Celebrities, health officials come together to hail progress toward polio’s end

 

After a historic year during which transmission of the wild poliovirus vanished from Nigeria and the continent of Africa, the crippling disease is closer than ever to being eradicated worldwide, said top health experts at Rotary’s third annual World Polio Day event on 23 October in New York City.

More than 150 people attended the special Livestream program co-sponsored by UNICEF, and thousands more around the world watched online. Jeffrey Kluger, Time magazine’s editor at large, moderated the event.

Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, lauded the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s efforts. After nearly 30 years, the GPEI, which includes Rotary, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is on the cusp of ending polio. It would be only the second human disease ever to be eradicated. 

Lake urged the partners not to lose their momentum: “At a time when the world is torn by conflicts, when the bonds among people seem weaker and more frayed than ever before, ending polio will be not only one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but a singular and striking example of what can be achieved when diverse partners are driven by a common goal -- when  we act as one,” he said.

The event highlighted recent milestones in polio eradication: In July, Nigeria marked one year without a case, and in August, the entire African continent celebrated one year without an outbreak. That leaves just two countries where the virus is regularly spreading: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In a question-and-answer session with Kluger, Dr. John Vertefeuille, polio incident manager for the CDC, discussed the reasons for Nigeria’s success, including strong political commitment at all levels and the support and engagement of religious and community leaders.

“The foundation to Nigeria’s success has been the incredible dedication of tens of thousands of health workers who have worked, often in difficult circumstances, to ensure that all children are reached with the polio vaccine,” said Vertefeuille.

Innovative changes, including strategies for reaching children who were often missed in the past, better mechanisms for ensuring the accountability of health workers, and the engagement of doctors, journalists, and polio survivors, also aided Nigeria in reaching its goal.

Polio eradication is progressing in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, cases dropped from 28 in 2014 to 13 so far this year. In Pakistan, transmission of the disease dropped dramatically, from 306 cases to 38.

Kluger and Vertefeuille agreed that eradicating polio is a wise financial investment. Vertefeuille said financial savings of $50 billion are projected over the next 20 years.

Failure to eradicate polio, he noted, could result in a global resurgence of the disease, with 200,000 new cases every single year within 10 years.

Celebrities add their voices

Archie Panjabi, Emmy Award-winning actress and Rotary celebrity ambassador for polio eradication, praised Rotary’s success in banishing polio from India in 2012. “I’ve immunized children, feeling pure joy when I placed just two drops of vaccine into a child’s mouth, which are like two drops of life,” she said.

The audience also heard from musician, activist, and Grammy award-winner Angélique Kidjo, who performed a song from her latest album, “Eve.”

Dr. Jennifer Berman, cohost of the Emmy Award-winning television show “The Doctors” called Rotary’s role in eradicating polio “one of those transformative initiatives that uses the insights of science to improve the human condition.”

The program also featured video messages from Bill Gates; Mia Farrow, actress and polio survivor; Heidi Klum, model and celebrity businessperson; and two new Rotary polio ambassadors, WWE star John Cena and actress Kristen Bell.

“How do we stop polio forever? How do we ensure that no child has to suffer this disease ever again? It’s easy to help. Spread the word, donate, or simply take this opportunity to learn more,” said Bell.

Rotary boosts funding

Rotary General Secretary John Hewko announced an additional $40.4 million Rotary will direct to the fight against polio. More than $26 million will go to African countries to prevent the disease from returning. Rotary has also earmarked $5.3 million for India, $6.7 for Pakistan, and $400,000 for Iraq. Nearly $1 million will support immunization activities and surveillance. Since 1979, Rotary has contributed more than $1.5 billion to polio eradication.

“Our program this evening will show how far we have come -- and what we still have to do -- to slam the door on polio for good,” said Hewko. “Once we do, not only will we end the suffering of children from this entirely preventable disease -- we will also create a blueprint for the next major global health initiative and leave in place resources to protect the world’s health in the future.”

Event sponsors included Global Benefits Group, Spencer Trask & Company, Sanofi Pasteur, and Grant Thornton. Devex was the event’s media partner.

