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Disability Warriors

Padharo Mhaare Des

Jaipur is the much loved capital of India’s largest and most colorful state. It is also the main gateway

of the splendour and magic of Rajasthan.

This heritage city, popularly known as the Pink City, is an epitome of meticulous planning.

Majestic forts and palaces dominate the skyline and yet, it is the bazaars in the old city, that create Jaipur’s unique energy, providing a special shopping experience.

The city’s heritage status and proximity to the national capital New Delhi have attracted people from

far and wide. Mainly known for its innumerable sagas of valour, culture and heritage, it provdes an aristocratic treat for tourists. There is something in the atmos-phere of Jaipur that brings joy and delight and the genuine hos-pitality of the people wins hearts.

From sunset-pink walls, buildings and temples, all the corners of this city seem to be humming the famous folk song

‘Padharo Mhaare Des.’ Which is why we’ve chosen this as our theme. We are sure that the warmth of this city will mesmerise our guests as we walk them through an overwhelming experience.

Registration Details:

Upto October 31, 2015 INR 20,000 (Couple) INR 14,000 (Single) Nov 1, 2015 till D Day INR 22,000 (Couple) INR 16,000 (Single)

Amount to be paid in favour of JAIPUR ROTARY INSTITUTE 2015 payable at JAIPUR

Online Transfer Details

On-line transfer of funds can be made to the Rotary Institute account from any bank in India. Please find below the details required for the transfer.

IFSC Code : HDFC0000987 Name of the Account : Jaipur Rotary Institute 2015Account Number : 50100063848862 Branch : HDFC Bank, Mansarovar, Jaipur PAN No. : AABAJ8796J

PDG Dr Ashok Gupta & Vijaya Chairman-Rotary Jaipur Institute 2015

K R Ravindran & VanathyRI President 2015–16

RID Dr Manoj Desai & SharmishthaConvener, Rotary Jaipur Institute 2015

Contents

12 Spinal cord injury warriors Shaking off the shackles of paralysis, disability and discomfort, these people are helping others, and smiling too!

32 Vintage Rotarians No chequebook charity for him: Rtn S L Chitale of RC Madras has been in the forefront of colossal work done for immunising chil-dren against measles and polio.

19 Meet your Governors Meet the DGs of D 3110, 3100, 3060, 3150, 3040, 3180 and 3053

64 Travel: Swiss Delights

On the cover: Manoj with his father Vijay Kumar and sister Divya. Picture: Rasheeda Bhagat

52 Enjoy a meal … end polio

22 RI Director visits D 3080

28 All set for Seoul A sneak peek into what Seoul holds out for you as you set foot on the Korean capital for the Rotary convention.

42 A Happy School Model RID Manoj Desai visits some of Rotary’s Happy Schools around Ahmedabad.

43 Lighting up lives D 3140 lights up tribal hamlets around Mumbai with solar lamps.

44 Oliver Sacks The celebrated neurologist shows us an approach that views life as a welcome gift rather than bemoaning death as a medical failure.

46 Girls rule the roost The colleges run by ROFEL are quietly changing educational, healthcare and agri scene in and around Vapi.

54 A mother’s dream accomplishedRotary Maya Devi Hospital is the lifeline for the people living in the rural areas of Muzzafarnagar.

57 Microcredit to the rescue Rotary Club Bhatkal brings cheer to women through its microcredit schemes.

62 The media over the years With the advent of social media, have “professional journalists” become a dying breed?

Rtn Susanne Rea raises funds through the World’s Greatest Meal for Rotary’s End Polio initiatives.

4 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

LETTERS

Rotary’s public image

I am a Rotarian since last 26 years, all these years I have been receiving

Rotary News magazine regularly. The arti-cles are informative and knowledgeable. I compiled last year’s copies and gifted them to the main library in our town. By reading our magazine people will under-stand Rotary and the service done by us and Rotary’s public image will improve. I request all Rotarians to give their copies to public libraries after reading the magazine.

Rtn T M Nazimuddin RC Thalassery-D 3202

Stitching up dreams is an excellent arti-cle on the efforts of Shamlu Dudeja.

Rotary clubs should organise a show to revive dying skills of traditional Indian craftsmen in textiles, pottery, etc, which can employ large numbers. Lijjat Papad was also started by Chagan Bapa in Gujarat to give employment to widows.

Rtn T D Bhatia RC Delhi Mayur Vihar-D 3012

People’s President

I saw the cover page of Rotary News in Lavasa at TRF Think-tank with Trustee Chair-elect Kalyan Banerjee.

I am since trying to coin a right word to compliment you for the homage you have paid on behalf of 1.23 million Rotarians to one of the greatest statesmen our world has ever seen; our late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. He was not a Rotarian by membership, but he was a true Rotarian in deed. I am sure Rotarians across the globe and 1.3 lakh members in India will

be happy to see this issue, with an interesting tribute. May he continue to be the guiding force for all Rotarians, as we ‘Do Good in the World.’

PDG Anil Agarwal, RI District 3052

Thanks for this issue. The excellent article by Jaya Indiresan, narrating her experience with the great man were worth reading. A few months

before his demise, TVS School students at Madurai were fortunate to have him for an hour-long interaction. It was amazing to observe his simplicity and love for children. Dr Kalam’s unparalleled inventive brilliance, smiling humility, innovative mind and simple outlook, made him a ‘People’s President’ as you call him on the cover. In Dr Kalam’s demise, India has lost a priceless jewel. The void in the world of space science and Indian hearts can never be filled. Thank you for publishing ‘The Pride of India’ award, presented to me by CIPS, New Delhi.

Rtn R Srinivasan, RC Madurai Midtown-D 3000

from you how to develop a real story, make it meaningful and touching to hearts by personal interactions, rather than narration with data. This art of journalism will help us improve our public image.

PDG Ashok Panjwani RI District 3060

I am enthralled by the article, On a mis-sion to give dignity to teenage girls in

September issue. My sincere wishes to the all-women team of RC Karur Angels. The article Where the chemistry is right, reminded me of a quote of our belated president Dr Kalam, ‘Always think big.’ I hope this Institute will blossom in the most professional and ethical way to give our students a bright and successful future.

Rtn Neelendra Airan RC Chandausi Poorvanchal-D 3100

It was a pleasure to read the article, Largest Rotary Club outside USA in

the September issue. Congratulations to PDG Sam Movva for transforming RC Vijayawada Midtown and taking up its membership to 450 in 2015, and doing need-based service projects.

Rtn Dr Sudam Basa RC Bhubaneswar-D 3262

PDG Sam’s touching line caught my eye. “I can never ever repay the kind

of debt I owe to this organisation. I have met some great and outstanding people. Rotary has opened doors that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise and helped me to see so much of the world.” I believe this is one of the best reasons for joining Rotary and new members may be inspired.

N Jagatheesan RC Eluru-D 3020

Club culture

TCA Srinivasa-Raghavan’s story on Clubs made me think of the days

when British culture and way of life influenced us. I Say, Old Boy, Jolly Good, Check double Check were British expressions, and bridge and billiards with chosen beverages and cigars were the hallmark of sophistication. Rendez-vous of the rich and famous took place in solemn and exclusive ambience. Slowly the clubs degenerated into gam-bling and drinking places. But there are

Literacy Focus

In the August issue, Literacy Focus by PRID Shekhar Mehta, Chairman

of RILM, motivates Rotarians who are dreaming to make India totally literate by 2018.

Rtn Milan Kumar Agarwalla RC Angul-D3262

Thank you for featuring Chocolates and beer at American farms, the

VTT programme in the September issue, explaining our team’s visit (D 3170) to USA (D 7360). We now have the added responsibility to disseminate the knowl-edge gained.

Rtn Dr Gaurish Padukone RC Bhatkal-D 3170

Right chemistry

Rotarians of RC Ankleshwar, stu-dents, faculty members of SRICT and

I extend our profound thanks for the excel-lent coverage on our project Shroff S R Rotary Institute of Chemical Technology (SRICT) in the September issue. I can learn

We welcome your feedback. Write to the Editor:rotarynews@rosaonline.org; rushbhagat@gmail.com

LETTERS

exceptions. Life is a combination of good, bad and ugly.

PDG JV Reddy RI District 3160

When Britishers left India, they left behind four things: Indian Rail-

ways, English language, cricket and club. This is a fine article, but no article on clubs can be complete without Calcutta Clubs.

Rtn Harjit Singh Khurana RC Ludhiana-D 3070

The article on clubs is not Rotary news. Commendable social work done by

many Rotary clubs in India, impacting lives and bringing positive results could have been published in the space that you have given to this article.

Rtn Dip Ghosh RC Bangalore Cantonment-D 3190

Acche din with Ravindran

Rotary is going to be rejuvenated. Congratulations to RI President K R

Ravindran for his stand on Rotary poli-tics, which has killed Rotary idealism and restricted its growth. By taking stern action against erring leaders, you give us hope. We sincerely need an action-packed leader at the helm; you shall not become unpopular but would be remembered as a reformer. We are with you.

Rtn Nasir Borsadwala RC Kolhapur Midtown-D 3170

The RI President’s message was mind-blowing.Through a short story of

a woodcutter he explains how to work smarter. He asks: “How can we add more value to Rotary membership, so that more will join and fewer will leave?” Superb.

Rtn S SivasubramaniannRC Tirunelveli Venuvanam-D 3212

The article on Greener Rotary by RID Manoj Desai was very impressive.

Insistence on growth of clubs, both quan-titatively and qualitatively, along with growth in funds at TRF, is correct. This article will guide all present and future office bearers of Rotary clubs to perform his/her duty efficiently.

Rtn T S Chelliah RC Tirunelveli West-D 3212

Amazing issue

I just read the September issue of the Rotary News, from page to page and was amazed.

This was definitely the best issue since the time of PDG BN Hosali, and also your best. I feel it’s time our RI magazine looks to Rotary News for inspiring news and great moments in Rotary services. Continue and give your best. At 79, I can say I am proud of you.

Rtn Madhu NarangRC Bombay West-D 3140

I’m reading Rotary News for the past 17 years. It’s great you are bringing out inspiring articles like No Politics Please and Young India

enthralls Ravindran. His six lessons given to the students were great. Well done Editor Rasheeda and Assistant Editor Jaishree!

Rtn S Natarajan, RC Koothapakkam-D 2981

The magazine and its Editor deserve compliments for making it more useful, meaningful and attractive by adding innovations

and featuring many service projects. Articles on ‘Asha Kiran’ and ‘Nation Builder Award,’ brief coverage of many club activities, Meet your Governors, and message from innovative RI President Ravindran and RID Manoj Desai about youth, are all very interesting, and give us more value.

Rtn Ashvin Patel, RC Gandevi-D 3060

The September issue of Rotary News provided delightful reading to travel bugs in the article Vibrant Vienna by the Editor. Thanks for

maintaining the flavour of a travelogue and resisting the temptation to include Rotary clubs in Vienna. Very refreshing. Such articles are sure to attract non-Rotarian readers.

Rtn Sujata Srinivasan, RC Cuddalore Central-D 2981

The article Hard-won lessons, in the August issue was very timely and should be read — especially the boxed check list — by

all Rotarians. The example of the women in Guatemala showed how surprising some of the results are. I see several good projects disappearing without a trace at the end of every Rotary year because these points are not taken care of. As president of a club, I had to face the embarrassment of not being able to reply to repeated e-mails from the president of a club that had partnered ours on a major project several years earlier. This because no one in our club was able to give any data or say whether it was a success or a failure. I hope there will be more such reports instead of only the rosy picture of a successful project.

Rtn Dr T Sudhakar Bhat, RC Sullia-D 3180

Governors’ Council

RI Dist 2981 DG Dr Gunasekaran Chinnathambi

RI Dist 2982 DG R Vasu

RI Dist 3000 DG R Theenachandran

RI Dist 3011 DG Sudhir Mangla

RI Dist 3012 DG Jitender Kumar Gaur

RI Dist 3020 DG M Jagadeeswara Rao

RI Dist 3030 DG Dr Nikhil Arvind Kibe

RI Dist 3040 DG Sanjeev Gupta

RI Dist 3051 DG C A Lalit Sharma

RI Dist 3052 DG Pradhuman Kumar Patni

RI Dist 3053 DG Anil Beniwal

RI Dist 3060 DG Parag Sheth

RI Dist 3070 DG Kuldip Kumar Dhir

RI Dist 3080 DG David Joseph Hilton

RI Dist 3090 DG Dharam Vir Garg

RI Dist 3100 DG Suneel Kumar Gupta

RI Dist 3110 DG Sharat Chandra

RI Dist 3120 DG Ved Prakash

RI Dist 3131 DG Subodh Mukund Joshi

RI Dist 3132 DG Dr Deepak Prabhakar Pophale

RI Dist 3140 DG Subhash Kulkarni

RI Dist 3150 DG Gopinath Reddy Vedire

RI Dist 3160 DG Dr Gautam R Jahagirdar

RI Dist 3170 DG Shrinivas Ramkrishna Malu

RI Dist 3180 DG Dr A Bharathesh

RI Dist 3190 DG K P Nagesh

RI Dist 3201 DG Kamlesh V Raheja

RI Dist 3202 DG George Sundararaj

RI Dist 3211 DG C Luke

RI Dist 3212 DG J Navamani

RI Dist 3230 DG C R Raju

RI Dist 3240 DG Chandu Kumar Agarwal

RI Dist 3250 DG Dr Bindu Singh

RI Dist 3261 DG Rakesh Dave

RI Dist 3262 DG Sibabrata Dash

RI Dist 3291 DG Jhulan Basu

Send all correspondence and subscriptions to

ROTARY NEWS TRUST3rd Floor, Dugar Towers, 34 Marshalls Road Egmore, Chennai 600 008, India.Phone : 044 42145666e-mail : rotarynews@rosaonline.orgWebsite : www.rotarynewsonline.org

Board of Permanent Trustees

PRIP Rajendra K Saboo RI Dist 3080

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee RI Dist 3060

PRID Sudarshan Agarwal RI Dist 3011

PRID Panduranga Setty RI Dist 3190

PRID Sushil Gupta RI Dist 3011

PRID Ashok Mahajan RI Dist 3140

PRID Yash Pal Das RI Dist 3080

PRID Shekhar Mehta RI Dist 3291

PRID P T Prabhakhar RI Dist 3230

RID Dr Manoj D Desai RI Dist 3060

DG Sudhir Mangla RI Dist 3011

DG Subodh Mukund Joshi RI Dist 3131

DG Dr Gautam R Jahagirdar RI Dist 3160

DG C R Raju RI Dist 3230

DG Chandu Kumar Agarwal RI Dist 3240

ROTARY NEWSROTARY SAMACHAR

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE(In addition to Board of Permanent Trustees)

EditorRasheeda Bhagat

Senior Assistant EditorJaishree Padmanabhan

Trustees list.indd 6 9/28/2015 4:35:10 PM

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 7

From the Ed i tor ’ s Desk

Whining comes easily to most of us … the more blessed we are in terms of good health, financial resources,

family support, the more we whine and complain about what we do not have — a better car, a bigger house, a glitzier gizmo or designer wear donned by celebrities.

So it came as a breath of fresh air in the last few weeks to meet two very different sets of people who have all the cause in the world to grumble and be grumpy, but I found them smiling, cheerful and full of “mental stamina” to take on more challenges. The first set is featured in the cover story of Rotary News this month; Manoj a chirpy boy of 11, who while playing near a deep and unsecured ditch dug up to put in power cables for the new Secretariat building in Chennai, fell into it and became paralysed neck down. He was only five then, and being the son of an auto rickshaw driver with modest means, was shunted for weeks from one government hospital to another, one department to another, with zero treatment. But today, despite living in a little hole in the wall — 80 sq ft — home in a Chennai slum, he is always smiling, goes to a good school, loves Harry Potter books and plays cricket from his wheelchair. But above all, he is probably one of the youngest counsellors ever of disability. Manoj has already motivated 16 children with spinal cord injury to return to school. He and his parents visit such children at rehab centres, give them hope and motivate them to go back to school. Isn’t this Rotary’s Asha Kiran in a different and perhaps more exalted form? Others also covered in the story — Justin Jesudas, a brilliant IT professional, who was cruelly paralysed from neck downwards thanks to mishandling by paramedics while being shifted to the hospital after a road accident — bowls me over by his one line: “Instead of focusing on my disability,

I started focusing on what I could do.” The result was that though he can’t use his fingers, he now drives his own car through adaptations done with YouTube gyan, does his own shopping at malls, has taught himself to swim, and won gold medals in swimming from State, national and international competitions! Two years ago, S Vaidyanathan, an IIM graduate and a brilliant financial analyst, gave up a well paying corporate job to educate and help other spinal cord injury patients. There is no moaning or groaning about their plight. They are positive, smile a lot and constantly challenge themselves to do more.

Move over to the college run by the Rotary Foundation for Education and Learning in Vapi, Gujarat, and I found there students from poorer, backward and tribal areas, many of them first generation learners. They attend their college shift, work very hard to catch up with students from more fortunate homes and hence obviously a stronger educational foundation, work part time either selling vegetables, working on their farms, or in offices. Forget pocket money that my and your children tend to blow up in no time, their earnings of Rs 2,000 or 3,000 through their part-time work goes to supplement the family income. The few girls I meet, talk to me with not only confidence, but also cheer. In these parts, and in such families, girls do not automatically get the opportunity for higher education. Rather than being a given, it is a bonus. They know this and I found them celebrating this privilege, not with band-baja or any shoo-sha, but quietly. Look closely, and you will find their smiles, captured in this issue, transmitting their story!

Rasheeda Bhagat

How to smile … and win

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

Last month, after confirming a full year without a single case of wild poliovirus, Nigeria was removed from the list of the world’s polio-endemic countries. It was the last polio-endemic country in Africa. Today, only two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan — harbour the world’s final reservoir of endemic poliovirus. As this issue of The Rotarian goes to press, global cases of polio in 2015 number only a few dozen.

The scale of this achievement can hardly be overstated. Polio has existed for millennia; it has plagued humanity since our earliest civilisations. Today, because of Rotary’s work and that of our partners, the end is in sight. We are counting down not in years, but in months.

And yet, our success is as fragile as it is monumental. We are moving forward, slowly, steadily, inexorably — thanks to colossal efforts that never cease. We continue to vaccinate hundreds of millions of children in vast syn-chronised campaigns; we constantly monitor environments to prevent new outbreaks. The sheer scale of the effort — the coordination, the cost and the commitment — boggles the mind.

Some ask why such high levels of immunisation and surveillance are still needed to combat a disease that is almost gone. The answer is simple: It is the only way forward. If we did anything less — if we allowed the virus any quarter — years of work would be undone. We know too well how easily polio could spread again. We know how quickly our decades of progress could be lost. And this is why the months ahead are so tremendously important. We need your voice — to raise awareness, to raise funds and to keep the momen-tum going. We need your strength to help fight this war until we have won.

On 24 October, we mark World Polio Day. I hope that on that day, all of you will take part in some way in our work to eradicate polio. I know that many of you intend to publicise this event on the club or district level; for those who have not yet made plans, there are still many ways to participate. Visit endpolionow.org for ideas, tools, sample press releases and ways to donate. You’ll also find the link to our livestream event; be sure to join in, and share it on social media.

This war of ours — which started as a war against polio but is also a war against hatred, against ignorance, against fear — this war will be won. It will be won soon. And when it is won, all of Rotary will have a story to tell — to the children, and the grandchildren, who will never see a leg brace or an iron lung, or know a world with polio in it.

Whether you are a Rotarian in Kano or Peshawar or Swat, in Seoul or Madrid or Chicago — you are a part of this story. Your part in it is one that only you can write. I ask you all to write it well — so that the story you will one day tell is one of which you will be proud.

KR RavindranPresident, Rotary International

PresidentSpeaks

8 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Manoj DesaiDirector, Rotary International

Essence of Vocational service

Once I heard a speaker at a Rotary club meet saying that vocational service is ‘occasional’ service! Since then I have been thinking is this really the truth? We have shining examples of Medical Missions to Africa, PRIP Rajaji’s brainchild, which I believe is the truest Vocational Service. From 1999, Rotarians of Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia, Malawi, Swaziland, Madagascar, Lesotho, Congo, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and Cambodia have seen him and others in these Medical Mission camps scrubbing the feet of patients, feeding them, carrying stretchers and wheel chairs and doing things rarely seen done by a past president of Rotary International! Does it not reflect how important Vocational Service is? You know the impact it has created? You have to see it to believe it.

The Concept of Vocational Service

The Object of Rotary is a philosophical statement of Rotary’s purpose and the responsibilities of Rotarians. The concept of vocational service is rooted in the Second Object, which calls on Rotarians to ‘encourage and foster’:

• high ethical standards in business and professions

• the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations

• the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society.

As a Rotarian, how can you put these ideals into action? Consider these suggestions:

• Talk about your vocation in your club, and take time to learn about fellow members’ vocations.

• Use your professional skills to serve the community.

• Practise your profession with integrity and inspire others to behave ethically through your own words and actions.

• Help a young person achieve his or her career aspirations.

• Guide and encourage others in their professional development.

• If you do any of these things, you are performing vocational service. And if vocational service motivates and energises you, then you’re in the right place, because vocational service is the very essence of Rotary. It is what sets Rotary apart from other service organisations.

So many Chartered Accountants are going for 3-H Cadre to monitor, evaluate or audit all the major grants. Is not this a great example of Vocational Service? Rotarians from all classifications and sections of society can serve humanity. It is just a change in our mindset that is needed. Please give some of your time in the service of humanity and you will feel contentment you have never felt before.

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RNT Chairman’s Report RNT Audit ReportDear Rotarians,This has been a good year for Indian Rotary and over the last 12 months Rotary News has consistently covered major developments in our world, through well written, detailed coverage of projects such as Rajasthan’s check dams, the schools we are building in the devastated Uttarakhand region, the Pune Literacy meet, and so on. It is good to see appreciative letters pouring in from Rotarians on the improving quality of Rotary News.

I am happy to tell you that by running a tight ship and prudent spending during FY 2014–15, Rotary News Trust has a surplus of Rs 1.28 crore. And this despite bringing down our subscription rate from Rs 480 in the previous year to Rs 420 this year for print, and Rs 250 for the e-version. As pointed out earlier in one of the articles in the magazine , at Rs 420 (or less than $7) we remain the cheapest magazine in the entire Rotary world, including the Asia Pacific region.

