RI President Kalyan Banerjee wins hearts of District 3271

RCKA Bulletin Desk

Rotarian Kalyan Banerjee had visited Karachi in the past as well but this was more significant than ever before because he arrived as the President of Rotary International.

To pay a tribute and welcome him and his spouse Binota, a Grand Inter-City Meeting of District 3271 was held at Sheraton Karachi Hotel on May 27. 

The hall was packed to capacity and there was not single unoccupied chair. The powerful speech of PDG Faiz Kidwai, National Chair, Rotary Foundation, set the tone and PDG Aziz Memon, Chairman, National Polio-Plus Committee, followed it up with a superb introduction of RI President, Kalyan Banerjee, with whom he has worked closely for years. 

District Governor Iqbal Qureshi threw light on activities during the year while District Governor-Elect Jalaluddin Shaikh presented the vote of thanks in his usual crisp style. 

In between it was the address of the man of the moment, RI President, Kalyan Banerjee, which kept the audience glued to their seats and they had to put their hands together quite a few times to allow breathing time to the distinguished Rotary leader.

He referred to the audience as his dear brothers and sisters in Rotary, sharing his thoughts in candid manner. 

He complimented the Rotary leaders of Pakistan for doing a great job under the circumstances and urged them to continue doing it. 

“Binota and I have been fortunate to have visited different parts of the Rotary world and seen the many ways that Rotarians everywhere ‘Reach Within to Embrace Humanity.’ We were in Australia just the other week. But the kind of pleasure we derive while touring the South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, we have had special feeling of being at home,” RI President, Kalyan Banerjee, observed.

The Rotarians present on the occasion derived great inspiration by his acts and words and there was a long queue of donors who made the announcement on the spot. 

Kalyan Banerjee, hailing from the Rotary Club of Vapi, Gujarat, India, had taken over as President of Rotary International on July 1, 2011. His term at office will be up to June 30, 2012. 

A Rotarian since 1972, he is Rotary’s 101st President and its third President from India. 

He has served Rotary as a Director, Rotary Foundation Trustee, Committee and Task Force Chair, International Assembly Group Discussion Leader, President’s Representative, and District Governor. 

He has also served as a member of the International PolioPlus Committee for many years and has attended international meetings with the World Health Organization and UNICEF in that capacity.

Enlightening sessions witnessed in Rotary District Assembly 2012-13

RCKA Bulletin Desk

The District Assembly, an annual training event for the Rotary leaders, was held at Carlton Hotel, located in Defence Housing Authority, Karachi, on May 19. The Rotarians of District 3271 participated enthusiastically in the Assembly whose sessions were enlightening and interesting.

The District Assembly, which prepares the leaders for their responsibilities and assignments during the upcoming Rotary year, was not mandatory but it was strongly recommended for all the club leaders including board members, committee chairs, and club members as well. 

Historically the clubs having higher percentage of their members participating in the annual Assembly tend to be more effective Rotary clubs with regular growth, above average attendance, and outstanding participation in all club activities. 

The District's goals for the Rotary year 2012-2013 were explained to the participants by the incoming District Governor, Jalaluddin Shaikh, and District Secretary, Tariq Rasheed Durrani, while seasoned trainers like PDG Abu Mohsin and IPDG Shahab Balkhi, motivated the upcoming leaders with their wealth of knowledge.

The inter-active sessions on the key subjects of matching grant and public relations, which were very well attended, turned out to be educative for the participants. 

Assistant Governor Syed Khalid Mahmood, who is also Charter President of Rotary Club of Karachi Airport, described the event as pretty useful, which enabled him to learn quite a few useful tips. 

Dr. Fahmida Khatoon, Secretary, Rotary Club of Karachi Kolachi, headed the District Assembly Organizing Committee, which played a pivotal role in roping in the busy Rotarians on a working day. 

“Come join us for a day of planning and motivating training before your year of service begins on July 1, 2012! District leadership is encouraged to attend in order to "network" with your club counterparts and build a strong support system for the clubs,” she wrote in one of her messages on the eve of the Assembly.

