Combating Malaria in Zambia: Meet members of the Malaria-Free “Dream Team" who are helping make this dream a reality!
Virtual Presenters:
Bill Feldt, Chair of the Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia (PMFZ); Eric Liswaniso, Program Manager for the PMFZ; and Tasha Chongo, chair of the Lusaka, Zambia Rotaract Club
This saga begins in 2009 when Zambian and Seattle Rotarians came together to fight malaria in Zambia.
Many Rotary grants later, Rotarians formed a “Dream Team” to train, equip and sustain 4,050 volunteer Community Health Workers CHW) to provide last kilometer care for over 2 million rural Zambians (with emphasis on preventing, detecting, and treating malaria).
The principal implementers are Zambian Rotarians, such as Eric Liswaniso, working with World Vision Zambia, the National Malaria Elimination Centre of Zambia, and Provincial and District health teams.
The “Dream Team” also includes Malaria Partners International, a Rotarian 501c3; PATH, a global health organization heavily invested in malaria and Zambia; and, of course, the funders of Rotary International’s first Program of Scale, Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia (PMFZ), which include RI, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and World Vision.
The PMFZ envisioned using Rotarians and Rotaractors as volunteers to assist in the implementation. Lusaka Rotaractors have sought to expand their volunteer efforts to ensure data quality necessary to assess CHW performance through a grant from Malaria Partners International with generous supplemental support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and THE St. Isabella Interact Club.
Mark Campbell Leads Sunrise on a Tour of Sonoma County's Hidden Gems!
Our speaker for March 30, 2023, was our own Sunrise Rotarian, Mark Campbell. Mark has over 30 years of marketing, communications and management experience, including in such diverse fields as travel and hospitality. He is a founder of Cascadia Marketing and Consulting and became the COO of National Parks Revealed working closely with Mary Behr until NPR was sold and rebranded. He is active in numerous volunteer organizations. He is a native of San Francisco and has lived in Seattle for the past 10 years and as a part-time Sonoma County resident. He has traveled on every continent and in over 40 countries! Mark led a fun and interactive presentation on “Sonoma County: Favorites and Hidden Gems.” Mark gave each group of 4-6 members a specific question to consider and report those suggestions to the club. Here are some highlights of these suggestions:
Extra special Sonoma County places: Laguna de Santa Rosa, Peter’s Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma, Jack London State Park, Armstrong Redwoods, Hop Kiln Winery – made of stone (the only building of its type in Sonoma County), Sea Ranch (magical with fantastic coastal walks), Umbrella tree walk at Sonoma Mountain Regional Park, and Odiyan Buddhist Retreat Center near Annapolis.
Favorite locally grown or made Sonoma County item or ingredient: Dry-farmed Golden Delicious and Gravenstein apples, Gougette Bread in Santa Rosa, super smooth Redwood Empire Emerald Giant Rye Whiskey, and Tomales Bay oysters.
Friends are coming to town, what restaurant will you take them to? Paradise Sushi & Grill, hibachi-style cooking; Ca Bianca – excellent Italian food and ambiance; Salt & Stone – outdoor seating and view; Coppola Winery – history, motion picture memorabilia, and wine; John Ash – great food and ambiance; Willi’s Wine Bar – small plates; Walter Hansel Wine Bistro – fantastic food, roadhouse vibe, and great wine list; Catelli’s in Geyserville; for burgers try Sequoia Burger, Union Hotel, or Habit Burger; Crab Shack at Spud Point; Osaki – sushi & fish; Hana – Rohnert Park; El Dorado Kitchen in Sonoma; and Madrona Hotel Dining Room – incredible food and great indoor and outdoor dining.
Best places for a two-night ‘staycation’ in Sonoma County: Howard Station Café in Occidental, followed by beaches; tri-tip sandwich at Korbel; Sheraton Petaluma (Max is GM); Bodega Lodge for beach and golf; in Healdsburg & Santa Rosa try Montage, Single Thread, Charles Schulz Museum, Safari West; in West County try River Road, Armstrong Redwoods SP, Jenner, and Spud Point, Bodega Bay; Sea Ranch for jaw dropping views, peaceful setting, and walks on bluff; and Sonoma: the Swiss Hotel, El Dorado Kitchen, and Train Town.
