Rajiv Bhalla, past president of RC Ranipur, RID 3080, expresses immense joy and pride as he reflects on a programme which “began by chance and  has given new life to over 1,000 people who were suffering from burn injuries.” Since 2008, the club has been organising an annual camp to treat the physical and mental scars of burn survivors.

With focus on screening and testing patients for tuberculosis, RC Rasipuram, RID 2982, has donated a molecular testing machine to the Government Hospital, a fluorescent microscope to GH, Namakkal, and a microscope each to 10 primary health centres in and around Rasipuram to enhance the TB testing facilities through a global grant project worth `27.4 lakh. Rasipuram is a town in the revenue district of Namakkal in Tamil Nadu.

RC Gandhinagar’s novel project in farming has benefited 60,000 children. They learn about the relationship between agriculture and environment, farm animals and different crop patterns. Parents buy farm produce at reasonable prices and the farmers benefit as ­brokers are eliminated. An ideal project.

Google co-founder Larry Page once said, “You never lose a dream, it just incubates as a hobby,” and that’s exactly what happens to people who pursue a sustainable lifestyle. Just like their lives, their hobbies are also inspired by a desire not to harm the planet, to do things in their free time that do not tax the earth nor leave a carbon footprint. You could call it the art of engaging with the finer, subtler and sometimes mundane side without feeling guilty.

When past present of the Rotary Club of ­Bharuch, RID 3060, Rizwana Zamindar set out on her ambitious goal of bringing both dignity and financial independence through a socially accepted vocation to a group of sex workers in the cities of ­Bharuch and Ankleshwar, she was driven by a single mantra. That was “how do we create hope through the magic of Rotary to ensure a life of dignity and respect for all women, for after all this is the basic right of every human being.”

Life can be full of surprises and some of these can even turn out to be very pleasant ones. Last month at Geneva airport when I handed over my passport to the immigration officer, he started speaking in fluent Hindi. When I asked him how come, he said he had spent many years in ­Hindustan. From his accent I could say he was from Afghanistan. But I didn’t ask because that would have been rude. His friendliness was in stark contrast to the usually grim ways of immigration officials. It reflects the unfriendly immigration policies of all governments.