, Rotary International were Rtn C P H Tennstra, President of RI in 1965–66 was visiting a Rotary club and the club President proudly announced that one of their members had 49 years of perfect attendance. The venerable Dutchman quickly replied, “Very interesting — but what has he done for Rotary?”

Frequently, clubs tend to equate Rotary attendance with Rotary service. Regular weekly attendance is a very important part of a good Rotary club because Rotary is an organisation of participants, not just members whose names are listed on the roster. But hundred per cent attendance should not be the only goal of Rotarians.

Just as there is a difference between a container and its contents, there is a significant difference between attending Rotary meetings and performing Rotary service. Even though I am impressed when Rotarians proudly announce 100 per cent attendance record of 10, 15 or even 50 years, I still wonder what have they done for Rotary.

Rotarians with 85 per cent attendance may deserve equal recognition, especially if they have sponsored a number of new members, made annual contributions to TRF, taken part in community service projects, attended the yearly district conference, hosted Youth Exchange students at their homes, made the effort to greet visiting Rotarians and frequently travelled to international conventions. Those are the Rotarians who are ‘involved’ in Rotary.

Most of us recognise the hundred per cent attendance records because they are easy to measure. But we overlook and seldom recognise those who are doing the work of our Rotary clubs week after week.

Perhaps the greatest compliment a Rotarian could receive is not that “he or she has 25 years of perfect Rotary attendance,” but rather that, “he or she has 25 years of perfect Rotary Service.”

Yours in Rotary

P T Prabhakar Director Rotary International (2013–15) MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 9

Making magic with

free online learning

by Rasheeda Bhagat

One man’s passion and commitment to free online education has given knowledge, jobs, promotions and self respect to enormous numbers across the world, and proved education is not the privilege of only the rich.

10 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Mike Feerick receiving the 2014 WISE award from Qatar Foundation Chair Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.

W

hen Mike Feerick, the Founder CEO of ALISON (Advanced Learning Interactive Systems Online), a pioneering e-learning organisation, decided in 2007 to make online education totally free “people said who do you think you are, providing free education and that too certification?

So I said look, when John Harvard started, he was just one guy in a room with a bunch of books. And he taught well. And look at where Harvard is today.” If you do things well, repeat them, people come back to you and also tell their friends and colleagues, and eventually you will develop a reputation.

“At the end of the day what is a bank? A bank is a very make-believe thing ... yes they build nice columns outside the building to make it look like a fortress but really it is built on confidence and so is any reputation.”

He believes that both ALISON’s reputation and services are getting much better.

If that weren’t so, his organisation, probably the first MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), wouldn’t have grown so fast. The last time I interviewed Feerick, in January 2014, he had reached free online education to 2 million people, including 300,000 in India. In 15 months that number has catapulted to 5 million, and includes 470,000 Indians. So how did he achieve this feat?

Feerick says when they started offering free online courses, for some time people were suspicious of the freebie. Though technically good, navigation wasn’t too smooth on the website and the content was moderate with only 50–100 courses; now it has 750. There is an “element to critical mass; after the first million, the second MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 11

million came pretty quickly and it got easier further down the line.”

600,000 with ALISON certificates He says the website has improved and got navigationally better, “we’ve got smarter about how people find us on the web and 600,000 people around the world have been certified on ALISON, and an enormous number of people who’ve been certified for our courses have got jobs, promotions, college placements, so it’s becoming a currency.”

And the growth continues; in February this year 200,000 people signed up. “You asked me the secret; the honest truth is that a lot of people need to learn, we

Tati Haryati from Indonesia.

have got our act together, and we have a good business model.”

That model is simple, the courses are free and you can get your certificates online. But if you want physical certificates, as a lot of people do, you have to pay, and this, along with ads on the website, ensures that he can pay his bills, including monthly salary of nearly $40,000 to his staff without struggling. “Earlier I had to do it out of my pocket, and that was tough!”

Feerick, who has two degrees in management, one from Harvard, ran an IT company and charged for digital literacy. When he turned it into a free model in 2007 by launching ALISON, some of his institutional customers wanted to pay because it was easier to do that than explain to their bosses why they were using a free service, “because free has a connotation of not-so-good quality.”

Only from 2010–12, people became less suspicious of free learning.

Women learners About 65 per cent of his learners are women, and a good number of them come from the Middle East where women have broadband connectivity and time but are not allowed to go outside to study.

So what kind of hope does ALISON hold out for them? Feerick says recently they sent out an email seeking innovative stories from learners. “Some people said they were disabled and can’t get out of their homes, or are sick and in hospital, or otherwise well but can’t move, or are in prison ... they all use our services.” Many women, quite a few from Pakistan, said “ALISON has been a godsend to them because their husbands, families 12 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Course for NGOs ALISON is conducting a training course for NGOs in association with the Aga Khan Foundation on how to monitor and evaluate their work. This should be of interest to India as here too several NGOs have been accused of siphoning off funds. Feerick says there are complaints of huge inefficiencies within the NGO community where people give money with good intentions but it is not being managed well, and donors see little value emerging from it.

India and ALISON Their most popular courses in India are English — particularly spoken English — and different kinds of business courses. He is working with AISECT (All India

Society for Electronics and Computer Technology) and the National Skill Development Council in India to roll out his courses here in a bigger way. On Union Minister Rajeev Pratap Rudy’s submission at the Rotary Literacy Meet that only two per cent of India is skilled, Feerick says the only solution to really scale up is free online learning.

Today one thing that is stopping mobile companies around the world from expanding is not access, but literacy skills. “Their dilemma is that we are mobile people and not trainers. But the difficulty is that when you get somebody online and give them a phone they need both the ability to read and digital literacy.”

ALISON also offers jobs for entrepreneurs and Indians are lapping these up along with business courses. A survey

Anthony Alas from Nigeria.

“

“

We are using technology to break down the walls that have been created around knowledge and skills for eternity.

“

John Harvard started as just one guy in a room with a bunch of books, and he taught well.

“

or communities won’t allow them to go out and learn.

Some of the stories bring tears to your eyes.”

He adds that in very touching, heart-felt stories from some countries women said they’re accused of being dull and incapable of contributing to society. “We’re not that.

We’re just being kept in a closet. Please help us get out of there ... .”

ALISON received the WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) prize from the Qatar Foundation in 2014. In partnership with a Qatari IT organisation it has translated five of its programmes into Kurdish. When the course was launched in Iraq recently, a university told him that this was the “first online course in Kurdish that they are aware of!”

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 13

2SHQLQJ XS WKH world of knowledge I

nnovation is the mantra at ALISON and the latest in its kitty is a course on Aesop’s Fables, where 60 fables have been selected. On why Aesop’s, ALISON CEO Mike Feerick says that being the father of four children he is “always reading Aesop’s fables and find them a wonderful tool for teaching children and adults. There is so much traditional wisdom and deep messages in these fables that not only children but also adults can learn from them.”

Also, he adds, now that ALISON is doing very well and expanding, “which means I have the resources to commission courses I thought we’d do this, which is offbeat for us as we don’t focus on children.”

Interestingly, the woman who wrote these fables for him lives in a very remote and rural area in Wales in the UK. “I am sure in India too there is a movement to urban areas with the result that rural communities are really suffering. But the internet is an opportunity which is becoming ubiquitous in more and more rural areas.

Here I have a published author who writes well, and this was also a way to provide people sustained work in rural communities. And when self publishing comes along, which we will launch later this year, people can create courses and this will allow people everywhere to participate in the economics of selling what they know much more than they are able to do today.”

Elaborating, Feerick says that you need both native knowledge and structure to create a course. Many people have knowledge in their heads; “the difficulty they have, however, is that they don’t know too much about pedagogy in terms of the art of learning.” And online learning, he says, is very different from publishing a book. There are different senses that you have to activate and certain senses you don’t have to work with. “So we are teaching people how to approach teaching online.

Before anyone can create a course, they will have to go through this course.”

So basically he is sharing his success story, I ask him. “We want to open up the world of knowledge and skills,” he responds. All basic learning, whether history or maths, tens of thousands of people know how to

14 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

teach these well. “We want to make this learning free so that nobody can make extra money by publishing it and charging for it because it is already there free. So if you follow that idea all the way to its limits, the truth is that even if only 10 people know a particular subject and one of them is willing to publish it online, then the world will know and the other nine will not be able to charge a fortune for it. So we are using technology to break down the walls that have been created around knowledge and skills for eternity since life began.”

Like the education apartheid, I prompt, recalling a phrase used by Magsasay award winner Shantha Sinha at the Rotary Literacy Summit in Pune recently. “Yes that’s a good word. We can do that and we have a model to make it work. We are self-sustaining and don’t need money from outside. We make enough money from advertising and certification to grow as big as we might.”

Reminds you of Gandhiji’s famous quote: “The world has enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.” But then greed is something Feerick doesn’t have. He has worked closely with an Irish-American billionaire. “He was a good man, very inspirational, extraordinarily bright. His net worth was $10 billion and he gave it all away. There is an old Irish saying: “There are no pockets in a shroud.”

Mike Feerick with some of his staff members.

done by him last year found that 26 per cent of their graduates across the world said that completing ALISON courses had encouraged them to consider self employment.

“Take women who have a craft; they may not have thought of working for themselves. They may not understand basic marketing, but they can learn this stuff for free and say, ‘it is not so difficult, I can do it.’”

Feerick says not only in India but also the developed world, the main jobs are coming not from companies that employ 500 or 1,000 people but from start-ups and scale-ups; companies that start with just one or two and then scale up to 10–15.

Africa experience Coming to Africa, there is such a huge hunger for education that “in Africa they do every course we offer.

Access is becoming less of a problem and “the number of smart phones in Africa is stunning us.” This month his performance report shows that 23 per cent of his learners do so on the mobile, and “that is what is driving Africa.”

“

“

The number of people with smart phones in Africa is stunning us.

An interesting nugget he gives is that if in a country like Nigeria 100 nurses apply for a healthcare job and there is none with a degree from a professional nursing college and only one with an ALISON nursing certificate, she will be able to prove she knows enormously more about healthcare and nursing than the others, and will surely get the job.

A recent research where 1,000 businesses were surveyed by an open university in UK showed that informal certification from free online courses was the third most important factor employers look for. “These are not certificates from traditional universities. Employers want to see that employees, particularly in their 40s and 50s are still learning and interested to learn more.”

In 2007 the online learning space was a lonely place to be in “but you cannot be afraid of it. If you believe in what you are doing, you have to stick to it,” says Feerick.

So what next? The benefit of having 5 million people on board is that the website is extremely busy. Despite people throwing stones at it, ALISON will continue to give free online education to millions. “We make enough money and since it’s not about profit maximisation here but an ideal and the opportunity to make this happen, we will continue. We have the capability, leadership, vision and a head start and tremendous momentum. We have an enormous number of people out there who want to see us grow and that helps ... just like having a chat with Rotary News helps!”

Feerick adds that many people, like sheep, don’t know who to follow and often follow the loudest people in the room, which isn’t always the wisest thing to do.

But there is always a small group of influential people who say we should be looking here in the corner and not the centre of the room/screen.

A parallel and related issue, particularly in fast growing countries like India, he says, is that though education is moving and changing so rapidly, how quickly can the government respond? “The truth is that it can’t because the system is so slow and cumbersome. There are some great people in these organisations but they are restricted in what they can do within the rigid system. So in India, it is too much to expect the system to be reformed. Something totally outside the accepted parameters has to come ... an alternative, the economics of which are so compulsive that those have to be adopted and the old will have to wither and die!”

Designed by Krishnapratheesh MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 15

AT THE CORE

The lost age of

innocence

somewhat restored our self-confidence, it was followed by a series of unfortunate developments — Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s sudden death at Tashkent, the massive drought of 1966 and the savage devaluation of the rupee under IMF pressure. But in many ways, especially life styles of the upper middle class like senior government officers, public security arrangements and access to VIPs, it was an age of innocence, the likes of which will not come back.

When IAS took the bus!

by Shakti Sinha We’ve moved far away from an era when you could drop or receive friends at the gate of the aircraft in American airports or deliver mangoes to an Indian PM’s home without you, car or mangoes being checked.

H

aving just shifted to the US on a posting in January 2000, I took my first domestic flight to Detroit to meet a friend who taught at Ann Arbour nearby. A little nervous about locating him at Detroit airport, I was taken by complete surprise to see him waiting for me as I came out of the vestibule. Together we walked to collect my luggage. Used to Indian airports where such meetings take place outside, this was a complete surprise.

And this I used to good effect when I was seeing off an Indian friend flying back. Since he had flown in from London, I received him only after he had cleared immigration and customs.

When I went to see him off, he said his bye-byes at the security after checking

16 RO ROTARY OTARY RY NEWS MAY 2015

in, but I told him not to be in a hurry and that I would see him off at the gate of the airplane. He laughed, thinking it was a joke, but when I cleared security, he was shocked. Sadly, a year and a half later, all that was to change with 9/11.

When people are nostalgic about the ‘good, old days,’ it is often because memories are blurred as our brains have filtered out the unpleasant experiences.

Growing up in the 1960s, there was a sense of shame in being an Indian. India was dependent on wheat shipments from the US, and we essentially lived ship-to-mouth. American kids were told not to waste food because kids in India were going to bed hungry. The Chinese comprehensively defeated us in 1962 and though the 1965 war with Pakistan

As the Chief Secretary in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands recently, I received what I thought was an unusual request from one of the districts. They proposed buying a car for the IAS probationer who had joined the district for training. I almost fell off my chair. My own days in Tiruchi (1980–81) made me an expert on local bus routes, from Kajamalai Colony to the bus stand and then the shortcut to the Collectorate as well as Mofussil buses to travel to Karur, Musiri and Perambur, with an occasional trip to Thanjavur to meet a fellow probationer.

Coming back home by bus to the Kajamalai Housing Board Colony, hanging outside the crowded bus, my fellow ‘hanger,’ a college kid recognised me as an outsider. He asked me pointed questions, which I tried to avoid.

Till the late 1990s, only very senior IAS officers had dedicated vehicles; middle-level officers had pool vehicles.

Directors like me in GoI used our second-hand Fiats.

When he pinned me down to where my office was — Collectorate — he asked incredulously, “Are you an IAS officer?” He almost fell off on hearing my reply.

In fact, till the late 1990s, only very senior officers at the State Secretariat had dedicated vehicles, with middle level officers having pool vehicles.

Directors like me in Government of India used our second-hand Fiats.

I called in the probationer, told him that he should try and manage with help of local Tehsildar and BDO when he was attached to them, remembering how long drives are conducive to conversations, gossip and lots of learning. He went off, probably convinced that I had gone senile, not appreciating his IIT/ MBA education, and the financial sacrifice he made to join the Civil Services.

And that he had certainly not got into the IAS to travel by bus or sit next to ‘lowly underlings’ in jeeps!

The Andamans is now a major tourist destination, particularly for deep sea divers, young Israelis released after compulsory military service, and the LTC crowd. There are 8–10 daily flights, depending on the season, primarily

to Chennai and Kolkata, as well as Bhubaneswar and Vishakhapatnam. Just over 30 years ago, the first direct flights were started from Calcutta and Madras (as they were then known); earlier the Indian Airlines flight from Calcutta was via Rangoon, necessitating a ‘technical’ passport. Direct flight meant newspapers twice a week from Calcutta and from Madras, on Sundays. We would eagerly wait for them, and read them datewise so that we knew what was happening in the country and beyond. The Andaman Administration, then and now, takes out India’s only government-run daily newspaper, The Daily Telegrams.

Letters home took weeks and once you settled down, it did not seem to bother, unless there was an emergency.

Unique Island experience Phones were limited to the Capital, Port Blair, with no concept of STD services to mainland India. Booking a long distance call was pointless as probably one in five matured. All Government communications, within the Islands and with GoI were through police wireless. It was our lifeline in more ways than one. I remember being

The Islands taught me that the sea can trap you in ways that nonislanders would never understand.

You can’t hop onto a bus or a train when you want to get away. in an island which was a few hours sailing from Port Blair, and scheduled to reach home only by evening. Impulsively I invited two touring officers to dinner that night as they were leaving the next morning. Having made the promise I was in a fix as I had no way to contact my wife till a local officer told me that the police wireless was used to send ‘unofficial’ messages

Indira point - India’s southern-most spot seen from a chopper.

also, which would not show up on the log. This was standard practise not limited to senior officials devised to help maintain sanity in these remote locations with no other means of communication.

The Islands taught me that the sea can trap you in ways that non-islanders would never understand. You can’t hop onto a bus or a train when you want to get away. Ship services were, and still are, comparatively speaking, inadequate with a week’s wait in many islands not uncommon. The Pacific Islands have high levels of alcoholism, substance abuse and suicides. The Andaman Islands, despite extremely high per capita income and good quality of life, has India’s second highest suicide rate, after Pondicherry, though this needs deeper investigation.

The Andaman Islands are densely wooded, and in those days many villagers located near creeks or in deep forest could only be approached by country boats and by trekking.

Today, the Andaman Trunk Road links A ferry transporting people.

the major Andaman Islands, and the government-run helicopter services go from the north (Diglipur) to the extreme South (Campbell Bay), a distance of around 700 km. The big advantage is that senior officers can tour so much more, with good guest houses, electricity round the clock and phone coverage.

This has helped develop very high quality infrastructure in the islands. The bad news is that easy conveyance means American politician style ‘whistle stops’ have become common.

I remember going to this lovely village of Bengali settlers in North Andamans, after a two hours ride from the nearest town in a country boat through beautiful creeks followed by a three-hour trek. Just before we reached the village, we heard this terrific racket, which we located to an active woodpecker high on a tree. We spent the evening with the villagers at the local school, lit a campfire and spent the night in the two classrooms. Of course there was no electricity but it did have an Indian-style toilet, and a well nearby for water.

Such interactions are now missing.

Unfortunately, in those days governments were cash-strapped, so our ability to work with the community and meet its needs was limited. Now, the money is there, government officers are techsavvy and we all talk about ‘stakeholder participation,’ but has the two-way interactive dialogue become better is the moot question.

