Colourful events mark Rotary Day celebrations

PATNA: Floral welcome, soap lather, happy claps, national anthems of Taiwan and India, and colourful events. Rotary International president Gary C K Huang and his wife Corinna had a grand welcome in the city on the occasion of Rotary Day celebrations on Friday.
Rotary movement has said to have started in Bihar in 1943 and it was the first time that the international president visited the city.Around 100 sewing machines and 300 school bags with stationery were distributed among needy women and children respectively. The event kick-started with a choir by students of Notre Dame Academy. After the musical rendition, students of Vidya Niketan performed a Bengali dance.
On the occasion, free soaps from an Australian company, Soap Aid, too were distributed among people and the CEO of company Michale Matulick, while addressing the audience, washed his hands with the soap and spread the message of personal hygiene among the audience. Later on, Rotary district governor Sanjay Khemka informed the audience that Michale has given 1,35,000 free soaps to the rotary district-3250, which has more than 90 rotary clubs in Bihar and Jharkhand under it.
Past international director Shekhar Mehta discussed about the programme of total literacy that Rotary has adopted in South Asia and vouched that in four years they will be able to send millions of school dropouts and other children to school.
The event also saw announcement of many new welfare projects and introduction and induction of new lady members. A Rotarian since 1976, Huang is a member of Rotary Club of Taipei, Taiwan, and has served Rotary International as its district governor, director and vice president and trustee of Rotary Foundation.