The residents of Ayyanar Street in Neyveli, Tamil Nadu, had a reason to rejoice when their once dark and dismal street lit up, thanks to the installation of solar street lamps by the Rotary Club of Neyveli Lignite City, RID 2981. This narrow street, comprising three lanes and lined with 34 dilapidated mud huts, is home primarily to elderly couples, with just two families having school-going children attending the local government school.

This was the first time in my life that I did Tirupati darshan without any Aadhaar card, PAN card or a security check and the experience was magical,” says an excited Mahaveer Bothra, DG of RID 3233. He is talking about the special darshan he had organised for 1,650 special children and their attenders soon after he took over as the newly carved district’s governor.

Inspiration can strike in the most unexpected places. For Jagannath Santra of RC Jamshedpur, RID 3250, it happened in the quiet halls of the National Archives of Singapore. “While I was there on work just before the Covid lockdown, I came across a photograph of a 1947 Rotary mobile dispensary donated by the Rotary Club of Singapore. It had once treated civilians injured during World War II, and supported vaccination drives. That image reminded me of Rotary’s legacy of humanitarian service,” he recalls.

For people battling kidney disease in the villages around Hubballi (Hubli), every dialysis session was a challenge, not just against the illness, but against distance and cost. The nearest dialysis centre was miles away, with unreliable transport options and cost that most could not afford. “Even today, there are just 4–5 dialysis centres in the area, and these facilities charge Rs.2,500 per session which is unaffordable for local farmers, labourers and daily wage earners. Many patients skipped treatment or stopped altogether, simply because they had no other choice,” says Binoy Momaya, past president of the Rotary Club of Hubli South, RID 3170. He was instrumental in setting up the Rotary Hubli South-Bhanji Khimji Lifeline Dialysis Centre within a multispecialty hospital in Hubballi, “to bring hope where there was none.”

The Rotary District 3141 ­Disability to Ability ­Avenue, along with RC ­Ghatkopar West, hosted the Women’s ­Wheelchair Basketball tournament at the YMCA Grounds in Ghatkopar.

If you visit Moradabad in western Uttar Pradesh, 175km from Delhi, the presence of the Rotary Wheel and the striking projects of the city’s Rotary clubs through buildings and parks impress you instantly. “There are 25 Rotary clubs and around 500 Rotarians in this brass city in RI District 3100,” says Regional Assistant Governor Prashant Singhal, a member of RC Moradabad East, the second oldest club in the city, celebrating its golden jubilee this year.

In a major initiative aimed at ­inclusiveness and to help the transgender community, a ­gender-neutral toilet complex, which can be accessed by all, including transgenders, has been constructed in ­Bengaluru by Rotary ­Bangalore Rajmahal Vilas, RI District 3192. Located opposite the ­Upparpete Police Station, near the Majestic KSRTC Bus Stand, the complex was inaugurated by RIDE K P Nagesh, who said he would like to replicate this initiative in other Rotary districts of India.

A chance visit to a tribal hamlet near Shahapur in Thane district, Maharashtra, by Nilesh Dhahifule, president, RC Thane ­Hiranandani Legends, RID 3142, along with two other club members, resulted in a one-day programme for 1,250 young children from 19 surrounding villages.

It was a rare opportunity put to good use by over 1,300 Interactors from RID 3201 as they interacted

Quite often, it comes naturally to women to find simple solutions to major problems. This has been proved once again by members of the all-women Rotary Club of Dindigul Queencity, RID 3000, Tamil Nadu. In a remarkable act of community service, these women Rotarians have placed three open cupboards filled with clothes for women and children at the Dindigul Government Hospital (two) and the Rotary Hall in the city. These cupboards offer free, round-the-clock access to used clothing for those in need. “Ours is an all-women’s club and we felt that if we allow the choice to the women to select the clothes they want, and without their being supervised, it would give them a lot more dignity, than somebody handing out the clothes to them,” says club member Aarthy Mukesh, who edits the club’s bulletin.