RGHF’s Our Foundation Newsletter. Issue #159 May, 2015

Trustee Chair’s Message When the new grant model for The Rotary Foundation was introduced under the Future Vision Plan, the Trustees decided that it should be reviewed in the 2015-16 Rotary year so that your experiences could help make our processes as effective as possible. The Trustees recognize that grants involve many participants who may have different expectations, so I have appointed an independent committee of four past RI presidents to ensure that all views will be considered, and to ensure confidentiality to anyone who may want it. The committee would like to hear about your experiences with the areas of focus and district and global grants, and to seek your ideas for any improvements that could make our Rotary Foundation the best possible. It comprises myself and Past RI Presidents Kalyan Banerjee, Ray Klinginsmith, and Bill Boyd, who will serve as chair. We welcome your suggestions, which you can email to futurevisionbillboyd@outlook.com. We will read and analyze your ideas and meet at the Rotary International Convention in São Paulo, Brazil, to decide on any items that should be given to the Trustees Programs Committee. That committee will undertake the necessary surveys to ensure we are reflecting the opinions of every Rotary member, and will report back to us at the January 2016 International Assembly. We intend to make our recommendations at the April 2016 meeting of the Trustees. We seek your support to ensure that our Rotary Foundation continues to do good in the world in the best possible way. John Kenny Trustee Chair (2014-15) Dear Rotarians - The Trustees of The Rotary Foundation are seeking your input, your support. Now that you have had the opportunity to work with the new grant models, have those grant models (introduced via the Future Vision Plan) lived up to your expectations? An independent Committee of Past RI presidents has been appointed to hear your views. The committee would like to hear about your experiences with the areas of focus and district and global grants, and to seek your ideas for any improvements that could make our Rotary Foundation the best possible. Let them know what you think. Write to: futurevisionbillboyd@outlook.com Doing Good in the World RGHF’s Our Foundation Newsletter A project of Rotary Global History Fellowship Page 2 Two of the most exciting words in Rotary By Kenneth Solow, incoming governor of District 7620 (Maryland, USA) Can you picture Dr. John Sever, member of the Rotary Club of Potomac, Maryland, asking Rotary’s 1979-1980 Board, at the request of RI President Clem Renouf, to imagine “what if” Rotary adopted the goal of a polio-free world?” The rest is history. Recently the Zone 33-34 class of incoming district governors asked a different “what if” question. What if the Rotary districts in Zone 33-34 combined to fund an international project using a global grant from the Rotary Foundation? If they could pull it off, the financial contribution from each district would be relatively small, but the impact of their combined effort would be gigantic. The result of asking that “what if” question is the unprecedented cooperation of twenty-two districts to fund a Rotary Family Health Day in the country of Ghana in Africa next year. With contribution from so many districts, and a grant from the Rotary Foundation, it looks like 100 percent of the $109,000 project will be funded through the generosity of thousands of Rotary members throughout the East Coast of the United States. Rotary Family Health Days is the brainchild of Atlanta Rotary member Marion Bunch, who has created a Rotarian Action Group called, Rotarians for Family Health and AIDS Prevention (RFHA). The group has successfully planned and carried out Family Health Days for the past five years in South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria. The 2015-16 Ghana project will serve an estimated 40,000 men, women, and children in urban and semi-urban areas in 40 different communities across the country. It is managed by RFHA, in partnership with 25 Ghana Rotary clubs, the Ghana Health Service, USAID, and country NGOs. Each and every Rotarian who contributes to The Rotary Foundation in the participating districts can legitimately say they are supporting Ghana’s Rotary Family Health Day. What a great example of how districts can work together to Do Good in the World. And what a great example of what can happen when Rotarians think big, AND ask, “what if?” Source : Rotary Voices Volunteers provide counseling and share information about breast cancer at a booth in