A Newsletter for Rotary Leaders

Our Foundation

May, 2012 Issue # 124

― Doing Good in the World is more than a motto. It is our goal, our mission, and our reminder. It expresses

in the clearest terms why we have a Foundation, and it challenges us to reach as far as we can to do the most

good possible with everything we have. 2004-05 RI President Glenn E. Estess Sr.

Our Foundation

is one of the monthly

features of the

Rotary Global

History Fellowship.

www.ourfoundation.info

Eradication is Possible ...

As I read RI General Secretary John Hewko’s speech to the World

Vaccine Congress (included in this issue), my thoughts went back to

the era where humanity managed to eradicate smallpox. I came

across an article `The Death of a Disease’ written by

D.A.Henderson, MD, MPH, who led the Global Smallpox Eradication

Campaign.

In this article, D.A.Henderson talks about the various hurdles which

were faced in the journey of the global eradication campaign. At one

instance he writes “The decision to undertake the global eradication

campaign had not been an easy one. Many doubted its feasibility.

No disease had ever been eradicated. A vote was taken in the

Assembly to decide whether or not the program should be launched.

It was endorsed - by a margin of only two votes. The World Health

Organisation (WHO) budget provided an allocation of $2.4 million -

not enough even to buy the vaccine required each year. A 10-year

target called for the last case to occur by December 1976. The

program didn't quite succeed - it missed the target by 9 months and

26 days.” We find a similar reference on the Polio Eradication

Campaign in John Hewko’s speech.

Issue # 124

Page 2 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

At another instance, D.A.Henderson writes in his article “By

the sixth year of the program, smallpox had been eliminated

from all countries except Ethiopia and four in South Asia -

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. This group of

countries proved to be far more difficult than had been

expected. In the densely populated Asian countries and in

Ethiopia, there was a never-ending array of catastrophes and

setbacks that left the staff repeatedly reeling in frustration and

fatigue - floods, famine, civil wars, kidnapping of teams,

political instability, government suppression of reports, and

bureaucratic obstacles of every imaginable type. On several

occasions, the ultimate success of the program hovered on

the brink of a major, perhaps permanent setback. However, a

dedicated, resourceful array of national and international staff

persisted and eventually celebrated the occurrence of the last

case on Oct. 26, 1977.”

We all know that in the current Polio Eradication Campaign,

most of the world is Polio free. As India is now removed from

the list of endemic countries, we have the three endemic

countries to tackle. With the `dedicated, resourceful array of

national and international staff’ and the commitment of Rotary

International, we can look forward to eventually celebrate the

occurrence of the last case of Polio in the near future.

We are `This Close’ …

Jeetendra Sharma

Associate Editor

“WHAT’S

IMPORTANT IN

ROTARY ISN’T

WHAT WE SAY. IT’S

WHAT WE DO, AND

WHO WE ARE.” - RI

PRESIDENT KALYAN

BANERJEE

Our Foundation

Page 3 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Rotarians leave Bangkok

encouraged to fight poverty and

finish the job of eradicating polio

By Ryan Hyland, Rotary International News -- 9 May

Rotarians and friends left the 2012 RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand, energized to keep up the fight against polio and to use their ingenuity to help reduce global poverty.

The four-day event, which drew to a close Wednesday, attracted more than 35,000 attendees from 181 countries and geographical areas and included a celebration of two major milestones in the global polio eradication effort.

Attendees were also treated to a preview of the next RI Convention, which will take place 23-26 June 2013, in Lisbon, Portugal. Register now.

In his closing remarks, RI President Kalyan Banerjee reminded Rotarians that “what’s important in Rotary isn’t what we say. It’s what we do, and who we are.”

“There dwells within you the power and spirit that can evoke the energy you may not realize,” Banerjee said. “You have to be hungry enough to reach within and release the energy to help you embrace humanity. I believe this is the state we call happiness. I have just given you the prescription for it. Rotary can help you achieve happiness in life that you seek.” Download Banerjee’s closing address.

Peace through service

Incoming RI President Sakuji Tanaka outlined his plans for his term, which begins 1 July. Tanaka will ask Rotarians to achieve Peace through Service.

“Through service we learn that the problems that may seem large to us are really very small,” said Tanaka. “We learn empathy for others. We come closer to people who seem very different from us. And we begin to understand how much we are all the same.”

“Through our Rotary service, we know that cooperation is more productive than conflict,” he said. “We know that every one of us has something to give, and everyone has something to teach.” Download Tanaka’s speech.

Delegates elected nominee Ron D. Burton, of the Rotary Club of Norman, Oklahoma, USA, as the 2013-14 RI president during the fourth plenary session earlier in the day.

RI President Kalyan Banerjee and RI President-elect Sakuji

Tanaka during the closing plenary.

Rotary Images/Monika Lozinska

… PEACE CAN BE

DIFFICULT BUT,

WITH THE RIGHT

PEOPLE IN PLACE,

IT’S ATTAINABLE.

Issue # 124

Page 4 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

“I am both honored and humbled to accept the nomination of president of Rotary International,” Burton said in his acceptance remarks. “I take a tremendous amount of pride in being a Rotarian. To me, Rotary isn’t just another service organization. It is something different, something special.”

Burton says the best years are still to come for Rotary. He emphasized RI’s Strategic Plan as the tool to make that happen.

“The plan is a way to look clearly at who we are, where we are going, and how we should get there,” said Burton. “It’s a powerful reminder of our goals and priorities, which at their heart are the same as they’ve been since Rotary was founded.” Download Burton's speech.

Achieving peace

Jose Ramos-Horta, president of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, talked about his country’s struggle to achieve peace. He told Rotarians that peace can be difficult but, with the right people in place, it’s attainable.

“Peace is a process — sometimes a long one, too long. It can be a formal political process,” said Ramos-Horta. “But to be sustained we have to deal with human beings as individuals, as communities, as people with traumas, emotions, and anger, but also with hopes, hearts, and feelings.”

Earlier in the session, Banerjee honored clubs and districts with the Changemaker Award and the Presidential Citation.

The Changemaker Award recognizes clubs that made an extraordinary impact during 2011-12 through the Avenues of Service. The Presidential Citation recognizes achievements related to membership development and contributing to The Rotary Foundation.

During the fourth plenary session, General Secretary John Hewko outlined five priorities for the Secretariat to get Rotary on the best footing possible to embark on its second century. These included eradicating polio, implementing the Strategic Plan and Future Vision, finding an effective way to track and demonstrate the value of the service provided by Rotarians, increasing membership, and bringing Rotary into the ranks of major players in the world of global humanitarian assistance and development. Download Hewko's speech

Ron D. Burton, 2013-14 RI president, and his wife, Jetta,

are introduced during the fourth plenary.