Perfect pairings in Sonoma County: Mercy Wellness Cannabis Dispensary & Amy’s Donut Shop; hike in Sonoma Valley Regional Park & picnic at top of the hill; oysters on the coast & Iron Horse sparkling wine; Donum Estate – art walk and wine tasting; Sonoma Overlook Trail & Tasca Tasca (Portuguese tapas); dinner at Duck Club & hunting the next day; Bottle Rock & BR Cohn Winery; dinner at Hana & SR Symphony; Botox party & ‘high’ tea; kayaking on Russian River & lunch at River’s End in Jenner; BBQ oysters & dog beach/Dillon Beach; Sonoma Raceway & PBR’s at Gail’s; Washoe House & the municipal dump; Region Wine Bar & Blue Ridge Kitchen; Santa Rosa Memorial Park Cemetery walk & coffee/donuts at Johnny’s; Brewpubs & Farmstand Café; and outdoor art walk and tasting at Paradise Ridge with dinner at Willi’s Wine Bar.
Many thanks to Mark for the super-fun and valuable presentation! A perfect list to consult before deciding where to go for food, fun, and adventure in Sonoma County!
Greetings from Kyoto from Steve, Kathleen, Dave, Shauna, Harry, Judy, Paul and Penny.
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Sonoma Valley Walk With Wild flower Guru, Betsy Sanville
Eleven of us enjoyed a beautiful spring morning walk at Sonoma Valley Regional Park. We wandered the oak woodland and grassy hillsides and spotted about 12 different species of California native wildflowers.
We saw dark purple lupine mixed with white popcorn flowers and orange fiddle heads, near by were baby blue eyes and rich golden California Poppies.
Beautiful views around each corner with interesting conversations and easy friendship made for a perfect Sunday morning walk!
Our club member do so many things to help our community and this one saw 25 students at Guerneville elementary school. Fifteen of which were discovered to have cavities.
M.J. Girard is currently an on air personality on KOWSfm.com His “Roots of Rock” is broadcast every Sunday morning at 7 AM
April showers…. Enough already! The May flowers will be abundant this season, as will our reservoirs with our much-needed water supplies. Water conservation is still necessary as California’s population continues towards stabilization, a net loss to other states along with increased housing costs has keep our state’s population at just over 39,200,000. Our economy ranks California fifth in the world! The land of opportunities will always be the “Golden State.”
The sun has returned after a long winters nap. Our gardens await our return as well, as buds break on our fruit trees and flowers begin to push through the sodden soul. As the days draw out, we celebrate Easter, and all that life has to offer.
KOWSFM.com has new features and programming to entice listeners to tune in.
One of our announcers was on Pirate Radio off the U.K. coast, we also have one of the youngest D.J.’s ever in the North Coast, a freshman at Piner H.S.
Community Radio at it best! Programming spots are still available if you know of anyone who might enjoy sharing their music, talk or interviews with the world.
As for the “Roots of Rock” we will continue to highlight the early releases from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Request are especially appreciated: www.Girard.org
First it was "Fines". And when that was thought to be "negative" it became "recognitions" and after that "High Five". But Jack has announced a new twist for these moments, designed to fit every celebration as well as sorrowful news. And it does not have to be a "High Five". "Happy Dollars" and "Sad Dollars" can be whatever you want them to be. Or whatever you feel is appropriate.
Happy Dollars
Max Bridges was recognized for styling in a new EV, the Nissan Ariya.
Sad Dollars
Kelly informed our club that John Jones underwent a procedure and we wish him well.
Rob let us know that Art King is recovering, but still having difficulty speaking. He responds well to emails.
1. If I am holding a bee, what do I have in my eye?
2. How can 8 + 8 = 4?
Send your answers to the editor. Brownie points and answers will appear in next week's bulletin.
Answers to last week's brain teasers:
1. Your parents have six sons including you and each son has one sister. How many people are in the family?
A) Nine—two parents, six sons, and one daughter
2. I am the beginning of sorrow and the end of sickness. You cannot express happiness without me yet I am in the midst of crosses. I am always in risk yet never in danger. You may find me in the sun, but I am never out of darkness.
None of us will forget how the pandemic altered our world and our lives. Each of us had to traverse this period of uncertainty, and no one had a free pass from the effects.
