[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 869

[Garry Krischock]

* Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail 

Messages In This Digest (3 Messages) 

1. 1642: <>   Joint Letter from RI President and TRF Chairman From: Sunil K Zachariah 

2. 1643: The importance of volunteering <>  From: Sunil K Zachariah 

3. 1644: Watch Bill Gates Speech Video <>  From: Sunil K Zachariah 

 

Messages 

1. 

 <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1562;_ylc=X3oDMTJxdnMzbTRhBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE1NjIEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIzMjgzMzM4Nw--> 1642:  Joint Letter from RI President and TRF Chairman 

 

Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:06 pm (PST) 

Joint letter about polio from the RI president and Foundation chair 

Dear fellow Rotarians, 

This is another historic day for Rotary. Our organization was honored 
today to host philanthropist Bill Gates Jr. at Rotary's International 
Assembly in San Diego, California, USA. 

Speaking to 2009-10 district governors-elect, Gates congratulated 
Rotarians on the success of the partnership between Rotary 
International and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to raise funds 
for polio. To date, Rotarians have already committed more than US$60 
million toward the $100 million Gates Foundation challenge grant 
awarded in November 2007. 

In recognition of Rotary's impressive fundraising success and 
steadfast commitment to polio eradication, Gates announced that his 
foundation has decided to increase its challenge grant by $255 
million – for a total of $355 million. By accepting the increase, 
Rotary also accepts the challenge to raise an additional $100 million 
in matching funds by 30 June 2012 and raises the combined Rotary-
Gates Foundation commitment to a total of $555 million. 

All of the resulting $555 million will be spent in support of 
immunization activities carried out by the Global Polio Eradication 
Initiative in polio-affected countries. The initiative is spearheaded 
by Rotary, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. 

In another welcomed development today, the United Kingdom's 
Department for International Development pledged £100 million (US$150 
million) and the German government is giving an additional €100 
million (US$130 million), both to the global initiative. These 
contributions are separate and will not count toward Rotary's match 
of the Gates Foundation challenge grant. 

The infusion of funds is crucial if the world is to finally be rid of 
polio, a crippling, sometimes fatal disease that poses the highest 
risk to children. Although the initiative has reduced the number of 
polio cases by 99 percent over the past two decades, the wild 
poliovirus still persists in four countries -- Afghanistan, India, 
Nigeria, and Pakistan -- and imported cases from these endemic 
countries threaten other developing nations. 

Your continued participation in this effort is vital. The Rotary 
International Board of Directors and the Trustees of The Rotary 
Foundation have unanimously agreed to accept this challenge grant to 
ensure the success of the PolioPlus program. Rotary and the Gates 
Foundation intend for their funding partnership to set an example for 
the rest of the world. We feel confident that this extraordinary 
partnership will serve as a catalyst for further donations from 
others to help us realize the dream of a polio-free world. 

When Rotary entered the fight against polio in 1985, we promised 
every child a world free from the threat of polio. We are almost 
there. This funding agreement between Rotary and the Gates Foundation 
is a huge step forward, bringing us even closer to our goal. Success 
is our only option. Together, we can End Polio Now. For more 
information, please visit www.rotary.org. 

Dong Kurn Lee
Rotary International, President 2008-09 

Jonathan Majiyagbe 
The Rotary Foundation, Chair 2008-09 

 

2.  <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1563;_ylc=X3oDMTJxdWxmYXU5BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE1NjMEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIzMjgzMzM4Nw--> 1643: The importance of volunteering 

 

Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:13 pm (PST) 

The importance of volunteering By Arnold R. Grahl
[http://www.rotary.org/SiteCollectionImages/News/ia09_spouses.jpg]
Participants work on a project during the Spouses Service Project at the
2009 International Assembly. Rotary Images/Monika Lozinska-Lee
Two Rotarians who have improved the lives of children in India and
Afghanistan provided spouses of incoming district governors at the 2009
International Assembly with a powerful reminder that individuals can
make a difference in the world through their connections to Rotary.

Deepa Willingham, from the Rotary Club of Santa Ynez Valley, California,
USA, implored her audience not to ignore the existence of extreme
poverty, but to light small flames that can come together to create a
much bigger bonfire of service.

She discussed her involvement with PACE Universal (Promise of Assurance
to Children Everywhere), which provides education, nutritional
counseling, and basic health care to young girls in the slums of
Kolkata, India, and other areas around the world. (Willingham also will
be a speaker at the 2009 RI Convention
<http://www.rotary.org/en/Members/Events/Convention/Pages/SpecialEvents.\ <http://www.rotary.org/en/Members/Events/Convention/Pages/SpecialEvents.aspx> 
aspx> .)

Fary Moini, a member of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle,
California, who has helped establish a school for refugee children in
Afghanistan, said sending money, food, and medicine is not enough.
People in other parts of the world "need us -- you and me -- to be
physically present."

The motivational speeches were delivered 23 January at the assembly,
held in San Diego, California, during a spouses plenary session, which
was just part of the program for the wives and husbands of incoming
district governors.

Earlier in the week, the spouses took part in a cultural exchange
highlighting clothing and customs from their respective countries.
During a spouses service project, they assembled kits for disadvantaged
children entering kindergarten in San Diego.

Spouses service projects are designed to be replicated. Spouses in
District 5400 (Idaho; Oregon, USA) did just that after last year's
assembly, where they created sample newborn literacy kits for clubs in
their district.

During her remarks, Willingham reminded her audience of the tremendous
struggles associated with poverty. "The most important thing to remember
about them, our fellow human beings who are living in extreme poverty,
is that they live with no hope in their hearts," she said. "They have no
voice in their destiny, and they have no ability to determine their
future."

Moini shared how she discovered new meaning in her life after watching a
program about women and children affected by the war in Afghanistan.
After traveling to refugee camps near Peshawar, Pakistan, she came up
with the idea for a school for refugee children. Today, the school has
3,500 students in grades 1 through 12.

"I am profoundly grateful to be a Rotarian, which gives me the chance to
serve as a passionate volunteer," she said.

Source: Rotary International News/ Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary

 

3.  <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1564;_ylc=X3oDMTJxMDkyZWo1BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE1NjQEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIzMjgzMzM4Nw--> 1644: Watch Bill Gates Speech Video 

 

Fri Jan 23, 2009 4:14 pm (PST) 

Here is an eFlash_Rotary:

Watch Bill Gates addressing DGEs at the San Diego International Assembly
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/090121_news_gatesvideo.aspx 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://rotary9640.org/pipermail/d9640general_rotary9640.org/attachments/20090125/18edbab0/attachment-0001.html>