The President of our Rotary International network of 1.4 million worldwide members, Stephanie Urchik (in photo), the Chair of The Rotary Foundation and General Secretary/CEO of Rotary International confirm to Rotary members and all our communities served, that Rotary keeps its focus on service and values in these turbulent times in this message.
The 196 students and staff of Mwaasua Primary School and the 122 students and staff of Makaalu Secondary School, in Wamunyu, 112 km east of Nairobi, Kenya, have had to travel long distances daily to fill buckets of water from streams. Not only was that water not clean, leading to illness, the water collection took significant time and energy to collect. Both challenges took students and teachers away from receiving and providing education. The two schools told the staff of Kenya Connect about the need to collect uncontaminated rainfall in tanks right at the schools. Kenya Connect ensures rural children, from these two schools and 69 others in Kenya, leave education with options, by developing the skills, values and pathways to thrive by partnering with students, teachers and parents at 71 schools in rural Machakos and Kitui counties of Kenya.
The Rotary Club of Tsawwassen, working with Kenya Connect, has contributed $4,692 for the water tanks project, $3,128 from the club and $1,564 from The Rotary Foundation through a grant for Rotary District 5040.
The Festival of Performing Arts in Powell River was sponsored, managed, and attended by members of Rotary Club of Powell River. Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 30 days or so.
Maasai children in Tanzania often cannot attend school because there are no schools close to where they live. They do not learn English in their home and since secondary school entrance requires literacy in English they are barred from entry. The English Medium Primary School in Engaruka Tanzania, of 300 students and staff, provides education in English so students can gain an education and literacy in English.Improved irrigation for the adjacent school gardens is helping to not only ensure a reliable food supply for the students it enables extension of the gardens including the planting of fruit trees. The enhanced gardens, resulting from the irrigation, will be a health and economic benefit. The gardens have generated some employment for the local people. The students and staff of the school are benefitting from the improved nutrition provided by the garden and the students are learning valuable agricultural skills.
Rotarian Ron Suzuki prepares for the 2024 District 5040 Conference End Polio Now Walk in Terrace, BC with his pal, Rotarian Ron Malmas dressed as one very friendly dinosaur. And while we don't have pictures yet, Ron Suzuki is currently preparing for the 2025 District 5040 Conference End Polio Now Walk.
Join us at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, BC, Friday, April 25th at 4:30 p.m.
“Phoenix” has arisen out of the ashes from the wildfire which destroyed much of Lytton, BC and the nearby Siska First Nation in summer 2021. Phoenix is the name of a new fire fighting trailer now ready for this year’s fire season in BC. It will enable firefighters to respond more quickly to smaller fires before they explode into bigger ones and reach hard to access areas before heavier equipment can reach the site. -- dedication event photos by Kendal Blacker
Members of the new Interact Club at Richmond Christian School receive their official certificate from (left) Rotary Club of Steveston President John Kibblewhite and President Elect Bruce Marshall on March 14, 2025. Congratulations to our newest Interact Club and RC Steveston.
The apartheid government of South Africa in the 1970s applied the Group Areas Act when it displaced and bulldozed an entire community of "Coloureds", as they were called (members of multiracial ethnic communities with ancestry from African, European, and Asian people), from Cape Town to the new community of Atlantis 40 km to the north. Atlantis now has 90,000 residents. Unemployment is high at 40% and suffers from lack of housing and a very high crime rate among its challenges. Many students arrive at their schools without having eaten any food in the morning or during the day.In support of their community the Rotary Club of Atlantis has established gardens at 12 elementary schools to feed the children. The club also educates the students on how to grow vegetables and on environmental issues. It also operates two community soup kitchens to feed children and teens.
