Thursday, December 13, 2007

Rotary polio trip Thur 13th of 07 from Carl

Today was a travel day with our group getting up at 4 am, traveling to the Dhaka International Airport and finally leaving on the hour flight to Calcutta (Kolkata) at 11:00 am.  They said that it would probably be late and it was. The flight allowed some viewing of the landscape which was a flood plain with patches of green land interspersed with brown rivers.  Once at the Kolkata airport we boarded another bus for a slow ride to a late lunch (3:00) at the Calcutta Metropolitan Rotary club.  As you can see from one of the pictures, Kolkata is one of two regions of India that has a Communist government.  At the club we heard presentations by the club president and a visiting Rotary group from California on their various projects and ways to reduce poverty in the area.  A big challenge.  For Rotary readers, all members of the club are three time Paul Harris Society members with the current lady ophthalmologist president being at the $25,000 level.  This is not a poor club.  We were to visit a Rescue Center and a cardiac Sciences / Eye Hospital but our travel problems prevented this.  Perhaps we will visit them if our schedule can be adjusted but the next two days are already full.
 
Carl
 

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