How time flies! The new Rotary year is no longer so new. We are already in August and this month, in the Rotary world, we celebrate Membership and New Club Development. It is fitting that at the beginning of the Rotary year we focus on Membership. Membership and Club Development are important factors that we must take into account as we go about planning and providing community service.

The success of Rotary and of club activities depends on club members and on the strength of our clubs. Membership growth is mandated by both the criteria for the Presidential Citation and the District Governor's Award. The more members that we have, the more hands we will have to work with, the more resources (time, talents, treasures) we will have at our disposal and the more we can accomplish - the wider our reach will be. More members allow us to increase the size and scope of our programs. More members also mean that the responsibility for the work that we do can be shared so that hardworking members do not experience "burn out".

Hand-in-hand with membership growth, we are encouraged to think of developing new clubs as well as existing clubs. Good Rotarians exist in different contexts and therefore different clubs can be developed to cater to various types of leaders in our communities committed to doing significant things and to being a gift to the world.

Equally, we must not lose sight of the importance of strengthening our clubs. Our mission is not to increase members at the expense of club strength. Indeed membership growth is complementary to stronger clubs. Our aim is "quality", not "quantity" but, at the same time, as with any good organization, our aim should also be to grow the organization so that the organization's impact will increase. If we are truly convinced about the Rotary ideal of Service above 'Self, then we should be motivated to find like-minded persons to join us in selfless service. If we are persuaded that life is only truly significant when we use our gifts not just for ourselves but for our world, then it becomes apparent that we should invite others to make a difference in the world through Rotary.

I invite you this Rotary year to commit to growing our membership and to strengthening our clubs. Our membership is not just limited to Rotarians. This year, I entreat you to develop and mentor members of our Youth Arms - Rotaract, Interact and Early Act. In doing so, we have a hand in grooming reputable and effective leaders for tomorrow's world.

Carla and I have started our official visits. Mid-July we visited the Cayman Islands and, at time of publication, we will be in The Turks and Caicos Islands. We are being constantly reminded how awesome our District is! To capture the work that our District does year after year, and especially this year, District 7020 Rotarians are being asked to post their stories and pictures with the hashtag: #unleashtheawesome7020. Carla and I are convinced that our stories are worth-telling. I hope you agree. In doing so, we may even find that even more community builders will want to join this awesome group called Rotary7020!

The COTM program invites your submissions on Membership and Partnership activities this month. We look forward to hearing what you are doing in this regard - including your collaboration with Rotarian and non-Rotarian partners. We anticipate awesome things. Unleash it! And record it: #unleashtheawesome7020.

This month, I ask you to invite others to Be a Gift to the World. Challenge them to move from Success to Significance.

Felix N. Stubbs
District Governor 2015-2016, District 7020,
Rotary International

 

In the run-up to the Iraq war, it seemed almost un-American to even question why the U.S. was going to invade them. There was an almost feverish pitch to avenge the atrocities of 9-11.  So, the U.S. went to war.

 

The problem with war is, it’s always worse than we think it’s going to be.  It’s not manly bullet grazes on the shoulder.  It’s catheters and colostomy bags, and never being able to walk again. And as the narrator found out first-hand when he went there, sometimes the after-effects of war are even worse.

 

This film is about Iraq.  This is not a political film.  It provides an awareness and an overview of the after-effects of the War in Iraq.

 

Burnt-out trucks, burnt-out tanks.  Not only that – radiation poisoning.  Turns out that all of this “stuff” is radioactive.  How did that happen? 

 

 

The city worst hit is Fallujah, Iraq.

 

 

36,000 of the city’s’ 50,000 homes were destroyed, along with 60 schools and hundreds of mosques.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As early as 2005, there were reports of birth defects in various cities of Iraq.  There was a 50 per cent increase in the families that were studied in Fallujah.  That’s a huge jump.

 

 

 

This hospital is the largest and most important hospital in the city and has been struggling to keep pace with the rise in cancers and rare birth defects amongst the local population. 

 

An increase in the occurrence of congenital malformations and cancers has devastated the city of Fallujah.

 

 

You can never ultimately prove that it was a particular piece of munitions that caused birth defects.  But you can prove that there is a particular possibility, perhaps 90 per cent.

The families have evolved now from “Whom do we blame?” to “How do we fix this?”

 

 

 

There’s clearly a problem in Fallujah.  People are suffering.  People are sick. 

 

Eye-opening to all who view this film.  We had a good discussion afterward! 

Jean-Paul, Camille, Denise, Henriette, Kitty