Friendship Exchange to India

In January 2010 12 members of District 7010, representing 3 Rotary clubs - Sudbury, Washago and Area – Centennial, and Barrie-Kempenfelt travelled to India where we were hosted by the 3010 District Governor Ashish Ghosh.
Our hectic scheduled included visits to 8 Rotary clubs where we had an opportunity to see first hand the projects the Rotarians in District 3010 have been working on, and projects they would like to accomplish in the future.
Below you will hear from two 7010 Rotary colleagues Dan Herbert (Washago) and Mike Kinsey (Barrie-Kempenfelt), who both travelled with me and who were delighted to share their personal journals with members of our District.
For me however, the fondest memories were the friendships created with our host families, who we now call friends, the presence of Rotary in India and the variety of projects Rotary has funded in this country. Their needs are simple, and they are needs that we take for granted here in Canada.
The Rotary Club of Gurgaon has sponsored a Public School for the past 18 years. They assist 2,000 children each and every day. Their commitment to this project today remains strong as the board for this school consists entirely of Rotarians.
Our group also visited Literacy India, one of 16 schools founded by a young pilot with Air India. The school is dedicated to children from kindergarten to grade 10 who simply cannot afford the luxury of an education. Today, they hold fundraisers to support their school, so that they can continue learning to read and write. Rotary contributes by donating the buses to transport them on a daily basis.
The Rotary Institute School was founded by a Rotarian 15 years ago and has now been taken over by a local Rotary Club. Approximately 70 students with special abilities including Down Syndrome and Autism attend this school, which reminds me very much of the early years of the Ann Sullivan Centre in Peru. I look forward to introducing Dr. Liliana Mayo to this group.
At one point during our trip, we toured St. Stephen’s Hospital in Delhi and met with Dr. Matthew Varghese, Head of the Department of Orthopedics. He is a very caring man who could no doubt work anywhere in the world but has chosen St. Stephen’s Hospital to do his good works. The Polio wing at St. Stephen’s is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Delhi Midtown. They provide funds to allow Dr. Varghese to perform 200 of the 400 operations per year (at $200.00 per operation). Everyday, miracles in corrective surgery are performed at this hospital and Dr. Varghese has transformed the lives of people of various ages by correcting the damage caused by Polio. What he gives them, with the help of Rotary, is hope. A “Rotary was here” plaque is proudly displayed at St. Stephen’s.
We also toured a cancer hospital which is supported by a Rotary Club in India. During our visit patients bowed as they saw us in our Rotary attire – a sign of respect and gratitude for what Rotary has done, and continues to do.
What I have learned is that East Indians are sincere, hard working people who care about their fellow man, their country and beyond. Their Rotary clubs need international parameter to aid them with their endeavors on health, hunger, water & sanitation and literacy –District 7010 should look seriously at helping them. Over the next few months I will be working with the members of this Friendship Exchange to define projects that we can assist with in India. Your feedback, as always, is most welcomed and encouraged.

The second part of the exchange will take place when the Rotarians from District 3010 will visit our district in June, just prior to the Rotary International Convention in Montreal. I will be calling on clubs to get involved in showcasing our District.

From Dan Herbert, Rotary Club of Washago

Rotary in India has traditionally done little with International Service programs. And rightly so - there are so many needs within the country, it would make little sense to get involved with projects in other countries. The needs are simply too great in their own country.

The recent push to bring international exchange programs to India accomplishes Rotary's goal of promoting international understanding and peace. At the same time, it gets international visitors excited about the needs that exist in India. By getting involved in exchange programs Rotary in India accomplishes the Four Way Test. One: It is the truth. Two: It is fair to all concerned. Three: It builds goodwill and better friendships. Four: It is beneficial to all concerned.

We in North America are always looking for ways to make life better for the underprivileged in developing countries. Through the exchange program we see the need and rush home to convince our clubs to help out.

We were all amazed by the Rotary Blood Bank that was established, built and supported by the Rotary Clubs in District 3010. The Rotary Blood Bank is self sustaining through blood donor clinics run by various Rotary Clubs who collect and supply the blood free to the bank. The Blood Bank then sells the blood to hospitals and revenues supports the ongoing operation of the bank. Blood is supplied free by Rotary to those who cannot afford to pay hospitals for it.

