By Mahiuddin Palash, Past President of Rotary Club of Dhaka Midtown (Bangladesh), District Vocational Service Committee Chair 2023-24, District 3281, and District Rotaract Representative 1998-99, District 3280. Follow him on Facebook.
Let’s take a look at our Rotary journey. We weren’t recruited just because of our smiles or friendly personalities. We were invited to join Rotary because our professional skills had the potential to make a real difference, and because we hold a shared commitment to serving others. It all started with Vocational Service. As the 2023-24 Vocational Service Committee Chair for District 3281 in Bangladesh and with 28 years of service to Rotary, I’ve seen firsthand the transformative power of this philosophy.
Today, I want to share my story of how Vocational Service enriched my professional journey and inspire you to use your skills to make a lasting difference in your community.
What is Vocational Service
Unlike other service organizations, Rotary doesn’t just focus on volunteering your time. It’s about using your professional expertise – the very skills you excel at – to make a real difference. This is fundamental to every club. And simultaneously, Vocational Service is about applying ethical standards to all that we undertake – through Rotary, in our personal lives, and in the workplace. Vocational Service encourages and fosters:
• high ethical standards in business and professions;
• the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and
• the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
We can put these ideals into action by:
Empowering through learning and skill development. Joining the strategic marketing team of a telecommunications company was the start of my career. I had “zero” education in any marketing discipline, but I was a Rotaractor. How could I not make a difference? Numerous learning sessions with a late past district governor, a renowned marketing management consultant, gave me the tools I needed to break through in my career. I reaped the benefits of Rotaract’s “professional development service” and Rotary’s “vocational service” in my own life.
Serving using our unique skills to address community needs. Another extraordinary story is of a Rotarian doctor who, alongside other passionate Rotarians, founded the then only tertiary-level cancer hospital in the northern part of Bangladesh in 2002. The country ranks fourth in the world in cervical cancer deaths.
Inspiring to act with integrity by following Rotary’s guiding principles. Many clubs in Bangladesh, like Dhanmondi Dhaka, Metropolitan Dhaka, and Uttara, are presenting a “vocational excellence award”, a highly regarded recognition that celebrates exceptional individuals who use their professional talents to support communities.
Attracting and retaining young leaders. While “Service” and “Fellowship” are often cited as the top reasons for joining and staying in Rotary, “professional and personal development” is a powerful but often overlooked tool for attracting and retaining young leaders. It worked with me when I was a young professional. Telecommunications is a highly competitive business, and a career in this industry requires a strong network of people within sales and public relations, understanding market dynamics, identifying unmet needs, business intelligence, and many other areas. Rotary’s network gave me the competitive edge in all of these areas to move my company and my career forward.
