Rotary District 7670 » International Projects http://www.rotary7670.org Western North Carolina, USA Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:55:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 2011 Rotary Friendship Exchange http://www.rotary7670.org/2011-rotary-friendship-exchange/ http://www.rotary7670.org/2011-rotary-friendship-exchange/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 02:50:52 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=1309 You Are Invited to join us for District 7670 Rotary Friendship Exchange 2010-11; With District 3050 in Rajasthan, India

What is a Rotary Friendship Exchange? The Rotary Friendship Exchange program gives Rotarians and their families the opportunity to host and visit Rotarians around the world. The primary goal of a Friendship Exchange is to build greater international understanding and goodwill.

Why are we going to District 3050 in Rajasthan, India?

Our District Rotarians have a deep connection to District 3050 as a result of a Rotary Foundation Volunteer Service Grant that took place in 2007 when the roots of friendship were first planted. Subsequently we have participated in several Foundation Matching Grants including the widely supported project spearheaded by little John Ari to bring clean water and sanitation to the Jaipur Heritage Girls School. We will be visiting the school on this trip. Also, District 3050 has sponsored a Matching Grant project with the Emma Resource here in District 7670.

When will this trip take place?

The trip will take place around the end of January, beginning of February 2011. The exact dates are not yet set. The length of the stay will be 10 days to 2 weeks. The visiting team from District 3050 will travel in late April, early May 2011.

Why are we going at this time?

One of the goals for this trip is to participate in a National Immunization Day (NID) when polio vaccine will be administered to the children. This trip will provide our District Rotarians with a historic opportunity to be a part of Rotary’s worldwide effort to rid the world of polio. As soon as the exact dates are set by the government, we will plan the exact departure and return dates.

How is this trip paid for?

Rotary Friendship Exchanges are funded entirely by program participants. Guests are responsible for their own travel expenses and personal spending money. However, each team will be hosted by Rotarians and be overnight guests in their homes. There may be expenditures for transportation, passport and visa costs, vaccines or other recommended shots, meals outside the host’s home, admission to tourist sites, gifts for hosts, and any possible overnight stays in a hotel that may be required by the itinerary.

Who can apply?

Any District 7670 Rotarian (and immediate family member – optional) that is interested in becoming part of this team and willing to make the commitment to both visit and host Rotarians in District 3050 can apply. Once the team is selected there will be orientation and training to plan for a successful trip. Applications are submitted to respective Rotary Club for endorsement.

The team is limited to 5 couples.

2010-11 RFE Application (PDF)

]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/2011-rotary-friendship-exchange/feed/ 0 Update from Senegal http://www.rotary7670.org/update-from-senegal/ http://www.rotary7670.org/update-from-senegal/#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:12:20 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=1021 Dear Rotarians,

Everything has continued to go very well here in Dakar. I am finishing up my thesis about speech, language and voice disorders in Senegal.  I will defend it before an academic jury before I leave in July.  My time in Senegal as an ambassadorial scholar has been incredibly enriching.  Not only is this a period of cultural and academic exchange, but a period of deep personal growth.  My eyes have been opened in new directions that I never even knew existed before.

Senegal AmbasadorLast week I joined my Rotary host counsellor in going to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso for the 36th annual district conference for district 9100. The district is comprised of 14 countries in West Africa.  The diversity at the conference was astounding. There were Rotarians of all different ethnicities and cultures.  Some Rotarians wore formal black suits, some wore colorful bubus with Rotary emblems on the fabric, and some from Mali were wear traditional Tuareg robes and turbans. There were head-sets available for instantaneous French to English translation. In spite of any superficial differences though, everyone was united under the Rotarian ideologies of advancing goodwill, understanding and peace through service and community support.

During the conference, we frequently discussed The New Vision Plan, which will be the focus for the new Rotary year, starting in July.  The New Vision plan focuses on peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy and economic and community development.  My favorite part of the conference was a small discussion group that focused on water and sanitation.  We discussed how all six topics of the New Vision Plan are profoundly influenced by water, and how water is a particularly important issue in West Africa.  Rotary is involved with over 6000 projects worldwide involving water.  The goal is to have a 50% reduction in people with no access to clean drinking water by 2015.  Just a few weeks ago one of the Rotary clubs I am involved with in Dakar installed wells in a village so there will be better access to clean drinking water.

Sengal ConferenceIn Dakar I am finding great satisfaction in my service activities.  I am co-leading a speech therapy group for autistic children in the pediatric psychiatry unit of a local hospital. I co-lead the group with a Senegalese speech pathologist.  She corresponds with the children in Wolof, whereas I focus on teaching the children linguistic skills in French, and also basic Wolof.  I have supplied almost all of the materials that we use for speech and language therapy in the group.  After six months, the results are amazing.  I will share with you the story of Medune, a five-year-old boy in the speech therapy group.  Medune was placed in the clinic because he was thought to be autistic, but I only recently found out the real story of his past.  When we started the group in November, Medune was totally non-verbal.  He did not know how to speak.  Months later, I learned that Medune had been abandoned as a very young child when his parents left Senegal to move to Mauritania, leaving him in the street.  Medune was homeless, living in the streets with no one to care for him.  Years later, Medune was recently found by a social services organization and placed in his grandparent’s home.  It is natural that Medune never learned to speak as a young child if he had no linguistic stimulation or loved one to take care of him.  Very quickly after we started doing speech and language exercises in the group, Medune started imitating sounds, then talking, and then singing! Now Medune is a model for all the other children, singing, paying attention, and talking regularly.  He will most likely start going to school with normally developing children of his age in less than a year.  It is an amazing success story!!

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to learn and grow in West Africa.  I have had some of the most rewarding experiences of my life!  Would you mind forwarding this on to other Rotarians in the district I don’t have the email addresses for?

Sincerely,

Stephanie Jozefowicz

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/update-from-senegal/feed/ 3 ShelterBox – Central American Storm http://www.rotary7670.org/shelterbox-central-american-storm/ http://www.rotary7670.org/shelterbox-central-american-storm/#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:58:59 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=1015 US & Canada Based Response Teams en route

sb_agatha

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla., June 1, 2010-International disaster relief charity ShelterBox is responding to a devastating tropical storm, which has ravaged large parts of Central America and forced tens of thousands of people out of their homes.

Tropical Storm Agatha struck Guatemala on Monday dumping more than 3 feet of rain in the mountainous west of the country and in neighboring El Salvador.

The torrential downpours have killed nearly 150 people and left more than 94,000 homeless as the storm buried homes under mud.

ShelterBox is deploying a US and Canadian-based ShelterBox Response Team (SRT) to Guatemala to assess the need for emergency shelter.

“Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes so the need for emergency shelter is clear. Last week’s eruption from the Pacaya volcano is likely to have worsened the effects of the flooding and we are looking to see how we can help those in greatest need,” said operations manager, John Leach.

Last November ShelterBox responded to Hurricane Ida which caused flooding and mudslides that killed at least 150 people as it moved through the region.

Central America is vulnerable to heavy rains due to its mountainous terrain, while poor communications in rural areas complicate rescue efforts.

Individual tax-deductible donations to ShelterBox USA can be made at www.shelterboxusa.org<http://www.shelterboxusa.org/> or via text message by sending SHELTER to 20222 for a one-time $10 donation. For information on or to make a contribution by phone, please call 941-907-6036.

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/shelterbox-central-american-storm/feed/ 0 RAH – Stop Hunger Update http://www.rotary7670.org/rah-stop-hunger-update/ http://www.rotary7670.org/rah-stop-hunger-update/#comments Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:33:56 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=949 Meal Packaging Events

To-date as I am posting this information 385,272 meals have been packaged in our drive for 1,000,000 meals for Haiti.  There have been 3 successful events by teams 7, 2 and 5.

Attached is a spreadsheet indicating the progress and our expected totals to-date.

Here’s our scorecard to date. We are very close!!

Total

(Money times 4)

Date

Location

Team #

Money Available

Meals Purchased

Meals packaged

Feb 20

Waynesville

7

6,667.00

26,668

16,200

Mar 6

Morganton

2

64,736.00

258,944

268,872

Mar 13

Franklin

5

25,056.00

100,224

100,200

Mar 27

Boone

3

16,992.00

67,968

Mar 27

Conover

1

61,685.46

246,742

250,000

Apr 17

Hendersonville

6

38,542.00

154,168

Apr 24

Asheville

4

27,042.00

108,168

Total

240,720.46

962,882

635,272

Pastor Leon

As many of you may have heard, Pastor Leon (who runs the schools in Haiti where food is being shipped) is traveling in North Carolina for the next couple of weeks.  Our day with him is March 23rd.  He will be present at noon at the Valdese Club.  If the folks in the center of west of the District would like, we can try to bring him to Asheville for dinner that evening.  DG Carol needs to know, whether you would participate in a meeting to listen to his update on that evening.

