Meet Your Governors

Focus on RCC

 His most cherished Rotary ­memory is participating in the ­friendship exchange programme in 2014, which took Mohan Parashar to South ­Alabama, RID 6880, USA. This ­experience, he believes, offers life-transforming exposure, and he encourages every Rotarian to be part of it.

His primary focus is to give a boost to Rotary Community Corps (RCCs) in his district. “RCCs are the best way to engage in rural areas because RCC members, being part of the villages they serve, understand the exact needs of their communities and can work precisely towards fulfilling them.”

Parashar advises his presidents to focus on the quality of members over numbers, and the importance of educating new members about Rotary’s impactful projects, particularly the End Polio Now campaign. He encourages presidents to “look beyond your club and district, and learn from projects outside the district.”

He is proud that his district is “living the DEI mantra. We have a club for blind members, and there is no difference between them and any other Rotarian.” He is also proud of the district’s women membership.The district’s TRF goal for the year is $200,000. Parashar joined Rotary in 1996.

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Winner of the Annual Fund Challenge

A Rotarian since 1999, Suresh Babu has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Rotary. He currently oversees 97 clubs in his district and plans to increase this number to 105. His district has already achieved the $100 per club Annual Fund Challenge and is set to be recognised with the Early Achiever Award.

For new members, Suresh Babu emphasises the importance of instilling a strong understanding of Rotary. “Knowledgeable Rotarians who grasp the essence of Rotary are more likely to stay committed and improve the Rotary experience for others,” he says.

He advocates orientation programmes for new members. He suggests that even Rotarians who have been members for 3 to 5 years should participate in these programmes to deepen their understanding and engagement.

With only 7.3 per cent women members in his district, he sees a clear need to increase female representation. “While we have made progress in DEI with the inclusion of differently-abled and transgender members, there is still significant work ahead,” he says.

His district aims to contribute $450,000 to TRF.

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Transition challenge from Rotaractor to Rotarian

Initially not inclined to join Rotary and inactive for the first three years, Neerav Nimesh Agarwal later understood the significant impact of Rotary when his club built toilets, renovated classrooms and provided electricity at the Janaki Devi School in Mathura, increasing the school’s strength from 150 to 600 girls.

“With recent changes granting Rotaractors more access to The Rotary Foundation, a lower annual fee and eliminating age limit, the question arises as to why Rotaractors might choose to leave their clubs to join a Rotary club. This transition issue needs to be addressed,” he says.

On DEI, he says, “it is important to focus on inclusion and equity. There is a need to address the reluctance of clubs where the average age of members is over 60 years, to welcome women. Some of these clubs prefer separate women’s clubs.” He also notes that while some women prefer all-women’s clubs, “it’s important to encourage them to join gender-neutral clubs.”

Agarwal suggests inviting potential members to participate in projects, discussing past initiatives with them, and creating an archive of projects to present to new members to inspire them to become Rotarians.

His district’s TRF goal stands at $555,000.

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CSR awareness is need of the hour

 He jokes that sometimes his wife feels jealous because he gives more time to Rotary than to her. Dev Anand stresses the importance of having members from different classifications, “especially leaders from different professional fields, to enhance Rotary’s public image.”

For member retention, he advocates orientation programmes. Regarding DEI, Anand highlights the diversity in his district but is concerned about the low percentage of women members. He aims to raise it from 11 per cent to 33 per cent by encouraging Rotarian spouses to join.

Anand sees a lack of CSR projects in his district because of limited awareness about the concept. He strongly believes that “club presidents should be trained to approach companies and know the nitty-gritty of the partnership.” He plans to have 100 Paul Harris Society (PHS) members across his district. The TRF target for his district is $300,000. He has been a Rotarian since 1988.