This story is compiled from entries on the Facebook page of Unity Concord International School:

The Rotaract Club of Payap University (RCPYU) is in the process of transition from past leadership and members to new ones. However, there are still service opportunities and projects either pending or on the horizon for the club.

BOOKS FOR REFUGEES

For this project, the club gathered English language books to be donated to children living in a local refugee camp. Collection ended November 30th.  Distribution is planned for December 18, along with some clothing collected via the Winter Clothing Appeal. RCPYU extends its thanks to all who donated books and especially a generous donation by Peter and Anne Dawson.

BULLY BOWL

Members of the club gave support to the Rotary Club of Chiang Mai North by participating in their annual Bully Bowl fundraising event. There, the members joined with CMIRC members to bowl for charity.

DISTRICT GOVERNOR’S VISIT

The District Governor for District 3360 made a visit to CMIRC and members of RCPYU were in attendance and participated in the annual dinner and meeting.

NEW ROTARACT POLICIES

The Rotary International Board issued new Rotaract Policies to be effective July 1, 2020, which will change the type of membership of Rotaract Clubs to Rotary Clubs. As such, the new polices will be reviewed and examined by the club management. The club has been informed that its sponsoring Rotary club, CMIRC, has voted to remain its sponsor when the new policies take effect. The club will participate in District discussions on the new policies.

WINTER CLOTHING APPEAL

The club has collected clothing on its campus and forwarded them to CMIRC for distribution.

BEATLES MANIA!

Members of the club joined with CMIRC for their fall fundraising children's charity dinner/dance.  RCPYU proctored the Beatles Trivia contest, a fundraiser for the club.

Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC)-Kru Payu and Safe Child Thailand Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program (CWSDPP)

Sponsored By CMIRC, The Swiss Lanna Society, The Safe Child Thailand Foundation, the British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy, and the Thai Thaim Foundation/Rotary Club of Park Rapids, Minnesota, USA

Our Chiang Mai International Rotary Club Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program kids and our great swim teachers are back in the pools here in Chiang Mai as well as in Phrao! We will complete 15-hours of swim instruction for all eleven Chiang Mai Municipal School 4th-graders by March of next year. Once again, this year we will teach about 350 kids!

CMIRC, with the help of an individual Rotarian, is developing a new program at the BanYa Literacy Centre in Phuket. We are planning to begin the program in January.

We will be completing the Swiss Lanna Society-funded portion of our classes at the Bronco Kids Sport Club early in December and we are already planning a certificate ceremony for about 140, 4th-grade program graduates. The date for the ceremony has been set for January 30; time and location details will be shared in next month’s bulletin. These events are always fun, and the Swiss have some special presents for their sponsored kids, so this ceremony should be even more fun.

The British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy (BCTFN) Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program in Phrao is under way and local BCTFN representative, Ian Bushell and I visited Phrao in November (photo, below). With the help of the BCTFN funding, we will teach 140, 4th-graders in the municipal elementary school and for the first time this year we will also be able to teach the children who reside at the Warm Heart Foundation, our local partner.

We are in the initial planning stages to use the remaining Safe Child Thailand funds for a demonstration project in Nonthaburi where the Thai Ministry of Public Health is located. The Ministry has been very involved in drowning prevention and we want to work with them to develop a prototype program for adoption in municipal schools nationwide. It’s a big dream but we have already had positive feedback from the Ministry, and we here at the CMIRC CWSDPP have a great deal of experience to share.

We submitted another proposal for support of our programs to the Australian Direct Aid Program; this year we requested nearly 500,000 baht for three new programs. Unfortunately, we learned that our new program proposal has not been funded. We thank the Australian Aid Program for their wonderful support this year, and we will try again next year!!

Last month, I reported that we met at new 6-year-old patient at the Burma Children Medical Fund's B. K. Kee Patient House in Chiang Mai who was very shy. During her stay at the house, she became less withdrawn, as shown in the photo at right. She and her mother have now returned to their home, but she may be back for further follow up with her eye condition. We were able to spend some time with her and her mom in the sala.

