January 2021 message from
District Chairman
2020-2021

MRS SHANTI MENON

2020 was a year I didn’t see coming. And what a year it’s been...

As I recollect, the year started off with a bang for me. I had huge plans for my installation, I had grand ideas that I wanted to impart to the clubs, I wanted to be a very hands-on DC, I aspired to attend every installation and function that the clubs organise and so on and so forth.

Then, lo and behold, comes COVID-19 and pulls the carpet from under my feet and steals my thunder. Not just mine, but yours and the whole world’s too...
Instead of being mad at it, I saw it as an opportunity to slow down, count my blessings, to embrace change and truly befitting of our international theme, to lead the change! I found myself being grateful for the little things and very thankful for the opportunities given to me.

It’s been a year like never before. The pandemic has impacted the world in more ways than you can ever imagine. People have lost their loved ones, lost their livelihood and many have had serious implications. Throughout this entire episode that seems to be never ending, I take so much of pride in being able to witness the generosity, camaraderie and resourcefulness of Inner Wheel members throughout the world. I applaud all of you who carried on your good work, raised your voices against injustice, changed with the times and accommodating to all the new normals. And despite the times, it’s very heart-warming to note that we did not lose heart, in fact we rose to the occasion time and time again to continue to make a difference, be it physically, mentally or financially.

That, my dear ladies, wraps up year 2020, fills my heart with so much love for all of you and gives me enormous hope for a brighter tomorrow.

On a much lighter note, December saw me taking a complete break from official Inner Wheel matters. I also managed to spend a few days holidaying with my family, enjoying some sights, sand and sounds of Penang.

However, I do record with great enthusiasm that our very own Datin Seetha lakshmi has been chosen as the Board Director for 2021/22 together with 15 other candidates from around the world. Congratulations Datin Seetha.

As we go into another new year, 2021, we are still going to be inundated with challenging times. Nevertheless, I want you all to take a leap of faith and see it as 365 opportunities to be amazing and another 365 ways to be able to make a difference! It’s not going to be easy but I am confident that it will be worth it!

I wish all of you a great start to 2021 and may we all be blessed abundantly with good health, plenty to laugh about and great relationships.

Happy New Year my dear ladies of District 330.

Much love
Shanti

December 2020 message from
District Chairman
2020-2021

MRS SHANTI MENON

My dear ladies of District 330

I bring you greetings from District 330 and hope all of you are faring fine and keeping well amidst this COVID-19 pandemic and the repeated CMCO. November too has come and gone and it brings me joy and contentment that despite the happenings in the country and the world over, you continue to do your bit for the deserving. You truly are the stars!

I started my November with club visits despite the restrictions. Leading the pack was IWC of Kuala Lumpur with a Peranakan theme, honoring President Caylize who belongs to the Baba Nyonya clan of Melaka. Thank you, District Vice-Chairman Shamini for accompanying me on this visit despite it being a working day.

I was told that they were planning on giving me the traditional Peranakan welcome with so much of pomp and grandeur but decided to scale down as we cannot be seen to be organising functions of that nature. But my reception in IWCKL was no less grand and the festivities continued behind closed doors. DEC Juanita hosted the club Executive Committee meeting in her residence followed with a zoom meeting for me to touch base with the rest of over fifty members.

I was feted to a total vegetarian lunch, dondang sayang songs, serenaded by Datin Gerardine and was kept in stitches throughout the time with stories and tales of the pandemic, their project experiences and general stories about everything on the whole. I was particularly thrilled when To’ Puan Lam Lee Pin dedicated a song to me and enthralled me with her wit and charm. Getting to meet the famous Dr Lee Su Kim of The Kebaya Tales fame was indeed my highlight for the day. Thank you, President Caylize and members of IWC Kuala Lumpur for making my official visit very memorable.

