Rotary International members from India have been staying with Bloomington-Normal Rotary host families this past week, as part of a monthlong cultural exchange.
This time last year, their Illinois counterparts were in India.
The exchanges give insight into differences between societies, and what we can learn from each other and maybe put in place, said Nisha Shekhawat, a member of the delegation.
”But apart from that, being in Rotary, I think we connect through our work majorly because it's all humanitarian work,” she said.
Her Rotary District 3053 covers Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — two states in North India. Shekhawat said the travel exchange grew from a philanthropic collaboration.
In 2025, Bloomington’s Sunrise Rotary Club worked with her district to bring a neonatal ventilator to a hospital in Shekhawat’s home city of Amjer, Rajasthan.
That was through Rotary’s Global Grant program, which pairs districts in two countries on a major project, said Bloomington’s Deb West, who leads Rotary District 6490. The Illinois district covers a region stretching from Pontiac to Vandalia, including seven Rotary clubs in Bloomington-Normal.
”Now that we have a connection with this district, we’ll have the opportunity to do [other] major projects that we can cooperate on. That may happen in India, that may happen here in Bloomington-Normal,” said West.
Shekhawat agreed the grant is promising:
”So, the Global Grant project is one part of Rotary where we fund each other, we support each other for larger work. I think that’s the beautiful part of Rotary. [It] connects different worlds together,” she said.
India Rotarians visit education, art, business
In late October, the Rajasthan guests arrived in the Bloomington area. Part of their Bloomington stay focused on learning about school structures, the business economy and arts and entertainment.
They attended an Illinois Symphony Orchestra performance, watched a Bloomington Bisons hockey match and met with local Rotary clubs.
Shekhawat and another member of the group — Prabhat Kaushik — both are academic administrators. Each had visited the United States previously. But this marked their first visits to Illinois. They told WGLT visiting this area’s schools and campuses was a highlight.
Shekhawat was impressed with dedicated preschool curriculum structures.
Business stops included State Farm and Rivian. Kaushik recalled a day trip to Archer Daniels Midland [ADM] in Decatur, where the group learned about ADM’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of large-scale crop processing.
“The way companies are supporting farmers is incredible in this part of the world,” he said.
Shekhawat and Kaushik are joined on this trip by Rotarians Deepak Singh Gehlot, Raj Kumar Gary, and Ritu Gehlot. The group heads to Champaign next.
Official exchange program had lapsed
Rotary International, which has clubs in more than 200 nations, used to facilitate district group study exchanges.
But that program lapsed around 2010.
Some Illinois District 6490 members lamented its loss, and pushed to reboot it at the district level, said West.
“So we sort of reinvented it here,” she added.
Last fall, they sent five Illinoisans to Rajasthan. There, they took part in Rotary projects and toured temples and other buildings.
“They also even had the opportunity to visit several weddings while they were in India, it was quite the cultural immersion,” she added.
Having Rotarians stay in homes of their counterparts in each country has added to the cultural understanding, said West.
Kaushik and Shewkawat said while in Bloomington, hosts have shown great hospitality and made them feel like family. The Rotary tie gives a shared language of sorts, added Shekhawat.
