Rotary clubs around the globe have many things in
common, including a commitment to service. All year long, clubs are
taking action to make a difference in their communities. Here’s a
roundup of recent club activities worldwide: (click below to read more)
Canada
Two Interactors and three Rotaractors were among 120 young
Canadians who attended an invitation-only barbecue with the Duke and
Duchess of Cambridge in Ottawa in June. David Johnston, governor general
of Canada and a former Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar, hosted
the event with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to celebrate service and
give the attendees an opportunity to tell the royal couple, government
officials, and other dignitaries about their work.
USA
Rotarians in District 6960 (Florida) worked with high school
students and other volunteers to package more than 1.3 million meals
during a one-day event in May. Over 70 percent of children in the Rotary
district receive free or reduced-price meals at school, but during the
summer, many don’t have enough to eat. The packaged meals – rice and
bean casserole and macaroni and cheese, fortified with vitamins and
minerals – went to local food banks, which distributed them over the
summer months.
Mexico
A partnership between the Rotary Club of San Diego and nurses and
doctors at Scripps Mercy Hospital has brought medical care to 9,000
people in remote Mexican villages since 1988. Rotarian volunteers
include medical professionals, those providing logistical support, and
members of clubs in Mexico. The Mercy Outreach Surgical Team has
completed more than 40 weeklong missions, performing procedures to
remove congenital tumors, correct cleft lips and palates and crossed
eyes, and address other health problems.
Austria
The Rotary Club of Mürzzuschlag-Semmering found a sweet way to
support a community project: a 365-foot-long pastry created by a local
bakery and displayed on a “pastry coaster” specially designed and built
by club members Gerd Tomazic and Oswald Ebner. The club sold pieces of
the pastry, raising €5,000 for medical equipment for a Red Cross
ambulance, which now sports the club’s logo.
Lebanon
The Rotary clubs of Beirut Center and Tucson Sunrise, Ariz., USA,
worked together in April to install a wastewater treatment system at
Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut. The project, supported by a
Rotary Foundation Matching Grant, will reduce the concentration of
residual pharmaceuticals in the hospital’s wastewater, which helps
irrigate gardens or travels through the sewer system into the
Mediterranean Sea.
Kenya
A five-day project brought Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Interactors
to Nyumbani Village, home to more than 700 children who have lost family
members to HIV/AIDS, to install two solar-powered irrigation wells. The
Rotary Club of Greater Portage County (Stevens Point), Wis., USA,
joined with the Rotary clubs of Karen-Nairobi and Machakos, Kenya, to
carry out the effort, funded by a District Simplified Grant from
District 6220 (parts of Michigan and Wisconsin). The group also helped
with planting. The solar pumps will be the primary source of irrigation
for the community, and will cost less to operate than the old
diesel-powered pumps.
Korea
For the second year, District 3650 delivered 10,000 charcoal
briquettes to low-income families in Seodaemun-gu, a subdivision of
Seoul. Briquettes are a popular source of heat in Korea. Over 450
volunteers, including 120 Rotarians, 167 Interactors, and 142
Rotaractors, participated in the distribution, along with Seodaemun-gu
President Suk Jin Moon and National Assembly member Sung Hun Lee.
Australia
The Rotary Club of Wynyard celebrated the 40th anniversary of its
Music Hall show in 2011. Originally organized as a one-time event called
the Old Time Music Hall, the production has been held every year,
despite setbacks including a fire in the 1990s that destroyed a shed
containing all the props and costumes. The performances have raised more
than A$1 million in support of local and international projects – in
particular, educational programs for rural medical students.
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