Clown care or hospital clowning is a therapy involving visits by specially trained clowns to help lift patients’ moods with a positive power of hope and humour. ­Additionally, the sessions also lift up the spirits of the staff and the patients’ family. ‘Clown doctors’ attend specifically to the psycho-social needs of the hospitalised, using techniques such as music, storytelling, magic, and other clowning skills. The objective is to distract the patient from pain and frightening medical procedures, anxiety, loneliness and boredom.

A lot of people describe Rotaract as the future of Rotary. But I very much believe that Rotaract is the present of Rotary. The skills that Rotaract can bring to the Rotary table are fantastic and complementary to the skills that Rotarians have,” said RI President ­Gordon McInally, addressing the DRRs and DRREs at the Rotaract seminar at the Rotary zone institute in Bengaluru. He is a former member of Rotaract Club of South Queensferry, Scotland.

Though less than a year old, RAC Pune Synergy Next Gen, RID 3131, has got a charter president in Raghav Somani who is brimming with ideas and is ready to motivate his members to take up impactful service projects. “We have 21 members, 70 per cent of whom are businessmen and small entrepreneurs, and the rest are college students. Our maiden Project Social Santa donated around 100 food packets to homeless and destitute people at the Pune Camp area on Christmas eve,” says Somani.