While living in Kenya, Teresa Wasonga sought to promote gender equity between students at all levels of education -- a difficult task in a tradition-bound society, which values boys above girls in most areas. And when her efforts to find why fewer girls than boys were graduating from the country's high schools were met with indifference, she and her husband decided that they would make a difference.
She and Andrew Otieno are professors at Northern Illinois University, and he is a member of the Kishwaukee Sunrise Rotary; using land she owned in her home region, and after they took out a loan and sold one of their cars, construction began on a school which would be aimed at educating Kenyan girls...using the best available facilities and techniques. From its humble start in 2009, the Jane Adeny Memorial School for Girls -- named for her mother -- has grown to accept nearly 150 students, and has seen 70% of its students qualify for university education -- well above the norm in Kenya.
The school not only provides a background in traditional subjects, but it also gives students practical training in farming, raising animals and starting their own micro-businesses. The school is also putting up a new science building, after raising the money necessary to get a matching grant from a private donor. And one of their graduates has brought the program full-circle, becoming a nursing student at NIU.
With the help of Diana Swanson (left, in photo) and other volunteers, the Friends of JAMS helps raise the funds necessary to cover the cost of scholarships for students there. All high schools in Kenya require tuition, and many students can't afford both that and the basic necessities of daily life; but $800 provides a student with a full scholarship, as well as room and board, for a full year...and Friends of JAMS aims to provide as many students as possible with the financial backing they need to continue their education.
Make a Difference DKC is again preparing for its annual food packing event on behalf of Feed My Starving Children...and Rotarians are being asked to help, by supporting their annual raffle.
Tickets are now being sold for $20 each, with $8 going back to the organization which sells the ticket; the grand prize is $10,000, to be drawn on November 12th at the conclusion of this year's food packing event.
Volunteers will be needed for the food packing itself, to be held from Thursday, November 9th through Sunday, November 12th at The Suter Company in Sycamore. Our Rotary Club will again be sponsoring the event, and providing volunteers to help pack food for distribution to needy children in areas around the world.
If you would like to buy or sell raffle tickets, tickets are available now and at upcoming Rotary meetings; sales will continue through November 9th. Please contact Heidi Wright for more information.
Barry Rassin, of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2018-19. He will be declared the president-elect on 1 September if no challenging candidates have been suggested.
Rassin’s nomination follows Sam F. Owori’s death in July, just two weeks into his term as Rotary International president-elect.
Rassin earned an MBA in health and hospital administration from the University of Florida and is the first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas. He recently retired after 37 years as president of Doctors Hospital Health System, where he continues to serve as an adviser.
A Rotarian since 1980, Rassin has served Rotary as director and is vice chair of The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees. He was an RI training leader and the aide to 2015-16 RI President K.R. Ravindran.
Rassin received Rotary's highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, as well as other humanitarian awards for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake there. He and his wife, Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.
A recurring problem with our club's e-mail system: messages sometimes bounce back, because certain servers filter out e-mails with multiple addresses.
If you haven't been getting messages from our Rotary Club, try submitting a private e-mail address rather than one to your business. Messages are more likely to get through.
And if you change your e-mail address, please be sure to let us know so you can continue receiving club communications.
We have a brand new badge box, to store all our Rotary Club IDs; but the design has a couple of minor changes you'll need to know about:
-- The lid of the box is detachable, so don't be alarmed if you see it sitting off to one side -- The numbering system will be different; each row will begin with the lowest number at the FRONT (numbers 1, 21, 41, 61 and 81) and count towards the back. Please take care when removing your badge.
Also, please check the number on the back of your badge; if it is missing, worn out or unreadable, there are stickers located inside the box. Simply write your number on the sticker, and affix to the badge (be sure to remove the old sticker, if present).
And the old box has been donated to the Salvation Army, where hopefully it will find a new home.
On Saturday, September 9, 2017, Andy Grammer will be headlining a concert at River's Edge in Aurora to help raise awareness for SUDC.
Joining Grammer will be musicians Ali Morgan and Marty Casey; gates open at 6 p.m. with the show beginning at 7 p.m.
Answers4SUDC is an innovative charitable effort to honor the memory of Emmett Frank while raising awareness and funds toward research and family support for Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood.
By hosting Answers4SUDC, his parents Jeff and Kristy Frank hope to someday prevent the tragedy of Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) so that no other family might have to endure this loss. Proceeds benefit the SUDC Foundation.