Rotary honors six women for leadership and humanitarian service

Rotary President K.R. Ravindran has named six Rotary Global Women of Action for 2015. The honorees were chosen for their dedication and service, which has improved the lives of thousands around the world.

“Every day at Rotary I see first hand how our members work to change lives and make a significant impact,” said Ravindran. “Rotary’s Global Women of Action embody Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self.”

The women will be honored at Rotary Day at the United Nations in New York City on 7 November. They will address attendees and lead discussions on various topics related to their work.

The six were selected by Rotary senior leaders and staff from more than 100 nominees from around the world. They are:

·        Dr. Hashrat A. Begum, of the Rotary Club of Dhaka North West, Bangladesh, who has implemented several large-scale projects to deliver health care to poor and underserved communities.

·        Stella S. Dongo, of the Rotary Club of Highlands, Zimbabwe, who leads the Community Empowerment Project in the city of Harare. The project provides basic business and computer training to more than 6,000 women and youths affected by HIV/AIDS.

·        Lucy C. Hobgood-Brown, of the Rotary E-Club of Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, who cofounded HandUp Congo, a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates sustainable, community-driven business, educational, social, and health initiatives to underprivileged communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

·        Razia Jan, of the Rotary Club of Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA, who has spent decades fighting for girls’ educational rights in Afghanistan. An Afghan native, she is the founder and director of the Zabuli Education Center, a school that provides free education to more than 480 girls in Deh’Subz, Afghanistan. She was also recognized as a CNN Hero in 2012.

·        Kerstin Jeska-Thorwart, of the Rotary Club of Nürnberg-Sigena, Germany, who launched the Babyhospital Galle project after surviving the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. With a budget of $1.8 million and the support of 200 Rotary clubs, the project rebuilt and equipped the Mahamodara Teaching Hospital, in Galle, Sri Lanka. The hospital has served more than 150,000 children and more than 2.2 million women.

·        Dr. Deborah K. W. Walters, of the Rotary Club of Unity, Maine, USA, a neuroscientist who has served as director of Safe Passage (Camino Seguro), a nonprofit that provides educational and social services to families who live in the Guatemala City garbage dump.

 

POLIO FREE AFRICA....no new case for one year...

Watch a video on

 

AFRICA... one year Polio Free...

 

One year without a single case of Polio...

 

AFRICA....

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VntVJ_0rhwE&feature=em-subs_digest

AFRICA – one year without a case of Polio…almost Polio Free

Just a few days from now, on 11 August, we will mark a tremendous milestone: one full year without a single case of polio caused by wild poliovirus in Africa.

The magnitude of this achievement can hardly be overstated. A polio-free Africa has been within sight, so near and yet so far, for over a decade. The hard work and commitment that have brought us to this point have been nothing short of heroic. Tens of thousands of health workers reached hundreds of millions of children with vaccine, in some of the most difficult conditions imaginable. Together, we have done what once seemed impossible: We have stopped polio in Africa.

Yet this progress, momentous as it is, is still fragile. As long as polio exists in the two remaining endemic countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the virus still has the potential to spread and to spark new outbreaks. Now, more than ever, we need the power of all of Rotary to carry us through to the end: not just a polio-free Africa, but a polio-free world.

Wherever you live, whether your country has just conquered polio or has been polio-free for decades, we need your voice, and your help. I ask all of you to read and use the materials in this tool kit to find ways to raise awareness in your community, and beyond. We need every Rotarian, in every Rotary club, to be talking about polio: making sure that media outlets report on our progress and our elected officials see polio eradication as a global priority. Your grassroots work helps drive the increased media coverage we have seen in the past year, which in turn drives global backing of our work to eradicate polio. Together, we will keep polio front and center in our communities and on our national agendas, keeping up the energy and the momentum that will push us through to the finish.

The battle in Africa has, for the moment, been won, but we need the strength of every Rotarian to help us win the war. Together, we will End Polio Now and truly Be a Gift to the World.

