Think long-term, beyond your year

One of the privileges I have is the opportunity to meet and interact with several Rotarians from around our region. During my interactions, the one thing that stands out is that the vision of club leaders rarely goes beyond one year.

We tend to look at projects that can be conceived and executed in one year. This, while undermining our collective ability, also limits our impact. Eradication of polio would not have been possible if it had been a short-term objective. Our fundraising plans, project ideas and the difference they can make are all limited by our reluctance to think long-term. Are we satisfied with paying school fees of a few deserving children or can we dream of constructing a school for such underprivileged children? Are we going to fund the cost of a heart surgery or can we plan to construct a hospital ward?

These are some of the thoughts that I want each one of you to ponder over. The key to unlocking our full potential lies in our willingness to think long-term. Our President Jennifer Jones has urged us to Imagine Rotary. We imagine things that aren’t there presently! To be able to imagine something more impactful might mean a few fundamental changes to our thought process. To start with, we need to look beyond a year. Secondly, our vision should not be restricted to the resources we have with us at present. As is said, you find the cause, means will follow. Thirdly, we should be ready to collaborate with other organisations, maybe other Rotary clubs too.

You can imagine the difference we, as an organisation, can make, if all the clubs in our region adopt this. Rotary’s visibility will also be much higher, probably resulting in more people wanting to be a part of us. Let us shed our inhibitions and apprehensions and start imagining big. The time to be bold is now. I am sure we can.

A S Venkatesh
RI Director, 2021–23