Rotaract News - January 2019

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@Rotaract_India

@RotaractNewsIndia

January

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(Quarterly)

Content 20 An Indian DRR takes the message of collaboration to Japan during Christmas 32 Quenching thirst of schoolchildren 42 Superheroes in the making

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A Rotaractor who went on to become a Rotary Governor

22 Disability does not impair these Rotaractors

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Rotaract in India very impressive: Mark Maloney

28 Rotaract South Asia Summit 2018

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They made the cut

On the cover: Udhayakumar Srinivasan, DRR, District 3231, celebrating Christmas in Japan with Japanese Rotaractors.

34 Rotaractors show the young do care JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 3

Editor’s Note

How Rotaract is changing you…

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verybody… from our politicians to market research professionals… are seeking an answer to a tricky question — what do young Indians want. What are their thoughts, ideas, priorities, dreams? The politicians would like an accurate answer to this question so that they can dress up their poll promises in a language that will appeal to the youth of India. Come 2019 and the country will step into one of the most important general elections in its history. The outcome of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls will decide what direction India will take in the future.

By now you must be sick and tired of hearing from various platforms how over the last few years India has emerged as a “young nation”. Different sets of figures are given; such as over 50 per cent of Indians today are 25 or younger, and 65 per cent of our population is under 35, etc, and with such a young population nobody can prevent India from becoming a superpower, and so on.

Coming to Rotary, when an aging organisation like Rotary International wants to bring down the average age

of its members — the rising age of Rotarians in Europe is a major concern — small wonder that it would turn its gaze to a young nation like ours. And the same holds true when RI is pulling out all the stops to shore up its Rotaract base.

Rotary leaders worldwide have now realised that Rotarians have not properly leveraged, or given due importance, to one of its most important branches, such as Rotaract. The reasoning is that if Rotarians help Rotaractors to develop their leadership skills and open up a world of opportunities to the younger member of the Rotary family, it will unlock the real magic of Rotary for Rotaractors and enthuse and motivate them to join Rotary clubs once they turn 30.

Now that we are bringing out Rotaract News as a quarterly — this is the fifth issue — quite a few senior Rotary leaders in India are seeing at close hand the kind of impressive projects you are doing on the ground. RIPN Sushil Gupta, who was the Global Chair of WinS (Wash in Schools) till his nomination as RI President 2020–21 was announced, was extremely happy and marvelled at the kind of WinS projects that Indian Rotaractors have been involved in, particularly those related to menstrual hygiene. Rotaractors have been in the forefront of distributing sanitary napkins, educating the girls in different parts of India that this is a biological process and it is normal to talk about it and ensure that special hygiene is maintained during this part of the month.

Many of you, we notice, have been visiting homes for senior citizens and cheering them up with music and dance, games and even outings. It is doubtful that even you realise the full impact of the joy you bring to the elderly when you do this.

Yes, your vote is important and you should use it wisely. But much more important is that unlike most youth, whose priorities revolve around movies, games, social media and so on, you have opened your eyes — and along with them, your hearts and minds — to the communities in which you live. Your Rotaract experience is bound to make you not only better citizens, but also better, more sensitive human beings.

Rasheeda Bhagat JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 5

Message from the

RI Director

Gear up for more service Dear Rotaractors, I used to watch many action-packed Hollywood movies during my student days. As I grew older, my moviegoing habit slowly disappeared due to business and family commitments.

I recall a scene from the Hollywood blockbuster Batman Begins that I saw 13 years ago. The hero, Batman and his mentor, Ra’s al Ghul fight against each other as part of training in martial arts. Ra’s al Ghul beats and then advises the bruised Batman, “You have to bury your guilt with anger.”

Likewise, I feel we should work towards: Burying anger with pleasantness Burying our weaknesses with strength Burying our laziness with hard work Burying our loneliness with friendship Burying our sadness with service Burying our mistakes with good deeds Burying our conflicts with peace

It is the right time to plan your club or district’s high-impact, sustainable project aligned with Rotary’s area of focus. I would like to compliment and highlight activities of some of the Rotaract clubs in educating women and youth on the construction and installation of solar street lights in local villages, where electricity is otherwise unavailable to community members. Rotaractors stayed in the villages for some days to teach entrepreneurial skills to the villagers. I think it will be appropriate for us to tune ourselves with technology and trends to take the community to the next phase in their lives.

We will be the true inspiration.

Let me wish you all a very happy and meaningful New Year.

C Basker Director, Rotary International 6 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

Rotaract Outstanding Project Awards 2019

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very year Rotary International honours high impact, sustainable projects of Rotaractors with the Rotaract Outstanding Project Award.

The purpose of this award is to recognise exceptional community or international service projects that further focus and increase the humanitarian service goals of Rotary International.

Selection process z Each online nomination form must be submitted by Feb 1, 2019. z Awards will be granted to one winner in each of the designated regions. z Awards will also be granted to international winners for projects

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submitted by a single club, or more than one club or an entire Rotary district, and multi-district projects.

RI encourages clubs, districts and multi-districts to work together

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z

Each online nomination form must be submitted by Feb 1, 2019.

z

z

to maximise their impact and increase collaboration.

Each Rotaract club, district, or multi-district may submit only one project for consideration each year.

Winners will be announced at the Rotaract Preconvention.

Projects implemented between Feb 1, 2018 and Jan 31, 2019 are eligible for consideration.

Rotaract clubs that have received an award in previous years are still eligible to receive an award again.

For more details and application form, log on to: https://rotary.qualtrics. com/jfe/form/SV_4USAyCAu9r9ZHut

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 7

A Rotaractor who went on to become a Rotary Governor Rasheeda Bhagat

DG Priyesh Bhandari (third from L) at the felicitation ceremony for DRR Ashish Gupta (fourth from L).

8 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

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he youthful Priyesh Bhandari, District Governor, D 3053, is the perfect poster boy for Rotary International’s passionate endeavour to strengthen the Rotaract movement, increase the number of Rotaractors, and above all, ensure a smooth transition from Rotaract into Rotary. If this happens, it will address in a big way Rotary International’s major concern to bring down the average age of Rotarians, particularly in the western world.

Bhandari, a successful handicrafts exporter, qualifies for all the above criteria. At the moment, he is the youngest District Governor in the Indian subcontinent, which has a whopping number of 40 Rotary districts.

He was only 19 when he heard from a group of his friends that a new Rotaract club was being formed in Kolkata — then Calcutta — called the Rotaract Club of Calcutta Lakes. “I had just joined St Xavier’s College in the city and with great enthusiasm

all of us joined this new club,” he says.

Even though a new club, theirs was a very active club and “we did a lot of projects, most of them related to education and health care. We worked with schoolchildren and teachers and hospitals; we were all so enthusiastic and involved in doing these projects that within two or three years of our club being set up, we were ready to take up the challenge of organising a huge District Rotaract conference called Melange,” recalls Bhandari.

He stayed actively engaged in his Rotaract club for eight years, till his family moved to Jodhpur in 1998. This means that even after he finished his college education and graduated in B Com Honours, he continued with Rotaract.

So what did this experience in Rotaract teach him?

“Oh, it gave me a huge opportunity to acquire so many skills.

Prior to joining this Rotaract club I used to be a very shy youth, I would always stay behind the

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 9

Priyesh Bhandari (R) as a Rotaractor at the Rotaract District Conference.

scenes and hesitate to talk to people I didn’t know. You could say I was really an introvert.”

