Group Exchange 2013

The four member Group Study Exchange from Rotary District 3160 in India visited the Lima Club this month. The team leader, Gopalakrishna Sadhu, an industrial management consultant, a chemical engineer, a veterinarian and a ship design engineer each took turns sharing PowerPoint slides of their family, workplace, hobbies and special interests. Two members of the group are from one province and two are from another. The provinces do not speak the same language requiring the team utilize English to communicate. Their district, comprised of small rural towns, has about 2000 members. The balance of the presentation reviewed a number of unique characteristics about life in India and contributions of India to the world. Having gained their independence in 1947, India remains 70% agrarian, speaks 325 languages (18 considered official languages), is the seventh largest country in the world, has the fourth largest economy of the world, and is the second most populated. As a Rotarian the group leader is particularly proud of the RI effort to inoculate more than 200 million children with the polio vaccine. India is credited with inventing the game of chess, yoga, the value of Pi, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and the martial arts. The influence of India can be appreciated by noting that one in seven persons in the world is an Indian. In concluding the presentation a District 3160 flag and a banyan tree leaf painting were presented to President Jim.