Rotarians urged to continue contributing for Polio eradication

RCKA Bulletin Desk

After 25 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious disease, but a strong push is needed now to root it out once and for all. It is a window of opportunity of historic proportions.  

Reaching the ultimate goal of a polio-free world presents ongoing challenges, not the least of which is a US$535 million funding gap through 2012.

Rotary alone can't fill this gap but the continued Rotarian advocacy for government support can help enormously. As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, children everywhere remain at risk.

The stakes are that high. Since the PolioPlus program's inception in 1985, more than two billion children have received oral polio vaccine. But Rotary's work is not done yet.

The disease has not yet been eradicated. You are urged to contribute to the PolioPlus Fund online or by mail to support Rotary's goal of a polio-free world.

Rotary's Challenge is our response to the two grants totaling $355 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help eradicate polio, which goes until June 30. "

If we all have the fortitude to see this effort through to the end, then we will eradicate polio,” the legendary Bill Gates was quoted as saying.  

Our chair of National Polio Plus Committee, PDG Aziz Memon, has been proactively spearheading the cause of eradicating polio.

He looks forward to the continued support of the Rotarians to accomplish the cherished goal.

Bill Gates had recognized PDG Aziz Memon at the New Orleans Convention in 2011 with these inspirational words: “You’ve helped so many people understand that we are “This Close”. We need to help even more understand. There’s a great example in Pakistan, where Aziz Memon is a participant in meetings with the president, regional governors, and health advisors. Rotary is in the room when decisions are made in Pakistan. And you’re capable of being in those same rooms in every other country in which you operate. Now we need to make polio front and center, beyond what we’ve done in the past. And we need to be more creative in our ways of keeping it there. I spend lots of time discussing with your leadership some of the ideas of how we can do that. With the redoubled effort of everyone in this room, and your fellow Rotarians around the world, we can succeed.”  

RCKA President-Elect highlights Rotary’s objectives in Radio interview

RCKA Bulletin Desk

The President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Karachi Airport (RCKA), Rtn Nasreen Masood, was interviewed by Bushra Noor Khawaja in the popular ‘Prime Time Hour’ by Radio Pakistan on April 27. It was broadcast live on FM 93 as well.

It was a lively one-hour informative session, conducted by a seasoned campaigner, which was made even more entertaining by punctuating it with quite a few popular songs.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: Would you like to share with our listeners when did you start your career as a social worker?

A: It was more than a decade ago when I got engaged in social work. I am one of the founding members of Rotary Club of Karachi Airport (RCKA) which was chartered in 2008. I was elected unopposed as its President last year.

Q: Rotary motto of ‘Service Above Self’ is truly inspirational. How do you meet the challenge?

A: Rotary International is one of the top voluntary organizations of the world. We have a proper system in place. We act in accordance with our bye-laws. We hold weekly meetings of our club which help considerably in letting us accomplish our goals.

Q: How do you work on your projects?

A: In our weekly meetings we deliberate on the various aspects of the projects to be undertaken. Every member is provided the opportunity and encouraged to play his or her part. It can be in terms of cash or kind. All of us are volunteers. We devote our time and energies. Our Board finalizes the finer details and then the members are assigned tasks in light of commitments they make. The progress of the projects is monitored in our meetings. We work on short-term as well as long-term projects.

Q: How do you motivate your members?

A: Mostly the Rotarians are committed people. We, the resourceful ones, understand our responsibilities to the community and we try to contribute as much as we could to help those who deserve it.

Q: How do you reach the needy people?

A: We just need to keep our eyes and ears open while commuting. Day in and day out we come across people who need our support. We are flooded with requests for help at times. After proper verification we extend them as much support as we could by pooling our resources.

Q: What are the responsibilities of Rotary President?

A: Every Rotarian has a responsibility. The President is just the captain of the team for a term of one year. Our elections are held every year. The President tries to lead by example to let the others take the cue and perform more actively. In my opinion election to the post of the President its an incentive to work harder and create more resources.

Q: Which project has given you the highest satisfaction?