Zandspruit, South Africa. Photo by Anna J Nel Issue #159 Page 3 What is your EREY Story? Why do you support the Rotary Foundation? Why do you contribute every year? What is your EREY Story? We would like to hear your story, and share it with all our readers. Please write to the Editor at jeeturotary@gmail.com Below is a story from RGHF member Chuck Arnason Two Happy Faces - You could see this scene anywhere in the world. These brothers live in a new home. It's a two room cinderblock building with a tin roof. No electricity or running water. No toilet facilities. Yet they are excited because today their home will get something new. No it's not a Wii or Xbox, it is a BioSand filter. BioSand filters are a point of use filtration system, developed from slow sand filters, which remove pathogens and suspended solids from water. Each filter costs about $65 and is placed in an individual home. The filter has a useful life of 6-7 years. Through a Rotary grant, these brothers will be drinking clean water in their new home outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. They had lived in a tent since the 2010 earthquake. Did you know that one child out of every eight will probably die before the age of five in Haiti - the highest mortality rate among children in the Western Hemisphere. It is my hope that these two will not be a part of that statistic. The BioSand Filter Project was made possible by a grant from The Rotary Foundation’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Donor Advised Fund along with support from the Rotary Clubs of South Hill, Henrico East, Powhatan, Lawrenceville, Lake Country, and South Boston in District 7600 and two North Carolina Rotary clubs: Belhaven-Pantego RC in District 7720 and Valdese RC in District 7670. Since 1965 The Rotary Foundation has funded grant projects for service projects undertaken by Rotary clubs and districts. But it was different for me. I was there and saw what good we do in the world. I only wish every one of us could put a face to the work our Foundation contributions do… in places we will never see… for children we can never know. Chuck Arnason Rotary Club of Blackstone, VA Past District Governor 2013-14, District 7600 RGHF’s Our Foundation Newsletter A project of Rotary Global History Fellowship Page 4 Issue #159 Page 5 Polio Eradication Update For The Week Ending 04/25/15 Total paralysis cases Year-to-date 2015 LY to D 2014 Total 2014 Total 2013 Total 2012 Globally 22 62 359 416 222 - in endemic countries: 22 53 340 160 216 - in non-endemic countries: 0 9 19 256 6 2015 Polio Case Breakdown by Country (Green Numbers are 2014 Totals) Endemic Countries – 21 Pakistan (2014-306), 1 Afghanistan (2014-28), 0 Nigeria (2014-6) 2015 Importation Countries – 0 Cameroon (2014-5), 0 Eq. Guinea (2014-5), 0 Somalia (2014-5), 0 Ethiopia (2014-1), 0 Syria (2014-1), 0 Iraq (2014-2) Our Goal is Global Polio Eradication! Terry Ziegler, bigzlumber@aol.com, District 5890 Rotary Foundation Committee Chair, RGHF Member The Final Three Endemic Countries Pakistan - 21 Polio cases reported in 2015 with 306 cases recorded in 2014 The most recent case was reported on 03/17/15 in the Khyber, FATA. Afghanistan - One Polio case reported in 2015 with 28 cases recorded in 2014. The most recent case was reported on 01/21/14 from the Hilmand Province. Nigeria - Zero Polio cases reported in 2015 with 6 cases recorded in 2014. The most recent case was reported on 7/24/14. Sub-National Immunization Days were completed on March 14-18 using trivalent vaccine. Importation Countries Ethiopia - Zero Polio Cases reported in 2015 with 1 case in 2014. Cameroon - Zero Polio Cases reported in 2015 with 5 cases in 2014. Somalia - Zero Polio Cases reported in 2015 with 5 cases in 2014. Iraq - Zero Polio cases reported in 2015 with 2 cases in 2014. Syria - Zero Polio cases reported in 2015 with 1 case in 2014. Equatorial Guinea - Zero Polio Cases reported in 2015 with 5 cases in 2014. RGHF’s Our Foundation Newsletter A project of Rotary Global History Fellowship Page 6 Celebrating and sustaining a polio-free India Thanks to support from the global community of supporters to end polio, India is celebrating its fourth polio-free year. The World Health Organization (WHO) certified the South-East Asia Region, home to a quarter of the world’s population, polio-free one year ago, today. The certification of the region marked an important step in polio eradication efforts. Now, 80 percent of the world’s population lives in certified poliofree regions. Since the last case of polio in India in March 2011, the India National PolioPlus Committee’s “Keep India Polio -Free” campaign has continued regular immunization campaigns. These campaigns rely on the support of entire communities, religious groups, and political bodies. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners (Rotary International, WHO, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Unicef, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) have committed to strengthen the routine immunization levels in the country to ensure that children are protected against polio and other life-threatening, vaccine-preventable diseases. Routine vaccinations include vaccines against diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B. The Indian government recently launched Mission Indhradhanush, an immunization drive to achieve its target of full immunization by the year 2020. The drive’s objective is to strengthen health systems for improved vaccine delivery. The drive will be implemented slowly throughout the country; first in 201 low-performing districts that have been identified for improvement. The first phase of the immunization campaign is scheduled for the beginning of April. India National PolioPlus Committee chair, Deepak Kapur says, “It is an opportunity to close the immunization gap and ensure that those missed children in the country get a shot at life with these seven life-saving vaccines. The success of Mission Indhradhanush will ensure that no child remains vulnerable to polio.” It is estimated that about 500,000 children die annually in India due to diseases that are preventable with vaccines. India’s PolioPlus committee hopes that the legacy of the systems in place for polio eradication will strengthen and support ongoing immunization activities throughout the country. Source : www.endpolio.org Issue #159 Page 7 Rotary lights a fire under eradication efforts The Rotary “Flame” was launched in December in Chennai, India, to commemorate India becoming polio-free and to promote awareness for the fight to end polio. Created by the Rotary Club of Madras, this torch symbolizes Rotary’s dedication to making the world polio-free. The torch, like the PolioPlus program, will have touched every continent, making its way through the cities of Colombo, Karachi, Kabul, Sydney, Taipei, Manila, London, and Lagos before it arrived at Rotary in Evanston on April 14 for a lighting ceremony. It will fly north to Toronto, and end its journey in São Paulo, Brazil, at the Rotary International Convention in June. Present at the lighting ceremony were Rotary leaders including Rotary President Gary Huang, Past President of the Rotary Club of Madras N.K. Gopinath and Rotary Director Prabhakar, who spearheaded the Rotary Flame Concept. “When we said we would eradicate polio in India, many people said it couldn’t be done. This Rotary Flame is the proof that we were right to believe in our mission. We can help make a brighter future for billions across the world," said Rotary International President Gary C.K. Huang. This year, the polio eradication program is on the verge of two historic achievements in two years. If no new cases of polio are reported in Nigeria by the end of July, Africa will become polio-free, one year after south-east Asia reached the same milestone. “I hope our success in India will provide the inspiration to help the last three polio-endemic countries across the finish line and banish this cruel disease forever,” said N.K. Gopinath, Past President of the Rotary Club of Madras. Source : www.endpolio.org RGHF’s Our Foundation Newsletter A project of Rotary Global History Fellowship Page 8 2017 fundraising goal set for Rotary Peace Centers The Rotary Foundation Trustees have set a goal for the Rotary Peace Centers Major Gifts Initiative: raising $150 million in gifts and commitments by June 2017. The funds will be used to build an endowment to ensure the program’s continuation for future generations as well as meet its immediate expenses. Each year, up to 100 Rotary Peace Fellows are selected to participate in a master’s degree or certificate program at one of our partner universities. Fellows study subjects related to the root causes of conflict and explore innovative solutions that address real-world needs. Today, almost 900 peace fellow alumni serve as leaders in national governments, nongovernmental organizations, the military, law enforcement, and international institutions such as the United Nations and World Bank. The Rotary Foundation established the initiative in 2005 with the goal of raising $95 million, which has nearly been reached. The current $150 million goal will finally endow the program.