Rotary Images/Monika Lozinska

“WE KNOW THAT WE

HAVEN’T REACHED

OUR GOAL. WE

HAVEN’T ENDED

POLIO,” SAID JOHN F.

GERM, CHAIR OF

ROTARY’S US$200

MILLION CHALLENGE

COMMITTEE.

Our Foundation

Page 5 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Rotarians celebrate milestones in

the fight to rid the world of polio

By Ryan Hyland, Rotary International News – 8 May 2012

Rotarians Tuesday celebrated two major milestones in the organization’s decades-long fight to rid the world of polio.

During the third plenary session of the 2012 RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand, which was also made available through a live webcast, Rotarians were congratulated for meeting and exceeding Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge, Rotary's response to $355 million in matching grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for polio eradication efforts. Attendees also celebrated India’s removal from the polio-endemic list in February, which leaves only three countries where transmission of the virus has never been stopped.

But speakers reminded the festive assembly that the work is far from complete, because the ultimate goal has not been reached.

“We know that we haven’t reached our goal. We haven’t ended polio,” said John F. Germ, chair of Rotary’s US$200 Million Challenge Committee. “Our clubs are still planning polio fundraisers for the coming years and encouraging donations from people in their communities.”

Germ announced that, as of 4 May, Rotarians and supporters have raised $215.7 million for the challenge, which runs through June. But with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative facing a significant funding shortfall for 2012 and beyond, it is vital for clubs and districts to keep pushing forward with their many creative fundraisers. (Download Germ's speech or watch a video of the third plenary)

Public health emergency

Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general for polio, emergencies and country collaboration for the World Health Organization, said India’s removal from the polio-endemic list is “perhaps the most important milestone ever on the long road to eradication.”

“It’s a magnificent achievement. And it is a Rotary achievement,” he said. “Today, Rotary’s vision of a polio-free world is much closer to reality.”

Bruce Aylward tells Rotarians India's removal

from the polio-endemic list is a magnificent

Rotary achievement. Rotary Images/Alyce

Henson

“WHEN A

CORPORATION

PUSHES ITS ENERGIES

AND HELPS RESOLVE

SOCIAL SECTOR

ISSUES THROUGH

ENGAGEMENT, IT

INDIRECTLY

STIMULATES ITS OWN

BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT,” SAID

BIRLA.

Issue # 124

But an upsurge in cases of paralysis from polio in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and recent polio outbreaks in China, the Congo, and Tajikistan have also prompted what he called an “unprecedented push” to finally end the disease. He said 192 ministers of health will meet next week and declare polio a public health emergency.

“The world understands the full consequences of failure,” he said. “We must be faster, we must be more focused and each one of us must be fully accountable.”

Indian philanthropist Rajashree Birla, who has given more than $4.2 million to the Foundation for polio eradication, said she has been “overwhelmed with Rotary’s polio efforts.”

Birla’s late husband, Aditya, built the family business into one of India’s largest. Today, Birla and her son, Kumar Mangalam, head the Aditya Birla Group, a Fortune 500 company.

Birla stressed the need for business accountability and community service. Her Giving to Living campaign encourages corporations to “embed giving into their DNA.”

“When a corporation pushes its energies and helps resolve social sector issues through engagement, it indirectly stimulates its own business development,” said Birla. “There is much to be gained when business leaders take giving to heart, and set the mandate of making a difference by caring for people in their community.”

Service to Humanity award

Former Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar John Skerritt was presented with the 2011-12 Global Alumni Service to Humanity Award by Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair William B. Boyd.

“Just as Rotary Fellowships help build international understanding, I had the privilege of leading a program of postgraduate training for over 300 agricultural scientists from 18 developing countries to assist in building the next generation of thinkers and leaders,” said Skerritt. Read more.

Former Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial

Scholar John Skerritt accepts the Global

Alumni Service to Humanity Award. Rotary

Images/Alyce Henson

Page 6 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

“ROTARY HAS

ALREADY MADE A

DRAMATIC

DIFFERENCE IN MY

LIFE AND IS HAVING A

PROFOUND RIPPLE

EFFECT”

Our Foundation

Page 7 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

In his keynote address, Boyd noted the difference The Rotary Foundation makes in lives daily.

“When a group calling themselves Rotarians comes to a village and asks what are the most pressing needs that can be worked through together and the answer is water, you can understand the opportunity that this gives the woman who spends three hours each day walking with her teenage daughter to collect dirty water as that is the only supply available,” he said.

“A water supply to her village will give her time to grow food, will enable her daughter to be educated, her other children will not be constantly sick, and maybe she can get a microcredit loan and start a small business. What a difference that day will bring.” Download Boyd’s speech

Amanda Martin, an alumna of the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, thanked Rotary for the opportunity to broaden her skills. She said her work as a public health coordinator and teacher in a refugee camp on the border of Thailand and Myanmar is “inspiring and fulfilling.”

“Rotary has already made a dramatic difference in my life and is having a

profound ripple effect, radiating from me to my students and onto the

impoverished populations that they will serve as public health workers,”

said Martin.

$215,754,500

Raised since 12/01/07 to

exceed the

Polio Challenge!

THIS CRIPPLING

CHILDHOOD DISEASE

HAS BEEN ROTARY’S

SWORN ENEMY FOR

MORE THAN THREE

DECADES, AND YOU

PROVIDE US AND OUR

PARTNERS WITH THE

WEAPONS — THE

VACCINES — THAT

HAVE CARRIED US TO

THE THRESHOLD OF

VICTORY.

Issue # 124

Page 8 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

The Salk Vaccine

RI General Secretary John

Hewko’s Address to the World

Vaccine Congress - 12 April 2012

On 12 April 1955, scientists declared Jonas Salk's polio vaccine safe, effective, and potent.

In honor of the anniversary of that historic announcement, RI General Secretary John

Hewko delivered a speech at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, D.C., noting

Rotary's leadership role in polio eradication.

It is my honor and privilege to be here at the World Vaccine Congress and to proudly represent the 1.2million men and women of Rotary and on behalf of the 34,000 Rotary clubs worldwide, let me also express my sincerest gratitude to every person in this room. Because if it weren’t for you —the professionals who fund and conduct vaccine research — who develop, produce, and distribute these lifesaving agents — we at Rotary could not do what we do. And what do we do? As you saw in the video: We eradicate polio. We do other things too, of course. Rotary clubs support literacy and education. We promote maternal and child health. We improve access to clean water and sanitation. But Rotary’s highest priority is the eradication of polio.

