Tuesday, 10 September 2019
Dear Fellow Rotarians,It had been another busy and exhilarating month for me. I had visited 10 Clubs and attended 1 club installations and 5 club anniversaries in the District. I had covered Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and Johor in the month of August. It was a great opportunity for me to meet so many Rotarians and friends of Rotary.
September is designated as BASIC EDUCATION AND LITERACY MONTH. According to Rotary International statistic, more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population. Hence, Rotary International goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
One of The Rotary Foundation six areas of focus is Basic education and literacy. We know that basic education and literacy are essential for reducing poverty, improving health, encouraging community and economic development, and promoting peace. Therefore, I encourage all the clubs in our District to support activities and training to improve education for all children and literacy for children and adults.
I encourage clubs to apply for the District Grant or Global grant to support education through service projects within your community. Please take note that the District Grant will be closed on 31st Oct. 2019.
One of RI President Mark Danial Maloney emphasis is to involve family members in Rotary, to bring family members on a Rotary service project or fund-raising event. We must consider to make most Rotary events welcoming to family members and children at Rotary event on every level. We should not close our door of Rotary events to our children or spouses. We must grasp every opportunity that we have to pass on the values of Rotary and open our doors to young people and make it a fun way in order to attract and engage them. This is the first major step for us to grow Rotary and ensure that the new generation is fully engaged in our mission.
In month of September, I am scheduled to visit another 12 clubs and attend 4 club installations. I hope to be able to visit all the 73 clubs in the District before the end of this year. Therefore, I urge those clubs that has yet to book your DG club visits to do so as soon as possible.
Jeff YongD3310 District Governor 2019-20