I went on to obtain police permit to ‘rentas negeri’ to be with all the three Ipoh based Clubs for their official visit that very weekend itself. It was indeed a marathon session organised by all the three clubs in a famous Indian restaurant in Ipoh called the Maharaj. Needless to say, I felt like the Maharani as the clubs fussed and doted on me, making sure I was comfortable and amply fed as we moved from one meeting to another in the same location but in three different rooms. I was indeed very pleased with my visits and I must thank the three club presidents, Past Pres Hema, Pres Komalam, Pres Catherine and Pres Jaya for making me feel very very welcome. Special mention must be made of Datin Gnana Rajah who went out of her way to organise my visit in such great detail. IWC of Ipoh East also took me to a children’s home where we presented a cheque towards the running of the home. I would like to thank all the members of IWC Ioras, IWC Ipoh and IWC Ipoh East for taking such good care of me and PDC Parimala who accompanied me to Ipoh.

Extension Chairman Juanita, Yeok San and extension committee have had at least 2 of their leadership programmes this month. This is a programme that comprises 5 modules that they have been running every fortnight. Even though the participation has not been that great, I thank all members who have been making an effort to attend these modules religiously every fortnight. I would urge members to attend these workshops as they are beneficial and fun.

November saw Diwali, the festival of lights. Clubs around the country have been doing Diwali cheers and have been very busy doing their part for the community. It was also very heartwarming to see how sister clubs around the country rose to the occasion to heed the call of IWC Seremban by sending donations to help with floods in Seremban. I would also like to congratulate all clubs who donated towards the Lebanon Disaster Fund. District 330 collectively sent RM9600 or USD2290 to them. Thank you to DISO Sumodhini Nair and DT Kamala Yeap for coordinating and seeing this project to completion. I would also like to congratulate and thank DE Vimala for making sure that all news submissions are published on to the District website as soon as she gets it. Clubs have been very happy to see their activities being published on the website.

The month of November also saw the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls, amplifying the call for global action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls.

This year’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”. Like in previous years, this year's International Day marked the launch of 16 days of activism that will conclude on 10 December 2020, which is International Human Rights Day. This resulted in many IW clubs organising talk shows, going orange and one club went the extra mile to produce a video on this. Congratulations Pres Daisy and members of IWC of Butterworth for that.

DS Veni has sent out the district nomination papers to all clubs. The deadline for all nominations to come in is by 31st January 2021. Please make use of this opportunity and nominate eligible members of your club to the District.

The charter application together with capitation fees for newbie IWC Melaka was sent to IIW in early November and we now await the charter from them. Work is in progress with ROS registration and all other related matters as well. Meanwhile, members of this club are an enthusiastic bunch, and can often be seen participating in leadership programme zoom sessions.

We have reached the last month of the year ladies, the month of December. A month where we celebrate how far we have come, a month where we reflect on all the things we have learnt, a month where we practice to be grateful for everything — both great and small, remembering that we are not alone in our struggles and believing that some of the best gifts we can give are time, empathy and love! I am leaving all of you on that note and despite the times that we are going through now, I hope that all of you will spread kindness, give generously from your heart, capture as many memories as possible and close this year with a sense of peace, warmth and love for all.

Luv
Shanti

November 2020 message from
District Chairman
2020-2021

MRS SHANTI MENON

My dear Inner Wheel ladies of District 330
Greetings.

October was supposed to be one of my busiest months in terms of activities and I for one was really looking forward to it. Alas, what I ended up doing was here a Zoom, there a Zoom, everywhere Zoom Zoom! Nevertheless, I am grateful for this technology called Zoom because if not for Zoom, we would not have been able to do so many things during these trying times.

The Extension team headed by EC Juanita organized a Zoom session on Leadership Development featuring PAP Sarita Lunani from Inner Wheel 303 (Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India) as guest speaker.  This session was well attended and liked by members who loved her easy and relaxed style of speaking, injecting humour and seriousness alongside. Past DE Cheng Yeok San took us through Zoom with such ease and I thank her for her contribution.

Inner Wheel 330 also organised a training session for club office bearers with PNR Datin Seethalakshmi taking the lead. IIWPBD Jessie Wang also provided wisdom and great food for thought through her experience and pragmatic approach in terms of Continuity of Leadership. I also had a slot in this training session where I spoke on ROS matters. On the whole, based on members’ feedback, I think it was a successful training. Datin Dr Sree Kala from IWC of Klang facilitated this zoom session and I thank her for her contribution.

