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Dear Fellow Rotarians, Rotaractors, and friends,
For years, Susanne and I hosted many Rotary Youth
Exchange students in our home. This program was an entry point to
Rotary for me, and my heart is truly in it. When Rotary’s
exchange programs were suspended because of COVID-19 to keep students
and families safe, we felt sorry, especially for the participants,
because those years cannot be repeated.
Because of the many uncertainties of the pandemic,
the Rotary Board has decided to suspend in-person exchanges through
June 2022. As we look ahead with hope, we thank Youth Exchange officers,
host families, and volunteers for their contributions in years past,
and we encourage districts to offer virtual exchanges as a way of
connecting students around the world with each other and with our
communities.
For those who are not able to participate in Rotary
Youth Exchange, Rotary offers other opportunities. New Generations
Service Exchange (NGSE) is a Rotary program that deserves wider
recognition: It is an excellent opportunity for young people ages
18 to 30 to participate in community service as individuals or in
a group and to gain internship experience. Simukai Matshalaga, a
Rotaractor from Zimbabwe, stayed with us in Ratzeburg during her
NGSE experience three years ago.
When I applied for the New Generations Service Exchange
program, I did not realize that I was signing up for a life-changing
experience. This program gave me that opportunity and much more.
It taught me about the importance of failing fast, learning quicker,
and being myself.
Some of my greatest experiences happened at the dinner
table. The warmth and kindness of every home I lived in still resonate
with me today. It took me weeks to understand how a stranger could
care for me as deeply as these members of the Rotary family did.
I am inspired by the lessons of humility I learned from all the
amazing people I met. I came to understand a new culture and realized
that the only things that separate us as people are our experiences
and, at times, our false assumptions.
Professionally, it gave me confidence in my own abilities
as an engineer. Seeing how other organizations handled problems
made me aware that the best person to solve the challenges in my
country was me. Returning home from northern Germany, I declined
a promotion, quit my job, and began building a family business —
a decision that previously I would have never made, out of fear.
I am indebted to the Rotary family. I am not sure
whether the friends, mentors, and families I left behind knew that
they changed my life permanently. I hope they now do.
New Generations Service Exchange changed Simukai’s
life. It can change yours, too. All Rotary members can experience
something similar at any time: I encourage everyone to take a virtual
journey this month and visit meetings of other clubs online. You
will see how different Rotary is around the world as you meet great
people and make new friends.
Let us build upon these connections forged online
— and later, when the time is right, enjoy in-person exchanges
through Rotary Friendship Exchange, another excellent program for
Rotary members of all ages.
Our ability to meet in person is limited now, but
we know that Rotary Opens Opportunities, always. Now is the time
to get ready, so that when the pandemic is behind us, Rotary’s
exchange programs will come back stronger than before, serving a
world that is yearning to reconnect.
HOLGER KNAACK
President 2020-21
Trustee Chair's Message - May
2021
K.R. Ravindran
Rotary Club of Colombo
Western Province, Sri Lanka
Trustee chair's
message
In the classic film Lawrence of Arabia, Peter
O’Toole plays T.E. Lawrence, the British scholar,
military officer, and author who helped Arab tribes
in their struggle for independence against the Ottoman
Empire.
Lawrence leads a group of Bedouin warriors
through the desert for a surprise attack on the Ottoman
port of Aqaba. As they reach the end of the desert,
they discover that a soldier, Gasim, has fallen off
his camel during the night. But it is morning, and
the tribesmen, led by Sherif Ali, played in the movie
by Omar Sharif, advise Lawrence that going back to
find him would be futile, that Gasim would already
be dead given the sandstorms and the scorching heat.
“Gasim’s time has come; it is written,”
one of the soldiers tells Lawrence.
But Lawrence does go back and finds
Gasim near death, staggering in the dunes. When they
return to camp, Ali offers Lawrence water. Before
taking a drink, Lawrence looks at him and says: “Nothing
is written.”
This unforgettable scene means more
than just a quotable movie line; it represents a way
of looking at the world. It is a challenge to fatalism
— that we must accept a certain outcome because
of the way it has always been. No, Lawrence says,
history is not written, yet.
So it is with The Rotary Foundation.
We have not yet emerged from the sandstorm of the
COVID-19 pandemic and the economic fallout from it.
We are still occupied by work to raise awareness,
deliver critical personal protective equipment, and
provide support for frontline workers.
We do not know the day when, standing
beside our polio eradication partners, we will announce
that for the second time in history, a disease has
been eradicated. We do know that, because we have
worked steadfastly for years, the end of that story
will be written soon.
And thanks to a $15.5 million contribution
from the Otto & Fran Walter Foundation, we are
also adding a new chapter in the story of our expansion
of the Rotary Peace Centers: Plans are underway to
launch a new peace certificate center in the Middle
East or North Africa.
Rotary is engaged in so many noble efforts;
it is an ongoing story that inspires me even more
than Lawrence of Arabia. We do not yet know the name
of the baby whose life will be saved because of a
maternal and child health grant from Rotary, or the
name of the girl who will learn to read with our support.
When will those grants start, and will your district
— or you — be directly involved?
Nothing is written. We write it.
http://www.endpolio.org/donate.
K.R. Ravindran
Trustee Chair 2020-21
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