"The Nature of Rotary" District 7020
Monthly News
Awards!!!
11 Hibiscus Awards for Club of the Month Runners Up:
Aquin, Cayman Brac, Grand Cayman, Kingston, Nassau Sunrise, Negril, Portmore, Providenciales, St. Thomas, St. Thomas II, St. Thomas Sunrise
12 District Literacy Awards:
Abaco, Anguilla, Cayman Brac, Charlotte Amalie, Eleuthera, Lucea, Nassau, Port Antonio, Providenciales, South East Nassau, St. Thomas Sunsrise, West Nassau.
15 Zone Literacy Awards:
Cat Island, Christiana, East Nassau, Grand Cayman Central, Grand Cayman Sunrise, Kingston, Montego Bay East, Nassau Sunrise, Negril, Road Town, St. Croix Mid-Isle, St. John, St. Thomas II, Sunrise of Road Town, Tortola.
16 Health and Hunger Awards:
East Nassau, Grand Cayman, Kingston, Les Cayes, Montego Bay, Providenciales, Road Town, St. Croix, St. Croix Harborside, St. Croix Mid-Ilsne, St. Thomas East, St. Thomas II, St. Thomas Sunrise, Sint Maarten, South East Nassau, Tortola.
Focus Area Awards (Highest Points in DG Award individual Focus Areas):
Administration & Training - 1st St. Thomas; 2nd Grand Cayman Sunrise; 3rd Mandeville
Service & Emphases - 1st Tortola; 2nd St. Michel de L'Attalaye; 3rd Les Cayes
New Generations - Joint 1st Eleuthera and Kingston East & Port Royal
Partnership & Membership - 1st. Montego Bay; 2nd Abaco; 3rd Pignon
PR & Outreach - 1st Grand Cayman Sunrise; 2nd Nassau Sunrise; 3rd Nassau
The Rotary Foundation - 1st Montego Bay East' Joint 2nd East Nassau and South East Nassau
8 Bronze DG Awards:
Grand Turk, Lucea, Port Antonio, Port au Prince, Portmore, St. Croix Harborside, St. Mary, Verrettes
11 Silver DG Awards:
Anguilla, May Pen, Negril, North St. Catherine, Pignon, St. Abdrew, St. Michel de l"attalaye, St. Thomas East, Savanna La Mar, Spanish Town, Trafalgar New Heights.
27 Gold DG Awards:
Abaco, Cat Island, Cayman Brac, Charlotte Amalie, Downtown Kingston, Eleuthera, Grand Cayman, Kingston East & Port Royal, Les Cayes, Liguanea Plains, Mandeville, Mirebalais, Montego Bay, Montego Bay Sunrise, New Kingston, New Providence, Petion Ville, Providenciales, St. Andrew North, St. Croix, St. John, St. Martin Nord, St. Thomas Sunrise, Santa Cruz, Sint Maarten, South East Nassau, West Nassau.
13 Platinum DG Awards:
East Nassau, Grand Cayman Sunrise, Kingston, Montego bay East, Nassau, Nassau Sunrise, Road Town, Sunrise of Road Town, St. Croix Mid-Isle, St. Thomas, St. Thomas II, Tortola.
Power of One Awards (given to individuals who had shown initiative and led otghers to achieve their goal)
JD Mosely Matchett (RC Grand Cayman Sunrise) Bidding for REDI Conference to be held in D7020
Christy Almeida (RC Liguanea Plains) For ringing of the Jamaica Stock Exchange bell to celebrate Rotary's Birthday
Kitty Bucsko (RC Anguilla) for innovations in Website and making mini videos
Brian Enright (RC Cayman Brac) For introducing the idea of "Virtual Speakers" to our district
Natash Parchment Clarke (RC Montego Bay) For starting and running six EarlyAct Clubs
Jean Marc Brisseau (RC Leogane) For instituting a Cholera preventio project that was used by our clubs througout Hiati
Paul Harris Fellowships:
John P deJongh Jr., Governor of the US Virgin Islands for continued support to Rotary
Rosa Leger (RC Les Cayes) for management of two shcool refurbishments in Les Cayes Haiti
Haresh Ramchandani (RC Montego Bay East) for years of dedication to the District and to Training
Don Chandler (RC St. Thomas) for dedication to running a successful conference
John Fuller (RC St. John) for dedicated service as District Secretary and Registrar of Conference
Marston Winkles (RC St. Thomas) for dedication to running a successful conference
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!
How Good is Your Rotary Knowledge?
Check it out at the Twenty Minute Library...you may be surprised!