I will end my tale with an incident that sounds like fiction. The year must

In 1974, I delivered mangoes to Indira Gandhi, then PM of India, at the verandah near her living room. At no stage was I, the car or the mangoes checked. be 1974 when I was in second year in college. A senior MP from Bihar, known to my family, had sheltered me for the months I had spent in Delhi getting first my college admission and then waiting for hostel accommodation. One day he asked me to deliver to various VVIPS a huge crop of mangoes from his orchard, which had been packed into baskets.

I engaged a black and yellow taxi, and went from house to house delivering these mangoes. One of the locations was 1, Safdarjung Road, whose resident was a certain Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister.

At the gate, I informed them that I was carrying mangoes, the taxi went in and I dropped the basket at the verandah next to the living room. If she was in her living room, I could not have been more than 10 ft from her but at no stage was I, the car or the mangoes checked. Her assassination in 1984 changed all that completely.

Whether in India, or across the world, surrounded as we are by thousands of closed circuit cameras, the sense of trust and safety is gone completely.

(The author, a retired IAS officer, is Director, South Asian Institute for Strategic Affairs.)

Pictures by Shakti Sinha Designed by Krishnapratheesh

We cordially invite the Rotary family of South Asia to a traditional reception on Monday June 8, 2015 at Renaissance S達o Paulo Hotel, Alameda Santos, 2233, S達o Paulo 01419-002, Brazil between 5.00 pm and 7.00 pm

DG I.S.A.K Nazar, Chairman - South Asian Reception AL-84, I Floor, 4th Street, 11th Main Road, Anna Nagar, Chennai - 600040, India.

Mob: +91 94449 76846 E-mail: nazarisak@gmail.com st

MARCH M MAR MA AR A RC RC CH H 2015 220 015 15 RO ROTARY R OT O TA ARY R RYY N NEWS NE EWS WS 19 19

Why not women?

by Rasheeda Bhagat

C

onsider this fact.

In 2014, the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh that gives out tiny loans or microfinance to poor women to start small ventures disbursed $1.5 billion. What is remarkable about this figure is that this was the first year when the total deposit of the borrowers alone exceeded $1.5 billion!

“So I tell my friends in the Grameen Bank: ‘Look, it is about time you stop calling them borrowers because the actual borrower is you; you’ve taken more money from them than you have given them. So the tables have turned,” said Prof Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and Chairman of the Yunus Centre, Bangladesh, an initiative in social business.

He was addressing a special session on Gender and the Media at the World Congress of the International Press Institute (IPI) held in Myanmar last month.

There were two key takeaways from this startling disclosure. The first — if you can put something in a structure, even tiny money becomes big money. Yunus recalled how in the initial years of Grameen’s formation in the 1970s,

“

Women coming for bank loans are invariably asked by bankers: Does your husband know? Does he approve?

“

20 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Telephone ladies

of Bangladesh

G

rameen Bank Founder Muhammed Yunus recounted the fascinating story of the telephone ladies of Bangladesh. Keen to bring technology into the lives of poor women, in the 1990s when the Bangladesh government was giving out licences for mobile operators, he applied.

“Everybody laughed saying the mobile phone is for the rich and you want to give these phones to poor women who have never seen a phone in their lives.” But his plan was to give bank loans to poor women so they could buy a cell phone and start a business by selling airtime in their villages where nobody had a phone, and make money. Yunus got the license and Grameen Phone rolled out in 1997, and “has become such a roaring business. Nobody had any idea that people had such a hunger for calling each other,” he told the IPI conference.

In a few years, Grameen Phone had 400,000 telephone ladies all over Bangladesh doing roaring business. “It was an instant ticket to get

out of poverty, and in the process Grameen Phone became the largest telephone company in Bangladesh, which has six telephone operators in the country today and Grameen Phone is the largest with half the market share,” he said.

So what started as a small initiative to bring telephone services to the poor women has become a huge service. The country of 160 million people has 120 million subscribers and the market is still growing, he added.

Another important thing, added Yunus, is that “we educated the poor woman that this is a powerful device which will take your voice to the highest in the land.”

The mobile phone is now used as a device to give “voice to the voiceless,” with the women getting on their handsets the home and office numbers of the Prime Minister, the Minister for women’s affairs, their local Parliamentarian, the Police chief and so on.

Next on the horizon is using the mobile phone for medical diagnosis, he added.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 21

Covered in “layers of fear”

P

rof Muhammed Yunus presents a fascinating account of the transformation the Grameen Bank has brought into the lives, mentality and confidence levels of poor women of Bangladesh. When he started he wanted to ensure that at least half the borrowers were women.

But when his girl students from the Chittagong University spread out to the nearby villages tried to explain to the women “what we were trying to do, every woman they met said: ‘Oh no, I don’t need the money. I don’t know what to do with money.’ Some said, ‘I am afraid of money’ and others said, ‘I can’t handle money, why don’t you give it to my husband; he knows about money.’ ” There were even times the women as they were being approached by the Grameen volunteers would disappear saying: “They are coming to give us money.”

It was a strange phenomenon; here were the men lining up to get the money and women were running

22 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

away. And he was asked: ‘Why don’t we lend to men?’ So he told them that when a woman says I don’t need, or can’t handle money, “always remember that this is not her voice. It is the voice of history. Ever since she was born she was told she is not good for anything, grew up to be regarded as someone who doesn’t exist. When she was born she was unwanted, told she had brought misfortune on the family being a girl child. So she is apologetic about her existence. So try to put some confidence in her. She is covered with layers and layers of fear. Our job is to peel off this fear layer by layer.”

He advised his team not to give up and continue to offer credit to women, and see how long it took. Well, it took six years for the bank’s female borrowers’ ratio to come to 50:50. Next, they noticed that case after case the money going to the family through women did a lot more good compared to that going to men. “So we asked what is so good about 50:50 and focused more on women till the ratio became 80 and

then 90 and now it is at 97 per cent for a long time.” They found women using their loans carefully, judiciously for the good of the entire family.

Experience told them that women across the world were getting better mileage from the loans they got compared to men. “So over time microcredit became synonymous not only with the poor but with poor women.”

At Grameen Bank’s 10th anniversary in 1986 when a banker’s institute organised a review seminar, there was a lot of criticism this model wouldn’t work. One frequent, and irritating, suggestion was: Why don’t you change the name of your bank to Grameen Women’s Bank. “In 1986 we were just 63 per cent women; so I said I’d be very happy to do so but before that why don’t you change your banks’ names to X, Y or Z Men’s Bank? Because 99 per cent of your borrowers are men.”

Underlining the insensitivity of anybody asking ‘Why women,’ Yunus said, “It makes it appear as though you’ve done something terribly wrong.”

‘No’ to foreign donations Soon this became Grameen Bank’s culture. Yunus explained how in the beginning Grameen took international donations “not because we wanted them as we lent only in local currency, the Taka, but the Government needed foreign exchange earnings and we were under tremendous pressure.” But in 1995 he put a halt to foreign donations because “people were accusing Grameen Bank of succeeding because it was getting so much money from outside. So we stopped ... many donors were unhappy because the money was in the pipeline.” But the Bank had become big by now and capable of functioning with depositors’ money.

And then last year the deposits of the ‘borrowers’ who actually own Grameen Bank, exceeded $1.5 billion!

Again an interesting story behind this surge in the accounts of its 8.5 million borrowers: Among the 16 decisions Grameen’s women took about their lives and affairs, one pertains to not taking

“

The number of pension funds exceeds the

8.5 million borrowers of Grameen Bank as many women have multiple accounts.

“

women ran away from accepting money but were gradually brought on board.

The next step was to encourage them to save; those who borrowed had to save as everybody was given a savings bank account. In the beginning, it was extremely difficult to convince them to save; “we said don’t worry about how much ... put even a few pennies, the important thing is to put something away.”

MA MAY MA AYY 20 22015 0155

ROTARY R OT OTA O TA ARY RY NEW N NEWS EWS 2 EWS EW 233

Pension funds The question arose on who would take care of these women when they weren’t capable of functioning and their children were not around in the villages to take care of them. So a pension fund was created and over the years the idea of saving for their old age became so exciting to the women — and it made good fiscal sense too — that today though Grameen has 8.5 million borrowers its pension funds exceed this number, as many women have multiple pension accounts!

Initially the model was that each woman puts 100 Taka every week into her pension account and after 10 years the bank matches her contribution. Yunus said the interest at 12 per cent is a little more than the normal 10 per cent they give their depositors, “but we said it is okay to give a little more for their old age security.” This scheme has become so attractive for them that after two years they come and say we should have put 200 Taka a week, and ask if they can go back and top it up. So we say you can’t do that but you

“

I asked bankers: Why don’t you change your name to X, Y or Z Men’s Bank; 99 per cent of your borrowers are men!

“

or giving dowry, as most women with daughters had been devastated by the dowry scourge. Another decision was saving for old age.

can open another account.” After 10 years they can either take out the money or put it into a monthly income account.

‘Bring your husband’

“

The woman is reluctant to take money because she is covered with layers and layers of fear. We have to peel off this fear layer by layer.

“

24 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Yunus recalled that his whole fight with the bankers had started with him arguing that they only lent money to those with lots of money, and to men. “So they said, ‘but women don’t come to us with business proposals.’ ” This, he challenged them, was a lie, and proved to them that when a woman comes with a business proposal, the bankers invariably sift through the pages and ask: ‘Have you discussed this with your husband?’ When the woman says yes, the next question: Does he approve? Finally the woman is dismissed with: “Why don’t you bring him along next week, so we can talk about it?”

“So I asked the bankers that has it ever happened in the history of Bangladesh banking that a man has brought his proposal and you have asked him if you have discussed it with your wife, or bring her along for further discussion.

I told them that starting from there you have built up the barriers.”

Interestingly, when the Grameen Founder mentioned this at an international conference, a senior woman academician came up to him and said that this happens not only in Bangladesh but also in her country — Switzerland! “She said after this conference I am going to my bank and they will not loan me the money until my husband okays it! Well Geneva is not Bangladesh and today is not 20 years back.

But still it is happening.”

Pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat Designed by Krishnapratheesh

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

We still have two months As we enter into May, we have two months left to ensure that you have made your contribution to Rotary’s charity, our Rotary Foundation.

There is still time to ensure that it is greater than it was last year — our goal for the Annual Fund is US $123 million, the highest it’s ever been. And there’s still time to ensure that your contribution enables our Foundation to continue to do good in the world — and that you can have the personal satisfaction of contributing to this in a meaningful way.

May means that there’s also just over one month until the Rotary International Convention in São Paulo, Brazil. This year we have outstanding speakers on Foundation-related topics, both at the convention and at the Rotary Peace Symposium held immediately prior to the convention.

They include Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Oscar Arias, Australian entrepreneur Steve Killelea, Rotary Peace Fellow Katia de Mello Dantas, and Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award winner Geetha Jayaram.

Arias was President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and 2006 to 2010, and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his role as architect and peace-broker in ending multiple conflicts in Central America. Arias continues to be an international force for peacebuilding through his personal activities and the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress.

Killelea is an Australian entrepreneur and philanthropist, known internationally as the developer of the Global Peace Index.

In 2007, he established the Institute for Economics and Peace as a vehicle to build a greater understanding of the interconnection between business, peace and economics.

Dantas received her master’s degree in international development policy from Duke University in 2009. She works tirelessly on behalf of vulnerable children as the Latin America and Caribbean policy director for the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.

I look forward to seeing you in São Paulo.

John Kenny Foundation Trustee Chair

Membership in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives As on April 1, 2015

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

164 100 131 68 90 94 65 68 52 85 115 78 75 87 104 67 136 75 144 91 64 125 138 96 127 112 130 85 73 134 77 94 75 77 75 95 160 108 149 88 3,971

7,129 4,569 5,486 3,338 4,968 2,137 2,565 3,594 1,942 3,739 3,277 3,243 2,007 2,060 3,425 2,714 5,415 3,357 7,481 3,382 2,351 5,074 5,785 4,053 4,847 4,432 4,254 3,437 2,071 6,059 2,785 3,561 2,479 2,771 1,196 1,848 4,893 3,011 3,970 2,944 1,47,649

315 348 614 165 562 272 195 555 165 333 274 167 66 103 187 237 858 271 1,014 267 108 259 247 321 251 209 252 160 252 470 281 522 252 291 150 348 609 230 608 348 13,136

73 145 61 31 47 29 38 28 13 35 49 41 22 10 43 29 54 42 105 70 8 27 38 52 68 66 9 16 67 124 41 37 14 29 35 18 187 110 45 93 2,049

291 295 189 215 186 87 120 127 30 96 129 154 33 84 46 38 182 98 340 162 37 258 363 117 88 360 64 143 184 371 120 146 97 60 14 35 70 20 98 91 5,638

RCC

200 75 80 258 125 133 330 123 89 105 58 98 122 146 60 48 68 63 139 109 80 155 143 41 44 39 115 118 93 292 117 165 41 66 13 33 171 38 530 89 4,812

Source: RI South Asia Office

Making WinS a winner

by Jaishree It is just not about building toilets, there is much more to it lessons on WinS at the Orientation Meet in Chennai.

RID P T Prabhakar and WinS Chair Sushil Gupta with Zone and District Coordinators at the WinS Committee Meet in Chennai.

I

n early 20th century, “Bapu had said sanitation is more important than Independence. But people forgot about it, and more than 50 per cent of our people defaecate in the open. Credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking this up through the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He even mentioned the ‘toilet’ word from the Red Fort,” said TRF Trustee and WinS Chair Sushil Gupta.

In Chennai to participate in the first zonal meet of WinS (WASH in Schools) Orientation for the District Coordinators of Zone 5, he spelt out the details, answered questions and cleared doubts about WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) to be implemented by Rotary India across Indian schools.

The meet was hosted by D 3230.

Gupta and RI Director P T Prabhakar, an ex-officio member of the WinS

26 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Executive Committee, provided an overview of this significant focus project of The Rotary Foundation.

Outline of WinS WASH is often misunderstood as the general hand washing habit which Rotary has been campaigning among students by providing soaps in schools to promote hygiene. But in reality WASH is taking hygiene to the next level, they explained. It includes providing adequate water facilities (both for drinking and sanitation purposes),

toilets, promoting healthy hand wash habits before and after eating and after toilet use, and most importantly, bringing about behavioural change in the community.

Through ‘WASH in Schools’ Rotary hopes to ‘catch them young’ and make children change agents, so they take this habit home first and then to the community. Gupta said Rotarians in the South always outshone their colleagues elsewhere. “When I visit the northern Districts, I say to the Rotarians there, ‘If you want

Zone Coordinator Ramesh Aggarwal briefs the delegates on the elements of WinS.

Elements of WASH in Schools Rotary India WinS programme has laid down 7 key elements:

availability of soaps, and menstrual education to girl students

Water for drinking, cleaning/ flushing toilets, cleaning school premises and vessels used for mid-day meals, hand washing

Behaviour change activities such as children cabinets, poster/ wall paintings, competitions and other reading/activity-based learning methodologies

Sanitation includes genderspecific toilets, one unit for every 40 students Group hand washing Operation & Maintenance of all water and sanitation facilities, regular supply of cleaning materials and consumables, appointment of cleaners/sweepers and prompt repairs of water and sanitation facilities Menstrual hygiene which includes adequate private space for sanitary towels, disposal facilities such as incinerators and dust bins,

to understand Rotary’s work, travel South,’ ” he said, amidst applause.

WinS is a target challenge approved by the RI Board of Trustees to work in two of Rotary’s focus areas — Water and Sanitation and Basic Education and Literacy. The initial years of the

Capacity building through development of right mix of skills, knowledge and experience by training teachers and SMCs; facilitation, finance and monitoring of WinS and equitable use of WASH facilities including promotion of hygiene.

Rotary leadership recommends the three-star approach which is a globally recognised system created

by UNICEF to improve effectiveness of hygiene behaviour change programmes.

challenge will focus on India, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Kenya.

Based on the global grant research, these countries have shown active engagement in WASH in Schools.

“In India we are working in association with the GoI and Rotary has committed to construct 10,000 toilet blocks in schools annually for two years. With 34 Districts, it works out to around 300 schools per District. That is not at all difficult with the kind of resources and networking we have,” said the WinS Chair. Rotary India has entered into an understanding with the HRD Ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy to construct 489 toilet blocks in schools in 10 States. An MoU is also being signed with UNICEF to identify

One-star: Daily routine to supervise hand washing, ideally before meal, cleaning of toilets and provision of soaps and water, use of drinking water bottles by all children.

Two-star: Incremental improvements — Stress on hand washing after toilet use, installing hand washing stations and delivering menstrual hygiene education in schools; constructing additional and improved toilets and facilities for menstrual hygiene management; and low-cost point-of-use water treatment introduced in schools for children to have access to safe drinking water.

Three-star: School facilities and systems upgraded to meet the national standards.

solutions and best practices to ensure a sustained success of WinS. He reminded the audience that sustainability was a major issue; “you cannot do this work and move away, because after two years the asset will be dysfunctional.”

Swachh Vidyalaya Swachh Bharat But along with WinS, work on polio will continue, “until it is completely eradicated. But our role will be much more than just building toilets — it would include promoting hygienic behaviour in children and ultimately Swachh Vidyalayas that will be a passport to Swachh Bharat,” Gupta said, adding, “Swachh Vidyalaya Swachh Bharat would be our tagline…. Our Happy Schools will not be possible without WinS.” MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 27

WinS at PETS Prabhakar enumerated the milestones achieved by Rotary India. “We are on top of the Rotary world — No. 1 in membership with 20,000 new Rotarians in India since July 1, 2013, which means 60 per cent of the new membership was added from just one country — India — with the rest of 201 countries making up 40 per cent! India ranks No. 3 in TRF Contribution ($13.5 m) next only to Japan and USA.” He urged past, present and future district governors assembled at the meet “to make sure your clubs provide water facilities in schools first — borewells and their proper maintenance.” To this, PDG V Rajkumar (D 3201) cited his District’s success in installing Rain Water Harvesting systems in schools to overcome the challenge.

Prabhakar appealed to the District Coordinators to include a session on WinS in the PETS of their respective Districts to educate and encourage the incoming club Presidents to implement the programme in their regions.

