Speech to District 3780 Conference
March 21 2009
Top Rotary stories of 2008
Wei-Lin “Dens” Shao
Governor Alexander P. Cureg, Past Governors, DGE, DGN, Guests and my
dear
Partners in Service 2008~2009.
It
is an honor for me today to report on Rotary International to the annual
district conference of District
3780.
As the new year dawns,
let’s
look back over some of the more memorable moments of 2008 for Rotary
International with our Top 10
list of news events. Those that interest me and also perhaps most affect
this district.
Before those Top Rotary stories of 2008, I shall tell you a story
written by me, its name is “the
Heaven of Rotary”.
Since February 23, 1905, there has been a popular legend in Rotary,
which says, “In heaven there is a more peaceful and more beautiful
heaven.
That heaven is
called
the Heaven of Rotary.” In that heaven, a group of good natured
and happy angels live. They do not think they are perfect; but they do
think they need to constantly learn and practice to be perfect. Though
they each
only have
one wing. They are happy. Holding to each other, they can fly freely.
And together they also learn how to turn “I”
into “We”, and to transform
“Ego” to “Team
Work”. They
also
know very well that the Heaven of Rotary is a school to
build men
and a place to cultivate oneself and discipline ones temperament.
Therefore, they place a placard at the entrance of the Heaven with
the words
“Enter to Learn, Go Forth To
Serve.” As for the road to the Heaven of Rotary, “My
Road To Rotary.” They address the
angel,
guarding the road Rotary’s Founder－
Paul Harris. According to the legend, if a Rotarian’s name appears in
the book called My Road to Rotary, he or she then can
enter
the Heaven of Rotary.
This legend has directed us in our efforts
for
the future of Rotary
and has been deeply engrained
in our hearts. Under it we hold closely as Angels of Rotary to learn how
to interact in understanding, and tolerance and to learn to change from
“Ego” to “Team work”. How to strive ceaselessly and jointly to
be
involved
in
the
pursuit
of
Service Above Self.
How to live in Rotary!
How to as 1990-91 RI President Paul V.C. Costa said“Rotary is a way of
life, Rotary is a family affair.”
That
means
that rotary is more than just an organization but become a
part of
your identity guiding your actions.
Over the year we have been encouraging each other and learning
with
each other as we grow; we stick to and practice Rotary’s high ethical
standards in business and profession
we practice
with Credibility to maintain Rotary’s ideal of service. With our
enhanced belief in Rotary and continued actions to fulfill our belief,
Rotarians worldwide are united as one person
to form
the Heart of Rotary movement and thus
have
laid the solid foundation of District 3780. At the same time,
we
are strengthening that foundation of District that is your hope to be:
Ever Strong, Ever Serving.
Now let’s move on the “Top Rotary stories of 2008”.
1. Polio
Rotary International's PolioPlus campaign remained a priority, as Past
Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Robert Scott outlined Rotary's US$100
Million Challenge in January, calling upon Rotarians to help raise the
money during the next three years to match the $100 million grant from
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, awarded in November 2007.
After Bill Gates announced a new US$255 million challenge grant to
Rotary in the global effort to eradicate polio during the 2009
International Assembly in San Diego, 22 January. Our US$100 Million
Challenge was changed to Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge.
Bid on Bill Gates' hat
By February 12th, the signed baseball cap will be auctioned
on eBay. All of you can go
to
www.ebay.com to place your bid on item 180325654751.
Bid on this piece of Rotary memorabilia to help support Rotary’s
US$200 Million Challenge for polio eradication.
Take this opportunity to be a part of Rotary's history.
G8 renews commitment to polio eradication
At their 8-9 July summit meeting in Japan, the G8 nations (Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the
United States) agreed to "maintain momentum towards the historical
achievement of eradicating polio."
To do so, their joint statement continued, "We will meet our previous
commitments to maintain or increase financial contributions to support
the Global Polio Eradication Initiative [GPEI], and encourage other
public and private donors to do the same."
Rotarians have traveled by car, bicycle, and boat, even camel to
immunize children around the world against polio. Their stories and the
global initiative to eradicate the crippling disease are compellingly
told in the exhibit "End Polio Now," unveiled on 27 October at Rotary
International World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA
2. Make Dreams Real
Now let me tell all of you a story of “STARFISH”. A story which RI
President D K Lee
shared with incoming officers at the 2008 and 2009 International
Assembly, and one that you may have heard already in Rotary. It teaches
a lesson that every Rotarian should understand.
One morning, a wise old man was walking down the beach. Far ahead of
him, he saw a small child, who seemed to be dancing. As he walked, he
came closer and saw what the child was doing. She was picking up
starfish, one at a time, and throwing them out to sea. As the old man
came to the child, he said to her, “What are you doing?”
