Rotary in Action

RI President says 'Thank you for an unforgettable year'

Wilfred J Wilkinson, 2007-08 RI President, in his final message for the Rotary 2007-08 year says that he wishes every Rotarian could have the opportunities to see what he and his wife Joan have enjoyed over the past few months. From India to France, Hong Kong to Brazil, the Philippines to Turkey, we witnessed Rotarians demonstrating, with great compassion and ingenuity, just how much Rotary Shares.
We saw incredible disaster relief efforts in Pakistan and had the chance to inaugurate one of seven schools being built there with contributions by Rotarians. In India, we surveyed the impressive results of Rotarian tsunami recovery projects. In Brazil, we visited a school supported by the Foundation of São Paulo Rotarians that offers academic and vocational education as well as a program for the hearing impaired. And we felt very proud when we saw what Houston Rotarians have done in establishing a four-star hotel for patients and families visiting the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Peace conferences provided another source of great inspiration for Rotarians, who met in Bulgaria, India, Kenya, and Turkey to discuss the obstacles to peace in each of these regions and consider how Rotary clubs can offer practical solutions. In Canada and France, Rotarians organised conferences around the theme Peace Is Possible, drawing participants from neighboring countries to offer a valuable international perspective.
Throughout my travels this year, I met many people who congratulated me on Rotary’s work to eradicate polio and to improve the quality of life in some of the world’s poorest regions. I was especially struck by the words of Olafur Grimsson, the president of Iceland, who said to me: “Rotary has the right answer. Your organisation includes men and women on an equal basis, and you have members from many countries who represent every race, color, and creed. So what the world must do is have more Rotarians.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Wilfrid J. (Wilf) Wilkinson
President, Rotary International

ROTARY TODAY…
is dedicated to fostering world peace and understanding through an array of humanitarian and educational programs aimed at the underlying causes of conflict, such as poverty, illiteracy, hunger, drought, and disease.

With its network of more than 32,000 local clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical regions, Rotary works at the grassroots level to deliver practical assistance to communities in need. For more than 20 years, Rotary’s top goal has been the eradication of the crippling disease polio, a job 99 percent achieved.

Rotary club members also carry out projects that provide water wells, install sanitation systems, and teach children and adults to read. Rotary is the world’s largest privately-funded source of international scholarships, each year allowing about 1000 college students to begin study abroad as unofficial goodwill ambassadors.

There are 34,281 Rotarians in 1187 clubs in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. In New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands, there are 10,268 Rotarians in 268 clubs

Rotary International Past President Bill Boyd