Once again the Extension team, headed by EC Juanita took to the Zoom platform to provide a five module Leadership Development Programme. The plan is to have one workshop every fortnight followed by little take home tests and course work. This was kick started on the 22 October 2020 and will run its course till 17 December 2020, barring any untoward incidences. Thank you, Cheng Yeok San, for once again helping out with this broadcast.

IWC of Klang also organised a Zoom session on Violence Against Women featuring Ms Shoba Aiyer from Rumah Perlindungan Sosial YWCA as the lead speaker. This was also well attended and liked and I thank Datin Dr Sree Kala and IWC of Klang club for facilitating this.

I attended IWC of KLCC’s tenth anniversary and fundraising lunch on 10 October 2020. Datin Pearl Jai Mohan took on the position of President again, for yet another term. The afternoon which was themed “kaftan” saw kaftan clad ladies having a great time.

The social chat group has been busy reporting of many meaningful projects done by clubs all over the district. I would like to congratulate all of you for continuing your diligence in carrying out these projects despite the times and continuing to make a difference in the lives of the unfortunate and the needy. Thank you DE Vimala for making sure that all these happenings are updated and documented in record time.

All my club visits got cancelled due to MCO, CMCO, RMCO and the likes. I was supposed to visit the northern clubs namely, IWC of Alor Setar, IWC of Penang and IWC of Pearl of the Orient, also IWC of KL North and IWC of Petaling Jaya. However, nothing materialised. These days, I find myself reciting the serenity prayer more, to accept the things I cannot change, to change the things I can, the wisdom to see the difference and of course to be able to live one day at a time; accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

With that said, I was indeed doubly grateful that EC Juanita announced the possibility of starting a new club in Melaka. With the help of President Caylize of IWC Kuala Lumpur who gathered all her Peranakan lady friends to come together to start IWC of Melaka. The extension team comprising of Juanita, Parimala Satheesan and Joan Salleh went through the preliminary interest meetings via Zoom with potential members of Melaka club. And the cherry on the cake for October was definitely our ability to travel to Melaka and conduct the inaugural meeting on the 29 October with Protem President Betty Ong-Kunasegaran taking the lead. Police permits were procured for us to make the trip to Melaka and I am extremely grateful for being able to do that. IWC of Melaka was inaugurated with 15 members in a very controlled environment, taking into consideration strict SOPs. EC Juanita will now work on the charter application for this new club and I take this opportunity in congratulating her and her team for a job well done.

The fundraising for Lebanon and their plight seems to have touched a chord with all clubs in the country with donations coming in from almost every club. DISO Sumodini Nair and DT Kamala, thank you for coordinating this. I believe the deadline is coming up and I hope all those clubs who have intentions of donating but have not donated, will do so ASAP!

Now I welcome November, a month filled with gratitude, which is both thanks and giving! Let it be a November to remember! Ladies, stay safe, stay beautiful and I thank you all for giving me the opportunity to be of service!

Much love
Shanti

October 2020 message from
District Chairman
2020-2021

MRS SHANTI MENON

My dear Inner Wheel ladies of District 330
Greetings.

September came and went silently without any major surprises. And the District has been busy doing its administrative work diligently. DS Veni has sent out the eligibility list for National Representative and Deputy National Representative and it's now the clubs’ duty to nominate whom they see fit to carry out that duty to the best of her capacity. Deadline is 31 October and I hope all those clubs who are nominating their candidates will do so immediately and get it out of the way.

DT Kamala has managed to send off the capitation fees for District 330 to IIW in record time. A commendable feat and I would like to congratulate her and all club treasurers who worked very diligently in banking the money in on time. IIW in the past had commented that District 330 had been late in sending out the capitation fees. Well, we avoided that this time around. Kudos to all of you!

I was invited to attend the Extension Committee’s meeting at EC Juanita’s residence and it was a very fruitful meeting with EC Juanita, IIW PBM Datin Joan Salleh and PDC Parimala Satheesan. The extension team has come out with a brochure that can be used to recruit new members and it is very comprehensive and informative. We decided to launch it at the DAGM, which EC Juanita did very well. For new members, she has come up with a document meant as an introduction to Inner Wheel and a training module which will be announced soon. All these can be used by clubs and members in their bid to increase membership for the District.

