International

 International Service describes the activities which Rotarians undertake to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace.

The spread of Rotary clubs across the globe allows for the concerted Rotary support of humanitarian efforts worldwide.

Projects that the Rotary Club of Astley have participated in to help the international community over the last few years have included:

Laboratory of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Sao Paulo, Brazil
The Rotary Club of Astley was delighted to have major involvement in a project to provide equipment for a Brazilian hospital to provide training for micro-surgeons.

Classroom In A Box
We arranged for the supply of student packs to be distributed in 3rd world countries. The packs contain all the necessary items that a school pupil could possibly need, such as books, pens, pencils, rulers and crayons.

Emergency Box Scheme
All members of Astley Rotary Club rallied round with enthusiasm to obtain the necessary contents for an emergency box, which was then posted for distribution in Bosnia.

Sight Savers International
The club elected to support Sight Savers International and a cheque was forwarded to enable the treatment of a rural screening camp along with a further donation for a bicycle, in order that the annual drug required could be distributed to the immediate local villages.

Send A Cow Appeal
Part of our international programme was to raise sufficient funds to provide an adult bull in order to support the cross-bred cows scheme. The organisers of the scheme matched our grant and a cow was purchased for an African village.

Shoe Box scheme
Astley Rotarians responded magnificently in the supply, distribution and collection of the Shoe Box scheme. Each box was filled with basic, essential supplies ranging from clothes to spades, pots and pans to nappies and toiletries. The shoe boxes were distributed and collected from St. Joseph's School in Horwich and then transported via the International Aid Trust to Eastern Europe.

Albanian Schools Project
The collection of sufficient furniture and other material to fill a 40 foot container which was then taken to two schools in Albania, in an exercise which involved three club members taking the goods into the country to ensure delivery of the desperately needed equipment.

Aqua Box
The Aqua Box contains methods for collecting clean water. This includes a water carrying vessel, purification tablets and other facilities to sanitising dirty water. No sooner had we agreed to purchase an Aqua Box than the Gurajat disaster occurred. This major disaster claimed many thousands of lives and rendered a large number homeless. We were fortunate that our contribution to the Aqua Box Scheme was already in position and our box was forwarded to India.

Shelter Scheme
The club purchased outright a 10-person tent comprising of sleeping and living accommodation. The tent was fully equipped with sleeping bags and blankets. This was also distributed at the same time as the Gurajat disaster.

Rotary Club of Ashaka
After contact from the Rotary Club of Ashaka in Nigeria, the Rotary Club of Astley voted that we should support the building of a new primary school in Feshingo Village by making a financial donation to the project.