My first convention was amazing for the whole family

By Rotary International

Smera Chandan (third from left) making new friends in the House of Friendship in Atlanta.

By Kamlesh (Kam) Chandan, president of the Rotary Club of Lake Norman/Huntersville, North Carolina, USA

As a club president, I attended my first Rotary convention this year in Atlanta with my parents, my children, and my wife. It was a special moment celebrating the end of the Rotary year with my family and with friends from all over the world. I enjoyed connecting with other Rotarians, listening to great speakers, learning about the global impact of Rotary, and celebrating 100 years of The Rotary Foundation.

I was personally touched when past RI President Kalyan Banerjee described how he and local Rotarians put together a plan of rehabilitation and rebuilding after the severe earthquake that struck my ancestral home, Kutch, in northwest India in January of 2001. He shared the story of one woman who had lost everything in the earthquake, including her 8-year-old granddaughter, who decided to give money she had saved for a trip to Mecca to the relief effort. Months later when the work was done and Rotarians gathered to dedicate the results, she got up on stage to say how, for the first time since …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

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