Some salient features:In FY 2014–15, our gross subscription receipts came down from Rs 5.4 crore to Rs 5.03 crore, thanks to lower subscription rates. But despite this we managed to make an impressive surplus. This happened mainly due to the following reasons:

A major saving was made in reducing our printing cost from Rs 1.31 crore in FY 2013–14 to Rs 1.12 crore in FY 2014–15 — a saving of Rs 19 lakh. And through constant interaction with our printers, printing quality has improved too.

A crucial initiative we took in August 2014 was to do away with the gatefold in the front wrapper, which cost us Rs 1 lakh every month, but failed to get us any ads. This initiative saved us Rs 11 lakh.

The cost of computer consumables — paper, cartridges, toners — was reduced from Rs 9.67 lakh to Rs 7.34 lakh. A saving of Rs 2.33 lakh, and the environment.

Under the “staff welfare expenses” head, costs have been reduced from Rs 5.55 lakh to Rs 3.87 lakh. But let me clarify, that none of the staff’s welfare measures have been cut!

Another saving has been effected in the Telephone and Internet charges.

By changing the Internet plan, we saved Rs 1.84 lakh (Cost came down from Rs 4.12 lakh to Rs 2.28 lakh).

By shifting to emails, instead of letters, in sending reminders on Club dues, we’ve reduced postage charges from Rs 14.26 lakh to Rs 11.92 lakh— a saving of Rs 2.34 lakh. On the other hand, administrative expenses have gone up from Rs 72.77 lakh the previous year to Rs 80.08 lakh this year. This is mainly due to the Rs 7 lakh, given as part-payment for our office renovation. At our meeting in February 2015, the RNT Board decided to spruce up the office and improve staff facilities by building additional toilets, a cabin and a decent pantry-cum-dining space. Air conditioning facilities have also been improved.

(On behalf of Chairman, Rotary News Trust)

Extracts from Auditor’s ReportAudit report under section 12A (b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, in the case of Charitable or religious trusts or institutions.

We have examined the balance sheet of Rotary News Trust, No.34, Marshalls Road, Egmore, Chennai-600008. (PAN No.AAATR2745P) as at 31.03.2015 and the Income and Expenditure account for the year ended on that date which is in agreement with the books of account maintained by the Trust. We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in India. Those Standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain rea-sonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material mis-statement. An audit includes exam-ining evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial state-ments. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles use and signifi-cant estimates made by managements, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

We have obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purposes of the audit. In our opin-ion, proper books of account have been kept by the above named Trust, so far as appears from our examination of the books.

In our opinion and to the best of our information, and according to information given to us, the said accounts give a true and fair view (i) In the case of the Balance Sheet of

the state of affairs of the above named trust as on 31.03.2015, and

(ii) In the case of the income and expenditure account excess of Income over Expenditure for the year ending on 31.03.2015.

N C Rajagopal & Co.,Chartered Accountants

Note: Balance Sheet available with DGs. Those interested may get it from their District Governors.

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books

District Wise TRF Contributions as on August 31, 2015(in US Dollars)

DistrictNumber

APF PolioPlus* OtherRestricted

Endowment Fund

TotalContributions

India

Sri Lanka

Pakistan

Nepal

Bangladesh

* Excludes Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.* Does not include contribution of Mrs Rajashree Birla ($1,000,000)

Source: RI South Asia Office

1,133

3,878

(9,020)

(1,225)

1,06,337

25,914

3,245

172

0

0

0

26,297

1,900

14,537

15,049

17,660

5,850

9,850

8,431

10,199

1,88,292

1,252

132

27

20,053

156

52,795

1,170

3,310

1,168

51,952

21,852

7,638

0

8,772

(7,481)

5,91,296

6,465

12,745

0

3,504

504

41,556

6,56,070 1,52,67,916

2981

2982

3000

3011

3012

3020

3030

3040

3051

3052

3053

3060

3070

3080

3090

3100

3110

3120

3131

3132

3140

3150

3160

3170

3180

3190

3201

3202

3211

3212

3230

3240

3250

3261

3262

3291India Total

3220

3271

3272

3281

3282

3292

South Asia TotalWorld Total

1,295

116

500

250

5,391

700

0

0

0

0

0

3,188

97

5,282

0

0

1,597

0

220

0

3,202

0

0

0

313

0

998

(1,271)

1,000

8

0

0

0

0

25

0

22,908

400

12,770

1,814

0

0

0

37,892 22,04,888

2,427

3,994

(8,520)

(975)

1,61,824

26,614

12,745

172

0

2,432

0

33,668

1,997

23,854

15,049

17,660

7,447

9,850

38,531

22,699

1,92,494

1,262

132

7,125

20,573

6,356

53,793

(101)

5,310

868

90,595

21,852

10,638

0

10,797

11,403

8,04,564

37,134

25,515

1,814

36,704

504

42,256

9,48,491 2,36,59,648

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

3,063

12,500

0

10

0

0

0

0

0

0

1,000

(308)

8,643

0

0

0

2,000

0

26,908

7,583

0

0

1,000

0

0

35,491 36,07,752

0

0

0

0

50,097

0

9,500

0

0

2,432

0

4,183

0

4,035

0

0

0

0

26,817

0

1,000

0

0

7,099

207

6,200

0

0

0

0

30,000

0

3,000

0

0

18,884

1,63,453

22,685

0

0

32,200

0

700

2,19,038 25,79,092

Rasheeda Bhagat

Justin Vijay Jesudas.

Spinal cord injurywarriors

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Shaking off the shackles of paral-ysis, disability and discomfort, these

people are helping others, and smil-

ing too!

I don’t care being called dif-ferently abled, physically challenged, or whatever ... I know I am handicapped and I don’t mind being called thus.” Justin Vijay

Jesudas is an executive in a leading software major in Chennai. Some-body so brilliant at work that he got a promotion almost every year, he was sidelined when he returned to work after battling with a spinal cord injury incurred in a car accident in Hyderabad six years ago.

“I was driving a Honda City rather fast, hit a pothole and then the road divider. The car toppled and nothing much happened except for a fracture here ... (pointing to his upper back).” But that fractured bone poked his spinal cord, “which supplies messages from the brain to the body and vice versa.”

Justin , along with S Vaidyanathan, an IIM Bangalore graduate and brilliant financial analyst; Naveen Iyer, a team leader at Accenture and Manoj Kumar, a vivacious boy of 11, have all come to the Rotary News Trust for the interview. They are all on wheelchairs and exude a cheer, camaraderie and positive energy that is infectious. Over the next 90 minutes, we discuss spinal cord injury, the harm done in shoddy handling during transportation from

the accident spot to hospital, callous doctors, inadequate rehabilitation facilities across India and what pos-itive “mental stamina” can do!

Vaidyanathan quit his corporate job 30 months ago and is now help-ing and guiding, through The Spinal Foundation of India, set up last year, the rehabilitation of scores of people who suffer spinal cord injuries.

Justin, a tetraplegic, reiterates that spinal cord injury is often con-fused with orthopaedic disability. “Not a single joint or bone in any of us has a problem, but we are par-alysed below our levels of injury; for me neck down, which means my hands, wrists and fingers are also affected.”

He says after the accident, dur-ing which his phone and wallet were stolen, “I was sitting up and called my wife from a borrowed phone. I held the phone, so my finger func-tion was fine. I was sitting, so my thoracic region was fine.”

But what happened next was a nightmare and shouldn’t happen in any accident. While being trans-ported to the hospital “even as I complained of neck pain the para-medic was flexing my neck.” This, he suspects, triggered his extreme disability. “In any neck level injury, it is very important to secure the neck with a hard collar.”

Two things make a difference; focus on your ability, not disability, and have mental stamina. If you want to be independent move away your caregivers … making them live your life is terrible.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 13

Justin realised that the paramed-ics had really messed up his case when he heard the Emergency doctor yelling at the paramedic that “he is complaining of neck pain and you are flexing his neck. He was screaming, but it was too late ... that same day they told me you’re paralysed neck downwards, we have to do surgery.”

The Spinal FoundationThe Spinal Foundation (TSF) at Vellore was set up last year to guide people with spinal cord injuries. “Unlike other physically challenged people who have pan Indian organ-isations for decades — the National Association for the Blind exists from 1948 — there was no such thing for persons with spinal cord injury.” Apart from guiding the injured on the impor-tance of rehabilitation, TSF does advo-cacy with government as spinal cord injury is classified as “orthopaedic

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Manoj Kumar with his sister Divya.

S Vaidyanathan.

Eleven-year-old V Manoj Kumar’s story is heart rending, frustrating

but also empowering. He was five and while playing near his home, where Chennai’s New Secretariat building was coming up, the child slipped and fell into a huge pit which was dug for laying power cables. I hear in disbe-lief his father Vijay Kumar, an auto rickshaw driver, relate the horror story of how Manoj moved from hospital to hospital, getting near-nil treatment. First he was taken to the Institute of Child Health, next to the Government General Hospital, here he lay in the Emergency section for five days, with a doctor seeing him for the first time on the fifth night.”

Diagnosed with a fracture, he was shifted to the orthopaedic ward, where a towel was tied around his injury! Kept thus for 10 days, he was discharged on the 11th day. But at least a CT scan and later an MRI screening were done.

After hopping around more hospitals, one in Bengaluru, finally Manoj ended up at CMC where Kumar was told his child wouldn’t be able to walk and would have to use a wheelchair for mobility.

Kumar has so far spent Rs 7 lakh on Manoj’s treatment — Rs 2.5 lakh alone on nappies. He is very happy at the Anitha Matriculation School, and has “46 best friends!” Kumar drops him to school, goes once to change his nappy, once again to give him

lunch and then to pick him up. “But now a new sword hangs over their heads; the Government has threatened to demolish his house — all of 80 sq ft — and move them far away,” says Vaidyanathan. This means Manoj will lose his school as not too many schools are willing to take in handicapped children. “And this when Manoj has already motivated 16 such children to go back to school. He and his parents visit children with spinal cord injuries admitted to the CMC rehab cen-tre, give them hope and motivate them to send their children back to school by counselling them. Yesterday he counse-led two children; at 11 Manoj should be the youngest such counsellor in India.”

We visit Manoj’s tiny home in a Chennai slum and are amazed at the smiling faces that greet us; mother Muthulakshmi says dealing with Manoj’s disability “is no problem at all.” Divya, his younger sister is all smiles and hovers affectionately around her brother as pictures are clicked.

“Ask him how many times he’s fallen off his wheelchair,” prompts Vaidyanathan; “45 times,” is the reply from Manoj, who has learnt to play cricket from his wheelchair.

The accident happened at a gov-ernment site, but despite many applica-tions and an Assistant Collector’s visit, Manoj has received no help from the Government. Will any Rotarians come forward to give Manoj a home for at least 8 years so he can finish his schooling, asks Vaidyanathan.

A feisty little counsellordisability” though it imposes multiple disabilities at one stroke.”

“We’ve come across several cases where people are paralysed after the accident because of mishan-dling when transported to the hospi-tal,” says Vaidyanathan. He recalls that when he had a freak fall from the parapet wall while in second year at IIM, Bangalore, luckily his friends said be careful of the spinal cord, and ensured he remained flat while being transported to hospital.

Also, the injured person should not be given any fluids as this will delay any surgery that may be required. “So no sitting, no fluids to drink or sprinkle on the face, secur-ing the neck with a collar or any other material make it immobile and treating the person like a log — these are basic essentials in any accident. Every ambulance must have a collar and a full-length stretcher.”

Rotarians, who took up the battle against polio on such a war footing, should take up spinal cord injury as their next challenge.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 15

Vaidyanathan’s story is fascinat-ing too. The same night he asked the doctor if he could be mobile using a wheelchair and got affirmation. The third day he was in Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, the oldest and best for spinal cord injury rehab services in India. After six months at CMC he went straight back to IIM, Bangalore.

Mother-son duo in collegeBut it wasn’t easy; at first they refused to take him back; there was no access to classrooms “and they had no idea

wheelchair, they said sorry. His earlier employer (before he joined IIM) refused to take him after a round of interviews because the owner wasn’t happy employing a handicapped per-son. One bank, in the second round, asked him atrociously and insensi-tively why his scrotal area was “so big. Normally I keep a towel around the area to absorb any urine leak, as most of us have partial or no bladder management control.”

The Hindu group of newspapers in Chennai had just started their business daily — The Hindu Busi-ness Line — and “to the immense credit of the then Executive Editor K Venugopal and senior editor R Vijayaraghavan, they didn’t ask a single question on my disability or wheelchair. Venu simply said go and check out the rest room.”

Later, a special toilet was con-structed near his workspot.

An amazing employerThe third story is of Naveen Iyer, a team leader with Accenture in Chennai. Riding a two wheeler near a construction site, and suddenly finding a heavy sewage truck headed for him from the wrong side, he jumped but ended up with a spinal cord injury that has paralysed him waist downwards. He passed out and can’t vouch for it but his friend swears he saw him mov-ing his legs in the hospital. “Perhaps later, in the ICU, they did something after which I lost the movement. A lot of mishandling and mismanagement happens in hospitals,” says Iyer.

But his employer has been amazing.“My superiors were very co-operative, held my position while I was in hos-pital and ensured I return to the same team. And my workplace was already accessible for handicapped.”

But Justin was not so lucky. His IT employer first said they’d reduce his team. When he threatened to quit, “they said they’d move me to bench, which meant that after a month I’d lose my job. I told them why wait for a month,

how to deal with a case like mine. But

after a beautiful 343-word summary by my doc-

tor on how India needs to deal with people like me, some phone

calls and my mother deciding to go with me, I was back!”

At the age of 67, “she had amaz-ing hostel life, enjoying all the cakes and ice creams distributed during birthdays, even though being a diabetic!”

On attending lectures, he smiles: “Thankfully there was no access to classes so I didn’t have to attend any lectures; I studied on my own,” he laughs.

But getting a job was no laugh-ing matter. In 1992, after passing out, came the campus interviews. Those days the corporates weren’t too happy to employ disabled and he attended interviews with the ICICI Bank, Hindustan Lever, JM Finan-cial, Bank of America, Citibank; you name it, I cleared the interview.”

But none of them would have him, the moment they saw him on the

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Naveen Iyer.

As part of his rehabilitation, ini-tially major effort was made to

make Justin Jesudas to stand. But 18 months down the line, he real-ised that with spinal cord injury one couldn’t walk unless the injury is partial. “I thought why am I trying to do something beyond my control. Instead of focusing on my disabil-ity, I should focus on something I can do,” he recalls.

This dramatically changed everything; and instead of allowing his wife or parents to do things for him, he set goals and executed them. He bought a small gym from OLX and did weights to strengthen his shoulder muscles. During his second rehab stint at CMC he met Vaidyanathan, and learnt “many new tricks.”

One daywhen his driver failed to turn up “when I needed him the most,” he decided to drive himself and bought a car with automatic transmission. Watching YouTube he did adaptations, but found that while the accelerator and brakes were easy to operate, to steer with the special knob was extremely difficult, and he couldn’t manage sharp turns. First he despaired, then calmed down and asked his father to make him a tri-pin (see picture) to move the steering wheel. “I can

A saga of grit and determination paraplegics — he is a tetraplegic, paralysed below the neck. Next came the national championship and the international meet in Canada this March where he won three golds. “No coach was willing to coach me because I was para-lysed below the neck, so I trained myself,” he grins.

But how does he manage on flights? “It is very difficult but I constantly do push-ups and keep

myself hydrated; when the bag is full, my wife emp-ties it in the bathroom. I can manage the visas, the flights, everything. The biggest hassle is our cor-rupt sports bodies.”

I want to hug him, as he smiles: “So this has been my journey so far. Two things make a difference; focus on your ability, not disability, and have the mental stamina to do so. Two, if you want to be independent move away your caregivers … making

them live your life is terrible.”Vaidyanathan adds that Justin

asked both his parents to leave the house because they kept trying to help him. “He makes it sound easy to you now but his restoration was much more challenging than he makes it out to be. Very few people in this situation lead as independent a life as he does.”

now drive from Chennai to Kerala at one shot and have done 27,000 km. This was the gateway to my inde-pendence. I could take my parents and wife out for the first time, can go to malls, ask the security to take out my wheelchair and do my shopping. It is important to set goals or objectives and meet them.”

Having conquered driving, next he decided to play basketball, but with fellow players not turning up regularly,

This is not an ortho disability. Not a single joint or bone in any of us has a problem, but we are paralysed below our levels of injury with multiple disabilities.

I’m ready to quit now.” This zapped them, and they allowed him to work from home. So he moved to Chennai “where my support systems were.”

Bladder managementI watch all of them rising and lower-ing themselves on their wheelchairs at regular intervals. Vaidyanathan

explains these “wheelchair push-ups” are necessary to avoid skin breakage. Because such injuries result in loss of touch and pain sensation, it is easy to get skin problems referred to as bedsores. “You people automatically twitch and turn every now and then, but because we have no pain sensation, and the blood circulation is greatly

reduced to the lower half of the body due to lack of activity, every 10 min-utes we have to do push-ups on the wheel chair.”

Coming to bladder and bowel management, what is taken for granted by us is a struggle for them. They are taught different methods of catheter management; Justin needs it

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 17

he moved from a team game to swim-ming. Despite skepticism from life guards he took baby strokes into the pool, picked up swimming, moved from the first lane to the central lane and slowly started increasing the distance. When he could swim for 600–700 metres, he entered the State Championship, won a few golds, found his speed better than that of

The two major causes of spinal cord injury are road accidents

and falls at construction sites. “You can’t drastically reduce road accidents but harnessing can be made compulsory at all construc-tion sites,” says Vaidyanathan, estimating that about 20 per cent of all spinal cord injury is caused here.

“If Rotarians, who took up the battle against polio on such a war footing, can take up spinal cord injury as their next challenge, they would help immensely to prevent such injuries sustained during con-struction or through mishandling the injured being moved to hospi-tal.” Unlike polio, this is a multiple disability, is irreversible and has no treatment. All you can do is good rehabilitation, he adds.

He wants more help from Rotarians. “Some Rotary club

should adopt Manoj (see Box - pg. no. 15) and ensure he completes high school. And there are so many disabled people confined to their wheelchairs at home, with zero income. Transcription work from Rotarians or other organisations will help them get some income. For someone who is at Rs 0, even Rs 1,000 is a big jump.”

Vaidyanathan quit his corpo-rate job 30 months ago, and now helps and guides those with spinal cord injury. Says Justin: “He is a Victorian gentleman; the original ones take an early retirement, play golf, look after their cats and drop their kids to school. In his case the kids are spinal cord injury patients.”

It is this kind of banter with absolutely no whining or self pity that endears these spinal cord injury warriors to you.

What Rotary can do

Manoj has sent 16 children with spinal cord injury to schools; at 11, he should be the youngest such counsellor in India.

all the time and carries a bag which has to be emptied regularly. Adult nappies are an option but the cost is huge. Both procreation and sex are difficult but can be managed with external inducement.

Coming to wheelchairs, use of motorised wheelchairs is not advised because it denies the users their much-needed exercise. “Had Justin been using one, his hand and finger movement wouldn’t have improved so much. He used one for some time, but gave it up; all over India not even 10 will be using motorised wheel chairs. Manual wheelchairs keep us healthy.”

Wheelchair MarathonAll of them regularly participate in The Wipro Chennai Marathon; while in 2012 there were only two wheel-chair participants, “in 2013 we had 8, last year 62; and the cumulative distance we did was 904 km,” says Vaidyanathan. This year, at India’s first marathon organised by TSF for the physically challenged (The Kotak Wheelchair Marathon) held in Chennai last fortnight, 100 of them participated in wheelchairs with about 1,000 regular marathoners joining them.

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OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 19

Meet your Governors

He became a Rotarian in 1983 but left in 1987 because “I felt there was nothing in Rotary for me. I was also a young

and struggling CA and couldn’t devote much time to Rotary.” But with PDG Ram Narayan Agarwal quizzing him often about his departure and his pro-fessional status being well established he returned to Rotary in 2003. But he sought an “active club” and the PDG said: “You won’t find a better club than mine — RC Agra North.” So he joined it and is very happy and “feel that my life’s purpose is being realised thanks to Rotary. Without Rotary that wouldn’t have been possible.”

So what’s so magical about Rotary, I prod him.

“Our club has done a lot of work in polio. Once after doing 130–150 surgeries in a polio camp, Ram Narayanji called in the evening and said let’s go and feed the people.” A puzzled Chandra said they had done the operations in the morning so where was the need to feed them. Surely they could find their food. But the latter said they didn’t have the time to prepare food and added, “Let’s buy a lot of bread, butter, fruits, juice and namkeen; we took these to the camps where operations were done. I can’t even describe to you the kind of poverty we saw. When he saw the food, an old man started crying and said if you hadn’t brought this I would have remained hungry today. I had no money for food. I’ve come for two days but had money only for one day’s food. That day, I became a true Rotarian,” says an emotional Chandra.

The day he became a true Rotarian

Diving into the “sea called Rotary” Sunil Kumar Gupta Plywood dealer RC Meerut Samrat, D 3100

My Rotary yatra began when I was only 17 in 1989 and I became a Rotaractor,”

says Sunil Kumar Gupta, adding that his Rotary bonds were further strengthened when he was given the important post of DRR in 1994–95. “The service sentiment was already in our family; my father was the district governor for Lions. And after spend-ing a busy eight years in my business I became a Rotarian in 2002.”

What Gupta enjoys the most about Rotary is the “amazing people I have met and made friends through Rotary. At the International Assembly I discovered an entirely new facet of the colourful Rotary … a service- above-self Rotary. I don’t know how exactly to put it but Rotary is like a huge sea and once you take a dive in it, you can never leave it; it becomes a part of you.”

For his year as Governor, he has appealed to all his colleagues to focus on education, clean drinking water and building toilet blocks in schools. “A lot of my effort and time will go into raising funds for TRF and my District is all geared up to take up Swachh Bharat work with full enthusiasm and sincerity.”

Rasheeda Bhagat and Jaishree

Sharat ChandraChartered Accountant, RC Agra North, D 3110

20 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Let dialysis be Rotary mantra

Joining Rotary in 1993 meant for Parag Sheth an “instant connection to the global world of Rotarians.” While he has faced “many challenges” in his journey towards the

DG’s post, now that he is at this exciting point in his Rotary journey, he will focus on two things during his year. “Great projects and connecting with the stu-dents we have sponsored and helped. In Rotary we keep talking about the need to get younger people. In the last 15 years we have sponsored around 1,500 chil-dren and will now have a reunion and a youth exchange programme with all these youngsters.”