But after joining Rotaract, says Bhandari, there was a big transformation in him. “I started meeting people, including from corporates and as I started working with the other Rotaractors on various projects, the kind of confidence that gradually came into me was phenomenal.”

Another aspect that Rotaract unveiled in him was the leadership quality that has taken him towards the path of becoming a district governor today. “Had I not come to Jodhpur from Calcutta in 1998, I would have

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certainly become a DRR, because I had really worked very hard in my club and district,” he rues.

Rotaract to Rotary But in Jodhpur, around the corner, was waiting another opportunity. The very next year, in 1999, Bhandari joined Rotary, becoming a member of RC Jodhpur Midtown. There is no doubt in his mind that it was his experience and close involvement with the Rotaract movement and the kind of opportunities and skills that it gave him, along with joy and a sense of belonging, that led him to join Rotary within a year of moving to Jodhpur.

He firmly believes that Rotaract is a great platform for the making of future Rotary leaders.

“I would say that today we unfortunately lack Rotarians who have Rotary in their hearts. But that can come to you easily if you have been a Rotaractor. My eight years in Rotaract taught me so much.”

Thanks to that experience, during his stint as DG so far, Bhandari has already added 400 new members, installed three new clubs with five more in the pipeline, and is all set to raise $250,000 for TRF, a record high for the district. And in this, the DG himself has contributed $50,000.

Rotaractors in Erode

become Lunch Santa Kiran Zehra

Rotaractors distribute lunch packets for the needy.

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he latest buzz in the students of Nandha Engineering College, Erode, Tamil Nadu, is about ‘Lunch Santa’ — Rotaractors who provide lunch for poor and needy people in and around Erode.

“We have been totally supported by the students of the department of mechanical and electrical communications in our endeavour to end hunger in our city,” says Selvakumar Ponnusamy, DRR, D 3202.

The idea of being a Lunch Santa or a food donor was born when President of the Rotaract Club of Nandha Engineering College,

D 3202, Manikandan, decided to celebrate his birthday in a different way. “Why not bring an extra lunch box for the hungry people, he asked. The idea stuck and we decided to come up with a plan to feed the poor.”

Messages were sent out on social media and students willing to provide an extra lunch box volunteered for the cause. The only condition was they make a rice meal. “We were going to pack them in packages made from aluminum foil and gravy items would make a mess. So, we decided to keep it simple. They could make biryani or tomato rice

or any rice dish of their choice,” says the DRR. On the day of distribution, 200 food packages were collected and handed over to poor people at Thindal hills, Lovely Sisters Old Orphanage, the highway from Perundurai to Erode and the Silatupatti School for Handicapped Children.

Hundreds of people go to bed on an empty stomach each night in our country, the DRR says, adding, “this can be avoided if just a handful of us pledge to help them and with Rotaract, as a platform, we could run this project throughout the country.”

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 11

Rotaract in India very impressive:

Mark Maloney Jaishree

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IPE Mark Maloney and Gay, on their recent visit to Surat, Gujarat, had a look at various service projects in D 3060.

Excerpts from the specially arranged talk show — Rotaraction — where Maloney interacted with Rotaractors. The event was anchored by Past DRR Nirav Trivedi.

Nirav Trivedi: What difference do you find between your visits to District 3060 in the past and now?

Mark Maloney: The difference in Surat, which I last visited in 2004, is tremendous. Today we went to the village Niyol, where I had inaugurated a water project which was well outside the city, but now it is right on the edge of the city, where I find a lot of development. When Himanshu (PDG Himanshu Thacker) first came to Surat in the mid-1970s, the population of Surat was 300,000; now it is six million. The buildings, structures, the drive up to the hotel and the neighbourhood have all changed and the Rotary service here is tremendous.

Today Gay and I had the opportunity to visit six different projects,

We don’t monitor the Rotaract activities.

12 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

including the water project in Niyol and they are all great.

Trivedi: Should Rotaract focus more on professional leadership development or community service?

Maloney: Both; I don’t think you can focus on one aspect exclusive of the other. The same thing happens in Rotary. We provide recognitions for contribution to TRF, but not to hours of

service in community and international projects. Perhaps that’s something that we have to do. It’s so much easier to recognise the amount in rupees than calculate the hours of service. So we tend to take the easier path. But in terms of Rotaract I think that if you ignore the professional leadership training then you leave behind that aspect of Rotaract that may be attractive to young adults.

I think the focus should not only be on service but also improving ourselves.

Trivedi: What differentiates Rotaract in India from other countries?

Maloney: I am just beginning my travel and don’t think I have a broad base of experience to make that comparison. In the US, Rotaract is not a strong activity.

You cannot see the number of Rotaract clubs that you see in India. In my own district, we have one extremely strong Rotaract club — the Rotaract Club of Birmingham Alabama — which

Rotaractors welcome RIPE Mark Maloney and Gay to the Rotaract meet in Surat. Also seen: DRR Kushal Shah (left) and DRRE Chintan Shah.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 13

Rotary International is not good in collecting data about Rotaract.

claims to be the world’s largest Rotaract club. I don’t know if that is true or not. They have 350 members and it is a community-based club and the waiting list to get into the club rivals the waiting list of RC Birmingham itself!

I am extremely impressed with Rotaract in India, and you have a large number of Rotaract clubs. We don’t know how many Rotaract clubs are there. RI is not good in collecting data about Rotaract. But we know that there must be thousands and thousands of Rotaractors sponsored by Rotary clubs in this country. I applaud the Rotaractors of India for their impressive projects.

14 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

RIPE Maloney and Gay with Rotaractors.

RIPE Maloney in conversation with PDRR Nirav Trivedi.

Trivedi: So how does RI monitor Rotaract data and activities?

Maloney: We don’t monitor Rotaract activities. That’s the problem. President Barry Rassin wants to change that. There are 200,000 Rotaractors around the world.

We need to improve our data collection and create a partnership with Rotaractors.

For the very first time in Rotary history we’re inviting 60 Rotaractors to attend the 2019 International Assembly in San Diego.

This is a two-sided invitation and has two reasons. One, a selfish reason, is that the Rotaractors share their thoughts with the governors-elect and give them some idea of what younger business and professional leaders are looking for in community and international humanitarian service.

The second objective is to provide those Rotaractors with an opportunity to partner and develop international

connections and bring ideas back to their districts. Only 60 districts will have Rotaract representation at the IA but it is a beginning and will help to develop more partnership between Rotary and Rotaract.

This is an idea that came spontaneously. At the last IA, in his theme address President Barry focused on Rotaract and the need to double its numbers. And my aide PRID Larry Langford said: ‘Why don’t we invite Rotaractors to next year’s Assembly?’ And over the course of the week, we talked it through. On the last day of the Assembly, the staff responsible for organising the Assembly meet with the President-nominee to hear his thoughts and ideas for the next Assembly.

I shared the idea but was a little nervous as it meant 50–100 extra air tickets and hotel rooms. I thought some of the staff would fall off their chairs hearing this! But they didn’t. They were very professional, took down notes and we had to figure out how to select the Rotaract representatives.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 15

Let’s get younger leaders

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nswering a question from the audience RIPE Maloney said he did not think that Rotaractors faced “resistance” from local Rotary clubs. This might be an exception and not the rule. “Only in recent years, Rotary is beginning to realise that we have a problem in attracting younger business and professional leaders into the organisation. We have to adjust to changing times.

