THIS NEWSLETTER IS PUBLISHED BY THE ROTARY GLOBAL HISTORY FELLOWSHIP.
THE COMMENTS AND STORIES IN THIS NEWSLETTER DO NOT REFLECT THE OPINIONS OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL,
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL OR ANY OTHER ROTARY RELATED ORGANIZATION.
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A N e w s l e t t e r f o r R o t a r y L e a d e r s ∙ A m o n t h l y f e a t u r e
Issue 221 • August 2020
“We should not live for ourselves alone, but for the joy in doing good for others.” Arch Klumph, founder of The Rotary Foundation
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Trustee Chair's Message There is a world of difference between a problem and a challenge. If a honeybee faces a giant hornet
alone, the bee has a problem. But if the honeybee faces the hornet with a swarm of other bees, then it is
the hornet that has a problem.
This is true in nature, but it is also the human predicament. So when the situation I confront is greater than
the resources I have, then it can be termed as a problem. However, if the resources I have are greater
than the situation I am faced with, then it is just a challenge. Sometimes we overestimate our problems
and underestimate our ability to overcome them.
The Covid-19 pandemic seemed like a situation that might overwhelm The Rotary Foundation. But as
things have progressed, we have not allowed it to do so. As of June 4, we have funded 208 disaster
response grants for $5.2 million and 169 new global grants at $13.8 million — all in three months. We
have leveraged individual Rotarians’ generosity with Foundation funds and in many cases other corporate
funds to make projects larger and more impactful.
We never allowed the pandemic to overpower us. Indeed, history shows that Rotarians are a curious
breed. We are visionaries, an idealistic lot that dreams big dreams of a better world. At the same time, we
are resilient and able to withstand challenges that others might succumb to.
We were not idle during the pandemic lockdowns. We raised funds and did projects just as we would have
if there had been no lockdown. We remembered that it’s the same business that we always do — reaching
out to people in distress — except the methodology by which we did it changed.
Our process of preparing and delivering the projects changed.
The way we communicated what we did changed.
The Rotary Foundation is more than 100 years old and has already weathered many storms — some of
them mild and others devastating to the world. Thanks to the strength, sacrifice, and compassion of
Rotarians and the level to which they have extended themselves, I believe the Foundation will continue to
face the future with renewed hope and inspiration.
Our Foundation will emerge from this pandemic much stronger and more resilient as long as you continue
to have trust and faith in it.
K.R. Ravindran Trustee Chair 2020-21
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“Take Out Polio” Pin Fundraiser As District 7630 PolioPlus Chair and a polio survivor, my goal is to raise awareness and funds for
Rotary’s PolioPlus efforts to eradicate polio worldwide.
For the past few years, our District 7630 has had great success with a Pin Fundraiser called “I Saved 67 x
3”. During the 2019-20 Rotary year, DG Bill Ferguson, with the help of the District Foundation agreeing to
match pin sales with DDF funds (dollar for dollar), promoted this fundraiser during his Official Club Visits
by selling pins for $40 each. He raised $14,000…..with DDF match AND Rotary’s World Fund match
AND then that total tripled by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation….that $14,000 created $126,000 for
PolioPlus….that’s how powerful matching DDF funds are.
In June of 2020, Zone 28 held a special Virtual Fundraiser called “Take Out
Polio”. It was an honor to take part in this event. It raised a lot of money
for PolioPlus.
This year, District 7630 Governor 2020-21, Steve Capelli, asked me to
come up with a PolioPlus fundraiser that he can promote and raise money
for PolioPlus. In an effort to avoid re-inventing the wheel, I thought we
could put a different spin on “End Polio Now” and create a pin using the
“Take Out Polio” theme. I asked the very talented graphic artist, Canadian
Rotarian, Debbie Vance, to come up with a design for this pin. She
exceeded all expectations and came up with a great design.
Here’s how it works:
Option 1: District DDF Matching - The District Foundation Chair/Committee
must agree to match pin sales with DDF funds designated to
PolioPlus….this creates matching monies from Rotary’s World Fund and
Gates Foundation. Basically, a $40 pin purchase with all matching monies
becomes $360 and 600 kids won’t get polio with one pin purchase.
Option 2: Rotary Club/Individual - when matching District DDF funds are not
involved, the math is substantial changed. A $40 pin purchase will get the
wonderful matching Gates Foundation dollars and that $40 becomes $120
and 200 kids won’t get polio with one pin purchase.
Option 3: Rotary Club/Individual - when matching District DDF funds are not
involved, the math is substantial changed. A $120 pin purchase will get the
wonderful matching Gates Foundation dollars and that $120 becomes $360
and 600 kids won’t get polio with one pin purchase.
Option #1 + 3
Option #2
Continued...
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Districts, Rotary Clubs and individual Rotarians can purchase pins for $2.00 per pin plus shipping
costs.
As a polio survivor, I know what life is like when a child is not vaccinated. Please help make sure that
we fulfill the promise we made to the children of the world that we WILL eradicate polio.
