Rotary International Message

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DEAR ROTARIAN,

This past year was one of exciting achievements and forward momentum for Rotary, as highlighted in the 2012-13 Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation Annual Report.
We launched a bold new chapter in our partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that makes your contributions to the vital polio eradication end game work three times as hard.
We also finished preparing for the global launch of our new grant model, boosting our ability to help more communities secure and sustain a better quality of life. And we carried out our first projects with Mercy Ships, while building on our work with Aga Khan University, UNESCO-IHE, the Rotary Peace Centers, and other partners.
In addition, The Rotary Foundation earned top marks from several independent charity evaluators, including the American Institiute of Philanthropy, Charity Navigator, and the Wise Giving Alliance.
I encourage you to review our annual report carefully, and to share it with others who may be interested in joining, partnering with, or donating to Rotary. You can order print copies of the report at shop.rotary.org. For those who want a more detailed look at Rotary finances, the audited financial statements are available for download.
Thank you for the important role you play in Rotary’s work to help meet critical human needs, strengthening the groundwork for a more peaceful world.
Sincerely,
John Hewko
General Secretary

JANUARY

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JANUARY IS ROTARY AWARENESS MONTH – January is the time to celebrate Rotary by making others aware of our programs, of the opportunities Rotary offers and of the events and activities that involve you and your Club.

Club Meeting 11 December 2013

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PDG DavidCookeGuest Speaker PDG David Cooke gave a serious and concise update on the polio fight and the role of RI Foundation which the editor is not going attempt to summerise.  CLICK HERE FOR DAVID’S SPEECH  ROTARY FOUNDATION Polio presentation.

Instead a statement from the RI web dated 9th December 2013 is attached to give you all the very latest information. Rotary International will provide a US$500,000 emergency response grant to support efforts to quell a recent outbreak of the crippling disease polio in strife-torn Syria. The funds are the first to the World Health Organization in direct support of a Global Polio Eradication Initiative plan aimed at outbreak response throughout the Middle East, as the region gears up for a multi-country response to the threat of polio. As of Dec. 9, there have been 17 cases of wild poliovirus confirmed in Syria since October, the first reported cases in the country since 1999. The Rotary grant to the World Health Organization will support immediate response activities in late 2013 and January 2014, such as the establishment of emergency response control rooms and initial vaccination rounds to immunize children in Syria and surrounding countries against polio. “It is imperative that we stop this outbreak quickly to protect children in Syria and throughout the region, and that is the purpose of this grant,” said Dr. Robert S. Scott, chair of Rotary’s PolioPlus program. “Rotary and our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are working together with local health authorities to activate the outbreak response.” He noted that the cases in Syria appear to be “imported” from Pakistan, one of three countries where the wild poliovirus remains endemic. “These and other recent polio cases in previously polio-free countries serve as stark reminders that as long as polio still exists anywhere in the world, all unimmunized children everywhere remain at risk,” Scott said. Today, seven countries across the region rolled out vaccination campaigns aiming to reach 22 million children. These campaigns are planned to be repeated over the next 6 months to protect children in the region from the polio outbreak.

Kintenden Pre School, Tanzania

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Highlights from the Third Quarterly Report
We have received the Report for the third quarter covering August to October 2013, A summary is as follows:
The objective of the Preschool is to promote early childhood development of Maasai children to enable the following outcomes
• Provision of early education for up to 40 children – now in excess of 50 children.
• Teaching national language, Swahili, in readiness for primary school
• Provision of two healthy meals each day
• Employment of 6 local people
These objectives have been achieved.
This term there were 53 children enrolled – 27 girls and 26 boys. They are aged between 3 and 5 years. The current program includes teaching spoken Swahili, learning Swahili words and the alphabet each day. During the year to the end of this term the children have been taught 367 hours of Swahili, with 149 hours in the third term. English and numeracy skills are also taught. The preschool is committed to providing daily nutritious meals to support early childhood development and encouraging attendance. The cost of food has risen in Tanzania because of a significantly dry period and as a result meals were reduced to two per day on 3 days a week and one on the other two days. We have now provided further funding to have the two meals every day restored. A total of 13,622 meals have been provided since the preschool recommenced in February this year, until the end of October.
The success of our support for the preschool can be measured by the fact that at least 22 children will progress to Primary School in 2014. There are already a further 21 children pre-enrolled for 2014 – which means there will be over 50 children enrolled next year. The preschool has operated within the budget of A$3000 per term – notwithstanding the depreciation of the A$ and the increase in the number of children and the cost of food. A budget is being prepared for 2014 which on early indications will be well within our committed fundraising.  The year will finish early in December and we have provided funding for an end of term “feast” for the children and staff.

Club Meeting 13 November 2013

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Bronwyn Bruce Craig WhiteGuest Speakers from MICEEP Bronwyn Bruce and Craig White spoke about their roles in the organisation and the work it does. Bronwyn described her role as a partnership broker with the aim of having her student partner’s go forward to finish their year 12 and be work ready for employment.  Some of the ways this is achieved has been through the organisation of a solar car challenge, visits to industries and work places and work ready programmes. They also run the Youth Mental Health Forums in high schools.  Craig is the chairman of MICEEP plus he has the role of Yes Youth & Family Services and Youth Connections Team leader. During question time he praised the work of the Albury Midnight Basketball team in their youth connections and advances since their operation had began.