We do things in Rotary that made sense a long time ago and hence became traditional.”

He said during his tenure he would work to make “Rotary leadership accessible to those still actively engaged in their business or profession. I don’t think that it is the same issue in India. But there are many parts of the world where Rotarians absolutely were not considered for district governorship

The number 60 is the magic number. It was worked so that in our group discussion rounds we will have two Rotaractors in each group. So we are moving forward and we’ll see how the future develops and let’s see what President-nominee Sushil (Gupta) thinks about Rotaractors at the IA. Trivedi: What new initiatives can Rotaractors expect from RI?

The President of Rotary International is not a very SRZHUIXO ¿JXUH 7KH 3UHVLGHQW is to a certain extent, as we call it in the US, a cheer leader.

16 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

until after their retirement. And if the leadership consisted of mostly retired individuals, it sets a mood, provides an image that Rotary is an older organisation. I am not saying we shouldn’t have retired individuals as DGs. But I am saying we shouldn’t have retired individuals as DGs every year.”

He added that in his district in North Alabama, 29 years ago they had a DG who was 34 years old.

“That was me. And seven years later, we had a DG who was 42. That was my law partner Ken Schuppert. But when you look at the past, maybe 10 years, every DG in my district is a retired person. They waited until their retirement to become DGs. And we have realised that younger individuals who are actively engaged in their businesses or professions can assume leadership. We keep asking Rotary leaders to do more and more — more training meetings, more

functions, more duties. We have got to streamline what we do.

RIPN Sushil Gupta says “we’ve got to simplify Rotary.” That’s his way of describing it. Even in India, the visit of the DG to a Rotary club is a festival event.

I guarantee you, it’s not a festival in the US. Many Rotarians in the US would just not want the DG to come because they are afraid that he would give a boring speech. It wasn’t necessary for a DG to visit all clubs. If we want to attract younger members, can we reasonably expect that they leave their jobs 50 days a year to visit 50 clubs in the district? Your DG (Pinky Patel) is obviously not retired. She is a young individual.

There are such exceptions.”

We have to do things that can make Rotary look attractive to the younger generation, he added.

Maloney: You are going to see a continuation of President Barry’s attitudes towards Rotaract, and a methodical analysis of how we can improve our information about Rotaract. This goes back to the data collection issue and a proposal to charge a small amount as dues for RI from Rotaractors. If they pay the dues, that gets reported and helps with data collation.

Maloney: I’ll be frank. I have never laid eyes on the Rotaract Handbook, and so have no idea what it says. My history does not include a lot of involvement with Rotaract because of the part of the world that I am from. I suppose this is a problem in India because of the attitude that Rotaract is a programme of Rotary, therefore, they have to report back to the club president and the DRCC. Not many districts have a DRR. I think there should be a minimum number of Rotaract clubs before you could have a DRR, according to the Handbook.

In many States, there are no DRRs. And if there is a DRR, there is not a lot of function or communication among Rotaract clubs and this needs to be addressed.

Trivedi: The Rotaract Handbook does not mention anything about DRR’s official visits to clubs. It actually says that Rotaract clubs should report to the sponsoring Rotary club president and the DRCC without any mention of reporting to the DRR. So how do you think the DRRs can monitor the activities of Rotaract clubs and urge them to do meaningful projects and work towards the goals of Rotary and Rotaract?

Pictures by Jaishree Design by N Krishnamurthy

Rotarians and Rotaractors bond over a cricket match Team Rotary News

Rotarians and Rotaractors all set for the game.

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riendship was the foundation rock on which Rotary was built and continuing with the same principle, RAC Rajpura, D 3090, started the year with a T-20 ‘fellowship match’ against Rotarians, says Club President Aastha Talwar.

The playground at Patel Memorial National College saw jubilant scenes with Rotaractors not only winning the match, but also the hearts of Rotarians with

a fine display of sporting spirt.

“The first-time Rotaractors had an opportunity to know about Rotaract movement and how Rotary projects impact the world,” explains Aastha who was happy that her first project with their parent club RC Rajpura has developed close bonds that will help them to take up community projects in the coming months.

A sports tournament is planned for schools in Rajpura to improve

the visibility of Rotaractors among students and the community.

She hopes this project will draw youngsters to join their club. A quiz for school students is on the anvil.

Senior traffic policemen gave lectures at a seminar for Rotaractors on road safety at the Rotary Hall.

In the evening, the club members joined hands to paste reflectors on the headlamps of trucks. The 12-year-old Rotaract club has 40 members and “will be taking up a series of high-visibility projects to enhance the image of Rotary in the community,” says Aastha.

At the end of the cricket match, RC Rajpura President Ravinder Randev complimented the Rotaractors for a well-organised event and promised to work closely with them. DRR Ashish Aggarwal said that Patiala district has five clubs and “during Mahadaan (blood donation) camps in March, all Rotaractors of our district come together to serve the needy.”

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 17

They made the cut Jaishree

Rotaractors give food and water to a destitute woman.

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t was a Diwali with a difference for us this year. We were happy to brighten the faces of so many neglected people in our town through our club,” says Sanjeev Kathirvel, President of RAC Tirupur Gandhinagar, D 3202.

The Rotaractors, accompanied by barbers, went on a grooming spree to trim and shave unmaintained hair and put on new clothes for 100 mentallychallenged people and beggars on the roadside.

18 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

It was an idea put forth by fellow member Kanageshwari. “She is a very active Rotaractor and is associated with few other NGOs too,” says Kathirvel. Kanageshwari wanted to replicate the initiative of the New Deiva Trust, an NGO she is working with, and the idea was readily accepted by the Rotaractors.

So how did you manage to make the mentally-challenged people sit down for a hair cut? “Oh, that was easy. We first gave them food packets

and water. When they started eating, we cajoled them for the haircut.” However, there were instances where a few of them ran away when they saw the barbers armed with scissors. While it was easy to handle the beggars, “we had to them that we are getting their hair cut and they readily sat down, but not before demanding their share of food.”

Kathirvel recalls how they had to rip open the shirts, often torn, dirty and soiled, of the mentally-ill, and put on

new clothes for them. “But at the end of the day, the entire project gave us so much satisfaction, that was more than any other activity. And even now when we see the same people by the roadside, better groomed and presentable, it makes us very happy.”

The club members observed November as a ‘No shave’ month, at the end of which they shaved their overgrown beards with each one contributing enough to make `25,000.

“We gave the money for the treatment of a 10-year old cancer patient,” says Kathirvel.

The club has lined up a bike rally to promote literacy and traffic awareness, and a cultural programme as a fundraiser.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 19

An Indian DRR takes the message of collaboration to

Japan during Christmas Rasheeda Bhagat

RI

District 3231 DRR Udhayakumar Srinivasan, who is always on the lookout for strengthening Rotaract’s international service activities, spent this Christmas season and the new year interacting with Rotaractors and Rotarians from various RI districts in Japan.

During a short business visit to Japan, where he has been working on a project being done by his IT company with a client in Japan for a few years now, he has been spending his weekends with the activities being done by Rotary and Rotaract clubs close to him.

