Rotary Clubs, including Weyburn’s club, are focusing on “making a difference” in their local communities and around the world, Weyburn Rotary members heard from the district governor, Peter Neufeldt, on Thursday.
He presented a new banner to new club president Garnet Hart with the Rotary Club’s theme for the coming year, and presented 25-year pins to four members, including Duane Schultz, Kim Thorson, Mal Barber and Grant Marinos. He also presented Paul Harris Fellowship pins to Hart and Schultz, for their contributions to Rotary International.
“When you think about what Rotary is, and people ask you about Rotary, what do you tell them?” he asked, noting there are 1.2 million members worldwide, and in this district there are 46 clubs.
“Those are some of the facts, but that’s not what Rotary is. The best way to describe what Rotary is, is by what Rotary does. Rotary makes a difference. So many programs that you do builds your community, builds relations, helping people experiencing difficulties, whether it’s building a park or helping children go to school in Guatemala,” said Neufeldt.
Addressing the members who have marked 25 years in the club, he asked, “What made you come to Rotary? … The other question is, why do you stay? We’ve had a lot of people join in the last 10 years.”
He pointed out the worldwide membership of 1.2 million has remained more or less at a stable level, even with all of the people joining, so there is a question of how to encourage members to stay as members with their clubs. Of those who received pins for their 25 years of service, he said, “You have chosen to stay to make a difference.”
The foundational principle of Rotary Clubs is “service above self”, said Neufeldt, pointing out this means Rotarians are thinking of others first, including those in the community as well as people in other countries who need help, and said the Weyburn club has done better than many others have in staying active and helping out many people.
“We want to make it easy and flexible for clubs to serve. Some clubs have gone to meetings every other week, and have service projects in between,” said Neufeldt. “Think about what you need to be a stronger club.”
He urged the club to also focus on humanitarian projects, and noted the Weyburn club has done a lot of good projects in the last decade.
The Rotary Club was also urged to enhance their public image and awareness, so as more people become aware of their roles and contributions, more people will want to become members and be involved with them.
Through Rotary International, there continue to be certain areas where Rotary Clubs help out, including providing clean water to communities that are lacking access. Neufeldt pointed out that 20,000 children under the age of five die every day around the world, many of them because of a lack of access to clean water supplies.
Other areas of focus include disease prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, and supporting building of schools through the “Ripple Effect” program. Neufeldt noted that the Ripple Effect program began when a group of Rotarians went from Winnipeg to Guatemala in 1999-2000 to build new schools, and as of this year, as this has become a district-wide project, 80 new schools have been built in Guatemala, and they have begun putting new computers into some of those schools.
“Kids are graduating and are getting jobs and are supporting families and having careers. They wouldn’t have had that without being able to go to school. It has been amazing the changes in the communities,” said Neufeldt.
Encouraging economic development has also been a focus of Rotary International. “We can’t do handouts and expect communities to grow. There has to be productivity and sustainability in their communities,” he said, adding that promoting peace initiatives is also an important focus.
“When there’s understanding, there doesn’t have to be quarrels or fighting,” he said.