We hope to have a wonderful Christmas party for the patients, their parents and the staff at BCMF B.K.Kee patient house. We would appreciate Christmas gifts with a cost of between 100 THB and 200 THB. (We want this to be fair to all concerned). People who may want to attend please let me know.

All members of CMIRC have already signed the Child Protection Policy. Visitors are required to sign the same document. It is available at on CMIRC Website. I will have copies available at the time of the party.

At this point it’s impossible to know how many patients will be at the house on 22 December. If we have more Christmas gifts than patients, we will send the extras to BCMF to give to other children they serve inside Myanmar.

The Christmas party at B.K.Kee Patient House last year -- it was wonderful!

We visit the house most Sundays, usually meeting at the Shell petrol station on Huay Kaew Road at 10:30 a.m. Usually we stay at the house until 12:30 or a bit later. Check CMIRC Calendar for confirmation. Time and days may change depending on the requirements of the B.K.Kee House.

If you want to make a financial donation to support the B.K.Kee House please contact Treasurer@cmirotary.org for details.

“Rotary Connects the World” What a marvelous theme! Connections really matter, especially when we are trying to find ways to improve CHILD SAFETY, HEALTH AND EDUCATION. We are half way through Rotary Year 2019 – 2020 so I would like to take a moment and review a few connections that resulted from our reaching out. Before I even start there are three things I need to say:

1. When I first came to Rotary, my dear friend Charter Member Laurence O’Keeffe told me “A Rotarian will do just about anything (good) that you want, if you ask". So, I ask you: Please think about connections for CMIRC that you may be able to develop or improve.

2. Throughout this article I will make more requests. They are things you may be able to do; they won’t cost much (if any) money and they will make a difference in the lives of the children we serve.

3. Much credit for successful connections goes to Rotarian Nancy Lindley; especially for her excellent work on our bulletin!

We have a great connection with Nel de Betue and her team in Melbourne. The ladies make the Trekker Teddies knitted toys that we have so successfully given to needy children in Northern Thailand and Myanmar. One of the challenges is transporting the Trekker Teddies to Northern Thailand. Here is the ask: If you are flying from Australia to Thailand please consider bringing a suitcase full of trekkers for us to distribute.

One amazing connection we have is with the Rotary Club of Aireborough (U.K.) and the Rotary Club of Royal Hua Hin. Roger and Carol Ward are members of the RC of Aireborough and spend their winters with the RC of Royal Hua Hin. Recently Carol contacted Nel de Blue and received the pattern for knitting the Trekker Teddies. She had already set up a “Knit and Natter” and they were making things for children. We met in Chiang Mai on Sunday morning and by noon the first of their dolls had been delivered to the Burma Children Medical Fund's B. K. Kee Patient House in Chiang Mai.

Now Carol and Roger are introducing me to a NGO that supports Hilltribe children in Southern Thailand. Will that be a connection I can use in my role as Thailand Coordinator for the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery? I ask that every reader of this article check out the RAGAS website. I’m new at this, but can assure you that RAGAS may well be a great reason to join Rotary or remain in Rotary. More on Thailand and our Rotary efforts to combat slavery in the coming months.

Not long ago I received an email from a young lady who is in university studying medicine. She is interested in volunteering at the Mae Tao Clinic. The connection came from this bulletin! We are now connected with a wonderful organization called Not Just Tourists. I ask that you check them out. You may be able to bring a suitcase full of medical supplies that we can pass on to the Mae Tao Clinic. Mae Tao Clinic cannot accept supplies that have expired or are in containers with broken seals. CMIRC has projects at both the Burma Children’s Medical Fund and the Mae Tao Clinic so it’s easy for us to accept your suitcase and pass it on the people who are in most need. I ask you to accept our appreciation for your help.

Remember our 2019-2020 Theme! Rotary Connects The World! I ask you to go make a connection that will do good in the world.

This seems relevant given the heated politics going on now in the U.S. and the U.K.  How do Rotary clubs there handle it?

Clubs: The Body Politic

From the April 2016 issue of The Rotarian by Nancy Shepherdson 

Rotary clubs are catnip to people running for public office: Rotarians are involved in their communities, civic-minded, and engaged in public improvement. Especially in an election year, clubs are likely to receive calls from candidates in search of a receptive audience.

