Yet one more Rotary feather to Rtn. Safina Rahman's cap

The highest award that an individual Rotarian can aspire and deserve 'for demonstration of examplary humanitarian service with emphasis on personal volunteer efforts and active involvement in helping others through Rotary' is the "Service Above Self" Award. By yardstick Rtn. Safina Rahman of RC Dhaka Midtown richly deserved the award and was awarded it by RI recently. She joined Rotary in October 2002, held positions of importance at the club and the District levels. She volunteered humanitarian service, actively got involved in Rotary activities in club, in district and beyond, and rendered laudable service to others through Rotary. She was appointed Zonal Coordinator, Rotary International Literacy Research Group in 2009-2010 for Zone 6A (consisting Eastern districts in India and Nepal) of Rotary International. She was also selected as a Speaker on Literacy in the Manila Institute in 2009.

Associated with the family business Lakhsma Sweaters Ltd. as one of its Directors she is one of the pioneer female enterprenures of the country. She is the first female Board Member of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DCCI). Rtn. Safina Rahman is Chairman, Bangladesh Scout's Foundation.

The District Conference 2010 will be held on 5-6 February 2010 at Bangabandhu International Conference form with relevant information has already been sent to the clubs. Club Presidents may contact Rtn. PP Farid Uddin Khan Siddiqui, (RC Islamabad) Dist Conference Chair for further information. (Tel: 01819310654, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

A grand reception in honour of the RI President Nominee 2011-12 Kalyan Banerjee and his spouse Binota will be given on 199th March at 7.00 PM at the Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. Details regarding the Registration will follow.

The Group Study Exchange (GSE) team of Rotary International District (RID) 3280, Bangladesh visited RID 5240, California, USA from October 15 to November 13, 2009. The four-week exchange program involved a Rotarian team leader and four non-Rotarian young professionals team members. The team was led by Rtn. PP. Syed Abu Sayeed, PHF of Rotary Club of Metropolitan Khulna and the selected team members were Syed Rabius Shams nominated by Rotary Club of Dhaka North West, Khondker Emdadul Haq (Sagor) nominated by Rotary Club of Dhaka South, Sajjad Haider nominated by Rotary Club of Dhaka North West and Shamim Azad nominated by Rotary Club of Dhaka Central.

The poor people of our country are lack behind of living standard in their lives. To reach the goal of standard of living we have to bring change in its index, ie; reducing IMR, MMR, raising average expectancy of life, increasing literacy rate and raising per capita income; but living with ill health, malnutribition, under nutrition, the task is a bit difficult for us.

A two-day Annual District Fellowship Camp 2009 will be held at Mouchak, Gazipur on 11th & 12th December, 2009. The programs include Sports, Cultural Program, raffle, Yoga Exercise & Barbaque, Campfire Dinner and many more funs and frolics. This is a district event under a committee headed by Rtn PP Kazi Nazmul Haque of RC Dhaka Urbana (Tel 0171095517).

Kalyan Banerjee, a member of the Rotary Club of Vapi, Gujarat, India, since 1972, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International in 2011-12. Banerjee will become the president-nominee on 1 October if there are no challenging candidates.

Banerjee said he would like to see Rotary "blossom from being the world's most recognized service organization to being the most important NGO [nongovernmental organization] in the world.

"Rotary, it is said, has the strength of a government and the tenderness of a parent," he added.

Banerjee is a director of United Phosphorus Limited, the largest agrochemical manufacturer in India, and the chair of United Phosphorus (Bangladesh) Limited. He is a member of the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American Chemical Society, a past president of Vapi Industries Association, and former chair of the Gujarat chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry. He earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1964.

Banerjee has served Rotary as a director, Rotary Foundation trustee, committee and task force chair, International Assembly group discussion leader, president's representative, and district governor.

The chair of the Southeast Asia Regional PolioPlus Committee, Banerjee has served as a member of the International PolioPlus Committee for many years and has attended international meetings with the World Health Organization and UNICEF in that capacity.

Banerjee is a Major Donor, Benefactor, and Bequest Society member, and has been awarded the Foundation's Citation for Meritorious Service and its Distinguished Service Award.

Banerjee also serves as a trustee of Rotary club-sponsored trusts that support many educational and community development programs in India, including a 250-bed hospital.

He noted that Rotary's strengths include its ability to attract leaders from different vocations around the world, as well as its role in promoting peace. "Rotary needs to become the preferred organization for today's generation to join and participate in, to make the world better and safer and happier," he said.

Banerjee's wife, Binota, is a social worker and Inner Wheel club member. The couple have two children and four grandchildren.

The 2009-10 nominating committee members are: John F. Germ (chair), USA; Lennart Arfwidsson, Sweden; Keith Barnard-Jones, England; Ronald L. Beaubien, USA; Jacques Berthet, France; Robert O. Brickman, USA; Peter Bundgaard, Denmark; Ron D. Burton, USA; Gerson Gonçalves, Brazil; Jerry L. Hall, USA; Horst Heiner Hellge, Germany; Gary C.K. Huang, Taiwan; Toshio Itabashi, Japan; Kwang Tae Kim, Korea; Peter Krön, Austria; Donald L. Mebus, USA; Gerald A. Meigs, USA; Carlo Monticelli, Italy; Daniel W. Mooers, USA; David D. Morgan, Wales; G. Kenneth Morgan, USA; Samuel A. Okudzeto, Ghana; Luiz Coelho de Oliveira, Brazil; Kazuhiko Ozawa, Japan; Noraseth Pathmanand, Thailand; Barry Rassin, Bahamas; Ian H.S. Riseley, Australia; Robert S. Scott, Canada; Robert A. Stuart Jr., USA; Stan Tempelaars, The Netherlands; P.C. Thomas, India; O.P. Vaish, India; and Yoshimasa Watanabe, Japan.

The French Canadian city of Montreal, Quebec, will offer Rotarians a sophisticated yet friendly setting of gather in for the 2010 RI Convention.

The morning rally of the Rotary year launching was declared opened by the Hon'ble Minister. Ministry of Information and Cultural Affairs. People's Republic of Bangladesh. Abul Kalam Azad at 8am on the 1st July, 2009. He was accompanied by the Special Guest Abul Kalam Azad. National Commissioner of Boys Scout and the District Governor AKM Shamsul Huda.

District Governor Elect. AKM Shamsul Huda met the print and electronic media on 30th June,2009 at 11 am at the VIP Lounge of' the National Press Club, where he recounted the history of Rotary International and its aims, ideals, programs poIicies and achievements around the world for more than a century.