Thanks are due to our RLI Director Haresh for compiling the material in the library and PAG Nessim Izmery for the translations.....and there is more to come.
Que savez-vous À propos du Rotary?
Consultez-le à la bibliothèque de vingt minutes ... vous pourriez être surpris!
Merci sont dus à notre Haresh RLI Directeur de la constitution du matériau dans la bibliothèque et PAG Nessim Izmery pur le traduire.
“Celebrate the Children of District 7020”
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families good wishes for a peaceful and happy holiday season. Regardless of our faith, many of us gather at this time of year to celebrate with our families. It is also time when many of our clubs provided gifts of toys or food to the children in our communities – particularly those for whom the holiday is just another day with no liklehood of a gift or perhaps even food.
The Rotary Club of Petionville has a tradition of providing toys and games for more than a thousand children each Christmas season and this year is no exception. Although the arena used in past years is no longer available, they are looking for a new venue and are planning to hold the event for December 19th.
I would like to suggest we make December 19th a day to “Celebrate the Children of District 7020”. I encourage clubs to join with Petionville by holding their own event with children in their communities or to give support to Petionville by helping with the purchase of toys and gifts for the children of Petionville and Port au Prince.
Please take a look at Petionville’s website for ideas and ways in which you may be able to celebrate with the children of Haiti http://www.rotarypv.org/ and click on “Fete des Enfants”. For more information on how you can help, contact President Georges Nicolas gnicolas20@hotmail.com
Happy Holidays to All
"Célébrer les Enfants du District 7020"
Je souhaite à vous et vos familles des vœux pour la saison des vacances paisibles et heureux. Quelle que soit notre foi, beaucoup d'entre nous se réunissent à cette époque de l'année pour célébrer avec nos familles. Il est également temps que certains de nos clubs offrent des cadeaux de jouets ou de la nourriture aux enfants de nos collectivités - en particulier ceux pour qui la fête est juste un autre jour, sans possibilité d'un don ou peut-être même de la nourriture.
Le Rotary club de Pétionville a une tradition de fournir des jouets et des jeux depuis plus d'un millier d'enfants chaque saison de Noël et cette année ne fait pas exception. Bien que le domaine utilisé dans le passé n'est plus disponible, ils sont à la recherche d'un nouveau lieu et prévoient d'organiser l'événement pour le 19 Décembre.
Je voudrais suggérer que nous faisons Décembre, 19ème jour des "Célébrer les Enfants du District 7020". J'encourage les clubs à se joindre à Pétion-Ville en organisant leur propre événement avec les enfants dans leur communauté ou à apporter un soutien à Pétionville, en aidant à l'achat de jouets et cadeaux pour les enfants de Pétionville et Port-au-Prince.
S'il vous plaît jeter un oeil sur le site Web de Pétionville des idées et des façons dont vous pourrez peut-être pour célébrer avec les enfants d'Haïti http://www.rotarypv.org/ et cliquez sur "Fête des Enfants". Pour plus d'informations sur comment vous pouvez aider, veuillez communiquer avec le président Georges Nicolas nicolas20@hotmail.com
Joyeuses fêtes à tous
November: We give our time, now it is time to give
Cette année, nous avons vu la puissance de la Fondation Rotary dans notre District. Le tremblement de terre en Haïti a choqué le monde et le monde du Rotary ont répondu en envoyant des fonds à la Fondation Rotary. Environ 2 millions de dollars ont été donnés par les Rotariens et d'autres donateurs à travers le monde, sachant que la Fondation ne serait-il utiliser à bon escient et fournirait une bonne intendance. Notre taux de la Fondation comme l'un des plus élevés au monde pour la gestion de ses ressources.
Il ya seulement une poignée de districts Rotary qui ont la chance d'être les bénéficiaires de plus de financement pour leurs projets en tant que District 7020. Nos dons chaque année à notre Fondation ne représentent qu'une fraction de ce que nous recevons. Le Mois de la Fondation de Novembre est le moment idéal pour nous tous de dire "merci" à tous nos généreux donateurs et il n'y a pas de meilleur moyen pour ce faire que de faire don de notre propre - peu importe leur taille - pour montrer que nous sommes reconnaissants pour tout ce que nous sommes en mesure de le faire au sein de notre District. Nous nous acquittons de notre thème de cette année et chaque année, seulement à cause de la Fondation Rotary. Il est le véhicule qui nous permet, à travers ses programmes de subventions, de continuer à Bâtir des Collectivités et Rapprocher les Continents. J'espère que chacun de nous payer une partie à faire de nos clubs et notre Fondation plus grands, meilleurs et plus audacieuses au cours de cette Mois de la Fondation.