This crippling childhood disease has been Rotary’s sworn enemy for more than three decades, and you provide us and our partners with the weapons — the vaccines — that have carried us to the threshold of victory. Thanks to vaccines, humanity was able to conquer smallpox. And now we are poised to make history a second time by eradicating polio. But before I talk in more detail about how close we truly are to a polio-free world, I want to share a little story about the polio vaccine. Call it a pop-culture tidbit that perhaps illustrates just how much a part of our lives vaccines have become — in ways that we don’t always expect. A few weeks ago, I came across a news story about a gentleman named Robert Sherman, who had just passed away at the age of 86. His obituary indicated that he was an award-winning composer who did a great deal of work for Disney Studios. One of his assignments was to write the songs for the 1964 musical, Mary Poppins, a very popular movie that I certainly remember, and I imagine many of you do too.

One day, Mr. Sherman found himself struggling with the lyrics for one of the film’s most important songs. He needed a catchy phrase around which to build the song — to anchor it. Something memorable. But try as he might, nothing seemed to work. Then his 8-year-old son came home from school. The father asked the age-old question: “So how was school?” “Great, we got the polio vaccine today,” came the response.

Mr. Sherman assumed it was delivered by injection. “Did it hurt?” “Nah,” the boy said. “They just stuck the medicine on a lump of sugar.” A light bulb popped above the father’s head, and an instant classic was born. “A Spoon Full of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down. ”Yes, the same vaccine that has saved millions of children from a lifetime of disability also inspired one of the most memorable songs in Hollywood history, a song that helped Mr. Sherman win an Academy Award for Best Original Score that year. I would say that’s a great example of creative, off-label use. Now let me shift gears and take a look at how Rotary and our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have put the oral polio vaccine to its intended use. And to great effect, I must say.

Rotary officially took on polio eradication as our number one priority when we started our Polio Plus Program in 1985. We were the first NGO to address the problem. In 1988, Rotary was joined by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to launch the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. And more recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has joined the cause.

EVEN THE CHILDREN

THEMSELVES BECOME

LIVING MEDICAL

RECORDS — THEIR

PINKY FINGERS DYED

PURPLE TO SHOW

THEY HAVE RECEIVED

THE VACCINE.

Our Foundation

Rotary’s chief responsibilities are fundraising, advocacy, and mobilizing volunteers — and we do a very good job at all three. In fact, to date Rotarians have contributed more than$1.2 billion to the polio eradication effort. Many consider the polio eradication initiative to be the most ambitious and successful public-private partnership ever forged. And I want to get back to the private sector part of the equation in a few minutes, because it’s very important and it speaks directly to many of us here today — as private sector professionals.

But first, let’s look at what this partnership has accomplished so far. Since the initiative began its work to immunize the world’s children against polio, the incidence of polio has dropped by more than 99 percent — from 350,000 cases a year to fewer than 700 for all of 2011. This year, we’ve had 36 cases worldwide as of April 1, well below the case-count at the same point in 2011.Think about these numbers.

We have reached more than two-and-a-half BILLION children with the oral polio vaccine. Polio eradication activities have reached more families than any other public health initiative in history –introducing millions of parents to the basic concepts of preventive health care. In doing so, we have prevented more than 5 MILLION cases of childhood paralysis and hundreds of thousands of pediatric deaths. Already this year, we have celebrated the long-anticipated milestone of seeing India removed from the list of polio-endemic countries, leaving only Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan as nations where the wild poliovirus has never been stopped. And because this is such an important milestone, let’s look a little more closely at India, a country of more than a billion people and a host of challenges— among them poverty, pollution, and poor sanitation — challenges that until recently made India an epicenter of polio. When the eradication initiative began, India was experiencing about 75,000 new polio cases a year.

And if you have spent any time at all in India, you have seen the ravages of polio for yourself —children and adults permanently disabled, unable to walk — the so-called crawlers of the streets — and most of them with little hope of receiving any meaningful treatment or rehabilitation. However, defeating polio in India didn’t “just happen.” Instead, India’s progress demonstrates — perfectly— how determination, persistence, and planning will ultimately win the day. Year after year, thousands of health workers and volunteers — many of them Rotarians — have methodically carried out massive immunization rounds — called National Immunization Days — in an effort to reach every Indian child under age five with the oral polio vaccine. This means going door-to-door — from the remotest villages to the teeming urban slums — to make sure no child is missed. Public awareness rallies drive home the importance of vaccinations. Parental misgivings and cultural misconceptions are identified and addressed.

Detailed records are kept. Home addresses are logged. Even the children themselves become living medical records — their pinky fingers dyed purple to show they have received the vaccine. Over and over again these immunization rounds take place — vaccinating more than 170 million children each time. Then come the mop-up rounds, targeting communities where children may have been missed or where risk is particularly high.

And sure enough, over time, India’s polio infection rate began to drop. By 2009, new cases totaled just over 700. In 2010, only 42 cases were reported. In2011, there was only one case — a young girl in West Bengal — recorded on January 13 of that year. And that was it. On January 13, 2012, India celebrated a full year without one new case of polio. India’s removal from the endemic list was announced in February during a Polio Summit in New Delhi — a meeting convened jointly by Rotary and the Indian Health Ministry.

Ladies and gentlemen, if polio can be beaten in India, it can be beaten anywhere. Of course, the vaccine industry has been vital to our progress. In India, for example, it was very likely that the introduction of the new bivalent vaccine — which targets poliovirus types 1 and 3 — contributed substantially to the steep case-count reductions we saw in 2010 and 2011.The swift production and deployment of the bivalent vaccine resulted from an extraordinary collaboration between WHO, UNICEF, government regulatory agencies and — of course — the vaccine companies. Throughout the history of the polio eradication initiative, the vaccine industry has been amazing in its ability to continually and quickly reconfigure the polio vaccines to make sure we have the right weapons at the right time to use against this tenacious disease. Polio vaccine producers have been incredibly generous in negotiating prices to help make vaccines affordable to developing countries, even donating vaccine supplies for use in emergency responses to sudden outbreaks. When such emergencies

Page 9 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

IT WAS THE PRIVATE

SECTOR — ROTARY

— THAT PROVED TO

THE WORLD HEALTH

ASSEMBLY THAT

POLIO ERADICATION

WAS EVEN FEASIBLE.

Issue # 124

Page 10 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

occur, we know we can rely on our pharmaceutical industry allies to deploy the right vaccine in the quantities needed to respond swiftly and effectively. Trivalent. Monovalent. Bivalent. Each type of oral polio vaccine has proven indispensable to our effort. And as we approach the end game with polio, it is almost certain that injectable, inactivated polio vaccine — IPV — will be introduced into the mix to help in the final stages of eradication and our transition into the post-eradication era. Yes, I said post-eradication era, but let us not get ahead of ourselves. There is still much to do — and serious challenges to overcome — before we reach that point. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative retains an Independent Monitoring Board that issues quarterly reports that take a very critical look at our strategies and practices.

