By Rotary International

Flooding in Tamil Nadu, India, in 1995.

By Thamilarasu Ramaswamy, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Madras Vadapalani, Tamil Nadu, India

This is my Rotary story. In November of 1995, heavy rains created floods that uprooted trees and ravaged agricultural fields in the state of Tamil Nadu, India, paralyzing many communities. The district of Tiruvannamalai was the hardest hit. District administrators worked hard to help those affected by the floods, providing food and clothing.

In one subdistrict known as Sengam, there are many weavers who make dhoties and sarees on manually operated hand looms operated by wooden pedals. Many of these looms ended up under water, destroying the equipment and the ability of these weavers to carry on their craft and make a living. In addition, many lost all or most of their belongings.

The district collector called the secretary of the Rotary club of Tiruvannamalia in the late morning to request their help and by early afternoon, an army of Rotary members had gathered. Rotary members S. Giridharan and B. Soundararajan brought two 200 kilogram bags of rice, and members lined up to separate the rice into five kilogram bags and seal them with a candle. Other Rotary members contributed cloth bags to …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

By Indumati Gopinathan, Rotary Club of Bombay Chembur West

The vocational training team is one of the most meaningful programs that has emerged from the Foundation’s grant model. Having had opportunities to lead a Group Study Exchange and a vocational training team (VTT), I have witnessed the metamorphosis of this idea and can attest to the great value the later provides.

My participation in two consecutive medical vocational training teams to Uganda in 2013 and 2014 showed me how purpose driven these teams are, what a crisp program they follow, and how they build capacity in one of our six areas of focus. Stringent monitoring and evaluation tools gauge efficiency and assure sustainability.

The vocational training team demonstrates the proper technique for cervical cancer screening.

Using the monitoring and evaluation tools developed by past RI Director Philip Silvers, our program evaluated trainees after every training capsule, and evaluated trainers after every session and again at the program’s end. Those being trained had to provide a blueprint before the end of the program explaining how they are going to improve capacity building in their communities. A committee of Rotary members, healthcare officials, and healthcare workers have a set time frame to follow up with them …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Presentations with posters allowed participants to have individual discussions with trainers.

By Deepak Agrawal, past governor and 2015-16 trainer for District 3060 (India)

I have been a Rotary member for more than two decades and have attended multiple district assemblies as a club officer or trainer. We recently adopted a new approach to our assemblies, and opened them up to members who are not preparing for a new role as a club officer. Where else can these members get one-on-one information about the exciting new things happening in Rotary?

Here are a few of the changes we implemented:

We moved the time to March, as April and May are very hot weather conditions in our region.
We changed from a classroom style of teaching to using a poster presentation style where presenters can talk one on one with those attending. We believe members want to exchange ideas more than be preached to. Because of this approach, we enlisted 61 different Rotary members to help us present, which introduced a lot of diversity to our program.
We sent individual emails to all 3,600 Rotary members in our district along with a printed brochure.
We created two locations for our district assembly so that Rotary members did not have …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Children read books they received through Gyan Jyot, a program of the Rotary Club of Baroda Sayajinagari.

By Rotary Voices staff

Rotary members in Gujarat, India, have launched a program to put books into the hands of children from low income families who cannot afford them, or whose schools lack large library collections.

Gyan Jyot is a program of the Rotary Club of Baroda Sayajinagari. For as little as $3,000, the club purchases and circulates a variety of reading material to students, who get to pick a book of their choice a week to read at no cost.

Books are rotated around so students constantly have a selection. Teachers are encouraged to assess student reading, and the club organizes a variety of competitive events to keep the children interested in reading.

Rotary members have given millions of dollars to support projects like these in our six areas of focus. This project is just one of many that members have shared on Rotary Showcase.

Other notable projects include:

Rotary members in Woodinville, Washington, USA, are rescuing used therapeutic and mobility medical equipment before it is dumped in a landfill, having it refurbished, and sending it to low-income families in Mazatlan, Concordia, and Puerto Vallarta, …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Members of Rotaract clear blocked ditches and conduct other improvements in the Nyalenda settlement of Kenya.

By Kenneth Masamaro, Rotaract Club of Kisumu, Kenya

On 3 April, we hosted a malaria prevention program in Kisumu, Kenya, as part of the third year of Rotaract East Africa Impact (REACT). The project is a multi-district initiative that brings together Rotaract clubs from throughout Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.

More than 100 members from 19 different Rotaract clubs across these countries travelled to the lakeside city to make a difference in the informal settlement of Nyalenda. A story is told of a young boy who was four years old and had many dreams ahead of him. One evening, the boy developed fevers and refused to eat. Though his mother had a premonition about it, she decided to brush it aside. The preceding week, her other two children, a boy and girl, developed fevers and had reduced appetites but their symptoms had resolved on their own.

A Rotaract member clears a drainage ditch, a prime breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The boy, however, did not improve and within two days had lost consciousness. He was subsequently rushed to the local hospital where he was diagnosed with severe anemia caused by …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Click to view slideshow.

By Rotary Voices staff

The Rotary “Flame” arrived at RI World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, on Tuesday, 14 April, on its journey from India to São Paulo, Brazil, site of the 2015 Rotary International Convention in June.

The flame was launched in Chennai, India, in December to celebrate India being polio-free and commemorate the 30th anniversary of PolioPlus. The torch has made its way through Colombo, Karachi, Kabul, Sydney, Taipei, Manila, London, and Lagos, and will make an additional stop in Toronto before the convention.

RI President Gary C.K. Huang lit the torch during a ceremony in front of the PolioPlus statue at One Rotary Center, attended by roughly 150 Rotary leaders, RI staff, community members, local Rotarians, and members of the Rotary Club of Madras, India, that created the flame.

Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair John Kenny noted the progress that has been made since Rotary launched the polio eradication campaign in 1985. “The fruits of our labor since that day are clear,” Kenny said. “Ninety-nine percent of the world’s population live in regions certified polio-free. The goal of eradication is closer than ever.”

The audience took a moment to sing happy birthday to Rotary member Mary Stitt, a …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

By Kenneth Solow, incoming governor of District 7620 (Maryland, USA)

Can you picture Dr. John Sever, member of the Rotary Club of Potomac, Maryland, asking Rotary’s 1979-1980 Board, at the request of RI President Clem Renouf, to imagine “what if” Rotary adopted the goal of a polio-free world?” The rest is history.

Recently the Zone 33-34 class of incoming district governors asked a different “what if” question. What if the Rotary districts in Zone 33-34 combined to fund an international project using a global grant from the Rotary Foundation? If they could pull it off, the financial contribution from each district would be relatively small, but the impact of their combined effort would be gigantic. The result of asking that “what if” question is the unprecedented cooperation of twenty-two districts to fund a Rotary Family Health Day in the country of Ghana in Africa next year.

Volunteers provide counseling and share information about breast cancer at a booth in Zandspruit, South Africa. Photo by Anna J Nel

With contribution from so many districts, and a grant from the Rotary Foundation, it looks like 100 percent of the $109,000 project will be funded through the generosity of thousands of Rotary members throughout the East …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog