RI President 2022-23 Jennifer
Jones
Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland
Ontario, Canada
================
Dear Fellow Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends,
February 2023
Recently, I spent time in the Nakivale refugee settlement in Uganda.
As the "settlement" in its name suggests, the people living
there are free to move around and integrate as best they can —
one thing that makes the place unique.
I had a chance to play soccer with boys and girls from about a dozen
nations and talk with women who had fled areas of conflict. It was
a tapestry of human experience shared through both laughter and
tears.
As I walked across a school campus at the settlement with a teacher,
she shared with me the dire statistics on girls' education. Most
don't get through grade school. Many are sold into child marriage
to pay for food for their families. As I looked around at these
young girls, I was gutted.
Our work with empowering girls and women is much more than creating
equity — sometimes, it's about health or education. Other
times it's about providing safety. Regardless of the path, it's
always about basic human rights.
We can do more to empower girls and women, and we can expand how
we share the progress Rotary members and our partners have made
toward this goal.
There is no shortage of inspiring examples of our work, from interest-free
microcredit loans for women in Nigeria, to projects in India that
provide girls menstrual hygiene products. Hundreds of projects are
taking place across all Rotary areas of focus and are making a meaningful
and often lifesaving difference.
Together, we can address the needs and inequities that girls throughout
the world face daily. But we must also monitor the impact of these
projects and create awareness of Rotary resources and subject matter
experts, including Rotary Action Groups, The Rotary Foundation Cadre
of Technical Advisers, Rotary Peace Fellows, and others.
It is especially important that we tell the stories of our initiatives
that have a positive impact on the lives of women and girls. This
last point is near and dear to my heart. This means sharing our
stories on social media, through local news outlets, in this magazine,
and wherever we can inspire others.
As you do so, it's important to provide information that helps our
Rotary family connect with others who are implementing activities
in their regions, as well as across the world. Let's share our successes
and learn from one another — then proudly tell our stories
to a larger audience.
These are exciting times in Rotary, and the world is taking notice.
As we work to empower women and girls to step into their full potential,
we create new pathways for membership growth and greater collaboration
with partners to create positive, lasting change. Thank you for
your continued action in this vital effort.
Jennifer Jones
President 2022-23
Trustee Chair's Message - February2022
Ian H.S.
Riseley
Trustee Chair 2022-23
Sandringham, Victoria, Australia,
Trustee chair's
message
February 2023
One of the fascinating things about Rotary is that
we are many things at once. We are a service organization
based on action. We are also a professional and community
networking group, not to mention a place to find friendship
and fun.
And, when you stop to think about it, you and I are
also part of a peace organization. I saw this in 2013
when I represented Rotary at an international symposium
on advancing a peaceful democratic transition for
Myanmar. Despite recent setbacks, the fact that Rotary
was at the table demonstrates that the world sees
us as peacebuilders who are not deterred by the most
difficult issues.
How did we earn this reputation? Through literacy
projects that help people expand their minds and viewpoints.
And through water, sanitation, and hygiene projects
that create common ground for communities in conflict.
The Rotary Action Group for Peace promotes hands-on
service projects, and our annual international conventions
unite thousands in a celebration of global harmony.
Perhaps the most visible face of this cause is the
Rotary Peace Centers program, now in its 21st year.
Today, more than 1,600 Rotary Peace Fellows are advancing
the cause of peace in more than 140 countries. On
1 February, we open applications for the next generation
of peace fellows. Encourage your local peacebuilders
to learn about Rotary and apply for this unique fellowship.
And soon, we'll be recruiting fellows for a new peace
center in the Middle East and North Africa region
as we begin working this year with a recently selected
partner university. Made possible by a generous gift
of $15.5 million to The Rotary Foundation from the
Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, the addition of this
center furthers Rotary's vision of peacemaking in
action.
As we celebrate Rotary's 118th anniversary and Peacebuilding
and Conflict Prevention Month, we can be proud of
the many ways Rotary promotes peace. Without The Rotary
Foundation, and your support of it, none of that would
be possible.
You can directly support this work through the Foundation
by visiting rotary.org/donate and selecting the peacebuilding
and conflict prevention area of focus. I also encourage
you to contribute to the Ian and Juliet Riseley Endowed
Fund in The Rotary Foundation to support peace projects.
If Paul Harris could see us now, he would be amazed
by the astonishing growth of the little club he founded
in 1905 and the global force for good — and
peace — that Rotary is today.
http://www.endpolio.org/donate.
Ian H.S. Riseley
Trustee Chair 2022-23
Copyright © 2003-04
Rotary eClub NY1 * Updated 2023
Design & Maintenance of this site by TechnoTouch
e-Strategists
|
