More than a decade ago, close to 30 individuals working across different fields came together for a common cause, to give back to the community through voluntary service. They formed the Rotary Club of Thimphu which prioritises health, education and agriculture. Since the club’s inception in 2012, they supported over a hundred projects worth more than 400 million ngultrum. To seek support from their international partners, the club held the Bhutan Rotary conference in the capital. Over 30 international Rotarians from Nepal, Australia, the UK and Belgium attended the three-day conference which ended yesterday.
The Rotary Club of Thimphu is one of the 46,000 rotary clubs worldwide.
It has 28 members working voluntarily on projects as of today.
According to Tsewang Rinzing, the club’s president, among many projects, the club’s support including building toilets and providing drinking water supply to schools have brought about positive changes in the community.
The club has built toilets for around 95 households in Bongo and Ketokha in Chhukha and supplied drinking water to schools.
“The government does so much, but then how much it can cover? So, wherever there are gaps, we try to cover up and assist the government in helping the community’s needs,” said Tsewang Rinzing the president of Rotary Club of Thimphu.
Similarly, he added that providing sky hydrant water filters in schools, which the club considers one of its signature projects, has been impactful.
“We have covered about 136 schools. That has made a very significant impact. Because of that, the school children are not getting sick, a lot of people are going to school, and it has made a huge impact.”
The Rotary Club Thimphu was established after Jaya Rajya Laxmi Shah, the foundation sponsor got the permission from the Rotary International.
“Today we heard all the projects. Well, it was drinking water for the children, you know, we do look after the children. Then, of course, we have health. We can see the doctor also was very good at getting the equipment. Through the help of Rotary, we can do much more than what we have done,” she said.
Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay also addressed the first day of the conference.
He said, “I want to thank all our Rotarians, Bhutanese, Nepalese, International Rotarians, for supporting the development in Bhutan. You have greatly contributed to agriculture, health, education, sanitation, community mobilisation and development, and poverty alleviation. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. As we move forward, there is a lot to do together. But more than just important development projects, please focus on the circular nature of your mission to promote international goodwill, friendship, and peace.”
The club has also supported Changankha Middle Secondary School in Thimphu to install ramps worth USD 20,000 for special needs students.
Discussing on future collaborations, the club shared its plans on building toilets worth USD 12,000 for students with special needs at Changankha Middle Secondary School.
The supply of supplementary Cathlab equipment for the heart centre at the national referral hospital and providing sky hydrant water filters to government schools are also in the pipeline.
Furthermore, the club has also received a proposal from a reforestation group which plans to plant trees destroyed by fire in Kuensel Phodrang.
Kesang Tshomo, the chair for agriculture and natural resource of the Rotary Club of Thimphu said, “They have a nursery but they do not have enough water to irrigate the forest and keep the trees alive. So, they have also requested for irrigation supply but the thing is there is no water source. Initially, they asked for a water tanker which is not sustainable so we are planning to support by bringing about three kilometres of water pipe from up on the way to Pumola. So, we are working on raising that fund from Rotary members and Rotary clubs as a global grant.”
The establishment of the Rotary Club of Thimphu was initiated and sponsored by the Royal Government of Bhutan.
Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million individuals who believe in shared responsibility and take action to address persistent world issues.
Devika Pradhan
Edited by Phub Gyem
