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RI President 2021-22 Shekhar Mehta-
Jan 2022
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Dear Fellow Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends,
One of Rotary’s founding principles was to use your vocation
— whether as a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or another profession
— to do good in the world. As we attempt to overcome
and recover from the pandemic, this principle is vital in retraining
people who have lost their jobs. In response, the Rotary E-Club
of Tamar Hong Kong organized seminars for young people, with the
aim of preparing them for the changing world of work.
This type of training must happen on a large scale. According to
the United Nations, global unemployment is expected to exceed 200
million people in 2022. Women and youths are likely to be disproportionately
affected.
This is why I’ve placed such a strong emphasis this year on
projects that empower girls, and I’ve been delighted to see
some of these projects in action. Of course, access to education
and the path to employment can be blocked by a lack of water and
sanitation infrastructure.
A project in Pune, India, focuses on providing girls and women with
an affordable, reusable sanitary pad. The project provides employment
for production and distribution of the pads, and it will reduce
the pollution caused by the disposal of 12.3 billion sanitary napkins
in the country annually, many of which end up in India’s landfills.
Others have used vocational service to advance the empowerment of
women. The Rotary Club of Poona, India, conducted workshops to teach
martial arts to young women, for self-defense against the threat
of abuse or human trafficking.
I’ve also been fortunate to use my vocation to do good through
Rotary. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 devastated the Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, which are part of my district. Thousands of
homes were destroyed, and many areas lost electricity and running
water. On my visit to Little Andaman Island, the builder in me immediately
wanted to build homes for the homeless islanders there. We decided
to construct 500 homes on Little Andaman.
On the last of my seven trips to the island, I could see something
glimmering below as my helicopter was about to land. I realized
that what I was seeing were the roofs of new homes. I was overjoyed
by the sight, and soon a realization dawned upon me. As a builder
I had built many beautiful buildings. In comparison, these 500 homes
were the most ordinary buildings I had ever built, and they were
in a place I likely will never visit again, for people I will never
meet again. And yet the satisfaction I had in handing over these
houses was greater than from anything I had previously built. Probably
because for once I was using my vocation to Serve to Change
Lives.
You, too, may have had opportunities to use your vocation to Serve
to Change Lives. I welcome your stories of performing vocational
service through Rotary. Also, I want to close by congratulating
every club that has engaged with the Each One, Bring One initiative,
which asks every member to introduce one person to Rotary. Increasing
our membership gives people from all walks of life the opportunity
to share their knowledge and skills in transformational service.
Shekhar Mehta
President 2021-22
Trustee Chair's Message - January
2022
John F.
Germ
Trustee Chair 2021-22
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Trustee chair's
message
We all came into Rotary because we wanted to join
with others in service and make a difference. Similarly,
when Rotary teams up with like-minded organizations
to work toward our shared goals, there is nothing
that we can’t accomplish. Partnerships amplify
our impact.
Leading through partnerships is nothing new for Rotary:
We helped spearhead the formation of the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative. Later, when the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation joined the cause, we gained
a long-term fundraising and technical partner in the
fight against polio. Through our partnership and the
2-to-1 fundraising match agreement with the Gates
Foundation, Rotary generates $150 million annually
to end polio. We are proud that they are a part of
the effort to end this disease.
Many people may not know that our work with the Gates
Foundation and our other partners doesn’t end
with polio but includes other disease-prevention efforts.
The Rotary Foundation has joined with the Gates Foundation
and World Vision U.S. to co-fund a Rotary member-led
program to help eliminate malaria in Zambia. Based
on past partnership and future collaboration around
this effort, each co-funder is contributing $2 million
for the Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia program,
the first recipient of The Rotary Foundation’s
Programs of Scale grant.
This level of impact can also be seen in collaborations
across our other areas of focus. Rotary partners with
the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) on major initiatives at a national scale.
The Rotary-USAID WASH partnership has helped communities
and governments in countries such as Uganda and Ghana
provide safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, impacting
hundreds of thousands of lives. We are also teaming
up with USAID to help fight COVID-19 and its long-term
financial and social impact in Italy. Meanwhile, the
Hearts of Europe program, which is funded jointly
by USAID and Rotary, assists communities in Eastern
Europe through global grants.
Proving our value as a trusted partner often spurs
multiple mutual projects. Through the Power of Nutrition
initiative, we are partnering with our polio eradication
partner UNICEF and the Eleanor Crook Foundation to
tackle undernutrition during early childhood.
The Rotary Foundation is far too great to keep to
ourselves. Let’s make sure to let the Foundation’s
light shine bright. In doing so, we will find new
partners, gain new supporters, and increase the good
we’re all doing in the world.
http://www.endpolio.org/donate.
John F. Germ
Trustee Chair 2021-22
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