Articles

Almost 200 million days of school attendance are lost every year because of the lack of proper sanitation. Many diarrhea cases in children result from transmission of disease in schools rather than at home. “A school is a place where children should feel safe, not a place where they are susceptible to infection,” says Lizette Burgers, senior adviser of UNICEF’s Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools program. But the message at the World Water Summit on 4 June in São Paulo was positive: Rotary members and their clubs can make schools healthier places through programs that provide clean water and better sanitation. “WASH in Schools is about addressing the rights of the children. This forum can help us all learn how to provide a healthy, safe, and secure school environment,” said Burgers. “This will help ensure quality education, because healthy, well-nourished children can fully participate in schooling. It increases school attendance, because students have to spend less time traveling long distances to fetch water. And it encourages children to take pride in their school and community by providing them with a renewed sense of dignity.”

 

Occasionally there is a temptation to criticize the laws, customs and traditions of another country which may seem strange or contrary to our own. In some instances illegal practices or customs of one nation are completely lawful and acceptable in another. As members of an international organization dedicated to world understanding and peace, it behooves Rotarians to exercise restraint in judging our Rotary friends and citizens from other countries when their behavior seems unusual to us. A Rotary policy has existed for more than half a century relating to this dilemma of international relationships. The statement, adopted in 1933, says that because it is recognized that some activities and local customs may be legal and customary in some countries and not in others, Rotarians should be guided by this admonition of tolerance: "Rotarians in all countries should recognize these facts and there should be a thoughtful avoidance of criticism of the laws and customs of one country by the Rotarians of another country." The policy also cautions against "any effort on the part of Rotarians of one country to interfere with the laws or customs of another country." As we strive to strengthen the bonds of understanding, goodwill and friendship, these policies still provide good advice and guidance.