In December 2024, Rotary Club of Ladner member and Past District 5040 Governor Chris Offer, as a side trip on a personal tour along the African west coast, spent a day with members of the Rotary Club of Atlantis touring four of the community's schools and doing a volunteer shift at one of the local Rotary club's soup kitchens. Chris learned that funds are needed to purchase gardening equipment the children can use, and rice and corn meal to supplement the vegetables grown at the schools to feed the children. Atlantis was built on sand. So, to grow gardens, there is also the cost of bringing in soil. -- photos by Chris Offer
The only waterfront property in Squamish, at the head of Howe Sound, was heavily-polluted industrial land, resulting in a toxic environment closed to public access. After 20 years of community visioning and effort and site remediation to remove toxicity Sp’akw’us Feather Park, on District of Squamish land, now provides year round recreational access to the ocean for the community of Squamish. The Sp'akw'us Feather Park Oceanfront Playground is now a key feature of the Park. The Rotary Club of Squamish collaborated with the Park's developer, Matthews West Developments Ltd., to install the playground with support of The Rotary Foundation District 5040 Grant of $10,000. The District of Squamish maintains the Park and playground for the 23,000 residents of Squamish area and visitors.
Achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 30 days or so. The photo features another successful season of Operation Red Nose by Rotary Club of Prince George Nechako.
District 5040 Governor Drew Antrobus: Fellow Rotarians, as we embrace February, Rotary International’s Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Month, we are reminded of the essential role we play in fostering harmony, understanding, and cooperation. Peace is more than just the absence of war—it is the presence of justice, equality, and opportunity. Through our collective efforts, we have the power to create meaningful change, bringing people together and transforming communities.
This month, we continue to celebrate The Magic of Rotary and the extraordinary way our organization unites people from diverse backgrounds to embody greater cause. We also recognize the strength found in Empowering Through Unity when we work together with a shared vision, the impact we create is immeasurable.
In some northern BC communities, where health services can sometimes be in short supply, 350 students have participated in Rotary's Adventures in Health Care and another 500 online throughout the province over the past seven years.
Adventures in Healthcare is a unique program designed to expose high school youth to post-secondary education pathways and career opportunities in health care—specifically in rural communities where medical professionals are critically needed.
Global News, February 8, 2025: A Vancouver based non-profit has returned from a successful medical mission overseas, thanks in part to donations from local organizations -- including the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunrise. But as Julia Foy reports, changes south of the border are putting more pressure on local international aid organizations.
Achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 30 days or so. The photo is one of 12 from the Rotary Club of Sechelt lottery fundraising calendar.
With special programs iPads help neurodiverse children meet their unique learning needs. The iPads enable the children to enjoy increased self-esteem and pride in the work they can do independently. The iPads provide all their tools in one location. The children can learn by talking to text and experience less anxiety and workload in not having to print and/or have an adult scribe for them.
Rotary Club of Burnaby contributed $2,740 for the purchase of six iPads for the lab in collaboration with a Rotary District Grant of $1,370 from The Rotary Foundation.
Initiated by the Rotary Club of Williams Lake, the new $90,000 Community Fitness Park in Williams Lake is a user friendly, multi-station, outdoor exercise center with equipment that can be used by all generations. The facility is built alongside an existing playground, frequented by children and their families, and close to the Williams Lake Seniors' Activity Centre, promoting social interaction between all age groups. 
Thousands of men and women fighting on the front lines in Ukraine, many civilians injured from bombings in the war with Russia and those needing routine medical care after some facilities have been destroyed, are benefitting from used medical equipment and supplies and equipment shipped to the country through Rotary Districts 5040 and 5050 shared Rotary World Help (RWH) network with sponsorship by the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus and a District 5040 grant. 
Achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 30 days or so. The photo features a photo from the Pet Santa Photo fundraiser sponsored in part as a fundraiser by Rotary Clubs of Vancouver Cambie, Vancouver Arbutus and Lions Gate.
Canadian Government reaches the $1 billion mark in supporting the campaign to rid the world of polio
Canadian Government reaches the $1 billion mark in supporting the campaign to rid the world of polio
The Government of Canada reached a major milestone in its support of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) -- started by Rotary International in 1986 -- with a $151 million contribution to the Initiative in September 2024 . This contribution brings the total funding by the Canadian Government, contributed over time to the campaign, to $1 billion. The GPEI’s aim is to immunize 370 million children a year against polio.
