Blood unites people of all faiths
Rotary Club of Palai, D 3211, promoted religious harmony through a unique blood donation camp. A Hindu thantri, Christian priest and an imam set the tone for the camp and they were followed by 15 other people. “As our blood bank does not have a large storage and some blood groups have limited gestation period, we are constrained to accept donations from limited number of people at a time,” says Dr Tessy Kurian, who is the first woman president of the 32-year-old club. “We are bound by the chords of love, peace and harmony because we are united by the same blood. This is the message we wanted to highlight through this blood donation camp,” she says.
The club, with its team of 117 members, is one of the largest clubs of the district and it also includes 31 women Rotarians. Apart from the blood bank, the club has a dialysis unit which treats six people at a time. “We have donated a bus to a deaf and dumb school and run a trauma-care van to transport accident victims from the incident spot to nearby hospitals,” says Tessy.
A modern kitchen and a water treatment plant were installed at Maria Sadanam, a home for the differently- abled, which has 350 inmates. “During birthdays, wedding anniversaries and celebrations, we sponsor food for the inmates.” Under HOPE, their signature project, the club has set up a paediatric ward costing ₹15 lakh at Maria Sadanam. The club has performed over 1,000 cataract surgeries worth `1 crore which had benefitted mostly the elderly in the community.