WinS Synopsis PDG Ramesh Aggarwal (D 3012), Member Secretary and Zonal Coordinator for the Northern Districts gave an in depth account of all that WinS involves. “It is most important to note that clubs have to work only with government schools and not with government-aided or private schools,” he clarified. The Rotary working group would follow a three-star approach created by UNICEF wherein each club and the school it selects will work together to meet a certain criteria that will label it as one-star, two-star or three-star (Refer Box). “Clubs can do this through global grants, district grants or service projects,” he said.

Answering a question from PDG Rajendra Rai (D 3190) on budget, Gupta said the Committee had none.

“Convince the school cabinet to raise funds.” DG ISAK Nazar suggested that Rotary clubs identify corporate donors to sponsor or undertake maintenance 28 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

work. PDG Jashti Ranga Rao (D 3150) suggested involving SMCs and the local panchayats. Gupta urged them to involve Rotaractors, Interactors and the RCCs to do the base line mapping of schools and to educate students on hygiene.

PDG R Benjamin Cherian (D 3230) suggested making a documentary to educate adolescent girls in menstrual hygiene and safe disposal of sanitary napkins, and PDG R Raghunath (D 3211) wanted an exclusive website and logo for WinS. Recalling Cherian’s massive ‘Schools to Smiles’ project that gave a facelift to 100 schools in the District and RRFC Raja Seenivasan’s ‘Happy Villages’ project, he suggested all these schools and villages be brought in the ambit of WinS. “That’s why I say achieving the magic figure (489) is not difficult.”

The coordinators provided the number of schools they would undertake and the final count came to 6,387 schools to be adopted by 15 Districts of Zone 5. Announcing this, Prabhakar said, “That is 64 per cent of the total target of 10,000 schools.”

IIMA makes it case study S N Srikanth, President of RC Madras, described his club’s success in making Amarampedu, a village near Chennai, open-defecation free, in a record nine

months through a novel ‘triggering’ plan and how behavioural modification among the villagers made it happen. This experiment has become so popular that the case study “has been adopted by IIM-Ahmedabad and I am also presenting this at the São Paulo Convention,” he said.

PDG Ravi Vadlamani (D 3150), presenting the WinS progress in A P, Telengana and Karnataka said, “Out of the 489 schools, 395 falls under my region. My District, 3150, has the maximum number of schools to be covered (244).” On a lighter note, he urged his team to get the job done fast and he would invite RID Prabhakar for the inauguration. Prabhakar agreed to do so “as long as you don’t put my photo on the toilet structures.”

“Section 125 of Income Tax Act is a powerful tool to raise funds for toilets… CII has launched a huge programme on CSR for construction of toilets. Rotary clubs can explore this avenue for funding,” Vadlamani added.

Nazar gave another valuable tip: “Almost 37 per cent of money allotted to MPs and MLAs for community projects are returned unutilised. With proper planning and networking, we can tap these resources.”

Pictures by Jaishree Designed by K Vishwanathan

Felicitating AKS Members Team Rotary News

R

C Nagpur Ishanya, RI District 3030, felicitated Rtn Satyanarayan Nuwal, Chairman of Solar Industries India Limited, and spouse Leeladevi Nuwal for entering the Arch Klumph Society club by donating $250,000. He is the first AKS inductee of the District.

Acknowledging the couple’s generosity at the felicitation ceremony, Rotary Foundation India Chair Ashok Mahajan said, “Truly, this historic donation will enable us and the Foundation to reach out to people with health and medical services.”

Nuwal in his acceptance speech said, “This honour is a milestone for me. It is great to be associated with Rotary. I share the honour with my team of Solar Industries India Limited that supported me every time and helped our industry reach the peak.”

Club President Anand Mohata said that the club plans to carry out various service projects through

In the previous quarter (January – March 2015) Rotary Foundation India has added four more members to the distinguished Arch Klumph Society of The Rotary Foundation.

1. Rtn M Radhakrishnan (D 3131) 2. Rtn K Nandhagopal (D 3202) 3. Rtn G Balasubrahmanyan (D 3230) 4. Rtn Satyanarayan Nuwal (D 3030) PRIP Rajendra K Saboo was inducted into the Society on March 18, 2015 at One Rotary Center, Evanston, Chicago. Krishankumar & Subhadra Jindal and Rtn Irfan Razack & Badrunissa Irfan will be inducted on April 15, 2015.

Total contribution from India has exceeded $4 million mark till 28 February 2015; showing an increase of 4 percent over the same period last year. India has achieved significant contribution towards term gift, worth over $600,000 during current year.

Source: RISAO Newsletter

Matching Grants to a tune of Rs 2.5 crore, with the District’s matching contribution of $75,000. The projects would donate Rs 1.5 crore to Central India Institute of Medical Sciences (CIIMS) for purchasing a CT Scan machine; Rs 30 lakh to Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Cancer Hospital for mammography machine; Rs 30 lakh to Swami Vivekanand Mission Hospital for construction of operation theatre and trauma centre; and Rs 30 lakh to Matru Seva Sangh Mahal for building a pathology laboratory and procuring hospital equipment.

RRFC Madhu Rughwani and DG Dattatraya Deshmukh also conveyed their appreciation to the Nuwals for their contribution.

Commemorating their District Governor’s 75th birthday, 75 Rotarians of RC Nagpur Ishanya contributed $1000 each to TRF to become Paul Harris Fellows, which was another feather in the cap for the club.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 29

Dil ki baat ...

Indo-Pak style

by Rasheeda Bhagat A moving saga of RC Calcutta South City Rotarians reaching out to a sick Pakistani teenager.

I

ndo-Pak relations couldn’t get a better PR opportunity than this. And for those in Rotary who have been talking about developing a stronger brand for this 110-year old organisation, this is the perfect story.

It has all the elements of a humanitarian and goodwill gesture, generosity, commitment, networking, drama, a little disappointment and lots of smiles and triumph. A Pakistani Pashtun girl from the Swat Valley, Syeda Gulalai

30 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Zahid, who has for a close friend Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousufzai, was born with a serious heart disorder. Her congenital condition was diagnosed as Pulmonary Atresia — the pulmonary valve in her right ventricle was shut. But call it nature’s intervention or “Allah’s meherbani” (grace), as her father Syed Zahid puts it, the girl has developed channels that manage to carry blood from the left side of the heart. “Big doctors have told me that it is this that has

helped her remain alive, and happens only in one in a million,” he says.

Last year on August 14, Rtn Tapas Mukherjee, Past President of the Rotary Club of Calcutta South City was excited to get a call from Manchester where the caller introduced himself as the father of Malala Yousufzai, who was yet to get the Nobel, but was anyway globally famous for the brave fight she had put up against the Taliban who had shot her in the head.

The Rotary connect

Kolkata Rotarians welcome Gulalai (head covered) and her parents.

There is not a single cardiac specialist in Pakistan I have not consulted.

I am told that normally such children die within a year, but in my daughter’s case Allah enacted a miracle.

Ziauddin Yousufzai, a member of the Rotary Club of Mingora, Swat, before he shifted with his family to UK for Malala’s medical treatment and later education, told Mukherjee that his daughter had a request for him and the Rotarians of his club — medical treatment of Malala’s friend.

“Then Malala came on the line and told me politely: ‘Uncle, can I request you for something; one of my friends is sick and requires help. Will you kindly arrange her treatment in India?’ ” Without wasting any time Mukherjee got involved in Project Gulalai with great gusto. He immediately called PDG of District 3291, Utpal Majumdar, who took over the leadership role in helping the Pakistani teenager. An advocate by profession, he first roped in the multispeciality Amri Hospital in Kolkata, which is one of his clients. “By that time Mukherjee had done a lot of correspondence with Yousufzai and President of the Rotary Club of Mingora in Swat, Fazalmaula Zahid, and we knew the girl required a complicated heart surgery.

The hospital agreed to give all treatment and the room free of cost, except medicines which were very expensive. So we paid for them,” says Majumdar.

Next the External Affairs Ministry in India was contacted to organise visa for Gulalai’s family to travel to India. The girl and her family were given visa for 45 days. This March,

crossing the Wagah border, Gulalai and her parents travelled from Lahore to Amritsar, then drove to Delhi and came to Kolkata by the Rajdhani Express. “We had organised a guest house for them. We picked them up from Howrah station, and took the girl straight to the Hospital and her parent were put up in a guest house we had organised,” says Majumdar.

Diagnosis and Treatment Gulala’s father Zahil told Rotary News: “There is not a single cardiac specialist in Pakistan that I have not consulted over the years. I am told that normally such children with her condition die within a year, but in my daughter’s case Allah enacted a miracle.” Coming from a lower middle class family, Zahid works as a school teacher in Swat Valley and is a man of limited means, and couldn’t afford treatment outside Pakistan.

In medical terms, says Dr P K Hazra, Interventional Cardiologist at Amri, Gulalai was born with Pulmonary Atresia, a malformation, from birth, of the pulmonary valve in which the valve orifice fails to develop and the completely closed valve obstructs the outflow of blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation. But in Gulalai’s case, other heart channels have opened up carrying blood from the left side of the heart to the lungs. Investigations carried out at Amri included an angiogram and Cardiac Catheterisation, which had

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 31

Praise galore for Kolkata Rotarians

R

C Mingora President Fazal Maula Zahid was first approached on August 12, 2014, by Ziauddin Yousafzai, a member of his club, to discuss Gulalai’s medical ailment and seek help for her treatment. “He sent me the cell phone number of Gulalai’s father, who I met and learnt that she is a very intelligent girl and has cardiac complications and her surgery in Pakistan will cost $15,000, a huge amount a school teacher like him could not afford,” says Zahid.

As Rotarians remain connected through mails, Facebook, websites, meetings and personal contact, “we were aware that cheap and quick treatment is possible in Kolkata in India.” He got in touch with Rtn Tapas Mukherjee, “who was so expeditious that my first mail dated August 13 got a response within hours. He said we Rotarians will take up this case and help. This gave us a lot of hope and comfort.”

With RC Calcutta South City volunteering to pick up the cost of surgery, local stay, transportation and other expenses and Yousafzai their travel cost from Pakistan, Gulalai was set. “Though the operation could not be done for some medical reasons, it was a very nice experience with Indian Rotarians. We will never forget their kindness, the precious time and hospitality extended to the Gulalai Family. In all, we exchanged 150 emails for this,” adds a very grateful Zahid.

On the issue of taking Gulalai towards total recovery possible only by a heart transplant as opined by the Kolkata experts, and PDG Utpal Majumdar’s offer to pay at least part of that cost, I asked Yousafzai if his daughter Malala would extend another appeal to Rotary leaders worldwide. His response: “The issue is not about the arrangement of money.

Rather it is the right decision of the doctors to operate on her or not. Doctors in India thought it was too risky to do.

If Gulalai’s medical reports and scans are shared with other well known heart surgeons and they come with a different opinion, then we should think about the logistics.”

He too is full of gratitude for the Kolkata Rotarians. “I, as member of Rotary Club Mingora, Swat, truly

not been done in Pakistan. The paediatric Surgeon in the team, Dr C Pradhan, ruled out surgical intervention saying the risk was as high as 60 per cent against the 4–5 per cent risk that ordinary heart operations carry. He told Rotary News, “We decided that with some medicines Gulalai can lead a fairly normal life. She can go to school, walk up to 2 km, talk fluently, can have normal menstrual 32 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

appreciate the Kolkata Rotarians for their efforts to help Gulalai in her treatment and am thankful to them for extending remarkable moral support and hospitality to Gulalai’s family,” he added.

RB

She shows her friends her pictures in India; and has got a new enthusiasm and confidence to get totally alright.

cycles and can even get married. But she can’t become pregnant as in her condition pregnancy is contra-indicated. We decided that taking a risk and possibly killing her on the table was not an option we should take,” says Dr Hazara.

While surgical intervention is too dangerous, what can really help Gulalai is a heart transplant which cannot be done in India. Majumdar, who with the help of Rotarians raised the money for the family’s stay and expenses in India — (“she was discharged from the hospital in four days but as the family had come for the first time to India and wanted to go around Kolkata, we organised city tours for them”) as well as the child’s treatment is already looking at the next step. “We know that a heart transplant in India is not possible, but it can be done in a US or UK Hospital. If one of those Rotary clubs comes forward to help Gulalai, we are ready to bear a part of the expenditure involved in her surgery,” he says.

So concerned he was about the child’s safe and comfortable return home that he even organised air tickets for the family’s flight from Kolkata to Delhi, and wanted to also send them to Lahore by air. But thanks to the complications in Indo-Pak relations, the entry and exit route of a Pakistani travelling to India, and vice versa, has to be the same.

So Gulalai returned home through the Wagah border and is back in school.

But her father continues to worry about her. “She is very frail, doesn’t put on weight, her face is yellow and she gets tired easily. I am a school teacher and have four children and I can’t afford to take her to England or America. But if Rotary can help, my daughter can either be operated upon or get a heart transplant.”

Indebted to Rotary Zahid talks about his Indian experience with gratitude and warmth. “The Rotarians in Kolkata took the best care of Gulalai and her treatment, and made us feel at home. I am so grateful to Rotarians because they made my

Gulalai delivers a speech on Malala Day in Swat Valley.

As a member of Rotary Club Mingora, Swat, I appreciate the Kolkata Rotarians for their help in Gulalai’s treatment and am thankful they extended remarkable moral support and hospitality to her family.

Ziauddin Yousafzai daughter feel so important and gave her so much love.”

Addressing a meeting of RC Calcutta South City, he said “Hindustan or Pakistan ke logo mei koi farak nai hai.

Only politics and extremists are dividing us.” He has now invited members of this club to visit Peshawar, and this invitation is under serious consideration!

Meanwhile back at home Gulalai is constantly talking about her India visit. Thanks to all the Rotarians giving her so much affection, she felt very respected and important. The result is that at home she can’t stop talking about her Indian experience to all her friends, says Zahid. “She shows them her pictures in India; with the doctors, the Rotarians. She has got a new enthusiasm ... a new confidence

to get totally alright. Next year I am planning to shift her from the present Urdu medium school to English medium because she wants to study and become a leader. I do hope somebody somewhere in the world will help my daughter achieve her dreams....”

As for Mukherjee and Majumdar, they were very touched to get a letter of thanks from the Nobel Laureate.

Last August when Malala contacted Mukherjee she was not yet a Nobel Laureate. When she bagged the Nobel, an excited Mukherjee sent her a congratulatory note, only to get a response from her father, Yusufzai, “who said that now I have become her secretary and am responding to her letters!”

Designed by N Krishnamurthy MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 33

Project Moradabad

by Sudhir Gupta

Hutments near a railway track.

Phir mein kahan jaon?”(Where else should I go?) was the terse reply of the elderly woman who was coming from the side of the railway track after defecating.

“We do not have any toilets in our locality and we have to go to the railway track to relieve ourselves,” she added, replying to my obvious question on a February morning in 2010. We were on a polio immunisation drive in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh; the locality was Nazir Ki Madhaiyan.

According to the municipal records there are 60 slums in the city, each housing 500–800 people; most of them have migrated here from other States for livelihood.

Going around the place, we were moved by their pathetic living conditions. No toilets; no access to clean drinking water as the only hand pump drew yellowish water with a 34 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

bad odour. The slums are dotted with garbage heaps emitting foul smell and the residents are mostly rag pickers — collecting and carrying large bags of recyclable waste material on their shoulders and heads to be handed over to the contractor who offer them paltry sums!

They do not have access to proper medical facilities nor are they able to provide basic education for their children. The children are made to work along with their parents most of the time. Facilities provided by the government such as routine immunisation and nutritional assistance do not reach them.

We chalked out projects focusing on sanitation, clean drinking water, basic and preventive healthcare, personal hygiene, vocational training and primary education for capacity building. Our plans for the city included constructing at least

Slums

We do not have any toilets in our locality and we have to go to the railway track to relieve ourselves.

Water and toilets provided at Devapur School.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 35

DG Marion van dan Brink, D 1570, inspects a toilet at a project site.

We chalked out projects focusing on sanitation, clean drinking water, healthcare, vocational training and primary education for capacity building.

Garbage heaps - the source of income for the residents.

36 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

four toilets and installing two hand water pumps of 40 metre depth at each site. We planned monthly medical camps to take care of the basic healthcare; for primary education and vocational training we planned to employ trainers and teachers.

Since we did not have sufficient funds I discussed these projects with the foreign Rotarians who visited Moradabad to participate in polio immunisation drives on NIDs and SNIDs. PDG Albertine Perre Bulder of RC Vianen-Vreeswijk, RI District 1570, The Netherlands, and her team and Rotarians from D 9810, Australia, led by PDGs John Barnes and Bob Richards who visited Moradabad in 2012 and 2013 respectively, got interested in these projects. They presented this project in their Districts back home, and these were instantly approved. Subsequently, TRF sanctioned matching grants to the tune of $50,000 and $80,000 respectively, which helped in the construction of toilets and installation of hand water pumps at 35 sites. We are in the process of providing similar facilities in the remaining areas too.

We organised 27 medical camps in association with a charitable Trust, SSG Foundation, benefiting more than 4,000 patients, and provided vocational training for 3 months to 75 youngsters in collaboration with the Moradabad Institute of Technology.

The Australian Rotarians donated a van to organise the medical camps in these slums. We also receive support from other visiting Rotarians from abroad. One such supporter is from D 1240, England under the leadership of Rtn Paul Harvey.

