THE PEACE ARCH JOURNAL PAGE 2 Message from Rotary International President K
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THETHE PeacePeace ArchArch JOURNALJOURNAL VOL 29 ISSUEISSUE 1010 APRIL 2016 MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH Rotarians improve access to essential medical services for mothers and their children. These efforts are aimed at reducing the number of children under age five who die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation ... A FIGURE THAT IS CURRENTLY ESTIMATED AT 7 MILLION. According to another estimate, more than 80 percent of maternal deaths can be prevented with access to reproductive health services and trained health care workers. Our members provide education, immunizations, birthing kits, and mobile health clinics to support these causes. Rotarians teach women how to prevent mother-to-infant HIV transmission, how to breast-feed, and how to protect themselves and their children from disease. FOR ALL GOLFERS AND WOULD BE GOLFERS who will be attending the District Conference at Semiamoo April 28-May 1 we have a wonderful golf tournament scheduled on the Loomis Trail Golf Course at Semiamoo. We have negotiated a great price of just $97 (US) which includes a round of golf with cart, box lunch, and door prizes! We welcome all Rotarians, spouses, and non-Rotarian friends of Rotary to participate. Feel free to create your own foursomes! Please join us for a wonderful day on the links! To register, please go to District 5050 ClubRunner and click on District Conference. review and vote on proposed legislation. The Council gives us a voice in how our organization is governed. Proposed changes to Rotary's constitution and by- laws are drafted by clubs and/or districts and voted on by the representatives present. Larry will give us a full report upon his return. Administration I was honoured recently to be part of the installation process for the new Interact club at the Stanwood High School and am GOVERNOR looking forward to doing the same in Lake Bill Robson (Lona) Stevens as well as with a new Rotaract club Rotary Club of in Bellingham. Who says we can't attract younger members? Langley Central 20736 51 Ave District Training Assembly is just around Langley, BC V3A 7V2 the corner and I am sure that DGE Scott is Res: 604-340-9700 Bill’sBill’s BitBit looking forward to yet another successful Email: [email protected] Message from event. Spring is sprung and everyone's District Governor Bill Robson GOVERNOR ELECT thoughts turn to CONFERENCE! Scott Dudley Hello Rotary, Once again I invite you to join us at the (Christine) April is "Maternal And Child Health Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, WA for our Rotary Club of Month" and it brings back memories of my annual District Conference. We have a North Whidbey trip to Africa in 2011. In a small village in fabulous program planned starting with Island Sunrise Northern Uganda, just outside of Gulu, we golf and dinner on Thursday, opening 184 NW Delta Ct visited a local birthing hospital where ceremonies, including a traditional Oak Harbor, WA 98277 Rotary grants had been used to update, re- welcome from a Semiahmoo Tribal Elder Res: 360-675-6561 equip, clean and paint the facility. The and a scavenger hunt on Friday and the Bus: 800-286-4560 "before" pictures and what we now saw "Come as you were when the ship went Cell: 360-672-0566] showed the power of what Rotary could do. down" Governor's Ball on Saturday. Email: [email protected] The newborn mortality in the area was Speakers include our own Rotary Director dismal to say the least but the upgrades, Elect, an Olympic medalist, the Canadian new beds, an actual birthing bed, clean Ambassador to the U.K., a polio survivor GOVERNOR blankets and running water from a nearby and world traveler to promote eradication well would change all this and the local and our President's Representative from NOMINEE women were ecstatic. Rotary Rocks Pennsylvania. I am really looking forward Lindagene Coyle April 2016 is also when we send off PDG to seeing you there. A registration link can Rotary Club of Larry Jubie to Evanston, IL. as our District be found on this page below or on the White Rock Peninsula representative to the Council on Legislation district website. You will look back on this 2789Cranley Drive (COL). The COL meets every three years to event and be glad you came. Surrey, BC Cell: 604 - 220 - 6856 Email: [email protected] SECRETARY Rob Martin Rotary Club of Burlington, WA 9155 Samish Island Road Bow, WA 98232-9355 Res: 360-766-6594 BUS: 360-428-0140 Fax: 360-428-1616 Email: [email protected] TREASURER Carlye Gillespie Rotary Club of Bellingham Bay (BBRC) 1621 Cornwall Avenue Bellingham , WA 98225 Ph. 360-756-1010 Email: [email protected] Register for the Conference today! Our Gift to the World VOL. 29 | ISSUE 10 | APRIL 2016 THE PEACE ARCH JOURNAL PAGE 2 Message from Rotary International President K. R. “Ravi” Ravindran The Many years ago, in Kolkata, India, I had the chance to meet PEACE ARCH Mother Teresa. She was an incredible woman with an incredible force of personality. When she walked down the Journal street, the crowd parted in front of her like the Red Sea. Yet VOL. 29 | ISSUE 10 | APRIL 2016 when you talked to her, if you mentioned the tremendous things she had done, she almost did not engage in this topic at all. By many reports, if you asked her what her greatest achievement was, she would answer, "I am an expert in cleaning toilets." Bill Robson The answer was both humorous and absolutely serious. Her business was caring for others. Toilets had to be cleaned, so she cleaned them. There was no question of a job District Governor being beneath her. Helping people who needed help was her work, and there was nothing higher, nothing in the world more important than that. This monthly publication is a service to district club officers and members. It is So one day, when an elegantly dressed man came to Kolkata looking for Mother Teresa, intended as a source of news and opinion the nuns who answered the door informed him that she was at the back of the house, from throughout the district. cleaning the toilets. They pointed the way, and indeed he found Mother Teresa scrubbing the toilets. She said hello, assumed he was there to volunteer, and began The mission of the Peace Arch Journal explaining to him how to hold the toilet brush correctly and how not to waste water. is to promote communication, understanding, fellowship and fun beyond Then she put the brush in his hand and left him standing there, in his expensive suit, club meetings, in a manner alone in the lavatory. complementary to shared efforts at Later, the man came out, found Mother Teresa again, and said, "I have finished; may I placing Service Above Self. speak with you now?" "Yes, certainly," she said. He took an envelope out of his pocket Please send news, articles and and said, "Mother Teresa, I am the director of the airline, and here are your tickets. I photographs to: just wanted to bring them to you personally." [email protected] That airline director told that story again and again for the rest of his life. He said those by the 25th day of the month for possible inclusion in the next issue. 20 minutes spent cleaning toilets had filled him with the greatest joy he had ever known – because by putting his hands to Mother Teresa's work, he became part of that Long articles may be truncated and all work. For those 20 minutes, he cared for the sick just as she did: with his own hands, articles submitted may be edited before his own sweat. publication. Not all articles and photos submitted will be published. That is exactly the opportunity that Rotary gives us. We might not do what Mother Teresa did – give up our lives, our homes, our families. But for 20 minutes, 20 hours, 20 EDITOR / PUBLISHER days of the year, we can be like her. “Mohan” C. V. Mohanan (Judith) We can do the work that others will not with our hands, and our hearts, and our sweat, Rotary Club of and our devotion – knowing that what we do is the most important work in the world. Port Coquitlam Centennial 1882 Eureka Avenue, Port Coquitlam, BC, V3C 5C1. Res: 604-941-3053 Cell: 604-618-5226 Email: [email protected] Our District is #4 in growth in Zone 24 and #5 in growth in www.district5050.org our combined Zones 24/32 out of 37 Districts. VOL. 29 | ISSUE 10 | APRIL 2016 THE PEACE ARCH JOURNAL PAGE 3 DISTRICT CONFERENCE 2016 Susanne Rea Past president of the Meet our Speakers Rotary Club of Cairns Sunrise, Queensland, Dean Rohrs (Rhino) Australia I was four-years-old when Rotary International Director-Elect I contracted polio. I was fortunate to have made a Dean, her husband Rhino, and their 3 complete recovery, but children emigrated to Canada from South defeating polio has Africa 24 years ago. Dean grew up in remained personal for Zambia and after marrying Rhino lived in me. I am also proud to be Malawi, Namibia, and South Africa. Dean an Aussie. You can bet I joined Rotary in South Africa in 1989. On was cheering loudly arriving in Vancouver both Dean and during the 2014 Rotary Rhino joined the Rotary Club of West International Convention Vancouver and at present are members of in Sydney when our the Rotary Club of Langley Central. Prime Minister, Tony Dean has served on District and Zone Abbott,announced a committees; which have included: pledge of $100 million over five years to help eradicate polio.