DG Monthly Message February 2016

 
 
Dear fellow Rotarians,
 
January 2016 has been as exciting as the first half of the Rotary year for Carla and myself and I do hope that has been your experience as well.  Carla and I visited with the Cayman Brac Club, Cayman Islands, last month and with that 83rd club visit, our official club visits are over.  We do have other official visits planned but we can proudly report that we have touched, and been touched by, all of our clubs in this awesome District.  January also saw the first visit of RI President K.R. Ravi Ravindran to our shores.  President Ravi visited The Cayman Islands on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of The Rotary Club of Grand Cayman. That occasion also marks 50 years of Rotary in The Cayman Islands.  President Ravi was well-taken care of by the Rotarians in The Cayman Islands and we should all be proud of being a part of this great 7020 family.  President Ravi is looking forward to returning to our District in May when he attends District Conference 2016 in Nassau.  You will see his invitation via video to meet him there. The video may be viewed in this Newsletter, on our website and on our Facebook pages.
 
February is when we pay particular attention to issues of Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution.  Often when a person thinks about "conflict", images of war or violent altercations loom large.  Conflict, at its base, means a disagreement or a clash of opinions/perspectives.  It should be clear why a war may be seen as the ultimate conflict. It is also easy to see the consequences of different types of unresolved conflict - persons displaced from their homes, families torn apart, violence, crime and termination of relationships in the home, workplace or in civic organizations such as ours!  Just as obvious, however, should be the realization that conflict is inevitable. Thinking human beings will always have different opinions and perspectives and, sometimes, these will be at variance.  Indeed, it is from the divergence of opinions and perspectives that great ideas are born and progress made.  Therefore conflict can be a useful tool.  Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, once said, " Peace is not absence of Conflict; it is the ability to handle Conflict by peaceful means."
 
What can you do to advance Conflict Prevention and Resolution?  What can Rotary do? The story is told of a family of Chinese doctors, who existed almost 3000 years ago.  One in particular was world-renowned and far more famous than his other brothers, also doctors. He was asked why that was so.  The doctor was wise in his answer.  He explained that his first brother detected the triggers of illnesses and had developed strategies to deal with them before any illness could even start.  The second brother dealt with illnesses in the early stages and knew how to prevent them from developing or reoccurring.  "I deal with illnesses when they have become critical and the patient is in grave danger.  I am known to return persons to good health and therefore I have become famous.  However, my two brothers know how to save patients before they even need saving, therefore the fame should be theirs."   What does that story have to do with our role in Conflict Resolution and Prevention?  If we can help to save our communities, families, workplaces, clubs etc before they need saving, then we will not be overwhelmed by the greater conflicts that put us in grave danger and threaten to tear us apart. 
 
Many of the service projects that we execute can address Conflict directly or indirectly.  There are certain known triggers for conflict and violence such as frustration in securing basic resources - food, clothing and shelter.  The inability to reason is sometimes the result of illiteracy.  The lack of a skill and resources can lead to unemployment which can cause conflict in the home and in the community.  We can therefore indirectly tackle conflict by stemming the triggers.  We do this in providing resources and outlets for persons via feeding programmes, conducting or sponsoring vocational training, facilitating medical intervention and establishing literacy programmes etc.   Providing outdoor sports facilities and green spaces have been endorsed by studies as helping to create more peaceful schools and communities.  Directly, we can address Conflict by sponsoring Conflict Resolution Programs in Schools, supporting law enforcement arms with various initiatives and inviting speakers to our clubs to teach and remind us of conflict resolution methods.  I am sure that you can think of many more strategies and I look forward to hearing and seeing what you do across this District.   If we do our part to prevent Conflict, then there will be less to resolve.  In so doing, we give Peace a real chance to be the model for everyday life. 
 
In the mid-February edition of the Newsletter, we will highlight the winners and other participants of the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Video Contest.  In the meantime, I invite you to watch them all on the Rotary District 7020 Video and Song Contest YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYDA4VVXr75D3WjqnhsiqgQ and be inspired.  Additionally, if you have not already done so, register for Conference 2016 where you can meet President Ravi: www.7020.org.
 
I urge you, one and all, to continue to Be a Gift to the World as you move from Success to Significance.   #unleashtheawesome7020  
 
 
Sponsors