Rotary news in brief from around the globe
The Rotarian -- September 2012
Fifteen Canadian Rotary clubs, as well as one club from Australia and another from the United States, were title sponsors of the 2011 Mobility Cup, a sailing regatta for people with disabilities.
Rotary clubs around the globe have many things in common, including a commitment to service. All year long, clubs are taking action to make a difference in their communities. Here’s a roundup of recent club activities worldwide:
Canada
Fifteen Canadian Rotary clubs, as well as one club from Australia and another from the United States, were title sponsors of the 2011 Mobility Cup, a sailing regatta for people with disabilities that began in 1991. The event, held on western Lake Ontario, is open to anyone with a significant disability, regardless of sailing experience, and attracts competitors from around the world. Rotarian volunteers helped operate mechanical lifts, manned safety boats, assisted with registration, and served food.
Italy
Rotaractors from all over the nation raised funds during a four-day event in Assisi to help reconstruct a building at the University of L’Aquila that had been destroyed in a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in April 2009. The highlights of the Grand National New Year’s Eve included a medieval-themed dinner; a traditional New Year’s feast that featured sabrage, or the opening of champagne bottles with the strike of a sword; fireworks; and the raffling of a Gucci necklace. The effort, organized by Rotaractors in District 2090 (Albania; part of Italy), raised about US$21,000.
New Zealand
The Rotary Club of Rotorua North is helping to restore the native vegetation of Mount Ngongotaha by taking district governors up the mountain the first time they visit the club. After a Skyline gondola ride, each governor plants a native tree and is added to the list of names on a commemorative board. The 25-year tradition, which complements the work of the Mount Ngongotaha Bush Restoration Trust, has helped create a small forest of totara, kauri, and other indigenous trees.
Nigeria
The Rotary Club of Falomo made its annual service visit to Ikoyi Prison in February, donating items for employees and inmates. Club members brought tools and a sewing machine, along with pharmaceuticals, shaving kits, bed sheets, and household goods, contributed by Rotarians and the Excalibur Benin Hotel in Benin City. A prison official accepted the items on behalf of the inmates and thanked the Rotarians, noting that such donations are vital to the facility, which was built for 800 inmates but houses more than 1,700. The Rotarians also provided a new mattress, portable generator, and fan for the security guards’ quarters.
Pakistan
The Pakistan PolioPlus Committee held a Smash Polio Out table tennis tournament in March, in cooperation with the Karachi Table Tennis Association. The event aimed to spread the word in Pakistan that the nation is among the last remaining polio-endemic countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. The tournament was open to anyone and featured singles matches for men, women, boys, and girls.
Philippines
The Rotary Club of Baguio provided local children ages three to five with multivitamins and iron supplements as part of a 12-week nutrition program that began in August 2011. Mothers worked with a nutritionist to prepare weekly meals for the kids, inspired by educational lectures; they also received recommended menus for the rest of each week. The effort also offered pediatric screenings and deworming regimens for the children, and monitored their weight through April.
Puerto Rico
In February, Rotarians from District 5280 (California) visited Puerto Rico, where they are working with club members in District 7000 on a series of 12 projects, such as delivering 12,000 dictionaries to schools, setting up a mobile recycling unit, and equipping a boys’ and girls’ club with computers. The districts and The Rotary Foundation have contributed more than $218,000 toward the efforts.
USA
The Great Bridge Rotary Rumble, a charity motorcycle ride sponsored by the Rotary Club of Great Bridge (Chesapeake), Va., drew more than 100 participants to its May 2012 event. The ride covers 80 to 100 miles of scenic rural roads and features prizes at the end for biggest group, youngest and oldest riders, and other distinctions. The Castaways Riding Club cosponsors the event; registration fees of $15, along with sponsorships, have brought in $55,000 over the past eight years. The money supports local children’s groups, including Edmarc Hospice for Children, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts.
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