Your support of the Annual Programs Fund through the Every Rotarian, Every Year (EREY) initiative makes it possible for The Rotary Foundation to continue its work of 'Doing Good in the World.'If you contribute to the Foundation, you advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. You also support Rotary's six areas of focus.
By donating less than the cost of your Sunday newspapers each month, and gift aiding it, you can become a Sustaining Member of the Rotary Foundation. Contributions to EREY are the primary source of funding for Foundation programs.
Here are a few ways in which your contribution makes a difference:
Ø Fighting Hunger: In Romania, orphans and sick children have eggs, milk, and meat because of a Foundation grant that benefits local farmers. The farmers are able to buy everything from animal feed to packaging materials. There is one stipulation: they must donate a portion of their products to children’s hospitals, schools, and orphanages.
Ø Fighting Child mortality: Rotary clubs in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, and Tamil Nadu, India, are helping to reduce child mortality by providing improved sanitation facilities for 15 families in a small community in Sri Lanka. With a Matching Grant , the clubs have built 14 toilets, helping to prevent diarrhea and other diseases related to poor sanitation.
Ø Fighting Hunger: In Romania, orphans and sick children have eggs, milk, and meat because of a Foundation grant that benefits local farmers. The farmers are able to buy everything from animal feed to packaging materials. There is one stipulation: they must donate a portion of their products to children’s hospitals, schools, and orphanages.
Ø Fighting Child mortality: Rotary clubs in the Western Province of Sri Lanka, and Tamil Nadu, India, are helping to reduce child mortality by providing improved sanitation facilities for 15 families in a small community in Sri Lanka. With a Matching Grant , the clubs have built 14 toilets, helping to prevent diarrhea and other diseases related to poor sanitation.
According to the World Health Organization, 1.8 million children die of diarrhea every year, making it the second leading cause of death among children under five. Proper sanitation can reduce the rate of child mortality in many communities by up to a third.
Ø Promoting peace and conflict resolution: Watching civil war tear apart his homeland of Côte d'Ivoire instilled in Rotary Peace Fellow Kouame Remi Oussou a passion to resolve conflict. He is now working for the United Nations Development Programme in the Central African Republic,
Ø Basic education and literacy: Education helps rebuild lives, whether it's in small rural towns or war-torn countries. A literacy project sponsored by Rotarians in conjunction with the International Reading Association (IRA) is helping Sudanese refugees rebuild their communities by equipping them to teach future generations. The Southern Sudan Teacher Training Initiative provides refugees of the country's decades-long civil war, who are known as the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan, with teacher training materials, guidance, and support to help them teach students from kindergarten upwards.
Ø Eradicating polio: Around the world, Rotarians are taking millions of steps from walkathons to diving into icy ocean waters to help Rotary fulfill its promise to rid the world of polio. Si Burgher from Indiana, USA, raised almost $1,600 by having his shaggy eyebrows shaved off!
Ø Promoting peace and conflict resolution: Watching civil war tear apart his homeland of Côte d'Ivoire instilled in Rotary Peace Fellow Kouame Remi Oussou a passion to resolve conflict. He is now working for the United Nations Development Programme in the Central African Republic,
Ø Basic education and literacy: Education helps rebuild lives, whether it's in small rural towns or war-torn countries. A literacy project sponsored by Rotarians in conjunction with the International Reading Association (IRA) is helping Sudanese refugees rebuild their communities by equipping them to teach future generations. The Southern Sudan Teacher Training Initiative provides refugees of the country's decades-long civil war, who are known as the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan, with teacher training materials, guidance, and support to help them teach students from kindergarten upwards.
Ø Eradicating polio: Around the world, Rotarians are taking millions of steps from walkathons to diving into icy ocean waters to help Rotary fulfill its promise to rid the world of polio. Si Burgher from Indiana, USA, raised almost $1,600 by having his shaggy eyebrows shaved off!
The Rotary Foundation is our very own charity. Please do what you can to support it throughout each Rotary year, and especially this month.
Since I last put pen to paper, I have made a very pleasant visit to RC of Tormohun where the club was showing its support for four young lads who have really demonstrated their compassion by raising several thousands of pounds for Muscular Dystrophy. This followed the loss of one of their friends, and the son of one of the Rotarians in the club, to this debilitating disease.
On F
riday, Saturday and Sunday Les and I were guests of District 1060 at their Conference in Torquay. 1060 is a large district and had more than 650 registrations! I can dream!! I can also tell you they definitely know how to party, and we had a really fun weekend. Their Governor, David and his wife Sue will be my guests at our conference in February.The first week in the month is always conference committee month, and things are really beginning to hot up now. The programme and speakers are finalised and the entertainment is booked. I am very excited by the programme that we have prepared for you. It's full of surprises, with something for everyone and I'm amazed by what we seem to have squeezed out from what is really a very meager budget. It's all down to a tremendous amount of dedication and hard work by the Conference Team.
Get your registration in soon, and don't miss out on a very reasonably priced weekend, with all the very best that Rotary has to offer in terms of fun and friendship.
I hope you are all enjoying the first District Magazine of the year. The editorial team have had some really good and encouraging feedback from you.
Please note that the copy date for the next magazine is 7th December
Editor, Peter has been out and about procuring advertising for the January edition and this will enable us to have 20 pages, so we are very much looking forward to receiving some punchy articles about your projects and activities together with action photographs of at least 300dpi.
I understand from district Communications Chairman Les, that the Website News will be up and running very shortly, and I'm sure you will all look forward to that.
I very much hope that you all enjoy your Rotary on the lead up to Christmas with all that it entails with sleighs, Santa's Grottos and parties. Have fun!
