History Made! FIRST Ever ‘ROTARACT CLUB’ Launched at St Aloysius College in 142 Years. The Birth and Installation of ‘The Rotaract Club of Mangaluru North-St Aloysius College’ with ‘Rotary Club of Mangalore North’ as its Parent Club took place on Friday, 3 March at L F Rasquinha Hall, LCRI Block of the College.
Mangaluru: It was indeed a proud moment for the Office Bearers and Members of the newly launched ‘Rotaract Club of Mangaluru North-St Aloysius College’, being the FIRST Rotaract Club to be formed in 142 years of existence of St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangaluru. Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth program in 1968 at Charlotte North Rotary Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, and has grown into a major organization of 10,680 (14 Sep 2022) clubs spread around the world and over 203,000 members in 189 countries. It is a service, leadership, professional and community service organization (often miscommunicated as a Social Service Club) for young men and women aged 18 and over. And ‘Rotaract Club of Mangalore North-St Aloysius College adds one more number to the Rotaract Clubs credit worldwide.
” I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot, together we can do great things ….”- that’s right, and with the installation of ‘The Rotaract Club of Mangaluru North-St Aloysius College’, the enthusiastic and energetic office bearers of 2022-23 of the newly formed Club are all excited and ready to get into action for various activities, including community-oriented services, since Rotaract focuses on the development of young adults as leaders in their communities and workplaces. Clubs around the world also take part in international service projects, in a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world. Congratulations to the mentor Rotarian Dr Alwyn D’sa of ‘The Rotary Club of Mangalore North’ and the Registrar of St Aloysius College for his initiative in giving birth to this ‘Rotary Child’ at St Aloysius College- and congrats also to the newly inducted office bearers and members of this prestigious FIRST Rotaract Club at St Aloysius College.
The programme began with a prayer invoking God’s blessings by Miss Sasha, followed by a welcome dance by a bevvy of students. The dignitaries for the occasion were Rotary District 3181 Governor – Rotarian Prakash Karanth, joined by College Principal Rev. Fr. Dr Praveen Martis S.J; Rotarian Dr Alwyn D’Sa -Mentor of the club and registrar of the college; Staff Coordinators- Rotaract Arjun Prakash and Rotaract Avinash; President of the Rotary Club Mangaluru North – Rotarian Dr K.V Prakash; Secretary – Rotarian Radhakrishna Rai; Rotaract chairman Mangaluru North Rotarian Prasanna Malya; District Rotaract Chairman -Rotarian Rathnakar Rai; Asst. Governor -Balakrishna Shetty; President of the new Rotaract St Aloysius Club Chaman and Secretary Rotaract Ms Larrel Rodrigues.
Seating Left to Right- Treasurer Jane D’souza, Club Service Director Anvitha Ashok Bandekar; Vocational Director Dhrithi M; Secretary Larrel Rodrigues; President Chaman M, Sergeant at Arms Karthik Hegde; Community Director Sultan Omar; International Service Director Sathwik Umanath Kotekar; and Join Secretary Prathiksha Shetty Standing Left to Right – Club Members-Sasha Ima Sequeira, Riya Sequeira, Sheshna Santhosh, Diya Girish, Ancilla Dias; Rebecca Pinto; Ananya, Gehena; Khushi Rai GL; Ranjitha Borkar, and Pournami Shetty
The welcome address was delivered by Rotarian Dr Alwyn D’Sa, and District Rotaract Chairman, Rotarian Rathnakar Rai gave an elaborate history of the Rotaract Club. Installation officer District Governor Major Donor Rotarian Prakash Karanth, along with the college principal clicked the button to formally inaugurate the Club, displayed on the LED screen.
Dr K.E Prakash the President of Rotary Club Mangaluru North gave his words of felicitation. The programme was traditionally inaugurated by lighting of the lamp by the dignitaries on the dais.
Addressing the audience Rev. Dr Praveen Martis S.J said, ” We are overwhelmed and proud to have one of our college alumnus Rotarian Prakash Karanth as the installation officer. It is also a great moment for our institution that in its 142 years of existence, the First Rotaract Club took birth, under the mentorship of College Registrar Dr Alwyn D’sa. All of you have joined the global movement of young leaders who are developing innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. Rotaract clubs bring together people ages 18 and older to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service. Get yourselves involved in various activities, especially community projects and make a difference in society, and bring a name to our college through your service”.
Rotaract Arjun Prakash took over the proceedings of the installation of the Rotaract Club and members, and chief guest District Governor Major Donor Rotarian Prakash Karanth placed the Rotaract Pin on the members. In his address, Rotarian Prakash Karanth said, ” Rotaract focuses on the development of young adults as leaders in their communities and workplaces. Clubs around the world also take part in international service projects, in a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world. “Rotaract” stands for “Rotary in Action”, although the name originally comes from a combination of “Rotary” and “Interact” (International + Action), the high school level program created by Rotary International in 1962. To be eligible for membership, prospective members must be 18 years of age and over, show that they are committed to Rotaract, and show that they are of good standing in the community. After being approved by the club, prospective members are ‘inducted’ to become members, also known as ‘Rotaractors'”…
” You are all the future leaders of this nation. You should be proud to join this great organization. As they say ” Change is always better”, lots of changes are taking place in Rotary and Rotaract Clubs. We believe in friendship and Fellowship, and as Rotarians, we will always guide and support you in your activities, and you have a great mentor Dr Alwyn D’sa, who will be your source of inspiration. As a Rotarian, I have made huge progress in my status, where earlier I was nervous to speak on a stage, but after joining Rotary in 2010, it is history. In Rotary/Rotaract we treat everyone equally irrespective of caste, religion or profession, we are all equal in the eyes of God. Once you exit from this institution, don’t forget your Alma mater, your teachers, parents, mentors and others. Go into the world and make a difference as a Rotaract and later as a Rotarian” added Rtn Karanth.
St Aloysius College is that one of their old students has become a Rotary leader as a District Governor RI 3181 which comprises 4 revenue districts of Dakshina Kannada, Coorg Mysore and chamarajanagar, Rtn Prakash Karanth was felicitated on the occasion. Following the acceptance speech by Rotaract president Chaman, the vote of thanks was proposed by Secretary Ms Larrel Rodrigues. The programme was meticulously and eloquently compered by Ms Diya Girish (member) and Ms Jane D’souza (treasurer) of the Club.
