Speaking at the opening day of the Rotary International Assembly, which is this year being delivered online, Shekhar insisted that caring for and serving others is the best way to live because it changes not only other people’s lives, but also our own.
Shekhar, a member of the Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar in West Bengal, India, revealed the 2021-22 presidential theme, ‘Serve to Change Lives’, to incoming district governors during the Rotary International Assembly.
The assembly, a yearly training event for district governors-elect, was originally set to take place in Orlando, Florida, USA, but was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shekhar spoke about how participating in service projects through Rotary changed him as a person and made him empathize more with the needs of others.
Soon after joining his club, he helped carry out projects that benefited rural communities in India.
Some of the poor conditions he saw in those communities strengthened his commitment to service. “I truly understood the plight of my brethren,” he said.
Shekhar participated in initiatives that brought artificial limbs to children, clean water and sanitation to homes, and better health care facilities to communities.
“Rotary kindled the spark within me to look beyond myself and embrace humanity,” he said.
“Service became a way of life for me and I, like many others, adopted the guiding philosophy that ‘Service is the rent I pay for the space I occupy on this earth, and I want to be a good tenant of this earth.’”
Shekhar encouraged district governors-elect to lead by example during their term and inspire Rotary and Rotaract members to participate in projects that have measurable and sustainable impacts.
He is asking each club to conduct a Rotary Day of Service.
“At the end of your term as district governor, you should feel that because of your leadership, because of your inspiration to Rotarians and Rotaractors, the world has changed for the better because of the service done by them during the year,” he said.
Service became a way of life for me and I, like many others, adopted the guiding philosophy that ‘Service is the rent I pay for the space I occupy on this earth, and I want to be a good tenant of this earth.’”
For the 2021-22 Rotary year, Shekhar wants members to focus their efforts on empowering girls and ensuring their access to education, resources, services, and opportunities so that future generations of women leaders will have the tools they need to succeed.
He asked members to use Rotary’s belief that
diversity, equity, and inclusion is critical in all we do as a compass to guide this work.
“There are many issues that girls face in different parts of the world, and you as leaders will ensure that we try and mitigate the disadvantage of the girl that they may have,” he said.
Learn more about the theme, watch videos, and gain resources: https://t.co/LPNK4qIORW
— Rotary International (@Rotary) February 1, 2021
To be able to do more through service, Rotary needs to increase membership, Shekhar said.
Membership has hovered around 1.2 million for the past two decades. He challenged the incoming governors to be catalysts in their districts to help increase membership to 1.3 million by July 1st, 2022.
Shekhar ‘Each One, Bring One’ initiative asks every member to bring one person to join Rotary within the next 17 months.
Increasing membership while also continuing our commitment to eradicating polio, fighting COVID-19, and serving our communities is an ambitious goal.
“And that should excite you,” Shekhar said. “Rotarians love challenges.”
