International

International Committee

The International Committee leads the Club’s involvement in ‘international’ events and affairs.

This takes many forms; here are a few examples:

·        Response to appeals for disaster relief (Haiti earthquake, Turkey earthquake, Lebanon explosion, Rheinland floods)

·        Fund-raising for long-term international projects often deriving from Rotary club initiatives

(Clubfoot India: sponsorship of treatment of ‘clubfoot’ in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Delhi)

(Karenaid (NGO): sponsorship of cataract operations in Myanmar/Thailand border area)

(support of NECAT, an educational charity in Leon, Nicaragua through the Oxford-Leon Association)

·        Initiation of a variety of projects:

(building of water saving tank and latrine block at Mirera Mirera Primary School in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Naivasha, Kenya)

(provision of education boxes to the Kiranga Ebenezer School, Kenya)

(provision of sports (rugby) shirts to the Karun Orphanage, Trichy, India)

Our most important current project is ‘Protecting the Boswellia Forests, Metema Region, North-Western Ethiopia’.  This project comes under the aegis of TreeAid and is part of the Great Green Wall initiative to counter the desertification of sub-Saharan Africa. We have joined with the Rotary Club of Bonn-Rheinbach to support this project for two years and we are now celebrating a twinning arrangement with the Bonn club.

In addition to the above, we are long-term supporters of the Rotary-initiated charities, Aquabox and Shelterbox. These charities provide water purification plants and tented shelter in disaster relief situations.