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Global Grant Project 2023 - Diabetic Retinopathy Laser Equipment (GG2456475)

A Bright Idea

Dr. Leela Murthy from Dallas Texas wanted to donate a considerable sum to a noble cause in fond memory of her husband, Dr. Raman C. Murthy. To give back to her roots, she wanted to hand this project to clubs in Bangalore, India. She discussed this with her nephew Rtn. Raviprakash BV to come up with a project via Rotary as soon as possible and find someone in Bangalore to be at its helm.

The Hunt

And so, hunt began to identify a project worthy of the generous donation, which would benefit the most number underprivileged people in the city. Rtn. Raviprakash BV shared few ideas with Rtn. Prasanna Vainatheya, President of Rotary Club of Bangalore Sahakaranagar. There were a few ideas which were discussed but nothing really stuck. This warranted a meeting of presidents of clubs from across the city to hopefully bring about a more final idea.

 During this discussion, Rtn. Rupashree Biligiri, President of Rotary Club of Bengaluru Platinum City shared an idea about Diabetic Retinopathy and their intention to work together and pitch a Global Grant Project to purchase and donate mobile Diabetic Retinopathy Laser Equipment which can be used to screen and treat patients in rural areas around Bangalore. 

Rtn. Dr. Ravikumar, who has been working in this area for many years under Rotary Avoidable Blindness, shared the idea with proper needs assessment document and the same was discussed with the Donor Dr. Leela Murthy. Dr. Venkatsubramaniam G who has been screening and treating patients regularly had an initial meeting to explain the project and how it would help hundreds of people. Based on our meeting, Dr. Murthy was very excited, and she readily agreed to cover entire cost of the Laser Equipment. 

Project Start 

As we had the funding, now the process to initiate a project started. It was decided that Rotary Sahakaranagar will be the host club and Rotary Platinum City will be partnering club in Bangalore. Meanwhile, with help of Rtn. Raviprakash, we were able to identify Cross Timbers Rotary, Flower Mound, Texas who accepted to be part of this global project and they became the international club. Rtn. Dr. Ravikumar looped in couple of clubs in Portugal who also stepped in to partner with us for this project. Hence all the parties were onboarded. 

Grant Process

Rotary has a process for the Global Grant Project where we need to submit all the necessary documents and the application form which will be reviewed to ensure that the project is well appropriate, achievable and aptly planned. We started the process by filling out the physical application form and mailing it to the Rotary International Grant Office. Ms. Gabriele was very helpful and supportive of us to ensure we have all the paperwork in order and guided us through the process from day one.  

On October 8th, 2023, the President of host club Rotary Bangalore Sahakaranagar, Rtn Prasanna Vainatheya met with Cross Timbers Rotary President Rtn. Nicole Smith Woodard and her team of members at Dr. Leela Murthy’s Dallas home along with Rtn. Raviprakash. This was the first time the whole team met and signed the necessary documents which would then be ready to submit online. 

The Grant application was submitted by 12th October and with only two queries back from the Grants office. This was only possible because of the well drafted needs assessment and the great support we got from Rtn. Dr. Ravikumar and Dr. Venkatsubramaniam G. A typical global grant application takes anything from six to twelve weeks, but we were got approved in just three. 

Project Execution 

Upon receiving the news of Grant application approval, we started to ask our donors to do the wire transfer to Rotary International. This was done within no-time by Arun Murthy (Dr. Leela Murthy’s son). Other members of Host club, international club and partnering clubs also contributed to the pledged amount. Thanks for Global Grant office and Ms. Hilliary who ensured the amount is reflected on to our project and the amount getting credit to our Project Account in India. The entire amount was reflected within 4 weeks which helped us to proceed with ordering the equipment. Thanks to Dr. Venkatsubramaniam G., who in parallel worked with Biomedix team to ensure the equipment will be blocked for our project. Finally, the equipment was placed in 2nd week of December and on 20th December the equipment was delivered. Thanks for Biomedix team on having faith in our words and delivering on-time. 

Project Launch

December 24th 2023, was made the Launch date. We were fortunate to have Rtn Raviprakash and Rtn Anjali Raviprakash to be with us for making sure all the arrangements were in order and the launch went off without a hitch.