After months of hard work, the guidelines for district exco was finally launched by IIW PBD Joy Sundram at the DAGM. Thanks to the guidelines editorial team and special thanks to web provider Cheng Yeok San for coming up with the guideline formatted as an interactive booklet linked to online fillable forms.

September is over and I reckon all clubs would have completed their AGM. I would like to remind clubs to make their annual returns to the Registrar of Societies on time. Those of you who are behind time with your submission, kindly make the effort to catch up and make it current. Your submission should read 2019 on the top of your submission slip.

Inner Wheel Club of Selangor had their installation and my official club visit on 20th Sept. I was feted to a sumptuous buffet lunch at the Serendib, Kuala Lumpur. President Prema Sivasubramaniam is the incumbent and I thank her for coming forward to take on the coveted position. I have always said this and I maintain that taking positions teach you so much. We were not born with all those skill sets but once we take on these positions, we learn on-the-job and rise to the occasion. Thank you IWC Selangor for your warm hospitality, your attention to detail in conducting the meeting and for keeping excellent records.

The 40th District AGM was held on the 26 September at the Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam in Kuala Lumpur, with Deputy National Representative Ambika Menon as our guest of honour. The event was very ably organised by DVC Shamini Nair, who doubled up as the emcee on that day. We had about 155 participants in attendance and I thank all of you for taking the time and the effort to attend.

Congratulations and kudos to the organising team of the 40th District AGM. It was a smooth flow of events right from the opening ceremony (thank you PDE Linda Lim) to the various talks by: (1) Dr Murali of National Cancer Society, (2) Couturier Bill Keith who had the audience in stitches with his natural way of owning the crowd, and (3) EC Juanita’s talk on extension work. We also had at least 10 booths selling various wares from masks, kebayas to sarees, jewellery to carpets and food items. It was shopping galore. Despite the scare of COVID-19 cases being on the rise, our ladies were in a festive mood.

The business part of the AGM was conducted in the afternoon and that too went on very smoothly but a huge thunderstorm at about 4pm made everyone wind up operations. On the whole, it was a successful event and I would like to go on record to thank all the donors, who donated either in cash or kind, who donated time and energy, our children who helped with the setting of the computer, photographs and the music, and staff and workers of KGPA — all of whom, collectively contributed to the success of this event.

On a serious note, I will be sending out the plea for help from our Inner Wheel sisters in Lebanon. Kindly go through the brochure and get in touch with DISO Sumo Nair who will coordinate this project.

October is all about CHANGE. One reason why people resist change is because they focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain. Let’s embrace CHANGE and lead it. I am so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

Stay safe, stay beautiful.

Love & Friendship
Shanti Menon

September 2020 message from
District Chairman
2020-2021

MRS SHANTI MENON

Greetings Ladies,

August has come and gone and surprisingly the District 330 has not been awfully busy but just dusting the surface, and getting its act together for Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September.

The venue has been identified, the date has been fixed and the programme drawn out. It’s going to be a relaxed and fun-filled day for all we ladies to just come, attend to business of the day, soak in the fun and frolic and just enjoy each other’s company. We have booths with interesting things for sale, we have a talk show with the talented local designer Bill Keith and nice door gifts for you. So please do attend the AGM. 

I have also managed to deliver all the face masks to all members who have ordered. I hope all of you love it as much as we loved creating it.

I had one club visit and an installation to attend in Kuantan, which I did with District Vice-Chairman Shamini. Congratulations is in order to President Renuha Ratnasingam of IWC Kuantan/Indera Mahkota for taking up position this term and I know that you will steer your club well. We also enjoyed IWC Kuantan’s warm hospitality, their delicious food (thank you PP Viji Nair) and the general reception. My sincere gratitude to each and every one of you! IWC Kuantan - you charmed me!

District Treasurer Kamala and I have been making trips to the bank to get the formalities done. DT Kamala has also been extremely busy collecting district dues and keeping every club treasurer on her toes. District Secretary Veni must have been the busiest of us all as she is in the midst of compiling documents for the annual report and generally getting everything in order for the AGM. 

District Editor Vimala has been doing an excellent job updating the website in record time. Kudos to her and web provider Cheng Yeok San for a job well done!

District Extension Chairman Juanita and her team are busy producing a pamphlet to encourage fresh membership. I know that all of you are going to be excited to use these pamphlets in your own extension work. This will be launched on AGM day.

