ROTARY CLUB OF

QUILON WEST END

ClubNo: 62620 Zone: XIV Vol. XII Issue: 8
14
Aug.
2014
THEFIRST100%PHF CLUBINRI DIST3211
We meet on every THURSDAY at 8.15pm at Crowther Masonic Hall
Email ID : quilonwestend@gmail.com www.facebook.com/quilonwestend.rotary
RI President Dist. Governor
Gary C.K. Huang K.S. Sasikumar
Highlights of the Business Meeting
The Business Meeting held on August 7 was
called to order by President Deepak Somarajan.
Rtn Arumugam led the Rotary invocation. After
welcoming his fellow Rotarians, the President
spoke about the proposed forthcoming
programmes and proj ects. Secretary S.
Muraleedharan read out the decisions taken at the
Board of Directors' Meeting held on 5 August and
the decisions were ratified. A detailed discussion
followed on the proposed Artificial Limb Camp and
Onam Trade Fair. Rtn Prasanth Kumar, Organizing
Committee Chairman of the Camp, gave an
elaborate account of the arrangements made so
far on the project. President then updated the
progress of the Trade Fair. After the proposal of
vote of thanks and National Anthem the meeting
was adjourned.
The 66th year of independence is an occasion for
us to remember all the known and unknown
fighters who had struggled and sacrificed their life
for the nation's freedom. During these sixty six
years, we have gone through periods of agony and
ecstasy. On this occasion we recall with pride and
gratitude the sacrifices of millions of sons and
daughters of this country who waged a determined
battle for freedom guided by the principles of truth
and non violence. This was an inspiring age of
moral, political and social movement and the
proud legacy has influenced the nation's
development in the past 66 years.
The Indian Freedom Movement can be portrayed
as a real-life political drama in which Mahatma
Gandhi was the author, director and the lead actor.
For it, this human magnet not only drew endless
tides of men to himself but a supporting cast of
immense merit, rare integrity, grit and political
savvy- Pandit Motilal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Sarojini Naidu, Maulana
Abdul Kalam Azad, Abdul Ghaffar Khan,
Jawaharlal Nehru, C.Rajagopalachari and others.
The concept of development, to Gandhiji ,was
abolition of poverty, misery and fear. He wanted to
TO
D
AY -W
eekly M
eeting
66th year of Indias Independence
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Rtn. Prasanth explaining the arrangements for the limb camp
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2
Editor : MPHF Y.S. Prakash
salisindhu@yahoo.com
Associate Editor : PHF Arjun Ashok
President : PHF Deepak S.
Imm.PP &
General Coordinator : MPHF Viju V.
President Elect : PHF Dr. Saji M.T.
Vice President : MPHF Anzar M.A.
Secretary : PHF S. Muraleedharan
Treasurer : PHF Renin
Joint Secretary : PHF Prasanth
Sergeant-at-arms : PHF Nevin Pereira
Addl Sergeant-at-arms : PHF Pradeep
Club Trainer : MPHF Saravana Sekhar
Club Administration : PHF Ajit Kumar
Membership : MPHF Varkey Jacob
Service Projects : PHF Dr. Riyaz
Public Relations : MPHF Praveen S. Dev
The Rotary Foundation : MPHF Philomene Antony
PDG Major Donor K.P.Ramachandran Nair
PDG Major Donor Dr G.A.George
MPHF Alphonse
MPHF P.A.Subramonian
PHF S.Salim
CHAIRMEN
ADVISORS
BEST CLASS TEAM 2014-15
Polio Vaccinators make significant
headway in Nigeria
Nigeria is closer than ever to eradicating polio,
riding a successful effort to reach children in seven
northern states at highest risk for the disease.
"Rotarians have [gone] into remote areas of the
country by car, canoe, motorbike, and even on foot
to ensure every child gets the vaccine," says
Rotary's Nigeria PolioPlus Committee Chair Tunji
Funsho.
In Katsina state, members of the Nigeria PolioPlus
Committee (NPPC) recently met with leaders of
two communities notoriously opposed to
immunization, mainly on religious grounds and in
protest of the lack of basic health care. They
persuaded the leaders to endorse vaccination by
obtaining government assurance that mobile
health camps would provide free checkups,
medications, immunization against diseases
besides polio, and other services.
"It was very encouraging to see the positive impact
of engaging these leaders . . . witnessed by the huge
turnout of crowds at the health camps and women
willingly presenting their children for vaccination
in households, quranic schools, and other
locations," reports the NPPC. "[The camps] are one
of the proven 'quick wins' to untie the knots of
persistent noncompliance in some settlements
across the high-risk states."
Along with Pakistan and Afghanistan, Nigeria has
never stopped transmission of the wild poliovirus.
However, it has recorded only three polio cases so
far this year (as of 3 June), down from 24 cases for
the same period in 2013.
Our Club celebrates the Independence Day at our adopted school
As in the previous years, Our club will celebrate the
Indian Independence Day at Govt LP School,
Mundakkal East, our adopted school. The new
team of the club's leaders will be honoured on the
occasion. Our club will distribute uniforms, study
materials, umbrellas and shoes to the students.
Our continuing nutrition programme for the year
will be formally inaugurated during the function.
Earlier, Rtn Varkey Jacob released the seventh
issue of 'Western Breeze' beautifully compiled by
Editor YS Prakash.
