District Governor 2024-25 Opening Remarks

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I will start with a story of hope that Rotary helped create.

I met Norng Chan Phal at S21 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, just earlier this month. S21 is short for Security Prison 21. The sterile name hides a brutal past. Chan Phal is a survivor of that brutal past. The day I happened to be there, he was back at S21, selling the book of his memoirs. Chan Phal was eight when his world changed, losing both his parents to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. For 3 years, 8 months and 20 days, this country suffered under one of the most horrific genocidal regimes of the 20th century, loosing somewhere between 20 and 25% of their population of just under 7 million people at that time. What’s more, this happened only 45 years ago. Much of the horror was exposed only after the regime was toppled on the 7th of January 1979. I came to know only after watching the movie The Killing Fields while at uni in New Delhi in the 80s.

When I heard of the work being done through the partnership of Rotary and an organisation called Sustainable Cambodia, I said to myself, “not only is it my job now as DGE to inform myself about the good work of Rotary the world over,” I also needed the assurance that I will find a story of hope, and not of despair. I trusted Rotary to deliver, and it did.

In Cambodia I saw water and sanitation improvements in villages and met with the families who had benefited from these global grant projects. I attended classes at a school that provides educational support to children who might otherwise have to do without. I met young adults who had benefitted from this support and were now at university under a scholarship program, pursuing their dreams. I met sponsors and donors who make all this possible. And I met people who had completed the circle, come back to work full time for this organisation as teachers and program staff, and joined Rotary. Yes, people born within a year or two of the genocide, in conditions of extreme inequity, are now Rotarians like you and me, and giving back rather than needing a helping hand.

 

To help create such hope within just one generation – that is the magic of Rotary. The Rotarians I met work alongside an ecosystem of partner organisations like Sustainable Cambodia and Sewaid, demonstrating the impact we have when we bring the best of Rotary together with good partner organisations. We are members of a global force that has the power to create change at global scale. That is a precious asset worth nurturing. We fill a gap that cannot be filled by governments or by not-for-profit companies. That too is precious and worth nurturing. I will now outline how we will do that in our district. I will describe the role of the district team in this process of nurturing our organisation, where we will focus our efforts, how we can support the clubs, and where we need help from you.

 

 

Our district is strong and has a solid foundation of committed members and resilient finances. But we are not immune to the risks that Rotary faces in this part of the world. For
the coming year, our focus will be building capability through people, partnerships, and public image. This complements what the clubs already do everyday.

 

Many of these changes will utilise the new resources being created for our benefit by the Regionalisation Pilot program. Our new regionalised structure is aimed at enabling a single voice to the external world that can create partnerships at scale. Further, we want to benefit from internal efficiencies by setting up shared resources across multiple districts. So, for example, instead of each of the 20 districts developing resources to help create new clubs, the regional team can do it. Lastly, the program aims to inject fresh energy into how clubs collaborate. We recognise that the Magic of Rotary requires strong clubs, as well as strong connections between clubs.

 

The purpose of the district team is to help you join the dots beyond the club and amplify the impact of the great work that clubs already do. We do this through delivering our learning and development program, providing resources and expertise, and helping identify opportunities for clubs to collaborate for more impact. Each member of the team is looking forward to assisting you in these ways and I thank them for their dedication and hard work.

 

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Starting the 27th of July, we are launching a series of on-line ‘Expert Sessions’. The sessions will cover a range of topics aimed at increasing the impact and reach of your projects – for example accessing grants and sponsorships, accessing support from our Foundation, writing compelling stories, creating impactful photos and videos that tell the story, maximising the potential of school and council partnerships, and many more. Watch the first newsletter to be published by end of the coming week for the topics for the first session on the 27th of July.

 

 

As District Governor, I see my role as having two primary elements – the first one is to build a cohesive team with the right skills and dedication to bring you the resources that we just discussed. The second, is to distil the message of Rotary and work with you to take it to your members and your communities. The best way to use me is to put me in front of people who want to serve but are unsure of what they can do, unsure if they will have the time, or are questioning the value of paying for the privilege.

 

Rotary is changing its methods while remaining true to its humanitarian vision. For a community-minded person who wants to make a difference, it remains a unique way to amplify the impact of your individual effort and do more with less.