Maternal and child care is one of Rotary’s main causes. Rotary makes health care available to vulnerable mothers and children so they can live longer and grow stronger.
At Café Voca, Nathan Kim and three other autistic youths have been learning to handle the responsibilities and developing the social skills that they’ll need for other jobs.
Something has changed as we stumble out of our COVID stupor and wake up to a changing world.
While we have been locked tightly into our individual cubicles I see a shift in the world from a boundless supply of everything we need to a collapsing world that needs boundless help to bring it back. COVID has given the whole world time to think about what the future holds. It has made us all realise that we need to act if we want to change the world. The time for talking is over.
As active Rotarians, we are in the driving seat of action. We are not the only group, there are many others and that is a good thing. We can be more productive working with others who have the same goals and directions as Rotary than just working alone. Don't fool yourself that Rotary can do everything by itself. Partnerships between clubs as a starting point is a powerful example of combining forces to achieve a goal. Bringing in outside but aligned businesses and organisations adds tremendous strength towards achieving a goal and reaching more people to share the result. The more people that know about the journey will share and talk about its success or failure. The point is that Rotary is not its own bubble, it is a fluent part of a wider chain. We can see that in the collaboration involved in the End Polio Now campaign as an example.
The members who attended the Disaster Aid meeting on Wednesday night could see how far Rotary's reach has gone in the Disaster Aid project area. Partnership building was a major source of strength in this project as Rotary was a little less committed in some areas than it should have been. See more https://www.disasteraidaustralia.org.au/
That is only one Rotary box and there are hundreds more. In fact, the photo above represents the vast number of Rotary Projects that are making a difference around the world every single day. Rotary can turn its hand to making a difference in the world in so many innovative and conventional ways.
The environment is a major concern to people everywhere. Take a look at the new Environmental Sustainable Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) website and look at the wonderful programs that are developing on the Environmental Sustainability front https://esrag.org/.
I am a paid-up member of ESRAG because I believe that Rotary can make a difference in this area. Rotary has the right partners in science and in solutions to build sustainable environmental projects. All these programs take small amounts of cash to fund the promotion and awareness of different projects. A subscription to ESRAG goes a bit of the way to helping ESRAG get their message out and they are certainly NOT sitting back and thinking about it!
Want to take action on the Circular Economy?
A few areas of focus that we tackle under circular economy include: Adaptation, Clean Up, Composting, Education, Equity, Food Waste, Justice, Recycling, Resilience, Waste Minimization.
Rotary has sprung into action all around the world like new growth after a hard winter. It is pleasing to see how Rotary is promoting itself now and showing the world what they (and us) have been doing all along. Above is only a thin slice. It is difficult to relay all the areas that Rotary is involved in. It is substantial, with steep learning curves, cultural hurdles, language barriers, and physical supply challenges. A journey within a journey.
Have you mentioned Rotary's work to your friends and family? In my own experience, my friends and family have gone from eye-rolling (you know who you are) to taking an interest in Rotary's achievements and ambitions. It only takes a successful connection of the dots, bringing resourceful people together (funding, labour, materials, logistics, management and deployment) to make a project happen. Connections are created by communication, so please tell the Rotary story when you can, one project or experience at a time.
Posted by https://rotaryserviceblog.org on Mar 31, 2022
Maternal and child care is one of Rotary’s main causes. Rotary makes health care available to vulnerable mothers and children so they can live longer and grow stronger.
It is estimated that close to 6 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation, which can all be prevented. Rotary clubs and districts dedicate their efforts to improving access to quality care so that mothers and children can have long-serving opportunities for a healthy future. Projects to support mothers and children include mobile prenatal clinics, cancer screening, immunizations, and training on how to protect themselves and their children from disease.
Several projects highlight innovative solutions that provide health care to mothers and children:
Nigeria averages only one physician for every 2,500 people and creative solutions are needed to expand health care reach. Read about how the innovative integration of telehealth medicine has helped those living in rural Nigeria.
Brazil has experienced high infant mortality rates and several Rotary clubs partnered together to provide solutions. Read about how a Rotary club partnership led to an increase in resources for the incubators and access to Neonatal intensive care units at the Dr Leopoldo Bevilacqua Regional Hospital in Brazil’s Ribeira Valley.