This past year, we have seen first-hand the power of The Rotary Foundation within our District. The earthquake in Haiti shocked the world and the Rotary world responded by sending funds to The Rotary Foundation . Approximately 2 million dollars were given by Rotarians and other donors from across the globe, knowing that The Rotary Foundation would use it wisely and would provide good stewardship. Our Foundation rates as one of the highest in the world for management of its resources.
There are only a handful of Rotary Districts who are fortunate enough to be the recipients of as much funding for their projects as District 7020. Our donations each year to our Foundation represent only a fraction of what we receive. The Foundation Month of November is a perfect time for all of us to say “Thank You” to our generous donors and there is no better way to do this than to make our own donation – no matter how small – to show that we are grateful for all that we are able to do within our District. We fulfil our theme this year and every year, only because of The Rotary Foundation. It is the vehicle which enables us, through its grants programs, to continue Building Communities and Bridging Continents. I hope each of us will pay a part in making our clubs and our Foundation Bigger, Better and Bolder during this Foundation Month.
October 2010 - New Bonus Point Available!
Additional Bonus Points are available to clubs, Assistant Governors and District Chairs
Make sure you take advantage of what is on offer to "upgrade" your DG Award at the end of the year.
Clubs:
20 Points Completion of "Passport to Success" at PETS
20 Points Per submission to "Club of the Month"
100 Points Winner of "Club of the Month"
50 Points Member of your club attending R.E.D.I Conference in February 2011
(does not apply to Cayman Rotarians)
50 Points If your Area has established a "Council of Presidents"
10 Points For each member of your club attending an Inter-Club Assembly
Assistant Governors:
5 Points For each of your members who completed a "Passport to Success"
10 Points For each submission to "Club of the Month" by your clubs
25 Points For each of your clubs who wins "Club of the Month"
20 Points For each club represented at the REDI conference
50 Points If your Area has established a "Council of Presidents"
5 Points For each member of your clubs attending an Inter-Club Assembly
District Chairs:
10 Points For each of your signatures on the "Passports to Success"
20 Points For each submission to "Club of the Month" in your Area of Focus
September 2010 - And the East Wind Doth Blow!
In recent times, September has proved to be a tiresome and sometimes stressful month in our District. With weather systems forming off the west coast of Africa almost constantly, we spend much of our time checking on the latest weather updates. Perhaps now is a good time to consider our respnsibilities to our fellow Rotarians if storms pass our way so here are a few basics about caring for each other as well as our communities:
Club Presidents:
- Appoint a Disaster Chair if you have not already done so
- Prepare your members in small groups, each group shouldbe respnsible for contacting each other before and after a storm and one person in that group should report to the Club President with the status of the group.
Your own safety and the safety of your family is paramount. If you are all safe then:
- Report to yourDisaster Chair and to your Assistant Governor on the safety condition of your club members and of the surrounding area after the storm.
Assistant Governors:
- You should all be in possession of a satellite phone, if you do not have one, please notify the District Disaster Chair immediately (Felix Stubbs - fstubbs@bs.ibm.com )
- If you have not already checked that your satellite phone is working, do so immediately.
- Appoint a Disaster Chair for your area if you have not already done so
Your own safety and the safety of your family is paramount. If you are all safe then:
- Contact your Club Presidents as soon as possible after the storm to assess the local damage and the safety of all members.
- Report the news of your area to the District Governor and the District Disaster Chair (Felix Stubbs - fstubbs@bs.ibm.com )
- If damage is considerable, meet as soon as possible with Disaster Chairs and Club Presidents to assess what assistance is needed from the District and what local Rotarians can do to help within the community
- Report updates to the DG and the Distrcit Disaster Chair and request assistance where needed.
Let us hope we have a safe and uneventful Season!
August 2010 - It's Membership Month
Do you subscribe to "The Membership Minute"?
Do you have any new, innovative ideas for membership? Why not share them in District 7020 monthly newsletter? It is only an e-mail away.
What do you do in your club to retain you members?
Fellowship before your meetings?
Have interesting speakers?
Create a "Buddy" system?
Celebrate the anniversary of when your members joined Rotary?
Have fun icebreakers at the start of the meeting?
Let's hear from all of you - we need to share our best practices.
July 2010
New Presidents are finding their feet running weekly meetings. Reports are all submitted (well most are - just a few stragglers yet to finish!).