Awestruck by the energy and dyna-mism of RI President K R Ravindran, the DG says, “He is very focused and passion-ate about Rotary and keeps telling us all the time that every day of your one year is very precious, so don’t waste a single day. I’m trying to follow this sound advice.”

Another priority area for Sheth this year will be to contribute towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a Swachh Bharat. “Rotary has taken this up in a big way. An integral part of this is WinS and in Gujarat, we are going to build toilet blocks with separate toilets for girls and boys with all facilities and ensure that these are well maintained for long years,” he adds.

Parag Sheth, Salt manufacturer, RC Narmada Nagari, D 3060

Reconnecting with youth

Gopinath Reddy Vedire Builder, RC Hyderabad East, District 3150

A Rotarian since 1989, DG Gopinath Reddy says he drew inspiration from previous Governors and planned his year of leadership well ahead. “I feel that Rotarians are con-fused with the concept of service avenues and areas of focus prescribed by RI.” He explains the new structure designed for his District integrating each service avenue

with a focus area. He feels 92 clubs is a large number to cover within a year. He advocates

bifurcation; “50 clubs per district is ideal; we can generate more members and increase the number of Rotary clubs too.” Telengana has 10 revenue districts and Guntur-Prakasam belt alone has 30 Rotary clubs — “All these represented by one governor — it is tough to concentrate and deliver. Mehboobnagar has great potential but we’re unable to establish even one Rotary club there.”

He wants to provide classroom furniture that is lacking in his District. “Seven hours a day is too long for them to sit on the floor. Besides being unhygienic, it takes a toll on their health.” Telengana alone needs 500,000 pieces of furniture in 10,000 schools without desks and benches. TRF should consider including this under Global Grant (GG) scheme, as this satisfies the sustainability criterion, and can last for at least 15 years. GG should be considered on regional needs, he says.

The DG feels that just as Lions are identified with eye care, Rotary should be identified with improving dialysis facilities. A pilot project has been set up in Hyderabad’s Mahaveer Hospital, and “we have applied for GG for more such centres across the District.” He plans to equip each of the State’s 12 districts with a blood collection van.

He plans to provide group handwashing facilities in 600 schools which have basic infrastructure like water and toilets, though he is skeptical about constructing toilets as “they have to be maintained regularly.”

Reddy is all praise for RI President K R Ravindran’s ideas and recalls his visit to this district for a joint installation of 16 clubs in June. A tech-savvy governor, Reddy says his website is updated (“40,000 hits so far”), his office paperless and the directory, GML, etc, online and most of the communication is now done through email, sms and whatsapp.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 21

It has been great and I am enjoying every moment,” says DG Bharathesh about his year as DG so far. A Rotarian for the past 27 years, he finds during club

visits that “my entire team is ener-getic and positively charged for the year.” He wants to focus on projects to promote moral values among school children and sensitise people on sex-ual abuse of children. Solar lighting for 3,000 people living near the forests where there is no electricity is another focus area. “We also plan to give vocational training course to young-sters at Manipal, Mysuru, Shimoga and Chickmagalur, and install e- learning facilities in schools.”

Bharathesh is confident that his team will meet the RRFC’s target of $500,000 contribution to TRF; on membership, he proposes to install 25 Rotaract clubs and increase Rotary membership by 20 per cent.

In 1997, Anil Beniwal joined hands with 19 Rotaractors like him to form the Rotary Club of Jodhpur Midtown. “I was actually its Charter Secretary; we began with 20 members and

today our club has 120 members, all of them Multiple Paul Harris Fellows,” he says proudly. It was a “thoroughly enjoyable journey” and in 2001–02 he became the President of the Club and later the Assistant Governor in 2008–09. On his priorities as DG during this year, Beniwal says that his focus is on putting together multiple clubs to do “collective projects. This makes a much bigger impact on the community we live in. For example, Jodhpur has three clubs; now when these three clubs come together to do an impressive project, there is not only a greater involvement of club mem-bers but it is also good for Rotary’s brand building. I believe this is the best way to attract membership,” he says.

So what has Rotary given you?“Oh, many things. Not only me, but

all those who have joined us. For one thing, I am a dealer for both Skoda and Isuzu, and being a Rotarian has certainly helped my business to grow faster.”

The other advantage is that Rotary gives its members an “opportunity to move in elite circles, of business, industry and all other sectors,” he adds.

Combating disability

A Rotarian since 1992, DG Sanjeev Gupta says his Rotary experience was enriched with his earlier assign-

ments as Assistant Governor and District General Secretary. “My best Rotary moment was when I served as a GSE Team Leader in France.”

His District’s priority is providing artificial limbs to the orthopaedically challenged and it has so far helped mobility for 300 such people through two camps (Indore and Khandwa); two more are lined up, followed by a mega health camp in February in 25 locations, and setting up dialysis units in all the district headquarters. “We have applied for Global Grants and we are confident of rolling this project very soon,” says Gupta.

WinS and literacy promotion activ-ities will be part of the Happy Schools programme, he adds. He is confident about improving his District’s member-ship figures by 10 per cent and bolster TRF contribution with $250,000.

Sanjeev Gupta Sales and service of IT products, RC Indore Uptown, District 3040 Dr A Bharathesh

Ayurveda medicine RC Karkala, District 3180

Anil Beniwal Automobile dealer, RC Jodhpur Midtown, District 3053

Solar lamps to

light up lives

Rotary has put me in elite company

It’s a tortuous and bone rattling journey full of potholes and long stretches of broken road. As his driver negotiates the Innova through the horrendous stretches between Dehradun and Chandigarh where we are headed, David J Hilton, DG of

District 3080, seated in the front, has more reason for discomfort.

He is being asked some tough questions by RI Director Manoj Desai, for whom the trip has been even longer and tougher — from Mussorie — where he has just completed a think tank meeting — to Dehradun, from where we are headed to Chandigarh. Here he will be conducting his 11th

District visit which has four components — meeting the Troika (DG, DGE, DGN), Vision 20–20 seminar, projects visit and COG.

He is armed with a file where information got from RI is neatly tabulated. Tough questions are being asked of DG Hilton on membership, why some clubs in his dis-trict have shown a poor growth, why can’t his Presidents induct more women or younger members. How many of his presidents have connected on Rotary Central and updated their projects. “Eighty eight per cent,” Hilton smiles. But Desai, after a brief congratulations, wants to

know about the remaining 12 per cent. They are mostly rural clubs, says Hilton. The RID says this is the most common excuse but his experience has shown that many rural clubs are the first to connect to Rotary Central!

Interrogation timeAs the interrogation proceeds and the sun goes down, the driver, obviously not amused at his boss being quested thus, snaps on the light to help Hilton read the figures from the file he’s holding.

But when it comes to projects and ideas, Hilton has an ace, or two, up his sleeve. He has just returned from a

The medical mission led by PRIP Rajendra K Saboo to Malawi with 21 doctors from 10 specialities and seven volunteers was a life changing experience for me.

As RID Manoj Desai visits District 3080, he asks tough questions, gives focus and direction, and

leaves behind a vision statement.

Towards a Clear VisionRasheeda Bhagat

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medical mission to Malawi, “a life changing experience for me” with 21 doctors from 10 specialties and seven volunteers. The Mission, led by PRIP Rajendra K Saboo, did 300 surgeries, and thousands of medical interventions, with a couple of children requiring heart surgery referred to the Fortis Hospital in Chandigarh where D 3080 runs a Heartline project. During his year, three more such med-ical missions are planned — to Ethiopia, Dimapur and Rwanda.

Desai gives full marks to Hilton for this excellent humanitarian project and seeks new ideas from him on his plans to meet the major objectives of Rotary Inter-national and Rotary India. Hilton has another ace com-ing up. To further the literacy mission of Rotary India, he has already initiated a dialogue with the Council for the ISCE Board which has approximately 2,000 schools under it. An educationist by profession, he runs a school in Dehradun and is also Secretary of the Association of Heads of Anglo Indian Schools in India. “If this MoU is signed, we are looking at children from nearly 2,000 schools getting involved in RILM work.”

Later, Desai will have separate meetings with Hilton, DGE Raman Aneja and DGN D C Bansal to discuss issues pertaining to the District and look at long term goals and continuity in achieving them. The burden of Desai’s song at all these meetings is membership, funds for TRF — next

year being the Centenary year this is even more important —and improving Rotary’s public image. He will also empha-sise the importance of strategic planning that will help achieve the Vision 20–20 target. Apart from meeting the troika, as he calls them in every district, the RID is also available, but through prior appointments for 10 minutes, to any Rotarian wanting to discuss an issue or voice a grievance. Here too such an appointment is sought, and given.

Change in moodBy the time we reach Chandigarh it is 8 p m. After a 30-minute break to freshen up, we meet for dinner. Desai has changed into a casual shirt and having shed his suit and tie, the RID’s mood has changed too! There is no evidence of the punishing 7-hour road journey on terrible post-Monsoon roads. Wife Sharmishtha Desai is there as also Aneja and spouse Meenu, Hilton and spouse Patricia. Over some great thin-crust pizza, risotto and white wine, the RID regales us with Rotary anecdotes. “On our 25th anniversary Sharmishtha asked me what will you give up for me, and I said all coloured drinks. So I can’t have

From left: Sharmishtha Desai, PRID Yash Pal Das, RI Director Manoj Desai and DG David Hilton.

Coke, Pepsi or whiskey.” The previous year the smart woman had similarly made him give up coffee! “He used to drink 6 to 7 cups a day and that was bad for his health,” she whispers to me.

Desai is busy pulling the youthful Aneja’s leg on his looking younger, slimmer etc. There is banter, laughter, camaraderie. Listening to Desai’s stories, my fatigue from the punishing road travel from Mussoorie to Chandigarh melts away. I had earlier asked to be excused and wanted to crash but the RID had sternly told me I’d feel hungry in the night! That he would next day ask me to watch my weight is another story!

Desai has District visits lined up and wants to com-plete all the Districts by the end of the year. How does he

manage such punishing schedules, I ask him. Soon, he will visit RI District 3180, where another 7-hour road journey is required to reach Shimoga! “It’s a job I have undertaken and want to execute it to the best of my ability, incorporate strategic planning and long term vision into it, so that we work toward the three core Rotary objectives with total clarity and a well thought out plan on moving forward.”

The Vision 20–20 seminar hosted the next morning by RC Panchkula about 12 km from Chandigarh, is packed with 432 participants; PRID Yash Pal Das is present with several PDGs. Hilton unveils some of his plans for the District, how they have to meet Rotary’s three main goals on membership, TRF donations and Public Image. In the last two years the D 3080’s contribution to TRF had gone down because of the natural disaster in Uttaranchal, where Rotary had rushed help and is now building 35 schools; 14 will soon be handed over to the Government and the remaining completed by December. But this year it has to meet its goal of raising $500,000 for TRF; with 3,300 members, this was doable if each member donated only $100.

Delivering his address, Desai held the audience spell-bound speaking in Hindi and packing his speech with some of the best Urdu couplets I’ve heard. The underly-ing message delivered through a couplet that instead of squabbling over contentious issues, if all Rotarians put their hearts and minds together to work for Rotary’s core objectives, they would help India emerge much stronger on the global platform, goes home.

Look at what India has achieved on the membership front. Last year, of the 20,000 additional members Rotary had added, India’s share was 63 per cent.

in the night! That he would next day ask me to watch my weight is another story!

Desai has District visits lined up and wants to com-plete all the Districts bby the end of the year. How does he

squabbling over contentious issues, if all Rotarians puttheir hearts and minds together to work for Rotary’s coreobjectives, they would help India emerge much strongeron the global platform, goes home.

RID Manoj Desai visits RC Chandigarh’s Project Heartline at the Fortis Hospital.

Divide to multiplyThe RID disclosed that at the recent Udaipur retreat for senior Rotary leaders during RI President K R Ravindran’s visit, PRIPs Rajendra K Saboo and Kalyan Banerjee and other senior leaders had decided that “we will have to divide to multiply.” While there was a norm that an RI District should have a minimum of 1,100 members and 35 clubs, there was no such ceiling for the top. Why should India have districts with 6,000 or 7,000 members? These districts have to be split. Delhi had already done so and Calcutta and Chennai will follow suit. “My goal is to have 50 Districts in two years. The number of RI districts would remain at 535, but think of the big picture. If we have 50 districts, and can get four zones, we can have four RI Directors.”

Desai added, “Look at what India has achieved on the membership front. Last year, of the 20,000 additional

Manoj (Desai) used to drink 6 to 7 cups of coffee a day and that was bad for his health; so I made him give it up!

members Rotary had added, India’s share was 63 per cent. This is no mean achievement and it is time for India to claim its rightful position in Rotary,” he added.

But for this dream to be realised, each Indian Rotarian would have to work hard and take care of each of his three children — Membership, TRF and Public Image. He also urged them to send short 90 second video clips on their projects, which would be shown at the Jaipur Institute. Hilton said he’d send two clips of their medical missions, and schools.

Vision statement Showing slides of the pyramids and Taj Mahal Desai said these were the results of a vision. “But unfortunately there is no vision statement at this hour in RI; and we all know that without vision there is no performance.” And that was the reason why the performance graph in various clubs and districts were zigzag, when they had to go only up.

“How can you have a group of brilliant professionals and business people, the elite, coming together and have the graph go down? This is not acceptable.” His Vision 20–20 was to take all the focus areas of Rotary such as water, sanitation, mother and child care, literacy, diver-sity, and leadership and “work together … do a really big project and think of continuity … that is why in every District I meet the DG, DGE and DGN, because continuity is very important.”

Vision 20–20 has two meanings — to see with complete clarity and achieve goals by the year 2020, he added.

Designed by Krishnapratheesh

Picture by Rasheeda Bhagat

26 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

It was a power-packed group that met in Mussoorie in the last week of September. Put together by RI Director Manoj Desai and

labelled his “Think Tank,” the dozen- odd men — all PDGs and wearing var-ious hats such as those of RCs, RPICs, EMGAs (Endowment Major Gift Advisors), Training Leaders, etc, they brain stormed with the RID over two intensive sessions. The objective — devise and crystallise a strategic plan on how to meet the core goals and objectives of Rotary.

Desai said each of them was a brilliant performer who deliv-ered results. This was the second review meet; the third would be at the Jaipur Institute in December. He told them that no institution that lived in an era when changes were taking place outside but not within could survive, leave alone thrive. “At the senior leadership level we realised that at this hour we have no vision statement — missions and objectives are there — but no formula to define our vision of what we have been doing for over a 100 years. So we’ve decided that we have to change radically.”

This he was doing through struc-tured and planned District visits; in three

Rasheeda Bhagat

A Think Tank takes shape

helping. Also, there is going to be zero tolerance for financial irregularities.”

After polio eradication, the vacuum has been filled through new challenges such as WinS, Asha Kiran; Rotary was committed to building 10,000 toilet blocks in schools this year, and to send 100,000 children back to school towards the total literacy goal. In Uttaranchal Dis-trict 3080 had done phenomenal work in

building schools, of which 25 were ready. At the Udaipur Retreat for senior Rotary leaders it had been decided that henceforth there will be only one job for one man.

Desai announced that at the Jaipur Institute the TRF seminar will be replaced by the Vision 20–20 seminar. The meeting threw up several ideas on the road ahead and how to improve performances

in core areas of Rotary — membership, TRF and public image. There were sug-gestions that prior to the International Assembly, Governors should also be trained on cultural sensitivity, etiquette and accepted behaviour norms.

Desai urged Rotarians to send him 90 seconds video clips on their pro-jects, which would be shown at the Jaipur Institute.

Picture by Rasheeda Bhagat

I find tremendous enthusiasm in the Districts and passion to do good work.

months he has already visited 11 districts across the country, preferring first those with problems or weak spots. “I find tre-mendous enthusiasm in the districts and passion to do good work. But there are issues, such as siphoning of funds, in one case TRF funds by a PDG. I also found PDGs who are sitting on their surplus for 10 years and their motive can be guessed.”

He told the group — Vijay Jalan, Ravi Vadlamani, Ashok Panjwani, C Basker, Asoke Ghosh, A S Venkatesh, Bharat Pandya, Kamal Sanghvi, Vinod Bansal, Gulshan Thakral, Sam Patibandla, Rajendra Rai and Ashish Desai — that his role was that of the ‘middleman’ to take information and issues from the “grassroots to the Board and vice versa. In many districts the DG, DGE and DGN do not see eye to eye, and meeting all the three is

Sandeep Narang

All set for Seoul

Seoul pronounced ‘Sole,’ the capital of Republic of Korea (South Korea),

is a modern, hi-tech, bustling metropolis, on the banks of the Hangang, commonly referred to as the Han River. The coun-try has busted the myth that government intervention breeds sloth. In 2012, 25 per cent of venture capital came from the government. It’s easy to forget that in the 1960s, South Korea’s per capita GDP was less than Ghana. Today, South Korea is the world’s 15th largest economy.

Incheon Interna-tional Airport Seoul is catered to by two airports — Gimpo, the older airport, serves mostly domestic destinations and shuttle flights to Japan, Taiwan and China. Incheon International Airport, 48 km from the city, is more recent, and world’s eighth busiest airport.

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Incheon’s décor is actually quite minimal, the signages wonderfully clear and welcoming, and in English as well. Airport authorities claim that an average departure and arrival takes only 19 min-utes (60 minutes world-wide industry average) and 12 minutes (45 minutes) respectively — I would agree with the latter; I breezed out of the airport in no time. However, on the way out, I had

to negotiate a long line at Immigration. Tip: Arrive at departures a few hours earlier to shop or window-shop at the airport.

Connectivity to the city is very established — I take the KAL (Korean Airlines Limousine) bus to my hotel.

Seoul, abloom with azaleas — pink, fuchsia, mauve, white — is a

Gyeongbokgung Palace.

breathtaking sight. Koreans even make a wine out of azalea — dugyeonju — azalea wine. I also see some trees cov-ered densely with white cotton-like flowers and wonder whether these are cherry blossoms. No, I am told, the cherry blossom season is over — this is something they called spring cotton. I am still trying to google it, probably it is forsythia.

Free Wi-FiFree wi-fi, that too 5G, is available almost everywhere at Seoul — at the airport, in the tube, at the hotel, at the convention centre — you connect instantaneously to the free network. But sometimes there are glitches. The government has wired the entire coun-try for high-speed broadband and is now wiring every household with a

militarised borders with North Korea. About 53 per cent of Koreans have a practicing religion, of which 43 per cent are Buddhists, 55 per cent are Christians (Catholics and Protestants) and the rest follow Confucianism, Islam and other religions.

A Korean name consists of a fam-ily name followed by a given name. Traditional Korean names typically consist of only one syllable. Only

three surnames, Kim, Lee and Park, account for the appellations of nearly one-half of all Koreans —

but “Kim” remains the champ by a wide margin!

Connect with Korea 2016Rotarians and guests from about

120 countries attend each Rotary convention. The 2016 convention’s slogan, ‘Connect With Korea — Touch the World,’ gives an idea of the emphasis placed on fellowship and net-working opportunities. The organisers

want to explore how Rotar-ians might connect on a

different scale in

The 2016 convention’s slogan, ‘Connect With Korea — Touch the World,’ gives an idea of the emphasis placed on fellowship and networking opportunities.

one-gigabit-per-second connection, 200 times faster than the US average internet speed. We are told that at the Kintex convention centre, to meet the 2016 Rotary convention, infrastructure will be in place to ensure that 35,000 delegates can use free wi-fi at once.

Twenty per cent of Korea’s total population of about 51 million lives here. It shares one of the most heavily

the future, using apps, translation and shared cultural experiences.

The 2016 convention logo is the silhouette of the main reception hall at Seoul’s iconic royal palace, Gyeongbokgung. The five basic colours — blue, red, yellow, white and black — correspond to five basic elements: wood, fire, soil, metal and water — the basis of the governing principle of yin and yang which explains how all things in nature grow and develop on the basis of mutual interactions.

In Korean food, coloured ingredi-ents are blended to produce foods that allow the body to efficiently absorb nutrients and stimulate the appetite through the five essential tastes: salt, spicy, sweet, bitter and sour.

We were served three traditional Korean liquors. The first was a green pint bottle, with Korean inscriptions; cryptically on one side it read ‘happy water’ in English. This is ‘soju,’ a strong drink and one gulps it down in

shot glasses. It tasted like

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Smartphone users can download Apps such as Visit Korea, Korea Travel Guide and GenieTalk to help breeze through the country’s customs and culture.

through the five essential tastes: salt, spicy, sweet, bitter and sour.

We were served three traditionalWe were served three traditional Korean liquors. The first was a greenpint bottle, with Korean inscriptions; cryptically on one side it read ‘happy water’ in English. This is ‘soju,’ a strong drink and one gulps it down in

shot glasses. It tasted like

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Smartphone users can download pApps such as Visit Korea, Korea Travel Guide and GenieTalk to help breeze through the country’s customs and culture.

diluted vodka; I took a couple of shots and made the Koreans happy. Then there was fermented rice wine, makgeolli. With only 6 per cent alcohol and milky, it is the “liquor of the common people.” I liked the way it was served in archaic bowls but did not find it very palata-ble. The third drink, gwasilju, a Korean fruit wine, was sweet, something like our Goan port wine.

Gangnam StyleHallyu, a word that describes the Korean Wave, began in 1997, and refers to the increasing popularity of South Korean culture. The term was originally coined in mid-1999 by Beijing journalists who were surprised by China’s grow-ing appetite for South Korean cultural exports: for many Chinese, globalisa-tion is Koreanisation. First driven by the spread of Korean television dramas, it was carefully nurtured by the South Korean government, evolving into a global phenomenon due to the prolif-eration of Korean pop (K-pop) music

exports: for many Chinese, globalisa-tion is Koreanisation. First driven bythe spread of Korean television dramas,it was carefully nurtured by the SouthKorean government, evolving into aglobal phenomenon due to the prolif-fferation of Korean pop (K-pop) music

videos and extends to movies, fashion, food and beauty.

K-pop, the genre of slick, mass- produced teen-idol boy and girl bands, has caught the imagination of the entire world. K-pop videos were viewed more than two billion times in 2011. The Gangnam style video has been the most watched YouTube video of all times. Incidentally, it is also the entry music to RI President Ravindran, at the convention. Wonder if we can match the steps!

