A Shot of Hope
Rotary has entered a new era of responsibility. I am addressing you as the Chairman of the Rotary India Task Force set up to assist the Government in the Covid 19 vaccination drive.
I am humbled by the task before me. I am grateful for the trust you have bestowed and mindful of the sacrifices you have done during our joint fight against polio, hunger, ill-literacy and many other such tasks which we were asked to face.
What you know about this pandemic matters, but who you are and what you intend to do to serve the community during this time matters more.
You have been living in isolation for many months because of this disease. But now is the time to reconnect with the community. Today, we are able to celebrate the success achieved by our scientists in producing vaccines that promises to eradicate Covid 19. They have worked not for themselves, but for the cause of humanity. The need of the people has been heard and the need of the people has been heeded.
We, as Rotarians, must look ahead in our uniquely Rotary way – restless, bold, optimistic and set our sights on fighting Covid 19 like how we did against Polio. The success of polio eradication story depended not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us.
Over the past one hundred years we have fought for the welfare of humanity on many fronts, did many projects that showed that Rotary Cares, but today, this pandemic has shown that we still have far to go.
We have to press forward with speed and urgency since the vaccine roll out programme has entered a crucial phase.
Now, there may be some who question the scale of our ambition in eradicating Covid 19.
Some may even think that our movement and system cannot handle too many big plans all at once. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what Rotary has done in eradicating polio from the world. We, as Rotarians, have shown what free men and women can achieve, when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage. The question we ask today is not whether our Rotary movement is big or small, but whether it works. The answer is yes.
When The Rotary Foundation was formed, we tackled many community based problems, not just with funds but sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.
Not many years in our Rotary’s history have been difficult or challenging than the one we are in now. The virus, which stalked the world silently, has taken a tremendous toll. It has taken the lives of many of our friends and relatives in just one year, probably more than what we lost over the past 5 or 6 years. AN URDU CUPLET A cry for survival came from every corner of the globe. A cry that cannot be more desperate or any more clear. It is now up to us, the Rotarians, to help the Governments and other agencies to confront the disease and defeat it.
But to overcome these challenges, to restore the confidence of people that they can eradicate Covid 19 and to secure their future, more action is required than words.
It requires that all of us, all Rotarians in every district of this country, to unite and to take a step forward- forward literally outside their homes. This is one more challenge we will have to face and we must face it. I ask every Rotarian to join me in this cause.
We have to reinforce the confidence about the vaccine with those who may be skeptical about its efficiency or have misinformation and doubts about its effects.
We can deliver this confidence. We know that the resistance may emerge from certain segments of the society. We also know that this is not new. We faced it during the NIDs when we went door to door for getting the children vaccinated against polio. As the Covid 19 vaccination campaign continues with varying degrees of enthusiasm in the country, in the second phase of the drive when vaccination is opened for those over 60 years of age, I call upon Rotarians and their family members to get the jab. Optics of Rotarians sporting the Rotary Logo in their T-Shirts, Caps, Aprons and clothing could go a long way in addressing the concerns of vaccine skeptics. The Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaign of the Government is commendable and will probably need the assistance of voluntary organisations and service organisations including Rotary to take the message to every nook and corner of India.When called upon by the Government, our advocacy efforts will have to be focused on countering a handful of vested interests who are interested in spreading rumours and encouraging vaccine hesitancy among those vulnerable to such propaganda in the population. Countries across the globe are asking India for access to vaccines we should remove the misinformation among certain sections of the community in our own country. With this new found enthusiasm, we have gathered here because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over our personal differences and discord. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit, to choose our better history, to carry forward the noble idea that we stand for Service Above Self and this has been passed on from generation to generation over the past 116 years of Rotary. As we consider the role that unfolds before us, we must pledge to work alongside the valiant health workers and other Government agencies and eradicate Covid 19. In reaffirming the greatness of our Rotary movement, we must understand that greatness is never given. It must be earned. Our journey in Rotary has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It is not a path for the faint-hearted or for those who prefer leisure over work or seek only the pleasures of awards and fame. Time and again the founding fathers of Rotary and the leaders who came later, struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that communities around the world can get a taste of good life They saw Rotary as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we must continue today in our mission to end Covid 19 from the world. Look everywhere. There is work to be done in taking healthcare to those who need it most.
The state of the world today calls for action, bold and swift. And we must act, we must donate to this cause and lay a new foundation for growth. We will continue to strive to eliminate polio from the world, eradicate hunger from the world, end Covid 19, destroy ill-literacy, restore healthcare facilities at every village and meet the demands of the new age.
All this we can do. All this we will do.
AN URDU COUPLET