Whether it is enhancing farmers’ income in tribal villages, ­providing wells in villages where women earlier had to walk across several km to carry water over their heads, giving modern ­educational aids to children in rural schools, or organising group ­weddings for ­Adivasis, the Rotary Club of Bombay Bay View, RID 3141, has done it all.

Just as I was reading a tweet from industrialist Anand Mahindra about an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-induced technology which can detect breast cancer some five years before it develops, commenting that “if this is accurate then AI is going to be of ­significantly more value to us than we imagined and much earlier than we had imagined”, came an email from the Rotary Club of Bangalore ­Lakeside, RID 3191, about a strikingly similar initiative.

In Nagesh we have a winner — 1,725 new members, 52 new clubs, 160 Rotaract clubs and a contribution of $2.2 million to TRF — incredible,” said PRIP K R Ravindran, addressing a meet organised by RIDs 3191 and 3192 to felicitate incoming RI directors K P Nagesh and M Muruganandam in Bengaluru. He was recalling RIDE Nagesh’s record-­making feat as DG of RID 3190 in 2015–16. ­Ravindran was the RI president during that year when the district topped the world in membership and TRF-giving.

The first death anniversary of its club member and past district governor (RID 3232) Rekha Shetty was commemorated by the Rotary Club of Madras Temple City through a fitting Awards Night. At this dignified and well-conducted event, the PDG Rekha Shetty Memorial Award was presented to two young women achievers — Umamaheswari K and Saraniya Periaswamy of Agnikul Cosmos, who were instrumental in helping the first private sector company in India to successfully launch a rocket.

When Madhura Zaware, president of the Rotary Club of Ahmednagar Mid Town, RID 3132, read a book titled America, written by the Marathi writer Anil Avchat, about a unique project done in the US to facilitate the rehabilitation of Vietnam Veterans, it left a deep impression on her mind. It described how the war veterans were kept in close proximity to horses for mental stability. The honest, genuine and unpretentious love of animals gave them mental healing.

How will you make your club “irresistible” to your members, and foster a “sense of belonging” in them? This is my challenge to you,” said incoming RI President Stephanie Urchick, while addressing a general session at the RI Convention in Singapore.

One Indian club’s passion for water conservation and improving the income of Indian farmers has ensured that The Rotary Foundation’s next Programs of Scale grant worth $2 million for this year has been awarded for Indian farming, as announced by TRF chair Barry Rassin at the RI Convention in Singapore. The application for this grant was made by the Rotary Club of Delhi Premier, RID 3011, which has been working over two decades in the area of water conservation, ­restoration of water bodies and building of check dams in some of the most parched regions of India.

Reflecting the troubled and conflict-ridden times we live in, the one strong message that came out of the Rotary International Convention in Singapore pertained to peace, women’s empowerment and mental health. Addressing the opening session, RI President Gordon McInally struck a poignant and sombre note when he said, “All of us know, peace has been on the minds of the world this past year — and remains on the forefront of Rotary’s mission.” Quoting the Scottish poet Robert Burns, he said this was the time people of the world, particularly Rotarians, came together to use “our common humanity and our shared desire to build a more peaceful and compassionate world, especially in the times of greatest peril. World peace is a perilous, difficult journey, and we are experiencing some trying moments right now. The troubles of the world affect us deeply, because we have friends, and sometimes family and neighbours, experiencing the heartbreak of destruction and loss.”

Now is the time for Rotarians to take action, “to move and make a commitment to increase membership, share ideas and impactful stories in their neighbourhoods, on social media to show the world the magic of Rotary,” said RIPE Stephanie Urchick.