President's Corner

Starting on September 1, we will start having hybrid meetings. This means, those willing to meet in person are welcome to meet at Flaherty’s once again. Chairs will be physically distanced and masks required. Flaherty’s will provide individually-wrapped bagels and pastries as well as coffee, juice and water. We will continue with presenting the meetings via Zoom. Undoubtedly, there will be technical and other challenges as we move into this meeting format.

 

By the time you read this, you may already know the great news. The World Health Organization (WHO) on 25 August announced that transmission of the wild poliovirus has officially been stopped in all 47 countries of its African region. This is a historic and vital step toward global eradication of polio, which is Rotary’s top priority. After decades of hard won gains in the region, Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative — WHO, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance — are proclaiming the milestone an achievement in public health. They offer it as proof that strong commitment, coordination, and perseverance can rid the world of polio. This great accomplishment happened due to your generous contributions the Rotary’s PolioPlus efforts.

 

In the annual Rotary calendar, September is Basic Education and Literacy Month. Rotary supports activities and training to improve education for all children and literacy for children and adults.  The Rotary Foundation enables Rotarians to ensure that all people have sustainable access to basic education and literacy by:  1. Involving the community to support programs that strengthen the capacity of communities to provide basic education and literacy to all; 2. Increasing adult literacy in communities; 3. Working to reduce gender disparity in education; 4. Supporting studies for career-minded professionals related to basic education and literacy. What can we do to support these goals?