(The author is Past District Governor of RI District 3100)

District Wise Contributions to The Rotary Foundation as on March 31, 2015 (in US Dollars)

District Number 2980 3000 3010 3020 3030 3040 3051 3052 3053 3060 3070 3080 3090 3100 3110 3120 3131 3132 3140 3150 3160 3170 3180 3190 3201 3202 3211 3212 3230 3240 3250 3261 3262 3291 India Total

APF

1,14,939 27,472 42,734 50,253 21,340 3,396 35,119 (62,000) 44,741 80,948 53,055 79,033 39,593 40,397 76,258 53,671 96,206 27,781 4,36,025 61,770 13,424 55,547 1,71,276 3,06,509 27,109 2,60,112 87,189 74,974 1,57,521 1,17,278 2,15,421 17,407 64,086 14,481 29,05,065

PolioPlus*

Other Restricted

India 59,194 1,100 4,087 725 405 714 50 0 0 100 1,450 24,286 0 0 2,114 0 7,814 1,000 4,236 2,307 17 3,599 0 100 16,254 4,533 1,000 20,783 2,678 1,597 5,525 0 0 0 1,65,668

Endowment Fund

Total Contributions

0 0 32,542 20,373 3,164 10,814 0 4,027 4,000 11,690 12,829 42,048 0 15,378 0 205 4,45,999 3,000 2,94,642 64,063 0 30,000 6,247 71,480 0 16,500 11,336 0 59,982 4,053 2,565 0 100 98,880 12,65,917

7,834 7,115 21,968 25,036 6,415 593 0 83,136 0 11,543 0 12,398 0 0 0 0 26,501 7,000 41,005 33,639 0 0 0 0 1,000 1,017 6,000 1,000 54,418 15,050 22,245 0 30,000 0 4,14,912

1,81,967 35,687 1,01,331 96,387 31,324 15,517 35,169 25,163 48,741 1,04,281 67,334 1,57,765 39,593 55,775 78,371 53,876 5,76,520 38,781 7,75,908 1,61,780 13,440 89,146 1,77,523 3,78,089 44,363 2,82,162 1,05,525 96,757 2,74,599 1,37,979 2,45,755 17,407 94,186 1,13,361 47,51,562

2,82,113

Sri Lanka 3,705

14,025

15,000

3,14,843

3271 3272

16,395 29,056

Pakistan 28,819 44,270

0 (816)

0 1,000

45,213 73,510

4,21,251 2,00,003

Bangladesh 18,103 15,113 1,00,525 1,000

26,113 0

4,80,579 3,01,528

88,200 39,42,083 8,24,54,511

Nepal 50 1,300 3,61,139 12,96,539 1,89,40,426 1,11,64,551

0 4,57,025 1,47,09,625

89,550 60,56,786 12,72,69,114

3292 South Asia Total World Total

* Excludes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary Social Media www.rotary.org/socialnetworks

More Online Resources books www.rotary.org/rotarian

www.rotary.org/rotaryminute

Rotary Images www.rotary.org/rotaryimages

3220

3281 3282

Bookmark Rotary

Rotary eNewsletters www.rotary.org/newsletters

Source: RI South Asia Office OCTOBER 2014

ROTARY NEWS 37

Literacy Focus Rotary India Global Dream Each one, Reach one, Teach one Campaign

India Literacy Mission

PRID Shekhar Mehta Chairman, Rotary India Literacy Mission

A

dult Literacy continues to be the main focus of Rotarians in the month of May. This project takes a new dimension with the Rotary India Global Dream Campaign, where RILM has partnered with Devi Sansthan of Lucknow.

Dr Sunita Gandhi, President and CoFounder of Global Classrooms came to the Pune Summit and spoke extensively about the affectivity of the primer and mechanism they have developed at Devi Sansthan, to educate adult non-literates. She explained how her organisation could make a large number of adults, in and around Lucknow literate within a short span of time, by enlisting students as volunteer-teacher, using the curriculum made.

RILM with its nationwide reach decided to collaborate with Dr Gandhi and her organisation to initiate a programme at the school level, asking students to be volunteer-teacher in the summer holidays, and be responsible of educating one adult non-literate. The outcome of which is the Rotary India Global Dream Campaign.

The objective of this campaign is to reach out to schools nationwide, both in urban and rural areas with the help and involvement of Rotarians, Rotaractors and Inner Wheel Members.

38 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

This project enables the student-volunteer-teacher with a Toolkit, in a language of their choice that will prepare their adult learner to be literate within 45-60 days, ready to take the government aided NIOS examination, which will certify the non-literate as literates.

The Toolkit available with Devi Sansthan has been modified and made compatible under the guidance of RILM specifically for this project, with inputs taken from the curriculum available with the National and State Literacy Council, to maximise the effectiveness. RILM’s nationwide network has made translations of the Toolkit possible at break-neck speed. The Toolkit is available in 12 languages and has been adapted and synced as per socio-cultural context of the region it will be used in.

An orientation programme was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata for all DLCCs where personnel from Devi Sansthan presented the mechanism, training manual and structure of taking adult literacy classes by a studentvolunteer-teacher. Post this orientation session the DLCCs appointed a 10 - 15 member team to be known as “Programme Coordinator” in their respective districts to be in charge of this programme.

Orders have started pouring in as the goal of 1,00,000 adults to be made literate is now in the hands of Rotarians.

Role of Programme Coordinator 1. i) List out schools. To achieve the goal of 5,000 studentvolunteers registered in a District, Programme Coordinators are expected to get commitments from at least 30 schools. ii) Start seeking appointments with Principals of enlisted schools. Plan to approach those schools first which you feel will propose the highest number of the student-volunteers.

2. On the first visit to the Principal of a school, you need to arrange for and carry with you the following resources: i) One complete Toolkit* to show the Principal of the school. Also, a Demo CD of the Toolkit is to be handed over to the Principal. (Download on a demo CD Dream Book 1, Book 2, Flash Cards and two videos. Final versions of the Book 1, Book 2 and Book 3 will be part of the Toolkits that will be distributed to the students.) In case, the school insists for hard copies to be left with them, please leave behind a photocopy of the Toolkit. ii) The cover letter conveying the vision and strategy of the Rotary India Global Dream summer project. iii) The Pre-test Sheets and the Student Volunteer Registration Forms in requisite numbers. (a) The Pre-test Sheet is to be used by the studentvolunteer to assess if the learner chosen is really illiterate. (b) The Student Volunteer Registration Form is the form in which the basic details of the studentvolunteer, his/her parents, the learner chosen as well as the commitment of the student-volunteer and his/her parents are taken.

Hand over to the Principal, the Student Volunteer Registration Form and Pre-Test Sheets, explaining the purpose of these sheets. These forms are to be distributed by the Principal to the Class Teachers, who will then distribute them to interested student-volunteers in their respective classes. These forms are each to be printed by each Programme Coordinator according to the number of students being approached in each school. Take goals for student participation from the Principal on the School Commitment Form.

Inform the Principal that the student-volunteer registrations should come from Class 6 upwards. iv) The “Rotary India Global Dream: Children Leading Change” video (http://youtu.be/n_WlzEDu88M), to show on your laptop.

3. Motivate Students in school assembly if Principal requests (you can use the “Rotary India Global Dream: Children Leading Change” video).

Rotary India Global Dream – Programme Activities

1) Selection of adult (15+ years) nonliterate persons and imparting basic literacy to such adults • Through qualified and trained volunteers and • Using available primers, etc., and, wherever feasible, e-learning modules.

2) Facilitating active participation of Rotarians, their spouses, Inner Wheel members, Rotaractors, Interactors and Rotary Community Corps (RCC) members to register and work as volunteers for above-mentioned activities.

3) Encouraging individual Rotarians and their family members to also ensure imparting literacy to/upgrading literacy status of all members of their office and domestic staff.

4) Providing opportunities to the neoliterates for Continuing Education (CE) by creating community libraries, organising quiz contests, etc.

5) Arranging for vocational training for skill development or skill up-gradation to • unemployed adult neo-literates, and • literate adults employed in low-skill jobs by availing the schemes of the National Skill Development Corporation and of similar organisations of the Central/ State Governments so as to augment their income and thus motivate them to seek literacy and vocational/skill development training.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 39

RILM

Happenings – Snippets

Making 1,00,000 adults literate in the next 3 months is a pledge we have taken. Each Rotarian can lead by example, through teaching or by motivating someone to teach an adult. The following reflects some steps RILM has taken to initiate the campaign.

GOAL To send 25,000 children back to school, to provide supplemental teaching to 26,500 children, to train 900 teachers and to set up 279 Adult Literacy Centres.

The Inner Wheel Club Coordinators and Chairman Elect were trained in 2 separate sessions at Kolkata and Pune on 16th/25th March, 2015, on various aspects of T-E-A-C-H Programme.

Dr Bharat Pandya, Chair – Training Committee, RILM, took the training session in Pune.

IWC committee training in Kolkata.

Dr Bharat Pandya, Chair - Training Committee, RILM with IWC committee members.

Orientation programme for District Rotaract Representatives Elect (DRREs) took place at Munnar, Kerala on 16th April, 2015. Dr Bharat Pandya, Chair - Training Committee, RILM conducted the training session and shared the role of Rotaract in the RILM Project.

Training of DRRs in Kolkata.

40 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Training of DRREs in Munnar by Dr Bharat Pandya, Chair - Training Committee, RILM.

GOAL Each RI District to educate 5,000 Adult non-literates.

Training and Orientation programme for Rotary India Global Dream took place simultaneously at four locations — Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai on April 3 & 4, 2015. DLCCs and ALCCs were trained on the implementation of the campaign by trainers from Devi Sansthan.

Coming to agreement with Dr Sunita Gandhi, Global Classrooms and RILM for Rotary India Global Dream Campaign.

Training of District Literacy Committee Chairs and Adult Literacy Committee Chairs at Kolkata.

4. At the end of each day please place School-wise and language-wise orders on the “Toolkit Order Form” online, along with the payment details.

5. At the same time, look for financial sponsors (which could be one or more Rotary Clubs) for the Toolkits (Rs 50 per Toolkit). DD to be made in favour of “RSAS A/c Literacy Mission”.

6. i) You will receive the Toolkits as per orders placed ii) Seek a date (before the summer vacations start) from the Principals to distribute the Toolkits and do an Orientation with registered studentvolunteers.

*One complete Toolkit consists of 1. Three Thin Books (Book 1 and Book 2 for Reading and Writing, and Book 3 for Arithmetic) 2. Flash Cards 3. Pre and Post-test Sheet 4. Letter to student-volunteer to make Learner Portfolio 5. Model NIOS Examination Paper

Interactive training and orientation programme for RIGD Programme Coordinators in RI District 3020.

For the Orientation, use the “Tutorial Video for the Student Volunteers” video (https://youtu.be/ GV5QeqjkROk) to explain the teaching methodology to the registered student-volunteers.

7. On the day of Distribution of Toolkits and Orientation, take from the Class Teacher the individual Student Volunteer Registration Forms and the individual Pretest sheets.

Post Vacations 1. Post summer vacations, organise a feedback session with the student-volunteers and some fun activities and encourage discussion among them about how they overcame the challenges. Motivate them to finish teaching the remaining syllabus. Notify about the certification process for the learners.

2. After the student-volunteers have completed teaching their learners and submitted learner portfolios in hard copy or online, hold: • A certification ceremony for the student-volunteers in their schools • A separate event to honour the school Principals 3. Take back from the student-volunteers the unused Toolkits.

So, Clubs, let us gear up in educating 1,00,000 adults and make them ready to appear the NIOS conducted examination in August, 2015.

Please visit www.rotaryteach.org for all details and information on the RIGD programme.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 41

Why

I love my

iPhone 6

by Dr Shailesh Palekar

A

s an ardent smartphone user, what I usually look for in smartphone is the perfect amalgamation of hardware and software to give me a seamless experience. As a General Physician, long working hours (read battery life), a decent size of the screen which I can view from a distance during my OPD hours and a healthy mixture of apps which I can integrate and stay up-to-date with general news and that from my profession, are my main objectives. Not to mention data security and cloud computing — something I cannot live without.

I have been an Apple 5S user since the day it was launched and not once has it failed me. I have yet to experience a time when the phone felt sluggish or when the apps froze while I was using them. Touch sensitivity in iPhones is arguably the best so far compared with other smartphones.

While android has its own advantages, delayed response (touch sensitivity) is something Google has to yet work. Not 42 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

to mention the excessive RAM (2/3/4 GB) heating up the phone making its continued use very uncomfortable.

The only hitch I always felt for was lack of a bigger screen, which would have made the experience much more enjoyable. So last September Apple did not disappoint when they announced bigger iPhones with 4.7” and 5.5” screens.

Come October 17, 2014 and I was the proud owner of a brand new iPhone 6.

To be honest, the phone has replaced my personal secretary and how I function. The 4.7-inch display on the iPhone 6 is arguably its best feature.

It remains usable with one hand (even for those with smaller hands thanks to ‘Reachability’).

The resolution (1334 x 750 pixels) might seem less compared to other smartphones with 2K and 1080p displays, but fear not. The resolution is Apple’s “Retina Display” Standard (326 pixels per inch). The human naked eyes cannot detect difference above this range.

Coming to performance, the dual core 1.4Ghz Apple A8 chipset and 1 GB RAM might sound negligible when comparing android releases of chipsets having ¾ GB RAM. But as I said earlier, IOS 8 runs incredibly smoothly and quickly on the iPhone 6.

The stock camera application on Apple phones are among the best in the market and 8 megapixel camera of the iPhone 6 takes consistently marvellous photos no matter what the light conditions. So now you can say goodbye to blurry images thanks to the phase-detection autofocus system. While the iPhone 6 Plus comes with optical image stabilisation, iPhone 6 does not disappoint with its advanced digital image stabilisation and I love every bit of it.

The 6’s iSight rear camera has the ability to record Full HD 1080 video at 60 frames per second (fps). Considering that the 5S sports a similar camera — although at 30 fps — the 6 produces a slightly sharper picture.

The author is member of RC Panvel RI District 3131

Peace Scholars from D 3240

by Sujit Dutta

A

s D 3240 observes its Silver Jubilee this year, it has created an impressive record with three candidates shortlisted from the District being selected by Rotary International for Peace studies at various Rotary Peace Centres.

Rashmi Rekha Borah

Rotary Peace Centres Rotary International selects some of the world’s most dedicated and brilliant professionals with strong academic background and related experience to study at Rotary Peace Centres. Candidates are selected based on their potential as leaders in government, business, education, media and other diverse professional areas.

The Rotary Foundation, in partnership with leading universities around the world, set up Rotary Peace Centres in honour of Paul Harris, founder of Rotary International, on his 50th death anniversary. At present there are six Rotary Peace Centres in seven universities around the world: Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden While the Chulalongkorn University offers a 3-month Professional Development Certificate course, the others offer a 24-month Master’s Degree course; these courses are fully funded by Rotary and include fees, food and lodging, round trip fares and internship and field study expenses.

Abhijit Bora

The students pursue a curriculum in international relations, world peace, conflict resolution and related subjects which educate, empower and increase their intellectual capability in making a difference in the world. They gain experience from direct participation in academic training, research work, applied field internship, annual peace symposium and in global networking opportunities. The course concludes with a dissertation on a topic of the Fellow’s choice.

Selection process While Rotary clubs recommend potential applicants, the District Committees interview, select, endorse applicants and send the recommendations to Rotary Foundation for processing. The Rotary Peace Centres Selection Committee selects up to 50 for the Master’s course (10 fellows for each centre) and 50 for the Certificate course (25 in each session for two sessions per year).

The Committee looks for demonstration of commitment to a career in peace and conflict resolution, as a vital criteria while shortlisting candidates for the Scholarship.

D 3240’s Peace Scholars Rashmi Rekha Borah, recommended

by RC Guwahati West, will do the Master’s course at International Christian University, Japan, from

Prasanta Rajguru

September 2015. Editor of Bhoomi, a literary journal published from Assam, she is also a writer and poet and has won several awards. She holds a PhD from Assam University.

Prasanta Rajguru, recommended

by RC Guwahati, is a journalist and presently Executive Editor of Amar Asom. He completed the Professional Certificate Course during January– March 2015 from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

Dr Abhijit Bora, recommended by RC Guwahati South, will be doing the Professional Certificate Course at the same University during June–August 2015. He is presently Associate Professor - Department of Mass Communication & Journalism, Tezpur University.

District 3240 has produced several Peace scholars, who maintain contact and participate in club, district, regional, and international Rotary events, ad also programmes of educational institutions, civic organisations and other forums while pursuing their professional careers. We are proud to put on record that Luish Aind, past Peace Scholar from Guwahati has been invited by RI President Gary Huang to address a breakout session on Peace Symposium at the RI Convention in São Paulo, Brazil.

(The author is member of RC Asansol and Assistant Governor Zone 1) MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 43

PDG Sushil Khurana and Rtn O P Pahwa along with the staff and children of the school.

A dream school for poor

by Rasheeda Bhagat From a humble beginning the Rotary Public School, Gurgaon, has blossomed into a quality school educating 2,400 children, 30 per cent totally free.

I

magine the kind of courage and faith this bunch of men would have had to mortgage their personal properties to raise a bank loan to build a school with the primary objective to give quality education free of cost to underprivileged children. And that too without telling their wives. “If our wives had realised that we had signed away our properties, ghar se bahar nikal detey,” chuckles D 3010 PDG Sushil Khurana, Chairman 44 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

of the Project Committee of the Rotary Service Trust (RST) that was formed to run the Rotary Public School Gurgaon, which is the result of this daring act!

Started in 1981, as a tiny school in Gurgaon with the objective of giving quality education free of cost to poor children, as Gurgaon expanded, this school grew too. Notably, this was the first senior secondary English school affiliated to the CBSE in the area.

On its beginning, Khurana, a general surgeon, says, “As Rotarians, we were doing various service projects and the district authorities asked us why don’t you come into education and said they’d give us the place.

We agreed willingly and were given four rooms.” Beginning with education only till Class 5, the school has grown over the years. In 2000 it operated out of one acre of land. But as

On why the RST didn’t opt for a bank loan, Khurana says, “Banks don’t lend money to Trusts because they can’t attach their property, so we decided to pledge our own properties, and got a loan of Rs 3 crore in 1997!”

The land was bought for Rs 70 lakh; today it is worth, hold your breath,

more than Rs 100 crore. And they were able to release their properties in three years!

But what you can’t put a price on, or is priceless, is that of the 2,400 students, 30 per cent are from disadvantaged families and get free education and transport.

If somebody is really brilliant we ensure they don’t miss out on opportunities for lack of funds. We help them fulfil their dreams.

children the demand grew, Khurana and his team from RC Gurgaon took a leap of faith and bought 5 acres of land in Sector 17.

The crucial reason for its success is that at an early stage they designed on a self-sustaining module. “When we started, we were banking on a 3H grant, but as a district could get only one grant, we didn’t get it. But we didn’t allow that to stop us.”

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 45

Explaining the self-sustaining model, O P Pahwa, Assistant Governor D 3010 and RST Trustee, says, “We take normal fees from 70 per cent of the students, just like any other public school. The best part is that none of the children or the teachers know who is a paying student and who gets free education. All children travel in the same bus.” As only the senior management knows who pays and who doesn’t, there is no discrimination. “Many of our Trustees’ children and drivers’ children have studied together, without knowing who pay and who doesn’t,” says Khurana.