How a club responds to these requests is completely up to the club itself. For many, it depends on experience with politicians and the preferences of the club officers. Rotary International requires only that clubs not endorse candidates or take sides on public issues.

But the role of politics in Rotary has been debated since the organization’s earliest years. At the 1916 Rotary Convention, R.B. Campbell of Wichita, Kan., opined on how involved clubs should be in political (“civic”) affairs: “I believe that politics should be brought into the meetings,” he said. “We are a business organization, and it is to our interest to see that the government of our city and state is run properly.”

Samuel Botsford of Buffalo, N.Y., took the opposing view: “Rotary clubs have no business in politics.” Politics, he said, was about personality rather than facts, and therefore should not be brought into clubs.

Eventually, it was decided that clubs should educate their members on local political issues and that individual members should do with the information as they saw fit. One hundred years later, that continues to be Rotary’s position on the place of politics in clubs.

Given that freedom, some clubs have embraced a role in local politics. In 2014, Alan Burns, president of the Rotary Club of Cape Charles, Va., saw a chance to provide a service to the community and raise Rotary’s profile at the same time by hosting a candidates forum. Local organizations that had held such gatherings were no longer stepping up, so he asked the members of his club to put on the forum as a community service project. They agreed. “We wanted to be able to educate the community about the candidates,” says Wayne Bell, who organized and moderated the event.

The key to success, says Bell, was the establishment of a set of ground rules. The candidates were expected to answer screened questions from the audience, to respect time limits, and, most crucially, to be respectful of one another. Nearly 100 community members showed up to hear the candidates speak, he says. “It was very successful. We’ll do it again this election year.”

Taking a different approach, the Rotary Club of Bangor, Maine, decided to devote a series of club meetings in fall 2014 to question-and-answer sessions with candidates for major political offices in the state. “We asked every candidate in our area, regardless of their prospect of winning,” says Susan Chaar, speaker coordinator for the club. Club leaders prepared a single set of questions for all the candidates in each race on issues such as Medicaid expansion, national security, and open primaries. Members of the audience also submitted questions.

One of the region’s incumbent politicians who had previously visited the club regularly, Chaar says, decided against it in 2014 when she learned she would have to answer specific questions and not simply give a speech. “With everyone who came, it was a positive experience, very educational, because we

tried very hard to be fair,” says Chaar. “It was well-received by our members, and we got to know the candidates’ views on specific issues.”

The Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset, Maui, is an hour’s drive from the seat of county government and a plane ride away from Hawaii’s capital, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. The club is open to visits from any elected official or candidate, anytime. “We want to know what’s going on,” says Jenelle Van Eynde, a charter member of the club. “If they want to come, we want them. Some of our largest audiences have been for elected officials.”

The club also got a lot of recognition for bringing the mayor and his opponent to a town hall-style meeting about a month before the election. “We felt we were lucky to get them both as speakers,” Van Eynde says. “We always try to get all sides. We think our club meetings are a healthy place for dialogue.”

Many clubs invite elected officials to become members and believe they benefit from having these officials easily accessible. Other clubs, such as the Rotary Club of Barrington Breakfast, Ill., bestow honorary memberships on local politicians.

Still, your mother warned you against talking politics in polite company for a reason. As Rotary attracts a more diverse membership, people on all points of the political spectrum are likely to be at your club. That can be a problem if politicians, making assumptions that Rotarians all share a certain political leaning, go on the attack against their opponents. An incident of that sort, involving a prominent elected official, occurred at my own club several years ago, embarrassing the members who supported that politician and outraging the rest.

My club responded by barring political speakers, incumbent or not, during the year before their elections, a solution that has removed politics from the club but perhaps also robbed it of a certain sense of civic involvement.

The Rotary Club of Greater Rochester, Minn., devised a subtler approach. Its policy, posted on the club’s website, allows officeholders to give presentations at meetings on preapproved informational topics related to their office. One candidate or incumbent per meeting is also allowed to give a five-minute stump speech. The policy also states that no political activity is permitted in the 90 days leading up to an election.