Already Clubs are gearing up to vie for the coveted title of "Club of the Month" and members are hoping to have the honour of being the first to wear the exclusive Club of the Month Member Pin. What is your Club planning for Membership and Extension month? Are you going to improve the quality of what your club currently offers its members? Are you going to make a concerted effort to look for ethical leaders in your community? Are you going to offer your existing members an opportunity to expand their knowledge of Rotary? Whatever you plan, make sure you share your story and your success by submitting it to your Assistant Governor as an entry into the Clubof the Month progam. The more we share the more successful we become.
What's due in July?
Your dues to the District - to District Treasurer, Carolyn Cole carolynstt@gmail.com
Your dues to Rotary Interntional - http://www.rotary.org/
June 2010 http://picasaweb.google.com/dianawhite.7020/RIConventionInMontreal#
DG Diana addressed the delegates at the International Institute in Montreal. The following is the text of her speech:
Good evening, First, I would like to thank President John Kenny for choosing to highlight Haiti at this evening’s dinner and for giving me the opportunity to represent our District, District 7020. In deciding on the format of this presentation I chose to give a broad view. Consequently, there may be some information already known to you and some on which you would like more detail but I hope you will leave here this evening with a memory to carry home and a desire to retell the story of the resilient people of Haiti to the Rotarians in your Districts and your Clubs.
District 7020 is comprised of 10 Northern Caribbean nations and territories speaking three major languages with clubs on 18 islands. We are privileged to have Haiti as part of our District. This statement may surprise some of you since Haiti is renowned for its tumultuous – and at time notorious history; its regular and sometime violent changes in leadership as well as its extreme poverty. However, what we learn from the people of Haiti and the Rotarians in particular is their tremendous pride in their nation, their capacity for undertaking projects that many of us would consider impractical if not impossible; and an enormous resilience in the face of disaster.
I would like to tell you how Rotary in the south-east United States has for some years embraced Haiti. Approximately four years ago, Past RI Director, Milt Jones, gathered together a group of Rotary leaders from Zones 33 and 34 with the vision of creating a fellowship and working relationships between the clubs and districts in the 25 countries within those zones. The concept was known as “Think Caribbean” and its aim was to foster Rotary relationships and Fellowship leading to increased cultural understanding with the potential to develop joint Rotary projects.
The first initiative taken by Think Caribbean was the purchase of sufficient satellite phones for distribution to key Rotarians in every country and District in the two Zones to be used in the event of an emergency. As you will see later, this proved to be life saving project.
The Think Caribbean initiative later became known by its current title, The Caribbean Partnership. Following on from this, District 7020 formed the Haiti Task Force to act as a conduit for all Foundation-related projects. The Task Force reviews initiatives intended for Haiti with Rotary Foundation involvement to help designate the appropriate club or clubs to ensure the ability to adhere to TRF compliance before moving forward. This initiative has proved to be invaluable in recent months and has enabled us to better understand, not only the needs in Haiti, but the logistical challenges of working there as well as preventing the Haiti clubs from being overwhelmed with projects to numerous to manage.
RI Director Elect, John Smarge has, for some years, shown his concern for Haiti and for the challenges it presents our District. In November of last year he invited RI Director Tom Thorfinnson who shared these same concerns to share in a Haiti Retreat. The Governors Elect of their four USA zones were invited to take part. The retreat was held in the Port au Prince area and all the participants were give an opportunity to meet with local NGO representatives and to undertake two projects. Little did John know at the time how meaningful this trip would be to those who took part and also how much better they would be able to help from a distance when disaster eventually struck.
On a day to day basis, in the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, the people of Haiti live under conditions that we only experience after natural disasters such as hurricanes or tornadoes, and yet the Rotarians of Haiti give more time and help to those in need than we can conceive. It is indeed a humbling experience to witness their achievements knowing the conditions under which they strive.
Since the fateful day, January 12th, 2010, many of you in this room have given funding or volunteered time to help the beleaguered in Haiti. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for this support and for the support which your districts and your clubs have pledged to continue. The need is staggering as has been Rotary’s response. Not only from neighbouring districts in the Caribbean such as the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the southern Caribbean islands but from around the globe.
We know that when disaster strikes in our world, Rotary’s network is uniquely poised to provide a much needed service to the citizens of the affected country. Long after the newscasters have left and long after the NGO’s have moved on to the next country in need, Rotary can continue with a band of concerned men and women doing what Rotarians do best. Rotarians have an intimate knowledge of their communities, they understand the needs, they are familiar with the culture and the language and they are accepted and respected members of those communities.