Gangnam, by the way, is a hip shop-ping district, the Mayfair of Seoul, home to the enormous underground COEX mall (where part of the video was filmed) and the nearby boutique-lined streets of Apgujeong-dong. The streets are full of young, well-dressed teens mingling with the city’s super rich. This district is also the capital of plastic sur-gery in Korea. The Chinese come here to look like K-drama stars — they want to have Korean actresses’ noses or eyes.

India & KoreaWhen Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Seoul, The Economic Times said:

“Mr Kemcho meets Ms Kimchi” — referring to the Korean kimchi and the Gujarati ‘Kemcho’ for ‘How are you?’

In 1992 when the then Indian Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao visited Korea, the two countries opened up trade and Indian households became familiar with Korean brands like Sam-sung, Hyundai and LG. In 1998, the US imposed sanctions on India post-Pokhran 2 nuclear tests, and many of its allies, including Japan followed suit. Seoul decided against imposing sanc-tions; and won the Indian market.

Getting ready for KoreaFor smartphone users, these are a few Apps to download: Visit Korea, Korea Travel Guide, GenieTalk. Also check out the websites: www.visitkorea.or.kr, www.visitseoul.net and www.seoulistic.com which showcase videos on Seoul and Korean culture and customs.

A sure way to bring a smile to a Korean face is to greet her in Korean; Annyeong-haseyo for Hello and Kam-sahamnida for Thank you.

(The writer is Past District Governor of D 3250.)

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 31

32 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Recalling that journey with stars in his eyes while seated at his office Chitale and Sons, an architectural firm started by his father in 1932, he explains the background of their initial work that got the eye and confidence of the RI President.

Chitale’s Rotary journey started in 1965 — earlier he was a Round Tabler — when he joined RC Madras. In 1979, the golden jubilee of the club, its president “V Chidambaram said let’s do a big project which will be remembered for a long time.” It also being the International Year of the Child, they zeroed in on vaccination for measles, then the biggest killer of children.

Measles vaccination The Club struck a collaboration with RC Whitby of Canada, which agreed to gift the Indian Rotarians 65,000 doses “which were sufficient for only Nungambakkam

This vaccination warrior from one of the oldest Rotary Clubs in India — RC Madras — has been in the forefront of colossal work done for immunising

children against measles and polio.

Rasheeda Bhagat

Not all Rotarians in India would be aware that one of their biggest triumphs — winning the battle against polio — began in a major way in India with the vintage and prestigious Rotary Club of Madras

in 1989. This happened when the then RI President Hugh Archer said “we’ll give you $4.6 million for polio immunisation for five years,” recalls SL Chitale, who completed 50 years in his Rotary journey this July.

As a cub reporter in The Indian Express who regularly covered the immunisation work done by RC Madras in the late 1970s, I recall the impeccably dressed gentleman in white who passed on his infectious enthusiasm and passion for protecting children against debilitating diseases and getting good coverage of this Rotary programme in main-stream newspapers. That was Chitale, a leading architect in Madras.

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or Mylapore, and not Madras,” smiles Chitale. But this partnership gave RC Madras its biggest benefactor and Chitale, a dear and lifelong friend in Ken Hobbs, who came down as a volunteer and got so hooked to the Madras Rotarians and the immunisation project that he would later come down every year with his wife for the next 30 years. With CMC Vellore’s eminent microbiologist and past president of RC Madras, Dr Jacob John, too being part of the team, measles immunisation work was in full swing.

“We partnered with RI, Ken Hobbs worked very hard for us from Canada and eventually the vaccination warriors of Madras managed to get 5.2 million doses of the mea-sles vaccine. The number swelled due to these dedicated Rotarians’ efforts, but the next big hurdle was “how to bring the vaccines here, who would pay the Customs and other duties and where to store them ... we couldn’t keep them in our drawing rooms!”

After a flurry of activity by the Rotarians, meetings with officials, they got all duties waived. “We could convince government officials that we were only helping them in their work in child health.” The vaccine, to be stored at minus 8 deg C was transported by Air India from New York to Madras.

Government support vital“For five years; AI flew free of cost 650,000 doses every six months. And we got the King’s Institute to store the vaccine for us. I kept telling my fellow Rotarians that if you want to do a project of this magnitude, you need gov-ernment support and you should make it your partner, because it has all the infrastructure and facilities; we can only throw in a few inputs.”

Well, Chitale is modest; what the Rotarians did was much more than contributing a “few inputs.” They shored up the cold chain required to store the vaccine doses at the requisite temperatures by spending Rs 40 lakh ... a huge sum 35 years ago. “Otherwise we would have been administering the children only distilled water,” he says.

Slowly, the measles immunisation programme grew from a single club to a district (then 323, the 0 was added later to make it 3230) project and that too over five long years. Chitale gives credit for the success of measles vac-cination to the team who “did an excellent job ... Jacob John, Venkat Subbiah, PDG Purushottaman from Salem, Vishwanatha Reddy, Saravanan, R K Swamy.

Meanwhile, much earlier and in 1979, RI had begun its polio vaccination initiative with Philippines. “While there it remained more of a government project, Indian Rotarians got wholeheartedly involved in polio immuni-sation and Tamil Nadu was the first State in India to be declared polio-free,” says Chitale proudly.

He recalls that though the Rotarians’ job was to make available polio and the govern-ment staff administered polio drops in hos-pitals, “wherever there was some deficiency and our services were required, we pitched in. We also conducted camps to administer the vaccine.”

The Ken Hobbs magicChitale cannot thank enough the interest, passion and hard work done by PDG Ken Hobbs in making such a huge success of their immunisation programmes. “He was a wonderful man and came here every year, at his own expense, for 30 years, all the way from Toronto. Much later, in 2002, when he got the Order of Canada, “which is like our Bharat Ratna,” responding to Chitale’s congratulatory note, Hobbs replied: “You were the catalyst that made it happen, without you it would never have happened.

The involvement, friendships and participation were much greater in those days. We were personally involved. Today it is more chequebook charity.

SL Chitale addressing a Rotary meet; the then Tamil Nadu Health Minister Dr H V Hande seen on extreme right.

34 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

I feel so fortunate to have you as a trusted friend for the last 23 years.” Hobbs passed away in 2010.

Childs Trust HospitalFor the Childs Trust Hospital in Chennai, a private and prestigious children’s hospital Chitale helped set up along with his close friend and eminent paediatric surgeon Dr M S Ramakrishnan, Hobbs helped raise a total of $700,000. “That was the kind of wonderful and generous friend he was,” adds Chitale.

His close involvement in the immunisation pro-grammes for children and the hospital, says Chitale, was related to his difficult childhood. “I lost my mother when I was only 8, had no siblings, and always wanted to do something for children.”

Though he grew up in Chennai, his forefathers came from Maharashtra and “were all temple priests. Even in Round Table I worked for the Pallipattu (S S) Boys Home, and I carried this passion into Rotary.” With Dr MSR he started Childs Trust, because Madras then had only one children’s hospital — the Government Institute for Child Health. “And if doctors have to look at some 2,000 to 3,000 children a day, what attention will they be able to give to the patients? MSR did the medical portion and I did the building and publicity.”

So why did such a pre-mier and vintage club such as RC Madras, one of the

oldest and founded in 1929, lose the importance and halo it once had, I quiz him.

“Well, we’ve returned centre stage with the polio flame,” he replies quietly.

Chequebook charityOn what he enjoyed most about being in Rotary, Chitale says it was forming a team and forging great friendships. “Ken Hobbs became such a dear friend, the way his and my chemistry worked was amazing. But for Rotary I wouldn’t have even met him.”

On what has changed in Rotary over half a century, Chitale muses for a moment and says, “I think the

involvement, friendships and participation were much greater in those days. In any project that

Rotary did, we became personally and pas-sionately involved. I am afraid today it is more chequebook charity, and not so much personal involvement. It’s like I sign a few

I tell fellow Rotarians that for a project of great magnitude, you need government support and should make it your partner, because it has all the infrastructure and facilities; we can only throw in a few inputs.

d generous friend he

immunisation pro-al, says Chitale, was I lost my mother , and always”nai, his d “were Table

Home,With

cause s

Ken Hobbs became such a dear friend, the way his and my chemistry worked was amazing. But for Rotary I wouldn’t have even met him.”

On what has changed in Rotary over half a century, Chitale muses for a moment and says, “I think the

involvement, friendships and participation weremuch greater in those days. In any project that

Rotary did, we became personally and pas-sionately involved. I am afraid today it ismore chequebook charity, and not so muchpersonal involvement. It’s like I sign a few

Friend & Mentor: PDG Ken Hobbs.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 35

cheques and have made my contri-bution. But in those days, when we would ourselves go to camps with our ladies and do all the work ... taking down names, maintaining records ...”

Today much more money is available in India with Rotarians and others for charity; how did they manage in those days where finan-cial resources were lower, but travel and other expenses had to be borne?

“Oh, where was the money for all that? We used our own funds. The money that came ... the $4.6 million we got from RI had to be used only for vaccines ... and the cold chain.”

As for professional work suffering, he says they were too professional to neglect their clients. “Simple, we worked overtime, to accommodate both.”

To get an idea of the brilliant architect he is, let us go back to the auditorium he constructed for the Venkateswara University 40 years ago. Chitale joined the JJ School of Architecture in Bombay in 1947; “there were only two such schools in India then, now we have 400–500!”

Brilliant architectAfter graduating, he joined his father’s firm that has com-pleted 84 years. On his table lies a recent issue of RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) magazine, with the cover picture of a prize winning shell-like building. A smiling Chitale points to the picture of a strikingly simi-lar building pinned on his drawing board behind the table. “I designed and built such a structure 40 years ago. And I sent them a picture of it, saying so, but there is no reply!”

That building was an auditorium built for the Sri Venkateswara University. “The VC, Dr D Jagannatha

Reddy was a very forward looking man and wanted something really good, not an ordinary structure where you just put a false ceiling and call it an auditorium. So I created this unique concept; that of a saddle-back shell made of concrete which is 160 ft long and can seat 1,500 students, and is 1.5 inches thick, otherwise it will become too heavy as the whole thing is made of concrete.”

As he traverses his professional and Rotary journey, Chitale can look back with satisfaction on his work ... mea-sles and polio immunisation; Childs Trust Hospital, reno-vation of 36 temple tanks in Chennai, rainwater harvesting 20–25 years ago, work for the Worth Trust in Vellore for handicapped children. In June 1992, when Rajendra K Saboo was the RI President, Chitale was among the first 50 in the world to be given the RI Service above Self award.

So what has Rotary taught him and what advice would this vintage Rotarian give to his younger colleagues?

“That you should devote time, think your project through carefully, give it your full attention. Person-to-person contact is the most important; I don’t believe in this chequebook charity concept at all. Only when you get fully involved, your project will benefit people. Most impor-tant of all, work always as a team. No single man should say ... I did it!”

Also, he adds, his team was lucky to have Dr H V Hande as Health Minister and Dr Kapali as the Director of Public health and they understood the importance and value of Rotarians’ work. But he cautions that vigilance on polio immunisation has to continue. “There is danger of polio coming back; measles has come back because we stopped; it was sad to see it return after we had worked so hard. So we have to be vigilant on polio.”

Designed by Krishnapratheesh

Ken Hobbs became such a dear friend; the way his and my chemistry worked was amazing. But for Rotary I wouldn’t have even met him.

S L Chitale with PRIP Rajenda K Saboo (Left).

36 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

E-Learning and Library Creation” will be the main focus of Rotary India this month.

Comprehending something through concepts shown vide audio-visual/animation format is much more stimulating and easier to remember than the traditional methods of learning. Thus E-learning classroom is the future learning methodology every school in India will adopt. The language of students and teachers will improve as a standard language and pronunciation in the voice-overs is used in these modules.

With standardisation of content and teaching methods across schools, the divide between the rich and poor schools, urban and rural schools, government and private schools disappears. And better grades and attendance can be achieved as children find learning more fun.

The E-Learning Programme of Rotary India Literacy Mission aims to

• Improve the quality of education and learning in primary schools, through extensive use of local lan-guage curriculum based E-Learning software.

PRID Shekhar MehtaChairman, Rotary India

Literacy Mission

LITERACY FOCUSE-Learning and Library Creation

• Establish E-Learning centres in select elementary schools by providing them with:

– State approved high quality E-Learning software in certain local languages.

– Projector and power pack sets to each E-learning centre along with maintenance facility for three years.

• Train the teachers to use these devices.

Guidelines to implement E-learning in the T-E-A-C-H programme

• School selection

– Choose state-funded schools which has at least two teachers; one classroom with pucca (roof, floor, walls, doors and windows) construction; electric-ity/solar power; white coloured walls — otherwise a white board is required and the school building must be secured against unauthorised entry during non-school hours.

• Software selection

– Use our shortlisted software companies — Quality checked and approved by our National Committee Members.

Selection procedure of E-learning vendors

E-learning National Committee met periodically to evaluate and finalise on the hardware and software vendors for the programme and the syllabus for e-learning. School principals and teachers representing Government, private, state and other board schools participated in assessing the demos of software companies.

Shortlisted hardware companies include E-Gate Infotel Pvt Ltd and Tirubaa; and software companies were Educomp Solution Limited,

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 37

Company Class Subject State Board Language PriceCompatible

With

Designmate (I) Pvt Ltd

ClassI to X

Class 1-5 Maths & Environment Sc.

CBSE, ICSE, Delhi, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh,

Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,

Uttarakhand, Goa, Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadwip,

Maharashtra and Gujarat

English and Hindi

` 5,000

Compatible with Egate

and Tirubaa projectors

Class 6-8 Maths, Science, Geography

Class 9-10 Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography

Educomp Solution Limited

Class I to X

Class 1-5 English, Hindi, Maths,

Environment Sc.

CBSE, ICSE, AP, Karnataka, Samacheer (Tamil Nadu), Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra,

Punjab, UP, MP, Rajasthan, West Bengal.

English, Hindi,

Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi

` 5,000

Compatible with Dell, Optoma

projectors and

television set

Class 6-8 English, Maths, Science,

S.Science, Economics.

Class 9-10 English, Maths, Physics,

Chemistry, Biology, History, Pol.Sc, Geo.,

Economics.

JIL Information Technology

Limited

Class I to X

Science, Social Science,

Mathematics, English, Grammar.

Punjab, UP, MP, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Himachal

Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Haryana, West

Bengal

English, Hindi

` 8,000

Compatible with Egate

and Tirubaa projectors

Details of softwares available

Tech Specs Tirubaa Winner Tirubaa Mini Tirubaa Super Egate P531 Egate K8

Projector Type LED Lamp LCD Panel DLP LED DLP LEDLED Lamp LCD

PanelLED DLP

Light Source Life upto 30,000 hrs upto 50,000 hrs upto 50,000 hrs upto 40,000 hrs upto 50,000 hrs

Brightness at source

3000 lumens 3000 lumens 4500 lumens 3500 lumens 3500 lumens

Projection Size 50" to 120" inch / 2-6M 10" to 200" 12" to 300" 40" to 200" inches 40" to 200" inches

Audio In /Out/ Speaker

Yes Yes Yes Yes No

Power consumption

less than 150 watts less than 40 watts less than 45 watts 150 watts 55 watts

Price ` 22,400` 38,000 with

Mini PC; ` 31,500 without mini PC

` 42,400 ` 22,990 ` 30,500

Compatible hardware available

NOTE: We request you to inform us if you come across any quality software in local language at this price and we will include them in our list.

38 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Designmate (I) Pvt Ltd and JIL Information Technology Limited.

Placing the order Select the hardware and software from the list. The complete transaction will be in accordance with your choice. The details of the vendors are available on www.rotaryteach.org. The products will reach the recipient within 7–15 days of placing the order and will be delivered only after the full

payment is made. Software training will be provided by the content developers.

One E-learning classroom installation costs Rs 30,000 – 40,000. RILM will share Rs10,000 of the total cost.

The payment for the software-hardware combination is only one-time. The amount will be paid to the companies as per product selected.

The Club/District should encourage beneficiary schools to contribute at least Rs 10,000 from their local fund/gram

Mega Star Asha Kiran Club: RC Jodhpur Padmini, D 3052.

Asha Kiran … a ray of hope

Super Star Asha Kiran Club: RC Coimbatore Heritage, D 3202.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 39

District should encourage other organisations such as corporate houses, educational trusts, NRIs, relatives of Rotarians, school alum-nus and other individuals to participate in the programme.

Library creation: Indian Rotarians col-lected over 1.9 million books in response to the ‘A Million Books – A Million Smiles’ campaign. Rotary clubs have built more than 2,000 libraries in various parts of India, and more are being added.

A ‘Guide to Setting up a Library’ was already covered in Rotary News - September 2014 issue, and can also be found on the RILM website www.rotaryteach.org. The

process and guidelines on Library creation is provided by our knowledge partners Akshara Foundation and Hippocampus.

panchayat. This gives them a buy-in into the programme and maintenance of the E-learning facilities. The remaining amount should be arranged by the Club/District. The Club/

We used to collect wood, chop and store it, but in the rainy season with the wood getting damp, we struggled to light it

and it also gave out more smoke,” says Sabita, a resident of Katangdhara village near Nagpur.

This situation was even harder for the woman to bear as she was used to gas stoves in her parents’ home before marriage. But now, thanks to interven-tion from RC Nagpur Greencity, D 3030, which has adopted this place under the ‘Happy Villages’ programme, the living conditions of the villagers have change dramatically. The club has gifted them smoke-free kitchens through gas stoves. Devendra Agrawal, who owns a gas agency in the nearby town Hingna, provided the gas connections as a CSR initiative. The villagers readily agreed to pay for their cylinders as it was a dream come true for them.

Around 150 tribal families inhabit this village and till 2009, it had little cause for cheer. The Rotarians constructed a primary school in 2010, and have been giving books, uni-forms, bags and stationery to the children every year. Encour-aged by this, the Zilla Parishad added two more classes, converting it into a high school. The club donated bicycles to 25 girls to help them commute to school and back. Toilets

were built for all houses and RCCs appointed to sensitise the villagers on literacy, sanitation and hygiene.

To help women with economic independence, the Rotari-ans donated sewing machines and organised tailoring classes. Next on cards is building a check-dam, installing solar energy panels for street lights and providing 100 LPG connections in the nearby villages.

Meanwhile, Sabita now has more time to complete her graduation course through correspondence.

Gifting smoke-free kitchensSelvi

40 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

The 2016–17 Rotary Year will be the centennial year for The Rotary

Foundation, which started at the 1917 Rotary convention in Atlanta. This issue is filled with information about the excit-ing 2016 convention to be held in Seoul, May 28–June 1 — and part of the excite-

ment is due to the kickoff activities for the Foundation’s centennial celebration.

The Foundation has a Centennial Celebration Committee, which is chaired by Past Trustee Stephanie Urchick, and the committee has comprehensive plans for a full year of celebratory events, which will culminate in a giant celebration at the 2017 Rotary convention in Atlanta. The Foundation trustees, Rotary International directors, and Rotary staff members are all committed to a successful recognition of the Foundation’s anniversary because of the Foundation’s significant role in helping our clubs and districts to conduct service projects around the world. The Rotary Foundation clearly has been a tremendous force for Doing Good in the World!

And as we contemplate our high-level plans for the centennial, we once more pause to recognise and appreciate that the totality of what happens in our clubs and districts is far bigger and longer-lasting than what

happens in Evanston and at the conventions. As a result, the true success of the centennial celebration will depend on the quality and quantity of the celebratory events in our clubs and districts. The big question is whether our Rotarians around the globe will embrace the Foundation’s centennial and undertake their own centennial projects and celebrations. So please do your part to stimulate the interest and involvement of your club.

The Rotary Foundation has been highly successful in assisting our clubs and districts to promote international understanding, goodwill and peace in the world — and therefore, it is appropriate that all of our clubs and dis-tricts should participate in the centennial celebration. As usual in Rotary, there is no prescribed way in which the clubs and districts should join the celebration, andI hope our clubs and districts will be as creative in their celebratory activities as they have been in their myriad humanitarian projects throughout the years. This is the right time for all of us to express our appreciation for The Rotary Foundation!

Ray KlinginsmithFoundation Trustee Chair

SOLUTION FOR THE LAST MONTH’S CROSSWORD

Rotary at a glanceRotarians : 12,19,713*

Clubs : 35,145*

Districts : 535*

Rotaractors : 1,87,864

Clubs : 8,168

Interactors : 4,23,499

Clubs : 18,413

RCC members : 1,95,960

RCC : 8,520

*As of September 1, 2015As of June 30, 2015

M T F U J I I M A C M A D

A R A G O N C A M O A B E

W I L L I S E E Y O U M E L

S P L I N T S S U L F A T E

A A S N E E

L A S I N S E P T E M B E R

A S C E N T N O S B O D Y

S T U N K C A T D O N E E

S O L D T O T A U T U M N

O R L O S E Y O U T O S A Y

R C A R N A

B I Z A R R E U N I B R O W

E L I A S U M M E R L O V E

E S O P U R E N A I L E R

F A N S P O T D E P O R T

MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDATION CHAIR

TRF to kickoff Centennial Celebration at Seoul

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 41

Unable to afford to pay hefty rental charges for hiring farm equipment, the farmers of Vaijapur, Khuldabad, and

other tiny hamlets around Aurangabad, were forced to work as labourers despite owning land. Working in the fields for harvesting sugarcane, they regu-larly moved to Western and Northern Maharashtra and Gujarat with their families in search of work for nearly seven–eight months a year. The children of these migrants could not be enrolled in schools due to this nomadic lifestyle. RC Aurangabad Elite, D 3132, decided to help these farmers to be self-reliant and send back their children to schools, a primary Rotary objective in its Literacy Mission.

Sowing the seeds of faithIn 2013, these Rotarians visited the community school, Bal Anand Jeevan Shala Childhood Development and Care Centre, located at the village Vaijapur, and joined hands with the NGO Lokparyay to set up a ‘Commu-nity Agriculture Equipment Bank.’ The NGO has worked hard to get land rights and titles for these poor tribal communities. About 1,500 families, including single women and widows have been helped to get their land reg-istered in their names.

With the help from PDGs Prafulla Mirajgaonkar, Vyankatesh Metan and Meena Patel (D 6650, USA), funds were released for this project. With the Club’s contribution of $3,000 and the global grant partners RC Salem

(D 6650, USA), and RI District 6650, USA contributing $2000 and $8000 respectively, and TRF’s matching contribution, a total of $33,500 was collected. Farm equipment such as tractors, trollies, tankers, oil engines, cultivators, harvesters, chaff cutting machines and other modern agricul-tural tools were purchased for the Community Agriculture Equipment Bank.

