In April, Rotary worldwide recognizes maternal and child health as one of our six areas of focus. Thanks to the Rotary Foundation, many communities receive the help and training they need to take control of their own maternal and infant health care. Poverty and hunger can be alleviated if mothers are empowered and healthy, and in turn, their families.
Rotarians are People of Action. In Haiti, for instance, with the highest maternal and infant mortality rate of any country in the western hemisphere, Rotary supports mobile prenatal clinics with a fully equipped medical Jeep so that volunteers and midwives can reach mothers and children in remote areas.
In Chennai, India, the mortality rate of women with breast and cervical cancer is high because of late diagnosis. So Rotary has provided a mobile cancer screening unit along with awareness training.
To save lives of mothers and children during home deliveries in Nigeria, Rotary developed a $3 million, five-year pilot; and, since 2005, has supported the repair of 1,500 obstetric fistulas restoring dignity and hope to vulnerable mothers.
In these ways, among others, Rotary is taking action to prevent the deaths of an estimated 5.9 million children under the age of five who die every year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation. Rotary also aims to reduce maternal deaths by 30% through family planning and ultimately to empower women for their sakes and the benefit of their communities.
Thanks to all of you in District 5040, our clubs around the world, and The Rotary Foundation we help mothers and children in need so they can take control of their own maternal and infant health care and their lives.
District Conference 2018 - Register and Book Your Hotel Now!
Make sure that you register now for the District Conference 2018. The conference is
Peacing It Together and it will be held May 31 to June 3 at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish, BC. As you are hearing in regular weekly messages to your Rotary club, there are many highlights for this fun and informational three day event.
Book your hotel room now! As important as it is to register, it is equally important that you book your accommodation. The hotel blocks are now within final stages, and rooms are going fast. There is still space available, but you need to act. Hotel details are on the conference website
rotary5040.org/Page/2018-district-conference
Rotary 5040 Wildfire Recovery Fund Cheques Delivered
Thanks to the great support to our Rotary 5040 Wildfire Recovery Fund, a number of projects to help prevent future fires are now getting underway. During the week of March 5, we delivered cheques to the Rotary Clubs of 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Williams Lake daybreak and Quesnel - each club received $16,741.25 to help with projects they had identified they wished to undertake. The fund almost reached $70,000 in total donations!
Projects include things such as equipping and training local community volunteer fire departments in areas around the major centers so they could take action and have equipment to tackle a wildfire, instead of helplessly having to just watch it grow and devastate. And the amateur radio repeater systems will be rebuilt and reequipped to make this important level of backcountry communication more functional and robust.
Rotary received great coverage in the press in all three communities, and reported were present at two of the actual club presentations.
Special thanks to the Rotary Club of Squamish whose foundation handled the funds and the charitable receipting where required.
Positive Peace Workshop Colombia Partnership
District 5040 has made a contribution of $15,000 US of unused DDF funds to this new and exciting project - Positive Peace Workshop - Colombia. A legacy from our hosting of the Presidential Peacebuilding Conference in February, this means that District 5040 will now actively participate as a partner in building peace in this part of South America.
The opportunity was presented by Rotary International as a breakout session at the February Conference, and is a new approach to building peace in a region where a major peace agreement has recently been reached. Instead of focusing on conflict resolution, a proactive approach to train local leaders and peace and a process to build peace forward to enable peace to be sustained and strengthened is the focus. Our funds will be matched by The Rotary Foundation, and the project will involve Rotary in Colombia as well as one other Rotary District. The workshop(s) will be held in 2019.
Rotaract Celebrates 50 Years
Rotaract is celebrating 50 years in the Rotary world this year, and District 5040's Rotaract Clubs are having a celebration. Rotaract in District 5040 goes back to the late 1980's, and we currently have eight active Rotaract clubs, Burnaby, New Westminster, North Shore, Richmond, Prince George, Vancouver-UBC, Vancouver Yaletown and Vancouver Young Professionals. The Rotaract Club of Squamish, currently inactive, is working to become active once again.
Rotaract clubs are playing an ever increasing role in the success of Rotary around the world. Globally, there are around 250,000 Rotaractors in 11,000 Rotaract Clubs - that's a significant force of 19 to 30 year olds working to do good in the world.
Learn more and come out and celebrate with Rotaract - at their Gala event to mark the 50th anniversary of Rotaract, being held Saturday, May 12 in Burnaby. Info and registration from the Rotaract 5040 website <insert link>
District 5040 Business Networking
Don't forget that our new Rotary 5040 Business Networking website is up and running. Visit the site at
rotary5040.business and create your own business listing. Doing business with other Rotarians is one of the foundations of Rotary and this website makes it easy to search Rotarians who provide products and services in various sectors throughout our communities in District 5040.
Visit Don's Diary
One of our most frequently asked questions is about what other clubs do for projects, and to raise funds. Well, one way to learn about some of this without leaving your desk is to visit Don's Diary on the Rotary5040.org website at
rotary5040.org/Page/don-s-diary. We have visited all the clubs in our District, and are making second visits at this time, and we have noted all we have seen in each club and community in this blog. Check it out!
Tickets to this Gala evening of food, fun, and dancing are selling fast. Who has already bought their tickets? DG Don Evans and Deb Evans, DGE Darcy Long, Bala Naidoo, Lyn Stroshin, and many other Rotarians and Rotaractors.
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