ROTARIANS ARE PEOPLE OF ACTION

WHO FOCUS ON HUMANITARIAN AREAS OF NEED

Fighting Disease

Growing Local Economies

Promoting Peace

Providing Clean Water

Saving Mothers and Children

Supporting Education

THE BOSIN TWINS AND ROMAC

Although they were born over 24 years ago, it was the Bosin Twins that laid the foundation for ROMAC as we know it today.

Eaustina and Eaustocia were conjoined twins born on a small island near Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, which at the time was war-torn. Half way through her labour, and the first baby’s head showing, mum Magdalene was transported to a larger island over 400 metres of water by boat, where two little girls, conjoined at the chest were born. A power failure half way through the caesarean operation meant the operation was completed under the light of a full moon. The next day they were flown to Port Moresby, from where ROMAC arranged for them to go to Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, where they were successfully separated.

They are now 24 years old and have just graduated from University. A wonderful testament to the work of the Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) team, and the impact of Rotary in the world.

The Bosin Twins when they were born 24 years ago

Eaustina and Eaustocia at 16 years of age

TIME's 100 MOST INFLENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

Dr TUNJI FUNSHO

Afolabi Sotunde—Reuters

BY JEFFREY KLUGER

SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 9:34 PM EDT

It’s not often an entire continent eradicates a disease, but on Aug. 25, 2020, that happened when Nigeria was declared polio-free, clearing the virus from its last redoubt in all of Africa. The person who did more than any other to drive polio to continent-wide extinction was Dr. Tunji Funsho, a former cardiologist and now the chair of Rotary International’s polio-eradication program in Nigeria.

Funsho could have retired years ago, but in 2013, with polio still paralyzing children across Nigeria, he decided to step up to lead the Rotarians’ effort. Together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the WHO, the CDC and UNICEF, Funsho and Rotary helped lead National Immunization Days, getting millions of doses of the polio vaccine to children in cities and villages around the nation. They also sponsored health-education initiatives at community centers, mosques and even birthday parties. This summer, the country marked four years without a case of wild polio, qualifying it for its polio-free certification, leaving Afghanistan and Pakistan as the only places in the world in which polio remains endemic.

“Certification will be an achievement,” Funsho told TIME in 2018. “But we’re not in a hurry for that. We’re in a hurry to make sure no child is paralyzed.” In Nigeria and in Africa as a whole, that moment has arrived.

Kluger is a TIME editor at large

RIDE THE TRAIN TO END POLIO

AFRICAN REGION CERTIFIED WILD POLIO-FREE

It our pleasure to announce to you that the African region has just been certified wild poliovirus-free.

Rotary members have played an invaluable role in the effort to rid the African region of wild polio. We should be proud of all the hard work that we’ve done to eliminate the wild poliovirus throughout Africa and in nearly every country in the world.

This progress is the result of a decades-long effort across the 47 countries of the African region. It has involved millions of health workers traveling by foot, boat, bike and bus, innovative strategies to vaccinate children amid conflict and insecurity, and a huge disease surveillance network to test cases of paralysis and check sewage for the virus.

Rotary International President Holger Knaack and Nigeria National PolioPlus Chair Dr. Tunji Funsho congratulate Rotarians on eradicating wild polio in the African Region. Watch here.

ANNOUNCEMENT IN PARLIAMENT - ROTARY SERVES THE WORLD

The Hon. Trent Zimmerman MP (and Rotarian) announcing the eradication of Polio in Africa in Parliament House and praising our local Rotary Clubs.

You can watch his address here .....

POLIO MOVIE EVENT - I AM WOMAN

POLIO MOVIE EVENT 2020
A highlight each year for hundreds of Rotary clubs around Australia and New Zealand is the Polio Movie Event. This year’s movie is I Am Woman, the inspiring story of Australian singer/songwriter, Helen Reddy, who shot to global stardom in the seventies.
Clubs will be able to run events during October and November. In Australia, the movie is being streamed to homes on Stan and the only way to see it at the cinema will be through Rotary events. In New Zealand, the movie opens at cinemas on 12th November but Rotary clubs will have the exclusive to cinema screenings during October.
This year, the Polio Movie Event will be a tribute to Sir Clem Renouf. It provides the perfect opportunity to have some fun, engage with community, get inspired, honour Sir Clem… and of course raise lots of funds for End Polio Now!

THE ELECTION OF THE NEW ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT 2022-2023

ROTARY'S 7 AREAS OF FOCUS

The Rotary Foundation Trustees and Rotary International Board of Directors have both unanimously approved adding a new area of focus: supporting the environment.

Supporting the environment becomes Rotary's seventh area of focus, categories of service activities supported by global grants.

It joins peacebuilding and conflict prevention; disease prevention and treatment; water, sanitation, and hygiene; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and community economic development.

WHY THE FOUR WAY TEST IS MY ETHICAL GUIDE

WHY THE FOUR WAY TEST IS MY ETHICAL GUIDE

Posted on July 24, 2020 in Rotary Voices

Stories of service from around the world

S.R. Yogananda

By S.R. Yogananda, past district governor, past regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, and a member of the Rotary Bangalore East, Bengaluru, India

The year was 1987. I had come back from the Sultanate of Oman and was running a consumer products distribution company in Bangalore, India, when a business executive came to my office one evening. He said “I have been watching the way you do business. You are not taking short cuts, you have asked your staff and accountants to follow all the government regulations. I would like to invite you to join my Rotary club.” Rotary, he said “amongst other things, stands for integrity”.

ROTARY ON THE MOVE OCTOBER, 2020

Please click HERE to view - download the ‘Rotary On The Move’ Newsletter for October 2020. Please feel free to share and send us your great membership stories.

PUBLIC IMAGE NEWSLETTER, SEPTEMBER, 2020

Please click HERE for the latest Public Image Newsletter.

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Rotary Matters

On air Friday 3pm -4pm

Triple H 100.1 FM

www.rotarymatters.org

Rotary Matters a weekly program on community radio station Triple H 100.1 FM profiles the causes, projects and people who make up Rotary. The idea is to arouse interest and engagement among the wider general public. Each week a different Rotary initiative is profiled with an in studio interview. This is followed by a What’s On of activities in District 9685 which are accessible to the public. To have your Club’s initiatives and activities profiled on Rotary Matters, contact the host, Ian Stuart on 0416 138 860 or ian.stuart@optusnet.com.au Episodes of the program can be heard indefinitely on the Rotary Matters Facebook site and other social media platforms like Spotify. See "Read More"for links to some recent broadcasts.