History of Rotary in India
The first Rotary club in India was installed in Calcutta in 1919-1920. R.J. Coombes, manager of a steel products company convened the first meeting on 26 September, 1919. The new club was chartered on 1st January 1920. All the twenty charter members were non-Indians.
The first Indian to be a Rotarian was Surendra Banerjee who was made honorary member of the club. This was followed by S. C. Rudra who became a full-fledged Rotarian with the classification of Mining Engineer. The first Indian to become the secretary was Nitish C. Laharry (1926). A.F.M. Abdul Ali was the first Indian to adorn the collar of a club president.
Jim Davidson, a Canadian formed the first Rotary club in Bombay and Madras in 1929. Rotary Club of Bombay which started with 38 members, became the largest Rotary Club in India. Sir Pheroze Sethna, a member of the Legislative Assembly was the only Indian in the club.
On 27th October 1934, the Rotary Club of Bangalore was chartered and was the seventh club in pre-Independence India.
By the time India became independent, there were 71 Rotary clubs (14 in Gujarat, 10 in Maharashtra, 10 in UP, 7 in Tamil Nadu, 7 in Karnataka and 23 in 10 other states) with a total membership of 3121 members.
About District 3192
Rotary International District 3192 carved out of RI Dist 3190 comprises of four major revenue districts of Karnataka which include Bengaluru, Mandya, Chikkaballapur and Tumkur. RI Dist 3192 is all set to serve the world, creating hopes of change under the able leadership of District officials of Rotary and Rotaract.
District 3192 Signature Projects
KARUNASHRAYA
Rotary Club of Bangalore, Indiranagar and Indian Cancer Society (Karnataka Chapter) jointly set up BHT – Karunashraya, a non-profit public charitable trust, a hospice rendering palliative care (free of charge) to advanced-stage cancer patients. The aim at BHT- Karunashraya is to provide the much-needed support, compassion and dignity to advanced-stage cancer patients and their families. BHT is successfully in its 22nd year of operation of the in-patient facility and 26th year of operation of the home care facility.
To date through our services, we have been able to reach out to more than 25,000 patients.
BHT provides inpatient care, home care and education which involves training of young girls between the ages of 18 and 22, mainly from rural/less privileged backgrounds to become nursing aides, thus creating employment opportunities for them.
ROTARY BANGALORE-TTK BLOOD BANK
Bangalore Medical Services Trust (BMST), a not-for-profit organisation, was established by the Rotary Club of Bangalore and TTK Company in 1984.
BMST, initially set up to provide blood-banking services through its division, the Rotary Bangalore-TTK Blood Bank, has evolved over time to become a centre of excellence in the areas of blood banking, transfusion and immuno-haematology; tissue banking, and a transplant immunology laboratory to support solid organ and stem cell transplantation; a Blood Stem Cell Registry; Training; R&D and community-based health education and health services.
As a Regional Blood Transfusion Centre and Immuno-haematology Reference Lab for South India, the highlights of the blood bank are:
- 100% Voluntary donor blood only, no replacement.
- Over 36,000 units of blood are collected per year.
- 100% blood is separated into components.
- Over 80,000 blood components are prepared per year.
- NABH accredited.
- Screening for HIV, Hepatitis B & C by Chemiluminescence as well as ID NAT.
- More than 500 hospitals and 50,000 patients served per year.
ROTARY BANGALORE VIDYALAYA
The school was initially known as “Rotary Seva Bharathi Vidyalaya” which later in 2011 came to be known as “ROTARY BANGALORE VIDYALAYA” is a flagship project of the Rotary Club of Bangalore and is run by the Rotary Club of Bangalore Charitable Trust. It is located in Nagadevanahalli in Kengeri and stands on land bought in 1961 by the Rotary Club of Bangalore. The building was expanded in three phases. It caters to the children of the surrounding localities.
During the 1989-90 academic year, the school was officially recognised by the Government of Karnataka and classes commenced from standard 1 to standard 7 and gradually went up to the tenth standard. Thereafter, the strength of the students increased to almost 500 within a short period of time, both in Kannada and English medium.
The Rotary Bangalore Vidyalaya has all the facilities for students ranging from excellent infrastructure, laboratories, library, play and dining areas, well-established computer labs and facilities for e-learning. It also has a vocational training centre that provides skill training to the students. This school is a testimony to the vision of our senior leaders, patrons, donors, RCB members and well-wishers.
ROTARY BANGALORE PEENYA PANDITH DEENDAYAL UPADHYAYA DIALYSIS CENTRE
Rotary Bangalore Peenya’s Dialysis centre was built with world class infrastructure facilities at a total cost of ₹ 2.30 Crores. The centre has 11 latest Fresenius model Haemodialysis Machines. Rotary Bangalore Peenya has employed qualified and experienced nephrologists, doctors, dialysis technicians, nurses, attenders & others.
In Bangalore, about 7,500 people are diagnosed with end stage renal disease every year. The 2,500 Dialysis machines in Bangalore can cater to about 15,000 patients. However, patients are restricted since many need 3 dialysis per week.
Private Hospitals charge ₹ 1500 – 2500 and charitable institutions charge ₹ 750 – 1000 per dialysis. More than 50% die because of late diagnosis or because they cannot afford treatment. Rotary Peenya is provides free dialysis for the poor, and charging only ₹ 750 for others.
The mission is to deliver health care service efficiently, cost-effectively, and with compassion in a manner which exceeds the expectations of all stakeholders.
This is a day care dialysis centre with just two shifts a day. The centre is in the 9th year of operation and is run by Rotarians only. Nearly 40,000 dialysis procedures have been
RCB OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY CENTRE
The RCB Occupational therapy centre is set up at an institution that is doing the much needed task of caring for the destitute population on our streets. This home provides food and shelter to over 700 destitute elderly. This centre meets the need for skilled workers who can provide care to these elderly people. A separate block for meeting the occupational therapy needs was put up in the premises for this purpose.
The Centre is a facility to develop skills and medical facilities which is vital to the comprehensive rehabilitation of the residents, and also provides dignity and confidence apart from food and shelter. The building is spread over three floors with each floor dedicated to training the residents in various skills like pottery, tailoring, welding, gardening and basic health care for immediate attention of the residents.
This centre caters to around 250 members who are now using the skill development centre to hone their skills at various occupations. This centre has created for the residents a sense of purpose and has boosted their self esteem. They now feel useful to society and an overall feeling of wellness and joy is seen on their faces.
ROTARY BANGALORE BASAVESHWARNAGAR- TAPAASANA
“Tapaasana” diagnostic centre, a joint project of Rotary Bangalore Basaveshwaranagar in association with Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike and Sri. S.Suresh Kumar, MLA of Rajajinagar and Hon. education minister, is already a household name in its locality.
In order to mitigate the woes of the underprivileged and to end unnecessary delays and simplify the treatment, the club brought state of the art, expensive but necessary diagnostic procedures within the reach of the deprived class of the society. RBB envisaged and executed this unique project to provide them these facilities at very reasonable and affordable rates, making their treatment less expensive. The project, in its seventh year, has already benefited more than one lakh ten thousand needy people since its inception.
