From the Desk of C. R. Raju

Rotary International District 3230 | Governor’s Monthly Letter Issue 03 | September 2015 From the desk of C. R. Raju Rotary is resplendent with memories of lously working to categorize them into those who gave us the Gift to serve as Global and District Grants to support as we are humbled at the goodness that many clubs as possible to do good work abounds around us. in the community. Reporting of existing grants is vital to qualify. I am convinced of the eagerness of Ro- tarians spreading the bonds of friend- Club leaders should disseminate infor- ship, a consciousness of societal aspira- mation to members so that they are tions and a willingness to achieve them aware of what is happening, and to with joy. know of the commitments and opportu- nities. An orientation program for all the Instances of a friend who ran along with club officers by resourceful members in me for nomination extending a contri- the club may be useful. bution, one of the Senior-most Rotarians and respected senior fellow Professional On my interaction with some of the club completing a major donation, another officers there seems to be a disconnect friend chipping in with a significant con- with Rotary information, resources and tribution to support project ‘Sangamitra’, policies. We have to address this and see donations from well meaning Rotarians, that it is beneficial to all. contributions in lieu of mementoes, con- The District Directory has been distrib- tribution by an Annette and many more The new member orientation seminars uted. Rtn V.K. Padmanabhan and Rtn touching instances are going to touch at Chennai, Tiruvannamalai and Vellore Munuswamy’s contribution to the Dis- the lives of people in some way, some- were well organised with excellent facul- trict directory has been excellent. Rtn where. That is the magic of Rotary. ty and participation, thanks to Directors Muthuswamy’s reporting on the Interact Rtn.Vinod Saraogi and Rtn.Sivakumar. Having comfortably settled in the Installations and documentation needs special mention. Driver’s seat, Presidents and clubs have My official visits to clubs is about to start started focussing on strengthening their from Tiruvannamalai on the 30th Au- The first District Council meet and Presi- membership and putting their plans for gust. the year into action organising activities, dents meet hosted and organised by Zones 4,5 and 6 was very enjoyable. programs and projects. Most of the clubs have been quite active. The Terry Fox Run with more than The recommendations of the commit- More than a hundred clubs have submit- 22000 participants and Celebration of tee and feedback from clubs have been ted their proposals to work with schools 50th episode of Idhaya Gaanam both by reported to RI for consideration and under Project Sangamitra. I appreciate Madras East, planting of 500 trees and further action. On the opinion received each and every club for their interest initiatives in water conservation at Boys from consultants the District is regis- and involvement. The Sangamitra team, Town by RC of Madras, a joint meeting tering for Service Tax. Clubs have been headed by Directors Rtn Mohan Ragha- of 17 clubs and inauguration of facilities suitably advised. van and Rtn Chandra Bob have spent at Gopalapuram Boys School as part of extensive time in coordinating and for- Sangamitra by RC of Madras Central, Eye There is a fountain of energy; it is our mulating the proposals. Donation Awareness by R C of T.Nagar, mind; our talents; the creativity we bring Fitness awareness by FFLR, A Musical to our lives and the lives of people we The TRF Team with DRFC Rtn. Muthu- evening dedicated to MSV by FMLR, do- love. When we learn to tap the source palaniappan, Rtn. Balasubramanyam, nation of a van to Central Prison by 11 we will truly BE A GIFT TO THE WORLD. Rtn. Sagar, Rtn. Balamuralikrishna and clubs, a cultural program organized by S Rtn. Kannayeram have been meticu- V Ramani and many more. WinS (Wash in Schools) District Seminar la, Honduras, Kenya and India. UNICEF and Rotary are working to support Government of India to focus on ensuring gen- der segregated toilets in school and create an en- abling platform to ensure that children in school use a toilet and wash hands with soap at critical mo- orate presentation on all aspects of the ments. Rotary India, in re- project. The chief guest of the seminar sponse to a call for action Ms. Pooja Kulkarni IAS, State Project Di- by Prime Minister Shri. rector, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan addressed ‘Wash in Schools’ is Water, Sanitation and Modi for “Swachh Bharat the participants on the ways and means Hygiene for schools in short. Providing Abhiyaan” signed a Chennai Declaration by which the Tamil Nadu State Govern- these