“We have a lot of requests during election season from political speakers, and we wanted to be ‘fair to all concerned,’” notes member Bill Brueck. “This policy gives us more control over the number of requests and the content. We want to avoid devoting a whole program to something that is political and not informational.”

Instead of listening to politicians, your club could just make money off them – and have fun doing it. The Rotary Club of Salem, Ind., finds that they are an irresistible attraction at its dunk tank at the county fair. “People stand in line to dunk the mayor, sheriff, councilmen, and other candidates and elected officials,” says John Mead, who helps organize the annual event at the Washington County Fair. The club makes about $2,000 every time – and now it’s rebuilding the dunk tank and putting it on wheels. Is any politician safe this year?

Nancy Shepherdson is a freelance writer and a member of the Rotary Club of Lake Zurich, Ill.

Having sister club/twin club arrangements is within the scope of International Service where such initiatives can create better understanding and goodwill through joint activities and community projects.

Twin clubs, or sister clubs, are two clubs from different countries that form a long-term relationship to promote international understanding and goodwill and carry out service projects in their communities. When looking for a partner, consider clubs that:

• Share similar interests, challenges or history
• You’ve worked with in the past
• Are located in a place that matches your club’s service interests
• Speak a common language

Clubs need to know their objectives for a sister/twin club agreement to avoid possible misunderstanding later.

Clubs intending to have a sister/twin club should send their club profile to each other so that an assessment of the suitability of the clubs can be done.

If the initial assessment indicates a possible match, the next logical step is to make an effort to arrange for a face-to-face meeting.

After the meeting, each club should be able to have a feel if it is worth pursuing the sister/twin club agreement.

Unless the intended matched clubs already have established prior engagements, it is advised that a joint project should be taken up so that members from the respective Rotary clubs can get know each other before proceeding with any proposal for a sister/twin club agreement.

Matched sister/twin clubs must also be willing to reciprocate project funding such that funding for a joint project is not only (or always) provided by one club while the other club is only (or always) on the receiving end.

SAMPLE SISTER CLUB AGREEMENT:

The work of Rotary begins in the community, and every community has its own unique needs and concerns. The Rotary Foundation has focused its efforts in six key areas to maximize our impact. These areas encompass some of the world’s most critical and widespread humanitarian needs, and we have a proven record of success in addressing them. One of them is Disease Prevention and Treatment.

Rotary's top priority is the eradication of polio, but our members take on far greater responsibilities to fight disease. We set up health camps and training facilities in undeveloped countries and in communities struggling with HIV/AIDS and malaria. We design and build the infrastructure for doctors, nurses, governments, and partners to reach the one in six people in the world who can't afford to pay for health care.

Disease prevention and treatment takes on many forms, from supporting studies to helping immunize people to improving drinking water and the sanitation infrastructure. The world relies on Rotary to tackle these global challenges, and to set an example for others to follow.

Here are some suggestions on how Rotary clubs, Districts and our service partners can address these needs both locally and internationally:

• Support health education programs that explain how diseases are spread and promote ways to reduce the risk of transmission.
• Help immunize people against infectious diseases.
• Support continuing education and training for health workers through scholarships, and public recognition.
• Improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in underserved areas.
• Improve sanitation facilities by providing toilets and latrines that flush into a sewer or safe enclosure.
• Promote good hygiene habits through education. Proper hand washing with soap and water can reduce diarrhea cases by up to 35 percent.
• Develop or support programs that provide immunizations and antibiotics. Measles, malaria, pneumonia, AIDS, and diarrheal diseases are the leading causes of death in children under five.

The regular every Sunday morning visits by club members to the patients and their families at the BCMF B.K. Kee Patient House here in Chiang Mai.

Each Monday, Tuesday and Friday, club members participated in the English Language Cultural Club at the BEAM Educational Foundation.

On the first and third Fridays of the month and the fourth Saturday, CMIRC members represented our club at the Chiang Mai Expats Club meetings where the Beetles Mania event was promoted and full Owl Banks were exchanged for empty Change for Children Owl Banks.

