Noticias
Member spotlight: Ben Thwaits is a natural healer
From the June 2016 issue of The Rotarian
When Ben Thwaits took a job teaching at a residential treatment center for troubled teens called Northwest Passage, the nature photographer and biologist wondered if the students might get as much out of taking photos as he did. So he applied for a small grant and got a few cameras.
Within a few weeks he knew he was on to something. “It wasn’t just the quality of the photos they were producing, which was astonishing,” says Thwaits, a member of the Rotary Club of Siren/Webster, Wis. “But I started to see that spark emerge in them where they would be…
Ravindran moves audience with personal story
RI President K.R. Ravindran closed the convention in Korea on Wednesday, 1 June, with a poignant story about his mother’s fight to survive polio at age 30.
When Ravindran was 11 years old in his native Sri Lanka, his mother awoke one day feeling weak and short of breath. Sitting down to rest, she found herself unable to move. The polio virus had quickly invaded her nervous system, resulting in paralysis.
She was placed in an iron lung at the hospital to enable her to breathe, and was told that her chances of walking, or even surviving without a ventilator, were slim. But most Sri Lankan…
Photo contest winners: How to frame a winning photo
From the June 2016 issue of The Rotarian
As a digital strategist for National Geographic, Keith Jenkins encourages organizations to embrace change, even when it means taking a leap of faith. In that spirit, we made some changes of our own to The Rotarian’s photo contest this year. We held it on Facebook and expanded it to three categories: people, places, and projects. We received an overwhelming response, with photographers from Jamaica, Bangladesh, Germany, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Czech Republic, the United States, and Canada, among other places, sending nearly 500 shots. Along with the…
Rotary founder makes surprise appearance at Korea convention
Convention attendees were treated to a surprise visit from Paul Harris during the opening session of the Korea convention on Sunday, 29 May.
An animated hologram of Rotary’s founder joined RI President K.R. Ravindran on stage, and proceeded to talk about Rotary’s growth from a small club in Chicago to an international organization that is changing the world.
«Rotary has been a gift to the world,» said Harris. «This Rotary program of friendship and service certainly has succeeded way beyond the dreams of us back in Chicago.»
Harris also noted that the basis of Rotary and the convention remains…
Foundation’s achievements and future spotlighted at Korea convention
In his address to convention attendees on Tuesday, 31 May, Trustee Chair Ray Klinginsmith proclaimed that The Rotary Foundation has never been stronger than it is today.
Bolstered by generous contributions from members and robust programs like PolioPlus and the Rotary Peace Centers, the Foundation’s good work is drawing public notice, Klinginsmith said: CNBC, a leading consumer and business news outlet in the U.S., ranked Rotary No. 5 among the top 10 charities changing the world in 2015.
«Isn’t it clear that our Foundation is truly better than ever before?» said Klinginsmith, who reported…
UN chief Ban Ki-moon opens Korea convention
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was among the first to welcome Rotary members and friends to the 107th Rotary Convention, heralded as one of the largest-ever gatherings of Rotarians and the most multicultural assembly of nonprofit leaders in Korea.
He offered a message of gratitude: “Rotarians do remarkable work around the world,” Ban told the thousands of attendees gathered at KINTEX, the Korea International Exhibition and Convention Center in Goyang city, on the outskirts of Seoul. “You help the United Nations reach our goals, and you help the world understand the United…
Global movement needed to reverse water crisis
This year’s World Water Summit on 27 May in Seoul highlighted the progress being made:
Over the last 25 years, more than 2.5 billion people gained access to improved drinking water, and 2 billion who didn’t have adequate sanitation now do.
Child deaths from water-related diseases dropped from 1.5 million to just over 600,000.
The UN Millennium Development Goals’ target for clean drinking water was met five years ahead of schedule.
But for the 1.8 billion people whose drinking water remains contaminated and the 2.4 billion without access to proper sanitation, progress is still too slow, said…
Advancing peace brings Rotary, U.S. Olympic athletes together
On an evening in April, more than 50 representatives from the Rotary Peace Centers and members of the U.S. Olympic Committee who had gathered for an event in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, were treated to a surprise: a pre-dinner performance by the U.S. men’s Olympic gymnastics team.
«They showcased their prowess in tumbling, the high bar, and the pommel horse. It was stunning!» says Rotary International Director Jennifer Jones, who served as the emcee for the April event at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.
Sponsored by The Rotary Foundation, 1972 Olympic decathlon competitor Barry King,…
Altruism: Individual serving
From the June 2016 issue of The Rotarian
The sun rises on a new school day. In rural Ganguli, India, 450 students climb aboard school buses. Five years ago they couldn’t have gone to school because the distance from their village was too far to walk.
In San Agustín, Ecuador, students used to attend classes in the town morgue when it rained, because their school had no roof. Since 2012, hundreds of children there have learned to read and write in a real classroom.
Quietly orchestrating these and other projects was Vasanth Prabhu, a member of the Rotary Club of Central Chester County (Lionville…