She said, “I am throwing the starfish back into the water. The tide is
going out, and if they are left on the beach they will die.”
The old man looked up and down the beach. It was covered with starfish.
“But there are thousands of starfish, and many kilometers of beach,” he
said. “The tide is going out quickly, and you are only one person. Don’t
you see how hopeless it is, what you are trying to do? You can’t make a
difference to the starfish.”
As the old man spoke, the child continued to bend and throw, bend and
throw. When the old man finished his speech to her, she straightened up
and tossed one more starfish.
She smiled at the old man, and said, “I just made a difference to that
one!”
And the old man realized that it was the child who was truly wise.
When we are faced with a great task, there is only one place to begin:
the place where we are standing.
We know that there are countless people who need our help, and that the
world is full of the hungry, the sick, and the illiterate. We know that
we cannot reach them all. But this is not a reason to do nothing. It is
a reason to begin. And it is a reason to begin today.
Our RI president D K Lee asked each of you to continue to work to
Make Dreams Real
in this Rotary year, because
The Future of Rotary Is in Your Hands.
3. Future Vision
The Rotary Foundation Trustees continue to work on the Future Vision
Plan, which will help move The Rotary Foundation into its second century
of service.
Trustees refine Future Vision Plan
At their October meeting, The Rotary Foundation Trustees took
significant steps to refine the
Future Vision Plan before the pilot application period begins in
January. Reflecting the plan’s goal of simplification and flexibility,
their decisions establish specific policies that fill in the broad
outline of the plan.
In the area of Rotary Foundation Global Grants, the Trustees set initial
policies designed to help clubs and districts work within the six areas
of focus.
To further simplify the grant-making process, the Foundation will accept
all club- and district-developed global grant applications throughout
the year. Under this system, for example, a scholarship application
showing proof of admission could be submitted months, not years, before
the term of study begins. The Foundation will assess each application
based on its support of the areas of focus. Additional assessments may
be required depending on the award amount or complexity of the project.
Only club- and district-developed global grants over US$100,000 will
require approval by the Trustees.
Rotary Foundation District Grants will retain much of the flexibility of
the current District Simplified Grants Program. Districts may receive
one district grant per Rotary year. Districts will be encouraged to
submit applications during the planning year for immediate payment at
the start of the program year; however, applications may be submitted
during either year. Within 12 months of receiving the grant, districts
must submit a final report to the Foundation listing the distribution of
the funds. As part of the qualification process, districts must also
report the use of all district grant funds to their clubs.
The application period for the pilot will begin immediately after the
2009 International Assembly in January and continue through 15 May.
Selected districts will be notified and announced to the Rotary world in
June.
4. 2008 RI Convention
About 18,000 attendees -- from as far as Afghanistan, Brazil, Germany,
and Zambia -- converged on Los Angeles for the 2008 RI Convention, 15-18
June. The drive to end polio received a huge boost from the World Health
Organization.
The drive to eradicate polio will have the full operational power of the
World Health Organization behind it,
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan announced at the RI Convention in
Los Angeles on Tuesday. Rotarians in the plenary hall cheered as Chan
continued: "I am making polio eradication the organization’s top
operational priority on a most urgent, if not an emergency, basis. "
In a historic moment, Chan was joined at the plenary session by the
heads of the other spearheading partners of the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative. It was the first time leaders of all four partners have
appeared together on stage and given a joint address.
I also remind all of you; don’t miss out on the
2009 RI Convention in Birmingham, England, 21-24 June, whose keynote
speakers include Jane Goodall.
5. Disaster strikes
Rotarians rose to the challenge following several natural disasters,
providing comfort and aid to victims.
Rotary clubs provide emergency shelter, aid to thousands in Myanmar
As the humanitarian crisis worsened in Myanmar’s delta region after a
powerful cyclone hit on 3 May, a response team of four specially trained
volunteers moved into devastated areas on Thursday to distribute more
than 800 ShelterBox containers.
More than one million people have been left homeless by the disaster,
and 100,000 are feared dead, the United Nations reports.
Rotarians keep working on China earthquake relief
Several Rotarian-supported organizations, including ShelterBox and
LifeBox, have sent aid, and Rotary clubs in China are mobilizing their
resources.
Cedar Rapids Rotarians fill in the gaps
Downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA, once flourished with small businesses,
entertaining residents with its many restaurants, theaters, and museums.
After a month of heavy storms, the Cedar River crested at 31 feet on 13
June, engulfing more than 9 square miles of Cedar Rapids. The
floodwaters left at least 25,000 residents homeless and more than 5,300
houses and 1,000 businesses damaged or destroyed.