Another launch on AGM day would be the District Guidelines. IPDC Padmini Menon with guidance from our own stalwarts Joy Sundram, Jessie Wang and Joan Salleh has managed to update the guidelines for district positions to suit with current requirements. Once again web provider Yeok San has managed to make this document so user friendly and I am sure it’s going to be well received.

I hope all of you are doing well and busy with your club activities and projects. Do take all the necessary precautions as we are not out of the woods yet, in fact, we have seen a sudden spike in fresh COVID cases. 

Please encourage each other to visit our District website and check out what’s new and interesting. I trust you will call me or anyone in the District if you need any assistance or if you have any queries.

Stay healthy, stay safe and stay beautiful. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be of service.

Hello September, surprise me...

LEAD THE CHANGE
Shanti Menon
District Chairman 2020-2021
Inner Wheel District 330, Malaysia 
+60123865191

August 2020 message from
District Chairman
2020-2021

MRS SHANTI MENON

Greetings Ladies,

Welcome to the month of August. It’s been a month since my team and I have been in office. And we have been busy. But busy is good, especially since we are still in the period of partial lockdown with limited travel, closed borders and social distancing.

I have attended two installation gatherings in July, witnessing two brand new presidents - President Daisy of IWC Butterworth and President Indira Menon of IWC Subang taking office. Many other clubs have had their installation in very low key handover sessions. Whichever way you have chosen to do it, its fine! It’s a beautiful sensation and transported me back to my earlier days when I became club president. That top of the world feeling rivals none! May your enthusiasm never fade, may you soar high and may your clubs flourish under your guidance and watchful eyes! Congratulations to all the new Presidents.

A good Inner Wheel sister planned a lunch for me to meet up with Malaysian designer Bill Keith. Bill Keith, who has always been a friend of Inner Wheel District 330, a philanthropist and a benevolent soul, was his normal charming self and related stories of the pandemic period to lockdown to preparing of PPEs for our frontliners. Amazing feat, amazing person and I am happy to work with him on a ‘Charity starts with a Mask’, Covid preventive, Inner Wheel branding initiative. The response by the Inner Wheel Clubs, though not astounding, has been encouraging and we have managed to get this initiative going.

The month of July also saw me busy preparing for the official matters to come. Visit to the bank to change signatories, almost everyday chats with District Executive Committee members just to update each other on the happenings, preparing for our first Executive Committee meeting and various other formalities. Not forgetting the calls from club presidents to either touch base with me or just clear some doubts. Your calls are important to me and it keeps me connected to all of you.

I also participated in a Friendship Day zoom video conference under the invitation of District 325 India. Past Association President Prabha Raghunandan engaged with officers from South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. All our ISOs were also encouraged to participate in this very exciting and vibrant programme. Thank you DISO Sumo Nair for coordinating this.

Another very exciting project that we took on in the month of July was to organise a Zoom webinar in joint collaboration with District 331. Tedious, painstaking effort to get this project off the ground but it was well worth it! My deepest appreciation to web provider and host Cheng Yeok San for facilitating this webinar. IIW President Dr Bina Vyas graced this webinar with not just her presence, but her charm, simplicity and her unmistakable ‘I mean business’ attitude! It was a marathon afternoon that extended to the evening and I trust it was worth everyone’s while. A lot of you attended this webinar and I thank you for the support and I hope you have become a lot more knowledgeable regarding Inner Wheel and that Dr Bina has managed to fuel your enthusiasm and spirit. I hope all club presidents have taken note of President Bina’s goals and targets for this year and let us help her materialise it!

Our first Executive Committee meeting was also conducted successfully and I thank District Vice-Chairman Shamini for opening her home to us for this purpose. Not forgetting the warm hospitality and the delicious food.

Official Club visits have been planned for me and I will be doing my first official visit in a few days’ time. I am extremely excited about this and can’t wait to start visits to clubs and to meet all of you in person.

Meanwhile stay happy, stay safe and stay beautiful. I thank you for the opportunity to be of service.

LEAD THE CHANGE
Shanti Menon
District Chairman 2020-2021
Inner Wheel District 330, Malaysia 
+60123865191