Month: November 2024
In our hearts and hands
There are as many reasons to join Rotary as there are members. Most join for experiences — new friendships, expanding professional circles, or putting Service Above Self into action to create impact.
Meet Your Governors
Clubs have been told to do a “proper needs assessment before taking up a service pro-ject so that we don’t waste our scarce resources,” says Tushar Shah.
Rotary Rourkela Queens transforms a school
The journey of Rotary Rourkela Queens, RID 3261, with Asha Deep School began through an unexpected connection. While working on the LN-4 project, we crossed paths with Ram Chandra Behera, chairman of RRRC (Regional Rehabilitation and Research Centre), Rourkela. During one of our discussions, he reached out to our club advisor, Ajay Agarwal, asking if we could assist Asha Deep School, which was in urgent need of support. He brought the proposal to our club, and we immediately embraced it.
Rotary and Peace
Addressing a Q&A session on Rotary and Peace organised by the Rotary Club of Madras, RID 3234, past RI President Kalyan Banerjee shared insight into the evolution of Rotary’s peace programme and the organisation’s enduring commitment to peace. The discussion he had with club member Sanjay Madhavan touched upon various aspects of how Rotary has been involved in furthering peace worldwide since its inception. It all began with the Rotary Club of Hamilton, Ontario, proposing a resolution in 1914 urging the International Association of Rotary Clubs to promote global peace.
Build your resistance
Darwin’s ‘survival of the fittest’ is the default option, or rather compulsion, dictated by life’s evolutionary nature. Simply put, fitness is mainly about man’s adaptation to his environment. Unlike the rest of the animal kingdom or species that dwell on earth, man alone has the ability to think.
Breaking silence on menstruation and menopause
What if something as natural as the monthy menstrual period didn’t have to be a taboo topic?” This question inspired Shruti Dharamsi, president of RC Mumbai Ghatkopar West, RID 3141, to initiate Project Masik Chakra (menstrual cycle) as the club’s signature project for the year. “In a world where conversations about menstruation and menopause are only whispered, we wanted to create a programme that would break this silence. Our goal was to help girls understand that periods and menopause are natural, and knowledge about them can be empowering,” she explains. Several Rotary clubs including RCs Chandivali Mumbai, Wada, Mumbai Nova, Mumbai Mulund East and Mulund Valley have participated in this project.
Helping schools take the green leap
Can schools go green —not with envy — but by being environmentally conscious? They can do so with encouragement and support from the local community, parents’ groups, clubs and socially conscious establishments. You and your friends can help your local school take a green leap forward by exercising your persuasive skills to convince the management, parents and students to turn over a new leaf.
Celebrating Nari Shakti
Amid the sea of protests across the country over the savage rape and murder of a young intern doctor at the RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata, Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar, RID 3291, honoured nine women achievers with Shakti Samman Awards. “What has happened in Kolkata is against our culture as our sanskriti (Indian tradition) worships Goddess Shakti. Ahead of Durga puja, the nine-day festival where the nine avatars of the goddess are worshipped each day, we want to create a positive, vibrant mood for Navratri by hosting the Nav Shakti event,” said club president Pramila Dugar.
Being ‘male, pale and stale’ affects Rotary membership
During his recent visit to India, incoming RI President Mario de Camargo took out some time in Madurai to sit down for an interview with Rotary News. As candid as always, he did not mince his words as he expressed serious concern about Rotary’s stagnant, and even falling membership in some countries, and said this was “because we are still male, pale and stale”.
Project Vignettes
The autobiography of PRIP Rajendra Saboo, titled My Life’s Journey: A Personal Memoir, was released on his 90th birthday in Chandigarh by former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court S S Sodhi.
A day in Parliament
Students from the Interact Club of Sushila Devi Lakshmi Girls Senior Secondary School, sponsored by RC Delhi North, RID 3012, participated in the National Leaders Homage Programme in Parliament.