Warm regards,
K.R. Ravindran
President, Rotary International

 

Be a Gift to the World  through vocational service

 

RI President K.R. Ravindran encourages us to use our gifts — talents, knowledge, abilities, and efforts to make a significant impact through fellowship and service activities. Through vocational service, we champion high ethical standards in the workplace, use our professional expertise to serve others, and improve local and international communities. Here are just a few ideas for activities your clubs can undertake:

• Host a business networking event with non-Rotarian professionals in your community.
• Offer career counseling for unemployed or underemployed adults.
• Mentor youth with career guidance.
• Recognise local businesses for high ethical standards.
• Apply your professional skills to a project.

Review the humanitarian service goals to learn how your vocational service projects can help your club qualify for the 2015-16 Presidential Citation.

 

Resources & reference

An Introduction to Vocational Service Get information, resources, and project ideas related to vocational service.

Rotary Ideas Search Rotary's online database of club and district service projects in need of assistance.

Rotary Code of Conduct A set of ethical guidelines for Rotarians.

The Four-Way Test An ethical guide to use for personal and professional relationships.

Nigeria on the brink of becoming polio-free

Nigeria has gone almost one year — longer than ever before — without a case of wild poliovirus. The last case was reported on 24 July 2014 in Kano state. Once the gateway to polio in Africa, Nigeria is paving the way to eradicating the disease on the continent.

But reaching the milestone is only one step on the final road to ending polio and it is too soon to celebrate victory. Until polio is eliminated everywhere, it can return to Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Less than a decade ago, in 2006, polio paralyzed 1,000 people in Nigeria.

For the African region to be certified polio-free, including Nigeria, there must be no polio cases for two more years. To do this, all children in Nigeria and throughout Africa — including those in hard-to-reach and underserved areas — must continue to be protected against the disease. 

“The ultimate goal is to ensure that the routine immunization infrastructure is established to increase and sustain the level of herd immunity” [protection for people who are not immune that occurs when a large percentage of the population has been vaccinated], says Tunji Funsho, chair of the Nigeria PolioPlus Committee. This will enable children to “continue to be immunized on schedule and protected from the virus even after the cessation of IPDs [Immunization Plus Days].” 

Once all surveillance data is processed, Nigeria will be poised to be taken off the list of polio-endemic countries by the World Health Organization (WHO) in September. That achievement would leave only two polio-endemic countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan. In 2014, Pakistan accounted for 85 percent of the world’s polio cases. As of 17 June, polio cases in Pakistan had decreased by nearly 70 percent.

“With Rotary, we made tremendous progress last year,” said Hamid Jafari, WHO’s Director for Global Polio Eradication and Research, speaking to attendees at the Rotary International Convention in São Paulo, Brazil, in June. “We must keep going to end polio. If the world’s commitment to polio eradication remains strong, we will soon see a polio-free world.”

GIVE NOW

 https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/take-action/end-polio

 

Your donation will assist us in reaching a Polio Free World

GETS & ROTARY INSTITUTE – MOMBASA, KENYA

 

I am very pleased to advise you that GETS and the Rotary Institute of Zone 20A is being held in Mombasa, Kenya from 14^th to 19^th September 2015.

Please note that SA citizens do not require a visa if their stay is for 30 days or less. Where their stay will be longer than 30 days then a visa is required. Should you require a visa then kindly click on the link below to do the application.

 

Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya, with an estimated population of 1.3 million. A regional cultural and economic hub, Mombasa has a large port and an international airport, and is an important regional tourism centre. Located on the east coast of Kenya, in Mombasa County and the former Coast Province, Mombasa's bordering the Indian Ocean made it a historical trading centre and it has been controlled by many countries because of its strategic location

 

 

Weather:        Average 25 degrees C

Local time:   Mombasa is 1 hour ahead of SA time

Currency:     Kenyan Shilling (approx 100KES to 1 US$)

         

            Free toys brighten children’s lives

 

Children receive their toys in Badami Bagh, Lahore, Pakistan.

