Meet your Governors

A blood bank, two dialysis centres & membership his priority

Education, environment and disease prevention will be the three focus areas of the clubs spread across Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. “We are one of the largest districts in India and I have plans for the clubs to hold 2–3 health camps a month to benefit less privileged families, especially in rural areas,” says Rajesh K Chura. At present, there are 75 clubs with 3,000-plus Rotarians in the district and he is targetting a 10 per cent net growth in membership and clubs. “Skill development of women and other people from weaker sections will also be our thrust area of action this year.”

The district clubs will hold a number of fellowship events such as family get-together and entertainment shows to attract new members, he says. “We will publicise and create awareness about the global projects of TRF to enhance our public image in major cities and towns.” On the Rotaract front, Chura wants to introduce skill development courses for Rotaractors too. “There are around 1,000 Rotaractors and we want to register  a  10 per cent growth in this number.” He will be applying for a GG to set up two dialysis centres, one in Jodhpur and another in a major city in Rajasthan.

RC Alwar will be setting up a mega blood bank at a cost of ₹1 crore through a mix of GG and member contributions. For TRF giving, he is aiming at over $200,000 in Annual Fund alone.

Chura was inducted into Rotary during the installation of Shashi Mohan Mundhra as president of RC Bikaner in 2005.

From an Interactor to Governor

A strict disciplinarian, Anil Agarwal wants to shut down 10 clubs in his district “as they have less than 12 members and have not done any noteworthy projects in the last 3–4 years.” With 91 clubs and 3,900 Rotarians in the district, he hopes for a 10 per cent net growth in membership. “I will charter 20 new clubs in areas where Rotary is not present.” All the new clubs will have at least 25 charter members to do service projects, he says.

While 64 Rotaract clubs are there on paper, only 22 are active. “I want to triple the number of Rotaractors to 600, as youth power needs to be channellised and they should be under the guidance of Rotarians.” He has drafted seven areas of action for his clubs: blood donation and awareness camps; creating 15 micro forests, each 2,500 sq m, through an MoU with the state environment ministry; restoring 100 ponds; child immunisation and vaccination for cervical cancer; each club to adopt a less privileged colony for regular health camps; sponsoring the education of children from KG to PG; and a GG project to install 12 sanitary pad making units (₹1 crore) at SHGs. His target for TRF giving is $100,000 with thrust on endowment funds. A third generation Rotarian, Agarwal rose to the rank of a governor from being an Interactor. “I was forced to become a Rotarian by my friend Dr ­Avaneendra Agrawal. My father too had a role in my joining Rotary in 2005–06,” he recalls.

Health camps to benefit rural families

One of the challenges for Jinendra Jain is to retain the existing 2,700-plus Rotaractors in his district as “a large number of them may quit following the new rule of mandatory dues for Rotaract clubs. But I am confident of starting at least 20 new Rotaract clubs.” With 112 Rotary clubs and 2,800 Rotarians, he is hopeful of starting at least eight new clubs and getting a 20 per cent net membership growth in this year.

More than 50 eye donation camps will be held across the district and he will apply for a global grant to set up three dialysis centres ($100,000) in Madhya Pradesh. Over the last 10 years, the district clubs have done a series of multispecialty health camps in rural areas where mother and child care, diabetes screening and awareness on blood donation were taken up on a war-footing. “A mammography van from Amravati tours our district to screen vulnerable women for breast cancer. All clubs will be urged to do 2–3 health camps a month with focus on rural beneficiaries,” says Jain.

On TRF giving, he says, “it is a tough challenge to meet the target. But this year it will be not less than $130,000.” Inspired by his elder brother PDG Narendra Jain, he joined Rotary in 2012. “I am simply happy to be a Rotarian to serve the less privileged people. My aim is to enhance the public image of Rotary through programmes that impact the common man,” he says.

Mammography van is his dream project

The quality of Rotarians is more important than adding clubs in the district, says Dr Dushyant Choudhary who is content with the existing 130 Rotary clubs in his jurisdiction. “There are 3,600 Rotarians across parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the UTs of J&K and Ladakh. I am aiming for a 20–25 per cent membership growth in the existing clubs which should have at least 35-plus members in each club to take up noteworthy projects,” he says. He will also  work to achieve a 50 per cent growth in Rotaract membership which now stands at around 500 Rotaractors.

A Rotary eye hospital will come up in Jammu through a GG worth ₹1 crore. “My dream project is to launch a mammography van (GG: ₹90 lakh) as breast cancer is common in this part of the country. I am confident of getting this done before Jan 2023.” Another big plan is to install the Rotary logo at every city in the district to boost Rotary’s public image. “Every citizen should know about Rotary, what it stands for and its global achievements. My hope is that Rotary will be present in every nook and corner of my district, thus becoming a household name,” explains Dr Choudhary. His target for TRF giving is $300,000.

He joined Rotary as the charter president of RAC Government Medical College, Jammu, in 1997. A Level-1 Major Donor, he has ambitious plans to enhance the visibility of Rotary through mega events.