This Rotary club in Mumbai has a great record when it comes to innovation in service; it has over 150 members and is celebrating its silver jubilee this year with a simple but catchy theme: Bayview Cares. We are talking about the Rotary Club of Bombay Bay View, RID 3141, which has a history of doing some significant and innovative projects.
With the objective to celebrate its special year through all the 12 months, the club leadership has informed its members that this year, while celebrating their birthdays, they might consider adding an extra element to the celebration — contribute ₹2,500 to support a meaningful community initiative being undertaken by the club. The idea is simple and the philosophy is summed up in one line: By adding just one extra seat at your birthday table, your modest contribution will help fund kits, material and outreach activities across the 25 curated service activities planned to celebrate its silver jubilee.
Past president and present PR director of the club Rackhee Mehta, who devised this idea and programme says, “we wanted our silver jubilee year to be not just a celebration of 25 years of service, but an opportunity to reimagine how members experience Rotary.”
During these 25 national and international event days, the club leadership hopes to reinforce this credo in its members: Do one good thing today, no matter how small, and watch how deeply it changes the person you become. This “one good thing” can include invaluable experiences such as visiting institutions, interacting with communities, preparing kits, creating handmade messages, sharing professional knowledge with young people or participating in hands-on activities.
The service projects specially undertaken for National Doctors’ Day included a group of members celebrating the occasion at the Cama & Albless Hospital, interacting with doctors, engaging with MBBS students, resident doctors and faculty “and celebrating the compassion behind the white coat.”
World Population Day was observed with the club members reaching out to vulnerable women and children through two initiatives at the Stree Mandal and Navjeevan Centre, involving the distribution of umbrellas, school bags, stationery and wellness kits, along with an afternoon of interaction and celebration with children.
Next, the club organised the programme Salute to the Sea on Independence Day with 50 members getting the rare opportunity to visit the Naval Headquarters and board INS Chennai, on which naval personnel gave them an insight into India’s maritime security. “Vice Admiral Rahul Vilas Gokhale, a friend of my husband, was there and he ensured we had a wonderful experience, seeing the entire ship and interacting with the sailors. But the icing on the cake was meeting Lt Cdr Dilna, who shared with us her remarkable experience of 268-day circumnavigation of the world. When she related her entire sea journey, we saluted her bravery; this interaction was very motivating for all the 50 of us who went there,” says Rackhee.
Those who stand guard for the nation should know that the nation stands with them.
Pranit Naheta
president, RC Bombay Bay View
In September on International Day of Peace, the club brought together 1,500 students from seven schools to explore the meaning of peace through art. Painting Peace encouraged students from classes 5 to 8 to reflect on what peace means in their everyday lives: kindness, friendship, inclusion, safety, harmony, unity and hope. “Every young artist brought a unique perspective to the theme, transforming a simple sheet of paper into an expression of the world they wish to live in,” says club president Pranit Naheta.
To celebrate International Day of Older Persons on Oct 1, this project brought music, laughter and companionship to the senior citizens and palliative care patients at the King George Memorial Infirmary, Lower Parel, by creating a music and dance evening titled Melodies & Moments. The South Mumbai chapter of the International Fellowship of Rotarian Musicians (IFRM) brought the evening alive with lilting live music. “The seniors sang along, danced, interacted with the performers and celebrated every note, creating moments of spontaneous joy and connection,” says Rackhee.
A birthday cake was cut, a special meal organised and groceries, bedsheets, pillow covers and essential supplies distributed.
Perhaps the most “emotionally powerful” and memorable project for these Rotarians will be the Mera Veer Bhai programmes under which 1,200 rakhis were given to the Indian Army jawans serving the Jammu and Kashmir region. “We felt that at the LoC in Kashmir, where rugged mountains, harsh winters and isolation define everyday life, a little light can mean a lot both for the soldiers who guard this challenging frontier and the villagers who live here,” she says.
So taking its Jai Jawan commitment beyond words, eight members including her and the club president executed three significant interventions in the remote Machhal Valley in Kupwara, Kashmir, installing street lights in villages, setting up a fitness and rehabilitation facility for the jawans, and establishing an unforgettable bond between 1,200 women and 1,200 soldiers (Raksha bandhan), says club president Naheta. Through Project Ujala, done under the leadership of club member Vimal Shah, 120 solar-powered street lights were put up to benefit the soldiers who guard our borders, and the local inhabitants, in an area close to the LoC.
These lights were put up in 15 hamlets of the Machhal Valley, benefitting about 25,000 villagers. The total project cost is around ₹7.56 lakh. In the presence of eight members who travelled here, the first 10 solar lights were inaugurated in Pushwari village. “In these difficult areas, darkness is more than an inconvenience. Steep terrain and limited lighting can make essential movement difficult and unsafe after sunset. These solar lights will provide reliable illumination while enhancing safety, security, mobility and confidence in the communities,” says Naheta.
The members hope that these lights will also effect behavioural change, and the villagers will feel encouraged to maintain cleanliness and follow the Swachh Bharat principles. “The inauguration became a memorable community celebration. The warmth of the villagers, children, the local maulvi and the sarpanch reflected how deeply this seemingly simple intervention resonated with the people,” adds Rackhee.
The club has contributed ₹8.73 lakh towards a dedicated fitness and rehabilitation centre in the Machhal Valley, equipped with essential gym and rehabilitation equipment such as a Bicep Curl Machine, StairMaster, Leg Pulldown with Rowing Machine, Olympic Weight Bars, a Cross Trainer and several other fitness and strength-training equipment, providing the 300-odd army personnel there with a dedicated fitness and post-injury rehabilitation space.
But an emotionally powerful gesture from the Bay View members which really touched the jawans was the specially handmade rakhis given for 1,200 soldiers. The jawans told the Rotarians that while they do get rakhis with accompanying letters from several parts of India, this time around they found, along with the rakhis and accompanying letters, a prepaid, return address postcard, so that the recipients could write back and express their thanks to their rakhi sisters.
The visiting Rotarians tied rakhis on the wrists of around 100 soldiers in a special ceremony and handed over the rest. “We wanted to assure them that they are not alone in this difficult region; 1,200 women were thinking of them, standing with them and saluting them for protecting the nation. The soldiers promised to write back. And they did.”
Those handwritten postcards —written in Hindi, Marathi, and English — expressing their affection and gratitude to their ‘sisters,’ travelled from Kashmir to Mumbai and were distributed to the women who had sent the rakhis. For many, these postcards have become a treasured keepsake… a tangible connection with a veer bhai they may never meet again, and some have even framed them,” says Rackhee, who had specially crafted this project.
The club president adds, “For RCBB, the journey to Machhal Valley was not simply about delivering projects, but understanding the needs of communities and soldiers in one of India’s most challenging regions — and responding with meaningful, sustainable and heartfelt service. From the glow of a solar lamp illuminating a mountain hamlet to the smile of a jawan receiving a rakhi, the message remains the same: Those who stand guard for the nation should know that the nation stands with them.”