Rtn Manjunath arranged a filling breakfast for all the members and invitees. Thanks to Rtn Manjunath and Interact Chandu for arranging the same.

MC for the event was Jithanth Vainatheya.

Every program starts with lighting of lamp and invoking gods grace. This is a tradition which is followed mostly in India and so did it happen at our event.

While we were having the family to light the lamp, we had Srikar Vaasan signing a nice song on Lord Ganesha.

Dr. Venkatsubramaniam G spoke about the project and a bit of statistics on how diabetic is affecting people and if not treated what are the consequences. Dr. Ravikumar emphasized on the importance of screening and treating the patients. Many in rural areas will not even know that they need treatment and end up loosing their eye sight.

The chief guest for the launch was our beloved DG Rtn. Srinivasmurthy V of District 3192 who despite having various other engagements that day, promised to be part of the event. He saw the event through to the end and unveiled and inaugurated the equipment himself.

Most important Dr. Leela Murthy was online via Zoom and stayed up late on Saturday night to see the launch all the way through. 

Dr. Leela Murthy’s siblings Mr. Sharad Kumar and his wife and Mrs. Sukanya Krishnamurthy and her daughter Swetha were present in person along with a few other family members watching online.  

The late Dr. Raman Murthy’s family members were represented this event with his nephew Mr. Naveen and wife Malathi and Grandnephew Mr. Arjun and his family, who attended to witness the generosity shown by Dr. Leela Murthy and Arun Murthy.   

Thanks to all the Rotarians from the Rotary Sahakaranagar and Rotary Platinum City who supported the effort, both presidents were able to make this project launch a success. A special thanks to Rtn. Nicole Smith Woodard sending her visuals for the project launch.

Project in Action

The instrument has been in action at Rangalakshmii Netralaya Hospital since the 27th of December 2023.

Photos

Video

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Installation Ceremony RBS RY 2022-23

 An evening gone by……. 

The board of directors agreed to have the installation ceremony on 17th July 2022, and it was agreed to have it done at Chairman’s club & Resorts Sahakarnagar. For the installation ceremony we had invited PDG Flt. Lt. Rtn. K. P. Nagesh as our installation officer who was very kind to accept our invitation. We were fortunate to have other district representatives which included ZG Rtn. Jaishanker, AG Rtn. B. S. Shankar and Dist. Membership Chair Rtn. Thirumurugan for the ceremony. Our Guest of Honour was Retd. DCP Mr. Basavaraj Malagatti. 

Rtn. Rajalakshmi was our anchor for the evening who managed to keep everyone engaged with her great sense of wit and humour. 

Meeting started

The ceremony started with Changemaker President Rtn. G. S. Srinivas being collared by Changemaker Secretary Rtn. Ashok Ankalgi and Rtn. G. S. Srinivas calling the meeting to order.

The dignitaries were called on to the Dias to take their respective seats. On the Dias along with the Changemaker President and Changemaker Secretary we had PDG Flt. Lt. Rtn. K. P. Nagesh, ZG Rtn. Jaishanker, DG Rtn. B. S. Shankar, Dist. Membership Chair Rtn. Thirumurugan, Guest of Honour Mr. Basavaraj Malagatti, Starwalker President Rtn. E. L. Narayana Reddy and Starwalker Secretary Rtn. Prasanna Vainatheya. 

Prarthane by Bharathi Bhat

For any programme to be successful, we need the blessings of god and as per our culture we start by lighting the lamp which we had the dignitaries doing the honour. 

Following this we had a beautiful invocation song which was rendered by Ann. Bharathi Bhat (Rtn. Ramesh Bhat’s wife). 

 Welcome address was given by Rtn. Sridhar. 

Address by Changemaker President

Our favourite Changemaker President shared the year gone by and the achievements for the RY 2021-22 with several projects executed successfully during his tenure. 

Intro to wonderful human being Flt. Lt. Rtn K. P. Nagesh

Rtn. Thirupalaraju gave a wonderful and thoughtful introduction for our chief guest and installation officer PDG. Flt. Lt. Rtn. K. P. Nagesh. All of the invitees and families present in the hall was wow struck by the achievements and contribution done by Rtn. K. P. Nagesh. It was a pride moment for us as Rotary Bangalore Sahakarnagar having him with us and being our mentor for several years guiding us in numerous occasions. 

