Monday, 5 October 2020
Dear fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors,
We are now entering the second quarter of our Rotary year. No doubt, the first quarter was challenging as we all made good efforts to implement the brilliant ideas we had planned at the District, club and personal level. The first few months of my term have been extremely rewarding as I continue to visit clubs virtually to see all the marvellous work Rotarians do across our District and also to learn how our clubs operate. I hope you are equally as proud and carry a sense of satisfaction that you are putting your best foot forward.
By the end of September I have visited 30 out of 72 clubs virtually. I learned of projects of various scales. No matter the size, each project done or planned has left an indelible mark on me. It is truly amazing to witness first-hand the outstanding projects that we do. We need to make every effort to better promote our good work so that more people will come to know about Rotary and come forward to lend their support. The more help we get, the better able we are to address the needs of the communities where we live.
Rotary has designated the month of October for
Economic and Community Development. It highlights one of our six Areas of Focus and may be the one that probably gets the least attention in our District. The COVID-19 pandemic would have brought about sluggish economies, high levels of unemployment and rising poverty in our District and beyond. As Rotarians, we should all be concerned with these trends and think of ways that we can help. Is there something that we can do to help spur income generation and savings? Can we develop projects that will help with job creation and entrepreneurship? What if we were to, as Rotarians, engage other community and business leaders as well as stakeholders in the public and private sectors to work together to develop and implement such initiatives? We are now presented with an opportunity to revisit the classification lists in our individual clubs to identify those members with the skills best suited for economic development and get them engaged. I have no doubt we will be able to come up with amazing solutions.
World Polio Day is on 24 October, and it is the greatest opportunity we have to raise funds and awareness for Rotary’s polio eradication efforts. Visit endpolio.org/worldpolioday to get tools for planning virtual events and fundraisers, and to register your club’s event. My heartfelt thanks goes out to the various clubs and individual Rotarians participating and who have contributed to the Step Up to End Polio donation drive. To date, we have raised US$36,000. However we are far short of the target of US$100,000 and I encourage those who have not participated in the donation drive to come on board and consider making a donation of any amount to the End Polio Now fund, which will be matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the face of a pandemic, there is a serious risk of further spread of polio. Your support is more important than ever, and it will ensure that together we can tackle the remaining obstacles and achieve a polio-free world.
So let us make October a month to remember. During this month, I will continue to visit clubs and meet as many Rotarians virtually as possible. My experience has been exciting and I look forward to meeting and engaging with more of you. Let us continue to develop and implement service projects in our clubs to benefit our communities. It is important that all members are engaged to use their talents and vocations for the maximum effect of opening opportunities. Now is the time to come forward and offer yourselves for service. With the new norm of virtual platforms, we should engage one another in club talks and trainings, regarding our classifications among other topics, for a better enlightened Rotary. Finally friends, let me take this opportunity to thank you all for the tremendous work you are doing and planning to do with the communities when the COVID-19 restrictions are completely lifted.The more Rotarians are engaged in Rotary service, the more we all realize what we can achieve through Rotary – and our potential knows no limits Let us soldier on to create opportunities for our communities and ourselves.
Yours in Rotary,
Rajamohan Munisamy
District Governor RID 3310, RY 2020/21