A girl clutched the new purse she had just received during the annual toy giveaway in the community of Badami Bagh, Lahore, Pakistan.
Another child examined the coloring books and colored pencils with interest, while a crowd of other children and their parents surrounded a table in the market square, waiting their turn to select a free toy.
On 11 July, about a dozen members of the Rotary Club of Lahore Sharqi (East), Punjab, Pakistan, took part in the club’s annual event that distributes toys to the needy children in the community. Longtime club member Asim Qadri started the tradition more than two decades ago.
Each year, club members spend several months collecting toys from businesses, soliciting donations, and raising money to purchase new toys. The looks on the faces of the children when they receive their toys makes all the effort worth it, notes Amir Sultan Rana, who served as the project’s publicity chair this year.

This project is just one of many that Rotary members have posted on Rotary Showcase.

 

Early cancer detection is saving lives in Sri Lanka

More than 20,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year in Sri Lanka, and many of them prove fatal. The Rotary Club of Colombo, Sri Lanka, set out 10 years ago to save some of those lives by establishing the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Centre. 

In partnership with the National Cancer Control Programme and the Ministry of Health, the center in Colombo has screened more than 35,000 patients, mostly low-income, and detected more than 7,500 cases of abnormalities that required further investigation. The Rotary Club of Birmingham, Alabama, USA, donated a mammography and ultrasound scanner to the center’s breast cancer screening facility. 

The Colombo Rotary club is seeking to open early detection clinics in other easily accessible locations throughout Sri Lanka. 

Learn more about Rotary’s work in preventing disease

                     Rotary Global Rewards

Rotary’s new member benefits program gives Rotary members access to discounts on a variety of products and services selected with their interests in mind.

Discounts & special offers

When Rotary Global Rewards launches in July, the program will include discounts on car rentals, hotels, dining, and entertainment. More products and services from companies around the world will be added throughout the year. Check back often to see what’s new in Rotary Global Rewards.

How it works

Anyone can view the offers and discounts on Rotary Global Rewards. But only Rotary club members who are signed in to their My Rotary accounts can redeem them. You can access and redeem rewards from your computer, smartphone, or tablet.

Create a My Rotary account now so you’re ready to take advantage of the new member benefits program when it’s available. If you need help creating an account, see the How to Create a My Rotary Account quick guide (PDF).

Rotary support

If you have questions about specific offers, please contact the company directly. They have the most knowledge about their discounts. Contact information is available on each company’s website.

 

 

Member benefits program unveiled as convention  draws to a close

                                            RIP Elect KR Ravindran and his wife Vanathy

RI President-elect K.R. Ravindran introduced a member benefits program at the 9 June closing session of the 2015 Rotary International Convention, saying that many more hands are needed to continue Rotary’s work around the world.

The program, Rotary Global Rewards, aims to boost membership and enhance member satisfaction. It will debut on 1 July.

“This innovative new program will allow Rotary members to connect with hundreds of businesses and service providers from around the world -- and that number is growing,” said Ravindran. “These establishments will offer Rotarians discounts and concessions on the everyday business that you do. And, in many cases, not only will you benefit, but our Foundation will as well, by receiving a contribution with each transaction.”

The program will include discounts on car rentals, hotels, dining, and entertainment. Discounts on more products and services from companies worldwide are expected to be added throughout the year.

“It will be another way to benefit from being a Rotarian and being part of the Rotary network,” said Ravindran, whose presidential theme for 2015-16 is Be a Gift to the World. “I urge all of you to become a part of that scheme.”

Council on Legislation dues increase begins in July 2015

An increase to the Council on Legislation dues goes into effect in July, and it will be reflected on the July club invoice. The Rotary International Board of Directors approved the increase from $1 to $1.50 in October 2014. The Council, which meets every three years, will meet 10-15 April in Chicago.

 

The Council considers proposals to change RI's constitutional documents and resolutions that express an opinion or make a recommendation to the Board. RI's Bylaws, which govern the relationship between Rotary International and Rotary clubs, can be changed only by legislation by the Council. The bylaws include provisions covering the formation of new clubs, types of membership within a club, club voting in district elections, and per capita dues.

