CONGRATULATIONS !!! Rotary encourages you to express your deepest feelings towards humanity. We are sharing our passion for Service and hope to make this world a better place to live in for everyone. Success is assured when you decide how a situation should be. Only when you are brave enough to venture into the darkness you will discover the power of the light within you.Covid 19 pandemic came as a blow to the entire world but scientists worked hard to find vaccines. Now we know that there is a need to develop vaccines quicky. Experts caution us about more such pandemics in the years to come. So, what is the role of Rotary in this scenario as far as the Rotary in Tamil Nadu is considered ? To begin with the Government of Tamil Nadu has sought the help of Rotary clubs in the State to assist in their vaccination drive. This is a good beginning. I have already circulated the letter from the Government of Tamil Nadu to all District Governors. This will give you details on what exactly the Government expects from us the Rotarians. 1. The immediate task seems to be the need for making the target group of people register for vaccination. Rotary Clubs can organise mobile units in rural areas with at least two personal computers in each unit with qualified and trained operators who can help uneducated people register for vaccination at their nearest centre. They should have the entire list of Government authorized centres in their data base. They should be able to guide the elderly and those needing help in understanding the online registration or walk-in and registration process. 2. The cubs in each district must be able to mobilse cold storage units if needed by the Government. 3. The clubs in each district must be able to moilise transport facility for vaccines if needed by the Government. 4. The clubs in each district should have a team of volunteers briefed and ready to go to the field with proper safety measures in place and interact with the people when advocacy is needed in removing vaccine hesitancy. NO ARGUMENT 5. The clubs in each district must advise their members who go to the field to wear visible Rotary emblems in their attire/aprons/caps. 6. The District leaders can approach the local authorities or the State Election Commission as the case may be now, to get permission to erect hoardings and banners promoting vaccination with Rotary emblems. 7. Handbills can be printed for distribution through newspaper vendors or at prominent places where people visit for shopping or leisure. The hand bills should be printed in English and local languages. The handbills can have a list or dos and don’ts. One such don’t is reminding them to avoid alcohol three days before and after vaccination. 8. Eligible Rotary members must set the example by getting themselves vaccinated and this can be promoted in social media for others to get the confidence. Today, after the Leaders got themselves vaccinated the vaccine hesitancy has reduced by 36 percent. 9. As this vaccination phase is a crucial time for people, Rotary Clubs must be able to answer a variety of questions about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines should someone ask about it. 10. Rotarians who are registered medical practitioners, can be encouraged to volunteer their service at centres which may need additional trained people to vaccinate the people. This of course on the request from the government. 11. Refreshments and food can be provided to staff working at Government medical centres. 12 – We should tap the resources available through ÇSR . You will appreciate that in Polio Eradication program we had all the financial support through T R F where as in our fight against Covid we have to raise funds from our contacts . I am happy to inform you all that PDG J B Kamdar has accepted the responsibility of raising funds . That does not mean that he has to do all alone . We all have to support in raising funds . I will always there with him . 13 – As per the reports from media the number of cases are on the rise in T N and more so in Chennai that means we need to be more vigilant to see that proper discipline is observed in the community. Please understand that this is an opportunity to gain public support for Rotary and your image of how you are handling the advocacy efforts will reflect on Rotary’s Public Image. Use it well. The launch of the much-awaited vaccine for Covid 19 is not an end to this pandemic. Rotary has to work in the community for improving living standards, availability of antibiotics and vaccine and educate people to keep the surroundings pristine and themselves physically fit. We have to promote social distancing, wearing masks in public places, hand hygiene and other precautions that the Government may stipulate from time to time. As I told you, vaccine is the first step in containing the virus and we cannot let our guard down. This must be made known to the public. But start with your Rotary Clubs first. I keep seeing innumerable pictures of meetings of Rotarians and not one of them is wearing a mask. We have lost many friends in the past one year than during the last 6 years and nearly all of them were victims of Covid and related causes. So, even if the Government relaxes certain norms for public gathering, you should not and also show to the people that you will set an example before preaching. Rotary volunteers from all the Districts in Tamil Nadu will be required to mobilize the targeted group to come for vaccination. You in your designer T Shirts made for this occasion, wearing caps and other materials sporting Rotary logo must induce confidence among the people that Covid can be eradicated with the vaccine. India has already begun administering the second dose of vaccine to the targeted groups. We have to help the Government to exponentially increase the pace of vaccination. There is substantial scope for improvement in the number of average vaccinations per session. This may involve using the services of celebrities from various fields and showing it in the social media. Use cost effective methods. As the Covid 19 vaccination campaign continues with varying degrees of enthusiasm in the country, in the second phase of the drive for those over 50 years of age, I call upon Rotarians and their family members to get the jab. The targets fixed by the Government is not being achieved and several reasons are being attributed to the slow off take with software glitches, adverse events and uncertainty over the efficacy of the vaccine being among the many reasons. Our partners, the Inner-wheel members and Rotaractors are of great help in every humanitarian programme. Involve them. They can spread the message in their own circles. India has supplied Covid vaccines to 15 countries and another 25 nations are in the queue. The WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has suggested that other countries could adopt the strategy followed in India for vaccination and has complimented India’s efforts in containing the virus. This should be a talking point for those who are debating endlessly about the efficacy of the vaccine and Rotary members should highlight such good reports to the public during their interaction with the targeted groups. I would suggest that in the coming days, Rotary clubs put their fellowship and dinner meetings on the backburner and give more importance to how to carry the message of vaccination to the public in their area. Experts in the medical profession advocate intense awareness and education programme among people about vaccination to counter vaccine hesistancy. There could be some resistance from certain section of the community where Rotary will have to play an important role to overcome the resistance. It will not be out of place here to mention that during our Polio Eradication drive we faced such challenges which were over come by the formation of ROTARY ULEMAS COMMITTEE of which yours truly is still the chairman. Covid vaccination were authorized for emergency use and the lack of trust and the lack of confidence in the safety of the vaccine must be countered by Rotarians at various forums. There will be many reports and findings in the press in the days to come. It will be necessary for the District Governors , Zonal Co-ordinators assigned to Districts , District Co-ordinators and the club leadership to keep abreast with the reports before talking to the public. 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 Tamil Nadu , 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. Every year, District Governors, office bearers of over 4,000 Rotary Clubs in India and every one of the 1,53, 000 Rotarians in this country take an oath to serve the community. Earlier the oath was taken during the rising tides of prosperity and still waters of peace. But in July 2020, the oath was taken amidst gathering clouds of Covid 19, raging storms about fear of life, losing jobs, uncertainty of the future and being locked down in your place. At this time, Rotary has carried on, not simply because of the skill or vision of the leaders of the movement in various levels, but because of you, the Rotarians, who have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding principle of Service Above Self. So it has been and so it must be with this generation of Rotarians That we are in the midst of a crisis is well understood. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But as I know the Rotarians: They will be met. Robert Frost The woods are lovely dark and deep,But I have promise to keep ,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.