An introduction to Starwalker President

Rtn. Vasudeva Rao introduced Starwalker President Rtn. E. L. Naryana Reddy.

Rtn. E. L. Narayan Reddy was then pinned and collared by PDG. Flt. Lt. Rtn. K. P. Nagesh 

Starwalker President with first lady.

Address by Starwalker President

Rtn. E. L. Narayan Reddy addressed the gathering taking over as the 16th President for Rotary Bangalore Sahakarnagar. He mentioned his goals for this year and the projects planned which are aligned to District ambitions. 

Board of Directors and new members

The new board of directors were inducted following with new members installation. This time we saw around 16 new members being installed and it was a great achievement. 

Entertainment Time

Mstr. Jithanth Vainatheya entertained the gathering with couple of tracks on the keyboard 

Project Launch - First project for RY 2022-23

The highlight of the event was the launch of Egg Project which was chaired by Rtn. K. P. Manjunath and supported by Rtn. Thirupalaraju. They highlighted the benefits of egg and urged everyone to support this initiative which will help several people in our society. The idea is to take this a long way starting from our club but to grow to district as well as international level. We also got commitment from our AG and ZG to support and sponsor for this project. New member Rotarian Rtn. Muniratnam announced his contribution to this project and few others also came forward. A request to all who are celebrating their birthdays, anniversaries, or any other occasion, they can think of contributing to this noble cause. 

Intro to Powerful Person Mr. Basavaraj Malagatti

Rtn. Ramesh Bhat introduced our Guest of Honour for the evening Retd. DCP Mr. Basavaraj Malagatti who have served our nation for 4 decades. It was a very brief introduction but a powerful one as he is known as Powerful Malagatti. It was our great opportunity to have him as our Guest of Honour. Rotary Bangalore Sahakarnagar felicitated him for accepting and being with us for this prestigious ceremony. 

Mr. Basavaraj Malagatti addressed the gathering and said how Rotary has been working tirelessly changing and impacting lives. He added that the basic rights of food, education and health is important and Rotary is working in this direction. He congratulated Starwalker President Rtn. E. L. Narayana Reddy and wished Rotary Bangalore Sahakarnagar to have our own Rotary building. 

Message from our installation officer

PDG Flt. Lt. Rtn. K. P. Nagesh addressed the audience acknowledging the fact that past year was wondering under the able leadership of Rtn. G. S. Srinivas and said that the team has made the right choice for this year to have Rtn. E. L. Narayana Reddy as the Starwalker President. He emphasised the words of Mr. Basavaraj Malagatti about having our own building which can be used for various activities and initiatives like Yoga, Sports, etc. and this will give added feather to the cap. 

Vote of thanks

The ceremony came to a fascinating end with vote of thanks by Rtn. Prasanna Vainatheya followed by dinner. 

The event cannot be successful if we do not get the support from all the members and local leaders. We are lucky to have some of the key local dignitaries who not only supported this event but having faith in what we do as Rotarians. Thanks to all the wonderful human beings who bless us and guide us in this journey.

It was a wonderful evening with lot of memories and this blog is just a quick recap of the event.

Wonderful photos captured by our Rtn Chandrashekar is worth watching and you can find the link below to the album.

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Walkathon @ July 2022

We at Rotary Bangalore Sahakarnagar in collaboration with Thindlu Boys Foundation and kind cooperation with our partnering clubs Rotary Bangalore Sadashivnagar and Rotary Bangalore Jakkur, organised a Walkathon to create awareness on "Ban of Single Use Plastic".

For this event we had invited BBMP commissioner, Zonal Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Local MLA and other Local dignitaries who joined hands to create awareness among the society.

Any project to be a success needs lot of preparation and we had several meetings to plan the event. It starts with bringing the core team together and then thinking over all the activities that needs to be worked out. It was well planned though it was a short time for all to work on but at the end the team pulled it together.

