District 6440 End Polio Now Chair, Carol Wells will be today's speaker.

 

Today is Food Pantry Day, remember your non-perishable food donations for the Northfield Township Food Pantry.  Items most needed at the Pantry are: pasta, rice and cereal.

 

Sam Gordon is an exchange student in Peru and the Peruvian exchange students want to raise funds to build a school in the Peruvian rain forest.  They are working on the details, but it will cost between $7,000-$9,000.  Ed Gordon will be going to visit Sam and hopes our club can help Sam's efforts.

 

 

How can Rotary members help keep communities safe as they plan humanitarian aid projects in the developing world?

 

Gary Haugen of International Justice Mission:

 

Ask people what they need and connect with local groups addressing those needs. Since people are less likely to talk about violence, Rotary members should be very intentional about facilitating conversations to explore specific problems.

 

Once you start the conversation and sharpen your focus on this issue, you start to see it over and over again. Rotary is already raising the bar of excellence in terms of sustainability and accountability in its projects.

 

But violence fights back in a way that is different from hunger or homelessness. If you take on violence, you may end up putting yourself on the line in some manner. The willingness to take on this challenge is a powerful message.