Rtn Vivek Khandelwal | Director PR | Rotary Deonar 2021-22

It doesn’t matter whether you are a Rotarian or not? What matters is how you are giving back to the society, community and the world that you live in.

Hello Folks… Is giving back important? Well, as human beings, the tendency is always to take and this subtle aspect can bring in so much energy into YOU. Just think about some help that you had received from someone in the past. Hope you are able to resonate with this simple thinking!

This month, the story has been all about giving in numerous possible ways and our club has been at the forefront of that.

Narendra Modi and Shekhar Mehta

The month started with a bang when news came in of our Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta meeting our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What can happen when 2 leaders meet?  The word that comes immediately to my mind is alignment. This shows how the agendas that Rotary intends to drive with a clear focus on girls is so seamlessly aligned to the larger objectives that our country has.

Let me take you on a journey of how enterprising our August month has truly been –

• It has been a month of meetings, fellowships and celebrations – all clubbed together.
• The month stood to its promise of Membership with 2 new members coming into our family with an intention to serve.
  

  Induction of 2 New Members

• We had an action-packed month serving both the Urban and Rural markets.
• Our efforts of serving the RCC is already in their 19^th year and the donation of computers towards uplifting the lives of our young friends truly brought a difference in their lives.
  

  Computer donation at Zilla Parishad school, Shelu

• There were series of visits done by various Rodeos to explore a variety of work that could be done in our quest to uplift the lives of people.
• The Speaker session of Dr Mahajan on how water problems could be solved in villages was an added bonus since a lot of these learnings could be seamlessly utilised in RCC.
• The Dental and Eye camp at the Bal Kalyan Nagri was very well received.
• Inauguration of Water filtration plant as part of the Shudh Jal initiative. Kudos to our sponsors for making this happen.
• The Rotaract Installation ceremony was a delight to watch as always.
• Independence Day celebration at the Rochiram Thadani School, Chembur with numerous attendees.
  

  Independence Day celebrations

• Rakhi with Khakhi i.e., at the police station was highly applauded by everyone.
  

  Rakhi with Khakhi

• Onam Sadhya get-together and of course the food was truly a memorable one.
  

  Onam Fellowship

It is said that the best is reserved for the last. Here’s a short update of 2 of our soul-touching projects.

Lending-a-hand-at-Mahad

The 1^st one has been serving the Mahad affected people who not only lost their homes but also lives in many cases. This is an example of the power of Rotary and a true spirit that exhibits collaboration, serve beyond yourself and be where the need is. PP Rtn Rajendra Datye spearheaded the entire initiative and talking to him about this has been so enlightening to me. The number of man-hours in this project has been in excess of 360+. His efforts continued with the distribution of dry ration kits as well to needy homes. Kudos to the Rodeos who always open their wallets to contribute with a purpose.

Dry Ration Kit distribution

The other one has been serving 10,000 ration kits to the poor and the needy.  It is synonymous with distributing happiness to these many families. PP Rtn Padma Kapoor had showcased her skills of serving even as pandemic struck during her Presidential year however managing this project in several phases is something that takes not just effort and energy but a clear persistence, level-headedness and ability to connect at the grassroots level.

As a reader, you must have contributed to this directly, indirectly or may have been associated with other organisations. If you have connected with this message – all that you need to do is post this on your social media page and do your bit to sensitise your network.

You never know when and how you can impact others in your own journey.

Stay connected and do not hesitate to take your 1^st step to progress on your dream project.

This is indeed the DREAM year!

Cheers

Rtn Vivek Khandelwal
Director – PR 2021-22
Rotary Club of Deonar