For 15 years this model has worked.

The school shifted to the new campus in 2000. Carlo Ravizza, as the then RI President-elect, laid the foundation stone and “we told him that it will be ready in a year and if you are in this part of the continent please inaugurate 46 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

it.” He did, while in Bangladesh to attend the Institute and said that he was an architect but had never seen such a huge project completed in a year.

Cheerful ambience The school exudes a cheerful ambience; the bright green and yellow walls, the spacious play area for the younger children with sand pits and swings and slides, the plush auditorium with 170 push-back seats, music lessons being imparted in one class, PT lessons in another ... everything points to a first class school offering holistic education. I see for myself what Khurana said about the focus also being “on moral education as we are a Rotary school.” At a turning we come across a little boy walking slowly with the aid of a walker. From nowhere a few other kids surface and they lend him a helping hand. There

is no teacher around, and the children concentrating in taking their fellow student to his destination make such a heart-warming picture!

But the pressure on admissions grows every year. With excellent results, the demand from the less privileged has increased, and “we find it very difficult to turn intelligent children away.” So the Trust has bought another plot costing Rs 9 crore and another wing will be added soon.

“With this additional facility, we’ll be able to take another 1,000 students — which means 300–350 children will get free education,” he smiles.

Strong mentor system The school gets excellent results.

Meera Sannoo, Vice Principal, says in 2013–14, the result was 98 per cent.

When you wonder about the obvious disadvantage the poorer children might

be facing in terms of extra tuition and help with homework, Khurana points out that these children also do well thanks to the very strong mentor system in place. “Rotarians and their families have to invest their time. If I recommend my driver’s son for admission, then my wife, mother, sister or somebody from my family has to take responsibility of being a mentor so the module succeeds.”

Some of the poor children, points out Meera, are brilliant while most are average. “The commitment from our staff to these students is that whenever we find a student not doing well, they take extra classes.” The gender ratio is 100 boys to 80 girls. The endearing character Millimetre, in the Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, hails from a disadvantaged family and studied here.

His father is a waiter, and now his brother is also studying here. Any child coming from a family with a monthly income less than Rs 10,000 is eligible for free education, says Pahwa.

A bit of the stick is also used to ensure that the free students keep up their grades. If the non-paying students consistently get less than 50 per cent, they are warned that they will be asked to leave. “This is just a deterrent and to keep the pressure on the mentors not to dump their wards but work hard along with them to ensure they perform well academically. We don’t enforce it,” explains Khurana.

Many of these students go on to higher education and even though there is no commitment that the Trust will continue to support them or pay their college fee, “many students are adopted by Rotarians who fund their higher education. My wife has adopted two students and wants them to become chartered accountants,” he says.

Adds Meera, “She calls me regularly and inquires about their progress.” The brighter kids invariably get help, often from the District Education Foundation headed by TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta. “We refer them there and keep guiding them on resources

If our wives had realised that we had signed away our properties, ghar se bahar nikal detey. for higher education. If somebody is really brilliant we ensure they don’t miss out on opportunities for lack of funds. We help them fulfil their dreams,” adds Khurana.

While the brighter students go on to the best of institutions for higher education such as IIT Delhi, IIM Lucknow, the Trust has now asked Literacy India, an NGO that educates 600 girls, to send 10 of their best girls to this school. Senior Rotary leaders like PRIPs Rajendra K Saboo and Kalyan Banerjee have visited the school. Books and uniforms for the poor students are given by the Rotarians as also transport. “We send mini vans for students who live far away.

When PRIP Saboo came he said: ‘Give me this promise that if you help them, you’ll help them thoroughly.”

The most unique aspect of this project, he points out is that a project of this size is a single Club project; “probably the largest in the world done by one club, without taking any Grant money from RI, except very small matching grants for lab equipment and two vehicles.”

Thanks to RC Gurgaon’s Rotarians, Sapna Rajak, the daughter of a clerk in a private company, and an 11th Class Commerce student, wants to become a financial analyst. And “when I start earning, I will buy my mother every possible thing she wants.” Ashish, the son of a carpenter who works for the school, is headed to the NDA. “I want to serve the country and also make my parents happy and comfortable,” he says.

Pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 47

People of Nepal

need our help Team Rotary News

Yet another tragedy of a colossal magnitude has struck Nepal where over 5,000 people have lost their lives and tens of thousands rendered homeless and helpless.

In such times of deep humanitarian crises, Rotarians have always ... always opened up their hearts and purses.

Our brothers, sisters, elders and children in the devastated Himalayan region need our help.

Find below the details of the way in which you can donate, along with bank details. It is time to show that generosity and compassion reside deep within our hearts.

R

otary in India, Nepal as well as at the RI top leadership responded quickly to the massive destruction caused by the Nepal earthquake. The RI leadership swung into action with incoming RI President K R Ravindran swiftly sending out instructions to Rotarians in Nepal on relief efforts. In response to Ravindran’s mail, District 3292 DGE Keshav Kunwar from Nepal replied on April 27, updating the RIPE of the relief efforts carried out by his district. “As suggested by you, as immediate action, we are providing food, water, ShelterBox, AquaBox, tents and medical support. Some of our Rotarians have reached the earthquake-affected areas with relief materials. We are working closely with the Nepal Government, army and police.”

He added that Rotarians were collating from these agencies the immediate requirements of the earthquake victims; his assessment was that immediately about 2,550 ShelterBoxes were required, but the ultimate need would be a much higher number. “We have also formed coordination committees for the arrangements and these are working very effectively. Personally, I am constantly in touch with (PRID) Shekhar Mehta and (PDG) Kamal Sanghvi.

They are sending about 1,000 ShelterBoxes and 50 will be sent either today or early tomorrow.”

He added that the ShelterBox (an international disaster relief charity) people were reaching Nepal on the same day. He was also in touch with other Districts from the US, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bangladesh etc and working out details of the kind of support required.

Rotarians want to construct 1,000 houses Spelling out details of the long term action plan, he said Rotarians had decided to construct 1,000 low cost houses each costing about US $3,000. The total project cost would be US $3 million. They wished to apply for Global Grant for this project and the details would be worked out once some order and calm were restored in the region. “The aftershocks are now less than they were for the last two days, which were terrifying,” was the heartrending conclusion of DGE Kunwar.

Your contributions may be sent to: Account Name : Rotary India Humanity Foundation Bank

: State Bank of India

Branch

: 145, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata – 700 026

Account No.

: 31317807754

IFSC Code

: SBIN0006770

FCRA Account for International FUND Transfer: Account Name : Eastern India Rotary Welfare Trust Bank : HDFC Bank Ltd. Branch : Stephen House Branch, 4 BBD Bag East, Kolkata-700001 Account No. : 00081000115280 MICR Code : 700240002 IFSC Code : HDFC0000008

Ravindran responded with the following mail, giving out precise, pointed and clear-cut directions that underlined the essence of what top Rotary leadership is all about. His reply, which holds a valuable lesson for response to any crisis, reads: “Dear Keshav, Thank you for your mail. I am glad that you are well and are directing relief work. Have you got in touch with ShelterBox? If not let me know and I will connect you. Open a special bank account.

Set up some sort of relief trust to receive funds. Make sure it is a properly constituted account with all the checks and balances in place. Make a good accountant as Treasurer. Let me know the details. I will ask that aid funds be directed there.

“Be clear as to what aid you require. If you are not careful you will receive stuff which is of no use to you. This just clogs up airports and your warehouses. And if there is something that someone wants to send which is of no use to you, politely suggest that they consider some other contribution. For immediate relief, do you need food, tea or antibiotics?

What about water? Keep updating me on what is happening. Rgds. Ravi” Commented PRIP Rajendra K Saboo, “This precise and timely exchange may be a way for Rotarians in India and whole of South Asia to move forward to support one of the worst calamities in this region. This is comparable to what we saw during the Gujarat earthquake and the Tsunami.

Rotary leadership in India is also planning tremendous help and support which will come in due course.”

TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta said that keeping in mind the logistic difficulties of moving relief material “in the long term our major role will be to raise funds and in rebuilding as we have done in the past so successfully in the aftermath of major natural disasters. Once the situation improves a bit senior Indian Rotary leaders will meet to discuss the rebuilding strategy in Nepal.”

Earlier a statement signed by senior leaders PRIP Kalyan Banerjee, TRF Trustee Sushil Gupta, RID P T Prabhakar, RIDE Manoj Desai appealed and circulated to all DGs to generously contribute relief material and monetary help for the victims of Nepal disaster.

You can also donate to: Account Name : RI District 3292 Disaster Relief Fund Bank

: NMB Bank Ltd, Nepal

Account No.

: 001000005455A

Swift Code

: NMBBNPKA

L to R: Past IPPC Chair Robert Scott being honoured; PDG Aziz Memon and Rtn Mahendra Patel, President, RC Dubai are also present; PRIP Wilfrid Wilkinson (fourth from left) with event organiser Rtn Nabil Mitry (third from left) and other guests; PRIP Wilf Wilkinson and PDG Nijad K Al Attassi (extreme left) with Rotarians.

Rotary Clubs of UAE honour

by Jaishree

F

ive Rotary clubs of the United Arab Emirates led by Dr Nabil Mitry, Past President of RC Dubal Cosmopolitan, hosted the Annual Gala Dinner in honour of Rotary’s Past International Polio Plus Committee Chair Dr Robert (Bob) Scott and spouse Ann. The function held at JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, Dubai, on March 27 was attended by five hundred guests. Senior Rotary leaders such as PRIPs Wilfrid Wilkinson and Kalyan Banerjee with his spouse 50 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Robert Scott and spouse Ann with PRIP Kalyan Banerjee and spouse Binota and other Rotarians at the event.

Binota, IPPC Chair Michael K McGovern, Pakistan’s National PolioPlus Committee Chair and IPPC Advisor Aziz Memon and PDG Nijad Al Atassi, D 2452, graced the occasion.

Bob Scott served as IPPC Chair from July 2006 to June 2014 and his role as a fulltime supporter of Rotary’s battle against polio is well known world over.

At the dinner, all the prominent speakers gave their heartfelt thanks to him for leading the polio eradication drive for eight years. Overwhelmed by all the praise showered on him, Scott said that the real congratulations should go to the Rotarians around the world who had worked hard on this initiative. He expressed the confidence that with their commitment and hard work Rotarians would ensure that polio was eradicated from the world very soon.

Designed by L Gunasekaran MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 51

Help for Nepal earthquake victims Dear Rotarians, The calamity in Nepal is unprecedented and our response to help should be unprecedented too. For 2 days, I have been in constant communication with Rotary leaders in Nepal and India, and we have devised a plan of action as follows.

Relief: The immediate need is relief and for this Shelter Kits will be sent from Kolkata.

Other things in bulk may be sent in coordination with Rotarians from Nepal.

The Shelter Kits are a comprehensive package of 51 items such as tarpaulins, mosquito nets, vessels, hygiene kits and clothes, which will be a boon for the villagers where entire YLOODJHV KDYH EHHQ ÀDWWHQHG :H DUH DOVR VHQGLQJ DGGLWLRQDO WHQWV EODQNHWV WDUSDXOLQV DQG dry food in each truck load/air load.

The Kits are urgently required in thousands in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Kavre, Sindhupal Chowk, Gorkha, Dhading, Kaski, Tanahu, Lamjung and Rasuwa. :H KDYH PDGH DUUDQJHPHQWV ZLWK WKH ,QGLDQ $UP\ WR WUDQVSRUW WKH 6KHOWHU .LWV DQG relief materials to the Nepal border from where the Nepal Rotarians will take over the maWHULDO 7KH\ ZLOO ZRUN LQ WDQGHP ZLWK WKH 1HSDO $UPHG 3ROLFH DQG WKH 0LOLWDU\ WR HQVXUH SURSHU GLVWULEXWLRQ LQ WKH DIIHFWHG DUHDV :H DUH DOVR LQ FRPPXQLFDWLRQ ZLWK $LU ,QGLD DQG Indigo to airlift the relief material.

Some Rotary friends abroad are already collecting funds and will be sending in the money. You may also contact your Rotary friends abroad for contributions.

Rehabilation: 3UHSDUDWLRQ ZLOO VWDUW VRRQ RQ UHKDELOLWDWLRQ PHDVXUHV :H KDYH EHHQ LQ WRXFK ZLWK '* 5DELQGUD .XPDU 3L\D DQG '*( .HVKDY .XQZDU DORQJ ZLWK RWKHU VHQLRU Rotarians in Nepal.

Rehabilitation could be done by building low cost shelters or schools, in which we now have rich experience because of our involvement in the relief work during the calamities in Bhuj and Uttarakhand. $V PRVW RI WKH 5RWDU\ VHQLRU OHDGHUV ZLOO EH RXW RI ,QGLD IRU ¹ GD\V UHOLHI ZRUN LQLWLDWLYH ZLOO EH FRRUGLQDWHG E\ 3'* .DPDO 6DQJKYL 9LFH &KDLU RI 5,+) In the cover email or letter, please mention the purpose of the donation – relief or rehabilation. We will try to heed your request as far as possible.

You can start contributing immediately. This is the time for us to wipe the tears of our brethren in Nepal.

Shekhar Mehta Past RI Director

3OHDVH PDNH \RXU FRQWULEXWLRQ IRU 6KHOWHU .LWV DQG UHOLHI ZRUN WR $FFRXQW 1DPH Rotary India Humanity Foundation Bank : State Bank of India Branch : 145, Sarat Bose Road .RONDWD Âą $FFRXQW 1R 31317807754 IFSC Code : SBIN0006770 In case you are sending cheque/DD, send to: Rotary India Humanity Foundation, 145, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata 700 026.

Foreign contributions can be sent to Eastern India Rotary Welfare Trust FCRA Account for International FUND Transfer: $FFRXQW 1DPH Eastern India Rotary Welfare Trust Bank : HDFC Bank Ltd. Branch : Stephen House Branch %%' %DJ (DVW .RONDWD $FFRXQW 1R 00081000115280 0,&5 &RGH 700240002 IFSC Code : HDFC0000008

You can also donate to: $FFRXQW 1DPH RI District 3292 Disaster Relief Fund Bank : NMB Bank Ltd, Nepal. $FFRXQW 1R 001000005455A Swift Code : NMBBNPKA

Talking Peace at Bangladesh

by T I M Nurul Kabir

O

ne of the significant highlights of the Rotary Peace Conference hosted by Districts 3281 and 3282 at Dhaka, Bangladesh in February was the ‘Dhaka Declaration’ signed to initiate a certificate course with the BRAC University. It spelt out that “through this effort we wish to expand the knowledge of microcredit and microfinance, and in turn, create an environment of economic empowerment of the marginalised population.” The District will co-find an institute for studies on peace and microfinance.

The Conference of which the Rotarian Action Group For Peace (RAGFP) was a strategic partner, was organised by RC Dhaka Mahanagar, D 3281, and highlighted TRF’s significant area of focus: Peace and Conflict Resolution, and brought together political, economic and cultural leaders from various communities to share their thoughts on the subject.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the event and RIPE K R Ravindran with his powerful address, inspired Rotarians.

The Prime Minister appreciated its initiative and lauded Rotary’s role in promoting peace at national and international levels. Elaborating on Bangladesh’s commitment and contribution to global peace, she said, “Bangladesh contributed the highest number of women police to UN peacekeeping, commensurate with our credentials of empowerment of women.”

Ravindran in his address said, “My home country, Sri Lanka is no stranger to war, poverty and strife. Since 1929, when the first Rotary club was chartered in Sri Lanka, Rotary has brought

RIPE K R Ravindran, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and DG Safina Rahman.

peace, health and hope to my country.

When polio raged through South Asia, Rotarians from all around the world gave their time and resources to lead National Immunisation Days, with the result that Sri Lanka has been poliofree since 1994. When a terrible tsunami struck in 2004, Rotarians were some of the first people to respond.

Today, Rotarians in my country promote education among our children and peace between groups that have been enemies.”

Sessions on ‘Peace through economic empowerment’ and ‘Conflict resolution through cultural exchange’ contributed by the local and global experts were moderated by the State Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Md. Shahriar Alam and Rtn Gordon Crann, Chair-elect, RAGFP. Distinguished speakers such as Baroness Shreela Flather, Member of House of Lords, UK; Khalida Azbane, Board Member of Middle East and North Africa Businesswomen’s

Network; Maj Gen Piyal Abeysekera, former Deputy Chief of Army, Sri Lanka and Rotary Peace Fellow from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand; RRFC Rafiq Ahmed Siddique; and others provided valuable inputs.

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, KCMG, Founder and Chairman of BRAC, the largest NGO in Bangladesh, spoke on bringing peace through economic empowerment. Operating in 69,000 Bangladeshi villages it covers an estimated 110 million people through its development interventions ranging from primary education, healthcare, agricultural support and human rights and legal services to microfinance and enterprise development.

District Governors Safina Rahman and M A Latif provided guidance and support in making the event a huge success.

(The author is Assistant Governor and Chief Coordinator of the Peace Conference.)

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 53

The

Kattanchimalai Story

by Selvi

K

attanchimalai, 35 km from Coimbatore, is a tribal village with a population of 85 people, all living in extreme poverty. The village lacked basic amenities such as electricity and toilets; open fields served as their toilets and roofless make-shift sheds, their bathrooms.

Such disastrous conditions made them vulnerable to life-threatening risks such as being bitten by poisonous insects or snakes, besides making it unhygienic for the villagers. Children dropped out of school due to health issues. In short, their lives were literally in the dark until Rotary intervened.

Under the ‘Happy Villages’ project, RC Coimbatore Cybercity, D 3201, adopted the village in July 2014.

54 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Project Chair Rtn R Sounderrajan and Director of Community Service Rtn D Elangovan visited the village and with generous contributions from the club members, various projects were begun, ushering in better facilities for the villagers. The club built separate toilet blocks for men and women. Three toilets and a bathroom, complete with electricity and water facilities, were provided in each block.

The Rotarians lit up the entire village with solar-powered street lights and solar lamps for the houses, amidst great cheer from the locals. “We can now do so many things even by nightfall and we need not race against time to complete our chores by daylight,” said one of the villagers joyfully.

