Local Rotarians in India

Bev Slooten, a member of the Rotary Club of Timaru,  gave us a wonderful talk about her recent trip to India. For part of their trip Bev and her husband Adriaan joined members of the Waimate Rotary club who were visiting a hospital their club has supported with funding for equipment.

 

They landed in Mumbai at the beginning of February 2107.  They found Mumbai with its population of 22 million to be chaotic and polluted, but also surprisingly westernised as the economic powerhouse of India. They particularly enjoyed the traditional street markets in Kala Ghoda which provide income for families and for their children’s education.

 

During their travels in India Bev and Adrian visited several projects supported by Rotary.

Gujurat is the state where former Rotary District Governor Trish Boyle saw Rotary’s polio immunisation programme in action. Today it is felt that Rotary's goal of finally eradicating polio world-wide by 2030 is achievable.

 

In Vapi they visited the hospital which was set up using a Rotary Foundation Global Grant supported by the Waimate Rotary club and two Rotary clubs in Vapi. This building is in the shape of the Rotary wheel, with marble floors and walls.  The Rotary Club of Waimate contributed funding for equipment for this hospital.

 

Here they also visited a huge dam, a plastics factory and a hostel for girls in the Tribal lands, so that they could attend school. These projects were all supported by the two Vapi Rotary clubs.

 

Their final destination was to a resort in the terraced Himalayan foothills. At an altitude of 3,000 metres it was a pleasant 22-23 degrees in the daytime but dropped to 0 degrees at night! The wild rhododendrons were flowering and the views were spectacular.

 

They also visited Goa and Kerala, took a train trip to Cochin and enjoyed the stone carvings in Chennai.

 

Rotary operates a Friendship Exchange Programme where Rotarians from one District host Rotarians from another District. In New Delhi Bev and Adrian stayed with Umesh and Shadi, an Indian Rotarian couple they had hosted in New Zealand, and with whom they visited the Taj Mahal at the end of their trip. 

 

Before they left on this trip  Bev said she was told “that she would love India and be challenged by it”. She affirmed this and said she would love to return!