[D9640general] 1536: G8 renews commitments to polio eradication

[Garry Krischock]

 1. 1536: <>  G8 renews commitments to polio eradication From: Sunil K
Zachariah 

 

2. 1537:Interact <>  brings Internet to Haitian community From: Sunil K
Zachariah 

 

 

1.
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1453;_ylc=X3oDMTJxcGswa
DFoBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0N
TMEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIxNjQ1NzY4Nw--> 1536: G8 renews
commitments to polio eradication 

 

Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:11 pm (PDT) 

 

G8 renews commitments to polio eradication
By Dan Nixon 

At their 8-9 July summit meeting in Japan, the G8 nations agreed 
to "maintain momentum towards the historical achievement of 
eradicating polio." 

To do so, their joint statement continued, "We will meet our previous 
commitments to maintain or increase financial contributions to 
support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative [GPEI], and encourage 
other public and private donors to do the same." 

Together, the G8 countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, 
Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- account for more 
than half of all funding of the GPEI. The initiative is led by the 
World Health Organization, Rotary International, the U.S. Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. 

The G8 first placed polio eradication on its summit agenda in 2002. 
It has renewed its commitment to eradication at every summit since 
then, but not all member countries have completed their financial 
contributions. 

In addition to raising funds, G8 countries work as a group to 
advocate broad support for ending polio. Advocacy by G8 leaders for 
the four remaining polio-endemic countries -- Afghanistan, India, 
Nigeria, and Pakistan -- is critical to ensure eradication of the 
disease. 

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation welcomed the G8's renewed 
commitment to finishing polio. Following release of the G8's 2008 
summit communiqué, the Gates Foundation stated, "In recognition of 
the G8's continued attention to polio eradication, the foundation 
will commit at least US$150 million to fight polio this year. This is 
in addition to the $250 million we have committed to date toward 
polio eradication efforts." 

Finishing polio worldwide remains Rotary's top goal. Vital to helping 
achieve that goal is Rotary's US$100 Million Challenge, the three-
year funding effort to match the Gates Foundation's $100 million 
grant to The Rotary Foundation for polio eradication. 

Source: Rotary International News 
Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary

 

2.
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1454;_ylc=X3oDMTJxYXFpc
241BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0N
TQEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIxNjQ1NzY4Nw--> 1537:Interact brings
Internet to Haitian community 

 

Fri Jul 18, 2008 5:13 pm (PDT) 

New library brings Internet to Haitian community
By Arnold R. Grahl 

The Internet has come to a small island off the coast of Haiti thanks 
to an international Rotary club effort and an Interact fundraiser. 

Three Rotary clubs -- Port-au-Prince, Haiti; San Juan, Puerto Rico; 
and Skidaway Island, Savannah, Georgia, USA -- and the Commonwealth 
School Interact Club of San Juan partnered to fund construction of a 
library in Matenwa on the island of La Gonave, Haiti. A Rotary 
Foundation Matching Grant helped furnish the library with laptops, 
books, and furniture. 

The library adds on to the Matenwa Community Learning Center. Photo 
courtesy of Rotary Club of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Even though the 
island has no electricity or running water, solar panels on the 
library roof power laptops, which connect to the Internet through 
satellite. 

Every week, 236 students at the adjacent Matenwa Community Learning 
Center use the library, which also serves as a resource for La 
Gonave's more than 7,000 residents, who live in extreme poverty. 

"We were looking for a project where we could build relationships," 
explains Wells Hood, of the Skidaway Island club. "This was a great 
opportunity for us to make a lasting legacy." 

Hood paid a visit to San Juan in 2005-06, during which he and then-
San Juan club president John Richardson hit it off, discovering their 
clubs had much in common. 

"We outlined a multicountry strategy that identified Haiti as one of 
five countries where we wished to make an impact," Richardson said. 

Caribbean focus 
After two other projects together in the Caribbean, the clubs turned 
their focus to Matenwa. The San Juan club had previous community 
service experience in Haiti, and the Interact club it sponsors holds 
a fundraiser for Haiti each year, which the club matches. The 
Interact members collected more than US$7,000 in 2006-07. 

About that time, Richardson met Chris Low, co-director of the Matenwa 
Community Learning Center, who explained her community's desire to 
build a library. The Port-au-Prince Rotary club served as host club 
for a $13,500 Matching Grant to equip it. 

"Wells and I complemented each other enormously," Richardson 
says. "He was able to outline the strategy, while I put together the 
grant." 

Members of the project team made a site inspection and certification 
visit in November. 

"From the moment we set foot in Port-au-Prince to the second we 
boarded our returning flight, I had the opportunity to meet Haitians, 
Rotarians, humanists, and leaders from all walks of life," Richardson 
says. "It was the sense of dignity, pride, and purpose that the 
people of Matenwa shared with us that really stood out. My life is 
forever changed as a result of this experience." 

The clubs are hoping the library will serve as a model for other 
schools on La Gonave

Source: Rotary International News
Paste: eFlash_Rotary

 

 

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