Growing up in India, we used to hear about Lions Clubs and Rotary Clubs and think of them as prestigious organisations. Someone came to my school to talk about Rotary and explained it was a service organisation and they helped with things like polio eradication. That was the first time I heard about or had an interaction with Rotary.

I eventually moved to the UK and met Rotarian Manoj Joshi who told me more about Rotary. He explained how it works and I became more interested and started going to meetings with him to learn more.

Up till then, my understanding of Rotary was that it was a group of business people and professionals from various ethnic backgrounds helping to build goodwill and peace throughout the world. For me, I want to be of service and give back to society which is one of the reasons why I set up Keighley Community Access, a community service company. By going to Rotary, I realised that it’s full of people who are actually into community service. They're not just doing business but they're trying to give back to society and that’s what I wanted to do. So, in 2019, I joined the Rotary Club of Bradford and am proud to be an active member.

In addition to club projects, I’m also helping improve the Rotary in Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire website. As a Rotarian, I volunteered to support the development of certain features of the website which will enhance the public image and awareness of clubs and the humanitarian service projects happening around the district. The project has also helped some of my staff with their own personal and professional development as well.

There are lots of ways people can contribute to society individually. However, I’ve learned that businesses, Rotary and individuals can do much more by working together. By exchanging ideas and collaborating on projects and initiatives, we can reach more people and make a bigger difference in our communities.