As the annual District Governor club visits begin, Pat and I have been delighted to meet with clubs and Rotarians throughout our large District and have the in-person exchange that is Rotary at its finest. We especially look forward to hearing more about what clubs are accomplishing.
When the pandemic came to Squamish in March 2020, the local food bank could no longer have residents visit the facility in person due to COVID protocols, and had to transition to home delivery of food hampers. Rotary Club of Squamish contacted the food bank and volunteered to help. In April 2020, Rotarians began delivering hampers in the community every Tuesday and Friday. They continue long after the pandemic food bank "emergency".
In the 1600s, when the Europeans first explored Africa, they were met by men brandishing spears and women carrying buckets of water on their heads. It's now 2022 and the men carry cell phones and laptops, but the women are still carrying buckets of water on their heads. To liberate women to some extent in these communities where this practice continues, the hippo water roller was developed. The innovative hippo water roller provides a simple solution to this global problem. Basically, the hippo roller is a re-invented wheelbarrow designed to transport 90-liters of water by placing the water inside its “wheel.” This simple design allows an arduous chore to be done easier, faster, and more efficiently. Luke Vorstermans, of the Rotary Club of Gibsons, helped his club launch the “Help Us Roll 1000 Hippos” campaign that quickly rolled out across Canada and the USA.
Mackenzie Outdoor Route & Trail Association (MORATA), a group that develops and maintains local recreational trails for bikers, hikers and casual walkers, benefitted from the annual Rotary Duck Drop in Mackenzie, BC, at Morfee Lake second beach in June 2022. Because the Rotary Club of Mackenzie is small, and after a two-year hiatus because of COVID, the club partnered with MORATA to produce this year’s Duck Drop fundraiser which always aims to make Mackenzie a stronger community. – photos by Silver Dove Imagery
More than two years into COVID-19, many people are feeling “pandemic fatigue”. Around the globe, more than 555 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported, according to the World Health Organization. Health care workers have continuously dedicated their time, energy, and skills to ensure our safety, often putting their own health at risk to do so, paying the price of their own physical and mental health amidst unrelenting demand and staff shortages. Rotary saluted the courage and commitment of our health care workers who have given up so much to treat those who have become ill and contain this disease.