These reports provide a valuable reality check that keeps us from becoming too giddy over our successes – even India’s milestone, as wonderful and important as that is. While acknowledging India’s success, the board in its most recent report said we simply have to do a better job on-the-ground – at the local level – to reach every child with the vaccine in the remaining polio-affected countries. This means giving the vaccinators the resources and tools they need to get the job done — better training, fair compensation, creative incentives, adequate support, continuous motivation. We have to make sure that the changes and improvements we make at the organizational level are put into practice at the community level, where it counts. The Independent Monitoring Board reminds us that beyond the three endemic countries, so-called “re-established polio” has become persistent in Angola, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And 20 additional countries have had smaller polio outbreaks since the start of 2010. Again, these are countries where the poliovirus had once been stopped. This is alarming, to be sure. And it demonstrates why it is so critically important to stop the transmission of the poliovirus in the three endemic countries, which are the reservoir that enables the disease to re-establish itself elsewhere. For example, in 2011, polio cases in non-endemic countries totaled 310, almost as many as the 340 cases in the endemic countries.

To me, one of the most surprising outbreaks last year occurred in China, which had been polio-free for more than a decade. The 21 cases there were genetically linked to the same strain of the type 1 poliovirus circulating in neighboring Pakistan – once again, proof that we must stop polio in the endemic counties at all costs. And speaking of costs, as you would expect, funding remains the single biggest challenge to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

To date, the world has spent more than $8 billion on polio eradication. Yet, the initiative right now faces a funding gap of more than $1 billion in order to carryout immunization activities through 2012-2013. Believe me — we are working hard to close that gap. In January of this year, we at Rotary announced that our membership had succeeded in raising more than $200 million in new money for polio eradication. And when you think about the state of the global economy during the past few years, it makes what our members did even more impressive.

This fundraising effort was in response to a $355 million Challenge Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has added another $50 million to the total to recognize Rotary’s commitment. To date, Rotary and the Gates Foundation each has contributed more than $1 billion to polio eradication. In addition to raising funds for polio eradication, Rotary advocates as a global organization to encourage the world’s governments to commit public resources to a cause that benefits all families, no matter where they live. Because Rotary is present in more than 200 countries and regions, this has proven to be a very effective tactic. As I mentioned earlier, you can see how important the private sector is to polio eradication. Without the leadership, participation, support, and cooperation of the private sector — vaccine manufacturers, foundations, the professional and community leaders in Rotary clubs — polio eradication would still be a pipe-dream, not a global health initiative that is 99 percent of the way to achieving its goal.

In fact, for the purposes of polio eradication, we could reverse the order, and call it a PRIVATE-public partnership, because the private sector was there first, leading the way. It was the private sector — Rotary — that proved to the World Health Assembly that polio eradication was even feasible. In 1979, the same year that smallpox was declared eradicated, Rotary committed $750,000 through its own grant program to buy polio vaccine to immunize 6.3 million children in the Philippines, which at the time had the highest polio rate in the West Pacific.

IN FACT,

ERADICATION WILL

RESULT IN NET

BENEFITS ESTIMATED

AT $40 BILLION TO

$50 BILLION OVER

THE NEXT TWO

DECADES.

Our Foundation

Page 11 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

By 1982, the incidence of polio in the Philippines had dropped by 68 percent. Using the Philippine experience as a model, Rotary launched successful polio immunization projects in several other Asian, African, and South American countries over the next few years. Rotary’s early successes in these countries demonstrated that millions of children could be systematically immunized against polio. Rotary then mobilized its worldwide membership to raise an initial war chest of $247 million to vaccinate all of the world’s children, easily doubling its original goal of $120 million. And as I said earlier, we established our PolioPlus Program in 1985.With such solid groundwork in place, in 1988 the World Health Assembly adopted the historic resolution that formally targeted polio for eradication, thus creating the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, the wonderful partnership we’ve been talking about. And I must add that a key vaccine researcher was with us from the beginning. Dr. Albert Sabin was a staunch ally of Rotary and spoke at two Rotary International conventions, in 1980 and 1985, to encourage Rotary to embrace polio eradication as our global cause. Dr. Sabin was a visionary. He could see the history-making potential of his oral polio vaccine, delivered to the world’s children through the resources of Rotary, an organization of everyday business and professional people committed to the goal of a polio-free world. Yes, it has become increasingly clear to me that private sector leadership is one of the key components to any valid solution to community problems the world over — and polio historically has been a major one. The continuing support of the world’s governments is by all means crucial to our success – of course it is — but governments alone cannot eradicate polio. But by working together, as a team — leveraging the strengths of both the public and private sectors —WE CAN eradicate polio. And we will. So what will be our legacy when polio is finally gone for good?

For one thing, the world’s $8 billion investment will be protected. In fact, eradication will result in net benefits estimated at $40 billion to $50 billion over the next two decades. Most of the benefits will accrue in developing countries, as per capita production goes up and health care costs drop after the burden of polio is lifted. Another tangible benefit is the solid public health infrastructure that polio eradication will leave in place — systems that can be used for the delivery of other vital health services.

For example, active disease-surveillance networks have been established in all of these countries, assets that can be readily repurposed to address other diseases, such as measles, malaria, and HIV. Once achieved, polio eradication will set the stage –and provide the inspiration — for the next great global health initiative. But the most important legacy, of course, will be our collective gift to children everywhere: a polio-free world.

This realization hit me hard — and in a very emotional way — last November in Mumbai, where my wife and I had our first opportunity to vaccinate children as part of a Subnational Immunization Day. The first child I immunized that day was a little girl. I can honestly say that the feeling of joy and pride that I felt as I placed the vaccine drops into her mouth will live with me forever. Two small drops and a lifetime of misery is prevented.

There are few certainties in life, but at least her parents can be certain — as I am certain — that polio will not rob that child of her future. What more can I say? It was a truly humbling experience, and I thank you for enabling me — and the thousands of my fellow Rotarians who have devoted countless hours to immunize the world’s children — to have such a profound and powerful impact on another human’s life.

“I ENCOURAGED THE

PRESIDENT TO KEEP

UP THE INTENSITY OF

THE IMMUNIZATION

PROGRAM BECAUSE,

BY DOING SO, THEY

CAN STOP POLIO AS

WE DID IN INDIA,”

BANERJEE SAID.

Issue # 124

Page 12 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

RI president presents polio medal

to Afghanistan president in

Kabul

Rotary International President Kalyan Banerjee presented a medal to Afghan President Hamid Karzai on 2 April in Kabul, in recognition of Karzai’s support for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, in which Rotary is a spearheading partner.

Banerjee is the first RI president to visit Afghanistan. His visit was made possible through the work of Rotary Foundation Trustee Stephen R. Brown and Fary Moini, both members of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle, California, USA, which has carried out numerous successful educational projects in Jalalabad.