Literacy is an important tool to beat the cycle of poverty

Literacy is crucial to the success of individuals in both their career aspirations and their quality of life. It is more than a basic reading ability. It is an indication of how adults use written information to function in society. Having strong literacy skills are closely linked to the probability of having a good job, decent earnings, and access to training opportunities. Individuals with weak literacy skills are more likely to be unemployed or, if employed, to be in jobs that pay little or that offer poor hours or working conditions.

Traditionally, literacy is referred to the ability to read, understand, and use information. However the term has come to take on broader meaning, standing for a range of knowledge, skills and abilities relating to reading, mathematics, science and more. This reflects widespread and deep changes that have taken place in technology and in the organisation of work over the past quarter century. The ability to use and apply key mathematics and science concepts is now necessary across a wide range of occupations.

Literacy is fundamental for learning in school. It has an impact on an individual's ability to participate in society and to understand important public issues. And it provides the foundation upon which skills needed in the labour market are built.

Technology, and the science behind it, permeates all aspects of our lives, from how we work and communicate to what we shop for and how we pay our bills. The complexity of today's world means that individuals need to have some level of proficiency in reading, mathematics and science in order to understand and participate fully in economic and social life.

A population's literacy skills also have a bearing on how well a country performs economically. The world we live in today is vastly different from that of a generation ago. Technological changes have transformed the way in which we work and the labour market is rapidly evolving from a manufacturing and agricultural base to one based on services. These changes have, in turn, brought rising skill requirements. Countries that are successful in endowing their populations with strong skills are usually in a better position to meet the economic challenges of operating in a globalised information economy.

Finally, having a population that has strong literacy skills also places a country in a better position to meet the complex social challenges that it faces. For example, strong literacy skills are linked to better health outcomes for individuals. A highly literate population will be better able to deal with issues of governance in a highly diverse society.

As I write I am on my way to Mauritius on holiday. A nice break away from work and Rotary matters. A week full of sun, sea and fun. Reading through the morning’s newspaper I note that this week (14^th - 21^st March) has been declared Library Week in South Africa. Libraries connect people to each other to knowledge and information. It provides access to information on every subject matter including health and hygiene, economic empowerment, poverty alleviation, education and much more. All of these are focus areas within our wonderful organisation. Libraries also provide us with an opportunity to connect via the internet through online learning opportunities using research tools. Like all things that have evolved over the years libraries too have evolved. They no longer just provide a place where we borrow books and after a period, return them. It is a place of technology and information in our fast moving environment.

Libraries are rather special to me. My first job after my secondary schooling was at the local Durban library as a library assistant. I spent three years there learning the various aspects of library science including the Dewey decimal system which system classifies books according to their field of interest. It was also the place that allowed me the opportunity of starting my academic studies on a part time basis whilst having this job to fund it.

Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and harmony. It is for this reason that literacy is the core of education for all.

Rotary provides us with a wonderful opportunity to share, to give a gift, to take responsibility together and to encourage others. It also provides us with an opportunity to improve the skills of people so that they are given a better chance of success after all we all have the same dreams, hopes, needs and goals.

Natty Moodley

Rotary Africa
April 2015

CHANGE IS CRITICAL

 I have always said that we are ordinary people achieving extraordinary results because of our passion to serve and that we do not put anything out there that lacks positivity and our success is authentic. We have no hidden agendas; it’s how we roll; it is how we take the opportunity to serve seriously and sincerely that sets us apart from the rest.

Now it is your chance to make a single important decision since you joined our wonderful organisation; to take our organisation into a completely different direction; to recreate the future and focus on and embrace the concept of diversity.

Diversity does not just look at the r ace issue. It engages our minds to think younger, to bring in the youth, to provide opportunities for women, to look at our classification spread and to look at how we grow our organisation in an all embracing environment so that we ensure it’s future existence.

But for our organisation to grow we need to accept that change is critical. We need to look at things differently. How we ease on our meeting protocols; how we make the effort to integrate the younger more digitally oriented demographic. Just look at our membership statistics. More than half of our membership is over 60. Just 1% are under 30, yet the world population of under 30s is approx. 50%. This is the group for the future success and continued existence of our organisation. Just look around us how many of us engage with a person under 40 in our Clubs?

