Posted by Haagen P. Cumlet

When dedicated Rotarians meet, actions are taken and things happen to improve or even save peoples' life. Here is a report on how the Indian city of Bhusawal and surrounding villages with a population of over half a million people got its first local blood bank thanks to a local Rotary Club in District 3030, financial help from a Canadian Rotary Club in District 7040, and a matching grant from The Rotary Foundation.

It took less than two years for Rotary Club of Bhusawal, District 3030, in the central Indian state of Maharashtra to establish a blood bank, the first and only locally. Including the city itself and over 20 villages in rural areas, the new Rotary Blood Bank serves a population of more than half a million people. The project has won RI Significant Achievement Award, it was announced  at the District 3030's  governor  inauguration 2007-08 on July 7. 

 

"We were looking for an international partner as one of the primary requirements to get a grant from The Rotary Foundation", says Rajiv Sharma, Assistant Governor 2007-08 and a driving force behind the blood bank project. The cost of the project was estimated at 43,000 US Dollars.

 

The Bhusawal Rotary Blood Bank project was posted on the Rotary International web site as a World Community Service program (WCS) and resulted in responses from Finland and Turkey.

 

He also informed parents of youth exchange students and Group Study Exchange leaders about the project, whose goal was to provide a fully equipped local blood bank.

 

"WCS listing is truly a good help and it gives you new Rotary friends around the world," Rajiv Sharma says.

 

The breakthrough, however, came when contact was established in Bhusawal with a visiting Canadian Rotarian, Duru Raisinghani from the Rotary Club of South Nepean, District 7040, Canada.

 

Initially, Duru Raisinghani - then on a private visit to Bhusawal - was inclined to see the blood bank project as being far too big for his club. Located in a suburb of Ottawa, the Canadian capital, RC South Nepean at the time had only 21 members and was chartered as recently as in 2002.

 

"We had our first contact with the Rotary Club of South Nepean in June 2005. A matching grant was approved by The Rotary Foundation in August 2006. In February 2007, state-of-the-art equipment was handed over to the blood bank, including a Component Separation Labotory," Rajiv Sharma tells www.ourblooddrive.org.

 

The urgency of a blood bank in the Bhusawal area - "where people died in surgery and emergency situations, because it could take five-six hours before they could get blood for a transfusion" - persuaded Duru Raisinghani, as to the need for taking action.

 

The blood bank is exclusively based upon voluntary blood donation. In addition, blood donors in the Bhusawal area now can give blood on location at a mobile blood bank administrated by the Rotary Blood Bank. "Hundreds - if not thousands - of lives in the Bhusawal area will now be saved thanks to the first local blood bank," Duru Raisinghani, President Elect for his club 2007-08, concludes.                 

 

The Blood Bank project got kick-started by a donation of 11,000 US Dollars from Rajiv Sharma's family on the occasion of his club's 50th year and to celebrate that he and his wife adopted a five months old girl. Rajiv Sharma was then the club's president. With the help of the Hindu Society of Ottawa-Carleton, the South Nepean Rotary Club collected 4000 US Dollars from a fundraising dinner. Also the two districts contributed. Matching grants from The Rotary Foundation amounted to 20,280 US Dollars.
 

Back home, the South Nepean Rotary Club is co-sponsoring the Canadian Blood Services donor clinic at the Walter Baker Sports Centre in suburban Barrhaven. The club provides volunteers to help the donors through the process and provides them with refreshments afterwards. "The parallel with the international project has helped the club to widen its horizon," Duru Raisinghani told the paper Barrhaven This Week, BTW, in February 2007.

 

The horizon of RC South Nepean is, indeed, a broad one: In 2005-2006, RC South Nepean together with the Hindu Society of Ottawa-Carleton partnered with the Rotary Club of Thane North (Mumbai district 3140) to light up a remote village of 44 homes with solar power. Each home was provided with three solar lights and solar powered light standards erected in the village square. Lighting up the village has had a great positive impact on the lives of its inhabitants. In recognition of the success of the project, the Rotary International gave it a  RI Significant Achievement Award.

 

To expand on this success and with the approval of the matching grant's application by the Rotary Foundation, RC Thane North (host partner), RC South Nepean (international partner) and the Hindu Society of Ottawa-Carleton have now embarked on lighting up four more remote villages with solar powered lighting. 

 

According to project leader Duru Raisinghani, Rotary Club of South Nepean - the club also "will be looking to expand to helping in other countries more in the future."

 

The Bhusawal blood bank project leader, Rajiv Sharma, expresses similar sentiments of Service above Self: "I shall be glad if anyone could benefit from my assistance in setting up a blood bank in any part of the Rotary world", he told www.ourblooddrive.org in June 2007.

 

Soon after the Bhusawal blood bank was opened, Rajiv Sharma joined in assisting a Rotary blood bank project in the city of Amravati in his home state of Maharashtra. On an equally ambitious level, the Rotary Club of Bhusawal, District 3030, is now seeking funds and partners to set up an Eye Bank with a processing and cornea transplant centre to help blind people to regain their sight. The total cost of the eye bank project is estimated at 1,240,000 US Dollars.

 

Rajiv Shama, charter member of GNBD, can be contacted at    rtn.rajiv.3030@gmail.com

 

Duru Raisinghani, charter member of GNBD, can be contacted at   dhru@canada.com

 

Go to Photo Journals to see pictures. '

 

Click here to see the article "Rotary Banks in India" (from the magazine Rotary News, Oct. 2007).

 

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