Gift boxes for childrenfrom the Northeast
A week-long Project Hasi (smile) by 23 Rotaract clubs in RID 3240 at the start of new Rotary year from July 1 created an air of camaraderie among the youth brigade of Rotary in the northeastern region of India. “Around 170 gift boxes were distributed to poor children living in slum colonies and underprivileged areas from north West Bengal to regions across the northeastern states of India which brought smile on their faces,” says Dipujjal Das, project secretary, Rotaract District 3240.
Each gift box contained stationery items, toys, a pair of new clothes and chocolates. Around 115 Rotaractors were involved in Project Hasi, a brainchild of DRR Aloka Dey, which was conceived to “stimulate happiness in children despite their daily hardships as they all hailed from underprivileged families.”
Rotaractors from across the district pooled in money to distributed relief materials to flood-affected families in Tripura in August and September. “Massive floods displaced thousands of people in Tripura. With the support of RC Agartala, we gave warm clothes, blankets, food packets and daily essentials to 800 families,” says Das.
As a professional service, job vacancies at the public sector companies, those being announced by the UPSC, State PSC, and banking sector are being informed on the district Rotaract WhatsApp group. “We also intimate our members about career prospects in the private sector by forwarding the job vacancies in private enterprises that appeared on leading dailies and other media outlets,” says DRR Aloka Dey.
Stating that her district is spread over a vast and complex area starting from West Bengal and then covering all the eight northeastern states with great diversity and cultural-mix, she says, “we have 700-plus members across 42 Rotaract clubs. Our target is to breach the 1,000-mark by adding 300 new Rotaractors in the next six months.”
Regular induction (or orientation) sessions are being held for new members, and “till now 25 such engagements were held to familiarise new Rotaractors about Rotary’s legacy, and its youth movement, Rotaract,” says Aloka, also a member of Rotary Club of Naharkatia. “Our Rotaractors have contributed ₹54,490 from their pockets to the Polio Fund of TRF so far this year.”
Having joined Rotaract four years ago, Dipujjal Das (27) from RAC Dharmanagar has completed B Tech (Civil) at NIT, Silchar (Assam), and he is now preparing for the Engineering Services Exam, a part of State Public Service Exam, Tripura. “I am looking forward to become an active Rotarian in the near future,” he adds. n