A: It was setting up a dispensary in Sector 11-D of North Karachi. While driving there, I had noticed an elderly man standing between lots of kids in front of a gate. As I drew closer it was discovered that the gentleman was Rahmat Bhai who was providing education free of cost to the area children at his own house.

We sent our club officials there to extract more details and then our meeting was arranged with him. He desired operating a dispensary in the portion of his house and sought our assistance to facilitate free medicine and consultation to the area people, who couldn’t afford costs. We readily agreed. We collected medicines and then persuaded a qualified doctor to work two hours daily on voluntary basis. The dispensary is still running and it gives me enormous satisfaction.

Q: What are your cherished goals now?

A: The eradication of polio is on top of the list of our priorities at the moment. Rotary’s National Polio Plus Committee, headed by our dynamic former Governor Aziz Memon, has been trying its level best to eradicate this deadly disease from Pakistan. On our part we are convincing the mothers to take the responsibility of saving their children. No mother wants her kid to be affected by polio. She has to be explained and made responsible. They have to be taught that it would be a criminal negligence to deprive their children of the polio drops that are being provided at their doorstep.  

Q: Who inspired you to take to social work?

A: I have been thoroughly impressed with the spirit and passion of Abdul Sattar Edhi. I always wondered how he worked so selflessly and so effectively round the clock. He was been there everywhere. He takes care of the elderly parents who are deserted by their own children. Similarly he adopts the kids who are abandoned by their parents. It’s quite astonishing how he manages to do so much of work. I am a greater admirer of his. I know that I can’t be like him but I derive inspiration from his acts and try to contribute my bit.

Q: Do you get any time for recreation?

A: To be honest I don’t get much spare but I listen to music whenever possible.

Q: Who are your favourite singers?

A: Noor Jahan and Mohammad Rafi.

Q: What kind of songs you prefer to listen?

A: I am fond of ghazals. I have liked slow songs from beginning.

Q: Tell us about your family.

A: My husband is a mechanical engineer, who secured gold medal at the NED University. He has been working abroad at a multinational for the last few years. Both my sons are also engineers, with the elder one having got married just recently.

Q: What kind of mother you have turned out to be?

A: Well I have never compromised on discipline. I didn’t allow my sons to go out once they were back from school with the focus being on studies. I taught them to ignore the mistakes of others and not to get provoked. Both my sons are greatly indebted to me now for having being strict when they were not in a position to find out themselves what was good for them and what was not.

Q: What’s your message to our listeners?
A: I will urge the people not to lose hope. You must remain positive and your face should be glowing. Nobody leads an ideal life. The hardships are to be faced with courage. Don’t lose heart when things don’t go your way. Continue working hard because there are no short-cuts to success. If you wish to bring about a change in your lives you must work hard. 

Rotary Club of Karachi Airport nominated among Best Emerging Club 2011-12

RCKA Bulletin Desk

The Rotary Club of Karachi Airport was nominated as one of the Best Emerging Clubs of the District 3271 for the Rotary year 2011-12 and the award was received by the President of the Club, Rtn Abdul Hamid, in the District Conference held in Karachi from March 16 to 18.

The award ceremony was staged at the PAF Museum on the second day of the three-day conference with the majority of the other programmes being organized at the Sheraton Karachi Hotel, which was the venue of the Discon 2012.

The weather as well as the settings were just perfect for an event as significant as the award function in which the quality of food and music were of very high class too. Overall the arrangements for Discon 2012 remained fabulous.

The nomination for the Best Emerging Club for the Rotary Club of Karachi Airport was deemed a due and thoroughly deserved recognition for the consistent efforts having being made by the club since its charter in June 2008.

Having actively participated in the various other activities of Service Above Self, the Rotary Club of Karachi Airport was very well represented in the Discon 2012 too on all the three days.

Rotary organize football match in Lyari to kick polio out of Pakistan

RCKA Bulletin Desk

Rotary International’s Pakistan Polio Plus Committee, with the collaboration of Rotary Club of Karachi East, organized an exhibition football match in Karachi on March 25 in an attempt to kick polio out of the country.

