The Interact Club of Episcopal School of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, is the grand-prize winner of the 2011 Interact video contest with its entry, “Change 4 Change.”
The video tells the story of how students at the Episcopal School of Knoxville collaborated to produce an illustrated children’s book about the worldwide effort to eradicate polio. Managed by eighth-grade Interactors and club advisers Laurie Coburn and Susan Lancaster, the book aims to raise funds and build awareness for Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign.
Jeff Raikes, chief executive officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Rotary International has succeeded in meeting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s US$200 million match in funding for polio eradication, raising more than $202.6 million as of 17 January.
“In recognition of Rotary’s great work, and to inspire Rotarians in the future, the [Gates] foundation is committing an additional $50 million to extend our partnership,” said Jeff Raikes, chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation. “Rotary started the global fight against polio, and continues to set the tone for private fundraising, grassroots engagement, and maintaining polio at the top of the agenda with key policymakers.” Raikes also addressed Rotary leaders at the International Assembly.
The new $50 million grant from the Gates Foundation is not a challenge grant.
“Peace, in all of the ways that we can understand it, is a real goal and a realistic goal for Rotary,” he said. “Peace is not something that can only be achieved through agreements, by governments, or through heroic struggles. It is something that we can find and that we can achieve, every day and in many simple ways.”
Peace has different meanings for different people, Tanaka said.
Don Peters President Hout Bay RC and Trustee of Nonceba.
An excerpt from this weeks Bay Breezes the weekly bulletin of our twin club Hout Bay Rotary Club.
Watching the cricket reminded me of the importance of being in a team. Each individual, and we all are individuals, play a part.In cricket you have batsmen, bowlers and fielders together with a Captain, Vice Captain, Coach etc; in Rotary its a little simpler,yes we have a team and a Board with a President. Where we fundamentally differ is that in cricket most of the roles played arethose played by individuals whereas in Rotary we really are a team, Yes of course we have “averages’ and frequently we getmoved up the “batting” order and have a magnificent “innings” but its the team that is the winner always.
We were very fortunate to have a team visit us from Australia and what amazing averages they all had, some were great batsmen and achieved great “heights” ( apology to the climbers) others magnificent fielders (further apology to those unsuccessfulclimbers) with one handicapped but able to achieve a memorable innings (thanks Mary). Our visiting Australians were actually more than amazing when you consider the very substantial personal sacrifices made by each of them to travel to Africa. This was a team of greats, it was a team of Rotarians who were just perfect team members and the amazing part of this whole story is that unlike cricket, where a team playing against a fantastic Australian bunch as we had would lose, Hout Bay Rotary WON.
Don Peters President Hout Bay Rotary Club and trustee Nonceba.
My response is to say the feeling is very mutual and we will never forget the hospitality that these wonderful Rotarians showed us in Hout Bay in December. We look forward to returning the favour one day Hout Bay. You do remarkable work and epitomise what Rotary is all about; GOOD ON YOU.
Rotary Peace Fellow Alumni, Louisa Dow, works for Habitat for Humanity coordinating partnerships that lead to permanent housing for Haitians effected by disaster and conflict. The issue of housing, for Dow, is an important sector of Peace and Conflict resolution. Duke/UNC Rotary Peace Fellow Alumni Louisa Dow now working for Habitat for Humanity in Haiti.
