How Rotarians are providing disaster relief

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International

Heart to Heart medical director Rick Randolph treats a child at a mobile clinic in Florida. Photo courtesy District 5710

By Pat O’Donnell, public image chair for Rotary District 5710 (Kansas, USA)

The 45 Rotary clubs in my district have come together to support Heart to Heart International’s disaster relief efforts in Texas and Florida. Immediately after Hurricane Harvey devastated the gulf coast of Texas with over 51 inches of rain, followed by the damage caused in Florida by Hurricane Irma, our Rotary members opened their hearts and checkbooks to help.

Rotary clubs have been involved with Heart to Heart International based in Lenexa, Kansas, USA, since its inception in 1992. Many of their founders and some of their board members are Rotarians so there is a natural connection and interest in supporting their mission.

Initially, our district governor Adam Ehlert asked that each of the 2,400 Rotarians in the district give at least $ to be matched with district funds. To date, $38,293 has been collected and an additional significant amount given directly through Heart to Heart’s website.

Members have also been involved in assembling and packing hygiene kits for distribution to those involved in both disasters. Nearly 30,000 kits …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

Why you should enter the 2017 Interact Video Awards

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International

By Andrei Precup, president of the Interact Club of Constanta, Romania

We were honored to be selected as best video in last year’s Interact Video Awards. Our goal was to open people’s eyes to the need to take care of our planet and ourselves.

We were driven to take part both because it was something different from our usual activities and because the theme was so interesting (If Interactors ruled the world). I remember being at our club’s meeting when our president announced the idea of making a video. Many people were very excited. Our club likes taking on new challenges and trying things for the first time.

It only took us a very short time to decide to participate, but it took longer for our video to come together. We all had different views on how we wanted to rule the world and what our message would be. So we put them all on paper and assembled them as one. We wanted it to be about a little more than just winning. We wanted our video to represent all that we believe in.

It was not always easy to do, but all the hard work and hours we spent were …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

In Guatemala, education for women is a privilege

by Leave a Comment

By Rotary International

Children at the elementary school in Carcha, Guatemala.

By Wendy Pacay, A Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

When I was a child, I really enjoyed school. I lived in a small town surrounded by the rainforest. Meeting with my friends at school, playing with them, and learning from them are among my best memories. I had a lot of curiosity that drove me to discover new things from books and from my teachers. It was easy to do my homework because I liked it so much.

This year, as I study at the Rotary Peace Center at the University of Chulalongkorn in Bangkok, Thailand, my elementary school celebrates its 100th anniversary. While, I won’t be there because of my studies, being at the Peace Centers is itself a blessing.

For a Guatemalan woman to attend school, even at the elementary level, is not easy. My grandmother and mother-in-law did not go to school and my other grandmother only attended through sixth grade. Despite primary education being compulsory and provided for free by the government, the average years of school attended by women is 4.1 years. Close to 25 percent of the population is illiterate, with rates more than 60 percent in …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog