Dainik Bhaskar Pride Award for Rotary Club Chandigarh

Dainik Bhaskar confers Pride Award on Rotary Club of Chandigarh for its Heartline Project

Governor of Punjab, His Excellency Shri Shivraj Patil, gave the trophy and a citation, which was received by the Club's team of Rotarians including Past Rotary International President Rajendra K. Saboo, President Hassan Singh Mejie, Past Presidents Baldev Aggarwal, Charanjit Singh, Manmohan Singh Kohli, Neena Singh and Vivek Gupta, besides Project Chair Sukhjit Singh Gill and Mona Khattar.

The award is a community recognition of the great efforts of the Rotarians for their zeal and mission 'not to let any child die for want of money'.

Since 1999, when the project began as Gift of Life (now known as Rotary Heartline)  under matching grant project, the Club decided to continue with its mission even when the matching grant was over, and till date 500 lives of children have been saved by providing free cardiac surgery.

Our heartiest compliments to every Rotarian, their families, our partner Fortis Hospital Mohali, and the angel supporters who continue to bring back the smiles on the faces of these children and their families.

Rotarians to mend hearts of 7 children from Rwanda

Rotary Club of Chandigarh received seven children from Rwanda who arrived here on Sunday, for their heart surgeries.

The youngest of all, Evan is a 7 months old child suffering from Down syndrome and is accompanied by his mother, Uhiriwe Chantal.

Rtn. Pres. Hassan Singh Mejie with the first lady, besides Past Presidents Kewal Seth, Praveen Goyal, Baldev Aggarwal, Charanjit Singh, and Vivek Gupta, President Nominee Rtn. D.P. Singh, Rtn. Sukhjit Singh Gill, Rtn. Mona Khattar, and Rtn. Jatinder Kapoor, received the children at the airport and brought them to the Rotary House, where they met the media and had their lunch, before being shifted to the Fortis Hospital.

Rotary Club of Chandigarh had been engaged in providing free heart surgeries to children from various parts of the country as well as from abroad through our partner hospital, under Rotary Heartline project, since 1999, informed Rtn. Hassan Singh Mejie, President of the Club.

Former world president of Rotary International, Rtn. Rajendra K. Saboo, who conceived this project which has saved 499 lives of children already, is a happy man, who rejoices at the innocent smiles of these children, which transcends any boundaries.

Most of the children suffer from rheumatic heart disease (RHD) with some of them having the leaking heart valve, and will be operated by Dr. T.S. Mahant, Executive Director CTVS at the Fortis Hospital Mohali in the next two weeks, informed Rtn. Sukhjit Singh Gill, the chairman of the Heartline committee.

According to Rotary Club Chandigarh President Hassan Singh Mejie, this was a part of our commitment to the children of Rwanda to provide free heart surgeries to 30 children, and it is the third group of 7 children which has arrived now.

Amongst the children include Master Prince (9 years), Miss Brigitte (9), Miss Josiane (14), Miss Dativa (14), Master Fils (17), Miss Vedastine (15), and Evan (7 months).

The children are accompanied by Dr. Emmanuel Rusingiza Kamanzi, and  Heshima Christophe, along with mother of Evan, Mrs. Uhiriwe Chantal.

The Club which launched the Rotary Heartline project in 1997, has already saved the lives of 499 children, which included children, besides from India, 15 each from Malawi, Nepal, and Rwanda, 33 from Pakistan, 7 from Uganda, two from Afghanistan, and one from Iraq.

ROTARY SCHOLARSHIPS for Water and Sanitation Professionals

Rotary International and the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education have teamed up to tackle the world’s water and sanitation crisis by increasing the number of trained professionals to devise, plan, and implement solutions in developing and emerging countries. Through this partnership, The Rotary Foundation will provide grants to Rotary clubs and districts to select and sponsor 16 students each year.
The Rotary Scholarships for Water and Sanitation Professionals have been designed to promote long-term productive relationships between Rotarian's and highly skilled water and sanitation professionals in their communities. Rotary scholars will benefit from the support they receive through regular contact with sponsoring Rotarian's from their home country and the opportunity to interact with Rotarian's in the Netherlands.
After graduating, scholars’ expertise will be put to work improving water and sanitation conditions in their own community with a project the scholar and sponsoring Rotarians will design and implement together.
In addition, Rotary Foundation alumni are part of an extensive network of fellow Rotary scholarship recipients and Rotarians worldwide. Becoming involved with a local Rotary club and the alumni association allows scholars to stay connected to Rotary’s global community and resources.
Students eligible for this scholarship must be provisionally admitted to one of the following degree programs at UNESCO-IHE (joint programs are not eligible):
• ~ MSc in Urban Water and Sanitation
• ~ MSc in Water Management
• ~ MSc in Water Science and Engineering
Students provisionally admitted to one of the three eligible UNESCO-IHE academic programs will seek the sponsorship of their local Rotary club or district and  completed applications must be received by The Rotary Foundation from sponsor Rotarians no later than 15 July of the year in which studies begin.
Scholarship awards will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Early submission is highly encouraged.
TRF awards scholarships in the amount of €25,000. Funding to cover additional costs (including international travel) related to participation in the academic program will be coordinated by UNESCO-IHE.

Contact information
Questions about the scholarship and application process can be sent to  grants@rotary.org
OR contact Ms Ineke Melis, Senior Fellowship and Admission Officer,
Phone   +31152151705
Email i.melis@unesco-ihe.org
or
Rtn. Pres. Hassan S. Mejie, Rotary Club of Chanidgarh
rotaryclubchandigarh@gmail.com

Celebrating 3-Years of Polio-Free India

It is a matter of great pride for all Rotarians worldwide that India has completed three years without any case of polio, qualifying it for the WHO certification for Polio-Free India, said Rakesh Aggarwal, District Governor of Rotary International District 3080, who was in the city today on his official visit to the Rotary Club of Chandigarh.

People positioned themselves in front of the giant Rotary wheel
in front of the Neelam theatre and clicked their heart out. 

He complimented Rotary Club of Chandigarh for celebrating this milestone by illuminating the Neelam city building in Sector 17 Plaza by Mr. Anil Kumar, IAS, Home Secretary, UT Chandigarh, in the evening, as also the Rotary House.  Buildings all across the nation including India Gate and Red Fort would be illuminated to mark the occasion, he informed.

People eagerly watched the Rotary's journey and efforts in
eradicating polio

Rotary worldwide has contributed more than US$1.2 billion and countless volunteer hours to the polio eradication efforts since 1985 when Rotary mooted this project and later brought on board WHO, UNICEF, US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the national governments of countries around the world.

District Governor Rakesh Aggarwal, IPDG Manmohan Singh,
Pres. Hassan Singh Mejie along with other Rotarians of
Rotary Club of Chandigarh, and the Rotaractors 

The three-year achievement also sets the stage for the polio-free certification of the entire South East Asia Region of the World Health Organization in the first quarter of 2014 by the Regional Certification Committee.

UT Home Secretary, Mr. Anil Kumar IAS (third from right)
watches the video after illuminating the Neelam theatre building,
along with PDG Madhukar Malhotra, and Assistant Governor
Ajit Gulati at Sector 17 Plaza.

Rotary says the challenge now is to replicate India’s success in neighboring Pakistan (which is in a different WHO region), one of three remaining polio-endemic countries. Afghanistan and Nigeria are the others. Collectively, they create a reservoir from which the opportunistic disease can emerge to re-infect areas where it had been previously stopped. So-called “imported cases” are occurring now in Syria and several African countries.  In 2013, imported cases in non-endemic countries outnumbered the total in the endemic countries 224 to 145, underscoring the importance of stopping the virus where it remains endemic.
Rotary Governor Rakesh Aggarwal also presented hearing aids to children of Patiala School for the Deaf.
President Hassan Singh Mejie of Rotary Club of Chandigarh informed that Gift of Hearing project was launched last year in collaboration with The Rotary Foundation and the partner Rotary Club of Charlotte, USA of Rotary District 7680, to restore the world of sounds amongst children with hearing disorders. So far, he informed, 29 aids have been given to the deaf and mute children who are now being further rehabilitated by speech therapist to decipher sound and language.
Earlier in the morning, Governor Rakesh Aggarwal and President Hassan Singh Mejie alongwith members of Rotary Club of Chandigarh presented two wheel chairs to the Chandigarh Railway Station for the convenience of the physically challenged, weak and old passengers.

‘Light Up Rotary’: New Rotary 2014-15 Theme Unveiled

RI President-elect Gary C.K. Huang chose Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-15. Huang was inspired by the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucious who said: "It is better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness."

"There are so many problems in the world, so many people who need help. Many people say, 'There's nothing I can do.' So they sit there doing nothing. Meanwhile everything stays dark," Huang told the 537 district governors and their spouses and partners who are attending the 2014 International Assembly in San Diego, California.

"The Rotary way is the Confucius way. The Rotary way is to light a candle. I light one, you light one, 1.2 million Rotarians light one. Together, we light up the world," said Huang, who is a member of the Rotary Club of Taipei in Taiwan.

After announcing his theme at the opening session of the five-day training meeting, Huang urged club members to Light Up Rotary in the coming year by hosting a Rotary Day in their community and including local Rotaract and Interact members in their service projects.

"How you Light Up Rotary is up to you," Huang said. "You know where you are strong, you know what your community needs, and you know how you can help."

Huang also shared his membership development goals, including the need for more women and young adults and his goal to increase membership to a total of 1.3 million members. He asked Rotarians to invite their spouses, family members, and friends to join Rotary.

"We need to assume leadership for building strong clubs, and that starts with bringing in new members," he said.

Addressing the status of the fight against polio, Huang noted that with the current momentum Rotary is on track to achieve full polio eradication by 2018.

"When we eradicate polio — and we will — we will have proved ourselves an organization capable of great things. And we'll be even better equipped for the next challenge we choose to take on. We'll have given the world a gift that will endure forever," he said.

By continuing to fight against polio, setting an example in local communities, and growing membership, Huang hopes to see Rotary shine brighter than ever.

"Light Up Rotary is our theme, but it is more than our theme. It is how we live in Rotary, how we think in Rotary, how we feel, how we work," Huang said. "It is how we make a difference — every day, in every club, every district, and every country where we serve."

Download the 2014-15 theme logo and materials