Saturday, November 8, 2008

Gurpurb Celebration on 10th November

The Club is celebrating Guru Nanak Dev ji's gurpurb with a talk by Dr. H.S. Shan, a noted scholar, who would be speaking on "Guru Nanak's Poetry as a Medium of the Message".  The meeting shall be followed by pot-luck langar, which is being prepared so fondly by the families of Rotarians to share it together. 

Dental Health Workshop for Teachers

Bharat Prakarsh Foundation, dedicated to spreading literacy and led by our Rtn Neena Singh, joined hands with our Club to organise a Dental Health and Hygiene workshop on 7th November for the school teachers and volunteers who teach never-gone-to-school children in Dhanas. 
The teachers and volunteers of Dhanas AIE Udaan Centre which operates inside Government Senior Secondary School, village Dhanas (near Chandigarh) attended the workshop in the clinic of our famous orthodontist, Rtn. Dr. Gautam Munjal. 
Club President Rtn S K Duggal and Secretary Rtn Anil Chadda also attended the workshop.The teachers were given a detailed audio visual presentation for teaching correct dental habits so that these can be taught to the children at the center, as also demonstrated the right brushing techniques which every teacher learnt.  
The teachers were given samples of toothbrushes and tooth paste tubes for distribution to these children.
Next week it is planned to give to these children,  stationery (copies,pencils and crayons) and some refreshment.
There are three Udaan centers running in Dhanas with 90 children from poor economic strata between the ages of 6-14years. Of these 90 children,71 are graded at Class 1 level so we will be catching them young and impressionable for good habits and mainstreaming.  

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Make Every Monday Matter

An excellent suggestion has come from our member Rtn. Neena Singh, and I am reproducing the same here. 

There are innumerable ways in which one can contribute to making the world we live in better and these ways are not rocket science but lie in the simplest of things viz.donating old books,picking up some litter,using eco-friendly bags,re-using paper envelopes, planting a sapling,starting a car pool,the list can go on and on...

Let every Rotarian suggest ideas to make our world more clean,more green and more environment friendly! We will use these ideas to make every Monday matter and commit to practice it ourselves and motivate others in our circle/community also to join in this mission.Let us make a difference.

In the words of Dr.Martin Luther King (Jr) -
"Everyone has the power of greatness. Not for fame but greatness. Because greatness is determined by service."

Let us as Rotarians strive to make every day better starting Monday which is our Meeting Day.My idea :

If each one of us decides to shun the use of plastic bags and instead use eco-friendly re-usable canvas shopping bags - imagine the difference it would make.
US Statistics say that 7 billion paper bags and 400 billion plastic bags are used every year.90% of all grocery bags are plastic.Do you know the average length of time an average high density plastic bag will exist on earth- 1000 years! An average family accumulates appx 60 plastic bags every 4 trips to the grocery/veggie store.When San Francisco banned the use of plastic bags it eliminated 100 million plastic bags/year!

ACT TODAY
1.Buy several canvas bags.
2.Keep spare bags in your car.
3.Use these bags for grocery and vegetable/fruit shopping.

YOU MATTER
- You would accumulate 1000 fewer bags this year if you and your family start the action.
- Paper and plastic bags are an environmental hazard-they biodegrade slowly or not at all.
-They deplete energy and natural resources,endanger wildlife,and poison the soil.
MAKE A SHIFT TODAY-FROM PAPER AND PLASTIC TO CANVAS.
We could help in making Chandigarh the first PLASTIC FREE city in India .

Yes, each one has to make Monday matter...every day of the week. Let's start with our Monday fellowship fruitful and meaningful, and taking up the cue from Neena Singh, we would like to utilise our fellowship time to come up with new ideas.