Rotary is all about giving back

Rotary transforms lives. As a 1989 Group Study Exchange Team Member, it changed my entire life's trajectory and focus. Others, like District Governor Dr. Chidrawar Mukunda from the Rotary Club of Walsall, have stories about the profound impact of Rotary on their lives inspiring them to effect positive change for others. Here, Dr Mukunda tells his story, insisting that Rotary was the best thing that ever happened in his life:

My very modest background in Thane, Mumbai, was living in two rooms with my parents and two younger sisters. My mum was a homemaker and my dad worked in railways. They saved every penny to ensure our education never suffered. I was determined to become a surgeon but they could never have afforded my medical school fees.

I slept and studied on a common veranda outside with a makeshift electric wire and light bulb where I worked late and only slept when exhaustion took over.

Thankfully I was awarded a National Scholarship for my Medical Graduate studies meaning my family could use their limited financial resources for my sisters’ education.

My biggest challenge was obtaining medical books as this was in the 1970s when they came from UK & US and were very expensive. To become a surgeon, I had to be in the top five to get admission for postgraduate surgical studies at University of Bombay.

Accessing these books was critical to having a chance to make this. I frequently queued for the library and worked late before struggling to get home in an overcrowded train. At other times I simply relied on my handwritten notes from lectures.

Then Rotary entered my life.

I received a scholarship from Thane Rotary Club in Mumbai providing all the medical books for a needy student with top grades. In 1982 I completed my Master’s degree-MS in general surgery.

I also joined Thane’s Rotaract Club, was club President in 1976, received the “Outstanding Leadership Award” in 1978 and became the District Rotaract Representative.

Since joining Walsall Rotary Club in 2015, I have led Global Grant projects totalling $250,000, transforming the lives of people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Examples include:

• Touching little hearts: providing lifesaving surgery on children born with congenital heart defects.
  
• Installing renal dialysis machines: helping patients with kidney failure in a charitable hospital serving rural areas.
  
• Building check dams: trapping monsoon waters for livestock and boosting agriculture by enabling three annual harvests instead of one significantly improving village economies and halting urban migration.
  
• Clear vision through eye care: establishing an eye clinic and surgical facility to address cataracts in a Mumbai slum.
  

Stay tuned for the newly approved multi-district Global Grant project, involving six districts in Rotary Great Britain & Ireland collaborating with District 3132 in Maharashtra, India to provide a dedicated cancer screening bus in rural villages, with surgeries conducted at a nearby charitable hospital.

My success in both my medical and Rotary careers is thanks to Rotary’s impact on me, inspiring my dedication to bettering lives through service.”

Please share your Rotary impact story by emailing: rotaryjannine@icloud.com.