Unless we become serious of the age demographic of our organisation and unless we start to put our ideas, thoughts, and words into action…two decades from now we would have an organisation half the size that we have today. Keeping our organisation relevant is the key to attracting the younger generation. RI General Secretary. John Hewko, said “it is clear that members have been able to accomplish a great deal but he asked what are they willing to do to make Rotary stronger. So let us be the voices in Rotary to do everything we can to grow our organisation. We have great traditions in Rotary, but it is our traditions. We made them, we own them and it is up to us to change them if they are no longer relevant”.

We need to go out there and bring in the new members for you see, new members come without any preconceived ideas and traditions. Change and innovation are led by people who have fresh ideas, ones who are prepared to go the extra mile to make them work, ones who think outside the box. Young people are ambitious, yes and they are climbing the corporate ladder or starting their own businesses but they have a strong sense of civic duty. Our membership and services are what makes our organisation powerful and strong and to keep it strong, membership recruitment and retention is a priority to every one of you.  

Just think of what we have achieved over the years. I grow inspired as I witness your relentless devotion in improving the lives of the unfortunate. Your actions clearly indicate that those children who have been saved from the dreaded polio virus is just one of the epic things that you have accomplished. You have toiled for more than a quarter of a century to rid the world of this virus. This has been the call on our lives for over 25 years. This is your mission to be delivered and a dream that must be realised. Anything less is surrender. Our heroes are not just the vaccine carriers and immunisers; our heroes are the men and women who each day pursue our personal victory, a win over mediocrity and success over defeat. No matter what the odds we contribute towards our goal of a Polio free world. So on this day I want you to know that you are a gift. You have powers beyond what you know and together we have the strength and the fortitude to achieve this dream. We promised our children a gift; a gift of a Polio Free world; a gift to walk without fear of becoming cripple; a gift taken for granted in most of our daily lives.

Each one of you is special. You are a special gift to your parents. And when you joined this wonderful organisation you became a gift to our community. You began to work within our clubs and perhaps our district. You worked within the confines of your comfort zone. In the coming year RIPE KR Ravi Ravidran is asking you to do things differently. He is asking you to engage with other clubs, within our zone, to engage with clubs and people within our continent and around the world. He is asking you to meet that stranger who is waiting to be your friend. The reciprocity of a smile that will translate into friendships, that handshake that would lead to many projects and ideas and overall lasting friendship. He is asking you to expand your horizons and to Be a Gift to the World.

So my friends, the challenge is before us to embrace. The challenge of a bigger, stronger more powerful and youthful Rotary, the challenge of increasing our support to the Rotary Foundation and to promoting our organisation to the world, to sing our praises of our good work, to create the awareness that would translate into greater interest of and for our  organisation.

As you continue to Light up Rotary and bring relief to those in need, as you shine the beacon of hope on the darkness of other people’s lives I applaud you for your commitment to Be a Gift to the World.

GETS AND INSTITUTE...A GREAT SUCCESS   Each year one of the responsibilities of the Rotary International Regional Director is to convene the Zone Institute and organise the Governor Elects Training Seminar (GETS) which involves the four tiers of Zone Coordinators (Rotary Coordinators, Rotary Public Image Coordinators, Foundation Coordinators and the Major Donor Coordinators). These coordinators present and facilitate sessions for DG Elects, DG Nominees and the current DGs.

This Rotary year the GETS and Zone Institute were conducted in Marrakech, Morocco as a consolidation  of  both Zone 20 A and Zone 20B. Zone 20A training scheduled for Accra in Ghana was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in the West African region. The November event included all Districts in Africa,     the Mediterranean and some European countries.

The purpose of the Zone Institute is to inform District Governors and Past District Governors of current developments and report on the various programs of Rotary that operate in our region. Representing Rotary International at the Marrakech event was RI President Gary Haung and his wife Corina and the event was convened by RI Director Safak Alpay.