Port au Prince is a city which, before January 12th, had an infrastructure to support approximately 50,000 people yet it was home to 2 million. Haitians from the outlying towns and villages, unable to find work and to provide food for their families, had gradually migrated to Port au Prince. Now many of those same people have been forced to return to their villages, once again looking for food and shelter. This has led to overcrowding of schools, homes filled to overflowing with extended families and the all too familiar shortage of food. Others, realising there is little likelihood of work outside of the capital, choose to remain under the flimsy shelter of the sometimes dangerous tent cities.
So where do we go from here? Our Haiti Task Force relies heavily on the local knowledge and advice of the Haitian Rotarians but it is often challenging and frustrating to try to communicate when electricity is sporadic and cellular phones are subject to many areas that are not within range. Haiti is blessed with stunning and dramatic mountainous scenery and while this may look attractive in photographs, it has produced enormous challenges both to Napoleon’s armies and to present day armies of aid workers and Rotarians trying to transport supplies to those in need.
Given this background, we make the best use of our local Rotarians in selecting the most effective projects on a scale that can be managed by the some 350 members we have on the ground in Haiti. Rotary is almost unique in that we have an experienced, knowledgeable, dedicated and influential network of men and women who work year round and year after year to relieve as much suffering as they can.
Rotarians are not just there when disaster strikes, they do not move on when disaster hits elsewhere, they do not push up the inflation by paying increased costs demanded of the visitors by enterprising local residents. Through our projects, we provide employment and we purchase locally produced tools and materials which helps to sustain and improve the local economy.
We all know that to rebuild Port au Prince will take a very long time, some estimate at least 10 years. It has been said that will take 100 trucks working 7 days a week for two years to move the rubble from the streets of Port au Prince. The situation is beyond our imagination and so, the only way for me to illustrate to you the task we have ahead is to show you a video presentation put together by Past RI Director from District 7020, Barry Rassin. I believe it comes as close as is possible to giving us a true perspective of the situation as it was and as it is. I hope it will go some way towards showing us the reality of the task ahead.
VIDEO
This reflects only a small part of the acute response and the move towards the mid-term response. The government is struggling but it is their country that we are trying to help. We must show that respect to them and the local Rotarians. Sometimes it may frustrate us as we would like things to move faster but we are here to support and assist and advise where advice is requested. We are not here to tell them what to do.
As RI Director Barry mentioned in his video, there are 30 schools in Haiti that we will assist. Our clubs are in the process of producing a list of needs for each school with accompanying budgets in order to apply for funding. We need to have the repairs completed in time for the return to school of the students in October.
In the area of prosthetics, we will be concerned with the areas outside of Port au Prince. There are various other groups working in and around the capital so we are concentrating on those who have migrated back to the rural areas.
We will be providing a mobile prosthetic workshop and clinic. Rotarian Trustees from the Rotary Jaipur Limb Project in the United Kingdom are working very closely with us. Jaipur Trustee and Past Governor, Don Short is providing much needed guidance in the design of the clinic and provision of equipment and supplies. RIBI and Jaipur in the UK will also assist in the funding of a portion of the project.
More information on these and all our other efforts in Haiti can be found on our District website www.7020.org where there is a link to our blog. The blog address is http://haiti-task-force.blogspot.com
As you heard in the video presentation, more than one third of the countries in the Rotary world have already contributed in some way or another so I am sure that many of you in this room belong to that group. We also know that many countries have funds and are waiting for the budget details before making their contributions. Our known funding sources at this point are $70,000 in the Bahamas, left after spending some $439,000 in Haiti; District 7020 has $400,000; the Rotary Foundation Donor Advised Fund has $1.9M; Canada has $115,000; Germany has all districts on hold waiting for us to provide priority projects; and France is waiting with funds.
As you can tell, this is no “One Night Stand”, this Rotary relationship is strong, it is long lasting, it is one that has given us great pride and great sorrow but we will stand together with Haiti for as long as we are able. Our Governor for 2011-2012 is Guy Theodore from Haiti and we are excited that our 2012 Conference is already in the planning stages to be held in Haiti near the town of St. Marc.
Rotary has to play a part in what is, in reality, rebuilding the nation. It will take tenacity and consistency for that to be achieved. Future Governors in our District will inherit an ongoing Rotary involvement in Haiti’s rebuilding for some years to come. In doing so, it is very important that we not hurt their economy by continuing to give only free food. Too much free rice puts the farmers out of business. Giving books puts the printers out of business. When giving lumber for carpenters there is need for caution, not too much or the importers of lumber go out of business. It is a fine line we must walk because, as the president of a Catholic education group working in the country recently said “Haiti is a Nation, not a Refugee Camp” Thank you
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