Rotaract Clubs of Mumbai and Lahore join hands


Rotaract Clubs of Mumbai and Lahore join hands
Video conferencing for peace: Students and Rotactors of UPG College, Mumbai and Omar Farooq, President of the Rotaract Club of Lahore (onscreen).

Long-term projects emerge from “From Pieces to Peace”, a two-hour long video conference between the youth of India and Pakistan

Rotaract Clubs of Mumbai and Lahore have embarked upon a “twin club agreement”, an official collaboration to enable them to work on joint projects and initiatives like a joint blog and fundraising for a community service initiative.

It all began with World Peace Day in September this year, when Rotaractors in Mumbai who say they were “deeply inspired by Aman ki Asha” decided to connect with Rotaractors in Lahore, Pakistan.

The concept was simple: to contribute towards ensuring the rivalry between the lands does not seep into the next generation by having a heart to heart chat with their colleagues in Lahore through a video conference (held on Sept 26th, 2012).

A top the agenda was a discussion, based on solid research by both sides, on how India and Pakistan can join hands in various sectors that would excel if both countries pooled resources and established collaborations, for example, in the entertainment industry and sports. Participants brainstormed on how they could take matters into their own hands and make a difference through the Rotaract platform. Together, the two clubs listed areas in both countries that need urgent attention, and discussed projects that they would simultaneously carry out in Lahore and Mumbai to improve conditions. Prominent on that list were causes like Polio camps and Aids awareness, which are indeed, priority issues in both countries.

And with poverty still plaguing both countries, they decided to identify deprived regions and distribute food grains to famers’ families. The initiative will include educating the community about government grants they can avail as well as banking options, keeping their best interests in mind.

Both Rotract clubs plan to fundraise throughout the year for this purpose, and plan to launch this initiative in the second week of December, says Binjal Shah, President (2012-13) RCUPG.

A part from joining hands to serve communities in both countries, various other ideas were discussed to stress the fact that the youth want to bury the hatchet and shake hands to build fellowship. One of these projects is a joint blog (currently under construction, due to be released in the next ten days), which will regularly be updated from both ends.

The blog will include features on the youth cultures in both cities, updates on the Rotaract clubs activities, other news in the cities, games and quizzes, contests, an open section inviting comments and essays. They are working on setting up virtual gaming portals to hold virtual sports tournaments throughout the year. Another idea is to celebrate otherwise exclusive festivals in each other’s countries to have healthy cultural exchanges.

“Though it was merely a two hour long conference, it managed to considerably shake off the bitterness prevailing for 6 decades,” says Shah. “This was just the first tile they laid, in a long path they intend to pave. They will dedicate themselves towards ensuring that this movement gains mileage, and garners more and more support in its future course.”

-AKA




One thought on “Rotaract Clubs of Mumbai and Lahore join hands

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