As we reflect on 2024 and our Rotary journey, we are reminded of the theme that guides us: The Magic of Rotary. This magic isn’t found in spells or illusions—it lies in the incredible power we have to transform lives and create lasting change. Nowhere is this more evident than in our work in Disease Prevention and Treatment, one of Rotary’s key areas of focus. Imagine a world where children no longer suffer from preventable diseases, where every family has access to clean water and basic healthcare, and where communities thrive because health is no longer a barrier to success. Rotary is making this vision a reality.
Vulnerable elderly in a small Mexican community now at home in new residence powered by solar panels
Vulnerable elderly in a small Mexican community now at home in new residence powered by solar panels
In the small beach resort town of Bucerias, on the southwest coast of Mexico, there were no non-profit care homes for the elderly in the community and in the entire state of Nayarit when Rotarians Jim and Marilyn Moxin decided to found Casa de la Paz, which opened in July 2024. The Rotary Club of Richmond partnered with the Rotary Club of Oak Bay to support the new facility with two solar panels for. The Rotary Club of Richmond held a fundraising dinner at the Little Mexico Cantina in Steveston and contributed $2,667. With $1,333 from The Rotary Foundation through a District Grant the Richmond club donated $4,000 for the solar panels.
The 1,000 volunteers of Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) have saved the lives of nearly 3,000 people and assisted nearly 10,000 in trouble on coastal and some inland waters of BC in the past seven years. On 15 minutes call 24/7 year round the volunteers provide marine search and rescue services out of 30 rescue stations and respond to around 450-500 missions per year in all types of weather conditions at no cost to those they save or assist.Rotary Club of West Vancouver Sunrise contributed $3,000 and $1,500 came through a District Grant from The Rotary Foundation towards the purchase of three sets of personal safety equipment for the RCMSAR volunteers in the West Vancouver rescue station.
Achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 60 days or so. The photo features RC Richmond Sunset's Winter Wonderland opening on November 30th, of 20 - 30 decorated, sponsored Christmas trees, inside and outside of Richmond City Hall, concert, reception, greetings from Mayor and Council, MLAs and MPs and carol singing to raise funds for various community causes.
As November unfolds, we embrace Rotary Foundation Month, a time to celebrate and reflect on the cornerstone of Rotary International—our Rotary Foundation. Here in District 5040, we see the power of our collective efforts brought to life and The Magic of Rotary truly comes alive. Through the Rotary Foundation, we are Empowering Through Unity, driving meaningful change across communities both locally and globally.For decades, the Rotary Foundation has been the force that enables District 5040 to thrive as agents of change. Whether addressing local challenges or contributing to global efforts, the Foundation empowers us to act decisively and compassionately.
In Pender Harbour the Serendipity Child Care Society is the only daycare program within a 20km radius to serve working families. The Society, run by volunteers and paid early childhood education workers, provides a daycare and social growth and development program for 15 to 20 toddlers and infants and their families. Its fundraising aims to keep daycare affordable and self-sustaining.The Rotary Club of Pender Harbour Madeira Park purchased $3,150 in equipment the Society needed, with support of a $1,050 District Grant from The Rotary Foundation. The equipment included run bikes, tricycles, helmets, outside and inside water tables, play kitchen, sun/rain sandbox protection and educational toys.
For the 12,000 residents of Terrace and area, including 2,000 children, and visitors to the community, the 150-acre Ferry Island park and campground, close to the city centre, provides a year-round play and recreation area -- trail network, off-leash dog area and artisanal features -- and during the summer half of the year, affordable accommodation often for music and sports events. Rotary Clubs of Terrace and of Terrace Skeena Valley created a playground on Ferry Island over 20 years ago. The playground's original equipment was showing its age so the City wanted to update and expand it. On top of City of Terrace's $28,700 funding for the $40,000 playground upgrade Rotary Club of Terrace contributed $7,581.00 plus a Rotary District 5040 Grant of $3,800.
Assistant Governor and District Strategic & Action Planning Chair, Rotarian Ron Shaw of the Rotary Club of Lionsgate North Vancouver, is now confirmed as District Governor Nominee Designate to serve as District Governor in 2027-2028.
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