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raise humanity to a new moral height by setting an
example through his way of life. Though we failed
to follow him then, in the last sixty six years we
have learnt our lesson and now we are ready to
follow him. Today, more than ever we need
Gandhiji's truth for the survival of the earth and
the 21st century.
Let us hope that our celebration will not end , but
will become another turning point to eradicate
poverty, ignorance, superstition and wide spread
corruption so as to establish ONE INDIA of
Gandhiji's dream.
Rtn PHF S.Muraleedharan
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3
Gary C.K. Huang never imagined he would become
Rotary International's president when he joined in
1976, but now that he is in office, he hopes to
increase membership to 1.3 million by the end of
his term.
"It's simple. The more members we have, the more
people we can help. A stronger membership base
will result in stronger communities," says Huang,
who on 1 July became Rotary's first Chinese
president.
Huang also hopes his presidential theme, Light Up
Rotary, will encourage members to brighten
Rotary's image to the public, which he believes in
return will improve member recruitment and
retention.
Huang has a track record of improving
membership development in Asia, adding 19 clubs
when he was district governor for Taiwan, Hong
Kong, and Macau. One of the cornerstones of his
presidency is encouraging clubs and districts to
conduct a Rotary Day. These one-day events, he
says, can spotlight a particular cause, and solidify
Rotary's image as one of the world's leading service
organizations.
"We need to showcase our good work to everyone
in the community. Rotary Days need to be fun and
all inclusive. Invite your family, friends, and
neighbors to participate. My hope is at the end of
the day a few non-members will want to join
Rotary," he says. "Let's give people the opportunity
to experience what it's like to make a difference.
Rotary Days can achieve that."
Huang designed a travel schedule that will allow
him to visit more than 30 Rotary Day events across
the globe, including Argentina, Chile, France, India,
Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, and the U.S., as
well as his home city of Taipei.
Huang says he's honored and humbled to be
Rotary's president. He knows he's part of an
exclusive club.
"We [past Rotary presidents] have achieved great
success in our businesses and in our communities,"
says Huang. "But success isn't about power or
money. It's about giving back. Being a Rotarian has
given me the opportunity to help those in need. As
president, I can inspire our members to take
advantage of the same opportunity and bring
happiness in people's lives."
Rotary supports WHO director-
general's public health
emergency for polio
In May, the Director-General of the World Health
Organization (WHO) declared the international
spread of polio a Public Health Emergency of
International Concern (PHEIC), and issued a set of
recommendations to all polio-impacted countries.
On 31 July, the situation was reassessed and the
Director-General has declared polio remains a
public health emergency. Several factors played
into this decision, including:
1. Both Pakistan and Equatorial Guinea have
exported the virus internationally since May.
2. Polio thrives in areas compromised by conflict.
The unfortunate reality is that there are
currently several countries whose public
health systems have been seriously weakened
by crisis, and whose children are now some of
the most vulnerable to polio. In fact, the
number of people living in conflict-torn states
has increased since May, putting these
children at greater risk.
3. It is too soon to determine whether the
guidelines issued in May have had serious
impact in the affected countries.
4. The measures recommended by WHO in early
May help to protect the initiative's overall
gains in the fight against polio, specifically
working to ensure that international travelers
do not unknowingly carry the virus with them,
and inadvertently contribute to international
spread of the wild poliovirus.
Rotary supports the WHO Director-General's
decision to keep these recommendations in place
for travelers to/from Pakistan, Syria, Equatorial
Guinea and Cameroon (countries who have
exported polio in 2014); and Afghanistan,
Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Somalia and Nigeria
(countries infected by polio in 2014).
We firmly believe that through close collaboration,
Rotary, its partners and governments will achieve
a polio-free world.
John Germ
Chair, International Polio Plus Committee
Rotary International
Building a Bigger Rotary Family
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Published by President PHF Deepak Somarajan, Edited by MPHF and Associate Editor PHF Arjun,
on behalf of the Rotary Club of Quilon West End. For private and restricted circulation only. Printed at Don Bosco,Kollam
Y.S. Prakash
Rotary International District 3211
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
SEMINAR-2014
At Backwater Ripples, Kumarakom
On Sunday, 17 August
From 3 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Chief Guest: PDG C. Bhaskar
Eminent speakers, Variety entertainment,
delicious central Travancore food and enjoyable
Fellowship
FUNDING GAPS
Huang says Rotary members are never short on
ideas and innovative ways to solve problems, but
funding gaps prevent many of these projects from
taking off.
For instance, Rotary members in Korea, Japan, and
China are strong fundraisers, but struggle to help
each other use the funds because of distance and
language barriers, Huang says.
"I want to show Rotarians why I am their
president," he adds. "The best way to do that is to
see and inspire their work, participate in their
projects, and help them raise funds."
I want to, along with my district governors, reach
out and try to link different clubs from different
countries together so we can find the right
communities in need," he adds. "That's one of the
great things about being an international
organization: the ability to bring different cultures
and backgrounds together to find a common
cause."
Weekly meeting in progress
Thursday Night Humour
golf
The room was full of pregnant women and their
partners, and the Lamaze class was in full swing.
The instructor was teaching the women how to
breathe properly, along with informing the men
how to give the necessary assurances at this stage
of the plan.
The teacher then announced, "Ladies, exercise is
good for you. Walking is especially beneficial. And,
gentlemen, it wouldn't hurt you to take the time to
go walking with your partner!"
The room really got quiet.
Finally, a man in the middle of the group raised his
hand. "Yes?" replied the teacher. "Is it all right if
she carries a golf bag while we walk?"
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