[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 802

[Garry Krischock]

 1. 1521: Rotary looks to the future From: Sunil K Zachariah 

 

2. 1522: Reducing child mortality focus of breakout session From: Sunil K
Zachariah 

 

3. 1523: Convention book drive sets Guinness world record From: Sunil K
Zachariah 

 

Messages 

1. 

 
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1438;_ylc=X3oDMTJxdm40Z
m9hBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0M
zgEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIxNDQ3MTg3Mg--> 1521: Rotary looks to
the future 

 

Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:36 pm (PDT) 

Rotary looks to the future 
By Jenny Llakmani 

Literacy, health, and the future of Rotary were in the spotlight 18 
June at the fourth plenary session of the RI Convention in Los 
Angeles. 

Literacy 

Dolly Parton, appearing via video, talked to Rotarians about her 
Imagination Library program, which mails a new book every month to 
children under age five and which Rotary clubs have been helping 
expand. 

"We're active in the USA, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and my hope 
is that every single child in all three countries will be guaranteed 
that they can have a house full of books," said the country music 
singer. 

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty took the stage to speak about 
illiteracy. Noting that 800 million people in the world are unable to 
read, he stressed the need for Rotarians to continue their work in 
this area. "Illiteracy not only comes at a high cost for the 
individual," he said, "it comes at a great cost to our society as a 
whole." 

Health 

In a powerful speech, Stephen Lewis, co-director of the advocacy 
organization AIDS-Free World, saluted Rotarians for their 
indispensable role in polio eradication but reminded them that 
HIV/AIDS is "taking an indescribable toll, especially in Africa." 

Today, 33 million people worldwide are living with AIDS, he said, 23 
million of them in Africa. Lewis, a former Canadian ambassador to the 
United Nations and UN special envoy on HIV/AIDS in Africa, called the 
failure to halt HIV infections during childbirth "heartbreaking. We 
have drugs that the mother can take to prevent transmission of the 
virus, but half a million children are still born HIV-positive every 
year." 

Drugs commonly used in the United States, meanwhile, can cut 
transmission by up to 99 percent. "Why is it that the life of an 
African child is worth so much less than the life of a Western 
child?" he asked. 

"There's something wrong with the world's moral anchor," he 
concluded. "But there are moments of hope and optimism, and Rotary 
International is one of those moments." 

William Asiko, president of the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, spoke 
about the importance of partnerships in combating AIDS in Africa. "We 
[at Coca-Cola] have long been advocates of public-private 
partnerships," he said. "And our partnership with Rotarians for 
Fighting AIDS [a Rotarian Action Group] ... is one of which we are 
particularly proud." He stressed that these partnerships must also 
address local needs and involve local partners. 

The Rotary Foundation 

The goals of The Rotary Foundation for 2008-09 were addressed by 
Jonathan Majiyagbe, chair-elect of the Foundation Board of Trustees. 
In addition to keeping their promise to the children of the world to 
eradicate polio, Majiyagbe said, Rotarians need to support the 
Foundation's Annual Programs Fund and Permanent Fund . 

"To refuse to support [the Annual Programs Fund] is like refusing 
oxygen to a living being," he said. "If every Rotarian gives at least 
$100 every year, this translates to more than $120 million annually --
money that will allow us to provide clean water, alleviate poverty, 
and fight hunger and illiteracy." 

Majiyagbe also asked club and district foundations to partner with 
The Rotary Foundation by committing at least 10 percent of their 
funds to help fully endow the Rotary World Peace Fellowships 
program . 

Rotary's future 

RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson concluded the session by speaking 
about the future of Rotary. "Each year," he noted, "hundreds of 
thousands of young people around the world participate in our youth 
programs , developing a relationship with Rotary that we must foster, 
in the hope that some of them, if not all of them, will one day 
become Rotarians and be the very future of Rotary." 

Source: Rotary International News



 

 

2.
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1439;_ylc=X3oDMTJxOWhnZ
HFtBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0M
zkEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIxNDQ3MTg3Mg--> 1522: Reducing child
mortality focus of breakout session  

Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:39 pm (PDT) 

Reducing child mortality focus of breakout session
By Jenny Llakmani 

There are simple ways to reduce infant and child mortality and 
improve maternal health, Rotarians learned at a breakout session on 
17 June organized by the Rotarian Action Group for Population Growth 
and Sustainable Development (RFPD). 