I personally believe this has created space for a different kind of global leadership — one that is courageous, empathetic, and vulnerable. I met my good friend Anniela Carracedo online in early 2020. She is one such leader, and I'm thrilled to turn this month's column over to her.
— Jennifer Jones
In March 2020, I had a panic attack. I couldn't breathe, and I felt a terrible pain in my chest.
It had been a few days since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and I was in the middle of my year as a Rotary Youth Exchange student in the United States. Think about it: an 18-year-old girl stuck in a different country, with a foreign language, with people she had only met six months before. It was scary.
But I am familiar with uncertainty. I was born and raised in Venezuela, which is going through one of the worst humanitarian and political crises in the Western Hemisphere. But my mom always said, "Challenges are nothing more than needs that require a solution."
I called up my Interact and Youth Exchange friends. Together, we organized an online meeting to share projects and get inspired by what everyone else was doing during the quarantine. In that first meeting, we had 70 people, mainly students, from 17 countries.
From that beginning, we built an online platform for Rotary youths worldwide to share their experiences and inspire others with project ideas during isolation. We looked for mentors and supporters who would help our group connect young people, share cultures, and open new collaborative opportunities for international service projects. We called it Rotary Interactive Quarantine, or RIQ.
After only a year, we engaged with more than 5,000 students from 80 countries. Several of our team members became district Interact representatives and district committee members, and some of us even serve on Rotary International councils.
Eventually, quarantine restrictions were being lifted, and the needs of our participants were changing. At our last official meeting as RIQ, Past RI President Barry Rassin inspired us to create even bigger change, so we transformed RIQ into the Rotary Youth Network, or RYN.
A few of our members, including me, were selected to serve on the inaugural Interact Advisory Council, where we presented our vision for youth in Rotary to the RI Board of Directors.
Our presentation to the Board inspired President Jennifer and her team to create a Youth Advisory Council in Rotary International, which I am honored to serve on as a co-chair.
The Rotary Youth Network officially launched during a breakout session at the 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston. Five of us, who had participated in Interact, Youth Exchange, and Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, traveled across continents to launch an organization we had kicked off online two years before. The convention was also the first time we had met in person.
When my friends and I finished our talk, we realized more than 500 people were giving us a standing ovation. Tears filled our eyes, and the feeling of excitement and accomplishment took over.
Who would have thought that a panic attack would lead to this?
In a letter to his brother Theo in 1874, Vincent Van Gogh wrote: “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
You can see Van Gogh’s love of the natural world in his paintings: luminous sunflowers, gnarled olive trees, and the starry night sky over a Provençal village. When you see nature through Van Gogh’s eyes or through your own, such as during a trip to the park or a beach, you can’t help but stop to appreciate it. And when you love nature, you also want to take care of it.
April is Environmental Month for Rotary, and Earth Day is the 22nd. Marking the occasion with local projects such as roadside cleanups is fantastic and makes a difference. Consider also thinking big about protecting the environment — one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus — by partnering with other clubs and districts on a larger-scale project funded through The Rotary Foundation.
The more our clubs work together on larger projects, the more we accomplish. Supported by a Foundation global grant, Rotary clubs in Pennsylvania and Brazil teamed up to provide plastic-processing equipment for a waste pickers cooperative in the city of Rio Claro. The workers, who recover recyclables from trash, increased their income by 50 percent and expanded the cooperative, while contributing to a cleaner environment.
Acting big is also one of the main ideas behind the Foundation’s Programs of Scale. With each $2 million grant distributed over a program’s three- to five-year duration, the work done on the ground scales up to fulfill the potential for long-term sustainable change. The 2021-22 Programs of Scale recipient, Together for Healthy Families in Nigeria, is hard at work right now on solutions aimed at reducing the country’s maternal and neonatal mortality rates.
Programs of Scale grants are among the most exciting developments of Rotary and its Foundation in recent years. They will have a big impact on the world. Remember that Programs of Scale grants take nothing away from your Foundation grant projects; the money invested is a relatively small portion of the Foundation’s total. In addition, The Rotary Foundation designed Programs of Scale to foster greater partnerships, which can include co-funding the initiative.
