Last week, one of our board members had an unusual travel agenda, where he traveled all the way to West Bengal to address Seniors members of Rotary International for an event.
The event took place on 14th Feb 2020 and the focus areas were Economic Development, Health, Literacy and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene. During the event, Rotary club had decided to honor one of the unsung hero working for the social causes all over India and present him with a Citation, Recognition in Rotary International and a cash reward of 1 Lakh.
Out of approximately 3 lakh applications, 20 individuals/organisations were shortlisted for the final round, i.e. 5 individuals/organisations per category. The final round of this award was vote based, each of these individuals were displayed on official rotary website where citizens were asked to vote for the story which touch them the most, and help recognise the hidden gems of Indian Social sector.
When this round closed, our secretary Mr. Swapnil Arun Gawande emerged as a winner through the pool of recognised organisations and making us all proud. He has been working for the cause of affordable healthcare since he a high school student. His vision has given so many people motivation and has shaped so many minds of the future.
"I believe that integrating the solutions from the sectors of Engineering and Management can make Affordable Healthcare a reality. I look forward to that day and I assure you to work towards it." - Swapnil Arun Gawande
The award was presented by Hon. Mr Jagdeep Dhankhar ( Governor of West Bengal) and in esteem presence of Hon.Mr Amit Mitra ( Minister of Finance, MSME, Govt of West Bengal), Mr Mark Daneil Maloney ( President, Rotary International) and other guests at Biswas Bangla Convention Center, Kolkata on 14th Feb 2020. Around 6275 Rotarians attended the ceremony.
Jury President:
Hon Mr P R Ramesh (Partner and Ex-Chairman Deloitte India)
Jury Members:
• Padmashri Aalok Mehta (Journalist)
• P. K. Sehgal (Retd Major General)
• Ms Meenakshi Batra (CEO, Charity Aids Foundation India)
• S. D. Sanjay (Additional Solicitor General of India)
• Dr Kadambari (CEO, PHD Rural Development)
Swapnil in his after speech, thanked the Deesha community for their votes and support throughout his journey.
Deesha community is growing bigger day by day and I am overwhelmed by the positive response to what me and the NGO has been doing all these years. Nothing of this would have been possible without the support of these people in my life and career.