“Farmers can now borrow the equipment from this bank at a rent 45 per cent lower than market rates. We are very happy that many villagers are cultivating their own land for the first time,” said club secretary Suhas Vaidya. Lokparyay monitors and maintains the equipment, and manages the collection of rent.

Vaidya added that once a size-able land area comes under cultiva-tion, RCCs will be appointed. His club will also support the school run by the Lokparyay under the Rotary’s T-E-A-C-H mission. Resources have been earmarked to conduct workshops on latest techniques for sustainable agricultural development like organic/natural farming, vermicompost and to provide seeds, fodder and to grow medicinal plants. As there is no elec-tricity in the village, the club is also providing oil for their engine pumps to draw water from the reservoirs, used mainly for drinking by the villagers and their cattle.

People in these villages have now become farmers from labourers and their children are going to school

Doing good with TRF help

Selvi

Equipment bank for farmers

Rotarians with the farmers display a tractor purchased for the Equipment Bank.

42 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

RC Ahmedabad Mahanagar, D 3051, hosted RI Director Manoj Desai’s first ever visit

to a Rotary Happy School after he assumed office as Director. Municipal School Number 17 in Ahmedabad was adopted by the club in July. Rotarians have equipped the school with better infrastructure, educational material, library, sports material and a computer lab. Under the WinS initiative clean drinking water facility, hand wash units, and separate toilet blocks for girls and boys have been constructed. Distribution of school uniforms and shoes was also undertaken.

The club has also partnered with other notable organisations to provide professional computer programmes and coaching for various sports. “We are also providing educational support

and scholarships to rank-holders in every class to keep them motivated,” said club President Bijal Shah. Desai appreciated the efforts taken by the club and mentioned the school as a

model for Happy Schools at a district event, Vision 20-20.

He visited a few more Happy Schools adopted by other Rotary clubs in the region.

A Happy School ModelTeam Rotary News

RID Manoj Desai and Sharmishta at the school.

Wondering how to prepare Beach house Bok-choy/Trinidad’s Doubles and

Bara or our traditional dahi vada/khandvi/Nagpuri patwadi? The ‘Circle of Friends Recipes’ — an endeavour of Rotary Clubs of Poona Downtown and Katraj, D 3131 — will tell you how.

The cookbook, a compilation of vegetarian recipes, is an outcome of Rotary Super Chef, a culinary contest hosted by the two clubs and Women in Rotary (WIR) committee. “We came up with this event when we were brain-storming ideas to attract women into Rotary and enhance the involvement of the Anns and Annettes in Rotary activities; 70 women participated in the contest,” said Yezdi Batliwala, IPP of RC Poona Downtown. Demos of cake making, vegetable carving, table decoration and mixing mocktails, etc

were part of the programme, attracting several people.

The number of women Rotari-ans went up from 600 to 1000-plus at the end of 2014–15 due to the vibrant WIR Committee. “We have lined up empowerment programmes such as driving lessons, nursing and

tailoring courses for young women in the neighbouring bastis,” said last year’s Committee Director Deepali Gadkari.

Priced at Rs 350, proceeds from sale of the book will go to fund wel-fare projects for underprivileged women.

What’s cooking in Pune Jaishree

PRID P T Prabhakar launches the book at a District event. Also present: R’Anns Chandra Aranha, the book’s editor Meena Latey and Poroochi Batliwala.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 43

Ansu goes to the local taluk school and can

now “come back home instead of staying at theAshram,” that houses many other tribal students like her. Lack of electricity had left them with no choice but to stay away from their homes and com-plete their weekly lessons. “It was shocking to hear that near the bright and bustling city ofMumbai there are several vil-lages that are in total darkness,” says Rtn Sachin Kulkarni, Chairman Renewable Energy, D 3140. Small oil lamps lit up the homes of these poor villagers.

Back in 2008, RC Bombay Hills South initiated the Dream Light Green Light project. With support from RC Detroit, D 6400 and TRF, the District provided solar electrification for 89 hamlets. Seven years later 100 tribal hamlets in Jawahar, Wada, Mokhada, Talasari, Dahanu, Tansa and Shahapur have a solar panel connection and a battery that supports an LED light, a night lamp, mobile charger and a radio.

It was shocking to hear that near the bright and bustling city of

Mumbai there are several villages that are in

total darkness.

““

Lighting up livesKiran Zehra

Each family contributes Rs 70 annually towards mainte-nance and repair. “This stand-alone system is most apt as their homes are in the middle of forest areas that cannot have direct access to electricity,” he says.

The most interesting part of the whole project is that “although these people don’t have sufficient to eat, each family owns a cell phone, as their economy depends on daily wages and their earnings linked to the calls received,” says Kulkarni. Earlier, they had to walk 8–10 km to the nearby villages and pay Rs 10 to charge their phones. “If the battery went out, we had no work. There was no other way for the Malik to get in touch,” says Hariom, a daily wage worker from the village. Thank god for the “rashan pani jo sarkar dethi hai (ration provided by the govern-ment),” he says, adding that otherwise they would have to go to bed hungry.

With the new solar panel in place these villagers are now able to “get in touch with their employers regularly and charge our neighbours’ phones for a fee of Rs 10,” quips Hariom. The Rotarians estimate that approximately 400,000 litres of kerosene has been saved and the project has brought down carbon dioxide emission significantly.

The District is now keen on building toilets in these villages.

Rotarians and villagers standing under a newly installed solar street lamp.

Doing good with TRF help

Ranjana Srivastava

now teaches us the art of dying

Death is never easy. But Oliver Sacks shows us an approach that views life as a welcome gift rather than bemoaning death as a medical failure.

Oliver Sacks, who has taught us so much,

Like millions of readers I had a lump in my throat as I read Oliver Sacks reveal his diagnosis of terminal

cancer earlier this year. Every doctor aspires to be a little like Sacks whether for his sharp intellect, his obvious humanity or his exquisite writings that go to the core of what it means to be human and frail.

In February he calmly declared that metastatic mela-noma affecting his liver meant that his luck had run out. I found it hard to share his calm but then like the genial, grandfather-figure he is, he reassured us, oncologists and all, that he still felt intensely alive, wanting to “deepen my friendships, to write more, to achieve new levels of understanding and insight.”

His mention of finding a new focus and perspective resonated with me — it is as close to a universal finding as there is in clinic, where ordinary individuals and famous people all say that cancer forced them to contemplate their life and legacy.

It’s not always pretty, I concede. Cancer triggers joyful marriage but also bitter divorce. It unites bickering siblings but also tears apart those previously contented. It fosters a peaceful reckoning and loving coexistence but equally tem-pestuous anger and unrelenting sorrow. All I can say is letting go is hard. Actually, it sucks. Watching the march of thousands of such patients, I keep thinking it must be indescribably difficult to bear if it is so difficult just to watch from the vantage point of an unrelated oncologist, who at best catches only glimpses of the struggle patients face every day.

The lump in my throat grew larger this weekend when Oliver Sacks declared that his disease

had inevitably returned despite liver embolisation and immunotherapy, the holy grail of melanoma treatment. Oh no, I thought glumly, not you too, as if the greatness of being Oliver Sacks were enough to outsmart rapidly dividing melanocytes. Sadly no. The venerable figure that he is, I can just about picture him telling a group of despondent young residents that it would be naive to think that a terminally ill doctor might avoid the fate of many

of his patients.Oliver Sacks dying of met-

astatic melanoma may have been just another story of misfortune in a world spill-

ing over with bad news were it not for some-

thing that caught my eye towards the mid-dle of his column. He lists symptoms of nausea, loss of appetite, chills and sweats and a perva-sive tiredness, all

cardinal signs

y declared that metastatic mela-meant that his luck had run out.is calm but then like the genial,he reassured us, oncologists

ntensely alive, wanting ps, to write more, to understanding and

ing a new focus ed with me — it l finding as therery individuals and t cancer forced themand legacy., I concede. Cancer ut also bitter divorce.gs but also tears apart ed. It fosters a peaceful

existence but equally tem-enting sorrow. All I can say ually, it sucks. Watching thech patients, I keep thinking difficult to bear if it isfrom the vantage

ncologist, who mpses of the ery day.at grew Oliverease

despondent young residents that it would be naive to think that a terminally ill doctor might avoid the fate of many

of his patients.Oliver Sacks dying of met-

astatic melanoma may havebeen just another story of misfortune in a world spill-

ing over with bad news were it not for some-

thing that caught my eye towards the mid-dle of his column. He lists symptomsof nausea, loss of appetite, chills and sweats and a perva-sive tiredness, all

cardinal signs

Pho

to c

ourte

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44 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Patients who can get even part of the way to acknowledging their mortality ultimately do themselves an untold favour.

of worsening cancer. He tells us he is still managing to swim although the pace is slower as he pauses to breathe. And then, he says something utterly obvious and yet, thor-oughly remarkable: “I could deny it before but I know I am ill now.”

In a piece of achingly beautiful writing, this observa-tion may bypass the typical outsider but as an oncologist, it struck me as the essence of what it takes to die well — the concession that all the well-intentioned therapy in the world can no longer prevent one from going down the irreversible trajectory of death.

This recognition allows patients to halt toxic treatment, opt for effective palliation and articulate their goals for the end of life. It permits their oncologist to open up new conversations that don’t include the latest million-dollar blockbuster therapy with a bleak survival curve but do mention the therapeutic benefit of teaming up with hos-pice workers to write letters, preserve photos and record memories. I would say that this candid admission from a patient is the difference between bemoaning death as a medical failure and viewing life as a welcome gift.

I found myself thinking of a former patient who came into hospital dying of liver failure from metastatic bowel cancer. Her jaundiced skin was practically glowing and she had a resulting insatiable itch. There was not a single com-fortable position she could find and it soon became clear that that she needed continuous sedation for comfort. But before I sedated her I needed to be sure that she understood her terminal condition, difficult given that the liver failure was causing agitation. The problem was that her husband was permanently stationed at her bedside and would not hear of me mentioning any bad news to the patient.

He had determined that there was to be no conversation about her progressive cancer or the fact that she lay dying. Her experience was unacceptable yet the impasse dreadful and ethically troubling.

One morning her husband was delayed but she needed urgent attention so I walked in alone to find a clearly dis-tressed patient. Looking surreptitiously around the room, and temporarily alert, she whispered, “What is happening to me?”

I sat down and held her hand, noting a trail of bleeding scratch marks.

“Do you want me to tell you?”Before she could answer, her husband roared

from behind me, “How dare you plot to scare my wife like that in my absence? Get out!”

As I covered my ears against the litany of abuse, the patient’s terrorised eyes briefly

rested on mine. Sorry, they seemed to say, I am really sorry. Refusing to be

mollified by the palliative care staff the man virtually dragged his

cancer. Her jaundiced skin was practichad a resulting insatiable itch. There wfortable position she could find andthat that she needed continuous sedabefore I sedated her I needed to be surher terminal condition, difficult givenwas causing agitation. The problem wwas permanently stationed at her behear of me mentioning any bad new

He had determined that there wasabout her progressive cancer or the faHer experience was unacceptable yetand ethically troubling.

One morning her husband was deurgent attention so I walked in alonetressed patient. Looking surreptitiouand temporarily alert, she whisperedto me?”

I sat down and held her hand, notiscratch marks.

“Do you want me to tell you?”Before she could answer,

from behind me, “How darewife like that in my absenc

As I covered my earsabuse, the patient’s te

rested on mine. Sosay, I am really so

mollified by thethe man vi

dying wife home. He made a mockery of her end of life care and left me with a searing memory of my failure to help a dying patient. But I also try to remember that he loved her and just couldn’t bear the thought of letting her go. Letting go is hard.

Doctors fail patients in various ways but in some ways it is easier to fail patients when they or their family deny impending death. They are the ones who deserve our great-est consideration and patience but the truth is that it’s taxing enough to treat intractable pain, omnipresent nausea or pervasive melancholy without having to take on the onerous task of saying, “Believe me, you really are dying.”

Unlike suturing or locating a pulse, dealing with death does not become easier with time. If you care about your patient, it always hurts. It hurts when you fail to cure them and it hurts when you fail to help them die. Patients who can get even part of the way to acknowledging their mor-tality ultimately do themselves, their relatives and even their oncologists an untold favour.

But of course, it’s one thing to understand your mor-tality and quite another to articulate your feelings for the world to scrutinise. At his diagnosis Oliver Sacks wrote, “I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predomi-nant feeling is one of gratitude.” Those insightful words brought inspiration to untold patients.

But the doctor who brought to us the man who mistook his wife for a hat isn’t about to mistake death for what it is. Now he reminds us with all the poise and dignity we have come to expect of him that there is value in embracing our mortality, that there is an art to dying, and before he goes, he might just show us how. For this and so much more, we owe him.

Reproduced, with permission, from The Guardian

© The Guardian

(Dr. Ranjana Srivastava is an Australian oncologist, a Fulbright scholar and an award-winning author.)

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 45

46 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Rasheeda Bhagat

One man’s vision has changed the educational, healthcare and agri scene in and around Gujarat’s industrial town of Vapi.

Girls rule the roost

If you think of women’s empowerment, Gujarat isn’t the foremost State that comes to mind. But a quiet gender

revolution is taking place in the State known for its business savvy and enterprising people.

On a recent visit to RC Vapi, District 3060 and chatting with the principals, students and faculty at the several col-leges put up in and around Vapi by ROFEL (Rotary Foun-dation for Education and Learning), it comes as a breath of fresh air to note that 65 per cent of the 2,025 students at the colleges offering Arts, Science, Commerce and Business Administration courses are girls! In some of the courses they go up to 80 per cent; in one classroom I found only three boys.

“This year, when I was handing out awards, I saw only girls coming to receive them,” recalls PDG Ashish Roy. For a while he was spooked but then “a few boys came forward and I heaved a sigh of relief,” he smiles.

On two-thirds of her students being girls Principal Hemali Desai says, “We all know that Gujaratis love to set up their own businesses; so while young men go into business, young women, when given an opportunity, excel,” she says.

One man’s visionBut that is not the real story at the clutch of educational services Vapi Rotarians have set up here. As PP of RC Vapi

444444444444444444444646446 ROROROTTTROR ARYARYARYYY NENENENENENENENENNNN WWWSWWWSWSWSWSWSWSWWWSSWS OCOCOCTOCTOCTOCTCTOCOCTCTCOCCCCOOOC OBEOBEOBOBOBOBEEOBER 2R R 22R 01501501501501515151550155015015150155Principal Hemali Desai with commerce students, Dimple Prajapati and Khusbu Sharma.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 47

and ROFEL Trustees Praful Dewani puts it, apart from these courses, ROFEL runs also a Pharma college and a state-of-the-art hospital. “We have set up a few Trusts in Vapi to take care of different activities. Ours was the first college set up in Vapi in the 1980s, with help from United Phosphorous Ltd (UPL). Later more colleges were added and also the hospital came up. All of these are the brainchild of PRIP Kalyan Banerjee (a member of RC Vapi and Director of UPL). It is his vision that we follow till today.”

But the college, started to help students in Valsad and neighbouring areas didn’t have its own premises, till a Rotarian’s father in Valsad donated land, and the first building came up. Over the years, as the Nagarpalika and the GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) gave them more land, other buildings, specialities and the hospital came up.

The ROFEL campus has 10 acres of land and the green landscaping creates a serene spot of beauty in an ordinary Indian industrial town. Even more heartening than girls con-stituting 65 per cent of the colleges’ strength, is that OBC, SC and ST students are there in large numbers. “This is a tribal belt and children come to us from 108 villages, and many of them are first generation learners. Till Rotarians set up this college, they had to travel 30 km to go to colleges in Valsad for quality education,” says Hemali.

Thanks to a lot of time put in by ROFEL Trustee Bharat Patel into administrative matters, this is a “disciplined and well managed institution,” says Roy.

Supplementing family incomeOn why they don’t offer residential facilities despite having the space, the Principal says free transport is given to the

In this area, parents are reluctant to send girls for higher education thinking that after all a girl has to do household work after marriage. But once they get the opportunity to study, they work hard and excel.

students, but “most of them are not interested in staying on the campus because many of them do part-time work.” While some work in offices, others sell vegetables and some help out their parents on their farms. As there are two shifts, this is possible.

The good news is that many girls, after passing out, go for jobs; while the arts and science and commerce students begin with a salary of Rs 6,000–10,000, the B Pharm or M Pharm get around Rs 12,000–15,000. The MBA students begin with an annual package of Rs 3–4 lakh. “Keeping

es.care of different activitiewithinini VVapi in the 1980s, w

coLtLtLL d d d (U(U(UPLP ). Later more of thohohospspsppitititalalalal cama e up. All ombKaKaKaKKKK lylylyananna BBBana erjee (a meat UUUPUPUPUUPL)L))L .. ItItIt iis s his vision tharteBuBuBuBBBBB t t t ththhe e college, stardn’neneneeneneen igigiggiggigiighbhbhbhbhbhbhh ouououo ring areas didalsRRoRoRoRoRotatatattatt riririianananan’s’s’s father in Vr thbubububububub ilililililiilldidididddid nngngngg ccama e up. Overustththhthththththee eee e eee GGGGGIGIGGG DCDDD (Gujarat Indutheggagagagagagaaagagggagaggagavevevevevvv ttthehehhh mmm more land, o

hohohohhoohohohoh spspspsspitititi alala ccaame up.s hThThee ROFEL campuserelalandscaping creates a seEveInIndidiaan industrial town. Ethestituting 65 per cent of t thSCSC aandnd ST students arecotrtribibalal belt and childreneeee

enemamanny of them are first ged tup tthhis college, they haduciiiiiiniiiin VVaalsad fofor r quality ed

me TThThThThThThTTT anananaa ksks ttoo a lot of time mPPPaPaPPaPaPaPaPaPaPaPaPPP tetetetettetet l l l inininttoo aaddministrativen,”wweweweweeeeweeeeeewwew llllllllllllllllll mmmmmmana agageed institution

miSupplementing famreOnOnOnOnOnOOnOnOnOOOOOnn wwwwwhyhyhyhy ttthehehh y y don’t offer saththththhththththtthhhthhe eee spspspspacacce,e,e ttheh Principal

PRIP Kalyan Banerjee and RC Vapi President Jayesh Kansara share a warm moment with mentally challenged children at the Haria Rotary Hospital.

48 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Between Surat and Mumbai, this is the largest hospital and patients, particularly those involved in accidents on NH8 that links Vapi and other towns to Mumbai, are rushed here.

in mind the demand of the times, we have introduced English medium last year,” says Tanveer Rana, a faculty member. Of course those from poorer backgrounds and SC/ST groups often have to work very hard to catch up with the others.

Many of these students get scholarships. Even in the MBA course, where the fee is Rs 40,000 for a semester — decided by the Government; no capitation fee is charged — “we help them with a fee waiver or scholar-ships. Even when they leave this campus, we try and help some for higher education,” adds PDG Roy.

First generation learnersI ask for girls already doing part-time work and meet Dimple Prajapathi, a III Year B Com student whose father works as a gardener, and that too on a part-time basis as “his health is not good. He earns barely Rs 3,000–4,000, so the Rs 2,000 Dimple makes by working for three hours in a local company helps run the household.

Khusbu Sharma is 19, an M Com student and her father works in a bank; her part-time work fetches her Rs 3,000. She is hardworking, focused and after completing M Com wants to do her ICWA course. Both are OBC, and first generation students. Hemali adds that “in these areas, parents are reluctant to send girls for higher edu-cation with the mentality being that after all a girl has to do household work after marriage. But once they get the opportunity to study, they work so hard and do so

Just three boys in a classroom: PDG Ashish Roy interacting with a student.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 49

well that it makes us happy. All over Gujarat, the general trend has changed; in many areas girls are doing better than boys.”

Deepak Shah, PP of RC Vapi and Trustee, adds that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ call, there had been a spurt in the enrol-ment of girls in educational institutions. “My maid servant’s two daughters are now in Class 8 and 10, so the next generation is getting better education across classes.”

Women pharmacists!In the lab of the pharmacy col-lege, many smart young women pharmacists of tomorrow are doing practicals. Here too the girls dominate; 65–70 per cent being female! Mukti Davda is from Vapi and plans to do M Pharm after completing B Pharm.

Pooja Chowdhary, also from Vapi, is from OBC and doing M Pharm, and plans to take up a job, so does her friend Vishala. Subodh Agarwal, a male student of M Pharm, will either take up job as a drug inspector or “I might even prepare for the IAS exam; I am yet to decide.”

Dr Arindam Paul, Principal, says proudly: “Right now, in the Valsad Drug office, there are three drug inspectors who have passed out from our college.”

This college offers four different specialities in Pharma and as Gujarat is a major pharma hub “all of

our students get placement in the industries, starting with a package of around Rs 12,000–15,000,” he adds.

Multi-specialty hospitalAt the plush 200-bed multi-specialty Haria Rotary Hospital, run by the Rotary Charitable Trust, Superintendent Dr S S Singh, who has been here for 30 years, says it was started by the Trust in 1984, and over the years has added almost all specialities. These include neurosurgery, joint replacements, maxillofacial surgery, corneal transplants, etc. “Except for open heart surgery we do other cardiac pro-cedures such as angioplasty. Between Surat and Mumbai,

this is the largest hospital and patients, particularly those involved in accidents on NH8 that links Vapi and other towns to Mumbai, are rushed here. We also give free treatment to about 20 children under the Smile Train project.”

While there are beds reserved for poor patients, even other costs at this state-of-the-art and spanking clean hos-pital put together at a cost of nearly Rs 8 crore, are nominal. A knee replacement costs around Rs 1.25 lakh and insertion of a stent Rs 1.05 lakh, and other charges are nominal too, almost 50 per cent of other private hospitals providing quality healthcare, he adds.

Ramesh Desai, a Trustee of ROVADAN (Rotary Vapi Dangs Develop-ment) Trust, which has done phenomenal Pharmacists in the making at the pharma college.

Haria Rotary Hospital Superintendent Dr S S Singh examines a patient.

50 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

work in transforming some of the villages in Dang district, says that dialysis here is totally free. There are five dialysis machines. “Even the rich are given free dialysis but they can donate, and if somebody donates Rs 5,000, we acknowledge that the day’s dialysis has been sponsored by him/her.”