Sincerely in Rotary Service,
John Nanni
District 7630 PolioPlus Chair
USA World’s Greatest Meal Coordinator
MOT Rotary Club President-2019-20
Polio Survivor - Class of 1953
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Did you know?
On 2 August 1996, Rotary launched "Kick Polio Out of Africa" — a campaign that
leveraged the popularity of soccer (football) to increase public awareness of polio
immunizations in Africa.
This ball in Rotary’s archives, from a National Immunization Day kickoff in Ethiopia in
1997, is signed by John Sever, Paulo V.C. Costa, Herb Pigman, and others who helped
to lead the effort.
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Polio campaigns resume with strict COVID-
19 prevention measures
Continued...
Vaccinators aim to fill urgent immunity gaps that have widened in the under-five population
Vaccinators in countries including Afghanistan, Angola,
Burkina Faso and Pakistan took to the streets this month to
fill urgent immunity gaps that have widened in the under-five
population during a four month pause to polio campaigns
due to COVID-19.
Campaigns resumed in alignment with strict COVID-19
prevention measures, including screening of vaccinators for
symptoms of COVID-19, regular handwashing, provision of
masks and a ‘no touch’ vaccination method to ensure that
distance is maintained between the frontline worker and
child. Only workers from local communities provided house-
to-house vaccination to prevent introduction of SARS-CoV2
infection in non-infected areas.
Although necessary to protect both health workers and communities from COVID-19, the temporary
pause in house-to-house campaigns, coupled with pandemic-related disruptions to routine
immunization and other essential health services, has resulted in expanding transmission of poliovirus
in communities worldwide. Modelling by the polio programme suggests a potentially devastating cost to
eradication efforts if campaigns do not resume.
In Afghanistan, 7858 vaccinators aimed to vaccinate
1,101,740 children in three provinces. Vaccinators were
trained on COVID-19 infection control and prevention
measures and were equipped to answer parents’ questions
about the pandemic. Through the campaign, teams
distributed 500,000 posters and 380,000 flyers featuring
COVID-19 prevention messages.
In Angola, 1,287,717 children under five years of age were
reached by over 4000 vaccinators observing COVID-19
infection prevention and control measures. All health
workers were trained on infection risk, and 90,000 masks
and 23,000 hand sanitizers were distributed by the Ministry of Health.
Nabeela, a polio frontline worker in Pakistan, vaccinates a child in Liaqatabad using the ‘no touch’ method. ©
UNICEF/Pakistan
A child has their finger marked during the campaign in Angola. ©WHO/AFRO
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In Burkina Faso, 174,304 children under five years of age were vaccinated in two high-risk districts by
2000 frontline workers. Vaccinators and health care workers were trained on maintaining physical
distancing while conducting the vaccination. 41,250 masks and 200 litres of hand sanitizer were made
available through the COVID-19 committee in the country to protect frontline workers and families during
the campaign.
In Pakistan, almost 800,000 children under the age of five
were reached by vaccinators in districts where there is an
outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus. Staff were
trained on preventive measures to be followed during
vaccination, including keeping physical distance inside homes
and ensuring safe handling of a child while vaccinating and
finger marking them.
“Our early stage analysis suggests that almost 80 million
vaccination opportunities have been missed by children in our
Region due to COVID-19, based on polio vaccination
activities that had to be paused,” said Dr Hamid Jafari, Director for Polio Eradication in the Eastern
Mediterranean Region. “That’s close to 60 million children who would have received important protection
by vaccines against paralytic polio.”
Over the coming months, more countries plan to hold
campaigns to close polio outbreaks and prevent further
spread, when the local epidemiological situation permits.
“Our teams have been working across the Region to support
the COVID-19 response since the beginning of the pandemic,
as well as continuing with their work to eradicate polio,” said
Dr Hamid Jafari. “We must now ensure that we work with
communities to protect vulnerable children with vaccines,
whilst ensuring strict safety and hygiene measures to prevent
any further spread of COVID-19”.
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, commented, “We cannot wait for the COVID-19
pandemic to be contained to resume immunization activities. If we stop immunization for too long,
including for polio, vaccine-preventable diseases will have a detrimental effect on children’s health across
the region.”
“The campaigns run by the Polio Eradication Programme demonstrate that mass immunization can be
safely conducted under the strict implementation of COVID-19 infection prevention and control
guidelines.”
Source: www.polioeradication.org
Farzana, a polio worker in Karachi’s Liaqatabad Town, Pakistan uses hand sanitizer during the campaign.
©UNICEF/Pakistan
In Afghanistan, 7858 vaccinators aimed to vaccinate 1,101,740 children in three provinces. ©WHO/Afghanistan
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Each One...Bring One! During this Membership month, encourage your club members to join fellow Rotarians
and friends dedicated to accumulating and preserving the history, values and
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Jeetendra Sharma, Editor in Chief, [email protected]
William “Bill” Pollard, Associate Editor, [email protected]
Carlos Calzada, Designer [email protected]
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