International

Rotary Foundation & International Committee

The Rotary Foundation is Rotary International’s own charity and is a charitable corporation supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation worldwide who share its vision of a better world.   The mission of The Rotary Foundation is to enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education and the alleviation of poverty.

Worldwide Rotary Foundation delivers grant support of over $100 million per year to humanitarian and educational projects making it one of the largest international humanitarian and educational NGOs.

There are many examples of Rotary Foundation’s good work including the programme to eradicate Polio throughout the world.  This monumental effort of funding and coordination has markedly helped to reduce the incidence of Polio worldwide.  The programme assisted by Rotarian Doctors has now almost eliminated Polio.   Apart from the funding it is the international scope of Rotary that makes this possible.   Rotarians on the ground, the world over, carry out the organisation, the procurement and the vaccination programme to make this seemingly impossible task happen.

Rotarians are very responsive to world disasters and again their international organisation manages to access disaster areas and provide immediate hand to hand assistance and shelter boxes with tents and provisions often well ahead of governments.  We will ensure we are prepared with Shelter Boxes for ad hoc world emergencies.

In support of the Rotary theme “We are for Communities” arrangements are in hand to hold a seminar involving the four local secondary schools.  This will be the fourth seminar we have held covering subjects of peace and conflict, energy and challenges of modern migration which have been very well received by school students and teachers alike.   The seminar will look at the subject of “Free Speech” and give students the chance to listen to expert speakers on the subject as well as to discuss a subject which may be outwith the normal curriculum.

We will continue to organise the delivery of books for Books Abroad.

We will continue to collect spectacles regularly from the local hospital to help deprived people in the world who have poor eyesight.