Most of the community projects of RC Malda Central, RID 3240, are done through member contributions, “as our main aim is to reach out to the underprivileged and the common man of this municipal town with a service motto,” says Abhijit Chowdhury, executive secretary of the club. English Bazar is 350km north of Kolkata, and is the headquarter town of Malda district which is dotted with remote, tribal villages.
The 22-year-old club is visible among the locals through its flagship Project Jaladhar (water booth), where members sponsor the drinking water kiosk in a municipal ward in memory of their late parents or relatives. “So far, we have set up two Jaladhar booths (₹1.2 lakh each), and this year the third water kiosk will come up in April. We select a proper location among the 29 wards of the Malda English Bazar Municipality on a needs basis,” says Chowdhury. About 500 people drink water from each Rotary booth in a day.
A series of new initiatives was taken up this year, boosting the club’s public image — a poster-making competition on the eve of World Literacy Day (Sep 8) saw over 70 school students displaying their art skills; two handwash stations (each ₹8,500) were installed at government primary schools; and Project Sharodiyo Sangati (festive unity) donated new garments for Durga Puja to 126 students from poor, tribal families at the Damdama Government Primary School, Aiho, a remote village 17km from English Bazar.
Since 2019, the club, under Project Sharod Sampriti (autumnal harmony), is donating new clothes to elders and destitute at Anubhab, an old age home, on Mahalaya, an auspicious day before Navratri. This year, they distributed clothes to around 30 inmates and served lunch to them. “While the puja garments were funded by the club, the food was sponsored by a member.” Project Vidya has benefitted over 2,000 students at 13–14 government primary schools in the last seven years. “This year, we gave school bags and study material including stationery, notebooks, drawing tools, geometry boxes etc to 113 underprivileged students,” says Chowdhury. All school-related projects like setting up the library, donating furniture and school uniforms are being done under Project Vidya.
A Smart Class (₹45,000) was set up with a digital screen and computer through a district grant at the Sailpur Junior High School for the first time. The digital classroom will benefit 450 students, says project chair Syed Imtiazur Rahman.
Paul Harris Rotary Sadan
With a glint of pride in his eyes, Chowdhury says, “we are the only club in Malda to have our own premises — the Paul Harris Rotary Sadan, a two-storey edifice built in 2014 at a cost of ₹25 lakh, totally funded by members.”
Now, the 6,000 sqft building on the banks of the Mahananda River, a tributary of the Ganges River, runs five vocational centres. In the last 10 years, tailoring (Satarupa), beautician (Rupashree) and yoga (Shape-up) courses have each turned out 400 skilled people. “We have introduced chess academy (checkmate) and theatre workshop (spotlight) now, each taking in 60 aspirants this year.”
As the club members push the ‘boundaries of service,’ their president Bipul Datta says, “we are not just following the traditional path of doing Rotary projects. We are turning modern ideas into meaningful action to uplift every corner of Malda. We are innovating to serve the rural communities and for over a decade, we have been empowering women through vocational training.”
In this Malda club with 46 members, there is good balance between young (35–40 years), senior (40–60) and super senior (above 70) Rotarians. “There is harmony among members, across age groups, with all of them involved in projects, for service is our credo,” says Rahman. Till now, the club has sponsored an Interact and a Rotaract club.