Watch this video to learn more about how Rotary supports mothers and children:
Throughout April, Maternal and Child Health Month, help us support this main rotary cause. You can get involved in the following ways:
See how Rotary and Rotaract clubs are bringing health care and more to mothers and children over the world in Rotary Showcase and post about your club’s successes. The showcase also helps you find an international project to support.
Dr Michael Hart is from District 7475 in New Jersey USA. In 2020, just as COVID was taking hold, District 7475 and our Club partnered in three Global grants to supply 10 ventilators and one critical care bed to make a difference to the New Jersey community. This is an update on how the project went: Over to Dr Michael Hart.
When I called the 2 local hospitals- RWJ and Trinitas- and asked what did they need to most - they both said ventilators.
They both had ventilators on order but did not know how they were going to pay for them.
Actually, new ventilators cost about $100,000 each. They were ordering a bunch of refurbished ventilators for only about $10,000 each. My District Governor liked it that we were getting a discount, and could spread out dollars farther. We ended up buying 10 ventilators between the two hospital systems.
They are both part of very large hospital systems which share their equipment, so we were not helping just one locality, but a wide section of our state.
New Jersey has a population of 9 million, and probably 5 million live in our district of northern NJ. It takes about an hour to drive across the state, and about 3 hours to drive the length, so we are densely populated.
For the third Global Grant- Overlook wanted a high tech hospital bed which cost $30,000. They are part of a large hospital system also, but did not need ventilators. They are becoming a regional trauma center and need equipment for that.
So, the 3 GG's totalled about $130,000. We bought 3 ventilators for one hospital and 7 for the other.
Unfortunately, early on, about 80% of the patients on ventilators ended up passing away, but you can see from the Overlook letter that they did save 1,400 patients' lives. As time passed, they were able to develop treatments which had a much higher survival rate, including a combination of medications. Initially, they thought it was a respiratory disease. But after about a year, they realized that it was a disease of the blood, which manifested in the lungs because the blood became like a sludge and would not circulate well and carry the oxygen. Now the survival rate is quite high.
The hospital bed we provided to Overlook probably had a more effective rate of saving lives, short term, and should last for 10 years, and save many trauma victims over the years.
Did it make a difference? Yes, to some degree., and more over time.
David- Your support meant a lot. We could not have done it without you.
A team of 13 Rotarians and friends successfully conducted Mock Interviews of approximately 200 Year-11 students at Nossal High School (NHS), on Thursday 31 March and Friday 1st April.
Friday's Interview Team
The team consisted of 11 Rotarians from the Berwick and Narre Warren Clubs, together with friends Trevor Watson and Kay Spencer.
The purpose was to provide students with experience in an interview, in preparation for real life situations. The Interviewers provided constructive advice on application letters and resumes submitted by each student for a fictitious job and on their performance in answering questions in the interview, in support of their application.
Science Teacher at NHS and Coordinator of the interviews, Marion Campagna, expressed her deep appreciation of the time and expertise that the team provided, adding that the students benefited greatly from the experience.
This is a very worthy community project that should be conducted annually. It also provides an opportunity to work in collaboration with neighbouring Rotary Clubs.
In appreciation of their support, Marion provided each member of the team with a NHS branded coffee mug and a personalised 'Thank you' card written by one of the students.
On Wednesday 30th April, twenty Rotarians and guests arrived at Disaster Aid Australia (DAA) at 92 Doveton Avenue in Eumemmerring, for an informative vocational visit. The guests included visiting Rotarian, Mahendra Bulsara, from the Rotary Club of Valsad in District 3060 in India.
DAA is a project of the Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong and Endeavour Hills. It is registered as an Australian charity and its' mission is to provide and assist in delivering sustainable humanitarian aid relevant to people affected by natural and other disasters, in developing countries.
The visitors were hosted by CEO, Brian Ashworth, and Cherie Ramsay. Cherie provided a guided tour of the facility and explained the structure and international activities of the organisation, as well as answering questions. Her role is managing the accounting software and she also assists with policy development and general administration tasks.
