Rotary is an international membership organization made up of people who share a passion for and commitment to enhancing communities and improving lives across the world. Rotary clubs exist in almost every country. Our members change lives locally and connect with other clubs to work on international projects that address today’s most pressing challenges. Being a member is an opportunity to take action and make a difference, and it brings personal rewards and lifelong friendships in the process.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world.
Club Meetings
Rotary clubs hold regular meetings where their members gather to socialize and to discuss their current projects, other Rotary matters, and professional topics. While most clubs meet in person, some clubs meet primarily online or have a combination of in-person and online meetings. Rotary is both apolitical and nonreligious, and Rotary clubs are encouraged to create an inclusive environment for all club members at their meetings. Meetings can be formal or informal and can include food and drinks, speakers, an open forum for discussion, or group activities. The more you participate in your club’s meetings and activities, the better overall experience you will have as a member.
The 4 Way Test
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
The Object of Rotary
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life;
FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.
“Whatever Rotary may mean to us, to the world it will be known by the results it achieves.”
President Soraya Warner-Gustave chaired our meeting today, as usual welcoming Rotarians and guests.
She acknowledged that today was International Women's Day. President Elect Leevie Herelle recited a poem in tribute to women.
Our President went on to invite Directors to present their reports.
Other Meeting Highlights
Foundation Chair Past President Timothy Moffat, makes another appeal to Rotarians to support the Rotary Foundation by contributing to Every Rotarian Every Year (EREY), via their annual voluntary contribution equivalent to US$100.
Membership Director Past President Konrad Wagner, advised the following:
He recently attended the Rotary Satellite Club of Saint Lucia Sunset business meeting. Chair Tzamalla Joseph later addressed our club today.
He confirmed the formation of a Chess Federation, details of which will be covered in a later bulletin.
The designation of Honorary Rotarian was assigned to Rotarians Bert Pierre and Birgitta Hermansson.
A cheque to cover the cost of a new 4 Way Test sign was delivered to former Rotarian Terry Foster, who also agreed to collect the 2 derelict roadside Rotary signs in Cul de Sac for refurbishment and future erection.
St. Lucia will host the District 7030 District Conference, scheduled for April 21 to 25, 2021.
Vocational Service Director, Rotarian Sheba O'Brien acknowledged International Women's Day by greeting the ladies appropriately. She also confirmed that a schedule for the delivery of Vocational talks is under development by Past President Frank Myers and Rotarians were encouraged to volunteer in order to make this a success.
In delivering his report, Youth Services Director, Rotarian Kurt Augustin advised that the Rotaract Club St. Lucia South, elected a new executive on February 26, 2019.
He also outlined activities planned for World Rotaract Week which are outlined below.
The following additional initiatives are planned by his committee:
Arrangements are being made to schedule talks to students on sexual health.
There are plans to launch a video on conflict resolution, in an effort to enlighten youth on wholesome ways in delaing with the issue.
Club Service Director, Past President Selma St. Prix gave the following updates on the activities of her committee:
Our Club Assembly has been rescheduled for Wednesday March 13, 2019 at Augerge Seraphine from 6:00 p.m.
Oue Sunset Cruise will be on March 16, 2019 at a cover charge of $50.00 (and bring a bottle). Details are outlined below in this bulletin.
A vote was tabled to forego lunch on Friday March 15, 2019 in lieu of the foregoing activities.
Community Service Director, Rotarian Sean Devaux reported that:
1. The Lady Gordon Opportunity Centre project will be completed this week by Amazona Landscaping. This will commence the farm to table program for the school. Thanks to our club and Hands Across the Sea, we were able to provide shelving, an air conditioning unit and a water tank to the school program.
2. The Marchard Combined Primary School will be launching their environmental program on March 18, 2019. This will be supported by the Rotary Club of St. Lucia, Greening the Caribbean and the US Peace Corps.
