Month: May 2025
When women writers meet…
‘Stories are all we have’… Stories and sharing in a number of Indian languages at a recent three-day meet of women writers for children reiterated
The Golden Sparrows of Chennai
Apart from being a daughter, wife, to mother and family matriarch, a woman has to overcome many challenges in her personal and professional life, said Chennai mayor Priya Rajan at the inaugural of Golden Sparrow, a one-day women’s carnival in Chennai, organised by RID 3233 led by DG Mahaveer Bothra. “Women should be celebrated in society; we have got innate capabilities to succeed in life despite odds and pitfalls.”
Project Vignettes – June 2025
The Save Vembanadu project, led by RI District 3211, is an environmental initiative to clean and preserve Vembanad Lake in Alappuzha, Kerala
A Rotary medical mission in Jammu
Mithila Devi Gupta, an elderly Hindu woman, was supposed to undergo gallbladder surgery in Bhaderwah, a town in Jammu district of Kashmir. She was in
A drawer dilemma
Two months ago, my 98-year-old mother passed away. She was occupying the only bedroom on the ground floor. That was fine except that as I
Set the birds free
Our apartment block’s WhatsApp group often buzzes with messages about how a pet bird has flown away and if anyone spots it, she should alert the owner on its whereabouts. Such frequent attempts to retrieve birds have always made me wonder why people keep avians as pets, and whether this a sustainable practice?
Put your backpack to good use
Your shoulders, stooped or squared, are important to first impressions. The former indicates a negative impression, and the latter, a positive one. Real-life examples for
Eyecare in rural Jharkhand
Inspiration can strike in the most unexpected places. For Jagannath Santra of RC Jamshedpur, RID 3250, it happened in the quiet halls of the National Archives of Singapore. “While I was there on work just before the Covid lockdown, I came across a photograph of a 1947 Rotary mobile dispensary donated by the Rotary Club of Singapore. It had once treated civilians injured during World War II, and supported vaccination drives. That image reminded me of Rotary’s legacy of humanitarian service,” he recalls.
Affordable dialysis in rural Hubli
For people battling kidney disease in the villages around Hubballi (Hubli), every dialysis session was a challenge, not just against the illness, but against distance and cost. The nearest dialysis centre was miles away, with unreliable transport options and cost that most could not afford. “Even today, there are just 4–5 dialysis centres in the area, and these facilities charge Rs.2,500 per session which is unaffordable for local farmers, labourers and daily wage earners. Many patients skipped treatment or stopped altogether, simply because they had no other choice,” says Binoy Momaya, past president of the Rotary Club of Hubli South, RID 3170. He was instrumental in setting up the Rotary Hubli South-Bhanji Khimji Lifeline Dialysis Centre within a multispecialty hospital in Hubballi, “to bring hope where there was none.”
A backup for humanity, under the Arctic ice
Documentary photographer Christian Clauwers of the Rotary Club of Antwerpen-Oost has been travelling around the world for more than a decade to capture the effects of global warming. His photos show what is in danger of being lost, and in that sense they are a major wake-up call. For his latest project, he managed to gain exclusive access to the world seed bank on Spitsbergen in the Svalbard island group.
Ethiopian children get a new lease of life thanks to Rotary
The latest beneficiaries of a mega Rotary project in Bengaluru to mend little hearts are a group of children from Ethiopia. They have been helped through the Rotary Needy Heart Foundation (RNHF) based in Bengaluru, which is an offshoot of the Needy Heart Foundation (NHF) and was set up in 2021 by past president of RC Bangalore Indiranagar O P Khanna, whose dream was to provide a new lease of life to children and adults from economically disadvantaged families. Together, the RNHF and NHF have helped mend the hearts of over 12,000 children and adults since 2001.
The best is yet to come
I have had so many wonderful experiences over the past year, but as comforting as it might be to dwell on the past,
Sports Day for sanitary workers
On the eve of May Day, a newly chartered RC Erode Chakras, RID 3203, conducted a sports meet for sanitary workers as its maiden project
Making a difference – June 2025
An AED (automated external defibrillator) was installed at the Ranchi Airport by RC Ranchi,
War hysteria
First things first. Full marks to the person who thought of giving the name Operation Sindoor to the military assault launched on Pakistan by
Club Matters – July 2025
RC Pattukkottai Kings – RID 2981 Sewing machines and farm equipment were donated to the newly started Ponnavarayankottai RCC for the benefit of its members.
Rotary’s young people of action
No matter how long we’ve been with Rotary, we all benefit from the energy and fresh perspectives of our young leaders. It is my privilege
Mumbai Rotarians light up lives with solar energy
On October 30, 2024, the iconic Gateway of India in Mumbai became the canvas for a breathtaking art installation titled Field of Dreams: A Pathway to a Brighter Future.
Rotary’s belief in the power of young leaders
There’s something powerful about believing in young people — not just in their potential, but in their ability to lead today, not tomorrow. Rotary’s youth
Philanthropy in action: the Rotary way
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of “private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of life.” The word philanthropy comes from ancient
Meet the moment
There are moments in our journey to end polio when doubt and uncertainty may take hold, yet we must remain steadfast and, above all, hopeful