If you come across a senior citizen watching a movie with a few enthusiastic individuals or see a few women making sustainable sanitary pads or running a salon, or there’s a huge cancer screening drive in the slums of the city — you know they are some of the many initiatives taken by the Rotarians —- working tirelessly to bring the change in society.
Expanding the vision of building a sustainable healthy society for all, to much extent, is credited to the newly elected president of the Rotary Club Bombay Pier, Mayuri Bhasin. “There’s so much to do and you have to have a clear vision to ensure you are doing the right thing. We have a succession plan so you are constantly working, either helping the president as a member or you are the president and making the change that you want during your tenure,” says Bhasin, who began her work eight months before she was elected as the new president on July 1. “I was already the president elect last year, so while the current president was working and we were assisting him, I was already doing my research on the areas I would be interested in working.”
Mayuri Bhasin the new President of Rotary Club of Bombay Pier |
From organising free cancer screenings and providing free dialysis to supporting the causes like night shelters for the girls on roads with the NGO Asha Kiran, skill development programs for tribes women in Wada, donating cows and buffaloes to the farmers in small villages of Maharashtra, and adopting villages for overall development of the state, Bhasin has big plans to make a difference. But she doesn’t feel the pressure. “Rotarians come together to work for a common cause. Polio eradication, for instance, was thought by a Rotarian and the entire world came together to work towards it. So it’s always a team work, there’s no pressure on an individual or a club because everyone wants to make that change that one has conceived,” she says.
For Bhasin, it is indeed an achievement to become the president of the club which she joined less than a decade ago. It is her hard work and an illustrious experience as a lecturer at St Xavier’s College with her post graduate degree in Science, and working in the corporates that helped her develop the leadership skills to be able to be the president of the club. “It also depends how involved and committed you are to the club. How fast you learn the rope and I ensured that I learn it fast through various training and workshops. This is when my seniors in the group figured that I would be able to take care of the position and the responsibilities that come with it,” expresses the president, who gave up her successful career to take care of her school-going children. “And now they have gone abroad for their education and this is the time when I have to give back to society,” she says.
The Rotary Club of Bombay that has its existence for over 94 years has established itself as a complete entity with a vibrant mix of people who are committed to being true Rotarians involved in a gamut of projects from medical to education to environment and everything that makes this world a better space for coexistence. For this year, apart from many initiatives, Bhasin will be focusing on the development of the school that the club adopted last year in Dharavi. “I would like to enhance education services, mental development of the children and sports education for the underprivileged.”
The Club's team, led by the President, are also carrying out dental camps, eye camps and menstrual awareness camps in Leh, Ladakh later this month, to address these much needed issues in the valley. “I am committed to tackling societal problems and making an impactful difference in the lives of those who need it most and will work hard to make a difference to society in a big way this year. I have a lot of plans and I hope I can execute them,” says Bhasin, who intends to prioritise elderly citizens and the mental health of underprivileged people. “I wish to organise workshops on mental health and help people deal with their emotional and mental difficulties. We are looking for women’s skill development programs like making sanitary pads and salon activities to be self-sufficient,” Bhasin says in conclusion.