During their 45-minute meeting, Karzai and Banerjee discussed how lessons learned from

India’s success might be applied in Afghanistan. Banerjee’s home country of India was removed from the polio-endemic list in February.

“I encouraged the president to keep up the intensity of the immunization program because, by doing so, they can stop polio as we did in India,” Banerjee said. “Once it stops, it stops. You don’t know when it will happen, or where the last polio case will be; but one day it will happen if you remain ever vigilant.”

Continued support for polio eradication

Karzai vowed his government will continue to support the eradication program and said he personally would help encourage and educate the Afghan public on the importance of reaching all children with the oral polio vaccine.

In discussing strategies, Banerjee said Muslim leaders who supported India’s polio immunization campaign could be encouraged to communicate with their Afghan counterparts to explain the importance of immunizations. Indian Rotary members were instrumental in gaining the support of influential clerics to help dispel misconceptions about polio immunizations within some Muslim communities.

Banerjee also said both countries could exchange teams of health workers so that Indian vaccinators can share best-practice approaches and learn more about the challenges facing polio eradication in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is one of only three countries where the wild poliovirus has never been stopped. So far in 2012, Afghanistan has reported five new polio cases out of the 36 recorded globally. The country reported 80 cases in 2011. The other two endemic countries are Nigeria and Pakistan. Polio infections due to cross-border traffic between Afghanistan and Pakistan are a continuing problem, making bi-national cooperation essential. Pakistan has reported 15 cases this year after posting 198 in 2011.

RI President Kalyan Banerjee presents Afghan

President Hamid Karzai with a medal in

recognition of Karzai's support for the Global

Polio Eradication Initiative.

Rotary International News - 4 April 2012

“ONE THING I

PROMISE THE

NIGERIAN CHILD, AND

ALSO THE NIGERIAN

FATHER AND MOTHER,

IS THAT IF WE

CANNOT SOLVE ALL

THE HEALTH

PROBLEMS IN THIS

COUNTRY NOW, ONE

THING THIS PRESENT

ADMINISTRATION IS

COMMITTED TO IS TO

ERADICATE POLIO BY

2015” - GOODLUCK

JONATHAN

Our Foundation

Rotary’s work in Afghanistan

Accompanying Banerjee on his historic visit were Brown; Moini; Dr. Ajmal Pardis, chair of Rotary’s Afghanistan National PolioPlus Committee and a member of the Rotary Club of Jalalabad; and Mohammad Ishaq, a member of the Rotary Club of Jalalabad.

Brown and Moini have led several projects in Afghanistan and participated in National Immunization Days there. The Global Connections and Exchange Program, an education project of the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary club, administers Internet training labs in 13 high schools as well as a central training facility in Jalalabad. The effort is part of a larger initiative to promote technology, curriculum development, and international collaboration.

Rotary honors Nigerian president

for supporting a polio-free world

Rotary International has recognized Goodluck Jonathan, president of Nigeria, with its Polio Eradication Champion Award for his leadership and dedication to achieving a polio-free world.

Wilfrid Wilkinson, incoming chair of The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees, presented the award to Jonathan on 23 April in a ceremony broadcast live on Nigerian national television.

“On behalf of Rotary’s 1.2 million members worldwide, including nearly 6,000 in Nigeria alone, I would like to express the solidarity of Rotary members in standing firmly beside President Jonathan and the Nigerian people in the polio eradication effort,” said Wilkinson. “I am honored to recognize the commitment of President Goodluck Jonathan for support of a polio-free Nigeria and a polio-free world.

National Emergency Plan

Under Jonathan’s leadership, Nigeria launched its National Emergency Action Plan -- a comprehensive strategy to accelerate progress toward polio eradication. Jonathan also increased funding for the eradication effort, from US$17 million to $30 million annually, for 2012 and 2013.

The number of polio cases in Nigeria plunged 95 percent between 2009 and 2010, to 21 cases from 388. However, an upsurge to 62 cases last year emphasized the need for continued vigilance.

“One thing I promise the Nigerian child, and also the Nigerian father and mother, is that if we cannot solve all the health problems in this country now, one thing this present administration is committed to is to eradicate polio by 2015,” Jonathan said. “I have already told the minister of state for health, [which] directly oversees this aspect, that we must do all that we can to eradicate polio in the next two years in this country.”

Page 13 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair-elect Wilfrid Wilkinson

(left) presents Rotary International's Polio Eradication

Champion Award to Nigerian President Goodluck

Jonathan. Photo courtesy of the Nigeria PolioPlus

Committee

By Dan Nixon, RI News - 25 April 2012

… PEOPLE ACROSS

INDIA RECOGNISED

THE VOICE OF MR.

BACHCHAN OVER THE

MICROPHONE AND TV

AND WERE READY TO

STOP AND LISTEN TO

THE APPEAL HE MADE

TO THE PARENTS TO

IMMUNISE THE

CHILDREN AGAINST

POLIO.

Issue # 124

Page 14 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Amitabh Bachchan conferred

Polio Eradication Champion

award

Amitabh Bachchan still remains the ‘angry young man’ for millions of people around the world. He is very much our larger-than-life character. The banquet hall at Hotel Novotel, Juhu, Mumbai was packed on the evening of April 19, 2012. The event was organised by Rotary International to honour Mr. Bachchan with the ‘Polio Eradication Champion Award.’

The entire function had to end within an hour. Photographers and TV crew from every channel had taken vantage positions in the hall. The atmosphere was hectic with INPPC Chairman Deepak Kapur trying to check the arrangements, DG of RI District 3140, Vijay Jalan was trying to get the Rotarians to occupy their seats and the host organising committee members were generally as excited as others ready with their cameras. And then he, Amitabh Bachchan, the thespian monument walks through the door and the burst of over 50 cameras did not end for nearly ten minutes. Welcoming the gathering, PDG Deepak Kapur said that he was witnessing such a high voltage function for the first time in a Rotary function! Past RI President Rajendra K. Saboo, who had spearheaded the polio eradication movement in India, said that it was a great day for Rotary to honour Mr. Amitabh Bachchan who had been the brand ambassador for UNICEF in the polio eradication movement in India. He said that people across India recognised the voice of Mr. Bachchan over the microphone and TV and were ready to stop and listen to the appeal he made to the parents to immunise the children against polio. PRIP Rajendra K. Saboo recollected how the war against polio was being won slowly but surely.

Bollywood megastar and UNICEF polio ambassador Amitabh Bachchan rreceiving the

Polio Eradication Champion award by Rotary International for his support to India's Polio

Eradication Programme, in Mumbai on April 19, 2012.