Some of the activities (not a complete list) was bringing Plants for dignitaries done by Anand from Thindlu Boys Foundation.

Making placards was another tedious tasks which was done with the help of few of our Rotarians Rtn Koteshwar Raju, Rtn Dr. Niranjana Murthy, Rtn Rajalakshmi, Rtn Vijayalakshmi, Rtn Rashmi Raj, Rtn Vasudeva Rao, Rtn Srinivas GS, Rtn Narayan Reddy and help from Hoysala ACE Association staff who helped in ensuring that we use no Plastic for these but use wood for holding these placards was awesome.

The invitation card for the event and the banner was conceptualised by RBS and designed by Rtn Vishnu Reddy from our partner club Rotary Bangalore Jakkur.

Day of the event

The day of the event started with having breakfast which was served for almost 350 members, participants as well as public present there. This also gave opportunity to have a quick catchup with friends and to know more about Rotary services and Thindlu Boys Foundation serving the society.

The dignitaries joined us for the inauguration and gave us go ahead for the event. The main chair was Mrs. Poornima, BBMP Joint Commissioner and Mr. Devarajappa, President of Balamuri Sri Siddi Vinayaka Temple. The other prominent dignitaries present were Mr. Balraj, Mr. Srinivasiah and Mr. Srinivas Shetty amongst our own Rotarians from Sadashivnagar and Jakkur club along with our Dynamic President Rtn. Narayana Reddy and Mr. Anand, Founder of Thindlu Boys Foundation.

The kids from Sparsh foundation were very enthusiastic and never showed any tiredness during the walkathon. The slogans they came up with and the placards they made were amazing.

The other highlight for the event was the Dollu Kunitha from Sparsh Foundation girls. This showed the girl power and they attracted the crowd along the way of 6Kms stretch we walked by.

Added to these kids we had students from Sheshadripuram College Yelahanka who also supported us with this event.

Due to heavy rains which came on Saturday BBMP Commissioner Mr. Tushar Giri Nath and Zonal Commissioner Rangappa and Hon'ble MLA Byatarayanapura Mr. Krishne Byre Gowda could not join us but they whole hearted supported and wished us for the event.

The event started around 8:00 AM and we ended up around 1:00 PM providing lunch to all the kids who went happily to their homes.

Overall, the impact of this was felt in and around Sahakarnagar and our Rotarians were able to create this awareness amongst all present. I wish we are able to make an impact to the society and take the pledge to stop use of single use plastic.

Finally, I wanted to thank few members who worked restlessly for this event and many more indirectly as well. Please extend our sincere thanks to those who are missed here.

Name in no particular order

Rtn. Naryana Reddy for his leadership and support

Rtn. Vasudeva Rao for helping to plan for the event

Rtn. Rajalakshmi for supporting the Chair

Rtn. Dr. Niranjana Murthy for heading this event and giving his inputs and support throughout.

Rtn. Dr. Hirennappa for his support

Rtn. Vishnu Reddy for all the digital banners and flyers

Mr. Anand, Thindlu Boys Foundation and his team for helping in various ways and a simple thank you is a small word.

Rtn. Koteshwara Raju and Rtn. Ravindra for coordination and getting the kids from Sparsh

Rtn. Srinivas G S our loving IPP and Rtn. Manjunath Past Treasurer for making sure we get breakfast and place to organise within the temple premises.

Temple authorities for supporting us in this event

BBMP management for their support and permission and accepting our invitation

Police personal, special mention for them to handle the crowd and traffic.

Our neighbouring clubs Rotary Bangalore Sadashivnagar and Rotary Bangalore Jakkur for their support and sponsorship

Manipal Hospital for providing ambulance for this event.

Various rotarians who helped in getting water for kids, chocolates, lassi and other drinks

Volunteers who helped in the event be it getting the kids into the van or ensuring they are not exhausted filling them with enthusiasm

Teachers and care takers of the Sparsh Foundation and Sheshadripuram college Yelahanka

And all those who helped in this event who are not acknowledged, pat your back as it was a good event and well done.

The Joy of this event can be seen below

For photos and videos of this event you can visit our online album

Until our next project

Signing off....

Rotary Bangalore Sahakarnagar