CHENNAI: Rotary International President Barry Rassin is in Chennai for Tour de Rotary, a Cycle Rally on Road Safety, which is to be held on Sunday. Rassin spoke to City Express of his vision for Rotary
and how it is an organisation that can fill the gaps that governments cannot.
How important is Rotary India when it comes to Rotary’s global picture?
India is very important in the Rotary world. It has a high percentage of membership in our organisation. They are extremely active with service projects, not only with the small, community-based projects but also with the large country-wide ones. They are doing impactful, transformative work that I like to share with other countries. India also provides tremendous funding to the Rotary Foundation. These funds can then be matched and brought back to India so we do even more than we could otherwise.
What are some of the projects that Rotary India has implemented that you share with other countries?
There is a photograph that I show of children in a school singing a song while washing their hands. You might say, it is just a matter of teaching hygiene but the reality is that Rotary in India is changing behaviour as the children are enjoying washing their hands. They go home and teach their families, and we get the hygiene message throughout the community. A project is impactful when you can change behaviour.
Your theme this year is ‘Be the Inspiration.’ How do you think a Rotarian can be a role model?
Each Rotarian needs to appreciate what they are doing. They need to share the information they have with the communities. The more the communities understand what we do, how we do it and who we are, the more they are inspired to either be a part of it, to support it or to at least encourage us to continue our work. When people realise that we are changing the world, and touching lives on a daily basis, it inspires them to be a part of what we do.
One of the things you strongly advocated for was greater social media presence for Rotary clubs. Why do you think this is crucial?
We want all 36,000 Rotary clubs around the world to go on social media every week and show us as people of action. We need to stop showing pictures of us having a meal or fellowshipping together and show pictures of us with kids in the school washing their hands, of us conducting a literacy project in schools, and of all the projects we take up. If every Rotarian in every club does that on a regular basis, then the world will know what we do and they will be inspired... One of our goals is to double the size of our Rotaract clubs worldwide and ensure that the Rotaracters join Rotary clubs because the more they become a part of the Rotary clubs, more technology comes with them.
How do governments across the world treat Rotary?
Every government representative around the world that I have met say that they want to have an understanding or written agreement with Rotary because they think they can work with Rotary clubs and get more work done for their communities. It is important for Rotary clubs to understand the needs the governments cannot fulfil and the work they need to do to fullfil them. We should coordinate with the government and vice versa. We can’t expect the government to do everything. The governments want to support us because they appreciate that we can do the things they can’t.
Polio eradication is high on the Rotary agenda. How has India performed when it comes to the same?
Eradication of polio is the number one priority for Rotary. India has been a leader in this initiative. In the early days, there were people who said, “India is going to be the last country on Earth with Polio.” But, the Rotary in India said, “No, we are not. We are going to make this happen. We will go to the most difficult places on earth to ensure that every child is immunised on a regular basis and that the vaccines reach them quickly.” And they kept doing this and showed the world the strength of Rotary in a country like India where we eradicated Polio earlier than anybody expected. They worked with the government and advocated the government to be a part of what we were doing. Getting inspired from this, the other governments said, “If India can do it, so can we.”
What is the ratio of men to women members in Rotary, both in India and across the world?
In India, 12% of the members are female. The number is 22% worldwide and some countries have 50% female members. However, we have more women than men in Rotaract. So our young arm of Rotary is moving in the right direction and is representing the communities with strength from women. It is our agenda to continue encouraging Rotary clubs to represent their communities. This year, our goal is to increase the number from 22% to 30% around the world.