Outstanding Rotaract Projects

At the 2003 Rotaract Preconvention Meeting in Brisbane, Australia, six Rotaract clubs were honored for winning the 2003 Outstanding Rotaract Project Awards. The winning projects were selected from 91 entries submitted to RI World Headquarters.

"These six winning projects and all of the worthy Rotaract projects last year - offer ample evidence that Rotaract is an outstanding service organization in its own right and an inspiration to all members of the Rotary family," said RI President-elect Jonathan Majiyagbe while presenting the awards on 31 May. Incoming RI Rotaract Chair Philly Karani (India) was co-presenter of the awards.

The Rotaract Club of the University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana, won the Outstanding Rotaract Project of 2002-03 for an ambitious hands-on effort to refurbish a dilapidated hospital children´s ward. The Rotaractors raised US$75,000 for major improvements at the public facility and organized its cleaning and painting.

Project coordinator Ben Thomas, an Ambassadorial Scholar at the university, enlisted help from his sponsoring Rotary Club of Foster City, California, USA, and District 5150. With the support of District 9100, they obtained a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant for beds, medical equipment, and other needs identified by hospital staff.

Below are the five clubs that won awards in the regional category:

• In East Asia and South Pacific, the Rotaract Club of Taipei Shihmen, Taiwan, developed a project to collect toys, children´s books, and rehabilitation equipment to donate to the Children´s Hospital of Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital. Until the Rotaractors refurbished it in conjunction with their sponsoring Rotary Club of Taipei Shihmen, the children´s playroom at the hospital had been empty for many years.
• In Europe and Africa, the Rotaract Club of Istanbul-Dolmabahçe, Turkey, developed a project to provide long-term assistance to needy children in their local community. In partnership with their sponsoring Rotary Club of Istanbul-Dolmabahçe, members raised funds and provided six children with medical and dental care, food, clothes, English lessons, school materials, and the opportunity to attend social and cultural events in Istanbul.
• In Latin America, the Rotaract Club of Medellín, Colombia, along with members of the Rotary clubs of Medellín and Conejo Valley, California, USA, raised money to build a safe place for children to play. Their efforts resulted in a multiuse playing field, equipped with a viewing stand, commemorative mural, and equipment such as basketball hoops, volleyball nets, and soccer goals.
• In South Asia, as people gathered in the city of Mumbai for religious festivities, the Rotaract clubs of District 3140, India, joined forces to welcome them into a clean environment. The clubs contacted local government officials and arranged for sponsors to donate gloves, aprons, brooms and dustpans. Distinguished local leaders and Rotarians were invited to participate.
• In the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, the Rotaract Club of Pepperdine University, California, USA, started a project to help rebuild the facilities at the Mt. Sinai Church Camp in San Felipe, Mexico. The camp did not have safe playground equipment or clean drinking water. The club partnered with the Rotary Clubs of Malibu and Pacific Palisades, California, USA, to raise funds for the project by soliciting donations from local businesses. Rotaract club members traveled to San Felipe in January to construct a new baseball field, upgrade existing basketball and volleyball courts, service sporting equipment, and repair and clean several facilities at the camp.

News from Evanston

The Rotaract Program has a new coordinator in Evanston, at the RI World Headquarter office.

Katie Lakey is replacing Billy Jo Baker who resigned her position as Rotaract Program Coordinator last January.

Katie is originally from Bend,Oregon(USA) and lived in Oregon until graduating from University. As an undergraduate she studied abroad in Avignon, France during 1997, and lived in London during 1998 while interning for the British Labour Party.  The past 4 years, she lived in Washington, DC.
In December 2002, she completed a Master of Arts degree from The George Washington University, in International Education.  Her focus was on cross-cultural exchange programs and study abroad.
" Rotaract is a perfect fit with my desire to be involved with young people and an organization that works to better the world." Katie said.

Rotaractors and Rotarians are welcome to contact Katie with any Rotaract questions.

She can be reached at (847)866-3315, and via email lakeyk@rotaryintl.org.

Rotaractors celebrate Rotaract 35th anniversary

Rotaract clubs across the world have been busy hosting special events and activities this week to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the first Rotaract club charter on 13 March 1968. From established Rotaract clubs, such as those in France, to clubs just being formed, like the one on Northwestern University´s campus in Evanston, Illinois, USA Rotaractors took this opportunity to spread the word about their clubs.

World Rotaract Week is held each year during the second week of March to commemorate the club´s first charter in North Carolina, USA. The goals of this weeklong celebration are to strengthen ties with the sponsoring club, promote membership growth in Rotaract and increase awareness of Rotaract´s service activities in the community.

"Celebrating the 35th year of Rotaract demonstrates the quality of our organization," says Hervé Piglowski, Rotaract club member of Montpellier, France, and communication and information manager for the French Rotaract Multidistrict Information Organization. "We have realized many important actions in the world; we have showed many times that we are partners with Rotary."

Today, there are more than 7,300 Rotaract clubs in 151 countries with membership exceeding 169,000. Like the Rotary clubs that sponsor them, Rotaract clubs offer men and women ages 18-30 an opportunity for service, camaraderie, and professional development.

In France, where Rotaract clubs have been in existence since 1968, the Rotaract Club of Lyon International will host its third national meeting. Guest speakers include representatives from Handicap International, co-founder of the International Campaign to Ban Anti-personnel Landmines, which will run a conference on landmines, and Laurent Dareau who created a comic strip about Paul Harris´s life. In addition, Pierre Girardier, from the World Bank, will discuss a project being developed between Rotaract France and the World Bank in Paris.

Seeking to form Northwestern University´s (NU) first university-based Rotaract club, an NU administrator and two students are beginning the application process. Seniors Kyle Weaver and Kiran Varma worked with William Banis, NU´s vice president for student affairs and a member of the Rotary Club of Evanston, Illinois, USA, to gain support from the local Rotary club.

"We think Rotaract is a perfect fit for Northwestern University students who are very community-oriented, but who are also looking for an outlet to develop professionally," says Varma.

As part of World Rotaract Week, the students and their faculty advisor visited RI World Headquarters on 12 March 2003. During their visit, they toured the facilities and met with RI staff members as they worked toward becoming Rotary´s newest Rotaract club.