Gateway 310112.pmd - Rotary Club of Bombay

Rotary meets the$200 m ‘Challenge’;Bill Gates givesanother $50 mRotary International has succeededin meeting the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation’s $200million match in funding for polioeradication, raising more than $202.6million as of January 17.“We’ll celebrate this milestone,but it doesn’t mean that we’ll stopraising money or spreading the wordabout polio eradication,” RotaryFoundation Trustee John F. Germtold Rotary leaders at the InternationalAssembly in San Diego, California,USA. “We can’t stop untilthe entire world is certified poliofree.”The fund-raising milestone wasreached in response to $355 millionin “Challenge” grants awarded toThe Rotary Foundation by theGates Foundation. All funds havebeen earmarked to support polioimmunisation activities in affectedcountries where the vaccine-preventabledisease continues to paralysechildren.“In recognition of Rotary’s greatwork and to inspire Rotarians in thefuture, the (Gates) foundation iscommitting an additional $50 millionto extend our partnership,” saidMr. Jeff Raikes, CEO of the GatesFoundation.“Rotary started the global fightagainst polio and continues to setthe tone for private fund-raising,grassroots engagement and maintainingpolio at the top of the agendawith key policymakers,” said Mr.Raikes while addressing Rotary leadersat their International Assembly.The new $50 million grant fromthe Gates Foundation is not a challengegrant.FOUR-WAY TEST FILM TOBE UPLOADED ON‘YOUTUBE’; MAY BECOPIED ON PEN DRIVES(Continued from Page 1)The film version of the Four-WayTest, titled “Kya Yeh Sach Hai?” wasmade by Chairman Suresh Jagtiani.He wrote it, produced it, directed it,photographed it on his digital cameraand even handled the entire post-productionwork, including the editing,synchronisation, music and so on.One of the unique features of thefilm was the karaoke section towardsthe end that enabled the audience tosing the title song as it was renderedon the screen in the mellifluous voiceof Sudha Malhotra Motwane.Adding to the thrill of the momentwere scores of Rotaractors from H.R.and other colleges, some of themsporting red t-shirts; they emergedfrom the shadows to sing the chorus,“Kya yeh sach hai, kya yeh sahi hai”.It was a fitting finale to the premiereshow of the film.The plot, in brief, was as follows:A firm bagged an export order that itknew it could not fulfil within therequired time. So it got a lawyer todraw up an agreement with one importantclause, that of “force majeure”which, it believed would enable it tocite circumstances beyond its controland to get away with any delayin delivery.However, it soon realised that thegoods prepared would not be approvedby the buyer, so it allowedthe working conditions in its factoryto deteriorate, forcing the workers togo on a strike. Citing the strike assomething beyond its control, thefirm bought time, got a new consignmentprepared and then exported it –to the satisfaction of all concerned.But was this approach truthful?Was it ethical? Although it appearedto have benefited everybody, did itbuild goodwill and foster friendships?These were the questions posed bythe narrator of the film.The film had Sitaram Shah playingthe main role, that of Mr. Chopra,the man who insisted that the endsjustified the means. His character assertedthat by allowing the workersto go on strike, he had protectedmany jobs, ensured that the firm didnot suffer a loss, earned the gratitudeof the board of directors and of theshareholders and so on.Shyyamniwas Somani enacted therole of the general manager, a manforced against his wishes to toe theline being taken by Mr. Chopra. WhileMadhusudan Daga looked every inchthe works manager at the factory,Suresh Jagtiani was quite smooth asthe legal brain that drew up the agreement.And PP Kalpana Munshi wasconfidence personified as the narrator.Suresh thanked Meera Kumar forher assistance in translating the originallines into Hindi and Sudha for singingthe theme song. He had a specialword of praise for Baji Bilimoria whohad inspired him to make the film.He said later that the film wouldbe uploaded on YouTube so other RotaryClubs could download it forscreening. Those interested in a highresolutionprint could approach himfor a copy of the film on a pen drive.R.I. Theme for 2012-13is unveiled(Continued from Page 1)Peace had different meanings for differentpeople, said Sakuji.“No definition is right and no definitionis wrong. However (in whicheverway) we use the word, this iswhat peace means for us. No matterhow we use, or understand the word,Rotary can help us to achieve it,” headded.Sakuji, a businessman from thegreater Tokyo metropolitan area, revealedhow becoming a Rotarian broadenedhis understanding of the world.After joining the Rotary Club of Yashioin 1975, he said, he began to realisethat his life’s purpose was not to makemore money but to be useful to otherpeople.He said the Japanese tradition ofputting the needs of society above theneeds of the individual helped his countryrebuild after the tsunami and earthquakein March, 2011.“This is a lesson that I think thewhole world can learn from, in a positiveway. When we see the needs ofothers as more important than our ownneeds – when we focus our energies ona shared goal that is for the good of all– this changes everything. It changesour priorities in a fundamental way.And it changes how we understandthe idea of peace.”Sakuji said he would ask Rotariansand the incoming leaders to focus onsupporting the three priorities of theR.I. Strategic Plan and on promotingthe three Rotary Peace Forums to beheld in Hiroshima, Japan; Berlin; andHonolulu, Hawaii, USA.“In Rotary, our business is notprofit. Our business is peace... Our rewardis not financial but the happinessand satisfaction of seeing a better, morepeaceful world, one that we haveachieved through our own efforts,” headded.The man behind the movie is Four-Way Test Chairman Everybody loved the film. Members of the Rotaract Clubs of Bombay, of H.R. College and othersSuresh Jagtiani. Everything pertaining to the film was at the last meeting. In the first row are Mina and Shyyamniwas Somani, Nowroze Vazifdar,handled by him, like a true professionalPresident Paul George, PP Kalpana Munshi and Suresh and Aruna JagtianiJanuary 31 to February 6, 2012 THE GATEWAY, The Bulletin of the Rotary Club of Bombay Page 2