Rotary District Directory

At the time of independence, there were only 3 Rotary Clubs in Pakistan – Lahore (7 Dee. 1927), Karachi (11 May 1933) and Hyderabad ( 5 March 1939). Today the Rotary Club of Karachi (with a membership of 130 – highest in Pakistan) is one of the 85 clubs in RI District 3271 which covers the provinces of Sindh and Baluchistan in Pakistan.

The setting up of the Rotary Club of Karachi was the outcome of the vision and initiative of its service-minded charter members amongst whom figured personalities like Hatim A. Alavi, Hatim B. Tyabji and Jamshed Nusserwanji. And when in 1947 at independence, the Club boat was being rocked with the migration of a good number of its members, the storm was weathered by the foresight and hard work of Rotarians like Dinshaw B. Avari, Hakim M. Ahson, Dr. Sohrab Anklesaria, Yussuff Chinoy and Ahmed E. H. Jaffer.

From its very commencement, the Club started taking an active interest in the civic life of Karachi and also devoted considerable attention to the international aspect of Rotary service. The principal activities-cum-achievements of the Club during the 70 years of its existence, new State of Pakistan (August 1947) are summarized below:

Old Completed Projects

1958 a cottage at the Ojha TB sanatorium

1962 a clinic in Gizri Bagh Colony (now defunct)

1981 a school hall at APWA Artisans’ Colony, Drigh Road

1987-88 Sewing machines for Afghan Refugees – 375 Singer sewing machines at a cost of Rs.535,000 thanks to a substantial contribution of the Rotary Club of LudwigshafenRheinschanze (Germany) and The Rotary Foundation. This Project was declared as one of the 50 best World Community Service Projects of 1987-88

1989-1996 Mass Miniature Radiography (MMR) Project. A Mercedes-Benz van fitted with sophisticated x-ray equipment (for TB detection), costing over 4 million rupees, for screening Afghan refugees suspected of TB. This Project was made possible by very generous contributions of the Rotary Club of Ludwigshafen-Rheinschanze, RI District 186 (Germany), the German Government and the Rotary Foundation. Over 21,000 Afghan refugees and “contact” persons were screened.

1991-92 Hospital equipment (worth over Rs. 3 million) received from the Rotary Club of Nedlands (West Australia) was donated to the Civil Hospital and the Ojha TB Sanatorium.