Chiang Mai International Rotary Club is planning a friendship exchange with the three Rotary clubs in Yangon (left to right, RC Yangon, RC Central Yangon and RC Greater Yangon).
Rotary in Myanmar has a long and varied history with the first Rotary establishment in Myanmar (Burma) from 1929 to 1974.
First Rotary Club in Myanmar - ThayetmoThayetmo received its charter with thirty-three members on September 30, 1939 with the happy motto "Under Heaven, One Family".
During the occupation of the country in World War II, all Rotary activity ceased and the Thayetmyo Club has never been re-opened.
Second Rotary Club - RangoonThe Rangoon Club was inaugurated in September, 1929 with eighty-eight members, all British. "With so many going away on home leave (to Britain), it is important that clubs be started with as large a membership as possible."
Four other clubs were established: Mandalay, Moulmein (Mawlamyaing), Taunggyi and Insein.
*Based on research by RGHF Senior Historian Basil Lewis (UK). https://www.rghfhome.org/first100/historians/lewis.htm
Re-Establishment: Rotary Club of Yangon in May, 2014Following negotiations with the government facilitated by longtime-Rotarian J.T. Warring, the Rotary Club of Yangon became a chartered club in 2014.
While Myanmar was declared polio-free in 2007, the re-emergence of a rare strain of the virus in 2011 was a harsh reminder of the need to be constantly vigilant. Obstacles to mass immunization in the country as a result of long-running conflicts make greater cooperation imperative.
Rotary International, WHO, CDC, UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – the Global Polio Eradication Initiative launched 30 years ago has helped to immunize more than 2.5 billion children and has resulted in a 99 percent drop in the number of infections worldwide.
Now, the Rotary clubs of Central Yangon, Greater Yangon and CMIRC look forward to discussions and future cooperation.