International

The  Club is deeply committed to supporting international humanitarian aid and development.

International Service Committee Projects in 2022-2023

a)      Rotarians supporting Ukraine

In addition to the capital sums transferred to the Salvation Army for their work in the Ukraine of over £2,000, the various members of our Club have been supporting Ukraine in other ways, such as:-

1.       Helping to organize and fund the Ukrainian Art Exhibition which took place during the week commencing 17th October 2022.

2.       Funding the mobile toilet at the Carrow Works redistribution centre, since early September 2022. We have currently paid up to the 6th February 2023. We will soon be receiving an invoice for the next 8 week period (the minimum rental period) which will be £340. He hope to get the support of local bunisesses to help the club maintain the mobile toilet facility for the rest of 2023.

3.       Collecting and transporting a whole range of goods, cycles and equipment needed by Ukrainians abroad and Ukrainian refugees in Norfolk, to the central distribution centre.

4.       Delivering reusable sanitary pads for use by refugees in Norfolk

5.       Providing job opportunities or individual items for Ukrainian refugees.

6.       Targeting specific items eg candles, fire lighters, torches, batteries, warm clothing and bedding etc for transportation by articulated lorry because of Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine’s power generating capacity. These are urgently required to be included in the  next lorry which is due to depart from Swaffham before the end of November.

7.       Collecting funds to support the work of Scott Stones the Swaffham driver who has been distributing much needed goods, equipment, clothes and medical supplies to war torn Ukraine on a regular basis.

8.       Supporting a 15 year old Ukrainian girl as a competitor in an RIBI organized Young Artist competition.

b)      Kusiyana Concert 

In November 2022 a committee member masterminded a concert of choirs at the Norwich Salvation Army Citadel. The intention of the concert, named “Kusiyana” was to raise funds to  to support the education of young women and girls in Zimbabwe and to tackle period poverty. Participating in the concert were 4 adult choirs and 5 High school choirs in Norwich. The total amount raised by Kusiyana was just over £1,500. £1,000 will be used to sponsor the education of a young girl at a school in Zimbabwe (see details below) and £500 will be used to buy reusable sanitary wear and wash kits to send to Eastern Europe using the Rotary Shoebox scheme. 

 NB  Period poverty is a huge problem for  millions of women the world over. It is the lack of access to sanitary products due to financial constraints which can be caused by a wide range of life events, that negatively impacts on a girl’s or woman’s ability to access sanitary products to manage a most intimate and regular occasion in her life. Period poverty means that young women are unable to leave their home for up to 10 days every month. The impact of this on their education, job prospects and life chances as adults is devastating. The lack of sanitation in schools in developing and poorer countries can also cause young women to drop out of education completely as they have no access to facilities to keep themselves clean during their period. Rotary’s Shoebox Scheme (see below) will hopefully provide relief for some women and girls in Eastern Europe.

The picture above is of girls in Zimbabwe receiving their reusable sanitary pads from the club.

c)       Use of the Rotary Shoeboxe Scheme 

The Club has purchased and received 50 shoeboxes from Rotary Shoebox. It is intended that 25 of the boxes will be used to encourage schools to fill the boxes for poor and vulnerable children and adults in some of the countries in Eastern Europe. The rest will be filled with a)   25 packs of reusable sanitary wear purchased by a member from Kiki Green at a cost of £425 and b) with the wash kits which have been purchased by the same member. These include items such as wash cloths, toothbrushes and packs of soap. The money raised for all the above purchases (cost £556) was raised at the Kusiyana Concert last November (see above).

d)      Education sponsorship of a student in Zimbabwe

£1,000 was paid by the Club to the Mudeka Foundation last December. The money was raised at the Kusiyana Concert last November. The donation will provide a full education for an 11 year old orphan girl called Grace, who is in Grade 6 at Warren Park Primary School in Harare. An information sheet has been provided for our club members. This will be followed by school reports, information updates and letters in due course.    

e)      Completion of a new Safe House in Kolkata 

Over the last several years, the Norwich St Edmund Rotary Club has supported an anti-slavery organization based in Mumbai, India called “YouCanFreeUs”. The organization rescues and provides shelter and rehabilitation of women and girls who have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation in different parts of India. Some 40 or so survivors are housed in 3 Safe Houses and rehabilitation is provided through a Training Centre in Mumbai. The girls are conveyed from their Safe Houses, to the Training Centre by a 32 seater coach which was funded mainly  by Norwich St Edmund Rotary Club.

 In 2020, YouCanFreeUs, decided to set up a new Safe House in Kolkata. The club was asked to help with the funding of the set up costs of the new Safe House. After several successful presentations by a member of the club, a substantial sum of money was forwarded to the anti-slavery organization and the new home was opened in 2022. 

f)        Lend with Care

This is one of the most worthwhile of our international projects. Lend with Care is a microfinance lending initiative under the umbrella of CARE International UK. Launched in September 2010, it allows individuals and groups to make small loans to entrepreneur in developing countries to help them work their way out of poverty. For some years now members of the club have been part of this initiative, which is coordinated by a member of the International Service Committee. This member reports monthly on the activity of the project. Last year, the club’s operator provided a useful record of our club’s total Lend with Care activities over the years - total loans made 383; value of loans £5,745; entrepreneurs helped 1,928;  family members helped 5,531; people helped 10,234; jobs created 1,775.  

                                                                                                         Mark Little                                                                                                         Chair, International Service Committee                                                                                                         14 January 2023