basic amenities for the humanity in the presence of Urban Development ment can be associated with the Rotary has become the next big focus area for Minister Shri. Venkaiah Naidu to par- Districts. After a quick and short power Rotary International after polio eradica- ticipate in “Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyaan” point presentation on the salient fea- tion. In April 2014, the Board of Trustees which is to ensure clean and hygienic tures of WinS by the District Director for Rotary International approved the school environment for healthy child K.Ganesan which nicely summed up exploration of a Target Challenge for development. the entire ‘Wash in Schools’ initiative, Wash in Schools (WinS). The initial years To appraise and to encourage the Rotar- the seminar ended with a sumptuous of the challenge will be implemented in ians of all the Rotary clubs in the District lunch. only five countries viz., Belize, Guatema- 3230 to participate in WinS, a Seminar The Seminar was attended by most Club was conducted on Presidents of the Gifted year along with August 2, 2015 at the Secretaries and the special project Chennai, at Hotel chairmen of the respective clubs. There Shan Royal. The sem- were a large number of District officials inar was organised by present to ensure that the seminar was a the WinS team spear- well attended, packed house exercise. headed by the Direc- tor, Rtn. K.Ganesan. District Governor C.R.Raju, inaugurated the seminar with his opening remarks im- mediately after which the WinS Zonal Co or- dinator for Kerala and Tamilnadu, IPDG ISAK Nazar made an elab- Issue 03 | September 2015 Rotary International District 3230 | Governor’s Monthly Letter Madras Week Celebration - 17th August 2015 At the joint speaker meeting of 17 clubs of RI District 3230 in the city at Alumni Club, Rtn Chandu Nair enthralled the au- dience on the Entrepreneurial culture of Madras from the past 200 years. He outlined how family run businesses held the fort and the development of IT, conglomerates like TVS, the absence of a mega Giant like Reliance from Tamil Nadu, and the incubation being dis- cussed at the moment. District Governor Rtn. C. R. Raju was the Chief Guest at the meeting. VISHWANATHANGAL Fellowship of Music Loving Rotarians District Governor C R Raju, who attend- (FMLR) of District 3230 is one of the ed the show, praised all the participants most active groups in the District. FMLR for their enthusiastic participation and has in its fold close to around 50 active promised the group of his support for all Members representing various clubs. the ventures the group plans to under- The first program of this year was con- take during the course of the year. ducted on August 28th at the Russian The FMLR groups has drawn up some Cultural Centre, which was a homage ambitious plans for this Rotary year with to the ‘Mellisai Mannar’ M S Viswana- an all Hindi Musical show coming up than who passed away recently. Close in November and an exclusive Annets to around 35 participants participated show for children in the age group of in the show and rendered some of the 14 and above, on September 25th at P S best hits of M S V. The Program drew full Dakshinamurthy Auditorium , Mylapore. house and was sponsored by many lead- The group has also lined up an Inter Dis- ing clubs of the District. trict show in the near future. ---- Rtn.Rajaram ( Chairman- FMLR ) Van Gifted to Puzhal Prison On 15th August, Rotarians from 12 clubs of Dist 3230 gathered at the Puzhal Pris- on - 1, to donate a reconditioned mobile van worth INR 1.3 lakhs. The van would be used to transport various products made by the inmates, under the brand name ‘FREEDOM BAZZAR’, to their retail outlets in Chennai city. The documents pertaining to the vehicle were handed over to the prison authorities by the District Governor Rtn.C.R.Raju. This community service project will help the re- habilitation effort of the government. Issue 03 | September 2015 Rotary International District 3230 | Governor’s Monthly Letter 03 Tree Plantation and Water Conservation in Gummidipoondi many as 500 sap- The day’s proceedings were well coordi- lings most of them nated under the stewardship of the Club fruit bearing trees. President, Rtn A S Venkhat Ramani. Thanks to the me- To all the Rotarians, the guests and all ticulous the resident boys, it was a great day of planning by Rtn S immense inspiration. Ravi, Director RCM. The ‘Zen Rain Man ‘ Shri M Vishwanath from Bangalore was the Chief Guest who gave a convincing address on conservation of water. Our Dist Governor Rtn CR Raju was the Guest of Honour Each year, the Fifteenth Day in August is and his practical suggestion of building a Red Letter Day for the members of the a catchment tank was well received.

Load more