The Rotarians have also formed a Rotary Community Corps (RCC) team drawing people from diverse fields to monitor the development of tribal children’s education and their welfare and to mentor the people on sanitation, personal hygiene and health. Alex Raj, an engineer, is in charge of the RCC team.

One of the RCC members is the tribal head Kali, who is also a Ward Councillor. He says theirs is a very old tribe which lived atop the hills surrounding this region. “Hunting and agricultural farming were our prime occupation and due to water scarcity and to safeguard our family from wild animals, our ancestors moved to the plains. Our people now work as daily wage labourers and take up agricultural

We can now do so many things even by nightfall and need not race against time to complete our chores by daylight.

jobs in coconut plantations in nearby villages as none of us are educated or own any land. Our village was totally neglected and it is very fortunate to be adopted by the Club.”

Club President S S Muthukumar says, “We emphasise on the community’s welfare and their children’s education. We are planning to arrange vocational training for the women in various arts and handicrafts and sell the products in exhibitions and fairs conducted by Rotary clubs or other organisations. Thereby the women too can support their families through the income generated.”

Commending the endeavours of the Club on his visit to the village DG P Venugopalan Menon said, “It is wonderful to note what Rotary can do for the well being of the underprivileged tribal community and we shall continue our efforts in this direction.”

Reaching the needy Team Rotary News

R

Chief Minister of Kerala, Ommen Chandy presenting the keys.

otary Club of Shoranur, D 3201, donated Maruti vans to Pain & Palliative Care Units of Shoranur Municipality and Vallathdol Nagar Panchayat. The vehicles would help provide home care services to critically ill underprivileged patients in the surrounding villages and towns.

More than 1,000 patients are registered with these units and lack of own vehicle restricted home visits for the doctors and para-medics who used to visit patients in hired vehicles to provide medical care and counselling.

“The donated vehicles would now make it more comfortable and efficient for the specialists to provide patient care, and they are even making multiple visits now,” said club President M Sayeed.

Chief Minister of Kerala, Ommen Chandy dedicated the vans to the hospices in a grand function attended by the locals and Rotarians of the community. District Governor P Venugopalan Menon and Assistant Governor N Muralieedharan took part in the function and appreciated the efforts of the club members.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 55

Polio Flame arrives at Evanston Team Rotary News

T

he Rotary ‘End Polio Flame,’ created by RC Madras, D 3230, arrived at RI World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, on April 14, on its journey from India to São Paulo, Brazil, for the RI Convention in June.

The torch has made its way through Colombo, Karachi, Kabul, Sydney, Taipei, Manila, London and Lagos, and will make an additional stop in Toronto before the Convention.

RI President Gary Huang lit the torch in front of the PolioPlus statue at One Rotary Center amidst cheering RI leaders.

“When we said we would eradicate polio in India, many people said it couldn’t be done. This Rotary Flame is proof that we were right to believe in our mission. We can help make a brighter future for billions across the world,” said Gary Huang.

R to L: IPPC Chair Michael McGovern, RIP Gary Huang, TRF Trustee Chair John Kenny, RID P T Prabhakar, RC Madras President S N Srikanth, Polio Flame Project Chair N K Gopinath and Rtn Rajesh Somasundaram at Evanston.

Kenny noted the progress that has been made since Rotary launched the polio eradication campaign in 1985. “The fruits of our labour since that day are clear. Ninety-nine percent of the world’s population live in regions certified polio-free. The

goal of eradication is closer than ever,” he said.

Prabhakar, who commended RC Madras for this unique project, also shared with the TRF Trustees, a three-minute film on the journey of the flame so far.

RC Karur gets housed in 14 acres!

Team Rotary News

R

otary Club of Karur, D 3000, has got a spanking new building of its own, spread over a sprawling 14 acres.

One of the largest clubs in India with a membership of 427 (including 42 women), the 10,000 sq ft building was jointly inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Transport Minister Senthil Balaji and RI Director P T Prabhakar.

PDG C Basker, Rotary Coordinator Zone 5, 2013–16, and an RC Karur member, said the club had the vision to buy this huge property way back in 1996 for about Rs 30 lakh. Today the market value of the land is over Rs 40 crore!

The building was put up at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore and entirely financed by the club members. There is a plush auditorium which can seat about 350 people and will be venue for the Club’s meetings henceforth. “There are seven Rotary clubs in Karur, but none of the others have their own meeting place. In the future we will be renting out our facility for their meetings at a very nominal cost,” Basker added.

Club President M P Ramasamy said a unique feature of their new facility was the development of a walking lane, spending Rs 20 lakh, which is now being used by Rotary 56 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

From Top: RC Karur’s new building; Rotarians at the auditorium.

club members and their families for their morning walk.

“And PDG Basker also walks here whenever he is in town,” he added.

Rotary’s programmes for young leaders A Signature System In an effort to bring our programmes for young leaders closer to Rotary, a new set of logos and signatures has been designed in alignment with our organisation’s updated visual guidelines. This short guide below will help you understand our new looks for Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Youth Exchange and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. More resources will be available online in the coming months. Look for new tools and templates that will help you apply our new look to your brochures, PowerPoints, websites and other print and digital communications.

Rotary Youth Exchange & Rotary Youth Leadership Rotaract

Awards (RYLA)

The Rotaract signature consists of the Rotaract wordmark (Rotaract name above Rotary endorsement line) and the Mark of Excellence (Rotary wheel) in cranberry.

You can create a unique look for your club, district or multidistrict Youth Exchange or RYLA programme. This consists of the club or district signature along with a graphic or text treatment.

Interact The Interact signature consists of the Interact wordmark (Interact name above Rotary endorsement line) and the Mark of Excellence (Rotary wheel) in sky blue.

Lockups are to be used to show a relationship between Rotary and Youth Exchange or RYLA. This consists of the district or club signature in conjunction with the programme text.

Reproduced from The Rotarian

SOLUTION FOR THE LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD

Rotary at a glance Rotarians

:

12,27,377*

Clubs

:

34,896*

Districts

:

536*

Rotaractors

:

1,74,984

Clubs

:

7,608

Interactors

:

4,06,249

Clubs

:

17,663

RCC members :

1,88,301

RCC

8,187

:

*As of April 1, 2015.

As of December 31, 2014.

52 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Sky High Team Rotary News

A 58 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

round 10,000 children including Rotaractors and Interactors were treated to an aero-modeling show organised by RC Ahmednagar Midtown, D 3132, at Wadia Park. The show was inaugurated by the Mayor of Ahmednagar, Sangram Jagtap. Rtn Yogendra Jahagirdar and Yash (a past Rotaractor with expertise in aero modeling) hosted

the show. Twelve aircraft models run by electric motors and small engines were seen in action at the show.

Highlighting the efforts of the Rotarians, President Ranjana Brahma said, “Rotarians prepared in advance.

They visited schools and colleges to spread the word.” Posters were put up at important public places. “We

The children were curious and asked many questions; while a few wanted to buy the models, one said she wanted to take up a career in designing aircraft!

wanted to host a fun and interesting PR event to showcase Rotary just as RI President Gary Huang had suggested.

We focused on children from remand homes and orphanages,” she added.

A “jugalbandhi between the flying dish and the helicopter was a feast for the children. They were simply delighted and their cheering reached a new high when messages were sent out in the sky,” said Jahagirdar. The chief guest said, “Rotary Midtown’s show has fired the imagination of the children by opening up a spectrum of wide interests and suggested to them even a career opportunity in aeronautics and flying.”

Children were curious and asked many questions. Few children were so excited that they “wanted to buy the models,” said Ranjana. This oneof-a-kind show in Rotary India was wonderful to watch. The impact of the show on a cross section of the children enabled to stimulate their imagination. This method of making learning a fun activity is a fantastic achievement, she said.

Many of the children had never experienced a show in the sky of this nature, and quite a few of them were very keen to learn how to fly an aero model like the ones they saw in the sky. Megha, a Class 7 student, after watching the show decided “not to be a pilot and instead take up a career to design new airplanes.”

Designed by N Krishnamurthy MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 59

Spreading light of learning in prison

by Kiran Zehra Thanks to RC Patiala Midtown’s intervention, jail inmates are saying ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you.’

I

nmates of the Patiala Central Jail, Punjab, are planning their future thanks to RC Patiala Midtown’s (D 3090) correctional education programme that imparts general knowledge, maths, English, Hindi and Punjabi language classes that go hand in hand with the jail authority’s vocational programme. “It will significantly reduce the danger of their return and find them decent employment,” says club President Navdeep 60 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

It will significantly reduce the danger of their return and find them decent employment.

Gupta. Scheduled for four to six months, the courses are separately designed for “newcomers.” Inmates undergoing rigorous imprisonment too stand a chance, provided “they show improvement.”

The 15 th edition of this educational programme has produced 70 literate prisoners. Reluctant to call them prisoners, the enthusiastic project chairman O P Gupta prefers to call them “reformed citizens.” At 86 he is the oldest and most active member of the club. He visits the prison every fortnight and gives the prisoners a treat of Punjabi samosas and aloo patties to keep them motivated!

The project began in 1980 as a Literacy project for girls, and gradually found its way to the prison when a few Rotarians visited the jail. When he saw “the convicts simply whiling away their time,” Gupta approached his club to start a literacy programme inside the central jail. With the help of late Rtn Hans Gupta, member of RC Toronto Humber, D 7070, Canada, the first eye camp was organised within the jail’s premises and 32 cataract operations were performed. “This is now an annual event, all thanks to

Rotary believes that everybody deserves a second chance ... everybody! the committed Rotarians,” O P Gupta added. The women’s prison too has a literacy programme; the club has distributed sewing machines and separate women teachers conduct the correctional education programme.

Dr Jagdish Chander Kumara, a committed teacher, who has been teaching at the jail since 1980 fell ill last year. The programme would have come to a standstill, but he was replaced by a qualified teacher who is serving imprisonment. “Many of them are graduates and post graduates in there,” he quipped. Rotary Club of Patiala Midtown provides them with educational kits and blankets. Of late

“religious books are also in demand,” said Navdeep Gupta.

Singh, an inmate here, is the new language teacher and is serving 15 years imprisonment term for a narcotics crime, “I teach them Hindi and Punjabi, ” he said. Out of the 70-odd students he has, 40 can read Hindi and Punjabi newspaper, he says. Whenever there is learning trouble he preaches the “haati (elephant) formula ... story of an elephant that cannot break free from the rope it is tied to. Because it believed it couldn’t, it was stuck right there.” Talking about the Rotarians he said, “Zindagi bhar jo nahi seekha, woh Rotary ne do saal mein sikha diya.

Unko dhanyawad (What I did not learn all my life Rotary taught me in two years, thanks to them).”

Ramesh who is serving his last four months of imprisonment for a roadside brawl feels that his English is “bahut badhiya,” and all thanks to Rotary he has even learnt to sign.

He plans to teach his two-year old daughter, “ABCD,” and he now says, “Sorry and thank you” (in a strong Punjabi accent), whenever he is drawn into an argument.

“We have painters, singers and dancers. We give them training in whatever field they are interested in, in the belief they will reform, and they actually do,” says O P Gupta, adding, “Rotary believes that everybody deserves a second chance ... everybody!”

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 61

Rotary Day - D 3132

by Jaishree

C

ultural extravaganza and Peace and Goodwill Summit marked the four-day (February 20-23) Rotary Day celebration of District 3132. The event was hosted by RC Aurangabad Metro along with RC Aurangabad Elite and RC Aurangabad Rauzabag, at Aurangabad, the city famous for the Ajanta and Ellora Caves and the Taj Mahal look alike, Bibi ka Maqbara.

Aurangabad Mahotsav Ruturang and Kaladalan showcased the diversity of our country’s music and dance; the Sufi and Qawwali were a huge crowd-puller. The handicraft exhibition with 45 stalls promoting local handloom, paithani, himroo, bidri and ceramic work, attracted the general public. Street plays performed across the city presented Rotary’s service projects to the common man.

The celebrations concluded with the Peace, Goodwill and Conflicts Resolution Summit coinciding with Rotary’s 110th birth anniversary on February 23. PDG Arijit Endow (D 3240) and spouse Minaxmi were the RI President’s Representatives for the celebration.

PDG Arijit Endow and spouse Minaxmi honour Rtn Chandrakant Chaudhari.

Endow complimented the Rotarians for the vibrant programmes that embodied the rich culture and heritage of Aurangabad coupled with the Rotary spirit of welcoming non-Rotarians to discover the true spirit of Rotary.

He appealed to the 150 delegates at the summit on two issues: “Firstly, focus on membership development and encourage youngsters to join Rotary. And next, contribute generously to the Foundation. Your gift to TRF will reap unimaginable benefits for the entire world.”

Section of audience at the Summit.

The RIPR felicitated Rtn Chandrakant Chaudhari for his contribution to TRF and becoming the first Major Donor of the club. The District honoured four NGOs with community service awards for their exemplary service to society.

Talking about conflict resolution, PDG Meena Patel of D 6650, Ohio, said, “It takes the parties involved to work together with a positive attitude to resolve any issue.”

The summit provided valuable inputs from established experts who

shared experiences from their respective fields relating how peace and goodwill among people can be promoted.

Rtn Stephnie Rodrigo, past president of RC Capital City, Sri Lanka, speaking on sister club agreements, stated such agreements would encourage intimate relationship among Rotary clubs world over paving way for promoting goodwill between countries by jointly addressing the community needs of the people. Dr Sachin Jamma highlighted on how Rotary’s friendship exchange programme can act as a medium of peace; Rtn Dr Rajesh Ragde spoke on tourism that would usher in better understanding among countries and Rajender Singh, Commissioner of Police, Aurangabad presented his thoughts on the topic, ‘Peace within Community.’

The summit convener, Rtn Madhuri Sawant – Ragde, talking about the objective of the Summit stated that it was the result of the club’s initiative to promote goodwill and peace through Rotary clubs in SAARC nations as one of their projects and develop systems that can effectively help the SAARC countries to come together at nongovernmental level.

Chaudhari presented the resolution which urged Rotarians to use the existing opportunities such as Rotary Friendship Exchange programme and explore possibilities of collaboration to enhance understanding and goodwill amongst them.

Bringing sunny days to society Team Rotary News

T

he villages around Gulbarga and the underprivileged community of the town have benefitted from the humanitarian services of Rotary Club of Gulbarga Suncity, D 3160. The club, sponsored by RC Gulbarga Midtown, was chartered in June 2013 with 60 members and today the team of 104 Rotarians are involved in various community projects. Their routine health camps bring relief to several sick villagers who cannot otherwise afford medical treatment; they provide monetary and material donations to the school for the visually-impaired and old age homes in the locality.

The Rotarians’ donation of books, stationery items and uniform sets have encouraged village children to go to school, and new clothes and bedsheets distributed to the poor have brought them comfort.

“Our flagship project of the year — the hepatitis B vaccination camp — saw 800 people from nearby villages being inoculated against the disease, and we have completed the mandatory three doses of the vaccine recently,” says club President Anand Shah. The club’s first project was a volley ball court and the club also provided sports kits to an orphanage at Gulbarga.

“The club has sponsored an Inner Wheel club and a Rotaract club.

Our team is charged with fresh energy as we won the ‘best new club’ award in Zone 5,” says incoming president Jagdish Malu.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 63

Zoya lives on ...

Team Rotary News

Z

oya Rana, a 21-year old student pursuing a degree in Fine Arts in Mumbai had come to Nagpur, her hometown, for a short holiday. Little did she or her family know that this would be her last and final visit. On March 21, around 8.30 a.m., she was hit by a vehicle in the posh Civil Lines area. A good samaritan took her to Meditrina Hospital, where the doctors found severe intracranial injuries and put her on ventilator support. Her family was informed about the severity of the injuries and 24 hours later, they were informed that Zoya was brain dead.

Zoya’s parents are members of Rotary Club of Nagpur, D 3030. Dr Ravi Wankhede, Nagpur Centre Head of MOHAN Foundation, is also a member of the same club and has been carrying out organ donation campaigns. The parents had heard of ‘brain death’ from Ravi. They called him to the hospital and he counselled and requested them to think of donating Zoya’s organs and tissues.

Zoya’s father Shamshuddin and mother Rozina talked to the elders in the family and agreed. They were told that her two kidneys and eyes could be donated and transplanted.

Ravi then sought their consent to donate the liver, which would take some time as a Mumbai team would have to come to Nagpur for it. The family, however, did not agree.

As Meditrina Hospital is not registered for transplant

64 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

People need to be sensitised on organ donation and Rotary can be one of the best platforms to do so. activities, Zoya was shifted to the Orange City Hospital and Research Institute, Nagpur.

The Ranas belong to the Khoja Muslim community.

The community is highly educated and well known socially.

The fact that the donation came from a Muslim family is noteworthy and will send a positive message that organs can be donated and shared by people belonging to all the faiths.

Ravi adds that every year there are at least 5 million people awaiting organ donation. People need to be sensitised on organ donation and Rotary can be one of the best platforms to do so.

Dr Ravi Wankhede, himself a kidney donor to a Muslim girl, chairs the Organ Donation Awareness Committee of District 3030. He can be contacted at 9423683350 or raviwankhede@gmail.com.

Story time for underprivileged schools

by Kiran Zehra

Instructions before they begin to read their story books.

“I

like Mullah Nasruddin and Vikram aur Bethal,” said Munaza Pathan, a class 4 student of Swami Dayanand Saraswati Primary School. She can now borrow books from her school library and read them to her “amma aur mere teen dost,” thanks to GyanJyot (Flame of Knowledge) — a project of RC Baroda Sayajinagari, D 3060, that emphasises the habit of reading in students of 55 underprivileged schools in the region.

At the end of three years, 20,000 students have been enrolled in this programme.

“We identified through a random survey that the need for reading was much higher than educational kits or cycles. Children seemed interested in pictoral books with limited text,” said Club President Kalpesh Shah. So new books were purchased by the club and “we included moral story books.

Rotarians labelled them as per the

prescription of TEACH. Classroom libraries were then installed. “The kids were so excited, they were reaching out for the books saying, ‘Uncle mujhe bhi do na,’” he recalls.