Jonathan joins a roster of distinguished leaders who have been recognized with Rotary’s Polio Eradication Champion Award, including India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Paki-stan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, and David Cameron, prime minister of the United Kingdom.

“I THINK PEOPLE

JUST ADMINISTERED

THE POLIO VACCINE

TO THEIR CHILDREN

JUST TO AVOID BEING

CHIDED BY ME OVER

THE TV!”

Our Foundation

Page 15 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Another Champion of the programme, Mrs. Rajashree Birla, who specially came for the function, said that she was more than delighted to see the end of polio in the country and recalled the association her family had with the Bachchan’s family.

Presenting the award to Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, PRIP Rajendra K. Saboo said that Rotary was fortunate to have a stalwart such as Mr. Amitabh Bachchan to reach out quickly to the people with the message of polio eradication. With the flash lights again lighting up the hall continuously and nearly everyone in the audience trying to take a picture of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, we had 10 minutes, minus three, four, five ... to listen to Mr. Bachchan. As he towered over the podium and spoke about how passionately he agreed to lend his name for the polio eradication cause, the audience had a firsthand exposure to the giant they always wanted to meet and hear. He outlined the need to maintain the vigil against polio and said that the different roles he played in the advertisement campaign paid off. He joked, “I think people just administered the polio vaccine to their children just to avoid being chided by me over the TV!” Mr. Amitabh Bachchan showed a friendly interest in interacting with everyone who wanted to wish him. With a calm soothing look, he charmed the members of the media who were jostling with each other for that perfect shot.

The aura of his unshakable self-confidence illuminated the room. Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is now somewhat older but is still genuinely a large person. Posterity will see to it that the campaign of polio eradication with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is considered to be the greatest of all campaigns.

Rtn. Ashok Mahajan Trustee, The Rotary Foundation Director, Rotary International 2007–2009 Member, International PolioPlus Committee

Issue # 124

Page 16 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Working to End Polio at Windsor

Castle

Thank you to the Rotarians who in March helped

organize a dinner at Windsor Castle in England that

raised more than US$40,000 for polio eradication!

(From right) RI President Kalyan Banerjee

and his wife, Binota, and BBC medical

correspondent Fergus Walsh and his wife,

Dr. Veronique Walsh, joined other

Rotarians and guests at a dinner at

Windsor Castle in England in March that

raised more than US$40,000 for polio

eradication

Photos by Maureen McLean Photography

Our Foundation

Page 17 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Polio Eradication Efforts in

Pakistan

On 7 April, in honor of World Health Day, a team of Rotarians, Rotary partners, and employees from Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan joined forces to pick up garbage and conduct a cleanup campaign in Union Council 4, Gadap Town, Pakistan.

Gadap Town is one of Karachi’s high risk areas for the wild polio virus, and was chosen for the cleanup campaign because environmental samples have tested positive for the virus since 2009. Union Council 4 is the most populous of Gadap Town’s eight Union Councils, with a population of 450,000.

RI’s Pakistan PolioPlus Committee and Coca-Cola Pakistan are joining forces to build awareness for Rotary’s polio eradication campaign and emphasize the importance of polio immunizations nationwide.

Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan will imprint an awareness message on all Coca-Cola bottle labels in the country, and will upload a Polio ringtone message on their call center answering machine. In addition, the company will provide billboard sites for Polio National Immunization Day messages, and signs to be place in shops within districts where the wild polio virus has been reported. The company will also provide Coke vans to transport polio vaccines.

On behalf of 1.2 million Rotary members worldwide, including more than 5,100 in Pakistan, I would like to extend my thanks to Coca-Cola Pakistan for its generous support and dedication to ensuring that all children are reached during our national polio immunization campaigns. Working together, we are one step closer to a polio-free Pakistan, and a polio-free world.

By Aziz Memon, Pakistan PolioPlus Commitee Chair

Television stations and newspapers covered the cleanup campaign in Union Council 4, Gadap Town, Pakistan, on 7 April. Photo courtesy of Aziz Memon

Issue # 124

Page 18 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

A team of Rotarians, Rotary partners, and executives from Coca-Cola

Beverages Pakistan joined forces to pick up garbage and conduct a cleanup

campaign in Union Council 4, Gadap Town, Pakistan, on 7 April.

Photo courtesy of Aziz Memon

Our Foundation

Page 19 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Polio vaccination efforts in Africa

Thousands of Rotarians and Rotaractors joined health care workers to vaccinate more than 111 million children under the age of 5 against polio in West and Central Africa. The

immunizations started 23 March and continued for two weeks. A second vaccination round is scheduled for late

April.

Billboards in Benin let people know about the need to vaccinate against polio

After 25 years of hard work, Rotary and its partners are on the brink of eradicating this tenacious

disease, but a strong push is needed now to root it out once and for all. It is a window of opportunity

of historic proportions.

As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world,

children everywhere remain at risk.

Issue # 124

Page 20 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

If polio isn’t eradicated, the world will continue to live under the threat of the disease. More than 10 million

children will be paralyzed in the next 40 years if the world fails to

capitalize on its US$5 billion global investment in eradication.

Mothers wait with their children for polio vaccines. Once someone gets polio, there is

no cure

For as little as US$0.60 worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling disease for

life

Rotary also works with WHO, the CDC, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and other

organizations to fight polio

Our Foundation

Page 21 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

POLIO IS A

HORRIBLE AND

DEVASTATING

DISEASE WHICH CAN

RUIN INDIVIDUAL

LIVES AND GREATLY

IMPACT THE LIVES

OF FAMILIES.

Why Congress’ support for polio

eradication means so much to me

By Grant Wilkins, past RI director and member of the Rotary Club of Denver, Colorado, USA.

In 1951, as a young father of three children ages 5, 2, and 3-months (the youngest born prematurely and still in the hospital), I contracted Bulbar Polio.

My throat and vocal cords were paralyzed, and I couldn’t talk or swallow. A tracheotomy and intravenous feedings kept me alive for two weeks until the paralysis started letting up.

My wife came to visit me for the first time after those two weeks, and mentioned she wasn’t feeling well. A spinal tap found she had the Lumbar Polio virus, and she was immediately admitted to the polio ward. Within 24 hours, she was completely paralyzed from the neck down and could not breathe on her own.

I recovered from the virus within a few months following voice lessons, therapy, etc. But my wife remained in an iron lung for two and a half years. In 1954, a chest respirator was invented that helped her to breathe, and she was allowed to come home. We built a house equipped with a hospital bed and other medical equipment, and hired an around the clock nurse to help care for her.

She never regained any movement, but was able to breathe and talk when her respirator worked. Power failures caused anxious moments many times during the 13 years she lived after contacting polio. Our three children grew up with a mother who couldn’t do anything physical for them, but gave them vocal guidance the best that she could. She couldn’t hug them, feed them, go to school with them, dress them. They learned how to help with their mother every day, as well as help me with daily chores.

