Embrace change to be relevant

Rotarians must be flexible to change with the evolving times to stay relevant and sustain growth, said TRF trustee Bharat Pandya at the installation of N S Saravanan as the DG of the new district 3234 in Chennai.

“All the 525 RI districts and 37,000 Rotary clubs in the world have a leadership change on July 1 every year to keep up with the times. The charter governor has a big responsibility to set up new goal posts and benchmarks for this new district,” he added.

Urging the new DG to focus on making the clubs vibrant through member engagement, DEI (diversity, equity and inclusivity) policies, and projects empowering women, Pandya noted that 30 per cent of the district team is women, and “Saravanan must follow the 3Cs — commitment, competence and courage — to steer his district on the right path.” Instead of resting on the glorious past of RID 3232, “you should work as if the best work is yet to be done.” Clearer minds and dirtier fingernails are needed to achieve big in Rotary, he said. “It is not enough to just give money, please also put in time and effort to participate in Rotary activities,” he advised.

Each club should take up at least one impactful project. “TRF is our window to the outside world,” said Pandya, requesting Rotarians to donate liberally to the Foundation.

It is not enough to just give money, please also put in time and effort to participate in Rotary activities.
— Bharat Pandya, TRF Trustee

When Barry Rassin as TRF chair visited the SRCC Children’s Hospital, Mumbai, to see paediatric heart surgery patients, “we saw their parents whose eyes were filled with anxiety and hope. Out of 4,500 paediatric heart surgeries done at this hospital over the last seven years, 4,200 of them were through TRF’s global grants,” Pandya said.

PRID A S Venkatesh, district mentor, advised the new DG thus: “Rotary is very addictive, hence don’t neglect your health which is your first priority. Also, don’t lose your composure if somebody does not match up to your expectations, for we are a voluntary body. ” He recalled his long friendship with Saravanan who has “a good sense of humour, and is an effective planner with innovative ideas.”

100 bio-toilets

Following a lead from the district WASH team, RID 3234 clubs will be installing 100 bio-toilets at a cost of ₹2.3 crore at traffic signals and busy junctions across Chennai for the traffic personnel who work more than 10 hours a day in harsh conditions. ACP (traffic) R Sudhakar launched the pilot project and said he wanted Rotary to partner with the Greater Chennai Traffic Police in projects aimed to prevent road fatalities in the city.

The joy of being a Rotarian is amazing as “we are loved and welcomed by all,” said DG Saravanan, recalling the day in July 2000 when he was inducted into Rotary, thanks to a business customer Ramdas Iyer (past president). Over the years, the DG became a good friend of PDG J Sridhar, and climbed up the learning curve when J B Kamdar was governor.

The DG said one of his focus areas is “holding screening camps and awareness events to put the spotlight on cervical and breast cancer in women.” Stressing on the need to involve and engage every single Rotarian, Saravanan noted only 20 per cent of Rotarians contribute to TRF. “We are starting a piggy bank so that each Rotarian donates ₹30 a day, to make the total $100 a year for TRF under the Magic 30 initiative. Similarly, piggy boxes (hundis) will be put up at Interact schools to encourage students to save in multiples of ₹100 for the Polio Fund under Magic 100,” he said.

Saravanan called upon members to celebrate being in Rotary through fellowship and service. He was presented with Avenues of Service Award by RI on the occasion. PDGs Sridhar, Kamdar, DGE Vinod Saraogi and DGN Suresh Jain felicitated the DG. District counsellor PDG Abirami Ramanathan has committed to give an additional $150,000 for TRF. Till now, he has given over $570,000, and in the next 3–4 years, “my total contribution will touch $1 million,” he said.

The DG and his wife Bharati are Major Donors, Level-2. There are 3,700 Rotarians across 102 clubs in RID 3234, and “I will add at least 500 new members to the existing clubs during my term,” he told Rotary News.

Pictures by V Muthukumaran