The Rotary Club of Adliya explored the important issue of enterprise-wide risk management with a leading expert in the field in Bahrain during their regular meeting conducted on November 1st by Mr. Arjun Neelakantan, Director – Internal Audit, Risk & Compliance Services, KPMG Bahrain & Qatar will explore the available options and will have time to answer your questions.

In it, the issues facing current enterprises were discussed within the sphere of risk management. With the pace of change and characteristics of the new economy is exposing organizations to more risks than ever before due to the economic slowdown, business pressures, loss of market share, falling demand, poor governance amongst other pertinent factors. However, these risks are not insurmountable. Mastering these risks can be a real source of opportunity and challenge and a powerful way of survival and sustainability.

H. E. Al-Sho’ala explained in detailed numbers the constitution of Indians in Bahrain and how they, in their various skills and professional qualifications added huge value to the progress and economy of this country, as well as adding positively to the social fabric in Bahrain. He explained that from a total population of approximately 1.1 million people, approximately 420,000 are Indians. He gave examples of the trades they were involved in, which was eye opening to those present. For example, he said that 550 were chartered accountants – stating that due to this, and the addition of other chartered accountants from other nationalities – Bahrain probably enjoys the highest per-capita of chartered accountants to citizens in the Gulf, if not the world!

The Indian’s vocations in Bahrain didn’t stop at being chartered accountants of course, but he emphasised that they are involved in just about every facet of life here, from building the buildings, to caring for the population medically, to cleaning our streets to tailoring and beyond.

He explained that even though that their foreign transfers now is approximately BD 1.5 billion annually, with the government’s expectations of doubling the population by 2030, expatriate labour of which Indians constitute the majority will also double, leading to an expected foreign currency transfer to reach or exceed BD4 billion by then.

That money, he was at pains to explain, is not “lost”, but a fair value for the expertise and hard work expended by Indians to maintain and further develop the Kingdom.

Speaker’s Bio

Mr. Abdulnabi Al-Sho’alastarted from very humble beginnings, he toiled long and hard at not only establishing himself, but also helping in taking care of his family, having lost his father at 9 months old. By necessity he had to devise new and creative ways in cutting a path for himself, never shying away from opportunities presented to him.

The turning point of his life happened by accident when he recognised an opportunity in adversity. Discovering that a medical trip accompanying his step-father to India would extend beyond what he initially anticipated, he decided to seek further education, and as the prestigious St. Xavier College in Bombay was accepting new enrollments, he boldly strode in his suit and briefcase past the hordes of hopefuls to demand a direct audience with the principal. By virtue of him being a little older than other applicants, his attire and demeanor, he gained an audience with Fr. D’Cruz, the ultimate result of which was his acceptance into that university.

Upon returning to Bahrain, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an attaché, a position he held for just under a year, giving way to the call of his entrepreneurial spirit and his establishment of Gulf Public Relations, which was the nucleus of a multi-faceted business empire.

Business success wasn’t enough for Mr. Al-Sho’ala though; driven by a sense of duty to give back to his community, he strove to be in a public office to do so. This drove him to challenge people’s perceptions and stand for a seat on the board of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce, riding on the promise of much needed change, and a younger infusion to what was a stagnant board. He was elected with the highest margin of votes ever to that point.

After serving for three terms ending with him becoming the 2nd vice-president, he was appointed to the consultative Shura Council. Three years after that he was asked to step up and lead the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs as Minister, and thence on to becoming a Minister of State.

He returned to the business world once his tenure was completed and he now once again leads the various enterprises of Al-Fanar Holdings to greater heights, which now encompasses twenty companies catering for everything from regional investments, financial, industrial, trading and service sectors.

Mr. Al-Sho’ala is undoubtedly a great success story and an incpiration. He is indeed the embodiment of the Bahraini Dream.

Ladies and gentlemen, the lasting and positive impact India has had on Mr. Al-Sho’ala is common knowledge, especially as he is now the head of the Bahrain India Society; what is also known is his tangible and deep understanding of that sub-continent and its impact on many other economies. He did not subscribe to the derogatory attitudes some have had about that great country, in fact quite the opposite, he saw ready opportunities which could be applied for the benefit of this Kingdom specifically, and the surrounding region in general.

The Club was privileged to hear some of Mr. Al-Sho’ala’s thoughts and experiences on this sphere relating to Bahrain, being the freest economy in the Middle East and India, the fastest growing free market democracy, and has also touched upon his own personal experiences which we as a country and people can benefit from.

Mahmood Fadhel sharing his experience at the Rotary Club of Adliya

How would you go about managing a fleet of 650 vehicles and reconcile the needs of users and departments with varying needs? What would prepare you for this task?

Mr. Fadhel began his carrier as Workshop and Transport Controller when Batelco was experiencing growth and expanding its services. He gradually transformed the vehicle maintenance department from a simple maintenance workshop to a modern fleet management and maintenance centre, a centre which at times managed a fleet of over 650 vehicles ranging from normal cars and trucks to specialised vehicles like roading and cabling vehicles, pole erection vehicles, fiber optics specialised vehicles and mobile GSM base-station vehicles

Mr. Fadhel gained a Diploma in Automotive Engineering and a Diploma in Petrol and Diesel Vehicles Maintenance from UK. He also attained various practical certifications in vehicles maintenance and fleet management from vehicle manufacturers such as Toyota and Nissan, he was promoted to Manager Transport & Vehicle Maintenance Centre.

