When RIPE Olayinka Babalola walked into the auditorium of MGR Janakiammal College in Chennai, the Rotaractors of RID 3234 were up on their feet, waving, clapping and whistling. “Babalola in the auditorium is no less than Dhoni in Chepauk Stadium,” said IPDRR Sasi Kumar and it did not feel like an exaggeration. “This is because he didn’t arrive as a distant global leader. He is one of us,” he added.
“It is a pleasure to be here, and I thank Vice President (elect) MMM (M Muruganandam) for organising this opportunity for you to meet me, a fellow Rotaractor. There is a saying in my country: if you have the right teacher, you cannot go wrong. You have MMM, someone who has been a Rotaractor himself ,and with a mentor like that, you are on the right path,” noted Babalola.
Appreciating the work Rotaract is doing in the district, he said, “I’ve seen your project videos, and your contribution to The Rotary Foundation is remarkable.” DRR Sathish Kumar later told Rotary News that the district Rotaractors have contributed $86,389 by April 17 to TRF. Shifting the focus to what lies ahead, the RIPE asked, “Rotary in India is growing. Rotaract is growing. But is it growing enough?”
He pointed out that India currently has around 49,000 Rotaractors and accounts for nearly 30 percent of the global Rotaract strength, “an achievement many would celebrate. But I am not impressed.” Referring to India’s population of 1.4 billion, he said, “even a small fraction of Indians in the 18–30 age group should translate into at least 2 lakh Rotaractors.”
Answering a question from a Rotaractor: “Is Rotary really listening to its youth?” RI Director Muruganandam replied: “The scenario today is not like how it was 20 years ago. Today, Rotaractors are not just participants, they are being integrated into leadership. The system itself is evolving. The appointment of a Rotaractor as an Assistant Rotary Public Image Coordinator (RID 3192 DRR Janice Philip), a first in Rotary history, isn’t symbolic, it is structural. We know the power of youth… we would like to really cultivate, motivate and invite more Rotaractors into the Rotary world.”
Babalola added, “Rotary is beginning to listen. Since Elevate Rotaract, there has been a deliberate push to bring Rotaractors into Rotary’s decision-making spaces across levels, across geographies. Not as future leaders, but as present ones.”
Giving them a glimpse of his “interesting interview with the Rotary News Editor,” he said, “I have told your editor I want to hear more Rotaract stories. Because listening, in the end, isn’t about policies or positions. It’s about whose stories are told and who gets to tell them.”
DG Vinod Saraogi, PDG J Sridhar, DRR Sathish Kumar and DRRE Vignesh Chandran were present at the event.