“In November, when my company asked me to go once again to Japan to work with one of our customers, I put forth the condition that I will do so, but I should be allowed in the weekends to spend my time in Rotary/Rotaract activities.” After getting the green signal from his boss in India, he contacted the Rotary Japan headquarters at rijapan@ rotary.org, saying he would be in Tokyo for some time and was interested in participating in Rotary and Rotaract activities.

He got a detailed reply “which helped me to get the contact details of Rotarians and Rotaractors from nearest RI districts.” He also sent out posts on Facebook to the DRRs in Japan saying that he would like to participate in such activities and identified some individual Rotaractors on social media and tried to connect with them.

With this line of communication established, the DRR, who is stationed in Tokyo at present for his company project, has had a rich and fun experience with the Rotary family in Japan. On Dec 23, he participated in the Christmas celebrations of Rotaract District 2840, and along with its 20 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

DRR Udhayakumar Srinivasan participated in many activities and projects done by Japanese Rotarians and Rotaractors in and around Tokyo.

members, distributed gifts to the children in a park and participated in a PR drive which propagated the message ‘End Polio’. The very next day a PDRR from RID 2840 invited him to visit several iconic places in the district.

He was also invited by the Rotaract Club of Omiya, District 2770 (Saitama City, Japan) for cleaning places around the Omiya Railway station. “I reached the Omiya station around 9 am and we spent two hours to clean the area. It was good to see Rotarians join the Rotaractors in this cleaning activity.”

A day after Christmas, he met Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Tokyo Yoneyama Yuai (RID 2750) and discussed various ideas that would help the

development of Rotaractors from both his home district in Tamil Nadu, RID 3231, and the Japanese district.

On the takeaways from his interaction and activities in Japan, Udhayakumar says “I was really surprised by seeing their involvement in focusing on each and every small thing… to the level of perfection. They made a small donation box for the End Polio fund, had prepared pamphlets to create awareness on the Polio project and invited people to join Rotary/Rotaract.”

What impressed him the most was the support given by the public park representatives as “they took interest in our activity and gave dinner coupons to the Rotaractors to encourage them!”

Asked what difference did he find with the Rotarians and Rotaractors in Japan, the DRR said: “Their planning and perfection; the respect they give to everyone, and the encouragement they receive from both within the Rotary family and outside.”

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 21

Disability does not impair these Rotaractors V Muthukumaran

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harting out a new hope and vision for the differently-abled who are keen to join Rotary as they share its ideals and are passionate about service, Rotaract Club of Varanasi South, D 3120, has so far attracted 20 members who are hearing and speech impaired. The new club formed on World Disability Day (Dec 3) is sponsored by RC Varanasi South. Assistant Governor Deepak Asthana along with DRR Jagrat Kapoor were instrumental in the creation of this exclusive group of ‘special Rotaractors’.

With his involvement in an international NGO Saksham that works for the cause of

disabled persons, “I took up this idea with Rtn Asthana who readily agreed for such a differently-abled Rotaract club. We motivated a college student Marshneil Dey, to lead the club as its charter president and she is doing a great job since inception,” says Kapoor. Marshneil is the daughter of Rtn Anita Dey, past president of RC Varanasi South.

At the outset, the DRR clears some misconceptions about these ‘special Rotaractors’. First, they don’t consider themselves disabled, hence “we should not have misplaced sympathy for them. Second, they are eager to communicate with the

The Rotaractors of RAC Varanasi South with their president Marshneil Dey (centre).

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RAC Varanasi South President Marshneil Dey with beneficiaries of the club’s woollen clothes distribution project.

society and want to participate like any other Rotaract club in community projects.” They have already distributed woollen blankets to slum children, their maiden project, and had received kudos from the locals.

While the parent Rotary club and DRCC Pushpranjan Agarwal, hailing from Varanasi, have assured monetary and other support for the club, “the Rotaractors seem to be capable of doing projects on their own. And some have even started working for our district conference (Jan 5–6) in Prayagraj with enthusiasm.”

Anita is all smiles as her daughter Marshneil is “excited and bubbling with ideas ever since she was chosen as the charter president of this special Rotaract club.” Anita and Pradeep Dey are active Rotarians and they used to take their child to projects, events and fellowships which “made a profound impact on Marshneil who is now working overtime to implement a

slew of service projects in Varanasi,” says Anita.

Young Marshneil, a first year BFA student at Jeevandeep Mahavidyalaya, uses three ways to communicate — gesture mode like in dumb charade; sign language; and by writing on a notepad. As a member of The Deaf Way Foundation, a global NGO, she is exposed to modern life such as internet banking, video conference and how to adopt technology for effective communication.

“She gets a lot of inputs, suggestions and tips from the US and European experts who visit the local chapter of the NGO,” says her mother.

Besides, Marshneil has a penchant for Rangoli and has won awards for her colourful designs.

“A freestyle dancer, she has acted in a number of plays and as Rotaract leader, is determined to make a tangible impact on the community with projects,” says Anita.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 23

A Model UN session in Mumbai Kiran Zehra

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he seventh session of D 3141’s Rotaract Model United Nations, held in Mumbai, saw participation from 100 student delegates, and the

meet addressed some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Founded in 2013 by Rotaract Club Baia Mare, the Rotaract MUN gives young people a chance to have their voices heard. “For For the

DG Shashi Sharma, Shilpi Mehra, DRR Hansika Shahani (second from R) and DGN Sunnil Mehra (R) with the winner of the RMUN.

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last seven years, D 3141’s RMUN has attracted some of the most promising young leaders from in and around Mumbai, and this year was no exception. We had over 100 participants,” participants, says

Hansika Shahani, DRR, D 3141.

Rotaractors and other participants stepped into the role of UN delegates and international decision makers to negotiate on major international crises,

and crafted innovative policy solutions. One of the main topics of debate was ‘The Resolution: Non-Proliferation/Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’.

The RMUN Chair and PDRR Himanshu Kapadia explains why the international nature and standard of the conference matters.

“Delegates learn a lot from reading our meticulously researched background guides. From discussions, we have to research and plan and put our material in place carefully. The

DG Shashi Sharma, DGN Sunnil Mehra and DRR Hansika Shahani with the delegates of the Model UN session.

The educational value of this conference comes from meeting the other young leaders from different backgrounds.

PDRR Himanshu Kapadia RMUN Chair

educational value of this conference comes from meeting the other young leaders from different backgrounds. We record each year’s learning in order to make the next edition better.”

An annual project of RC Bombay Pier, this RMUN witnessed 35 teams representing 35 different countries

and debating in a healthy manner to “find sustainable solutions,” says Kapadia. Delegates were dressed in the traditional attire of the countries they represented, adding colour to the event. The closing ceremony was attended by DG Shashi Sharma and DGN Sunnil Mehra.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 25

Distributing clothes to the poor Jaishree

Above: People awaiting their turn to receive dresses being distributed by RAC Achievers.

T

he Rotaractors of District 3132 reached out to nearly 1,000 poor people in Jalna with clothes. The project is a continuation of last year’s initiative when the members of RAC Achievers went on a dress collection drive in their own locality. “Last year they were able to provide dresses for 50–60 people only. This year more clubs pitched in and together we were able to collect 7,000 dresses comprising shirts, pants, saris, blouses, salwars etc,” says DRR Kshitij Choudhari.

The collection drive lasted for 10–12 days with the Rotaractors visiting their neighbours and relatives.

26 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

Above: Motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das being felicitated by Rotaractors of RAC Jalna Central.

Below: D 3132 Rotaractors after winning the cricket tournament in Hyderabad.