Brian provided information on the design and operation of Sky Hydrants, which are used in disaster areas to convert local contaminated water to clean, bacteria-free drinking water at a cost of $1 per day. He proved the efficiency of the process by drinking a glass of the clean water produced by the demonstration model from a small tank of contaminated water.
One benefit of the Sky Hydrant as a means of producing clean drinkable water, is that it requires no electrical power, but depends solely on gravity for the water movement. Therefore, it can be installed and used effectively in remote areas with no power source.
Following the tour, we enjoyed a meal before Brian treated us to a PowerPoint presentation of the DAA operations, their achievements and their sources of funding. Their main role in disaster situations is to provide clean drinking water to the affected communities and to assist them in purchasing suitable materials to enable them to construct new homes. The idea is to make the community self-sufficient, rather than DAA constructing the homes on their behalf.
The statistics showed that in many cases, the drinking water used by the community was contaminated even before the disaster and the sickness and mortality levels among children were high. Once clean drinking water became available using Sky Hydrants, the levels dropped very significantly.
The visit proved to be very interesting and informative.
Ok, I guess you might have been busy on the day and missed Roslyn's amazing presentation. That's all good because I was at work myself. So for those that are interested, please find the link to the recording,
It is an awesome and well-constructed presentation and will help YOU to build awareness of Rotary. Whatever Rotary means to us, to the world it will be only known by the results it achieves. This video shows how we can tell our Rotary story, increase public awareness and advocate support or involvement in our work to make a difference in the world.
The D9820 Club Development Summit (District Assembly) will be a face to face event on Sunday 1st May at Warragul Country Club, Warragul.
This is a great opportunity for Rotarians from across our District to come together, catch up with old friends, make new ones and take on board lots of information to ensure the success of your Club in 2022 – 2023.
There will be sessions for Presidents-Elect, Secretaries, Treasurers and Presidents Nominee, together with informative and interactive sessions around Membership, Social Media, Foundation & Grants, Youth, and combined sessions for International, Vocational and Community plus Strategic Planning which also includes Club Visioning.
Newer members of Rotary are also catered for with specific sessions for them to learn more about Rotary and to encourage them to get involved in the activities and leadership of their Clubs.
A full program will be out soon, but please consider registering. It is free. Catering is provided and it is time well spent. Please registerHERE
If you were at the recent District Conference in Traralgon, you would have heard about the importance of planting mangroves from the inspirational Vic Grosjean - mangroves prevent coastal erosion and protect marine ecosystems.
A Rotary boat trip has been organised to view projects by a Rotary working group and the Western Port Seagrass Partnership along the Western Port Lang Lang coastline.
When: Saturday, 14th May 2022, 8:45am to 2pm Where: Tooradin Jetty (Foreshore Road) Cost: $30 per person To register contact Dick Cox rjwcox@bigpond.net.au Catering and tea & coffee will be provided
There used to be a thick mattress of seagrass on the eastern banks of Western Port Bay which calmed the waves reducing coastal erosion. But the seagrass in this area had all but disappeared by 1970, caused by an increase in sedimentation and urban/farming run off. Koo Wee Rup and Lang Lang wetlands were drained to produce highly fertile farmland, farmers used excessive fertilizer, and livestock accessed stream banks - all causing sedimentation smothering and cutting off required sunlight for the seagrass. There are now better farming practices and Melbourne Water do great work operating sedimentation traps, however, work is still needed to re-establish a protective line of mangroves along the coast.
A Rotary working group has been established (with members from Berwick, Mornington, Casey, Rosebud-Rye, Warragul, and Somerville-Tyabb Clubs) to plant mangroves in support of Rotary's seventh Area of Focus! To be involved contact Dick Cox rjwcox@bigpond.net.au
NOTE: Do you recognise anyone in this story? Jen Marshall perhaps? What a legend!
Brian provided information on the design and operation of Sky Hydrants, which are used in disaster areas to convert local contaminated water to clean, bacteria-free drinking water at a cost of $1 per day. He proved the efficiency of the process by drinking a glass of the clean water produced by the demonstration model from a small tank of contaminated water.
