People can make donations through the Rotary International Foundation to make a difference in a wide range of ways to people in developing countries who need a helping hand in big and small ways.
Members of the Weyburn Rotary Club heard a presentation from Bruce Kwochka about the work that the Foundation does around the world, including details of how the Paul Harris Fellowship works in recognizing donors and those who contribute to the work of the Rotary Club locally and abroad.
There are five areas of focus for the Foundation, including peace and conflict resolution, which refers to centres that have been set up to train leaders about how to handle conflict resolution.
Those involved in areas of conflict have more confidence in the process when people they know step forward to offer conflict resolution, “rather than having someone sent in from half a world away,” said Kwochka.
The second area of focus is to fight disease, such as the Polio Plus campaign for the worldwide eradication of the disease, along with an effort to address HIV and AIDS, particularly in African countries. Kwochka noted in one country, 20 per cent of its children are orphans because their parents have succumbed to HIV and AIDS.
Clean water is a third focus, as Kwochka noted, “It’s hard to prevent disease if you don’t have clean water.”
The fourth focus is to support mothers and children, with programs to help with education for nutrition, how to care for children and help them have a good start in life.
The fifth area is education, as Rotary International promotes both adult and children literacy, “to improve their life. It’s difficult to do that if you don’t have any education,” said Kwochka. “Rotary International helps local leadership so there’s development, a way to move forward and have economic development” and reduce poverty at the local level, he added.
From contributions made to the Rotary Foundation, 92 per cent goes directly to the programs, so “the money goes exactly where it needs to go to,” said Kwochka.
The Weyburn Rotary Club is part of District 5550 of the Rotary organization, and half of the funds donated go to district-designated charities or projects, and the other half goes to Rotary International for projects around the world. The district can partner up with clubs or districts in the countries they are looking to work in.
Rotary members, or even non-Rotary members, can make donations at www.Rotary.org/give, and donations can be done monthly, quarterly or annually.
