Page 3 - English Edition 2002

SERVE TO CHANGE LIVES

I had just joined my Rotary club, and the club organized a limb camp. Here we were,
distributing calipers, artificial limbs, and hand cycles. Every member was given some
responsibility and so was I. I was to check if the beneficiary of the hand cycle had enough
strength in his hand to ride the tricycle by his hands. And I was to do this by asking the
beneficiary to pull my hand, so that I could fathom the strength in his hands. As I stood in
my designated spot, waiting for the beneficiary to come, I saw him crawling towards me.
He had no legs, so he had to crawl towards me. I stretched my hands to hold his, and I’ll be
honest, in that moment, I was thinking about me and not about him. I was thinking about
my cleanliness, my health. I did not want to hold his hand. But I did it and kept thinking
of myself for the second and third set of hands. But suddenly after the sixth, seventh set of
hands, my empathy towards their plight grew and soon enough I could feel their pain, their
challenges, and I was thinking more about them than I was thinking of myself. It was at that
moment, friends, when from being just a member of my Rotary club, I became a Rotarian. Shekhar Mehta
Soon I started attending more club projects. As a Rotarian, when I had first gone out to the RI President 2021-22
rural areas of India 35 years back, I truly understood the plight of my brethren. They had no
toilets in their homes, the water they drank was from the same pond that they bathed in, the
schools were in the shade of a tree, and the black painted wall was the only blackboard in
the school. The nearest health center was a few miles away with basic facilities. And then,
through my Rotary club, we helped set up toilets, provided clean drinking water, enhanced
the education system, and set up world-class health facilities, not just in my community or
my city, but in my country.
Rotary kindled the spark within me to look beyond myself and embrace humanity. Service
became a way of life for me, and my life’s guiding philosophy became, “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. I
am sure each of you also has found your opportunity to serve. You too may have provided
eyesight to the blind, food to the hungry, homes to the homeless. They may have been small
opportunities for service or large projects. More than just the size, it is the attitude that
defines service.
As we all serve, we change the lives of not only others; we change our lives, too.
Vivekananda, one of India’s greatest philosophers, said, “When you help someone, do not
think that you are obliging him or her. In fact, it is he or she who is obliging you by giving
you an opportunity to give back something to this world from where we have received so
much.” Also, he added beautifully, “In life, take the position of the donor or the server, and
yet be so humble in giving and serving that let the donor or server kneel down and ask: ‘May
I give? May I serve?’ ”
Friends, to live for others, to care for others, to serve others and change their lives is the
best way to live our own lives. Just as Albert Einstein said, “Only a life lived for others is a
life worthwhile.”
And friends, as we go about our service initiatives, our special focus this year will be on
empowering girls. One of Rotary’s core values is diversity. We have a public statement
that outlines our belief in DEI — diversity, equity, and inclusion. It is important that we
empower the girl as we all find that more often than not, the girl is disadvantaged. We will
serve all children, but our focus will be specially on the girl. 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.
At this moment, I urge you, wherever you are seated, to put your hand on your heart and
pledge with me:
WE HAVE THE POWER AND THE MAGIC
TO SERVE TO CHANGE LIVES

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