Rotary Community Heroes of Hope
Introducing "Rotary Community Heroes of Hope" - a podcast dedicated to showcasing the profound impact of Rotary in District 5330 and beyond. Join us as we explore the remarkable stories of rotary heroes and initiatives that are transforming communities and creating hope around the world.
Rotary Community Heroes of Hope
Transforming Lives with Orthopedic Care: The Rotary Club's Inspiring Global Collaboration
What if a single project could change lives and unite communities across the globe? Join us as we explore this reality with Biren Shukla, past president of the City of Corona Rotary Club, and Tina Runter, president of the Rotary Club of Mumbai Royals. We dive into their incredible global grant initiative that brought essential orthopedic equipment to a government hospital in Mumbai, enabling over 100 surgeries in just 20 days. Listen as Tina shares her poignant experiences from the hospital and the overwhelming gratitude from patients' families, painting a vivid picture of Rotary's impact on the ground.
In this compelling episode, we also shine a light on the broader influence of Rotary on communities and families. Hear from dedicated members like Tina, who has been instrumental in establishing adult literacy centers and supporting hospitals with critical resources. We celebrate the spirit of collaboration between past and future Rotary presidents, ensuring the sustainability of transformative projects. As we wrap up, we express our heartfelt thanks to our listeners for their support and enthusiasm, and we toast to the continued success and unity of the global Rotary family. Cheers to the remarkable impact we make together!
Welcome to the Rotary Heroes of Hope podcast. I'm your host, judy Zolfakar, proudly serving as the current District Governor for Rotary District 5330. Co-hosting with me is Jamie Zinn, our esteemed immediate past District Governor. Heroes of Hope brings to light the remarkable stories of impact from Rotarians within our district. Our episodes shine a spotlight on transformative community projects taking root in our region and extend their reach to initiatives making waves on a global scale. Each story is a testament to the profound influence Rotarians exert on the lives of individuals and communities we are committed to serving. Join us in this inspiring journey. Dive deeper into the world of Rotary with us and witness firsthand the extraordinary ways in which Rotary touches lives and reshapes our world.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Rotary Heroes of Hope podcast, where hope takes center stage and the heroes are the Rotarians among us, turning vision into action. Today, we are joined by a wonderful group of individuals and we're going to talk a little bit about a global grant in Mumbai. One of the best things I think, jamie, about this podcast is we literally get to talk with people around the world. So I would like to welcome our guests and first start off with a few words from you, jamie. How are you doing today?
Speaker 2:I am doing great. It's Friday and I am really excited about our lineup we have today and to start the day off with Biren and Tina. I am looking forward to hearing about this and, as you said, the things that we do around the world as Rotarians is fantastic.
Speaker 1:Absolutely so, biren. What we're going to do is we're going to start off by having you introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about your club and why you chose this project, and then we'll have you introduce Tina. How's that?
Speaker 3:Absolutely Sounds fantastic, Judy. Good morning everybody. My name is Biren Shukla, past president of the City of Corona Rotary Club, a 100-year-old club, and in my term we were about 110 members. It was one of the largest clubs in Inland Empire, District 5330.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was just teasing Biren, because I said our Rotary Club of Temecula has surpassed Corona, so the challenge is on.
Speaker 2:I was going to say it goes back and forth between the two of you, you know, but you better watch it because the E-Club of World Peace is sneaking up on both of you.
Speaker 1:They're chomping on our heels, no doubt.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so no, we are very excited about this podcast today because there are a couple of unique things that happened during my term A. We had the sister club partnership, the first sister club that our club has ever had, and then we embarked upon this wonderful project, which I'm sure Tina is dying to share with all of us.
Speaker 1:Tina, if you can introduce yourself, tell us where you're coming from and a little bit about this project.
Speaker 4:Hi, I'm Tina Runter, the first lady president of my club, congratulations. And my club is Rotary Club of Mumbai Royals. We've done project worth $1 million. During my tenure we completed $1 million worth of projects and the project that me and Bireen did together was something which was the need of the hour for the needy people. It's not only touching lives but it's saving lives, time management, efficiency for the doctors as well as the patients.
Speaker 4:It is a BMC hospital. That is a government local hospital that required CM machines. That's an orthopedic equipment which we've procured from Siemens directly. We've actually negotiated a very good price with them and we donated two machines, with Bahrain being our global partner. Bahrain's club was our global partner to attend to the orthopedic patients without the machine and in a day they almost have 200 footfalls for general orthopedic you know, general orthopedic encounters with the patients, for their checkups and all and in a day they do almost seven to eight surgeries.
Speaker 4:Wow, the state was such that they were just, you know, repairing their old machines and getting it done and they were not getting help from anywhere. So they just appealed to us and we went and we visited the hospital. We saw their equipments, we saw the state they were in and we said we should do it because they don't charge you much for it and they also fight with their seniors. If there's a needy patient on the road, they pick that patient, also without charging. They do the surgery for that patient also if it's required. So, yes, we just inaugurated the project last week and before that I had visited the hospital from the time we donated the machine and within a span of 20 days they had done 100 plus surgeries. So you can imagine the impact over a period of time that it is going to make for the patients as well as the hospital.
Speaker 2:Throughout this process, have you had an opportunity to engage with any of the patients who have been a recipient of this? I have been.
Speaker 4:Actually, I went when I went to see the hospital, how they are conducting the surgeries and how they're keeping the machinery and the equipments that we have provided. I had the fortune to enter the OT and watch a live surgery, how they were operating, how they were doing the closure ceremony of the operation, and it was. It was a very humbling experience to see the patient and the patient's parents. You know patient's people staying out, you know the relatives and they were like you know. It's so satisfying that now what we were thinking, that it was going to shut down, we'll have to go somewhere else. Luckily we don't have to travel much.
Speaker 2:So that's really bringing a very strong need into the community there and being able to continue to sustain it. Have you and Biran chatted any bit about what the next phase of this project might be, and can you tell us how the help of Biran's Club really inspired you to continue on with this project?
Speaker 4:So we were planning to do a global grant and we were looking for a global partner and Berain had just visited me in June last year. We are family friends and his wife is my bestie, so, yeah, they had come down for a visit and we just came to know that, okay, we are going to be co-presidents during this year. So why not form a sister club and go ahead? You know, and we can do certain projects together, which is the need of the hour. So when I just came up with this project, I asked Biren if he could help out. And he has given three and a half thousand DDF directly to our club to support this project. And, yes, the journey started from there. And then the approval and the paperwork and everything we did, and we've intimated Biren about all the paperwork.
Speaker 4:We've asked the hospital also to give us a quarterly report of how many surgeries are being done in a day in those three months. It's a quarterly report. We are going to keep a check on them to see how they're using it, are they maintaining it and are they doing what is needed by the guidelines? Are they following it? Because when I visited they had these sterile sheets, you know, wrapped around the CM focus machine so that no blood can be splashed, it cannot be harmed, and they keep on changing the sterile sheets every patient when he or she enters the OT and also they're trying to keep everything neat and clean and follow the guidelines properly, maintain it and serve to their utmost proficiency.
Speaker 1:It sounds like an amazing program and I think I want to back up just a little bit, because we have a lot of visitors and listeners that maybe aren't Rotarians and I want to kind of clarify some of the concepts that we just talked about. So Tina's from Mumbai, biren is here in the United States, in Corona, and the sister club concept is where a club in one country has a relationship with a club in another country and then they work together on projects, like you have done here. One of the other things I'd like to clarify we talk a lot about DDF. So those are district-designated funds, those are dollars that are in each and every one of our districts available to our clubs, and those are dollars that Rotarians have donated to the Rotary Foundation three years prior and then they come back for Rotarians to put to work in different projects.
Speaker 1:Sometimes those projects are right here on our own community and sometimes those projects are in global projects like yours that are making an impact around the world, and I think that is, you know, the biggest power of Rotary is the impact, tina, you talked a lot about.
Speaker 1:Even within the first few weeks, your impact was over 100 patients. Imagine what that impact is going to be over time. So I just wanted to make sure that our listeners understand sort of those different concepts that we're talking about. The other thing and I think to Jamie's point is over time. One of the things that Rotary is really good about and why we have such a high rating as an organization in grants is that we do the reporting and making sure that there's a group of people called the cadre that come around on each one of these global grant projects and make sure that, like you said, that the funds are being used exactly as intended and that we are doing a report at the end of the grant to make sure that all the funds are being used as they're supposed to, and then it can be something that's sustainable going forward.
Speaker 2:You know and Judy, one of the additional things that can come out of this project is that we can do a reverse global grant where the Mumbai Club can be the host or the international and Biren's Club can be the host club. So I'd like to throw out to Biren. Have you thought about that of doing another joint project reverse, and what might that be?
Speaker 3:Absolutely, and thank you for giving me that opportunity, because this year I volunteered as international chair for under Mark during the Mark's term and Tina's club is more than gracious and willing to become. An international project is to identify the need in our community, either around equipment, identifying what our needs are, which might be quite different, but I feel that our club, and this region in general, is primed and ready to do a global grant. I think you just need a person to take that initiative and run with it. So that's why I actually chose to be the international chair, because that's my passion. I want to do big things and our club has not done a global grant in a long long time.
Speaker 1:Well, there's definitely a lot available for you this year. It's a very special year to be able to do a global grant. There are a lot of funds available for you to work with, as well, as you've got an already built in wonderful international partner, which is good.
Speaker 3:Yep, exactly Yep, and I think our district is wonderful. What we are doing here is great. I mean, the kind of projects Tina did in her term, you know, is it's really spectacular to see the number of things. This is just a very tiny project. Like she said, she did one million projects, dollars worth of projects.
Speaker 4:It has accumulated over the eight years.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 4:So in my year I've done 250,000 USD worth of.
Speaker 3:Still do not underestimate. That is a staggering number. Let's just put it in perspective. Our club maybe did about $20,000 worth of international projects.
Speaker 4:So yeah, 20,000 plus.
