Trustee chair's message - April 2012
Posted by Sue Klock
on Mar 30, 2012
If you missed the dinner, a video including Trustee-chair Bill's speech is now available:
http://blip.tv/bbrc/rotary-district-7890-s-foundation-dinner-2012-6090575
For those of you who were at the District Foundation Dinner, you know how inspiring Trustee-chair Bill Boyd can be. Now you have a three-minute elevator speech explaining The Rotary Foundation, OUR Rotary Foundation, as well as stories to share during coffee breaks and lunch! I hope you and others who did not hear his message will read this message to all Rotarians:
Keeping our promise for a polio-free world
We made a promise to the children of the world that they would live in a world free of polio. As Rotarians, we keep our promises!
http://blip.tv/bbrc/rotary-district-7890-s-foundation-dinner-2012-6090575
For those of you who were at the District Foundation Dinner, you know how inspiring Trustee-chair Bill Boyd can be. Now you have a three-minute elevator speech explaining The Rotary Foundation, OUR Rotary Foundation, as well as stories to share during coffee breaks and lunch! I hope you and others who did not hear his message will read this message to all Rotarians:
Keeping our promise for a polio-free world
We made a promise to the children of the world that they would live in a world free of polio. As Rotarians, we keep our promises!
As I write this, we are still reflecting on the achievement of a full year in India without a case of polio. As recently as 2009, India had more cases than any other country, so this represents a tremendous effort by Rotarians and our partners, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the government of India and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It shows what can be done when people of goodwill work together toward a goal. As Rotarians, we should feel proud of our fellow Rotarians and the whole family of Rotary in India.
This is not the time to relax, however. India is close to two countries where polio still exists, and China had an outbreak in 2011 because of an importation. India has shown that winning the battle is possible, but some hard work remains to be done.
One of the "unsung" aspects of our effort has been advocacy. The governments of the world have contributed billions of dollars for polio eradication, and much of it has come because of the advocacy of Rotarians. This work is quietly performed in the background, but the results have been significant.
The Gates Foundation gave us another US$50 million gift in January to help us remain an effective member of the partnership. We have several years to go before the world can be certified polio-free. Please do not stop giving because we have achieved the target of Rotary's Challenge, for every dollar you give for the eradication of polio will be used exactly for that.
We made a promise to the children of the world that they would live in a world free of polio. As Rotarians, we keep our promises!
This is not the time to relax, however. India is close to two countries where polio still exists, and China had an outbreak in 2011 because of an importation. India has shown that winning the battle is possible, but some hard work remains to be done.
One of the "unsung" aspects of our effort has been advocacy. The governments of the world have contributed billions of dollars for polio eradication, and much of it has come because of the advocacy of Rotarians. This work is quietly performed in the background, but the results have been significant.
The Gates Foundation gave us another US$50 million gift in January to help us remain an effective member of the partnership. We have several years to go before the world can be certified polio-free. Please do not stop giving because we have achieved the target of Rotary's Challenge, for every dollar you give for the eradication of polio will be used exactly for that.
We made a promise to the children of the world that they would live in a world free of polio. As Rotarians, we keep our promises!