Reducing child mortality is the main focus of RI President-elect Dong 
Kurn Lee's emphases for the coming year. 

Dr. Francisco Songane, director of the Partnership for Maternal, 
Newborn, and Child Health, hosted by the World Health Organization, 
spoke at the session. He noted that the goals of reducing child 
mortality and improving maternal health are lagging behind the other 
UN Millennium Development Goals.

The obstetrician and former minister of health for Mozambique was 
joined on the discussion panel by Dr. Robert Zinser, RFPD vice chair, 
and Dr. Ekkehard Pandel, RFPD chair for Germany and director-elect 
for the 2009-11 RI Board. 

More than 10 million children die every year from preventable causes, 
and 530,000 women die of pregnancy-related causes. "We cannot solve 
the problem of children without addressing the health of the mother," 
stressed Songane. 

Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and measles account for the majority of 
deaths of children under the age of five, Songane said, but 
malnutrition is often in the background. "In about 57 percent of the 
deaths, malnutrition is an underlying factor," he said. 

Skilled birth attendants, HIV testing, and mosquito nets are three 
vital interventions, Zinser said. Pandel, a pediatrician, added 
breastfeeding to that list. "It's absolutely necessary to practice 
breastfeeding in the first days -- ideally for the first year," he 
said. "It's vital for prevention of infections and malnutrition." 

"It's nothing fancy," Songane said. "It's not rocket science. We just 
have to take appropriate action." 

For Rotarians wanting to tackle these issues, Songane offered this 
advice: "Wherever the club or district is located, deal with the 
corresponding government in that place. Be part of what has been 
initiated in that country.

Source: Rotary International News 
Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary

3.
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eFlash_Rotary/message/1440;_ylc=X3oDMTJxZnBib
HNqBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE1BGdycElkAzI3ODYwNzYEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDY0MDg2BG1zZ0lkAzE0N
DAEc2VjA2Rtc2cEc2xrA3Ztc2cEc3RpbWUDMTIxNDQ3MTg3Mg--> 1523: Convention book
drive sets Guinness world record 

 

Wed Jun 25, 2008 9:41 pm (PDT) 

Convention book drive sets Guinness world record
By Ryan Hyland 

Rotarians at the 2008 RI Convention demonstrated their commitment to 
literacy by setting a Guinness world record for the most books 
donated during a seven-day period. Exactly 242,624 books were 
collected this week for public school students in Southern California 
and Southern Nevada.

Danny Girton Jr., an adjudicator for Guinness World Records, 
confirmed that Rotary now owns the record for Most Books Donated in 
Seven Days at the final plenary session on Wednesday. 

"This record demonstrated careful planning, creativity, and a true 
commitment from the heart," Girton told the audience. "We applaud 
your efforts and welcome you to the Guinness World Records family." 

Ingo Werk, of the Rotary Club of Wilmington, California, who chaired 
the project, joined Girton on stage to thank and congratulate 
Rotarians for achieving such a meaningful record. "Rotary's 
commitment to literacy is a commitment with love, not only for our 
society at large but especially for our children. Love is all you 
need -- to read."

The book drive, cosponsored by the Los Angeles Times Reading by 9 
program, will benefit public school students in kindergarten through 
grade 3 in the region, where studies show too many children read 
below grade level. 

At the convention, a symbolic "mountain of books" display provided a 
backdrop for reading sessions allowing Rotarians, celebrities, and 
other notables to read to students visiting on field trips.

Project organizers set a goal of collecting a quarter of a million 
books. Convention registrants from more than 140 countries brought 
books representing their home cultures and languages. 

"Everyone here embraced this book drive, and I could not be more 
proud of our Rotary clubs and more grateful for the support we 
received from the public," said Werk.

Guinness World Records receives more than 60,000 applications a year 
from people hoping for recognition. Of those, only 3 percent set 
world records.

Source: Rotary International News 
Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary

 

 

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