The convention had great speakers - Jane Goodall spoke the last day and Mia Farrow the day before. Desmond Tutu spoke to the peace fellowship and the Secretary General of the UN on the first day - one could say, "we got our money's worth!"
Talking to a man from Zambia – discussing (as have heard before) the power of the Irish missionaries in Africa. As we discuss mobile technology and its applications within his country again I see the picture of the very poor – with mobile phones – and realize that this will be the education technology that will bring global understanding to the world.
I was once again made aware of how Rotary is an amazing infrastructure of international ideas as Ed Futa went through the roll call for voting delegates at the convention. 33,641 clubs in RI 3752 of which are represented, 1744 delegates attending but with proxies 4179 votes in all are eligible to be cast. Therefore, a quorum (of 10%) has been reached and international policies etc can be cast.
The Foundation report of course starts with the fact that there have been losses with the assurance that they are doing what they can to keep the foundation strong when its “efforts are most needed.” “Numbers have been grim but even more disturbing are the stories behind those numbers.” Infectious diseases is on the increase as are child suffering due to malnutrition an missed opportunities. The World Bank reports 53,000,000 more people sinking into extreme poverty (less than $1 a day).
To combat that 10,000 with water, 4,000 with increased education, 9,000 with sustainable water systems, 23 new schools with 12,000 students to replace things lost in the Tsunami. All of these have been done through the matching grants. In addition 255,000,000 from Bill and Melinda Gates that was a matching grant with Rotary to equal $555 million in total towards the eradication of polio. Launching a 2 mil challenge, Rotary has broadcast the End Polio Now campaign putting the message on such landmarks as the coliseum in Rome and the parliament in London. 90,000 + has already been raised. The governments in the US, US and France have each donated more that $130,000 each.
Water is the next big push for the Rotary foundation – in partnership with USAID. USAID will provide the expertise and local Rotarians much of the manpower. Due to economic challenges the matching grant has become universally called un – requiring a strategic Future visions plan.” Water Literacy, Health Peaccemaking, and Economic Development are the topics under which they will entertain grants. Once again demonstrating complexity leadership, they are bringing in this new plan by taking an internationally representative group of districts who will pilot the plan for three years. It will then be changed as necessary before rolling it out to the world.
The Rotary Foundation supports the peace process through training peace fellows who then go out in the world to jobs that help them mediate in crisis situations. We have heard these speakers at other gatherings.
Rotary is indeed a force that, “can always be counted on in times of need.”
As the group proceeds toward an intermission, the foundation gave the annual humanitarian award – this year the recipient was Australian Dr. Buchanan who was foundational in the development of high protein resources in Asian countries. He was originally a recipient of Rotarian education abroad – realizing many years later that three of the six leaders of a very successful collaborative scientific research group were recipients of this type of scholarship.
Mia Farrow
“What a room full of good hearts, there is no place I would rather be at this moment.” She suffered polio and existed in an iron lung at the age of nine. She saw how fragile “our life structure is.” She learned that:
1. We don’t own anything
2. If you have health, and courage you have the resources you need
3. Only in giving do you own anything.
Her adopted son (from India) was 7 and paraplegic – and she talked about the challenges of her son.
She went on to talk about her early successes that included: life with Frank Sinatra, losing her faith, going to India with her sister, life in an ashram with the Beatles – all with facing the difficulties. Her life took her to adopt 14 children in a rainbow tribe. Loss strips from us all that is nonessential. She believes the biggest lesson is integrity and responsibility for life – personal, and to the web of life.
She spends 6 months in Darfur/Chad. A quarter of a million refugees now live in Chad when the villages were set on fire. 2.7 mil now live in camps – the largest has 190,000 people (one doctor). Firewood has become a currency, they have so little. 100% of the females over the age of 8 has been raped- attackers carving up the women as they flee and killing boys and men. Tents have disintegrated, blankets are all that is left. 80% are women and children with huge malnutrition. Doctors without borders and others were expelled when the UN condemned these action. She asks us to contact our governments – they need protection, they need water.
In this place we fail the human race. The apathy of the bi-standers is the killer.
President DK Lee finished the session. He presented awards to district governors who chartered two new clubs and had the biggest net membership growth of 1,000 members. Clubs and districts also won awards for 10%+ net growth.
The thing that I take from the international meetings are how they model a comfort with formal protocols (such as the order in which you start your comments from the most powerful down) to the respectful way in which every country name is pronounced with the accent as it is pronounced by people from that country. As an example Me- he –co for Mexico (a country whose name I have mis pronounced for a lifetime). US leaders and perhaps citizens everywhere could take a page from this book, I know I will .
