"A physician who fails to enter the body of a patient with the lamp of knowledge and understanding can never treat diseases. It is more important to prevent the occurrence of disease than to seek a cure." Pearls of wisdom from the Father of Medicine Acharya Charaka born in 300BC, the first physician to present the concept of digestion, metabolism and immunity, who considered the heart to be the body's controlling centre and who authored the medical encyclopedia Charaka Samnita which till today has a very high standing in the field of medicine.

How apt a name chosen for the Award dedicated for Outstanding Medical Service instituted by RCG that has years of yeoman service in the health sector. Service in the avenue of health sector has been the forte of RCG over the past decade and prominent amongst these has been the state of the art dental camp that is being conducted by us for the last 15 years.

Community health service has always been one of the leading avenues of RCG, No wonder than that RCG has taken this initiative to recognize clinical excellence with an aptitude to service - a rare combination - of an individual in the field of medicine.

The first recipient of the Award last year was Dr. Ajeeth Mullaseri of Madras Medical Mission and RCG takes pride in bestowing the 2nd Charaka Award to be presented today - on the 29th of June, 2015 to another absolutely deserving candidate - Padmashri Awardee Dr. Mohan Kameswaran - whom we shall soon hear about The Charaka Award In Recognition of Outstanding Medical Service.

Empowering women is key to development of family and society. The Rotary Guindy Crompton Vocational Training Centre, Mathur was born of this simple philosophy. Started in 2009, over 400 ladies have learnt tailoring to get gainful employment and become entrepreneurs. The Centre also offers training in doll making, a beautician's course and basic computer literacy.

Building Camaraderie with Throwball - RCG regularly holds the highly popular Jean Harris Carnival, to extend Rotary fellowship across the district. The Jean Harris Throw Ball Tournament is exclusively for the ladies of our District. The competitiveness of participating teams is a revelation while the carnival like environment at the venue with acrobats, mind readers and the food court are a treat to experience.

RCG's association with Mathur Village (near Manali) started in 2007 where there was a non- functional school building, Thanks to our valued members, their association with Crompton Greaves Ltd, and SR, a very fruitful partnership was forged to renovate, repair and to refurnish the school to bring back education into the plundered 8000 sq. ft. of building, proper toilets and a decent playground. Today, the school, known as, The Rotary Club of Guindy High School, offers education up to the 12th standard.

Alathur Village is home to migrant brick kiln labour and has a large population which had no access to quality medical care. RCG established a primary Health Care Centre & Hospital in 2014 in association with a local NGO Udhavum Nanbargal - The Rotary MED Memorial Hospital, with its own building and infrastructure - yet another signature project of the Club.

This centre will cater to the primary medical needs of 27 neighboring villages.

The Kottivakkam Center for Acute Dental Care is today recognized as a World Community Service Project of Rotary International in RI District 3230, and not without reason. Started in 1998 with a matching grant in association with Rotary Club of Lorenskog, Norway, the project holds daily dental camps.

The project serves patients in remote villages, orphanages, community centers and importantly school children who are examined and treated on an annualized basis. On an average thanks to the unstinting financial support from Friendship Association, Norway, over 20,000 patients received dental care and advice on dental hygiene every year.

Nearly 100 dentists from over 50 countries have served at the project. The hallmark of the project is the well-equipped mobile Dental Van and the team comprising a Dentist, Dental Assistant and the Driver cum Helper. Creditably, NGOs like Altrusa, the Lions, The Indian Red Cross, Exnora and other service organizations have availed the center's services.

Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai is an internationally renowned service minded not for profit tertiary Eye Hospital, The Global Grant has helped with state of the art equipment to help patients with corneal blindness due to ocular surface disorders caused due to chemical injuries and Stevens Johnson Syndrome.

School dropouts are a national bane. Diverse social backgrounds and demanding economic conditions of the parents is the prime cause for lack of proper mentoring of the children. This leads to poor attendance of the child at school, malnutrition and lack of support to pursue studies with interest.

Pursuant to the Literacy Mission of Rotary and the commitment of our members, special classes are held three days in a week at The Government Higher Secondary School, Mogappair West and at Mathur, basically to tutor and mentor the children who are academically off the mark.

Apart from motivational sessions, spoken English and language classes, the children are provided with nutritious food to make them healthy in mind and of the physique. The Literacy Mission of the Club is highly appreciated and in demand from schools around the city.