So, think big this month — about the environment and about global grants and Programs of Scale — and you will see that, when it comes to the good we can do through our Foundation, the “starry night” sky’s the limit.
First Rotaract RPIC talks about creativity, community, and hats
By Etelka Lehoczky
On an ordinary day last August, people at a park in Copenhagen, Denmark, saw something extraordinary: a stream of runners all adorned with floating, bobbing pink balloons. The balloon carriers were part of Run With Rotaract, a three-year-old event organized by District 1470’s Rotaract clubs. This year, it raised money for education in Malawi.
The balloons served as tickets for the approximately 65 participants. And, says Philip Flindt, a member of the Rotaract Club of København Nord, they performed the equally important function of attracting public attention.
“It created something weird for people to look at — people running with pink balloons,” Flindt says. “It was a way to reach people in the community around the park. They were asking, ‘Is this a bachelor party, a bachelorette party? Why are you running with these balloons?’”
Flindt never seems to lack creative, eye-catching ideas. It’s clear why he’s the Rotary public image coordinator for Zone 18, the first Rotaractor to serve as an RPIC. He’s been promoting Rotaract since he helped found his club on 13 March 2013. That date, he’s quick to note, is the anniversary of the certification of the first Rotaract club in 1968.
“Philip is a fantastic advocate for Rotaract,” says Becky Giblin, a dual member of the Rotaract Club of Auckland City, New Zealand, and the Rotary Club for Global Action District 5150. “When he’s given an opportunity, he not only represents all Rotaractors in the best way possible, but he works to make sure other Rotaractors are given similar opportunities.”
Rotaractor Philip Flindt serves as the public image coordinator for Zone 18.
As one of Rotaract’s biggest fans, Flindt is always seeking ways for it to grow and thrive. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was part of a group that started World of Rotaract, a 24-hour-a-day video call to keep people connected. It eventually evolved into a worldwide network.
“At first, the point was to make sure people were well — to just talk to each other,” Flindt says. “We hosted conferences for 500 people. We had online parties. I’m a DJ, so I played about 10 parties online for a couple hundred people. We had talks, we had game nights, we had movie nights. It became a way to work together, all because we got to know each other on Zoom.”
World of Rotaract has helped people cooperate on projects and has generated very close bonds, Giblin says, including her friendship with Flindt.
“It has built a level of trust and friendship that is surprising, considering we have never met in person,” she says. “The World of Rotaract team is not just a community, but a family that is spread out to all corners of the world.”
Failing fast and sharing hats
To find successful new ideas, like World of Rotaract, Flindt recommends using an entrepreneurial, “fail fast” approach.
“Get all the bad ideas out of the way as fast as possible, and run with the ideas that work,” he says. “When you do a project, don’t just think about the project. Put on your ‘membership’ hat, your ‘foundation’ hat, and your ‘public image’ hat at the same time. Or get together in a group and share the hats.”
All this hat-switching has led to initiatives like one that supports the Give Every Child a Future campaign. GECAF aims to vaccinate 100,000 children in nine Pacific Island countries to protect them from human papillomavirus, rotavirus, and pneumococcal bacteria. For an event called Move for GECAF, Rotaractors got moving — literally. They flooded social media with pictures and videos of people running, dancing, doing pushups, or holding signs showing how much money they’d raised.
Flindt likes projects that accomplish several goals at once. He says the success of Run With Rotaract wasn’t just in the US$2,000-3,000 it raised.
“We didn’t just fund a scholarship for a student in Malawi. We created awareness in our local community,” he says. “It’s about creating impact. If you couldn’t run, you could walk, or join the crowd of onlookers. We had people who were pregnant, we had kids in strollers — all different types of people. That’s kind of the fourth point of Rotary’s Action Plan, the ability to adapt to the environment.”
Flindt has learned a lot since he became an RPIC. Zone 18, which includes his home country of Denmark, as well as the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Sweden, is extremely diverse. Recognizing this, Flindt is reconsidering his initial plan to refrain from spending much of his budget on travel.
“I see that I need to get out there,” he says. “I need to go to the districts, to be there physically. I need to create these connections and make sure we’re communicating.”
World Rotaract Week 2023 is 13-19 March.
Rotary Club of Santa Rosa Sunrise - Founded June 30, 1986
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