The much needed library programme operates in an annular pattern and books are circulated to students of classes 4–8. During a free period the books are distributed and the last 15 minutes are dedicated for a one to one “question and answer session, so that the teacher can mark the student’s development,” says Kethubhen Pathak, Principal of Swami Dayanand Saraswati Primary School. Children share the stories they read and sometimes enact them too, she adds.

Although the programme has fallen in place,“irregularity in attendance remains a big drawback,” she adds. “Rotary is constructing toilets, building schools and providing clean water. We ended polio, I am sure we will eradicate illiteracy too,” adds Shah.

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MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 65

Dr Akshay Nair lecturing at Hawassa.

A surgery in progress and a learning process for the African doctors.

66 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

T

o train ophthalmologists in Ethiopia, a vocational training team (VTT) sponsored

by Rotary Club of Bombay Chembur West (RCBCW), District 3140, was sent to the African country in March. “The objective was capacity building in Ophthalmology,� said President S R Balasubramanian. This is the silver jubilee year of the club.

The team comprised three super-specialists in ophthalmology, led by Rtn Dr Haresh Asnani, a Vitreo-retinal surgeon. The others included Dr Atul Seth, Paediatric Ophthalmologist and Squint Specialist and Dr Akshay Nair, Oculoplastic Surgeon and Ocular Oncologist.

Beyond Eye Care, an organisation

The VTT members along with the local ophthalmology professionals at India Eye Care Centre, Addis Ababa.

“

A lot of expensive donated

“

that manages the OIA’s (Overseas Infrastructure Alliance) India Eye Care Centre in Addis Ababa, and RCBCW co-conceptualised the project to make up for the shortfall in trained eye specialists in Ethiopia.

Elaborating on the scenario of ophthalmic care in Ethiopia, Dr Asnani said that the doctors were knowledgeable theoretically but lacked exposure to practical knowhow and surgical skills. Quantifying the VTT’s success he said, “everything will depend on how Rotary clubs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Health Ministry and the direct beneficiaries, i.e., the ophthalmologists themselves pick up the baton and carry on from here. There is a big vacuum in their super-specialty training and exposure, which can be filled by us Rotarians in District 3140. In fact, the Indian Embassy in Addis Ababa is also ready to grant scholarships to those who are willing to come to India and specialise in this field.” Around 300 scholarships are available in various fields, and just half of this is only utilised; lack of awareness is the reason. “We have asked Rotarians there to popularise this scheme so that more students can benefit from it,” he said.

In consultation with the Ministry of Health and Food, Medicine and Health Care Administration and Control Authority of Ethiopia (FMHACA), a detailed programme was charted out for the team, which included medical education programmes, clinic workshops, video assisted surgical skills transfer and the topics covered were common retinal disorders, diabetic retinopathy and screening, age-related macular degeneration, common eyelid disorders and tumours, disorders of the lacrimal sac, paediatric and adult squint, amblyopia management and visual rehabilitation in children.

Dr Seth said, “We noticed a lot of expensive donated equipment lying unused since the doctors and

equipment were lying unused

since the doctors and paramedics lacked the knowhow.

paramedical staffs were not taught the handling and maintenance protocols of these. We taught them how to handle such equipment.” The team sensitised local doctors that timely intervention in childhood squints, eye tumours and childhood cataract can go a long way in preventing complications later.

Fourteen ophthalmologists, 25 postgraduate students, 40 optometrists and 20 ophthalmic nurses were trained over five teaching sessions, five surgical workshops and six clinical demonstration sessions.

Dr Nair said, “The whole experience was extremely rewarding: we were able to demonstrate many different surgical procedures and held fruitful clinical sessions and video assisted skill transfer sessions. The demand and need for ocular oncology and oculoplastic specialists is high in

Ethiopia and the next step is to facilitate training opportunities in India for Ethiopian ophthalmologists.”

The aim of the programme was not just to impact the level of ophthalmology and patient care but also to build bridges and facilitate lasting bonds mutually beneficial to the ophthalmologists and the local community. The team had discussions with the respective hospital managements to draw up strategy to sustain the benefits of this programme, especially at St. Paul’s and ALERT Hospitals and Hawassa University by facilitating fellowship programmes for their doctors and providing technical support for their surgical equipment.

Rtn Suhas B Naik-Satam District Chair - Bulletin & Public Image, RI District 3140 MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 67

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Changing your address? Please write to us before you move, two months in advance. Mention your Club name, RI District Number and Rotary News Account Number from your magazine address label or simply attach the label itself.

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Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Editor, trustees of the Rotary News Trust, or Rotary International.

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Information is published in good faith but no liability can be accepted for loss or inconvenience arising from errors or omission. Advertisements are accepted at face value and no liability can be accepted for the action of advertisers. The Editor welcomes contribution of articles, news items, photographs and letters, but is under no obligation to publish unsolicited material. The Editor reserves the right to edit for clarity or length. Contributors must ensure that all material submitted is not in breach of copyright or that if such material is submitted, they have obtained necessary permission, in writing, for its reproduction.

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by Mukesh Arneja on behalf of Rotary News Trust from Dugar Towers, 3rd Flr, 34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai 600 008.

Editor: Rasheeda Bhagat.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE CONVENTION 1

There’s an app for that

W

hether you’re a seasoned convention goer or a first-time attendee, the Rotary Events app can help you get the most out of this year’s Rotary International Convention, 6–9 June in São Paulo, Brazil.

The free app makes it easy to plan each day’s activities, learn about featured speakers and entertainment, download resources and connect with friends. It can also help you: Navigate the convention venue and House of Friendship with interactive maps z Upload your photos to the convention photo album z Rate sessions and provide feedback to convention organisers z

You don’t have to be connected to the Internet to use the app. Once you’ve downloaded it, most of the information is available to you offline.

Download the Rotary Events app through the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads, through Google Play for Android, and through the BlackBerry App Store for BlackBerry.

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

Important Announcement Indian government requires that all travellers flying from Brazil to India, including Indian citizens, hold a ‘valid yellow fever certificate.’ If an Indian citizen does not have the yellow fever certificate, he/she may not be allowed to enter India when returning from Brazil.

Source: RI South Asia Office

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MERRY STRETCH

Across 1 5 9 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 23 25 27 34 35 36 37 39 41 42 45 48

Narrow road ___ Major Despicable one 1960s singer Sands Envisioned Transpire again Start of an aptly rhyming quip Many a middle school student Long Island town Gambling establishment, for short Part of CNN Grammy winner Fitzgerald Part 2 of the quip DiFranco with the album Up Up Up Up Up Up Raced (through) Boot-camp command Neuwirth of Madame Secretary Prattle Bridges of electricity They’re often pulled at night Boring routines Male heir

49 52 53 54 57 59 63 66 67 68 69 70 71

Part 3 of the quip Move about Pressure starter?

Start-up loan org.

Actor Joe Swiss mathematician End of the quip Farewell Nudge a little Place of higher ed.

Denoted Emailed Short criminal?

Down 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 18 19

Full of zip Say it is so Ceramic floor piece Montana capital Annapolis grad’s grp.

Bride’s list Juan’s half-dozen Shakers founder One of a matching three Needing a towel Sound repetition Little squirt “No ___!” (“Easy!”)

Without energy Pebbles Flintstone’s mom

24 Montana neighbor (abbr.)

26 Cruising on the briny 27 Torah expert 28 Torts class members, casually 29 Knee-to-ankle bone 30 Artichoke serving 31 Reedy place 32 English racecourse 33 Kind of question 38 RR driver 40 Lift weights 43 Not stay in 44 Lucky number 46 It may test the waters 47 Look of derision 50 ___ Fables 51 Make level 54 Did laps in a pool 55 Skier Miller 56 Opera song 58 Bug zapper?

60 Lois of The Daily Planet 61 Arab League bigwig 62 Letters on an invitation 64 Burns in film 65 Bug zapper of yore?

Solution in the June issue

Reproduced from The Rotarian MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 69

Polio Vaccine celebrates 60th Anniversary

Dr Jonas Salk with one of the first children to receive the vaccine. © WHO

S

unday, 12 April, marks 60 years since the Salk polio vaccine was declared safe, effective and potent. In that time, the number of polio cases has dropped by 99 per cent worldwide. With just three countries remaining polio-endemic, we are closer than ever to eradicating this crippling disease.

Jonas Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been crucial in helping us reach our goal of a poliofree world. Before the vaccine was widely available, in the United States alone, polio crippled more than 35,000 people each year. By 1957 — two years after the introduction of

70 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

Salk’s vaccine — cases in the US had fallen by almost 90 per cent, and by 1979, polio had been eradicated there.

The impact on the rest of the world has taken longer. In 1988, when Rotary International launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) with its partners at the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, polio continued to cripple children in 125 countries. Today, polio remains endemic in only three: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. And it has been more than eight months since Nigeria’s last case, making a polio-free Africa, a real possibility.

Salk’s vaccine will play an important role in the end-game strategy

against polio when 120 countries introduce IPV into their routine polio immunisation systems this year. Leading that effort are the GPEI partners and Gavi, a global vaccine alliance, along with Sanofi Pasteur, the largest manufacturer of polio vaccine.

“As more than 120 countries in the world are introducing IPV, we are beginning the last chapter on polio eradication,” said Olivier Charmeil, Sanofi Pasteur’s chief executive officer. “At Sanofi Pasteur, we have had a long-term vision of IPV as the ultimate public health tool able to finish the job started with Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).”

by Maureen Vaught Source: Rotary International

Workshop for special educators

by Kiran Zehra

I

t was a “conscious decision” for Sarah Farnand to specialise in the field of special education.

A Fulbright-Nehru Scholar and English Teaching Assistant (ETA), US-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), she recalled that she was just a kid “when I used to baby-sit my cousins suffering from Autism and Down’s syndrome.” She grew up helping her cousins and others suffering from similar problems.

‘Connect,’ a workshop held at Asan Memorial School, Chennai, enhanced the knowledge of teachers of students with special needs with a detailed study on 13 categories for Special Education. Organised by the Rotary Vocational Training Team, D 3230, and sponsored by the Asan Memorial Educational Institutions, the programme had more than 60 teachers from mainstream schools across Chennai. The programme was moderated by Sarah.

“The sessions would help teachers to identify a special child in a classroom and implement a lesson plan for the future that would make learning fun and interactive,” she said. Included were hands-on activities on five of the main

Group of teachers at the session.

71 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

special education classifications— Specific Learning Disability, Speech or Language Impairment, Other Health Impairments, Emotional Disturbance and Autism.

Addressing the meet DGN Natarajan Nagoji said that most of us need to change our attitude towards special children. Pointing out to the Indian classroom tradition of learning by rote, Rtn Vasanthi Ranganathan said that “teachers make this habit mandatory by marking the answers and having the student memorise them,” failing which “no marks” are given to the students. “Only when you write in your own words can you learn.

We need to change this system, we need to change ourselves,” she added.

While countries like US and UK have a specialised system in place to evaluate and re-evaluate special children, in India there is a lot more work to be done. A teacher from Chennai Public School remarked, “We need to adapt to a system where there would be no need to use a red pen.” Janaki Balakrishnan of Nav Jyothi Trust said, “There is no provision for a speech therapist and only very few schools have a psychologist.” So how does

Fulbright-Nehru Scholar Sarah Farnand and Rtn Vasanthi Ranganathan (right).

one catch them young and reach out to them on time? “Early intervention is most important,”she said. Another major problem was “restricting students to a subject beyond their cognitive capacity which is substantially lowering their achievements,” said another teacher.

Sarah feels that including the special needs programme in the curriculum at college level for prospective teachers would provide them with enough exposure to manage a special child. It is required that the teacher “sets a clear expectation and rewards the smallest of the child’s achievements,” she adds.

Shyamala Jeyaprakash, General Secretary, Asan Memorial Educational Institute said, “People have been very insensitive to special children — especially in India.” But the Founder of the institution and her father A K Gopalan “wanted to provide education to each and every child and unconsciously set the foundation of what is today a tradition of the school,” she added. Suma Padmanaban, Principal of the school said, “Children with disabilities have their classrooms on the ground floor to make it easy for them to move around. Assistance for special education is provided by Madras Dyslexia Association. There is nothing like reservation of seats for students with special needs ... it’s a tradition.”

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 71

To School against odds

by Dilnaz Boga

K

hushi Mena, a student of Rajkiya Unch Prathmik Vidyalaya, Kitoda, walks at least 5 km daily to get to school along with her siblings, Prakash and Mukesh. Whereas it’s not uncommon for children of Kitoda village in Girwa block of Rajasthan’s Udaipur district to drop out because of the long distances they have to traverse, Khushi is determined to stick on.

Highlighting the perils they endure during their daily trek she quietly mentions their run in with a wild animal one afternoon. “It was around 4 pm when we were returning home, we spotted the animal from far and were scared.

Thankfully, it simply saw us and turned away. At times we have had to save ourselves from snakes, too,” she says, matter-of-fact. During monsoon they have to cross several natural streams that spring up along the way. “As the water

72 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

levels rise we have to wade through them to get to class.

We reach late but we still make it a point to go,” she adds.

Of course, not everyone is able to beat these tough odds.

The greatest worry for Surmal, a resident of Amarpura, 40 km from Udaipur, is the poor attendance of his four children. “When the weather is rough they have to stay at home. We do not have affordable transportation facilities around here and I can’t take the chance of anything untoward happening to them.

I want them to study well but I fear that one day they might lose their admission as they miss school frequently,” he remarks.

Fortunately, across the region, the panchayats and the local civil society organisations have been trying to introduce different incentives, ranging from providing affordable transportation to singing motivational songs at night meetings for parents, to forming groups of all-women escorts to improve enrolment and keep the drop-out rates in check.

The Udaipur-based NGO, Unnati Sanstha, is working towards ensuring quality education for students like Khushi, Prakash and Mukesh. According to a study conducted by the NGO across eight panchayats of Girwa, Sarada and Kherwada blocks, only 59 per cent children between 6 and14 years attend school and 46 per cent parents do not send their children to school because of the unsafe terrain.

Marjorie Aziz, its secretary, says, “This is a tribal area; illiteracy and poverty are rampant. Parents are not inclined to send their kids to school. In fact, they prioritise survival over education and end up pushing them into doing paid work in mines or agricultural labour. Even if this hurdle is overcome successfully there is the question of safety.

Schools are located several kilometres from settlements; This makes them apprehensive, contributing to the dropout rate.”

This is where the innovative measures jointly implemented by the School Management Committees (SMCs) and NGO volunteers, in coordination with the panchayats, have managed to steer parents towards sending their children to school and making sure they stay there. Elaborates

Aziz, “We ask families not to use their children as assets and put them to work either at home or in the marble mines, at construction sites or the cotton fields. Since 2008, by conducting one-on-one sessions with parents, creating ‘bhajan mandalis’ (prayer groups) that sing about merits of education, and holding meetings with the nodal officer in the Education Department we have brought about a noticeable positive change in attitudes.”

Essentially, tribals here have small land holdings that cannot provide for their large families.

Consequently, they have to migrate to find work.

In the villages along the Gujarat border there is heavy migration, especially during the harvest season, and child labour is rampant.

Panchayat coordinator Silwans Patel, who has been working with village communities for over six years, sings inspirational songs to promote education.

“Parents, who are mostly labourers, don’t mind listening to a song or two on the merits of education at the end of a crushing day’s work. They desperately want a different life for their children,” he says.

Government schools too, have come up with some outof-the-box ideas. Government Secondary School, Kaya, near Udaipur, has students from the sixth to tenth grade.

Out of the 293 children enrolled, 200 come from distant villages. Anand Mehta, who teaches mathematics, observes that children study up to Class Eight and then go to the city to earn a living. “During the summer vacations, even the younger children go to work with their parents,” he says.

However, Principal Laxmi Joshi has found that offering incentives to children who show up on time works well.

“Some of them cannot afford to buy pens, so we give them out as prizes. During the prayer assembly, we felicitate them so that they remain motivated. We even talk to the parents whose children have missed a few days of school so that the gap remains minimal.” Additionally, the school ensures that students from the SC/ST community get the government scholarships they are entitled to. “Each teacher takes out the time to go to the bank to fill out scholarship forms for children as their parents are illiterate,” says Joshi.

“

“

It was around 4 pm we were returning home, we spotted the animal and were scared. At times we have had to save ourselves from snakes.

Busy with their lessons at school, braving all odds.

Sohanlal, hailing from Lai village, 7 km from Kaya, has benefitted tremendously from his school’s proactive approach. “The boy, who has six siblings, lost his father years back. Their financial situation has always been poor.

But he is bright. He takes care of the family and even arranged the marriage of his elder brother. He wanted to drop out to earn but we intervened and he’s still with us,” says Mehta with a smile.

Laxmilal Mena, who teaches 45 students at the Hamabal Primary School in remote Khajuri village, “negotiates” with parents on a daily basis. “I have to constantly engage with them. When kids miss school for several weeks they are hesitant to return. When I inquire with the elders, they give excuses like that their uniforms were not washed, so I end up negotiating as per the demands of the situation,” he laughs.

In places where lack of transport poses a major problem, Unnati Sanstha had introduced a system under which children in far flung hamlets get a pick and drop. Four years ago, support was provided to five panchayats to improve the enrolment and retention rates. Approximately 700 children benefitted from this. As the retention levels rose to 90 per cent the state government also decided to come on board.

“Today, the government has temporarily halted its contribution but the community is actively demanding it. We are working with the authorities and I’m sure they will reinstate the scheme soon,” says Aziz.

Times have truly changed around these parts and so have people’s perception of education. Amarpura’s Ward Panch Baalal recalls how there were no schools when he was young but things are very different now. “We want our children to study well so that they don’t have to work as labourers like we do. At least they will have a better, more secure future,” concludes Ramesh Chandra Mena, father of four and an SMC member in Amarpura. (© Women’s Feature Service) MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 73

Find a happy balance &

care for your body

by Sheela Nambiar Accept your body the way it is … and then improve it.

I

still meet many, many men and women who seem quite comfortable being the size or shape they are because it is often acceptable in our society to be so. It is customary for a man to have a big belly in his thirties. It is quite acceptable for women to remain several kilos overweight after her pregnancy and delivery. Mothers-in-law discourage exercise and encourage the consumption of unnecessarily calorie-laden foods ‘for the baby.’ Women over the age of forty are tolerant of their weight gain and poor fitness levels and consider it a natural part of the aging process. While it is heartening that we are more accepting of diverse body shapes, it is to our detriment that we are unconcerned and even comfortable with being over weight and/or unfit.

