President Anindya , ……
The only thing worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision. These are the insightful words of the great Helen Keller, the first deaf & blind person to get a Bachelor of Arts degree. 58 years after she passed away, Helen Keller’s life continues to inspire all of us to help those whom nature has dealt an unfair hand.
Rotary Club of Thane Hills, ever since its inception in 1991, has consistently demonstrated an extraordinary vision, an ability to think ahead of the times, to be ahead of the curve. Back in its infancy this club undertook the task of constructing an earthen dam in Shirol, to provide vital drinking water for the villagers there. Since then, this club’s vision has manifested itself in extraordinary community service projects in the field of Healthcare, Education, Rural Sanitation, care for Special Children. The community in and around Thane has immensely benefited from their Initiatives. This club comprises some extraordinary Rotarians who have always been at the forefront of thinking big and harnessing enormous organisational and execution skills.
My regular interactions with your members like RAVI , Sharath , Shirish ,Atul Bhide , Narendra and many more have only added to my conviction about the wealth of talent available in your Club. Your rural Sanitation Project, ‘RIGHT TO GO’ has touched the lives of more than 700 households in rural & tribal areas. Your Check Dams have brought relief to the Rural Community in Murbad. I have been closely watching this club’s monumental Project Triumph Blood Bank & Thalassemia Day Care Centre which is serving the community by making available safe Blood and components. This centre has given a new lease of life to 75 Thalassemic Children by ensuring free and safe Blood Transfusions to them.
Now, in its 26th year of service, RC Thane Hills has once again demonstrated its Vision. Project VIRTUAL EYE will enable a visually impaired person to use a Computer like any other normal person without using a Braille Keyboard. By combining different software, VIRTUAL EYE can transform the lives of the visually impaired. Having been fully briefed on the technical aspects of this project, I do believe that this is probably the most revolutionary innovation in this field since the invention of Braille. VIRTUAL EYE needs to be taken to every school and Institution for the visually impaired not only in the community around us, but across the length and breadth of India, and then across the world. This Project has the potential to be recognised and supported by Rotary International as a Global Initiative. Rotary Club of Thane Hills, .. VISION IS THY MIDDLE NAME.
Rotary Club of Thane Hills has requested me to be take this project under my wing. Let me tell you that it is a pleasure and a privilege to do so.
Wish You all the very best
19 October 2016