Services on the go

We wanted more from our Rotaract membership… a bonding beyond our club and service beyond our boundaries. Basically, we wanted to connect with a larger group of like-minded people,” says Anamika, President of the newly- chartered RAC Shivalik Rangers, sponsored by RC Chandigarh Shivalik, RI District 3080.

This thought process of Anamika and her team resulted in a ‘fellowship drive’ by five members of the club across five States over three days. The team kickstarted the project after distributing meals to 100 underprivileged people, in association with RAC Chandigarh Shivalik. They associated with one club in each zone to execute a welfare activity in the region.

The Yamuna Path behind the Gurudwara Paonta Sahib got a facelift as the team, along with RAC Rainbow Paonta Sahib, decorated the walls with graffiti depicting messages of peace and harmony. At Roorkee, the Rotaractors tied up with RAC Roorkee Midtown and transformed into ‘Traffic Marshalls’ to help the police regulate traffic at various busy junctions in the city.

At Yamuna Nagar, the youngsters promoted the age-old and forgotten method of writing letters and posting them, along with the members of RAC Yamuna Nagar Rivera. The final stopover was at Chandigarh where a session on mental health awareness was organised in association with RAC Silvercity. Psychologists delivered lectures on how to identify and manage different forms of mental illness. “The workshop was aimed at children and we conducted a guided-survey through which we identified few children who needed psychological help,” says Anamika.

At the end of three days, the participants had rich memories and anecdotes to share with their club members and “we are happy that we could make more new friends, gain more knowledge and understand people’s needs better.” The club is regularly providing notebooks, storybooks and other stationery items for schoolchildren residing in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir. “We have collaborated with the Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre which is in touch with the Indian Army. So through them we reach the study material to the students.” The contributions made to the Sunshine collection at the end of the club meetings every month is used to buy stationery.

The Wishes for Warriors has been a well-appreciated gesture of the club, she says. “We sent rakhis and gifts for soldiers posted at the DBO (Daulat Beg Oldie) in the Ladakh region and post-cards for naval cadets at the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. We even got acknowledgement from the soldiers.”

The Rotaractors have also renovated a school with fresh paint and provided some school supplies. The club, just ten months old, has a strong social media presence as they regularly post their projects on YouTube and Facebook for better reach and visibility.