The collected clothes were assembled at the Agarsain Bhavan.

Tokens were given out in slum colonies across the city on a scheduled day for people to come and collect what they needed.

“When we visited the colonies, we realised that the demand was huge.

We had to restrict it to two clothes in exchange for one token.”

Rotaractors from few other clubs volunteered in the distribution, along with the corporators and police personnel. “Our activity inspired the police too; they brought in some clothes for giving to the needy,” says Choudhari.

Cricket Champion The District Rotaractors won the cricket tournament hosted by Rotary Club of Jubilee Hills, D 3150, in Hyderabad. Rotaract clubs from eight districts participated in the sport.

In another event RAC Jalna Central organised a talk on the topic ‘Secret to Success’ by motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das, which saw a huge audience.

“It was a successful event and put Rotaract on the limelight among the public,” says the DRR. JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 27

Rotaract South Asia Summit 2018 Vaibhav Thakur

T

he annual summit of the South East Asia Rotaract Information Centre Multi District Information Organisation (SEARIC MDIO) brings together Rotaractors from across countries to promote and celebrate Rotaract under a global banner. The two-and-half-day of learning has several interactive sessions along with fun activities. This year it was hosted by Rotaract Club of Ramnagar, D 3110, at the Jim Corbett National Park in Nainital, Uttarakhand.

The summit opened to the beats of dhol and a colourful cultural

performance by Rotaractors of District 3291. DG Arun Jain was the chief guest. Host DRR Vaibhav Birla welcomed the delegates and updated them on the year’s Rotaract activities that helped transform lives in many ways. Past DRRs Rohan Dalmia and Shubham Agarwal felicitated Rotaractors for the successful mega blood donation campaign done under the banner — Mahadan 3.0.

Shubham Agarwal was installed as president of the SEARIC MDIO for 2018–19, along with his council of members under the banner ‘Team

SEARIC MDIO President Shubham Agarwal (centre) with past and serving DRRs and other delegates at the Summit.

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Infinity Stars’. Agarwal listed out the various initiatives for the next year that included the Green Hands Project, Rotaract Help Desk, Global Rotaract Academy and Earnternship.

Rotaractors from different districts presented their cultural performances and the DRRs made their district presentation.

The second day was filled with training sessions, team building activities and motivational workshops.

PDRRs Shiphon Ahmed, Shrijita Neogy, Rohan Damia, Kaustuv Ghosh and DRR Khushal Shah were

DG Arun Jain (centre) was the chief guest at the event.

the resource persons. PDRR Srijita Neogy was elected SEARIC President for 2019–2020 and Rotaract District 3262 won the bid to host the South Asia Summit 2019 at Puri.

After various business sessions, it was time to unwind. Mesmerising performances from Rotaractors of various districts, talent hunt programme, and a fashion show vied with each other, with the highlight being the crowning of the Mr and Miss Summit. Shantanu Agarwal and Amisha Budhiraja donned the respective crowns.

It was curtains down after the awards ceremony and a spectacular Raas Lila performance by a group from Vrindavan. Over 200 Rotaractors and Rotarians from 22 RI Districts across India, Nepal and Bangladesh renewed their friendship and made new connections at the summit.

(The writer is past DRR of D 3150 and member of RC Muzaffarpur) JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 29

multiple activities like cleaning, whitewashing, wall painting and improving the classroom ambience, besides interacting with students as well as teachers,” explains Easwaran. This year they reached out to the Rathinam Mangalam Primary School in Vandalur in Chennai, and presented stationery kits to over 200 students.

“We also set up a ‘smart class’ library with neatly arranged bookshelves and catalogues. Students were encouraged to read newspapers which are

A medical checkup camp in progress.

Rotaractors spruce up schools V Muthukumaran

S

ome of the signature projects of RAC Spectrum, D 3232, “have created good impact and earned goodwill in the community,” says DRR Girish Easwaran.

Their popular outreach Vithaipom involves engaging a government school in an impoverished locality or suburbs by providing stationery kits to

30 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

the children and improving basic amenities by giving a fresh coat of paint to the building and donating furniture in a bid to improve classroom education.

On August 15 each year, the Rotaractors visit a school lacking in basic facilities and “work throughout the day on the campus to renovate the school. They take up

Rotaractors at a blood donation camp.

being supplied,” says S Raghu, Club President.

Another programme called Power Rangers offers sports equipment to schools to enthuse the students. “Each year, we identify the school in a prominent locality in Chennai and give sports equipment to the students. We are doing this project for the last seven years and our efforts to promote sports in government schools are paying dividends,” he says.

During Christmas time, the Rotaractors visit an orphanage and

“sponsor a delicious lunch for the children.

We spend time and engage the inmates with fun activities.”

Rotary-Rotaract bonding

Around 15 Rotaractors took part in the health camp and blood donation drive organised by their parent RC Chennai Galaxy at the JNN group of institutions in August. A panel of doctors screened patients for general ailments, eye disorders and dental decay, and a blood donation camp was also held.

“Such projects help to forge a strong bonding

with Rotarians,” explains Raghu, and hopes to undertake joint projects with Rotarians.

The 7-year-old club with 115 Rotaractors is one among the top 25 community-based clubs which are active in district, says Easwaran.

For him, the challenge is to ensure his club presidents update their membership details on the RI registry which shows only 12,000 Rotaractors in D 3232, “whereas according to our estimate, the number is close to 25,000 members in 149 clubs.”

JANUARY 2019 ROTARACT NEWS

31

Quenching thirst of

schoolchildren Jaishree

D

uring one of their routine visits to schools to distribute stationery items and other miscellaneous educational aids to students, the Rotaractors of RAC Templeton, D 3000, learnt that the students in one of the government schools in Ayanpappakudi, a distant village on the outskirts of Madurai, were in dire

Children happily fill safe drinking water in their bottles.

32 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

Rotaractors inaugurate an RO plant in a school near Madurai.

Below: Children being sensitised about saving water and preserving water bodies.

need of a drinking water facility.

“One of the students told us that they bring water from their home but by noon it gets over and they remain thirsty until they get back home,” said Selvakumar, the club president.

The school has a borewell but water from it is saline and not fit for consumption.

After considerable groundwork, the members realised that a 250litre RO plant will serve the needs of the 450 students and staff of the school. The market price was `1.1 lakh. “As we were wondering how to proceed further, Senthil Thandavan, a member of our parent club RC Madurai North, came up with a quote of `75,000 through his company.”

One of the students told us that they bring water from their home but by noon it gets over and they remain thirsty until they get back home.

Selvakumar President, RAC Templeton

The Rotaractors approached their parent club where members agreed to sponsor part of the cost.

They identified an organisation called People’s Comrades run by a group of Indian youth working abroad and supporting social causes.

The group sponsored `60,000 and the balance `15,000 was sponsored by the parent Rotary club.

The water treatment plant was dedicated to the school in October

and as part of the inaugural event the Rotaractors organised a talk delivered by Shakthi, founder of Rainstock, an NGO working in water conservation and recycling, to create awareness in children on the importance of saving water and preserving water bodies.

Designed by Krishnapratheesh JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 33

Rotaractors show the young do care V Muthukumaran

Rotaractors of RAC Bhaktavatsalam College with their relief material for Gaja cyclone victims.