Polio is a horrible and devastating disease which can ruin individual lives and greatly impact the lives of families.

Through Rotary’s Polio Plus program launched in 1985, I have been able to be active in a worldwide effort to eradicate this dreaded disease from our planet. It is an historic endeavor and the U.S. Congress has been a leader through contributions of over US$2 billion to the cause. Rotary International’s investment exceeds $1 billion, with additional funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and many other governments.

Of course, this program would not have been possible without the technical oversight of the World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and UNICEF. I am also proud to say that my Denver Rotary Club is among the clubs that have contributed the most toward polio eradication.

Grant Wilkins is a member of Rotary’s Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the United States, which works to encourage the leadership of the U.S. Government to support polio eradication. This week, Wilkins attended the 2012 reception to recognize Congressional Champions of Polio Eradication held in the U.S. Capitol on 24 April.

Grant Wilkins' first wife, Diane, in an iron lung in the 1950s. Photo courtesy of Grant Wilkins

Source : Rotary Voices

“PEACE IS WHEN

YOU LEAVE HOME

AND COME BACK

SAFELY. PEACE IS

WHEN YOU HAVE A

FULL STOMACH.

FOR ME, PEACE IS

JUSTICE, EQUALITY,

AND FREEDOM FOR

ALL.”

Issue # 124

Page 22 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Former Sudanese soldier pumps

up the volume as Peace

Symposium opens By Ryan Hyland, Rotary International News - 3 May 2012

Emmanuel Jal began his keynote speech at the 2012 Rotary World Peace Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand, not by talking about peace but rather by singing about it.

The former Sudanese child soldier, now an international peace advocate and hip-hop star, energized the morning session crowd with his song “We Want Peace.”

At the opening plenary session of the symposium, Thursday, 3 May, Jal talked about what peace means to him, the atrocities he witnessed as a child soldier, and the horrors he experienced while escaping Sudan’s bloody civil war.

“Peace means different things to people all around the world,” said Jal, a spokesman for

Amnesty International, who has also worked on behalf of Save the Children, UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and Christian Aid. “Peace is when you leave home and come back safely. Peace is when you have a full stomach. For me, peace is justice, equality, and freedom for all.”

Escape

Jal lost his mother and most of his family to the civil war and became a soldier for the Sudan People’s Liberation Army at the age of nine. Three years later, he was one of 400 boys who escaped the war by walking across the desert in search of refuge. In a poem, Jal described the journey and the effects it had on him.

“I was at my lowest point as a human being during my escape,” said Jal. “I was angry. I wanted to hurt those who killed my family and friends. But I learned to forgive. It’s a constant struggle for me. But forgiveness is a path to peace.”

A British aid worker found Jal and smuggled him into Kenya. Gradually, he discovered that music was a way to share his story. He founded GUA Africa, an organization that works with individuals, families, and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty.

Emmanuel Jal, former Sudanese child soldier and

now a recording artist, speaks at the Rotary World

Peace Symposium's opening plenary session, 3

May, in Bangkok, Thailand. Rotary Images/Alyce

Henson

Our Foundation

Page 23 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

“ONE OF THE MORE

IMPORTANT THINGS

I TOOK AWAY FROM

ROTARY’S

PROGRAM WAS

UNDERSTANDING

THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN

PEACEKEEPING,

PEACE BUILDING,

AND PEACEMAKING”

Chulalongkorn

During a breakout session later in the day, Rotary Peace Fellows discussed the successes of the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Former classmates Erinma Bell and Charles Allen discussed the skepticism they felt at first about having much in common. Bell is a grassroots peace activist in Manchester, United Kingdom, and Allen is a police officer in Victoria, Australia.

“We’ve had rough dealings with police officers where I work,” said Bell. “But I was interested in how [Allen’s] police dealt with crime in his area.”

After discussing ways to stem violence late into the night over tea, they both concluded they did have a lot in common.

“Eventually we realized that we did the same thing: we resolved conflict resolution through coproduction of communities, government, and nongovernment agencies,” said Allen. “Our professional relationship didn’t end when we left Chulalongkorn.”

Staying in contact, they developed a leadership program for Sudanese youth who live in Greater Dandenong, one of the neighborhoods Allen’s police department patrols.

“Many of these teenagers were disengaged and lacked hope,” said Allen. “Our goal was to activate them in the community so they could see the difference they could make.”

The former classmates are also working on an initiative to help get guns off the street in Manchester, where Bell works.

“One of the more important things I took away from Rotary’s program was understanding the difference between peacekeeping, peace building, and peacemaking,” said Bell. “There is a difference, and it can be implemented in war and disaster zones, as well as localized urban conflict. I learned it’s not just talking about resolving conflict; it’s getting together and actually doing things that produce results. Rotary does a great job at highlighting that.”

The symposium, together with the Rotary Alumni Celebration, is being held 3-5 May, immediately preceding the RI Convention.

For more information:

Watch a video of Emmanuel Jal speaking during the opening plenary session

Check out the latest news, photos, and videos from the preconvention

WHEN PEOPLE

AREN’T TALKING,

PROBLEMS ARE

INEVITABLE.

Issue # 124

Page 24 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Communication is the key to

World Peace

By Sanjeev Chowdhury, former Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and consul general of Canada, as told to RI Staffwriter Ryan Hyland

The biggest roadblock for achieving peace is the absence of understanding. The remedy for this is communication.

Communication is the key to world peace and the lack thereof will stall peace indefinitely. World leaders today aren’t bringing people together like they used to. The breakdown in dialogue has proven to harmful to peace negotiations worldwide.

When people aren’t talking, problems are inevitable.

I’ve found in diplomacy a five minute phone call to clear a small misunderstanding makes a world of difference. When I don’t make that effort to take the time to explain to a counterpart, a

colleague, or staff member, I find that there is trouble.

When there is a disagreement, it’s important to be careful how you express it, whether it be in private or public. But the imperative is that you are being transparent in your thoughts. Always explain the pros and cons. Give recommendations and regardless of the decision, understand why it was made.

During this whole peace symposium I’ve been telling people that if someone takes the time to explain what is being done or why it’s being done, 99 percent of your problems or misunderstandings are gone.

Chowdhury was a speaker at the Rotary World Peace Symposium in Bangkok, Thailand, 3-5 May. Read more about the peace symposium and RI Convention. How has your club been working to promote peace?

Former Ambassadorial Scholar Sanjeev Chowdhury spoke at the 2012 Rotary World Peace Symposium. Rotary

Images/Monika Lozinska

Source : Rotary Voices

Our Foundation

Page 25 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

WE ARE “THIS

CLOSE” TO ENDING

POLIO BECAUSE

PEOPLE LIKE YOU

CREATED A

CULTURE OF

GLOBAL THINKING

FOR PEOPLE LIKE

ME.

