[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 806

[Garry Krischock]

 Message 

 

1.
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1444;_ylc=X3oDMTJxbXFnb
m8xBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0N
DQEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIxNDk5MDg5Nw--> 1527: RI President's
July 09 Message 

 

Tue Jul 1, 2008 7:35 pm (PDT) 

 

RI President's July 09 Message

July 2008 

Dear fellow Rotarians, 

The beginning of the Rotary year is always an exciting time, with new 
club and district officers, a new theme to work with, and a renewed 
sense of purpose for our service projects. The beginning of this 
particular Rotary year is, of course, especially exciting for me as I 
look forward to meeting Rotarians throughout the world and seeing 
firsthand the many remarkable projects you are carrying out.

In planning how your club, and each one of you, can Make Dreams Real 
this year, I ask you to consider the millions of children who never 
even have the chance to dream. Every day, more than 26,000 children 
under the age of five die from preventable causes. As appalling as 
that number is, it is a decrease from the figure of 30,000 that first 
caught my attention and spurred me to bring this matter of grave 
concern to Rotarians.

UNICEF's State of the World's Children 2008 report states that "by 
2006, the most recent year for which firm estimates are available, 
the annual number of child deaths globally fell below 10 million, to 
9.7 million, for the first time since records began." I would guess 
that some of the improvement in child survival rates can be directly 
attributed to Rotary projects that have been successfully addressing 
problems related to health, hunger, water, and literacy for a number 
of years now. So I asked myself: "What would happen if 1.2 million 
Rotarians focused their service efforts on keeping even more children 
alive?"

I think we already know some of the answers. If Rotarians provide 
insecticide-treated bed nets, fewer children will succumb to malaria. 
If we dig wells and address sanitation problems, more children will 
have clean water to drink and more hygienic surroundings. And if 
Rotary clubs carry out effective nutrition projects, we can save some 
of the almost five million children who die each year from 
undernourishment.

UNICEF estimates that fully two-thirds of the 9.7 million deaths in 
2006 were preventable. With Rotarians working to provide vaccines, 
oral rehydration therapies, accessible health care for mothers and 
newborns, and other relatively simple interventions, I'm confident 
that many more babies will not only survive but go on to live 
healthy, productive lives. Let's Make Dreams Real by giving these 
children the chance to grow up and have dreams of their own.

Dong Kurn (D.K.) Lee
President, Rotary International

 

 

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