W

hile the Tamil Nadu government is finding it difficult to speed up its men and machinery to bring relief to Gaja Cyclone affected people in the six districts of southern Tamil Nadu, Rotaractors sprung into action to help the victims with packaged food, clothes, grocery, bedsheets, mattresses and tarpaulin.

DRR Girish Easwaran, D 3232, is elated that Rotaractors formed relief teams and spread out to the cyclone-hit districts to provide aid and succour directly to families struggling to get back to normalcy. The 43-year-old RAC New College, the oldest in the district, sent a 15-member Rotaract team along with four professors to Vedaranyam town in Nagapattinam

34 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

district to give relief supplies worth `5 lakh directly to 600 families.

“We distributed bags containing rice, cooking oil, tea powder, milk powder, masala mixes, pulses and edible items, besides clothes, to people in three villages,” said Jawad Khushamad, Club President. Earlier, with the help of Anbu Palam of News 7 channel, they got a list of cyclone-hit areas in and around Vedaranyam while charting out the logistics. The Rotaractors camped there for two days and assessed the needs of the villagers on further assistance.

With relief pouring in from other NGOs too, “the victims have got enough supplies of food and rations.

But they are woefully short of utility

material such as tarpaulin, bedsheets, gumboots and are struggling to repair their damaged houses.”

Hence the New College students are busy collecting these supplies which will be sent to the beneficiaries soon, and “we are planning to expand our reach to other districts too,” said Khushamad.

Chief Sergeant G Kamuvel from District Rotaract Council is guiding RAC Blue Whales in their efforts to provide study material to school students in Pudukkottai. “We have distributed books and stationery to those facing public exams, notably Class 10 and 12 students. So, far we have covered five government schools with relief worth `1.2 lakh,” he explained.

As schools await reopening with power lines yet to be restored and basic amenities like toilet blocks rebuilt, “we spoke to headmasters and panchayat chiefs who said it will take nearly 3–4 months to regain normalcy. But farmers bore the brunt with their paddy crops, coconut groves and other plantations totally uprooted,” said Kamuvel.

A 10-member team from RAC Pegasus led by its IPP K C Uma Shankar and PP J Prabhakaran has visited four districts — Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Pudukkottai — to distribute relief material worth `8 lakh. “We gave provision bags to 900 families, each with rice, cooking oil, tamarind, milk powder and vegetables. We also donated 300 tarpaulin covers to those whose houses were badly damaged,” said Shankar.

Now the Pegasus team is doing a survey at Thillaivilagam village in Tiruvarur on damaged houses, mostly huts and tiled structures.

Shankar is confident of finding sponsors to repair at least 100 houses (each costing `15,000

Rotaractors of RAC Pegasus serve food for the cyclone victims.

including manpower) in this village. “We have set a deadline for rebuilding the damaged huts and tiled houses by Tamil New Year, April 14,” he said. RAC Dexterous has formed a team under Rtr Dhanraj to provide relief supplies to villagers. So far, the Rotaractors have given relief material worth `3 lakh.

The girl students too pitched in to extend relief to the cyclone-affected families in the delta districts of the State. “We have collected and packed `2 lakh worth relief material which have been sent through the University of Madras,” says E S Shameem Sulthana, assistant professor and in-charge of RAC Bhaktavatsalam Memorial College for Women.

The carton boxes contained blankets, milk powder, rice bags, soap, biscuits, sanitary pads, toiletries and dress material.

Team spirit

A member of RAC New College donating groceries to a family.

Though only 15 clubs out of 149 Rotaract clubs are directly involved in cyclone relief work in RI District 3232, Easwaran says, “Rotaractors of all clubs have helped in one way or another for mobilising donations and relief material which were carried in trucks by the visiting teams to the southern villages.” The focus is on ‘club-based performance’, rather than few individuals or teams getting the credit for relief work in the cyclone-affected districts, he added.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 35

A bouquet of Rotaract projects V Muthukumaran

A

challenging target of holding 30 projects at the beginning of this Rotary year ended up in a grand achievement for the Rotaractors of D 3012. The district with 1,400 members across 45 Rotaract clubs surpassed its target by holding 336 sessions on 73 projects,” says DRR Manan Singla.

Project Chair Shubham Singhania coordinated with the clubs for daily updates as the outreach activities covered a broad range of issues from

child labour awareness, skill development and provding water bowls for thirsty birds during summer, to tree plantation, anti-body-shaming, LGBT campaign and stress management. The multifarious projects were spread across the Delhi NCR region and boosted the morale of Rotaractors in the district. “Though it is difficult to quantify the beneficiaries, our projects would have touched at least 100,000 people across age groups,” says Singla.

Marathon, a huge success With the support of Delhi University students, the district organised a ‘Run for Fitness’ marathon which saw a participation of 3,000 runners from all walks of life. DG Subhash Jain, DGE Deepak Gupta and DGN Alok Gupta were also present on the occasion.

To mark the 113th Rotary year, the district will install 113 sanitary napkin vending machines in government schools and colleges in the NCR. “Corporates and sponsors from Rotary

Rotaractors of D3012 during a sightseeing tour.

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clubs will fund the vending machines,” he says.

In another initiative ‘Unite for Better Vision’, the Rotaractors collected 9,000 sparingly-used spectacles which will be distributed to needy persons at the eye camps organised by Rotary clubs in the district.

On Independence Day, a novel fellowship meet called Jashn-e-Azadi was held at Silverline Prestige School which offered Rotaractors an opportunity to interact and exchange notes.

A number of fun-filled activities such as treasure hunt, group dance, kite flying and music were organised.

A two-day trip to Udaipur added to the fun.

Summing up the great start to the Rotary year for the Rotaractors, Singhania says, “It was a pleasure working with all the clubs of the district. Only with the wholehearted

DRR Manan Singla with PRID Y P Das.

JANUARY JJAN JA ANUA AN UAR U A AR RY 22019 01199 019 0

RO ROT R ROTARACT OT O TA AR ARA RA RACT CT N NE NEW NEWS EWS 3 EW 377

The Run for Fitness was a huge success with a good turnout.

support from our DRR and the Rotaractors, we are able to surpass targets in Project 3012 as well as the marathon.”

RIPN Sushil Gupta and Vinita along with Rotaractors.

38 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

Kerala flood relief As an expression of solidarity with the people of Kerala hit by massive floods, the Rotaractors collected two tonnes of relief material consisting of food items, clothes and toiletries which were sent to the Kerala House in Delhi for dispatch to the needy in Kerala. “Out of `75,000 in cash, we have given `50,000 to our DG and the balance was sent to various Rotary clubs in Kerala. On his part, the DG is mobilising donations from Rotary clubs for onward dispatch,” adds Singla.

Rotaractors make elders happy Team Rotary News

O

n Grandparents Day on Sep 9, around 35 Rotaractors from RAC Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET) visited the Bhai Kanhaiya Old Age Home in Patiala and interacted with the inmates, says DRR Ashish Aggarwal, D 3090.

Earlier, the club members had organised a medical check-up for the inmates and “we served snacks with tea, cut a cake and had a number of fun sessions with the elders at the Home.

The three-year-old club with over 100 Rotaractors took up Road Safety Awareness drive for the schoolchildren. “Around 50 members engaged the students of Budha Dal Public School with paper charts and informal talks on the need to follow traffic rules and road norms for safety,” explains Aggarwal. A paper chart competition was held to sensitise children on road safety.

Every month, the DRR selects a common project theme for district clubs to undertake and create an impact in

Rotaractors enjoy a conversation with an inmate at the Bhai Kanhaiya Old Age Home.

their locality. “In August, we had Save Water campaign, followed by Road Safety in September which targets mostly schoolchildren. Next month, we will do Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

activities throughout the district with clubs fanning out to spread the message of Clean India,” says the DRR. Monthly health check-up

During their visit to the old-age home, the Rotaractors have collected health data from all the 35 inmates as “we plan to hold a monthly camp to screen the elders for various ailments and give them follow up advice,” says Rtr Vanitha Bakshi, President, RAC TIET. In October, they held workshops in government schools on issues such as ‘good touch, bad touch’, menstrual hygiene and sanitation practices. “We included boys too in our sessions as they need to know how to behave with girls.” The club gets small funding from the college each year for their project activities, but “we have requested each Rotaractor to donate liberally for our programmes as we may be falling short in meeting the resources,” she adds.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 39

Photoract, a huge success in

Vadodara V Muthukumaran

C

apturing human emotions in myriad forms and colours highlighting the richness and diversity of life is all that Photoract, a two-day photography contest-cum-exhibition organised by

RAC Vadodara Sayajinagari, D 3060, aims at, besides raising funds for its annual projects.

The photo contest, being held for the last three years during April/May, attracts hundreds of entries from all over India with participants cutting

across age groups, social divides and professional backgrounds. Last year the club received 180 entries under its two broad themes — ‘wanderlust’ and ‘emotions’, and a footfall of 2,000 for the exhibition. A five-member jury selected three winners each in

Visitors at the photo exhibition.

both categories. “Our judges are drawn from top-notch universities and experts in the field of photography and they use their expertise in vetting and selecting the best exhibits,” says Rushabh Shah, Club Service Director. Instead of cash prizes, the winners are given a set of photography tools that will further help them hone their skills. The event, conceptualised

by Rtr Palash Jhangid, has grown into one of the prestigious conclaves

For the upcoming edition, the club has a target of collecting `80,000 and expects a footfall of 2,500plus and about 400 entries for the contest.

for shutterbugs in the country and in the process enhanced the visibility of Rotaractors in Vadodara, says Shah.

The four-year-old communitybased club has nearly 60 Rotaractors and “Photoract being our single fundraiser event, all our members contribute their time and effort to make it a huge success,” says the Club President Manan Gosalia.

With the use of social media such as Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, the club made the 2018 edition of the Photoract a “resounding success as we raised nearly `65,000 from the event.” Most of the entries were from places such as Chennai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. For the upcoming edition, they have set a target of collecting `80,000 with a footfall of 2,500-plus and about 400 entries for the contest, thanks to the social media.

The parent club, RC Baroda Sayajinagari, invites the Rotaractors for their service projects and “thanks to their mentorship, we learn a lot as volunteers on how to execute such community activities,” adds Shah.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 41

Superheroes in the making Kiran Zehra

T

housands of people die every year because bystanders do not carry out life-saving CPR on cardiac arrest victims before emergency services arrive. The recent death of 18-yearold Mahima, a basketball player and a first year BSc Chemistry student

42 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

in Chennai, could have been avoided if anyone there was aware of the symptoms of a heart attack or could perform a CPR on time.

The seriousness of life-saving skills is so underrated‌ we openly avoid first aid,� says Yuvaraj, Project Chairman, Superheroes of Chennai, a lifesaving skill training programme

for Rotaractors of D 3232.

The District Rotaract Council of D 3232, along with Alert VoICE (Volunteers In Case of Emergency) and Apollo Hospitals, is training Rotaractors of the district as first responders. “It is vital that we teach our youngsters simple first aid techniques to quickly respond to an emergency,” he says.

To kick-start the plan, a training event was organised in December for 100 members. The initiative was dubbed Superheroes of Chennai, “because it takes a superhero to act in time and save a life.” Both the training programmes were sponsored by Rotary Clubs of Madras Porur, Madras Pallava, Chennai Chola, Madras Golden City and Chennai Kilpauk.

The team zeroed in on ALERT, an NGO, to train the participants in emergency situations

such as a cardiac arrest, choking, burns and other minor complaints. The NGO has trained over 72,000 citizens across India in emergency care, says Project Secretary Rtr Shruti.

The event was inaugurated by DG Babu Peram. Rotaractors were taught various methods to administer first aid, basic ba life and support training trai emergency medical em preparedness. CPR preparednes training was provided with the aid of mannequins and Rotaractors were taught how rescue breathing to provides oxygen ox the person’s lungs and chest how to perform perf compression to keep oxygen-rich blood flowing until the flowin heartbeat and hea breathing are br rrestored.

All participants were given ffirst aid kits and flash cards an after the training.

Doctors from fro Apollo a test Hospitals conduct co in emergency emergenc care for before the participants participa they become becom certified Superheroes, says Superheroes Yuvaraj.

Rotaract The District Dis aims to train Council aim 2,500 Rotaractors Rotar events through various var throughout 2019, he added.

Designed by L Gunasekaran JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 43

Serving mankind is

serving God Jaishree

I

t is a Hindu ritual to anoint the idol of Lord Shiva with milk during the month of Shravan (July–Aug). On the four Mondays during this holy month, devotees

flock to Shiva temples with packets of milk seeking his blessings and abundance.

The Rotaractors of RAC Bhavnagar Royal, D 3060, began a drive to

Rotaractors distribute milk collected from temples to the needy.

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sensitise worshippers to satiate the hunger needs of the less-privileged too. “We began this initiative three years ago. Beyond the religious sentiments we were pained to see

We were pained to see so much milk going down the drain. Even half of the milk used for the Abhishekam can feed so many children and mothers.

Devotees donate part of the milk for the poor.

so much milk going down the drain. Even half the quantity being used for the Abhishekam can feed so many children and mothers.

After all, serving mankind is serving God, we’ve always been told,” says Club Secretary Dharmesh Patel. Thus was born Project Abhishekam.

The Rotaractors visit temples early in the morning and gently coax devotees to

part with some of the milk to feed the poor. “We went about saying — 2 chamachi dudha chadhavi baki milk garib balako mate aapo.

(Just give two spoons of milk to the Shivling, and give the rest to us to feed the poor). We are happy that many people responded.”

Last year the team was able to collect 300 litres of milk and this year 120 litres, says the secretary.

At the end of each collection, the members boiled the milk and distributed it among the needy in various locations.

“Our idea is not to just collect milk. We want to sensitise people not to waste milk as there are people around us — children, pregnant women — who cannot afford a glass of tea, leave alone milk,” he says.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 45

Rotaract skill centre for youth, women V Muthukumaran

T

he Rotaract Club of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce, D 3011, has set up a vocational training centre for women and youth at Prem Nagar near Nangloi in Delhi.

The club roped in Navjyoti India Foundation, started by Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, as its partner to open this skilling centre which trains women in tailoring under its mega Sankalp project. “In a digitally unequal world, we need to focus on bridging the gap between the digitally privileged and underprivileged community of rural India. Sankalp aims to bridge this gap by exposing people to various digital tools and sensitise them to its applicability in their daily lives,” says Yatharth Gupta, Club President.

The centre offers a one-year course with 10 computer systems and five sewing machines and aims to educate at least 1,000 beneficiaries. The Rotaractors held a number of brainstorming sessions with Navjyoti and the landowner before getting a green signal to “turn our dream of Sankalp into reality.”

A piece of waste land was converted into a centre of learning.

“We spent around `2 lakh to renovate the building owned by one of the teachers of Navjyoti, doing

46 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

minor repairs, rewiring electrical points, installing computers and creating a good learning environment for the students,� says Gupta.

RC New Delhi President Anuj Khurana was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony and was accompanied by DRR Anmol Chawla, ADRR Shreya Snehi and RAC Young Visionaries President Ankit Lakhina.

The then Club President Anshika Walia along with her team shared her experience of realising their dream project Sankalp to the gathering. As of now, 270 students have passed out of this training centre who are qualified to be employed and become productive members of society.

Rotaractors at the sewing centre.

Designed by N Krishnamurthy JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 47

An eco-friendly Visarjan Jaishree

D

uring the Ganesh Chaturthi, the ten-day long spectacular glorification of Lord Ganesha ends with much pomp and gaiety across India, with devotees immersing idols of the elephant-god into the rivers, ponds and lakes in their respective cities.

Beyond the grandeur of the festivities is the fact that these water bodies get polluted with flowers and other accessories used to adorn the idols.

At Navsari in Gujarat when the festival ended with the immersion of the idols at the River Purna that flows across the city, Rotary Club of Navsari, D 3060, came up with a plan to preserve the river through a wonderful initiative — Project Punurthaan, along with Rotaract Clubs of Navsari Young Turks and Harijyot.

“There are four immersion points along the river. We made arrangements to collect the waste at all the points.

Around 47 tonne waste was collected this year,” says Sagar Dhorajiya, President, RAC Navsari Young Turks.

48 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

Rotaractors collect flowers and accessories adorning the Ganesh idols before the Visarjan.

Below: Rotarians distribute vermicompost to farmers. DG Pinky Patel is also in the picture.

The waste is segregated into organic and inorganic. While the organic accessories such as flowers and fruits used for worship which are bio-degradable were sent to the Navsari Agricultural University for vermicomposting, the remaining non-bio-degradable waste such as thermocol, plastics, artificial flowers and cloth used for decoration were sent for recycling.

The vermi-compost which makes a good fertiliser for crops was distributed among farmers at no cost. DG Pinky Patel was present during one such distribution event.

“The seed for this project was sown two years ago in 2016 and it has become popular ever since. Not only was our efforts lauded by the State administration and the people, the Sachivalay (Secretariat) has adopted the scheme in its surrounding 20 nagarpalikas now,” says Dhorajiya.

Rotaractors provide lunch to

Army aspirants V Muthukumaran

I

ndian Army gave a salute to Rotaractors of RAC Godavari, D 3030, who provided meals to over 1,600 candidates attending an Army recruitment drive held at the Police Academy Stadium in Jalgaon in November.

Candidates in the 18–24 age group have to undergo a series of gruelling physical tests and exercises after medical examination. In a day, over 1,000 people from all over Maharashtra were screened for Army service and the process continued for 12–13 days on the campus.

“Through our project — Serving our future saviours — we provided

lunch on four days of the Army recruitment drive. Given the strict Army regulation of not allowing any candidate to venture out of the campus during the recruitment drive, the youngsters were happy to take food from us,” says Rtr Hemangi Mahajan, club coordinator and district zonal representative.

Rtn Lakshmikant Maniyar from RC Jalgaon East sponsored the project which cost around ` 40,000. Giving the background of this project, Hemangi said that she contacted the Army Welfare Officer in Jalgaon and asked him if the Rotaractors can be of any help at the recruitment process.

“He came back to us with a suggestion to provide lunch to the candidates who go through a rigorous physical test.” But as it is a military camp, “only 4–5 Rotaractors were allowed to enter and distribute food packets to the Army aspirants.”

As they need a minimum of `10,000 a day, depending on the availability of funds the 80-member club will decide whether to continue with the project in the coming years. All the members are students of Godavari Foundation, a group of institutions offering medical, engineering, management and agriculture courses in Jalgaon.

JANUARY 2019

ROTARACT NEWS 49

Book Review

Handy Handbook Sandhya Rao

A

lthough the jacket of this book is old-fashioned — apart from featuring a bunch of young people who are clearly not of any-part-of-India origin — the title makes it clear that it is as much a book for teens as for anybody who has anything to do with teens. When we speak of toddlers, we refer to the ‘terrible twos’; a similar appellation could apply to teenage. Well, here at last is a book that could help all concerned negotiate these crucial years in an individual’s life. Not just that, in light of the low levels of general and practical literacy prevailing among young and old in India, and the many worrying blank spaces as regards sex education and information, I’d say here at last is a compassionately written, sensible handbook for people of all ages.

The author, Gratian Vas, dives directly into the deep end by first talking about the changes in physiognomy as a girl and boy grow.

This crucial and useful information is conveyed simply and directly, and supported with diagrams. The reader gets to understand phenomena such as hormones, changes in the body, the menstrual period, erection and ejaculation, masturbation, and so on, things that few parents and fewer teachers possess the poise or the maturity to explain to their wards.

Take body odour, for instance. How many times have you been in an office 50 ROTARACT NEWS JANUARY 2019

space and been literally knocked off your chair by a colleague’s body odour? This book, by talking about things like this and the need for proper and consistent hygienic practices, offers life lessons.

Clearly the author has experience of young people. That’s what gives this book an easy, friendly tone even though it is entirely informationoriented. Eating well, eating healthy, keeping fit, recognising your emotions, dealing with shyness and loneliness, stress, depression, looks and self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, conflicts with adults, sibling rivalry, peer pressure, bullying, violence, addiction and abuse, friends, physical attraction, love, sexually transmitted diseases, addictions, same sex relationships… all these issues are dealt with clearly, objectively and, most importantly, without any judgment being passed. This is the biggest plus of this extremely perceptive and useful book.

Teen Times: Answers Every Teen Question Frankly and Explicitly but with Sensitivity

by Gratian Vas Blossom Books, 2017 pp 221, `299

Take bullying, for instance.

There’s physical, verbal, social and cyber bullying. The author discusses where and when bullying happens and what makes someone a bully. It could have something to do with a fascination with power, violence and the desire to win, or with disappointments, hurt and anger, or with lack of attention, poor upbringing, and constant exposure to violence (just think how many times you’ve seen little children in cinema theatres being exposed to larger-than-life scenes of violence on 70mm screens). Some ways to stand up to bullies, says Vas, are by not listening to what the bully is saying, not acting weak or scared, learning to throw a punch, not being alone, not reacting to provocation, ignoring online bullies, and sharing the experience with someone you trust. All perfectly reasonable and workable solutions.

The chapter on same sex relationships offers useful information regarding sexual orientation.

Although it is far too brief, in the context of a society that is hugely homophobic, even this meagre information should help readers broaden their minds and learn to be more inclusive. It will hopefully help them understand the Supreme Court’s recent historic ruling that adult gay sex is not a crime and that sexual orientation is natural.

The lacuna in the book comes from the impression it gives that a lot of information is based on studies and research done abroad, particularly in the West. References to studies and cultural experiences specific to different parts of India would definitely have contributed more to this book.

And again, this book definitely needs to be packaged in a more contemporary fashion. But if you’re willing not to judge a book by its cover, then age is no bar to consulting it.

Picture by Rasheeda Bhagat

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