"While the government is doing the best it can for flood victims, it's
up to Rotary to fill in the gaps they miss," said Kolek, a member of the
Rotary Club of Cedar Rapids-Daybreak and a past governor of
District 5970
. "We're not looking for a miracle -- just a little help consistently
spread around to give this city the support it needs to rebuild."
Rotarian-owned gym takes in wildfire evacuees
From left, Fit One General Manager Scott Navarro, of the Rotary Club of
Chico, and owner Tony DeLuca, of the Chico Sunrise club, set up cots in
the gym. Bedding was donated by members of both clubs.
Four hurricanes within a span of a month have caused massive flooding in
Haiti, as many as 600,000 people are in need of help because of the
storms, which have killed more than 200 people, sending local Rotarians
scrambling to provide help for thousands displaced by the storms. Such
as the picture, Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Cayes, Haiti,
distribute food packets near Cayes.
Massive India flood strands millions
Past RI President Rajendra Saboo visited the Saharsa District of Bihar,
India, last week to survey the devastation caused by August's massive
floods.
The Kosi River in Bihar, one of India's poorest states, overflowed its
banks in August after torrential rainfall from heavy monsoons caused a
dam to burst in southern Nepal, setting off the worst flooding in 50
years. Millions of people have been displaced, and hundreds of villages
are under water in northeast India.
"I'm happy to see how Rotary clubs and districts from all over the
country are responding," says Saboo. "Rotarians are doing a good job
during the intermediate relief stage. As the rehabilitation stage nears,
I believe Rotary has tremendous potential of doing good, as we have in
many other natural disasters."
6. Rotaract turns 40
In the late 1960s, noting the success of the recently formed Interact
program, the RI Board realized the need for a program of service,
activity, and fellowship for young adults no longer of Interact age
(14-18). The name
Rotaract (Rotary in Action) was selected to show the program's close
affiliation with both Rotary and Interact clubs.
So RI President Luther Hodges inaugurated Rotaract in 1968, with the
Rotaract Club of University of North Carolina-Charlotte, USA, being the
first club. The club received its charter on 13 March and had 21
members.
In March, Rotaract celebrated its 40th anniversary.
7. Rotary-UN Day
More than 900 people, including Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Interactors
from more than 44 countries, attended Rotary International Day at the
United Nations in New York City on 8 November. The event featured panel
discussions on water, literacy, health, and hunger. Speakers came from
within Rotary, the UN, and other partner nongovernmental organizations,
illustrating how organizations can work together to tackle these
challenging issues.
Some of the loudest applause of the day went to Anand Balachandran,
interagency coordinator of the World Health Organization, who cited the
effectiveness of the
Global Polio
Eradication Initiative by contrasting today’s four remaining
polio-endemic countries with the more than 125 that existed when the
initiative was launched in 1988.
“This work could not have happened without Rotary,” Balachandran said.
8. Rotary map expands 
On 11 August, with RI's chartering of the Rotary Club of Kiritimati, the
Republic of Kiribati joined the more than 200 countries and geographical
areas on the Rotary map.
"Rotary will have an important and positive impact on improving the
lives of people in Kiritimati (formerly Christmas Island)," says club
president Ruta Uatioa. "Rotary represents leadership, something we are
excited to adopt here."
9. Peace programs merge
The professional development center at Chulalongkorn University in
Bangkok, Thailand, joined the
Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict
resolution program.
The Rotary Center at Chulalongkorn offers a three-month professional
development curriculum geared to mid- to upper-level professionals,
while the other Rotary Centers offer 15- to 24-month master's degree
programs.
There are seven Rotary Centers at eight universities around the world
teaching Rotary World Peace Fellows about peace and conflict resolution.
Each year, up to 110 fellowships (60 master’s degree and 50 professional
development certificate) are awarded on a competitive basis.
10. Rotary Images
Rotary images now available online
A new feature on the redesigned RI Web site allows Rotarians to search
and access thousands of photographs that bring Rotary’s stories to life.
Called
Rotary Images , it’s a library of pictures that every Rotarian can
use.
Photographs are searchable by general category, keyword, project name,
and description, making it easy for you to locate images of service
projects from around the world, RI conventions, Rotary leaders, historic
events, and more.
Governor Alexander P. Cureg, I would like to thank you on behalf of
President
D K Lee
for your dedication to your duties as DG of the district. Please accept
this report as a means for further discussion and as an attempt to
follow President D K Lee theme of
“Make Dreams Real”
with your successor DG elect. We believe that
“Make Dreams Real”
shall inspire us to dream of the world the way it ought to be –- a world
of brotherhood, of service, of idealism, of peace, of harmony, and a
world of love.
Respectfully submitted
Wei-Lin “Dens” Shao
RI President’s representative