FEBRUARY FOCUS PEACE AND CONFLICT PREVENTION/RESOLUTION

Today, over 70 million people are displaced as a result of conflict, violence, persecution, and human rights violations. Half of them are children.

We refuse to accept conflict as a way of life. Rotary projects provide training that fosters understanding and provides communities with the skills to resolve conflicts.

Click here to view a short video on Peace.

Rotary creates environments of peace

As a humanitarian organization, peace is a cornerstone of our mission. We believe when people work to create peace in their communities, that change can have a global effect.

By carrying out service projects and supporting peace fellowships and scholarships, our members take action to address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.

Our commitment to peacebuilding today answers new challenges: how we can make the greatest possible impact and how we can achieve our vision of lasting change. We are approaching the concept of peace with greater cohesion and inclusivity, broadening the scope of what we mean by peacebuilding, and finding more ways for people to get involved.

Rotary creates environments where peace can happen

Rotary’s Four Roles in Promoting Peace

Rotary and its members are:

• Practitioners: Our work fighting disease, providing clean water and sanitation, improving the health of mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies directly builds the optimal conditions for peaceful societies.

• Educators: Our Rotary Peace Centers have trained over 1,300 peace fellows to become effective catalysts for peace through careers in government, education, and international organizations.

• Mediators: Our members have negotiated humanitarian ceasefires in areas of conflict to allow polio vaccinators to reach children who are at risk.

• Advocates: Our members have an integral role as respected, impartial participants during peace processes and in post-conflict reconstruction. We focus on creating communities and convening groups that are connected, inclusive, and resilient.

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Promoting peace

A significant way to bring hope to the world is to put a greater emphasis on peace, McInally said. He cited the action Rotary members have taken in the past year to support the people of Ukraine after the invasion by Russia. Rotary has made humanitarian relief a priority, attracting more Ukrainian members in the process. But McInally noted that true relief won't come without peace not just in Ukraine, but in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, and dozens of other places around the globe.

"Peace is the soil where hope takes root," McInally said.

McInally also emphasized the power of continuity, calling for Rotary members to continue the work of some past leaders. He pledged to maintain the Empowering Girls initiative launched by 2020-21 President Shekhar Mehta and uphold the emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout Rotary. He also noted recent events that underscore the importance of Rotary's continuing focus on polio. In the past year, polio cases have emerged in many areas around the world, making it more crucial than ever for Rotary members to lead the fight against the disease.

To do that, McInally said, Rotary must continue to raise at least US$50 million each year to receive the full 2to-1 funding match from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Only about 1 in 12 members currently gives to the polio eradication campaign, with fewer than 1 in 5 clubs donating each year.

McInally asked the district governors-elect for support creating a new sense of urgency in their clubs to help realize Rotary's vision of a polio-free world. "This is the time for us to go beyond what's necessary year to year and make sure we provide every resource necessary to succeed as quickly as possible," he added.

Click here to read more in Facebook.

And in case you missed it –RI PRESIDENT-ELECT ANNOUNCES 2023-24 PRESIDENTIAL THEME

Article by Etelka Lehoczky

McInally, a member of the Rotary Club of South Queensferry, West Lothian, Scotland, revealed the 2023-24 presidential theme,

Create Hope in the World during the Rotary International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 9 January.

He urged members to promote peace in troubled nations, help those affected by conflict, and maintain the momentum of initiatives begun by past leaders.

Click here to view the theme address.

"The goal is to restore hope to help the world heal from destructive conflicts and, in turn, to help us achieve lasting change for ourselves," McInally said at Rotary's annual training event for incoming district governors.

McInally spoke about a woman he met in Ban Taling Chan, Thailand, where Rotary members helped build houses, a meeting hall, and childcare and health care facilities following the tsunami that devastated South Asia in late 2004. The woman had lost her husband, her daughter, and her son in the tsunami, as well as her livelihood. But she still had a gift to offer McInally: a beautiful seashell.

"She went on to tell me that Rotary... had restored her optimism. We gave her hope," McInally said.

"This is how Rotary brings lasting change to the world," he added, "one restored or newly created hope at a time."

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to see the theme logo for 2023-24.

Since it was founded more than 100 years ago, the Foundation has spent more than $4 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects.

With your help, we can make lives better in your community and around the world. Our mission

The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.

What impact can one donation have?

• For as little as 60 cents, a child can be protected from polio.

• $50 can provide clean water to help fight waterborne illness.

• $500 can launch an antibullying campaign and create a safe environment for children.

Donate Now

How do you want to get involved in the causes you’re most passionate about?

OUR NEW POLIOPLUS SOCIETY!

District 6330 is excited to announce the rolling out of our new PolioPlus Society.

The PolioPlus Society is an organization of like-minded individuals who have committed to contribute $100 or more each and every year to PolioPlus until the world has been declared free of the Wile Polio Virus. This is our commitment to fulfil the promise Rotary made in 1985 to immunize all the children of the world.

It's easy and rewarding to become a member. Complete and submit the PolioPlus Society Pledge Form and email it to Katherine Hahn, Polio Chair at katherinehahn@rotarystratford.com

Then complete your contribution commitment in one of the ways below:

1. Credit Card. Contribute with your credit card online at: https://www.endpolio.org/donate OR

2. Check/cheque. Make out a check for $100 or more to The Rotary Foundation, with “Polio Plus” in the Memo section and submit to your Rotary Club’s Foundation Chair. OR

3. Rotary Direct. Enroll in Rotary’s recurring giving program, Rotary Direct, which makes giving easy, fast, and secure. You can schedule a monthly, quarterly, or annual donation that empowers Rotarians to change lives in communities around the world. (https://my.rotary.org/en/rotary-direct)

ALL donations will be matched 2 to 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Anyone can join the society, not only Rotarians.

Everyone will be honoured with a special pin, an End Polio Now bracelet, a Society Certificate, and a great feeling in their heart.

With your help, we will reach every last child and achieve a polio free world. Please reach out to Katherine and Sign up today!

Yours in Rotary,

Katherine Hahn

6330 District Governor-Nominee

Polio Plus Chair (519) 272-4859