The contestants of the exhibition match, Young Kalakot Club and Young Baloch Combined, were engaged in a fierce and lively battle at the Gabol Park Football Ground, helping create community level awareness on polio.

The kick-off was performed by the National Chair, Pakistan Polio Plus Committee, PDG Rtn Aziz Memon, while the President of the Rotary Club of Karachi East, Rtn Iqbal A. Alavi, was the chief organizer of the match which was watched by a good number of area residents, notables, football fans and children.

The young children wore caps and polio badges, carried the polio awareness banners around the stadium, while regular announcements were made periodically for families to vaccinate their children during polio campaigns.

The ground wore a festive look with colourful banners as the area residents danced to the drum beat of a local ethnic dance and the crowd cheered loudly whenever the footballers came up with inspired moves.

The match was supervised by Usman Baluch, President of Young Kalakot Club, while Akbar Ali was the Match Commissioner with Farid Ahmed, Akhtar Ali and Muslim were the referees. The prizes and souvenirs were distributed at the end of the game by PDG Rtn Aziz Memon, National Chair, Polio Plus Committee.

Just for the record the match was won by Young Baloch Combined by an odd goal in three. Mohammad Yaqoob and Mohammad Aamir scored for the winners while Sher Mohammad netted the solitary goal for Young Kalakot Club.

Aziz Memon’s keynote speech brings out tears

RCKA Bulletin Desk

Governor Aziz Memon has a track record of delivering inspirational speeches but touching scenes were also witnessed when he spoke his heart out in the ‘Aman Ki Asha’ session organized during the District Conference in Ludhiana, India, recently.

“Trust me quite a few Rotarians and their families present on the occasion had broken into tears when I ran a video of one minute and 45 seconds, during the course of my speech,” he recalled after his return from Ludhiana where he was the keynote speaker in the programme which was a part of the Annual District Conference held there from February 3 to 5.

Here are excerpts from his keynote address:

“History may have divided us but geography binds us. How long are we going to play games and deny the future generations?”

“When we in Rotary work for peace, we don’t do it by negotiating treaties or demonstrating in the streets. Instead we build peace by example, by working together whatever our nationality or background, and putting others’ needs above our own.”

“We build peace by dealing with the problems that disrupt people’s ability to live normal, peaceful lives-whether those problems relate to lack of water, or sanitation, or safe, affordable housing; whether they stem from shortage of education or health care, or a need to build productive and positive connections between communities. In every thing we do, we rely on our good name.”

“This is why all of us have a responsibility to be sure that our good name is indeed known. We need to not just work through Rotary, but talk about Rotary, letting the world know about the work we are doing, the differences we are making, and the benchmarks we are setting. Our Rotary work speaks to our belief that a better, more peaceful world is possible, and we need to be sure that our voices are heard.”

“We have been proactively playing their part in achieving peace through service. The outstanding work of Dr Satyajit Bose, a famous cardiac surgeon, and Chairman, Mission Hospital, Durgapur and Dr Devi Shetty in Bangalore deserves special mention. Hundreds of surgeries have been performed under the Rotary’s Gift of Life project.”

“The pacemaker bank has also been immensely beneficial, having brought smiles back to the faces on many people. Now there are plans to build a hospital in Karachi, with the help of Rotarians from India, which will be rather appropriately titled Peace Hospital. The Youth Exchange programmes as well as the goodwill cricket tours have helped the cause. The Rotarians have set the example. The need of the hour is to capitalize on our efforts.”

“We have been setting examples by our deeds and noble acts. The subject of Indo-Pak relations is widely discussed on both sides of the border. Efforts continue to be made to keep the ball rolling and move in the forward direction to bring about a change for the sake of the peoples of these two neighbouring countries.”

“Whatever the magnitude of the differences or the bitterness of the past might have been it’s never too late to do something worthwhile to accomplish the mutual objective of prosperity and progress in the region. As they say there’s light at the end of every tunnel. The past cannot be changed but we have every right to put our acts together to make our present and future better than before.”