Promoting Interact in RID 3090
Monica Singh’s artwork titled ‘Incredible India’ won the Rotary Painting Competition Award in her class. “I wanted to bring out the extent of our country’s progress. We have advanced in many areas, especially space research which is my favourite topic, so I highlighted ISRO in my painting,” says the Class 12 student of the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Patiala, Punjab.
Around 532 government school students, including 20 Interactors, participated in the competition organised by RID 3090 Interact Committee led by its chair Manik Raj Singla. The event, sponsored by Vardhman Hospital, Patiala, and supported by five Rotary clubs in the city, was conducted class-wise, including the kindergarten sections. Each class had a theme and the topics were given on the spot. All participants received certificates while winners were given trophies and a gift hamper. DGE Ghanshyam Kansal distributed the prizes.
“This was an opportunity for government school students to showcase their talent and enjoy a morning of art,” says Singla, adding that the regular school curriculum has “little or no place for extracurricular activities. We wanted to break the monotony and give them a platform to express their creativity and have fun.” The organising team provided art material to students who couldn’t afford them. Omkar Saini of Class 3 at Our Lady Fatima School is “very happy that I don’t have to return the box of crayons that my class teacher gave me. I can take it home and colour whenever I want.”
The judges were amazed by the children’s creativity. Says Ranjit Kaur, a judge: “The ideas they brought to life on paper with just a few colours were mind-blowing. Even a Class 2 student’s submission was brilliant in colour scheme and concept. More such events must be organised for them to stimulate their creativity and help them realise their full potential.”
The committee has been organising various events for Interactors and their schoolmates. “We want more students to join Interact. It is the perfect platform for them to learn new skills and help their community while enjoying the Interact experience. Through this association, hopefully some of these children would want to be part of Rotaract and even Rotary in the future,” he says.
Recently 467 students from 20 government schools were trained to compete at the Rotary Public Speaking contest. The Rotary Spell Bee Competition saw 1,032 students from 18 schools.