My Youth Exchange Experience

By Chrysula Winegar, a former Rotary Youth Exchange student to South Africa

When I was 17 years old, Rotary International gave me the opportunity to live in South Africa for 12 months.

My parents and brothers worked seven jobs to pay my way. That year changed everything about my life’s path and shaped my world view. It has impacted every major decision I’ve made since.

Many decades ago, Rotarians began creating these Rotary Youth Exchanges to foster global understanding and respect. A young girl or boy from an average family could spend a year in foreign lands, while in the safe arms of local families who created a framework for exploration.

I observed the last hurrahs of apartheid. We lived under a state of emergency with intense military presence including soldiers on our school buses carrying automatic weapons. The media was under total censorship. But even then, in the pre-internet world, ways were found to share truths.

Much of it didn’t make sense to me then. But I took it all in. Twenty-five years later, as a mother, I unlock these observations with a different perspective. My youth exchange experience is a lens though which I examine life’s challenges, thanks to Rotary, and my families both here and there.

Around the time I went on my youth exchange, Rotary International was embarking upon its campaign to eradicate polio. I vividly remember those beginnings. I saw the ravages of the disease up close.

We are “this close” to ending polio because people like you created a culture of global thinking for people like me. We are “this close” because you have never given up. We are “this close” because your hearts are big and you were willing to take a multi-generational position. You knew it wouldn’t be solved in 5 years or even 10. You knew it would take a truly long view.

And all the while you sent young girls and boys out into the world so we could learn, engage, and be passionate about people from everywhere. It is true, Africa takes a piece of your heart and claims it for her own. It’s been 25 years since I breathed African air. I long to return. But I don’t need to be there to love that great continent or her many peoples; and to work with them for a better future.

Chrysula Winegar is a mother, social media consultant and work life advocate. She is passionate about mothers and their capacity to change the world. She blogs at WORK. LIFE. BALANCE. and When You Wake Up A Mother as well as a regular contributor for MomsRising.org, the Huffington Post and BlogHer. She is also community manager for the United Nations Foundation’s Million Moms Challenge

Chrysula Winegar is community manager for the United Nations

Foundation’s Million Moms Challenge and a former Rotary Youth Exchange

student.

Source : Rotary Voices

Issue # 124

Page 26 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

Alumni Relations

Gregory Rockson, 2011-12 Ambassadorial Scholar sponsored by the Rotary Club of Fulton, Missouri, USA (District 6080) to attend University of Copenhagen

in Denmark

“Can you help bring peace between Israel and Palestine?” Asked by his host district’s governor, Gregory Rockson decided to write to the Israeli embassy and the Palestinian mission in Denmark, inviting them to meet and discuss how to restart the process. On October 5, 2011, top diplomats from the two offices met for the first time

in Denmark, joined by more than 100 students for the discussion. Encouraged by this experience, he developed the "Six Days of Peace" initiative to promote peace between Israel and Palestine in June 2012, inviting orchestra from both regions to perform together. The plan was endorsed by Mikhail Gorbachev, a Noble Peace Laureate and former president of the Soviet Union. Rockson was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Global Shaper, a young person in their 20s with great potential for future leadership roles in society.

Shrimati Chittaranjan Das, 1995-96 GSE team member sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hubli-North, Karnataka, India (District 3170) to Ecuador (District

4400)

Dr. Shrimati Das is currently a professor and department chair of Indian Studies at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia. In 2011, she completed her post-doctoral research at Northern Kentucky University in Cincinnati Ohio, USA on “violence against women – new millennium perspectives.” Currently she is engaged in a major

national project for India on gender/safety in the call centers and with business process outsourcing services and hopes to be part of a global study on cyber-crimes against women. Reflecting on her GSE experience, Dr. Shrimati Das states, “Before being a GSE member, my heart was beating only for me. After GSE, my heart also beats for others.”

Morgan Pillay, 2008-10 Rotary Peace Fellow sponsored by the Rotary Club of Waterkloof, South Africa (District 9320) to attend International Christian

University in Tokyo, Japan

Morgan recently took a position as an investigator in the Oversight Office of the World Food Programme in Rome. He conducts investigations involving fraud and misconduct involving World Food Programme personnel. He interviews witnesses, gathers evidence, writes reports and offers recommendations towards resolution.

Our Foundation

Page 27 A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

In the first four months of 2012, the lowest number of cases globally over a four-month period has been recorded over the past ten years, with 53 cases from four countries (the bulk of

which – 95% – from the three remaining endemic countries). Only three cases have occurred from a non-endemic country (all from Chad, and none since February). At this time last year,

12 countries had reported 145 cases. More than 50% of this year’s cases are from Nigeria, which now constitutes the global epicenter of polio transmission.

Polio Eradication Update For The Week Ending 05/12/12

Total paralysis cases

Year-to-

date 2012 Total 2011 Total 2010 Y to D 2011

Globally 53 650 1,352 145

- in endemic countries: 50 341 232 46

- in non-endemic countries: 3 309 1,120 99

New Polio cases reported in the last week:

Pakistan 1, Afghanistan 0, Nigeria 4, Chad 0

2012 Polio Case Breakdown by Country (Green Numbers are 2011 Totals)

Endemic Countries – 16 Pakistan (2011-198), 6 Afghanistan (2011-80)

28 Nigeria (2011-62)

Importation Countries – Angola (2011-5), Cameroon (2011-1), CAR (2011-4), 3-Chad (2011-132), China (2011-21), Congo (2011-1), Cote d’Ivoire (2011-36), DRC (2011-

93), Gabon (2011-1), Guinea (2011-3), India (2011-1), Kenya (2011-1), Mali (2011-7), Niger (2011-6)

Terry Ziegler, bigzlumber@aol.com District 5890 PolioPlus Sub-Committee Chair

OUR FOUNDATION

May 2012 #124

Calum Thomson, Editor

CalThomson@aol.com

Jeetendra Sharma,

Associate Editor

Jeeturotary@gmail.com

Edward “Eddie” Blender, Publisher

EBlender@aol.com

A monthly feature of the Rotary Global History Fellowship (RGHF).

2012-13 Worldwide Annual Fund Goal Announced

At the 2012 RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand, Trustee Chair-elect Wilfrid Wilkinson announced

a 2012-13 goal of US$120 million. Reaching this goal, he noted, “would catapult our Foundation’s

capacity to do good in the world to an entirely new level.”

2011-12 Annual Fund goal: US$104 million

Contributions as of 31 March 2012: US$73,168,957

Make your contribution today and help the Foundation reach its goal.