More than medical careThat this hospital does much more than just clinical or sur-gical intervention is seen from Dr Singh’s simple statement. “Most dialysis patients get financially exhausted, so to the needy ones we also give, along with free dialysis, some ration, such as 5 kg of rice, wheat, one litre of oil and some other ingredients.”

Roy adds that for none of the four charitable Trusts run by RC Vapi, any matching grants have been taken from RI, except for some small things such as an ambulance. Also, 20 RI Presidents have visited this flagship Rotary project of District 3060 over the years, inaugurating some new ward or facility.

I know PRIP Banerjee, whose hometown is Vapi, is somewhere in the hospital, and wonder where he is. “Oh, he must be checking out the toilets. Kalyanbhai is very particular about clean toilets,” quips RC Vapi President Jayesh Kansara. As if on cue, Banerjee emerges, and smiles, “Yes, I have checked the toilets and they are clean!” He is accompanied by Retd Major General Tsheri, who heads the Sandra Shroff ROFEL College of Nursing, which is training 106 nurses. Needless to say her nurses get instant

Most of them are not interested in staying on the campus because many of them do part time work to supplement family income.

placement “not only in Gujarat or India but all over the world,” she beams.

No prizes for guessing that once again, girls dominate. The last batch of 40 nurses that passed out had only 6 men!

I come away from Vapi with vivid memories of Ramesh Desai’s video presentation of the way in which Rotary has transformed farmers’ lives in Vapi. “We work with the Gujarat government and Ph Ds in Agriculture work with us to bring in change.” Well, Vapi deserves another visit, as the best stories can be related only from the spot.

Pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat

Designed by N Krishnamurthy

Maj Gen (Retd) Tsheri with nursing students at the Sandra Shroff ROFEL College of Nursing.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 51

Rotary has com-mitted to provide basic infrastructure, g e n d e r - s p e c i f i c toilets, drinking water and libraries

in schools ... “all these to empower students with quality education as they are the ones who can work wonders for the nation,” said RI President K R Ravindran. He was at Hyderabad along with RI Director Manoj Desai to dedicate thousands of dual desks to schools in the newly formed Telangana State.

Twenty one Rotary clubs of D 3150 provided 7,593 dual desks to 145 government schools at a meet-ing at Madhapur, Hyderabad. The project costing Rs 1.82 crore has Global Grant support from Rotary clubs of St Simon Island, Brunswick, Golden-Isles-Glymn County and McIntosh County, D 6920, USA; D 3510, Taiwan; D 1400, Finland and

TRF. “This will provide comfortable learning experience for 22,779 stu-dents,” said PDG Ravi Vadlamani, Chairman of the District initiative, Save Our Schools. The District has donated 75,000 desks worth Rs 18 crore to various schools in the last five years.

T Harish Rao, the State’s Min-ister for Irrigation, Mines and Geol-ogy, lauded Rotary’s initiative to achieve total literacy in India by 2017. At another event organised in Chilakaluripet (Andhra Pradesh), 1,457 dual desks were donated to schools with support from TRF and D 2110, Italy.

From floor to desk

RI President K R Ravindran interacting with the students at Hyderabad.

The Him Jyoti Foun-dation in Dehradun which provides qual-ity education to under-privileged girls from Garhwal and Kumaon

regions of Uttarakhand, has now started a vocational service centre to equip women from poorer sections of society with income generating skills.

The Foundation, founded by PRID Sudharshan Agarwal, has established the Him Jyoti Vocational Training Institute (HVTI) just across the cam-pus of the Him Jyoti School. While

the State government has provided land for the institute, the cost of construction and equipping it is Rs 6 crore.

Two-year programmes are offered totally free of cost in graphics design,

secretarial course, personal grooming and fashion designing. Currently, 55 girls are undergoing training, but grad-ually the strength will be stepped up to 150.

Him Jyoti Vocational Training Institute

Team Rotary News

Him Jyoti Vocational Training Institute at Dehradun

Team Rotary News

Doing good with TRF help

52 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Afflicted by the polio-virus as a child, when Susanne Rea was

made District 9550 (Australia) Chair in 2013, she decided to use the social media to connect with her district to raise funds. Given her verve and vivacity, energy and enthusiasm, and penchant for travel, it was only a matter of time before the WGM went global.

Susanne already had previous experience of collecting funds for three years for TRF. When she met PDG Mukesh Malhotra in London, the two decided to set up the World’s Greatest Meal (WGM) to end polio by urging Rotarians to give a little more for any meals they might attend or organise in Rotary. And what better medium than social media to do so!

“We formed a group on FB and started with 30, a few of them PDGs, and invited a lot of friends.” Those

who sign up for the WGM share a meal with their club members, friends, family or office colleagues in any way they choose. During the meal, donations are sought for the End Polio Now campaign, and the participants can decide if they wish to hold a frugal meal in place of a full meal, and donate the difference in cost. Or just donate $10 or so above the ticket price. “Or, they can invite friends and neighbours for tea in return for a donation — the ideas and outcomes are limitless,” she says.

Till date the WGM has raised a whopping $4 million. “We run raffles, auctions, etc, too and in Brazil, in the biggest event we’ve had, we auctioned Pele memorabilia and raised $67,000. But of course this is not usual and not all our events are big. The smallest we’ve collected is £7 in a really small club. The money we collect through meals at different events, gets tripled

when it reaches Evanston by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — 1 dollar becomes 3, she says, and the total amount goes towards polio eradication programmes.

Internet, social-media drivenNow the WGM has several initiatives going on the Internet and the social media, and she is helped by a Spanish webmaster, Indian co-ordinators and other Rotarians enchanted by Susanne’s energy.

Whatever is given by a Rotarian to the WGM counts towards the donor becoming a Paul Harris Fellow. Till now the highest per-sonal donation at WGM is $1,000.“A man I met in London, a non- Rotarian and an industrialist from Africa, once offered me a million dollars if I would go to a certain place and have a meal with him. But I declined.”

Enjoy a meal … end polioRasheeda Bhagat

Rtn M K Gopinath, IPDG ISAK Nazar, Rtn Susanne Rea and

Ras

heed

a B

haga

t

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 53

Why?“Because I knew he would give the money anyway; and he did,” she grins, adding that her idea is to get involved as many Rotarians as possible and take ownership of the polio eradication programme.”

Teaming with Rotary FlameThere’s an interesting story behind how Susanne got involved in the Polio Flame. An Egyptian friend of RC Madras PP, M K Gopinath, who is an active Rotarian and a friend called and said she wanted the flame in Egypt. Next day, by a co-incidence Susaane wrote to him. Within three days they organised her visit to Chennai; “in no time DG Nazar organised a meeting of 10 clubs and we raised $3,900 for WGM. We did all this in a few days without knowing each other; some-times you can’t do such things even in

six months,” says District 2980 PDG S P Balasubramaniam.

As a result RC Madras and WGM joined hands and decided that Susanne would take the flame over 108 days to eight countries during the last leg to eradicate polio from the world.

In Chennai she visited the Rotary News Trust office where we hosted a meal for her, without then being aware of how her meals work! But we, and WGM, got a surprise benefactor in the form of the then DG ISAK Nazar. As Susanne mentioned, in the course of the interview that just 14 months down the line, she was short of a total of $2.5 million by a mere $2,200, Nazar quietly announced, “That will be my contribution!”

Reverse mortgaging her house

As she takes out her heavy bag to give us some WGM trinkets such as pens and badges, Susanne complains about being allowed only 15 kg on domestic carri-ers in India, the PDG urges me to ask her how she manages her travel across the world. Recently she had taken the Polio Flame to

legendary cricketer

Don Bradman’s house in Australia and later to Uganda. So who pays for her global travel? “Oh, I’ve reverse mortgaged my house,” she smiles and relates the story of how last sum-mer, when she had taken a $20,000 limit on her credit card, at one point over $19,000 had been spent.

“Oh, I manage,” she smiles and is sometimes sent shopping for more dresses by her webmaster, who is also a Rotary public image coor-dinator. “He said you are wearing that pink dress too often. Leave it at home. Oh well, as I address many meetings across the world, I have to look presentable … I should know how to talk, which isn’t an issue, fix my hair, and so on!”

On how she got polio, she says, “I am 72 and in the olden days they didn’t have polio immunisation.” When young she didn’t need any corrective surgery but “since I was 50 I’ve had 18 surgeries. I have chal-lenges concerning mainly airports and standing.” When she addresses Rotary clubs, where a standard talk takes 20 minutes this is a challenge and though she is requested to sit and speak, “I prefer to talk while walking around. Look, as long as I can do it I will do it.”

As for her future plans once polio is eradicated, she says she has already discussed with incoming RI President John Germ to turn this into a general fundraiser for TRF.

Designed by L Gunasekaran

A man I met in London, a non-Rotarian and

an industrialist from Africa, once offered me a million

dollars if I would go to a certain place and have a

meal with him. But I declined.

form of the then DSusanne mentionethe interview that juthe line, she was $2$2 5.5 mmilillilionon bbyy aa mmquietly announcedcontribution!”

Reh

PPPPPlell

““

Rtn Susanne Rea at Sir Don Bradman’s

54 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

If you wanted a haircut you could sit on one chair at the barber’s shop and sit on another chair for healthcare,” says PP Anil Jain of RC Calgary Cen-

tennial, D 5360, talking about the non-existent medical facility in Sarurpur village. Forty years ago, he recalls, “a medical facility meant walking up to my doorstep where my mother Maya Devi, who understood the health chal-lenges of women, especially during pregnancy and delivery, would assist them with some home remedy.”

Being the eldest daughter she was not allowed to go to school. Her brothers became engineers while she was married and had to deal with the

death of two of her children because of lack of medical care. Living in extreme poverty she knew that edu-cation was the only way to change the life of her children irrespective of their gender. “Once my sisters had reached the 5th grade they were asked to quit school — a traditional prac-tice,” says Jain. But she did not pay heed to the criticism from the com-munity. “My mother was persistent and my father supportive. For five weeks he accompanied my sisters to school with a bamboo stick (to ward off any conflict).” From the sixth week other girls began to come to school. “My father never had to wield the bamboo stick again because he

A mother’s dream accomplished

Kiran Zehra

In the rural areas of Muzzafarnagar, UP, where there is no healthcare, the Rotary Maya Devi

Hospital provides the much needed lifeline for women and children.

knew that together the girls were very strong.”

Upon Maya Devi’s death, her children, who are now accomplished professionals, “decided to transform their mother’s home in the village into a women’s hospital,” says Jain. RC Muzzafarnagar, D 3100, supported by RC Calgary Centennial, D 5360, the CHILD Foundation and TRF, real-ised this dream and today “thousands of women and children from over 25 villages now have access to modern medicine for the first time in their lives,” he adds.

Dr Pragya Jain, the Chief Gynaecologist of Rotary Maya Devi Hospital says this facility had to

Doing good with TRF help

Membership in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives

As on September 1, 2015

RI Zone

RI District

Rotary Clubs

No. of Rotarians

Women Rotarians

Rotaract Interact RCC

Source: RI South Asia Office

5

5

5

4

4

5

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

4

6

6

4

4

4

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

6

2981

2982

3000

3011

3012

3020

3030

3040

3051

3052

3053

3060

3070

3080

3090

3100

3110

3120

3131

3132

3140

3150

3160

3170

3180

3190

3201

3202

3211

3212

3220

3230

3240

3250

3261

3262

3271

3272

3281

3282

3291

3292

Total

10466

113647077929865685695

114777884

10771

13681

1489266

12614097

1341371339078

1467998758056

10417412215290

4,133

4,5042,9784,8532,7782,9153,8954,9632,2322,4133,5122,1283,9143,1623,2082,0372,0293,4462,8055,6643,3967,5733,3192,3205,1125,6514,1735,0425,1374,2173,6432,0816,1452,8433,6602,4342,854

9761,8845,0643,2584,0083,120

1,51,346

217117427378302217557279177535217336260172101104189247

1,009326

1,055272101304262351262280249161248600327579267306140343659276662389

14,260

4433

1552744605233382814405049271045315649

110719

30416072719

2169

140454014333521

1951114796

2,225

19610231510988

23918790

1191273096

12915434844648

18010434216337

26036613392

36267

145184391122186976214357921

10396

5,834

16437782853

26412813333012590

1085898

12214662486889

14010980

155145414639

11911894

29812517142681334

17838

53689

4,907

deal with local attitude initially. “A rich landlord said ‘Free hai? Toh yeh garibon ka aspatal hoga! (If it’s free then it’s only for the poor.)’ During awareness rallies and health check up camps we often heard comments like, ‘Zyada padhe likhen logon ko koi kaam nahi hota. (Educated people have no other work.)’ But slowly the villagers realised that this hospital had more to offer.”

Shunned as infertile and sterile earlier, many women are now able to bear children. But the facility is often inundated with expectant mothers with pregnancy-related complications. Dr Pragya recalls the case of Rekha, who had heavy internal bleeding and inces-sant abdominal pain. She was brought in to the hospital only to find her four-month old pregnancy was terminated. Within a year of counselling and nutri-tious diet she is on the motherhood path again.

Many women in the region suf-fer from anaemia. They do not take prescribed medicines. “We tell them ‘palak khao, channe khao (eat greens, eat chickpeas)’ that’s how they under-stand,” says Dr Pragya. Water-borne diseases are another serious matter here. So a water puifier has been installed at the hospital to provide clean drinking water for the villagers. “Often the hospital has more children than patients filling up water to take back home,” says club member Suneel Aggarwal. Sanitation programmes and awareness rallies are taken up by the club to discourage open defecation.

RAGMHI Contact detailsRtn Rita Aggarwal’s contact details were inadvertently missed in her article: Rotary Action Group on Mental Health Initiatives, published in the September issue. She is a member of RC Nagpur, D 3030, and the only Indian on the Board of Directors of RAGMHI. She can be contacted at: rita.aggarwal@gmail.com; Mobile: 09823073986.

56 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Hopea parviflora, Actinodaphne malabarica, Cynometra bed-

domei — Sounds Greek and Latin? These are the botanical names of some of the plant species on the verge of extinction.

The Rotarians of RC Payyanur, D 3202, have came up with a unique community project — an attempt to preserve and revive some of the endangered flora varieties that are endemic in the Western Ghats region. The club with support and guidance from the Botany Department of Payyanur College have set up arbo-retums in various parts of Payyanur in Kerala. Naming it the ‘Threatened Trees Conservation Garden,’ they planted 1,111 saplings of 111 species of globally threatened plant troves.

“One hundred and eleven plant varieties to commemorate Rotary’s 111th anniversary,” said the club president C R Nambiar. The saplings have been planted in the club’s one-acre vacant plot at Muthathy, and at Payyanur college campus, Edanad and Kunhimangalam, where the local people also pitched in and have promised to help in the maintenance of the plants.

Without proper conservation, several medicinal plants have disappeared in the Western Ghats, said Nambiar. Dr Ratheesh Narayanan, a club member and Botany professor in Payyanur College was instrumental in identifying the various species

from Wayanad for this club initiative. A scientist in plant taxonomy with about 15 years of association with the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Narayanan has done a lot of research on the globally endangered plant vari-eties that are endemic to the region. Wayanad, in the Western Ghats, is a

haven of biodiversity. Classified under categories such as critically endan-gered, vulnerable and rare, at least 352 globally threatened tree species grow here. Several of them have medicinal properties; “their barks and leaves are used in preparing arishtams and kashayams, that our State is known for, to treat complex disorders. These species need our attention and have to be protected,” he said.

The ex-situ preservation of such endangered trees will not only help in educating the student community about the diversity of plants but can also serve as source material for micro propagation, he added.

How about the post-planting care that is equally vital for the plants to grow? “These saplings are like our children; we will nurture them with utmost love and care,” assured the club president.

Payyanur’s tryst with

forgotten flora

Jaishree

““Preserving such endangered

trees will not only help in educating

students about the diversity of plants but

will also serve as source material

for micro propagation.

PDG V G Nayanar, D 3202, planting a sapling in an arboretum.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 57

Microcredit to the rescueDr Gaurish Padukone

Thanks to the microcredit finance project of RC Bhatkal, villagers around Bhatkal enjoy better lifestyle today.

Ganapi Kumbhar, display-ing her new potter’s wheel bought with a loan from her Self Help Group (SHG)

says, “With one wheel my husband and I could earlier make earthenware pots for only the Bhatkal shandy. We are now able to make pots and other items for three weekly shandies in Bhatkal, Murdeshwar and Manki. Our weekly income has increased three times ... God bless the Rotarians.”

Aruna Madival, member of Omkar Swasahaya Sangh, Shirali, who used the microcredit loan funds to pay tui-tion fees for her daughter in a school in Bhatkal, adds that but for this loan her daughter could not have attended a private school.

Since 2009 RC Bhatkal, D 3170, has been promoting financial independ-ence in the women of villages in and around the Bhatkal taluka in Karnataka with microcredit loans. TRF has sanc-tioned this project worth Rs 13 lakh, which has financial support from RC La Jolla Sunrise, D 5340, California, USA, and District 2080, Italy.

How it worksThe club gives loans ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000 to SHGs formed with rural women as members. They meet weekly and pool in their savings which are deposited in a savings bank account. SHGs disburse small loans to their members for income- generating activities such as candle making, flo-riculture, purchase of irrigation pumps for vegetable gardens and sewing machines to set up small tailoring units. Microcredit loans have also

helped them to pay for their children’s education. Vocational training courses and skill development programmes are also organised by the club in associ-ation with the government for the SHGs, who are also educated on the importance of saving, family planning and personal hygiene.

Six such groups have been given a total loan of Rs 1 million between 2010–12, and the entire capital has been repaid along with interest. The Project Committee has formed 10 new SHGs in 2014–2015.

“I have a cleaner, smoke-free kitchen and no back-breaking journeys to the forest to collect firewood. I used to cook food for the entire family of 12 on wood fire all these years,” says Gangamma Gonda of Neerkanta vil-lage. A loan from Shri Annapoornesh-wari Swasahaya Sangh has helped her purchase a gas stove and also get an LPG connection. The microcredit pro-ject funds helped Nagalaxmi Naik, an

SHG member, to pay off the medical bills for her son’s emergency surgery at a city hospital and Kalpana Gonda, a member of Nagashree Swasahaya Sangh in Jali village, to construct a toilet for her home.

Upgrading daycare centresThe second part of the MG project was to develop good daycare centres for chil-dren of working women in rural areas. The existing anganwadis are large halls where children are looked after and given midday meals. The children are taught rhymes and folk songs, alphabets and numbers from paintings on the walls. Under this project, the Rotarians have so far equipped five day care centres with colourful desks and chairs, educational toys, given teaching aids to teachers and equipment and utensils for the meals. They plan to upgrade the facilities of 15 more centres this year.

(The writer is member of RC Bhatkal, D 3170.)

Doing good with TRF help

SHG members making candles.

58 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

It was a ride on the wild side. Super-charged with adrena-line, I paced the space like a caged tiger, mind on fire, words crying to be heard. Sen-tences exploded: “A thought

is only a thought!” “Nothing happens, nothing has happened, nothing is hap-pening, nothing will ever happen!” I wrote like a maniac not knowing then that it was soon to be a book — The Long Road to Nowhere: from Is to Bliss (Zen Publications). Apparently, my eyes had become large and extraor-dinarily clear. My last rush of words before being driven to the hospital, I was told, were: “I don’t know if I’m crazy or enlightened!”

And here’s the crux of the story: I was blessed! I had three caring doc-tors charting my stars to recovery. Just because my blood pressure had risen and I was speaking repetitively, I was an ICCU candidate! Fortunately, one of the three wise doctors, my dear sister Deepika, said firmly, “Not the ICCU. It’s too cold and impersonal. He’ll recover faster if he sees people around him.” Truer words have never been spoken. No distant ‘all-night- vigilance’ in chilling, sterile condi-tions can replace the warm, loving hand on the brow.

Needless testsI did not undergo a battery of needless tests, just those required. I came out with flying colours — lungs, heart, kidney, liver were healthy and oxy-gen levels good. My hugely relieved sister attributed it to my daily fitness and meditation regime. I concur heart-ily. Tip: Pedal on your stationary bike for an hour daily. Do stretches with

springs. And crunch those abs. Since my sodium level had dropped by three points, I was put on a saline drip for five days. I had always thought I was the salt of the earth.

Apparently, the next day, I was chanting “I surrender. Peace.” And I was at peace. Right through this unexpected experience, I was super confident that there was nothing wrong

in my body. Years of fitness silently nurture body and mind. When you sur-render to healing forces, you enjoy a childlike immunity to ill-being.

With firm resolve, I walked the path my pen had set: “Remember, pranic and panic are an ‘r’ apart. That ‘r’ is respiration. Breathe deeply. Panic disappears. Pranic energy re-flows.” Tip: In good and bad times, concentrate

Bharat and Shalan Savur

Doctor, heal thyself

Healing Touch: PRIP Rajendra K Saboo has organised and led many medical missions in India and Africa where Rotarian doctors operate/consult for no other consideration except caring and healing.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 59

on your breathing. Often, brain and body come up with a subconscious knee-jerk panic attack. Deep, consist-ent breathing beats counting to 10.

It also helps to repeat the healing affirmation of the Masters: “I will my life force to charge through my nerves and muscles big and small, my tissues, limbs and all, with vibrant tingling fire, with burning joyous power. In blood and glands by sovereign command I bid you flow, by my command, I bid you glow.”

In a system gone callous where pharma companies and some practi-tioners are in an unholy alliance, my three doctors tower as true heroes. Shining examples to the growing tribes of medicos who see a patient as one more number to achieve their ‘target’ for the hospitals they work for, prescribing tests and surgeries merely to collect commissions. These over-the-top practices are justified by many in the profession as a ‘preventive action’ against patient litigation. But how many in India have the gumption, resources and energy to take a medical practitioner to court?

Invasive proceduresMore disturbing are the invasive pro-cedures imposed on the terminally ill not just for profiteering, but also as a ‘classroom lesson’ where medical stu-dents are invited (without the family’s permission) to watch the specialist’s prowess. This actually happened with my mother-in-law, the insensitivity of the senior doctor was appalling. A doctor must be sensitive to every individual’s right to live or pass away in peace and dignity.