Speaker 3:Yeah, excellent, that's incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 20,000 plus, yeah, excellent, that's incredible. So, Viren, maybe you could talk a little bit about the Rotary Club, your club. We have a lot of listeners out here who are probably not Rotarians, and I have a real passion for doing these types of projects, whether it be internationally or domestically. So I wanted to tell them about your club, how they can get in contact if they'd like to participate on these projects and come to a club meeting, see what you're about.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, jamie. Coronarotaryorg is a 100-year-old club right here in the city of Corona. We have two clubs and I invite anybody listening to this podcast to check out a Rotary Club wherever you are located. Maternal health to education, to, these days, mental health and so many, so many important things that we need to do our part in the community. Just yesterday, my son comes up to me and he has a project in school to do five acts of kindness.
Speaker 3:And he didn't even have to think about that. Because our family, our world, revolves around Rotary topics and discussions like oh yeah, I can talk about this, can I talk about that as part of acts of kindness? I'm like, yeah, you can.
Speaker 1:That's lovely and we love that. Rotary is embedded into the families, right, and they're already thinking that, and servant leaders from that young age, absolutely.
Speaker 3:My daughter is an interactor in her high school and again, we are drumming up all these projects for her. You know you could do this. There's the human trafficking project. She wants to do with the human trafficking club, you know, and get that trailer over on the campus of JFK. So, like I said, I think Rotary is a wonderful organization. Anybody who wants to do something meaningful with their time or money should more most certainly check out a local club, visit them, because we do so many things. Our biggest fundraiser is Lobster Fest, which is a big outdoor party for over a thousand people in the lawns of city of Corona, and Jamie, jamie, you, you might have visited, and Judy, you were there Right.
Speaker 1:So you, you know nothing better than lobster and steak. I can tell you that yeah, I can't complain about that. So, and Tina, why don't you tell us a little bit about how we can connect with your club? We do have people that listen throughout the world and would love to hear how they can connect with you and your club.
Speaker 4:So my club is Rotary Royals. You can go on Instagram and Facebook. I can share the handle with you and you can follow our club and we are doing very worthwhile projects. You and you can follow our club and we are doing very worthwhile projects. So during my tenure I started adult literacy centers 114 adult literacy centers for in India itself, in Rajasthan, just a particular and adopted a village.
Speaker 4:The beautification again I have done. Over there, as with Bahrain, I have done one project I've done for another government hospital, we've given an IABP machine. So it's like this year not my year, but last year my president, myself and my incoming president we had decided we are going to carry on the legacy together, like if one person starts the projects, we are going to take it forward for the next year too. We are not going to hunt out for different projects, but we'll keep on carrying the projects. So that was the original idea behind it and we all three presidents were in sync with it. So when my president used to go for any project or a site visit, I used to tag along and the next year's president used to tag along, and the next year's president used to tag along, the same I did with my year, I have tagged my incoming president and we are just carrying on that legacy. As yet, we are working hand in hand and we are trying to see that we leave a name somewhere for Rotary as well as our club.
Speaker 1:Very good. That consistency and continuity that we're finding throughout the Rotary organization is really benefiting everyone.
Speaker 2:Absolutely so. We thank you so much for sharing with us today about this wonderful collaboration that you both did Do. Either of you have anything else you'd like to share with our listeners as parting words?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. I would like to say that Tina has been dubbed the iron lady in her club because she was a trailblazer and I've seen her work tirelessly. And if I'm talking about we are Rotary family, they are 10x and if I'm talking about we are Rotary family, they are 10x. Her and her husband, Parito Shtarungtas, as people fondly know them, have been extremely big givers and pour their heart and soul and time and their kids in attending every international function and do all kinds of good in the community. So I mean, I invite people to really, if you're visiting India, reach out to them. They're great hosts, They'll show you around. We are a family, we are a global family and that's what this is all about. We meet, we have our core values, which is do the right thing, you know, make friendships and I think it just resonates thing. You know, make friendships and I think it just resonates it's timeless values that can appeal to every generation that wants to do good.
Speaker 4:Just a note about my club.
Speaker 4:During my tenure we did two global grants and three CSR grants, and fourth one I just did it on the last day of 30th June as a president, get it in there before the deadline, oh yeah, Before the deadline, yes, so yeah, we are supplying three more dialysis machines to a hospital and it's been approved by the Rotary Foundation and, yeah, the funds are on the way and we are just going to provide them with three dialysis machines more. Well, you are both very much inspiring Rotary Foundation and, yeah, the funds are on the way and we are just going to provide them with three dialysis machines more.
Speaker 1:Well, you are both very much inspiring Rotary heroes. Thank you both for joining us today. We love to hear about this program and we hope that you come back with the next one that you're doing together.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Thank you so much for giving us a stage, yes, yeah, to express you, to express our achievements.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. We love celebrating that and we really love celebrating the global family of Rotary.
Speaker 3:Thank, you so?
Speaker 1:much.
Speaker 4:Cheers to Rotary. Thank you so much.
Speaker 3:Cheers.
Speaker 1:So that wraps up this episode of Heroes of Hope. We are so happy that we have an audience out there listening. We want you to subscribe, share and tell your friends about the Rotary Community Heroes of Hope, because that's how we get the word out about the impact we're having in this world.