Amid the sea of protests across the country over the savage rape and murder of a young intern doctor at the RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata, Rotary Club of Calcutta Mahanagar, RID 3291, honoured nine women achievers with Shakti Samman Awards. “What has happened in Kolkata is against our culture as our sanskriti (Indian tradition) worships Goddess Shakti. Ahead of Durga puja, the nine-day festival where the nine avatars of the goddess are worshipped each day, we want to create a positive, vibrant mood for Navratri by hosting the Nav Shakti event,” said club president Pramila Dugar.

The autobiography of PRIP Rajendra Saboo, titled My Life’s Journey: A Personal Memoir, was released on his 90th birthday in Chandigarh by former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court S S Sodhi.

Students from the Interact Club of Sushila Devi Lakshmi Girls Senior Secondary School, sponsored by RC Delhi North, RID 3012, participated in the National Leaders Homage Programme in Parliament.

The Rotary E-Club of Empowering Youth, RID 3132, undertook literacy initiatives in August, benefiting the 25 night schools in Ahmednagar. Night schools serve as a vital resource for young adults who, despite financial constraints, are determined to pursue education while working to support themselves. The students, aged around 25–28, manage a delicate balance between daytime labour and nighttime learning, says Bindu Shirsath, the project coordinator. These schools typically operate for two hours every evening, with each accommodating around 100 students.

The occurrence of two Vaccine Derived Polio (VDPV) cases in India has alarmed all of us. India has been free of the wild polio virus (WPV) since January 14, 2011. The two WPV-endemic countries in the world are Pakistan with 17 cases and Afghanistan with 18 cases to date.

Interact clubs in RID 3090 has grown from seven to 382 in three years from 2021 and here is how we did it. I started my Interact chairmanship of the district on July 1, 2021, and served for three years until June 2024. The invaluable support of 125 Rotary clubs gave a gigantic boost taking the count to 382 in the three years, making RID 3090 rank third in India and fourth in South Asia.

In just 45 minutes, Rotary Club of Pune Central, RID 3131, garnered an impressive commitment for Rs.1.2 crore from its 118 members during its annual ‘Spirit of Giving’ event. This unique fundraising festival, now a staple of the 40-year-old club, draws contributions each year to support its various service projects.

In an interesting initiative, Rotary India Literacy Mission (RILM) has launched a motivating programme for prison inmates in West Bengal through a comprehensive literacy project. “Thanks to the initiative and help from my friend Imran Zaki, an eminent social worker in Kolkata and Sanjay Singh, ADG, ­Correctional Homes, West Bengal, RILM has been able to give the gift of literacy to about 800 prison inmates from eight correctional homes in West Bengal through our adult ­literacy programme,” says past RI President ­Shekhar Mehta.

Ophthalmologists in Nigeria will now take ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) seriously, thanks to a team of eyecare experts undergoing a vocational training programme (VTT) at Radhatri ­Nethralaya, an eye hospital in Chennai.

On July 1 this year, RC Thane Ghodbunder Road, RID 3142, launched Project Annapurna at the St Jude Childcare Centre in Parel, Mumbai, to provide nutritional support to 100 children undergoing cancer treatment at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. “We aim to provide nourishing diet packs to 100 families with children battling cancer every week for the entire year,” said project coordinator Shankar Bhagat. Each carefully curated pack costs Rs.500 and the total project cost is estimated at Rs.26 lakh. The initiative will benefit less privileged children undergoing treatment at the Tata Memorial Hospital and staying at all the 20 St Jude centres across Mumbai.