He was instrumental in Batelco winning numerous awards for fleet managements and vehicle repair and maintenance from reputable organisations around the world.
On retiring from Batelco after a service of 35 years, Mr. Fadhel started his own vehicle repair shop which he now personally manages.

To listen to Mahmood Fadhel’s story, please click on the Play button below and download his accompanying presentation [pdf].

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please press Play to start listening, or subscribe to our Podcasts to download and listen to them on your computer or mobile device at your leisure.

President Mahmood Al-Yousif presents Rotarian Dr. Faiza Ghabrial with a certificate of appreciation of her selfless dedication to the Rotary and its causes.

In a first of many to come, the President decided to honour a long standing and active member of the club for her exemplary service and attendance. He singled Rotarian Dr. Faiza Ghabrial for this honour and reminded the attendees of her services rendered to the Club and the larger community over a lifetime of selflessly giving without any expectations of returns.

The Club is indebted to Rotarian Dr. Faiza for her initiatives, particularly her suggestion for adopting the major cause of helping children with congenital heart defects, a cause which has now been fully adopted with committees formed to oversee the fund-raising and awareness activities to support such a worthy cause.

Rotarian Khulood Al-Qattan, the Service Projects Chairperson is closely working with Rotarian Dr. Faiza who now heads the Humanitarian Subcommittee to ensure the prescribed milestones are met and the vision for this program always remains at the forefront of the Rotary Club of Adliya’s agenda.

President Mahmood Al-Yousif with Think Pink Founder Jules Sprakel at the launch of a previous breast cancer awareness campaign

Earlier in the day, the Club approved its first activity of the Rotary Year: “The RCA Breast Cancer Awareness Walkathon” jointly with Think Pink Bahrain. The walkathon will take place on October 1st, signaling the start of a whole month of activities and events to increase breast cancer awareness in Bahrain.

Funds raised through this event will be equally shared between the Rotary Club of Adliya and will be used for its “Gift of Life Bahrain” program to help children with congenital heart defects and Think Pink Bahrain who will purchase a digital MRI machine specifically designed for the discovery of the onset of breast cancer in younger patients.

There are many corporate sponsorship opportunities available in this event, if you wish to contribute or talk to us about sponsorship, please contact Rotarian Khulood Al-Qattan or email us for more information. We expect the afternoon will be a lot of fun and be attended by a large number of people.

We welcome Rotarian and Guests to our meetings. For more information about our club and meetings, please link to http://rotaryadliya.org/about/club-meetings – we look forward to welcoming you.

Please click on the images below to view photos of the meeting.

The refuse from discarded electronics products, also known as e-waste, often ends up in landfills or incinerators instead of being recycled. And that means toxic substances like lead, cadmium and mercury that are commonly used in these products can contaminate the land, water and air.

Fareed Bushehri, the UNEP’s ROWA DTIE officer, and an acknowledged expert who provides technical assistance to countries of the West Asia Region to promote Sustainable Development, will be speaking to us at our regular meeting tomorrow evening (April 19th, 2010).

Mr. Bushehri covered:

• What is E-Waste and Why E-Waste is an issue?
• The Arab region and Its ICT Industry
• E-Waste Projects & Initiatives currently undertaken by UNEP
• Results of the Desk Study on E-Waste Management in the Arab Region
• Potentials for Environmentally Sound Management of E-Waste in the Region.

Please listen to the podcast of the meeting and Mr. Bushehri’s talk by clicking Play below:

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You can also download Mr. Bushehri’s accompanying presentation by clicking here [pdf].

disclaimer: some text copied from Wired.com

On the night that PP Alan Blackman stood-in for President Hasan Al-Balooshi due to the latter being on a business trip, our very own Rotarian Zuhair Taherbhai stepped up to the plate and spent the next 20 minutes trying desperately to explain something which was rather obvious to him (and to both Rotarian Sam Mulholand and our stand-in president PP Alan Blackman) to a roomful of people who were utterly bewildered as far as Cricket is concerned. Thankfully, Rotarian Zuhair was finally able to get us to start to comprehend it.

That’s a good thing, as our club is putting a plan in place to mount another Cricket competition in Bahrain to raise money for our endeavors. Rotarian Zuhair spent a few minutes talking about the plans and suggested ways in which club members can contribute.

On behalf of the club, we wish to extend our thanks to PP Alan Blackman for chairing the meeting. We hope you enjoy listening to the Podcast.

One of the important exciting announcements he made last night was the confirmation that His Royal Highness Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain will patronise the proceedings at the conference. This should give the Rotary Club in the whole region a big boost in our quest to help our local communities.

To download DG Nijad Atassi presentation, please click here [pdf, 1.9MB]

This is our last regular meeting before the Holy month of Ramadhan. Our next meeting will be a social evening on July 27th, 2009:

Location: Coral Beach Club
The Main Restaurant
Dinner: Hot and Cold Maza
Mixed Grills
Fruits
Soft Drinks (One Drink per Person)
Water
Timing: 8:00PM for 8:30PM
Price: BD 10 per person

Let me also remind you that an updated RCA member’s leave and clubs activity register is available for download here.

The Rotary Club of Adliya wishes you a joyful, relaxing and healthy summer break!

Please do subscribe to our low frequency email bulletins to be informed of the Club’s events and activities.

The Rotary Club of Adliya welcomed Dr. Tariq Al-Maadawi, the consultant psychiatrist with the Private Clinic in Budaiya Medical Centre who talked about the debilitating psychological and physical condition of depression.

In this featured presentation attended by 60% of the RCA membership and 5 guests as well as the honourable speaker, Dr. Al-Maadawi shattered the usual stereotypes about both psychiatry and depression especially in our local Arab and Muslim communities. He went further to explain that depression is the most disabling condition in the world for women, 25% of whom suffer from it at some point in their lives.

President Hasan Al-Balooshi (L) and Dr. Tariq Al-Maadawi

He emphasised that Depression is a treatable disease. Treatments can range from counselling sessions through to modern medicines which correct the chemical imbalance in the brain which causes this condition.

“Depression,” stated Dr. Al-Maadawi, “covers a range of related conditions in which the primary disturbance is thought to be one of mood or effect.”

“There are 48 types of depressions defined so far,” he continued, “varying from mild states which befall its victims when a live changing event happens, to those experienced by losing a loved one, to severe conditions which require hospitalisation and a concerted effort at medication, diet and counseling.”

Hanan Al-Yousif (L) with Rotarian Ahdeya Noor

Dr. Al-Maadawi’s brief presentation is available from download on our website. Please click here to download Dr. Tariq Al-Maadawi’s presentation on depression in pdf format.

Should you wish to contact Dr. Al-Maadawi for further information or consultation, we would be very happy to provide you with his contact details. Please contact us by sending an email to contact@rotaryadliya.org. All communications will of course remain confidential. Should you wish to contact Dr. Al-Maadawi directly, please do so by contacting the Private Clinic in the Budaiya Medical Centre.

Do give us your feedback please.

The board has voted to convene regular meetings in a new location, one that is easily accessible, has plenty of parking, cost less than what it used to pay thus dedicating more fund to help the community directly and be a pleasant place in which to invite guests. All of these point have successfully been achieved by adopting the Marina Club in Manama as the new venue.

Thanks should be rendered to Rotarian PP Redha Faraj who suggested the venue and did an excellent job at negotiating the new rates with the management, our current President Hasan Al-Balooshi and Rotarian Mahmood Al-Yousif for their efforts in securing this location. Judging by the reaction of the good Rotarians in attendance, the choice is a success.

President Hasan Al-Balooshi chairing the inaugural meeting of RY09/10

The meeting’s attendance broke the usual record for RCA meetings with 69% of registered members in attendance! One of the board’s main priorities is to maintain and increase this attendance rating throughout the year, with the board’s principal commitment this year is actively engaging members in club’s activities.

The Club also celebrates the new year by strengthening its service to the community. Rotarian Dr. Faiza Ghabrial requested that the Club find a way to donate 4 new computers to The Hope Institute as they are rebuilding their computer lab. Computers were secured by the efforts of PP Redha Faraj through a generous donation from Al-Moayyed International Group. Further, PP Faraj also secured another computer from AIG which he suggested the Club donates to the Aisha Yateem Family Counsiling Centre. President Hasan expressed his thanks to Rotarian Dr. Ghabiral, PP Faraj and Al-Moayyed International Group for their generosity and commitment to the community.

During the meeting President Hasan Al-Balooshi shared with members and guests the Roadmap for his year and encouraged everyone to put in as much effort as they could to elevate the Club, it’s programs and reputation in the local community.

The outline of the President is available for download here in pdf format.

PP Redha Faraj, who holds the office of honorary treasurer for this year, then took the floor and explained the Club’s finances and outlined his plan which if followed will ensure not only the continued Club’s survival, but also continued sustainability.

The Treasurer’s presentation is available here for download in pdf format.

Comedian Ali Esbai (left) with local celebrity/DJ Imran Al-Aradi

Mr. Ali Esbai, the Bahraini up and coming talent in stand-up comedy then did his bit much to the enjoyment of everyone present. His topical biting remarks on the worsening traffic situation in Bahrain, the “benefit” of a botched bank robbery, and various other mundane aspects of life in Bahrain which he twisted and wove into excellent comedy. Everyone present thanked Mr. Esbai for his gig and wished that they had more time to enjoy his comedy, hopefully in a future function they could!

Please click to view the Secretary and Treasurer’s report for the Club’s meeting on 6 July, 2009.

You might also wish to view some of the pictures taken of the gathering in our Flickr stream. Please click here to view them.

To view his slideshow, please click the link below to download it in PDF format or watch the slides in the movie.

To display the accounts, please click here.