There are 45,000 Rotary clubs around the world, and it’s not

Rotary International has stated that irrespective of the US government’s intention to withdraw from the WHO, a partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), it remains “resolute in our mission to eradicate polio. As a founding partner of the GPEI, Rotary has for decades worked closely with GPEI partners, the US government, and other governments to end polio worldwide.” This effort has reduced the number of children paralysed by polio by 99.9 per cent since 1988. The global effort to eradicate polio has innovated many times over the years to come close to protecting every last child.

Stepping into leadership means more than overseeing your district. It means shaping the future of Rotary. You are the driving force that will steer Rotary through times of change and ensure its continued strength and relevance,” said Institute convenor and RI Director Anirudha Roychowdhury at the inaugural training session for DGEs and DGNs at the Kochi Zone Institute.

Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor held the participants of the Kochi Institute spellbound with his special brand of wit, charm, humour, his flawless English and faultless diction. Answering a volley of questions from past RI director A S Venkatesh, also known for his quick wit and repartee skills, the diplomat-turned-politician good naturedly and graciously accepted a couple of cheeky comments on his penchant for using “seven-syllable words”, diplomacy, politics and a brief stint as a stand-up comedian.

All of us are aware of the highly dangerous and troubled world we live in today. But the critical issue is that “most of us, particularly the leaders and intellectuals of the world, know what are the major problems of the world… illiteracy, poverty, crimes, wars and so on. And they also know the solutions. For illiteracy, you have to invest in education; it’s simple and not such a big deal. Only a week’s global military expenditure can help in educating all the children of the world… 200 million children who are out of school can go to schools with just seven days of global military expenditure,” said Nobel Peace Laureate ­Kailash Satyarthi, delivering the ­keynote address at a plenary of the Kochi Zone Institute.

The magic of Rotary doesn’t just happen among senior leaders. It happens where you are — in your clubs, in your communities, every time you act on an idea and change someone’s life. Thank you for all you do to create a better world,” RI President Stephanie Urchick said at the TRF seminar, prior to the Kochi Institute. Urging Rotarians to continue donating to TRF, she shared a couple of her experiences highlighting TRF’s role in transforming lives and communities.

While Indian Rotarians were doing a great job in attracting new members to Rotary, attrition continued to be a problem and the challenge was to address issues related to attrition in different forms, RI President Stephanie Urchick said in her inaugural address at the Kochi Zone Institute.

The next Rotary peace centre could come up either at the Symbiosis University in Pune or in Seoul, TRF Trustee Martha Helman, a member of RC Boothbay Harbor, US, told Rotary News in an interview at the Kochi Institute. She has been instrumental in getting the huge funding of $15 million from the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, which made possible TRF setting up its latest Rotary Peace Center in Istanbul, Turkey.

In a massive bid to address the huge problem of adult illiteracy in Madhya Pradesh, where the 2011 census put the number of adult illiterates at 1.07 crore, Rotarians across the state, led by RID 3040 (MP has four Rotary districts), have been working with the state government agencies addressing illiteracy.

Remember the good old song by Andy Williams that was so popular in the early 1960s?