Tuesday, November 5,  we had our regular club meeting at the Royal Peninsula Hotel. Programs were presented by Avis Rideout on “Agape Home (Nikki's Place)” and by Dr. Barry Lycka on “What I discovered by Surviving Death”

Tuesday, November 19, was the annual visit by the District Governor Kamolsak Visitsakulchai and his wife Rtn. Wanthanee. Photos from Citylife. Also we inducted new members Moshe and Sally.

Below, in left photo, Moshe is at right, with his back to the camera receiving congratulations from the District Governor Kamolsak Visitsakulchai and his wife Rtn. Wanthanee. At right, Rtn. Wanthanee helps Sally with her new Rotary pin. 

Friday, November 22, we had our last Friday in the month “Let’s Talk Rotary” get together at the Daifa Café. Note, this was moved up one week due to the Beatles Mania Fundraiser on the last Friday of the month.

Saturday, November 23 CMIRC had tables at the City Life Garden Fair where we promoted our club and also offered tickets for the Beatles Mania Fundraiser event. Photos from City Life. 

Right, P. John congratulates top raffle prize winner Jume while Raffle Queen Sally looks on.

Sunday, November 24, members of CMIRC and PYU Rotaract participated in RC of Chiang Mai North's Bully Bowl fundraiser at Kad Suan Kaew.

Below, CMIRC and Rotaract members celebrate with members of CM Rotary Club North.

Tuesday, November 26, there was the monthly CMIRC Board meeting at the Royal Peninsula Hotel.

Friday, November 29, The Fab Four came to town in their Yellow Submarine for the CMIRC Beetles Mania Fundraiser at Old Chiang Mai. Photos from Citylife.

Saturday, November 30, Dylan and Viki Thomason hosted a sorting party at their home for Rotarians, family and friends of the Winter Clothing Appeal.

For a complete and up-to-date list of events, check our online calendar.

Here are just a few of the important dates for members of Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC). These are opportunities to meet some of us and to meet other Rotarians from around the world!

Every Sunday at 10:30 am, regular visit by club members to Burma Children Medical Fund's  (BCMF) B. K. Kee Patient House. Interested? Contact Rotarian Maliwan.

10 December 2019 - Social Night, 7 pm at Duke's Restaurant at Maya Mall. Invite your family and potential members to come learn about community service opportunities in Northern Thailand.  Club supplies the pizza, you supply your beverages.  

11 - 15 December 2019 Access to Justice Week, Chiang Mai see www.babseacle.org

 

14 – 15 December 2019 – District 3360 Intercity Meeting, Chiang Khong.

 

17 December 2019 - Regular club meeting, 7 pm at the Royal Peninsula Hotel. The program will be presented by Bob Ashley on "Clean Water Projects". Gather at 5:45 pm for fellowship and an optional dinner; order from the menu of Thai food at the hotel.

 

1 – 3 January 2019 - Tour of Mae Tao Clinic contact Jerry Nelson

 

9 January – 19 January 2020  Rotary Guided Tour of Cambodia    www.sustainablecambodia.org 

 

30 January – 09 February 2020  Rotary Guided Tour of Cambodia    www.sustainablecambodia.org

 

10 – 14 February 2020 – Extended Tour of Mae Tao Clinic with English Language Cultural Exchange opportunities contact Jerry Nelson

 

22  February 2020 – CMIRC Duck Race & 6th Birthday contact Sally Myatt

 

5 – 6 March 2019 - Tour of Mae Tao Clinic contact Jerry Nelson

 

14 – 15 March 2020 District 3360 Conference, Lampang

 

31 March 2020 - CMIRC Social Meeting contact Colin Jarvis

 

4 – 5 June 2019 - Tour of Mae Tao Clinic contact Jerry Nelson

 

06 – 10 June 2020 - Rotary International Convention, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

 

27 June 2020 - District Governor's Salute, Chiang Rai.

 

30 June 2020 - CMIRC Social Meeting/Changing of the Guard Party contact Colin Jarvis

 

22 – 23 July 2020 - Asia Region Anti-Trafficking Conference Bangkok, Thailand

 

12 – 16 June 2021 - Rotary International Convention, Taipei, Taiwan.

 

4 – 8 June 2022 - Rotary International Convention, Houston, Texas, USA

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