Ethics, values and humaneness must grow, not diminish, with the advance of technology. A doctor who punishes patients for profits, power or prestige punishes himself/herself first — a pre-cious spark of love dies inside. Dr Atul Gawande, a renowned surgeon in the USA, puts it beautifully in his book Being Mortal: Medicine and what mat-ters in the end, “People with serious

illness have priorities besides simply prolonging their lives … avoiding suf-fering, strengthening relationships …. being mentally aware, not being a bur-den on others, and achieving a sense that their life is complete … Our system of technological medical care has utterly failed to meet these needs. The question is how we can … actually help people achieve what’s most important to them at the end of their living.” I applaud the good doctor’s deep concern and thoughtfulness.

I wish that doctors, who look more into the health of their prof-its than the health of their patients, could look deep into their core and rediscover that great seed of love and goodness that resides in them. Under-standing and compassion along with the determination to heal the sick and strengthen the weak is a bountiful energy that lights up the doctor’s life with genuine purpose. Why under-mine it?

When professional life is con-ducted with kindness of honesty and truth, deep fulfillment and joy abound. Indeed, we are happy not because of our wealth but because of our enor-mous capacity to love. As that great Master Thich Nhat Hanh revealed, “The secret to maintaining happiness is to nourish our love every day,” and exhorted, “Don’t allow success or craving for money and power to replace your love.”

To that end, I urge doctors to re- direct and re-dedicate their intentions to the greater, higher purposes they had started their medical career with. Daily, sit comfortably, eyes closed gently. Concentrate on your breath, the rise and fall of your stomach. Now, put your honorable intentions into these affirmations. When you open your eyes, open your heart, and let the pure healer in you emerge.

(The writers are authors of the book ‘Fitness for Life.’)

Rotarian doctors at a medical camp in Sikar (Rajasthan) organised by RC Sikar, D 3052.

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OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 61

The story of little Raghav, who was facing death in

February 2011, is heartrend-ing. The four-year-old child had damaged his neck bone in an accident and was at a risk of permanent paralysis. After multiple surgeries he was discharged but needed extra help. When he enrolled at the AN Chaturvedi Rotary Physiotherapy Centre, his head was dropping and he couldn’t look up. “His t-shirt would be always wet as the saliva kept dripping from his mouth. Thanks to the doctors and physiotherapist here, today he can look at me straight and I don’t have to carry a towel to wipe his mouth constantly,” says his mother wiping her tears.

Sponsored by RC Kankaria, D 3051, the club, char-tered as RC Vejalpur, is now called RC Ahmedabad West. With no pucca meeting place, the Rotarians met regularly under the trees of Unnati Primary School’s garden, “and one such meeting resulted in the establish-ment of this physiotherapy centre,” says club member Jayvant Kamdar. Earlier patients had to travel nearly 8 km to a nearby town for treatment.

Named after its highest donor, the physiotherapy centre boasts of a 250,000 strong database and sees nearly 7,000 new patients every year. Club President

Where physiotherapists excelKiran Zehra

Alkesh Patil attributes the centre’s popularity to the dedicated team of doctors, assistants and administra-tors. Dr Namratha, the chief physiotherapist recalls an incident where a girl whose right hand had almost been paralysed was rushed in. “Her father came in crying and told us that the girl had her board exam in two hours.” This was a challenge as time was limited. After one and a half hours of therapy the girl was able to move her hand. The delighted father donated the much-needed laser equipment to the centre.

“Soon word spread about this excellent centre and now patients come here through doctors’ reference and recommendation,” says Rtn Prem Bomb, who adds that many Rotarians, despite their business interests, give time to this centre on a daily basis.

Since the place is young and vibrant it is also popular as ‘the place’ to work at. “If you are a young physio, you know you are going to get quality training here. I only treat back pain, another physiotherapist treats shoulder problems and we are allowed to also consult at back and shoulder clinics. That is a bonus for us at the professional level,” says a junior therapist.

The 26-year-old club is involved in a variety of welfare projects; its literacy programme in the slums has earned it the name: sadkon ke shiqshaq (roadside educators).

““ If you are a young

physio, you know you are

going to get quality

training here.

62 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 20156262262 ROTROTROTOROTTROTARYRARYARYARYY NENENNN WSWSWS OCTOCTOCTOCTTOBEOOBEOBEO R 2R 2R 2R 2015015015000

A few years ago, a local TV chan-nel in Delhi sent a very young

girl to get a ‘bite’ from a very sen-ior minister after he had finished his speech somewhere. Dutifully, she stuck the mike in his face and asked him for his comment, which he gave. Then the girl asked him, “Please, Sir, can you tell me your name?” The minister told me he has never recovered from that episode.

Journalism wasn’t always so breath-less, and, so literally in-your-face.

When print was the only medium — radio news has never caught on in India — it was a more relaxed affair. Those who had something to say invited you for a cup of tea and made their statement. You asked your ques-tions politely, without shouting. You got your answers, noted them down, went back and filed your report.

It was vetted first by your imme-diate superior, then by the production crew called the ‘desk.’ The mistakes were ironed out, needless adjectives

were removed, and a sober headline was given. It summarised the news below — instead of asking a question which has become the fashion now to escape legal consequences (eg, ‘Did X rape Y?’ instead of saying ‘X raped Y’).

Lazy reportersThere was a negative aspect to this style of journalism — it produced lazy reporters who waited for the news to come to them. Also, since only the government or political parties always

TCA Srinivasa-Raghavan

With the advent of social media, have “professional journalists” become a dying breed?

The media over

62 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 63OCTOCTCOCTCTOBEOBEOBEEO R 2R 2R 2R 201501501500 ROTROTROTRO ARYARYARY NENEEN WSWSS 63636633

You asked your questions politely, without shouting. You got your answers, noted them down, went back and filed your report.

had something to say, the ‘news’ was heavily administrative and political. Features were for the women who would write on cooking or curtains and of course the arts — music, dance, etc. The only exception allowed was literature — but not fiction.

The liveliest spot in the paper was the sports page because neither enter-tainment nor business was considered respectable enough to cover. Business, in particular, was shunned almost totally. A company’s name could never be mentioned. Entertainment lived in a journalistic ghetto with its own weekly or fortnightly publications.

This form of dictation-journalism began to change in the mid-1970s when editors like the late B G Verghese started the tradition of investigative journalism. He commissioned and printed a series in 1974 that showed how even though Indira Gandhi had inaugurated a large number of ‘devel-opment’ projects since 1970, not a sin-gle one of them had taken off. He was soon dismissed.

Political journalism takes offIt was only after the Emergency that political journalism took off and busi-ness journalism became ‘all right’ but was confined to the back pages. The lead was taken by the newly launched magazine India Today. Not only did it start writing about different things, it did so with style and panache with lots of pictures and quotes. It also broke with the tradition of not printing the names of officials or their photos.

Daily newspapers took some time to change their ways but this happened in the mid-1980s. Features, business and entertainment now occupied a central place in a newspaper. More importantly, so also rank and age.

By the end of the 1980s, the average age in the print media had dropped to 37. It was full of young generals and younger soldiers. This was the first whiff of breathless journalism. The results were dramatic in terms of sales and profit growth.

Enter TV journalism!But all good things must end and in the 1990s came TV news. To begin with it was only for a few hours a day but by 2000, 24 x 7 TV news had become the norm. After that, print stood no chance and it became only a matter of time before its importance to both the consumer of news and the purveyor of advertisements declined. TV, in ten seconds, reached ten thousand more times the people that print could ever hope to.

The next decade, from 2000–2010 was dominated entirely by TV news. The written word became increasingly less popular. There was growth in sales because of the higher number of liter-ate people; but profits were dropping throughout this period. Even so, the combined worth of the media — print and TV — was around Rs 40,000 crore in 2010. It was a good business to be in because if your offering was even reasonably alright, you could make a

small amount of money. But far more importantly, you could wield a lot of influence, if not power.

Social media arrivesIn the last five years, with the increas-ing penetration of the Internet and handheld devices, even that has changed. This platform, via Twitter, Facebook and alerts, makes news avail-able instantly, on the move and for free. The generation born after 1985 hardly ever reads ink-on-paper news; and it almost never watches TV news. The downside of Internet-delivered news is that there are no quality filters. But no one seems to care. As a result, the trend of higher top lines and lower bottom lines has continued for print and TV. News has become commoditised.

Over the next decade a shakeout is due so that the industry can consol-idate. Indeed, with the heavy presence of the large corporates in the media, the process has already begun. It will be interesting to see how things unfold over the next few years. My guess is that Twitter will become the mainstay of staple news and information.

In that sense, professional journal-ists may be a dying breed.

Designed by N Krishnamurthy

the years

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 63

Rasheeda Bhagat

A typical wood and stone cottage in the little town of Rougemont.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 65

Since so many journalists from around the world were coming, we specially ordered the rains today to wash our mountains and fill our lakes,” said Jurg Schmid, CEO of Switzerland Tourism. He was addressing

139 international journalists from 35 countries who had landed in Lausanne, on the shores of the glistening waters of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, on a wet and cloudy day.

As we walked in large groups towards the Olympic Museum, where a reception was hosted for us, locals watched in wonder huge groups of red ‘My Switzerland’ umbrellas moving across the streets towards the beautiful museum which houses the largest archives of Olympic Games.

Each year Switzerland Tourism unveils a special theme; while last year it showcased the charm of the Swiss Alps, this time it is the beauty of the Lake Geneva region in the Vaud Canton through the Grand Tour, a 1,600 km road trip linking the country’s most popular tourist and natural destinations. As Schmid said, the beauty of this route was that one could do it in different stretches, splitting the route into flexible journeys. “Depending on the time you have you can do this trip in stretches of 6–8 days or have a long, peace-ful and luxurious holiday for 34 days,” he smiles.

And you also have multiple options for the starting point; beginning your trip from either Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lugano or some other popular towns. Apart from 11 UNESCO sites, the Grand Tour includes Switzerland’s pride — the snow-capped Matterhorn peak.

Scenic train journeysPerhaps frustrated by the overcrowded Indian trains, always a challenge for reservations, Indian tourists have always loved to travel on trains in Europe, where most of the time a reservation is not needed! Switzerland is no exception and as the Grand Route has a train option too, Indians might want to grab it,

Aided by its magical Alps, shimmering waters of Lake Geneva, and the delectable cheese-chocolate combo, Switzerland has perfected the art of showcasing its

tourism delights.

particularly as this route passes through some of the most picturesque spots in Switzerland’s pastoral beauty.

But please be careful while buying train tickets whether online or from stations in Switzerland. Frequent travellers used to the Swiss Pass will now have to categorically ask for the Swiss Travel Pass, as earlier this year the Swiss authorities have made a distinction between the two; the first for locals and the second for foreigners.

At different points in our trip, in this region famous for its vineyards, we are shown stone walls specially constructed around vineyards to soak up the warmth of the sun which gives a special quality to the grapes and the wine made from those grapes. The whites are more famous here than the reds, which worked fine for me!

Apart from its famous wine, cheese and choc-olates, Vaud is home to 55 sports federations and bodies; the International Olympic Committee headquarters is located here.

Art of watchmakingFrom Lausanne, I first visit an impor-tant route on the Grand Tour — the Jura Vaudois National Park, a huge expanse of forest in moun-tainous land, which is dry this year because of insufficient rainfall. After some refreshing coffee and local cheese in a traditional chalet here, we are taken to the ubiquitous watch museum — Espace Horloger — for which the Valley de Joux is famous.

Some of the most famous brands in the world are displayed at the museum which was renovated three years ago at a cost of 1.4 million Swiss Francs. Vincent Jaton, the

manager, explains that the huge variety of watches and clocks on display here, some of them dating back a few hundred years, are a collection from watch manufacturers and individuals.

Watchmaking became popular here because in harsh winter months, the farmers didn’t have much to do during the days and started making complicated watches, and slowly the region emerged as a centre of excellence in international watchmaking. Over time the Valley became the cradle of complicated watchmaking. Those of you who have been smitten by Swiss watches would be most happy to play around the three interactive tables in this museum which allow visitors to explore the different skills required to make a “complicated watch” — movement, watch exte-rior, decoration and finish. It is fascinating to watch the micromechanics that come into play to make the perfect and dependable Swiss watch. In these computerised and interactive panels, which allow you to send emails or share stuff on social media, it is easy to get totally immersed in the glamorous world of Swiss watchmaking.

Some of the clocks with pendulums are obviously heir-looms, which must have been handed over from one gen-eration to another. I quiz Jaton about the collective value of the watches in the museum and the man who is amazed that such a guess can even be attempted, says majestically, “It is impossible to give you the price … it is priceless.”

This church is very popular with Indian tourists because the hero and heroine in a very famous Indian movie were shown here. Of course Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in DDLJ, I smile.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 67

Golden Pass TrainA highlight of my tour is taking the Golden Pass train that links Montreux to Lucerne, via Chateau d’Oex, where our group was headed. A class by itself, the luxuriously done-up first class coach of the train takes you right back to the famous Agatha Christie thriller and famous Hollywood movie Murder on the Orient Express. It has an old world feel of luxury with its plush and ample seats, wooden interior and classic décor. Nicolas is in charge of giving us details and tells us stories bordering on fairy tales. Such as an 86-year-old lady, whose house is along the picturesque route of this journey and who sits out in her garden the entire day and has spent the last 50 years of her life waving to passengers like us!

Or how Santa Claus, while flying “with Rudolf, his reindeer, across the Lake Geneva region during one of his journeys, saw this beau-tiful region, had a glass or two of our wonderful wine, and when Rudolf suddenly scratched his foot a little bit, they had to land. He loved our lake and our mountains and has now decided to spend most of the year here!” We all have a good laugh and add bits to make the story even more entertaining. As Nicolas is a handsome Swiss with sharp features, our female-majority group is compelled to listen to his tales!

With the greenest grass you have ever seen, even after a scorching summer, the shimmering waters of the lake, the beautiful wooden cottages and the grassy slopes of the mountains for com-pany, who wouldn’t want to live here, we chant in unison. Nicolas next tells us about the Choc-olate Train — oh yes there is one such train — where you can “eat as many chocolates as you like before visiting Nestle’s chocolate factory, where you can eat more chocolates.” Mercifully, he soon pulls out a box of delicious Swiss choco-lates and distributes its contents to a very hungry bunch of journalists.

Before we disembark, he shows us a little cathedral saying: “This church is very popular particularly with groups of Indian tourists who like to visit it because the hero and heroine in a very famous Indian movie were shown here.” Of course he has no clue about the movie! Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in DDLJ, I smile.

Cheese making and fondueWe are next headed for a cheese and fondue experience at a traditional restaurant — Restaurant Le Chalet — where

Depending on the time you have, do this trip in 6–8 days, or have a long, peaceful and luxurious holiday for 34 days.– Jurg Schmid

CEO, Switzerland Tourism

The Romanesque church at Rougemont.

68 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

bang in the midst of rustic settings, the cheesemaker trans-forms over 160 litres of milk in a huge cauldron kept over open fire into special organic cheese, right before our eyes. We are first welcomed with a typical Swiss snack — wine, bread, cheese and smoked meats. It’s a glorious summer day and we enjoy the green outdoor ambience, as the milk is boiling and the cheese granules separating. One person is required to remove the granules; I hesitate looking at the huge quantity but am assured that the farmer will do most of the work.

After donning a brown leather apron, stirring the milk a little bit, more for pictures than anything else, the

In the midst of rustic settings, the cheesemaker transforms 160–200 litres of milk in a huge cauldron kept over open fire into special organic cheese, right before our eyes.

A selection of cheese on offer at the Restaurant Le Chalet.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 69

cheesemaker makes me hold one end of a large piece of thin, muslin-like white cloth. I watch in horror as he pours some ice-cold water on his fingers and plunges them right into the boiling caul-dron to place the cloth near the bottom! Together we haul out the cheese gran-ules. The entire quantity, along with the cloth, is placed within a round cane frame, the excess water is drained out with the farmer patting it firmly several times.

Our lunch has been arranged here and we leave the circular block of cheese to cool and set. Lunch is sim-ple, yet delicious … freshly baked bread pieces dipped into a typical Swiss cheese fondue and savoured with sips of white wine.

After about an hour or so, the cloth is removed from the hardened cheese block which will now be transferred into the cellar, where it will remain for six months or so before it’s ready to eat.

A Romanesque churchVisiting a Romanesque church in Rougemont town, laid out in the shape of a cross and built by monks in the 11th century, is an experience to cherish. It has been rebuilt several times and our local female tour guide, dressed in a black top and skirt, wearing a straw hat and carrying a quaint cane basket in lieu of the normal women’s handbag, is an instant hit with us. She explains the “difficult history” of this church, which has been rebuilt several times. It is dedicated to Saint Nicolas de Myre, a martyr of the 4th century and the patron saint of children.

During the Bernese reign, the priory was demolished and a castle for the bailiffs was put in its place. Major restoration work from 1919–1926 uncovered a rich haul

of beauty … the stones of the building hitherto hidden by five layers of plaster. The ceiling has now been remade with wooden beams, and the wood, together with the stone walls of the church painted in bright orange and brown, add a unique sense of warmth and quaintness, compelling you to sit down and pray, irrespective of the faith you belong to.

Waves of calm, peace and content engulf me … and I wonder what better way to round off a day filled with cheese, chocolate and wine, and train rides with Santa stories?

Pictures by Rasheeda BhagatDesigned by Krishnapratheesh

Watchmaking became popular in Valley de Joux because in harsh winters the farmers didn’t have much to do during the long days and started making complicated watches.

A coach in the Golden Pass train.

A complicated watch at the watch museum.

70 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

On a Swiss Air flight from Delhi to Zurich last month, as a woman who has opted not to colour her hair and allow the natural process of ageing to determine its colour, I am pleasantly surprised to see a senior

stewardess in Business Class briskly going about her work with her hair, styled in a simple ponytail, revealing ample silver strands. I don’t normally travel Business Class; it was just luck of the draw and I had got upgraded. Initially the lady at the check-in counter had tried to bump me off with an attractive offer — a night’s complimentary stay in a swank Delhi hotel and €600 if I volunteered to take the next flight. Not on a holiday, but on an invite from the Switzerland Tourism Department for its annual media event when it unveils its annual theme for the year, the tempting offer had to be declined.

This year Switzerland Tourism is promoting the Grand Tour of Switzerland, a 1,600 km road trip linking the coun-try’s most popular tourist destinations through a stunningly scenic journey.

On the flight I compliment Angela, the stewardess, for not giving in to the stereotyped norms of beauty, and tell her she is making a positive statement with her decision not to allow the ghisa-pita definition of “beauty” to look younger by colouring her hair. She smiles and says: “Yes, my sis-ter couldn’t believe it when I decided to grey naturally two years ago.” She did it seeking relief from the irritating regimen of colouring her hair every week. I told her quite a few Indian women are doing just that, including popular TV anchors. As both of us toast to the 21st century woman’s decision to make her own rules about her personal beauty space, an Indian stewardess on the same flight — younger but with obviously dyed jet black hair — intervenes with an outrageous comment on how “silver strands in the hair of European women look nice but make us Indian women look old.” I sigh and let it pass. At 37,000 ft, at 3 a m, there’s only that much energy you have, even in the J cabin!

Bollywood’s gift to Swiss tourismI am part of an international media group of 139 journalists from 35 countries Switzerland Tourism has invited for their annual tourism promotion. Thanks to Yash Chopra and later the spectacular success of DDLJ, the Indian market is important for Switzerland, the most expensive destination in Europe for us price-sensitive Indians. But brought up on a Bollywood diet of the picturesque snow-capped Swiss Alps, the verdant green Alpine region, the shimmering

Of greying stewardesses and thirsty cows

Rasheeda Bhagat

This July, thanks to deficient rainfall, the Swiss army airlifted water for the cows at the Jura

Vaudois Nature Park.

A makeshift boat-like tent in a vineyard on the banks of Lake Geneva.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 71

waters of Lake Geneva and of course the irresistible cheese and chocolates, not to mention global industry captains oozing economic gyan at the annual World Economic Forum meets at Davos, Switzerland has its own charm for Indian travellers.

The Swiss penchant for punctuality is well known and all of us are familiar with the cliché that you can set your watch by the arrival or departure of a Swiss train, but on this visit, I am blown away by Swiss Tourism’s endeavour to give the visiting journalists a unique experience at Lake Geneva in Lausanne … sorry that should be Lake Leman, the locals hate the “English name Lake Geneva!”

Perfection to the coreAfter an hour or so of a live jazz band and heavenly music that compels you to jive on your seat, some excellent wine from the local vineyards of the Vaud Canton, we are transferred by buses to the nearby wine-making village of Epesses, which is bang on the shores of the lake. The streets are a little narrow to accommodate so many buses, but even that is taken care of! A police patrol car has been organised to ensure that way is made for the buses. We reach the charming little wine-producing village which has picture postcard quality vineyards nestling close to the shimmering waters of the lake. Here, for a week, Switzerland Tourism has worked to create a few boat-like white tents to seat all of us, ensuring each journalist gets a view of the lake. Very thoughtfully each chair is covered with a blanket in case the evening gets cold! While my European friends swear by the aperitif of semi-cooked fish and the main course of rarely done beef with saffron risotto, I eat up only the rice and pass the rest, till of course the dessert arrives.

But for me, used to stinking loos at the Chennai airport and elsewhere, the takeaway of the evening is neither the spectacular view of the sun going down on Lake Leman, nor the delicious white wines; it is the construction of

toilets of five-star quality at the temporary venue. There is no evidence to show that this is a make-shift facility. Till late evening, there is no hint of stench. I inquire, and am told that “5–6 people were exclusively in charge of cleaning the toilets for the entire evening.”

Army airlifts water for cowsThis is not all; only that morning, during a visit to the Jura Vaudois Nature Park, that covers a fifth of this region’s territory — apart from hosting some of the most famous watch brands in its lovely watch museum — while enjoying the cool winds at an elevation of 1,447 metres, we hear a lovely story from our guide. Only the earlier fortnight, having sweated through a historical high of 37 deg C in Vienna and Prague, the last two places an Indian expects to get scorched, it comes as no surprise that Switzerland has had a harsh summer too.

Add to it low rainfall, and the Swiss army had to carry out an unusual operation — airlifting water for the thirsty cows. The Swiss cows play an important role in the econ-omy, producing quality milk for Swiss iconic products — cheese and chocolates — and have to be taken care of. A cow, I learn, needs at least 100–150 litres of water a day to provide optimum milk. This July, with the temperatures rising to a very un-Swiss 32 deg C and the deficient rainfall running off the mountainous region, there was a huge short-age of water for some 200,000 cows of this region — more than the human population of the area.