The bottom line is that the exchange program between North America, and India serves Rotary in India like their own fund raising project for their own needs. Two milestones are accomplished. We in North America get the satisfaction of providing life altering funds for life altering projects that Rotarians are developing. And Rotary projects in India achieve their objectives by receiving the necessary funds to complete them.

The international understanding and building of bridges between our two cultures almost becomes a side benefit or veil over the real issue. But it really works. We all become better people through the exchange program. And we all help each other achieve our goals.

It’s a "Win Win Win" situation! Simple but brilliant!

I think the exchange was a very good introduction to the theme for the coming Rotary year. The theme for the 2010-2011 Rotary year is Building Communities - Bridging Continents. I anticipate that our clubs in District 7010 may choose to provide assistance to some of the life changing Rotary projects in District 3010 and this will likely happen in the coming Rotary year.

I hope you will take the time to read the blog I wrote during my travels. I am grateful to have had this experience and would love to share it with the members of our District. You will find the various posts at http://www.mytripjournal.com/jananddanet

From Mike Kinsey, Rotary Club of Barrie-Kempenfelt

I am sitting here on a long bus ride heading back to my host’s house from an incredible trip to see the Taj Mahal. I looked over at my wife Maryanne who was now sleeping after another long day of travelling, I am so glad she came with me to share this experience.
It was a simple turn of events that took us down this path from Barrie, Canada to Delhi, India. A decision to attend the September District Conference in Niagara on the Lake and to be seated at dinner with a few of the visiting members of the G.S.E. team Sammerjit and Dr. Biswa Dash from India. They were so excited by the sight of the falls being all lit up at night and we were joking about being sat in the exclusive “atrium” (hallway). My wife and I told them we would love to visit India someday (not really looking very soon into the future). As fate would have it, later that night during some fellowship with Janet Stead and Dan Herbert, they made me aware me of this Friendship Exchange to India that would be occuring in January 2010. We spoke about it and decided to pursue it. I contacted the Exchange leader Dhiren Sinha (Rotary Club of Sudbury) and put our name on the list. Since the Exchange was full, we were placed on standby. A few weeks later, Maryanne and I were given the green light by Dhiren, so off we went to the doctors office for a list of shots and medications required for such a trip. A few days before the trip Maryanne and I went out for dinner and looked at each other and laughed as we both said “what the heck are we doing travelling to India” but here we go!

The Friendship Exchange between district 3010 India and 7010 was just simply an awesome experience. The journey was both emotionally draining and yet gave me energy to do something by getting more involved.
I don’t know if I have it in me to describe in words the things that the exchange team experienced. When we arrived in the thickest fog I have ever seen, there was a big sign that said “Incredible India”. The sign was not misleading in anyway. Everything from the traffic, people, food, hosts and wonderful projects that are being done by so many clubs were indeed incredible. One of my motives for going on the trip was as Incoming President, was to look for an international project that we could do as a matching grant next year. I was thinking that there were some clubs in India but was astounded to find out how many there are and how much they are doing. We saw first hand the Rotary District School, the Rotary Blood Banks, Special Needs School, Polio operations by Dr. Mathew, the Literacy School and many more.
My fellow travelers will do a great job of describing the places and the people we met. The whole team was amazing!
Maryanne I would like to thank all of our new Rotary friends for helping make our trip to India an incredible experience. I want to encourage you to get involved by doing an Exchange. What you will receive by doing the trip will far out weigh any hard work or discomfort that you may endure. We are all aware that the more you do in Rotary the more you will get out of it. The Friendship Exchange program will allow you to make friends around the globe. I look forward to seeing my new Indian friends at the R.I. convention in Montreal.
Later in life you may reach out to some of these people you met to help you in a project you are involved in. I was told by the District Governor’s both in 7010 (Richard Levert) and 3010 (Ashish Ghosh) that this happens all the time. Thanks again to both these gentlemen for their chance meeting in San Diego, because of that this Friendship Exchange took place.
This is how I came to ride the bus home from the Taj Mahal and reflect on my “incredible India”.

To see the incredible photos from our Friendship Exchange to India, please go to the District website at www.clubrunner.ca/7010



The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands

DG Richard