Rotaract the magic that transforms the world

Let’s say, you are travelling in a car, and you see green blobs outside your window, and you have no idea what they are, but every time you travel, you see those green blobs. You intend to visit a doctor, and the doctor gives you a pair of spectacles. So, now you realise that the green blobs were nothing but the beautiful green leaves. Rotaract is like wearing a pair of spectacles. It compels one to look at the world in a way you’ve never seen before.

I joined Rotaract while pursuing my MBA and it’s been around six years of my association with this beautiful movement. Many a times, I’ve been subjected to this question, as to how I manage my job, my family, and Rotaract at a go. Trust me, I never had to ‘manage’ Rotaract, it was there, constant. Instead I had to manage my job. Rotaract became a family, a second home, eventually. Each time I look back, I cherish the memories made, friends gained and definitely some great stories to narrate.

I never had to ‘manage’ Rotaract, it was there, constant. Instead I had to manage my job.

To be very honest, being a DRR never changed the perspective I joined this movement with. I never tried to do what ‘a DRR does’, rather I wanted to do something which will tend to add value to my district and the Rotaractors around the city.

I would love to enlighten people about this one project, Rotaract Roshni, which is extremely close to my heart.

Kumirmari is an island in the Sunderbans. A remote village with pathetic communication with the outside world. The government couldn’t succeed much in providing electricity to them. And then, Rotaract heard them and pondered upon their distress. Our ‘engineers in the making’ members then went to Kumirmari and sorted out the problem. Through Rotaract Roshni, till now, among 2,000 homes, 314 homes have been brightened up by installing solar panels. We plan to complete the project by 2018. Surprisingly we never visited ­Kumirmari with the aim to set up solar lamps. The problem of electricity was something we came across by chance. And I am sure, those who were present there during this project at Kumirmari will also agree with me that the happiness and joy that we saw in the faces of the villagers after installing the solar panels at their respective houses was much brighter than the solar lamps we installed. Projects like Rotaract Roshni make our lives worth living, it surely give us reasons to continue with the kind of work we do at Rotaract. We are looking at another 100 solar lamps to be installed by the end of this Rotaract year.

The happiness and joy that we saw in the faces of the villagers after installing the solar panels at their respective houses was much brighter than the solar lamps we installed.

Through Rotaract, we inspire our generation where we tend to give back something to the society we live in and try to make a difference among the people around us. At Rotaract, we transcend ourselves in a number of ways by doing a lot of projects to make the world a better place to live in. While the entire Rotary fraternity is trying to ‘make a difference’ in the world, we Rotaractors try to ‘be the difference’ we require. At Rotaract, we analyse the community’s immediate requirements, such as education, sanitation, electricity, and work together to deliberate. At Rotaract, we constantly better ourselves to better the society, where there is ‘service above self’, where help is provided to all those who are in need, and transcend ourselves at every level. And I believe that we do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already and Rotaract is a platform where we can make that magic happen.

(The writer is DRR of D 3291)