So Swiss soldiers came to the rescue; installing water tanks in this region of the Vaud Canton, and filling them up with water air-lifted from the lake! But while this ‘Operation Water’ was funded by the Swiss government, when other Swiss Cantons started clamouring for similar assistance to quench the thirst of their livestock, the military made it clear that henceforth the Cantons will have to foot the bill for water ordered for their cows!

We, the visitors listened and watched in fascination and returned home with an even bigger halo about all things Swiss!

Pictures by Rasheeda Bhagat

Many 21st century women are finally deciding to make their

own rules about their personal beauty space, and grey

naturally.

A live Jazz band on the boat.

72 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

A lilting tribal tune catches the attention of a group of women gathered a t the Integrated Chi ld

Development Services (ICDS) centre in Jidu Pandra village, Ranchi district. As they keenly listen to the beautiful voice of Suman Devi, 25, singer and composer, gradually the Nagpuri lyrics explaining the ill-effects of child marriage start to sink in.

When the melody comes to an end, in the ensuing stillness, Suman opens a discussion on healthcare for women and adolescents. Songs have greater appeal than lengthy speeches. They help me break the ice with the commu-nity. I write, compose and sing songs on health, sanitation and regressive social practices such as child marriage and dowry. I start every meeting with a musical number and when everyone’s listening I go on to talk on subjects like the need for immunisation, taking iron pills and nutrition for pregnant women,” says Suman, a barefoot auditor for the village.

There are 70 barefoot auditors, or Gram Arogya Sakhas, of which 60 are women. They work in villages across 15 Gram Panchayats in two blocks of Ranchi and Hazaribagh districts, sensitising rural communities on gov-ernment health schemes and helping them avail and monitor these services. They have been trained through inten-sive workshops conducted by Child in Need Institute (CINI), an NGO in Jharkhand, working on mother and child health under Oxfam India’s DFID-supported Global Poverty Action Fund initiative, ‘Improving Maternal Health Status in Six States of India.

“The trainees were identified by the Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Committee (VHSNC) in each village on the basis of their networking skills, ability to com-municate, awareness levels and commitment to the cause of social development. About 25 of them were

Jharkhand’s

barefoot AUDITORS

Ajitha Menon

already working as ‘Sahiyas’ under the government’s National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and had experience in community mobilisation,” says Faiz Ahmed, CINI’s Project Coordinator.

“I had to go to every home in the village and ask women to come for meetings to talk about health matters. Despite being from the community, I faced a lot of resistance. There was a general unwillingness to take time out. The pro-gress was gradual, but once the benefits became apparent, more women started turning up on their own,” says Poonam D e v i , a n o t h e r barefoot auditor of Chetanbari village.

The barefoot audi-tors take advice and guidance from CINI trained field animators. For every seven villages, there is one field anima-tor who plans awareness strategies and monitors the implementation of health services. “With our ded-icated approach we have managed to earn the trust of the villagers. The work we have put in over the last three years since the project began has started to bear

fruit now. The excellent results ensure that service providers take our inputs, suggestions and complaints very seriously as they realise that we have the backing of the entire community,” says Siben Devi, a field animator.

Her masterful assessment is bang on. In each of the 70 villages, the impact of the intervention is visible. Today, the ICDS is functioning

without a hitch, infants get their government-sponsored meal on

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 73

time everyday and their height and weight is being tracked to monitor malnutrition. The Anganwadi workers and Sahiyas carry out routine immu-nisations without fail; pregnant and lactating women get their monthly nutrition packets; women and adoles-cent girls are taking their iron pills and regular blood testing for anaemia is being done and expectant women are regular with their pre-natal check-up. Almost all childbirths in the last three years have taken place at a hospital, and infant and maternal mortality have notably been very low in all these vil-lages in this period.

“Our barefoot auditor Rita Kumari has changed our lives. Earlier, we had no idea about the government health services, let alone availing or benefiting from them. It is her repeated counselling and campaigning that has made everyone in the village realise

the significance of these services. Now we treat her advice as gospel truth,” says Gudiya Devi of Palu village.

In the last three years, only one woman in Palu has died in childbirth and that too because her husband failed to call the barefoot auditor or the free Mamata ambulance service when her labour pains started. “We give our number to the pregnant women and their husbands and also write on the walls of their homes and the village office the phone number of the free ambulance service available under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (a safe motherhood intervention under the

NRHM). The moment we get the call, we ring for the ambulance and reach the pregnant woman’s house. I have often accompa-nied the women to the Primary Health Centre or the hospital,”

says Rita Kumari. Apart from counselling

pregnant women and their fam-ilies, these barefoot auditors have become trusted friends of teenage

girls in the community as most of them are young — between 20 to 30 years — and are able to relate better to teenage concerns. “I was using cloth during menstruation and it was very uncomfortable. Due to constant itching, I got infection but I could not even tell my mother,” recalls Suman Kumari, 17, of Palu village. Fortunately, the youngster

was able to shed her inhibition in front of Rita. “I spoke to her as she was more approachable. She took me to a doctor for treatment and told me to use sanitary napkins being provided by the government through the Sahiyas. Now every girl in our village uses napkins that come for Rs 6 for a box. I even convinced my mother to start using them,” Suman adds.

Besides solving their health prob-lems, the barefoot auditors have won the confidence of the younger girls as they staunchly stand up against child marriage, domestic violence and dowry. Take the case of Gudiya (15) of Bada Ulatu village. When she discovered that her parents had fixed her marriage, she sought the help of Poonam Kumari, a barefoot auditor. Not only did Poonam speak to the marriage broker, Rashmi Devi, and pointed out that she could end up in jail for facilitating an underage union, she even got Rashmi to convince Gudiya’s parents to break the alliance.

Talk about barefoot auditors in any of the 70 villages and there are many glorious stories that people come forward to share. Clearly, they have emerged as a skilled force that is pro-viding much-needed counsel, improv-ing access to healthcare and gradually turning the wheels towards positive social change.

(© Women’s Feature Service)

““ The barefoot auditors

have emerged as a skilled force,

gradually turning the wheels

towards positive social change

in the villages.

A barefoot auditor counsels a group of village women.

74 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

Ever wondered why a Rotarian’s wife is referred to as ‘Rotary

Ann’ or the historical story of how women were included as members in the organisation? Read the book The Power of Rotary: How to make a difference in your world, for the answers.

A collection of Rotary nuggets, this book is an outcome of Satinder

Nath Khanna’s 38 year journey in the organisation. Known to friends and fellow Rotarians as Sati, he was president of RC Nagpur, D 3030, (erstwhile D 314) in 1990, and an accomplished industrialist specialising in flexible packaging.

The book contains an exhaustive research on Rotary’s historical and meaningful activities in the last 110 years. With information on Rotary’s origin, administration, service avenues, TRF and some ideas on how to make life in Rotary interesting, the book is particularly informative for freshers who get lost in the maze during their initial years. They are given just a bare sketch and a couple of booklets that spell out the club’s byelaws when they are inducted.

This book has the potential and power to convert a mere member into an active Rotarian.

History of RC Ghaziabad

Rotary Club of Ghaziabad, D 3010, the second oldest club in

the District, has brought out the club’s journey since 1952, in ‘History Book.’ The events and the club’s milestone projects have been compiled by Rtn N C Gupta, a club member since 2005.

The book includes memories and anecdotes contrib-uted by club members, some of which are interesting and humourous, like the one related by Rtn Sundeep Khanna. He remembers a Pakistani Governor (western part of Pakistan was part of the District then), who used to love bananas more than the expensive platter of dry fruits served to him during his visits. He explained to Khanna that while banana was a novelty where he came from, there was no shortage of grapes and dates back home. One more story he relates is that of a fund raiser where the women donated their gold bangles for the National Defence Fund.

Two Rotary booksJaishree

RC Indore Uptown, D 3040, along with RC Bangalore Peenya, D 3190, RC Poona Downtown, D 3131 and

the Interactors of Choithram School have conducted an LN4 prosthetic arm fitment camp, with artificial arms imported from Ellen Meadows Prosthetic Hand Foun-dation, San Francisco, USA.

Over three lakh messages through Whatsapp and other social networking applications were circulated to spread the word. The pre-fitment condition requires that the patient should have at least 13 cm of residual limb below the elbow, reasonable flexibility and good health. Around 550 patients were fitted with the pros-thetics and can now use their new arms. These functional hands allow them to grip, write, drive and do almost everything.

Rotarians have also encouraged the beneficiaries to sign up for an organ donation campaign.

Three lakh whatsappmessages do the trick

Team Rotary News

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

When you travel to Seoul for the 2016 Rotary International

Convention, 28 May to 1 June, few experiences will bring you closer to the local culture than a visit to a Korean spa, called a jjimjilbang. But don’t expect plush bathrobes and dim rooms filled with candles. This is an entirely different kind of relaxation.

You will be required to undress completely and shower before you enter the gender-segregated baths, where you’ll find a number of pools for taking calming dips. You can get a massage, which here means an intense scrubbing over every inch of your skin with something akin to a Brillo pad.

Once you are bathed and buffed, the spa provides you with a clean T-shirt and shorts, and you can enter the mixed-gender part of the spa. Standard in most jjimjilbangs are assorted sauna rooms that use different natural elements, such as salt, charcoal, or amethyst — all believed to have healthful effects.

You’ll also find communal areas to relax, watch TV, or play games. Some jjimjilbangs are resort-like, with movie theatres, salons and karaoke rooms. The menus are generally healthy but hearty, with a variety of rice, noodle, and soup dishes. Eggs that are baked in the sauna are a staple.

Families spend the day at the spa. Couples go on dates. Friends meet to catch up. Visiting the jjimjilbang is a habit that is deeply embedded in Korean life.

Register for the 2016 Rotary convention in Seoul at

www.riconvention.org.

CONVENTION

Korean spas

Solution in the November issue Reproduced from The Rotarian

S E O U L T R A I N

Across 1 React to an injection,

perhaps

6 ___ hour

10 Great serves

14 Flawless

15 Fed. agency

concerned with safety

16 Ancestral stories

17 Place to visit while

at the 11-Down

19 Fit of temper

20 Legally Blonde protagonist

21 Table of contents, e.g.

22 Feels affection for

23 Durable wood

25 Feel affection (for)

26 Cantaloupe cousin

29 Best-friendship, be-

tween men

33 Way to work

34 Kin of op. cit.

35 Fed. agency concerned

with safety

36 “As-wish” connector

37 With “District,” place to

visit while at the 11-Down

40 Wall St. event

41 Storable beds

43 Poker type

44 Sing softly

46 Former broker-

age powerhouse

48 Delicately pretty

49 Green fruit

50 Mil.-sponsored

college program

51 Selfie, for one

53 Garfield pronouncement

55 Honor card

59 Body parts that may ring

60 With Market, place to visit

while at the 11-Down

62 In ___ of

63 Martha of TV

64 Famous Asia Minor sight

65 Corner

66 Heavenly orb

67 Jazz pianist McCoy

Down 1 Guinevere, to Arthur

2 Teen fixation

3 1994 Jodie Foster movie

4 Bakery container

5 Lawn tree

6 Perez or O’Donnell

7 Takes habitually

8 Kubrick’s Eyes Wide ___

9 Amateur radio operator

10 Third-place finisher

11 After “Rotary

International,” event that

starts 28 May 2016

12 Pennsylvania port city

13 Tennis divisions

18 Wrist-to-elbow bone

22 Leave in a hurry

24 “___ your pardon!”

25 Musical finale

26 Psychic Edgar

27 Emotionally removed

28 After a word in

the title, location

of the 11-Down

29 Small air rifle

30 Cheese coat

31 A hundred bucks

32 Ornamental wood

34 Really boning up on

38 Italian wine town

39 Exam for future 60-Down

42 Gets one’s clothes on

45 Unsteady

47 A pair

48 Elwood P.___ (Jimmy

Stewart’s Harvey role)

50 Bannister or Miller

51 Skin

52 Ponytail makeup

53 Trench around a castle

54 Irish New Age singer

56 Phrase at a

poker table

57 Artists’ study

58 Snarl

60 Hosp. personnel

61 Quantity (abbr.)

76 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

RC KumbakonamRI District 2981An awareness camp to help students get financial assistance from banks for further education was conducted at Saraswathi Padasala Girls High School.

RC VillupuramRI District 2982The club donated a LCD pro-jector to enhance the learning experience for students at Gov-ernment Girls Higher Secondary School in Villupuram.

RC Bhavnagar RoyalRI District 3060

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 77

RC TiruchirapalliRI District 3000Adopting Rotary India Literacy Mission’s idea, the Rotarians honoured teachers with the Nation Builder Award on Teachers’ Day.

RC Delhi MidwestRI District 3011As part of Rotary’s TEACH initiative, the club donated books to Maitri, an NGO that supports underprivileged children.

RC Amritsar MidtownRI District 3070

78 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

RC Green Greater NoidaRI District 3012Rotarians instituted the Rotary Adarsh School to provide free education to underprivileged children in the region.

RC VuyyuruRI District 3020An eye and dental camp was organised at Zilla Parishad School. Dental kits were distributed to the students.

RC Nagpur WestRI District 3030Many schools in the region participated in an interschool singing competition conducted by the club.

RC Indore Greater RI District 3040School bags, shoes, stainless steel plates and tumblers were distributed to tribal students of AIM for Seva’s school.

RC Ahmedabad SouthRI District 3051Promoting Rotary’s TEACH mission, Rotarians distributed educational kits to 150 students of the municipal school in the region.

RC Padmini KotaRI District 3052Rotarians hosted the ‘Kota’s Got Talent’ show. Besides tapping local talent, the event enhanced Rotary’s public image too.

RC Gwalior CentralRI District 3053Educational kits were distributed to underprivileged children to encourage them to attend school regularly.

RC Bhavnagar RoyalRI District 3060An ophthalmology camp was organised by the club with support from RC Luton North, D 1260, UK. Over 600 patients were treated and cataract surgeries were performed for the needy.

RC Amritsar MidtownRI District 3070Initiating the WinS programme the club installed handwash units at a school for the visually challenged.

RC BaddiRI District 3080Saplings were planted across the region to promote greenery.

RC Padmini KotaRI District 3052

RC Uklana MandiRI District 3090The club’s ‘Cow Seva’ initiative exhibited Rotarians love for ani-mals. Over 150 cows were fed at the Goshala.

RC Moradabad Civil LinesRI District 3100The club organised a health check-up camp for the students of Yaggh Bhavan Junior High School and provided relevant medicines for the needy.

RC JhansiRI District 3110Saplings were planted at Maharani Lakshmibai College, Jhansi, to promote a green environment.

RC RenukootRI District 3120Rotarians distributed educational kits to students of Kasturba Balika Vidyalay, Mawarpur and Government Primary School, Rantoola village.

RC Pune NIBMRI District 3131The club provided a facelift to the Chaturshingi Police Station to provide better amenities to the police personnel there.

RC Jalna CentralRI District 3132About 185 patients of 415 screened were operated at a cataract check-up camp conducted under Global Grants with RC Columbia Missouri, D 6080, USA and TRF at Wai village.

RC Bombay Hanging GardenRI District 3140Rotarians and Inner Wheel

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 79

constructed by the club in partnership with D 7210, USA , and TRF, under Global Grants.

RC HaripadRI District 3211Toilets and water connection were installed for needy villagers at Mahadevicad village.

RC Srivilliputtur TownRI District 3212Rotarians undertook cleaning of the Thiruvannamalai canal in order to facilitate storage of water for the neighbouring villages.

RC RanipetRI District 3230A job fair was conducted by the club along with DN Leather Solutions Pvt Ltd at Walajapet. Out of 5,000 job aspirants, 750 were placed in various companies.

RC Green Land SilcharRI District 3240A WinS programme at Tarapur Girls ME School enlightened students on the benefits of healthy habits. Hygiene kits were distributed to them.

members celebrated Raksha Bandan with police personnel at Malabar Hill Police Station.

RC Tenali Vykuntapuram RI District 3150The club conducted a dental camp followed by distribution of educational and dental kits for school students at Champadu and Pothumarru villages.

RC GuntakalRI District 3160Exhibiting its support towards RILM, the club inaugurated an adult literacy programme in Molakalapenta village.

RC Panaji RivieraRI District 3170Rain coats were distributed to the traffic police of North Goa. Printed with the Rotary wheel, the gift enhanced Rotary’s public image.

RC Mysore NorthRI District 3180The club donated moral science books and first aid kits to the government schools in Talur and Murudagally villages.

RC Bangalore LakesideRI District 3190Along with Oracle India, an art workshop was conducted for children at Grace Fellowship Charitable Trust, an orphanage.

RC ShoranurRI District 3201The Rotarians extended medical aid of Rs 5,000 to 30 needy patients in Shoranur and Cheruthuruthy.

RC TrikarpurRI District 3202A toilet block for girls was

RC SaranRI District 3250Rotarians distributed first aid boxes to various schools in the region.

RC Waiganga BalaghatRI District 3261

The Rotarians adopted the Boda Government Schools at Balaghat to implement WinS programme and gifted geometry boxes to the students.

RC Calcutta MahanagarRI District 3291

IOL surgeries were conducted at Haricharan Garg Rotary Mahanagar Netralaya for 25 needy patients at a camp organised by the club.

RC DhulikhelRI District 3292Zinc sheets to set up temporary homes for earthquake victims were distributed at Kharelthok, Nepal.

RC Srivilliputtur TownRI District 3212

80 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

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Your Rotary NewsAccount Number

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Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the Editor, trustees of the Rotary News Trust, or Rotary International. Every effort is made to ensure that the magazine’s content is accurate. Information is published in good faith but no liability can be accepted for loss or inconvenience arising from errors or omission. Advertisements are accepted at face value and no liability can be accepted for the action of advertisers. The Editor welcomes contribution of articles, news items, photographs and letters, but is under no obligation to publish unsolicited material. The Editor reserves the right to edit for clarity or length. Contributors must ensure that all material submitted is not in breach of copyright or that if such material is submitted, they have obtained necessary permission, in writing, for its reproduction. Photographs in this publication may not be reproduced, whether in part or in whole, without the consent of Rotary News Trust.

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ANNOUNCEMENT

With effect from October 1, 2015 the revised RI exchange rate is

US $1 = INR 66.00Source: RI South Asia Office

RC Jaipur Midtown, D 3052, organised a blood donation camp to celebrate the birthday of PRIP Rajendra K Saboo on August 11. The highlight of this occasion was PDG Anil Agarwal donating blood for the 66th time.

Rotarians of D 3262 were part of the Independence Day Parade contingent in Bhubaneswar where Odisha Chief Minister S J Naveen Patnaik took the salute. With an audience of 5,000 people and telecasts in TV channels, it gave good visibility for Rotary.

Under RILM’s Asha Kiran programme, Rotarians along with their spouses lit candles and pledged to support education of underprivileged children by donating Rs 2,100 per child.

Rtn Subhash Jain, RC Ghaziabad Central, D 3012, presented a cheque for $30,000 to RI President K R Ravindran, as his contribution to TRF, at the Intercity Meet held in Gurgaon.

OCTOBER 2015 ROTARY NEWS 81

In addition to producing engineers, IIT Bhubaneswar will now produce Odissi dancers too. The institute has recently included this classical dance form in its B Tech curriculum, giving it 60 hours. Accomplished Odissi dancers have designed the course which will be an extra-academic activity in the first year and an elective in the next two years. Students who pursue the course in the final year as an optional subject will get a diploma in dance along with their B Tech degree. About ten stu-dents have opted for this.

82 ROTARY NEWS OCTOBER 2015

IN BRIEFJapan’s penchant for innovative loos Japan is known for its inno-vative toilets and the Tokyu Departmental Store has now won an unusual award from the Japanese government— offering plush and comfort-able toilets to its female customers. The award was given under the ‘women’s empowerment’ category, and these toilets are termed ‘switch rooms,’ striving to give customers a change of mood, with art displays, background music and special fragrance. The Japanese government has pre-sented its maiden toilet awards to 28 municipalities for promoting clean, safe and comfortable public lavatories. The toilet beautification drive is planned to provide a comfortable experience for tourists ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Chandra Bhushan Tiwari (44) of Lucknow

makes his pupils plant saplings in their

neighbourhood and water them as his guru

dakshina. He runs four schools across the

city and educates about 650 children of

labourers. Named School Aapke Dwar

(school at your doorstep), they are rustic,

make-shift schools and Tiwari provides

the basic learning kits to his students,

sending the best to regular schools and

funding their education. He quit his teach-

ing job at the Kendriya Vidyalaya to pur-

sue his passion — promoting education

for underprivileged and planting 10 lakh

saplings in his lifetime (one lakh planted

so far). His wife, a college professor,

supports him in this endeavour.

Nagaland’s Mo Naga, Kolkata’s Abhinandan Basu and Delhi’s Manjeet Singh are among the world’s 100 nota-ble tattoo artists featured in the book The World Atlas of Tattoo published by the Yale University Press. While Mo Naga is trying to revive the tattooing tradition of the Nagaland tribals from his studio in Dimapur, Basu’s tattoos highlight Bengali folk art. Singh is known for his photorealistic tattoos and images. The book documents revival of lesser-known indigenous practices from across the globe, including a fea-ture on the Ramnamis of Chattisgarh who cover their bodies with tatoos of the Hindu god Ram’s name.

IIT Bhubaneswar to train Odissi dancers

Green Guru dakshina

Body art takes them places

J Manjula, a recipient of DRDO award

for ‘Performance Excellence’ and

‘Scientist of the Year 2011’ has been

appointed as the first woman Direc-

tor General of Defence Research and

Development Organisation (DRDO).

The new DG was Director — Defence

Avionics Research Establishment of

DRDO, prior to this appointment. She

is credited with designing various

sophisticated systems for the Army,

Navy, Air Force and Paramilitary.

Pic

ture

s by

Ras

heed

a B

haga

tP

ictu

res

by R

ashe

eda

Bha

gat

PRID Yash Pal Das lights the Diya at Vision 20–20 Seminar in District 3080. Also seen are (From L) RID Manoj Desai, DG David Hilton, Sharmishtha Desai, PDG Shaju Peter and Patricia Mary.

REGN. NO. TN/CCN/360/2015-2017 LICENSED TO POST WITHOUT PREPAYMENT NO.TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-431/2015-2017 REGISTERED WITH REGISTRAR OF NEWS PAPERS FOR INDIA 3880/57 ROTARY NEWS PUBLISHED ON 1ST OF EVERY MONTH