3. Our fund raising boat ride will be on March 16, 2019. The boat will departs at 6:30 p.m. from Rodney Bay Marina.
President Elect and Fundraising Chair Rotarian Leevie Herelle announced plans to revive the Rotary Motor Treasure Hunt. Details will be furnished in the weeks ahead.
Treasurer Keturah Charles-Donai confirmed that our club received a District Grant in the amount of $9,700, which will be used to undertake the library project at the Lady Gordon Opportunity Centre in collaboration with Hands Across the Sea.
The Wine and Cheese Fiesta generated a net profit of approximately $43,000.
Rotarians were encouraged to settle their outstanding balances.
Visiting Rotarian Peter Douch of the Rotary Club of Winborne, United Kingdom and a former member of the Rotary Club of South St. Lucia joined us for lunch today.
Tzamalla Joseph Chair of the Rotary Satellite Club of Saint Lucia Sunset, gave a detailed report on her club's activities. She also announced that the club's new meeting place will be St. James Club commencing next Friday February 15, 2019 at 6 p.m. The cost of meetings will be approximately $30.
Past President Chester Hinkson acted as Sergeant at Arms today, raising $85 in fines.
Today's raffle prize winner was Rotarian Sheba O'Brien.
Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are basic necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life.
When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.
Women share stories of humanitarian service on International Women's Day
By Jane Lawicki
What motivates everyday women to do extraordinary things — to positively change the lives of people halfway around the world while inspiring so many folks at home?
Razia Jan, the founder and director of the Zabuli Education Center, was honored on International Women's Day.
Three Rotary members answered that question at a celebration of International Women’s Day hosted by the World Bank at its Washington, D.C., headquarters 8 March.
Speaking to an audience of more than 300, with thousands listening to the live-stream, Razia Jan, Deborah Walters, and Ann Lee Hussey told their personal stories and explained what inspired them to build a girls school in Afghanistan, assist people living in a Guatemala City garbage dump, and lead more than 24 teams to immunize children in Africa and Asia.
“I’m so inspired to see the faces of the children, what they’re learning, how to stand up for their rights, to have ambition ... to want to do things that may even be impossible — to have dreams,” said Jan, a member of the Rotary Club of Duxbury, Massachusetts, USA.
An Afghan native now living in the United States, Jan has worked for decades to build connections between Afghans and Americans while improving the lives of young women and girls in Afghanistan.
Founder and director of the Zabuli Education Center, a school that serves more than 625 girls in Deh’Subz, Afghanistan, Jan said the first class of students graduated in 2015 and a women’s college will open soon.
The girls school teaches math, English, science, and technology, along with practical skills to prepare them to achieve economic freedom within a challenging social environment.
Walters, a neuroscientist and member of the Rotary Club of Unity, Maine, USA, has served as a volunteer for Safe Passage (Camino Seguro), a nonprofit organization that provides educational and social services to children and families who live in a Guatemala City garbage dump.
Walters, known as the “kayaking grandmother,” traveled from her home in Maine to Guatemala in a small kayak to raise awareness of the plight of the residents.
Hussey, a member of the Rotary Club of Portland Sunrise, Maine, has made the eradication of polio and the alleviation of suffering by polio survivors her life’s work.
A polio survivor herself, she’s spent the past 14 years leading teams of Rotary volunteers to developing countries to immunize children during National Immunization Days.
She often chooses to lead or participate in NIDs in places that don’t often see Westerners:
Bangladesh, Chad, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and remote areas of Egypt and India. There, the need is greatest, and the publicity and goodwill that the trips foster are critical in communicating the urgency of the need for immunizations.
“These women exemplify what the World Bank is striving to attain every day with the twin goals of ending extreme poverty within a generation and boosting shared prosperity,” said Daniel Sellen, chair of the World Bank Group Staff Association. “They illustrate the power of women to change the world and improve people’s lives through innovative and impactful projects in education, economic development, and health.”
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