At the other end of the spectrum are women who are preoccupied, almost obsessed with their shape, size and weight. Those who exercise fanatically are constantly on one starvation diet after another.

How does one find the happy balance between the two extremes? Where does one draw the line and learn to

say, firstly: “This is my body and I need to decide what is good for it or how it should look.”

Here are some thoughts: z It is not okay to accumulate abdominal fat the way we do. We find huge amounts of it, even in young people. z It is not okay that we have one of the highest (or THE highest) statistics for Diabetes in the world! z It is not okay that we are so sedentary and unfit. z It is not okay that younger people are being diagnosed with heart attacks, diabetes and hypertension. z It is certainly not okay that we have changed our food habits to happily embrace the western diet, and eat both processed and fast food and have forgotten simple cooking methods to consume fresh food. z It is not okay that young people are choosing to be sedentary both in their jobs and at home. The computer and television have become our constant companions. z It is not okay that jobs encourage sedentary behaviour with absolutely no guidance and leadership from the top

level management to encourage employees to exercise regularly. In essence, with no concern for the health of the individual employees. z It is also not okay that young people who are obsessed with their figures try to lose weight rapidly employing bizarre and unscientific methods with no respect whatsoever for their bodies. z We have several gyms and fitness centres. In fact, one sprouts up at every street corner every day. My concern is, how good are they? How qualified are the trainers?

Are they teaching scientific principles of fitness or are these places also glorified beauty parlours/centres that encourage only rapid weight loss for cosmetic reasons and that too by, using unhealthy practices. Do they sell supplements, weight loss gimmicks and protein powders indiscriminately? Are they genuinely concerned about the client’s health?

“You have put on weight”; “you have lost colour”; “you are looking tired because you have lost weight” are extremely common, personal comments that people feel free to pass on meeting others, even those not necessarily close.

Apart from being extremely rude, this could prove terribly disturbing for some women. Such talk often influences what people, particularly women, think and feel about their own body and how much they respect it.

A woman may decide, for instance, that she is completely comfortable being slightly overweight but continue to exercise and eat healthy for the most part. That is her choice. It should also be her choice to want to lose that extra weight and opt to start a different exercise programme at a certain point in her life. Often however she is not free to make these choices. Uncalled for advice is abundant from well-meaning family, friends and complete strangers

A woman should have a right to her own body How a woman looks and chooses to look should be entirely her prerogative. Who is anyone else to challenge that? Unfortunately, we find that this is not always her choice. In the sense that women are constantly inundated with advice and information from all quarters on how they ought to look. And such advice is given with total disregard to her health status. Besides the false advertising and slimming aids, family and friends seem to be terribly invested in a woman’s appearance.

Scene from the rom-com, Dum Laga Ke Haisha: Does size matter?

It is not okay to accumulate abdominal fat; we find huge amounts of it, even in young people.

telling her she is ‘just fine as she is,’ or ‘she is exercising too much,’ or ‘she shouldn’t lose any more weight.’

It is important to be free from undue influence of others when it comes to your physical body. When you have sole privilege over your own body there is a great sense of liberation. With this privilege, however, comes a responsibility.

The responsibility of taking care of that body. Respecting it and treating it with kindness. This would include eating healthy, exercising regularly, taking it for regular health screening, avoiding being overly critical of it, respecting and considering what it feels and thinks. This also includes being respectful of your current physical state even if you intend to change it.

Starting a fitness programme with the thought, “I hate my body, my fat thighs, my tummy” etc. is putting unjustified pressure on yourself. Begin with some reverence for the current body, whatever its state. That body has served you this long and the chances of successfully improving it are that much greater when you set about it by loving your body first.

(The writer is author of the book Get Size Wise, and a fitness and lifestyle consultant. She can be contacted at sheela.nambiar@gmail.com) MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 75

RC Villupuram RI District 2980 A district level swimming competition was conducted by the club. This is an annual event.

RC Pudukkottai Palace City RI District 3000 As a tribute to the victims of the Kumbakonam fire incident the club conducted a prevention of fire accidents and first aid camp.

76 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

RC Akola RI District 3030

RC Delhi Midwest RI District 3010 A medical camp at Meera Bagh tested and treated needy patients suffering from various health conditions.

RC Vijaywada Midtown RI District 3020 The club constructed a 1,200 sq ft community hall at a cost of Rs 5.5 lakhs at Tummalapalem village.

RC Sanawad Central RI District 3040 MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 77

RC Akola RI District 3030 Under its signature project ‘Read with me’ 90 dictionaries were distributed to students of the Mohoridevi Kanya Vidyalaya.

RC Sanawad Central RI District 3040 Under the Happy Schools initiative benches and desks were distributed to Shas Kanya Vidhyalaya School.

RC Mandvi RI District 3051 To spread awareness on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan the club conducted painting competition for higher secondary students.

RC Amritsar Midtown RI District 3070 schools as a precaution against swine flu.

RC Amritsar Midtown RI District 3070 The club conducted the annual mass marriage event to help poor girls find suitable partners.

RC Dudu RI District 3052 Over 450 patients were tested for cataract out of which 70 were operated at an eye camp jointly conducted by the club and Calgary Hospital.

RC Rajkot RI District 3060 Over 1,000 masks were donated to students from 6 different

RI District 3090 In order to support the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Rotarians held a cleanliness drive.

RC Khurja RI District 3100 Over 600 patients were tested for cataract out of which 175 were operated at an eye camp conducted by the club.

RC Izzatnagar Bareilly

RC Gwalior Veerangana RI District 3053 The club enrolled poor women and girls for a specialised tailoring programme at Vivek Vihar.

RC Mansa Greater

RC Chandigarh Midtown RI District 3080

RC Chandigarh Midtown RI District 3080 Benches and desks along with dictionaries and hygiene manuals were distributed to EWS School and Anameep School.

RI District 3110 An anti-rabies camp at Referal Veterinary poly clinic IVRI was organised by the club.

RC Varanasi Greater RI District 3120 Clothes, medicines and food kits were distributed to the inmates of Mother Teresa Foundation.

RC Kharghar Midtown RI District 3131 Health camp was conducted for the inmates of Aashalaya, a shelter for orphan and underprivileged children.

RC Beed

RC Kavali RI District 3160 78 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

RI District 3132 Sewing machines and embroidery machines were handed over to the Jankalyan Samiti’s vocational training centre for needy women.

RC Chembur RI District 3140 Rotarians distributed sports kits to the underprivileged children at Panchgarh village.

RC Hanamkonda RI District 3150 The club handed over 160 dual desks and 10,000 notebooks to government schools in the region.

RC Bangalore J P Nagar RI District 3190

RC Kavali RI District 3160 School bags and stationary kits were distributed to students hailing from tribal families.

RC Bijapur RI District 3170 The club conducted a state level cricket tournament for hearing and speech impaired students.

RC Mysore North RI District 3180 Educational kits and toys were distributed to special children to enhance their learning ability.

RC Bangalore J P Nagar RI District 3190 An RO water purifying plant was donated to Sakshihalli village.

Around 8,000 villagers can now access clean drinking water.

RC Wadakanchery

RC Jaffna

RI District 3201 Students from US, Germany and France participated in the International RYLA organised by nine clubs from the region.

RI District 3220 An audio meter worth $10,000 was donated to the Jaffna General Hospital.

RC Chennai Port City RC Dharapuram RI District 3202 A passenger shelter at a cost of Rs 52,000 was constructed by the club.

RI District 3230 Health kits were distributed to mothers of new born babies.

RC Kundara Central RI District 3211 The club conducted a medical camp for needy diabetic patients.

RC Sivakasi RI District 3212 Medical equipment was donated to the Government hospital, Sivakasi.

RC Sivakasi RI District 3212

RC Gangtok RI District 3240 An RO water purifying plant was donated to STNM Hospital.

RC Damodar Valley RI District 3250 The club conducted a sports day for 150 children with special needs.

RC Dimapur RC Wadakanchery RI District 3201

RI District 3292 The club in association with the Rotaract Club of Dimapur conducted a blood donation camp.

MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 79

MAIL BOX

XXXXXXXXX

Extremely disappointed...

Dear Editors, We are extremely disappointed by the coverage given to our club’s project Vision 100, “a one of a kind project,” in Rotary District 3190. Despite briefing one of your team members about the purpose of sending details of this project, which she promised will be covered in April 2015 issue, I now find a 3–4 liner in the District Scores which I was certainly not aspiring for.

Our club has got the highest Public Image in District 3190; local and national newspapers cover our club events so we are not starved for publicity, but shared it for the benefit of other clubs. I will never again share any article with Rotary News if this is the importance you give a Rotary event. I will definitely share this with all the trustees when I meet them and appraise my DG too.

Rtn Ronnie Vincent President RC Bangalore Jeevan Bima Nagar-D 3190

…Wonderful issues

Dear Editor, First of all congratulation for the wonderful issues you are bringing out with such good articles. I am the past AG of D 3040. We started our Rotary journey in 1999 as Rotaractors and became Rotarians in 2012, when our club started in Sagar (Madhya Pradesh). We have done several projects such as adopting 36 thalassemia children in our District, 80 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

arranging their blood transfusion and medicines; putting up a Rotary Aahar Kendra where we give a 7-poori-sabzi or 6-roti-sabzi (with achar) meal for just Rs 10, a dialysis centre, 22 Happy School projects, and will now be starting a toilet project for a girls’ school. We would like to share our stories with Rotary News; if you encourage us we can do even better work.

Mukesh Sahu, RC Sagar Phoenix-D 3040

Editor’s response Dear Rtn Vincent, I do concede your right to be upset that your project wasn’t covered the way you deem fit. If the local media gives you good coverage, I’m happy for you and it is only doing its job. But Rotary News is not a regional magazine for Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune or Delhi, as local newspapers are. And we are not a daily, but a monthly magazine. Moreover, we deal with 34 Districts and 3,971 Clubs; yours is only one of them. If all of them expect detailed coverage of the projects they do, you can imagine our plight! My team member who interacted with you says: “We have been publishing his club’s projects in District Scores regularly, and only recently had carried a detailed article on cataract surgeries (Compassion & Cataract) from the same District.”

You may not want to share any more of your projects with Rotary News, but we will not hold any grudge against your club or boycott it. In fact, last week, I got a good article from one of your Club members which I am planning to use soon.

Coming to the letter from Rtn Sahu, I do think we are giving too much prominence to Rotary work in Metros such as Bombay, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai. In the future, I’d like to give better coverage to the “silent” States and clubs in Bihar, Chattisgarh, UP, MP (where RC Sagar Phoenix is located) and above all, the North East. I am sure Rotarians are doing great work there too. While we will certainly cover your good work in detail very soon, Rtn Sahu, through this exchange we at Rotary News invite the less written about Rotary Districts and clubs to please share your bigger and better projects with us.

Appeal to Pak Rotarians Rotary News is ideal for the region. I urge Rotarians to subscribe to Rotary News instead of other Rotary Magazines.

Please remember regional happenings only come to light at

Rotary News. Be a part of Rotary News family. Subscribe now.

Rtn Saleem Ahmed Khan RC Lahore Metropolitan-D 3272, Pakistan

Great issue; lively presentation The April issue is equally Gender equity through separate girls’ toilets mind-blowing like previous ones with the excellent editorial page that touches the heart. The photo“In graphs on the front and back are worth a thousand words. Let’s give them wings to fly presents a sombre spectacle of the sordid affairs in our country. The impact of Rotary in our day to day lives has been nicely manifested by the two sentences of RIDE Manoj Desai: ‘Rotary ho ke aata hu’ and ‘Rotary pee ke aata hu’ and within Rotary we find our second selves now.

Kudos to you and your team for the lucid and lively presentation of well-chosen events and articles that make us informed about Rotary events in detail. Let’s take an oath to ensure a dignified life for all girls and call our daughters ‘hamara dhan’ and not ‘paraya dhan.’ The rustic beauty of the tribal girl on the back inner cover comes as a breath of fresh air. We need to spread the message: ‘A woman without freedom is like a bird without wings.’

Rtn Subhendu Mohanty RC Nabarangpur-D 3262

by Rasheeda Bhagat

To build separate toilets for girls in schools is to usher in gender equity.

The rustic beauty of a young Meer tribal girl captured by M R Swaminathan has surpassed my imagination. The picture is awesome.

The Great Rann of Kutch is the largest salt desert in the world.

This beautiful vagary of nature, the Rann is astounding in its pristine beauty; a sea of white that is expansive, calming and soothing. The starkness of the desert is in complete contrast with the vibrant colours the tribes adorn. Their homes are beautifully decorated and bear the colours of life.

Accept my heartfelt appreciation for this mind boggling piece of beauty. It has, in fact, added a colour of joy in me.

I can’t help recollecting the words of Kahlil Gibran, “Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.”

I love you Rotary News!

Rtn Ravindra Shukla RC Bhusawal-D 3030 Feisty & Resourceful

ann of Kutch in Gujarat is a seasonal marsh land. Local tribes of Kutch region such as Meer, Rabari, etc, make a remarkable livelihood under arid, harsh living conditions. With a rich heritage of making exquisite handicrafts and textiles, they are warm, hospitable people. Kutch faced many natural disasters, including the 2001 earthquake. But such tragedies have not impacted their indomitable spirit. The rustic beauty of this young Meer tribal girl radiated under the early morning sunlight.

Text and picture by M Swaminathan

Chennai recently we signed d the Swachh Bharat declaration with (Union Minister) Venkaiah Naidu, who tweeted about it. While thee party aid the was on, somebody tapped me on the shoulder and said prised PM’s office wants to talk to you ... pleasantly surprised I took the call. They said you have uploaded only thee third page. Where are the other pages; we want to read those. e. And esture after reading all of it, Modi tweeted: ‘Welcome this gesture wachh

by Rotarian community. Such efforts add a lot to Swachh Bharat initiative. My best wishes. #MyCleanIndia’ ” 0,000 ,000 Rotary had committed to building in one year 10,000 ets for toilet blocks — each containing two separate toilets d each male and female students, plus urinals for boys. And nding block normally costs around Rs 1 lakh or more, depending on the construction. (Later, the number doubled to 20,000 toilet blocks to be built in two years!) ta, Looking towards the RILM Chair Shekhar Mehta, and RI Director P T Prabhakar, who were present in the room, Desai said, “As I talk PTP is watching very closely, because he has signed the Chennai declaration ... and if we don’t deliver, do you know

“

RIDE Manoj Desai.

If you implement WinS

properly, more doctors will come in as RI Directors

as children’s health will

improve, so there won’t be much of their practice left!

“

Feisty & Resourceful

Inspiring First Thoughts

Pathetic condition of Govt schools

The April issue’s cover is lovely and editorials in the recent issues are very good. Messages from First Thoughts are quite inspiring and I hope every Rotarian follows what is said there in times of despair. Each and every page in the magazine is valuable, especially to Rotarians who aspire to become leaders. M S Swaminathan’s article on Make farming attractive to the young and articles like: From thatched huts … to shining homes; Tree stories and more… are very informative. It was fun to read the article: The little theatre and big hearts.

Rtn D Suresh Kumar RC Rayachoti-D 3160

The coverage on literacy and schools is quite handsome.

The fact remains that the government and quasi-government aided schools are crying for attention. The infrastructure, inadequate teaching faculty and the policing attitude of the officials undo the performance and delivery. Some of age-old heritage schools which were iconic perished. The remnants of the collapsed structures gape helplessly at the great betrayal.

Where do the poor and the marginalised kids learn in their mother tongue? As the one who manages an Aided school founded by Gandhians decades ago, I beg an answer to the question where do they go. The rich have plenty on the plate.

The local Rotary clubs have an opportunity to make use of the tools offered by Rotary agencies.

PDG J V Reddy RI District 3160

The girl child Your grave concern and anxiety for the girl child is genuine and you have aptly stated in your editorial that girls can take wings if the right opportunities are provided to them. Truly in this changing world it is imperative for the girl child to get these opportunities. To make India totally literate in the next few years ushers in new hopes for Rotary. You have ignited the spirit of Rotarians in the text of that picture.

Rtn Arun Kumar Dash RC Baripada-D 3262

Admirable step I was happy to learn that Rotary India is planning to build 80,000 toilets for girls and boys across India. This is an admirable step. Kudos to the core group of senior and dedicated Rotary leaders who are doing this work.

Rtn M T Philip RC Trivandrum Suburban-D 3211 MAY 2015

ROTARY NEWS 81

Rtn C K Sardana (second from right) of RC Bhopal Midtown, D 3040, received the national ‘Jury Special Award for promoting PR through publications’ from Jual Oram, Minister of Tribal Affairs, at the Global Communication Conclave held at New Delhi. This award is instituted

by Public Relations Council of India.

A district level business quiz was conducted by RC Mangalore North, D 3180, jointly with MSNM Besant Institute of Management, Mangalore. More than 1,600 students from 25 colleges participated in the preliminaries and 11 colleges were qualified for the finals held on March 27, 2015.

Rtn PLK Murthy (second from left), President of RC Visakha Port City, D 3020, received the Award for Meritorious Performance from PDG Vijay Jalan and DG G V Mohan Prasad, for his relief operation efforts during cyclone Hudhud.

82 ROTARY NEWS MAY 2015

ot too many people know that there are pyramids in Mexico too, barely 50 km from Mexico city.

Known as Teotihuacan, these are within a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican city located in the Valley of Mexico.

A truly mystical place, this sprawling campus, the most prominent parts of which are the Pyramids of the Sun and

N the Moon, is anthropologically significant for its Avenue of the Dead. Said to have been established around 100 BC, its major monuments are believed to have been under a continuous stage of construction until 250 AD, but most of them were systematically burned around 550 AD. Walking around this majestic complex, and

Ancient, majestic mentally comparing these pyramids to the smooth faced ones in Egypt that I haven’t yet visited, I wondered at the glory of Teotihuacan once upon a time, when it was said to be the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, and the sixth largest in the world.

Text and picture by Rasheeda Bhagat

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