Please RSVP with Governor Carol with the number from your team that may be interested in the evening event.

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/rah-stop-hunger-update/feed/ 0 Updates from Haiti 2/27 http://www.rotary7670.org/pastor-leon-writes-from-haiti/ http://www.rotary7670.org/pastor-leon-writes-from-haiti/#comments Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:45:29 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=864

Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts Summary 2

Above is a link to a document from February 2010 giving Summary to Rotary’s Relief efforts in Haiti.  Please click the link above to view and download the file.

——————————————————————

Haiti update from Barry Rassin PRID 06-08

Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts Summary

District 7020

January 27, 2010

On Wednesday January 27, 2010 a delegation of Rotarians (PRID Barry Rassin, RIDE John Smarge, PDG Richard McCombe and PP Carla McCombe, DGE Diana White) along with one Orthopedic Surgeon (Dr. Patrick McGrath) who would stay, and ZNS News Anchor Jerome Pyfrom and Videographer Burton Wallace flew from Nassau to Pignon, Haiti. Our purpose was not to visit the epicenter but to meet with the Rotarian Leaders who have working tirelessly to bring relief to all they can.

We met at the Hôpital de Bienfaisance de Pignon which is run by DGN Dr. Guy Theodore. Dr. Theodore, AG Caleb Lucien and Adele Noel-Romelus from Pignon met us at the airport and transported us to the Hospital. AG Dr. Claude Surena, PP George Nicolas and Jean-Baptiste Brown flew to Pignon from Port-au-Prince to join us and ensure that we understand the present conditions and anticipated short term future needs of the most affected areas. Dr. Surena is our Rotary Disaster Chair for Haiti and also the President of the Haitian Medical Association and was appointed by President Preval to coordinate the receipt and distribution of all medical relief. His complete involvement into the relief efforts of the country is a great help for us to understand what is happening and what we need to do to assist. The Rotarians from Pignon have been coordinating the delivery of items sent in by Rotary to ensure they get to the appropriate people.

We only had a few hours as Dr. Surena had to return to meet with President Preval. When the meeting concluded we toured the Hospital which is overloaded with victims from the earthquake. We also toured the Hosean Mission and saw the housing for visiting physicians.

Below I have summarized the primary points made during our meeting:

  1. The Government of Haiti immediately called a State of Emergency for three months which will enable an easier and more efficient entry of goods and medical personnel into the country. This could be extended to six months.
  2. The acute relief efforts are coming to an end over the next couple days.
  3. The next phase will be on fixed clinics and then hospitals as the medical care becomes much more focused.
  4. They are working closely with WHO to get the supplies and equipment needed for patient care.
  5. Orthopedic supplies and strong antibiotics (Bactrim, Cipro and Keflex) are still the most urgently needed in the medical area and will be for some time.
  6. The Hospitals have been treating and the patients are recovering to go home but they have no home to go to. The plan is to put tents up next to the Hospitals in order to provide a step down situation for the patients out of the hospital.
  7. They estimate a need of 200,000 tents to house those who lost their homes. Not necessarily full blown shelter boxes but just the tents.
  8. Dr. Surena suggested that one possible Rotary project, in partnership with other agencies, would be to establish a Rehabilitation Center for all those who need Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Psychosocial Counseling. In conjunction with the facility we need to establish a workshop for artificial limbs (DGE Diana White has begun discussions with the Rotary Jaipur Limb project to plan for establishing locally the necessary workshops). There have been a substantial number of persons with crushed limbs resulting in amputations.
  9. The School System in Port-au-Prince has been shut down. Those migrating to unaffected areas of the country are now causing an overflow situation in all schools that are available to continue. Many children have no school to attend.
  10. The Government is now setting up a committee to handle the airport landing priorities as the Port-au-Prince airport has been overwhelmed.
  11. Significant Rotary manpower will be needed but not yet.
  12. They are in great need for psychological counselor who speaks Creole.
  13. There is probably no more need for Rotary to supply medical teams as other organizations have now geared up and are providing appropriate manpower in the medical arena.
  14. There is an urgent need for Food and water and that will continue for some time. While fixed and pre-prepared foods are good they would like to see more of a focus on staple goods like Rice and Beans. They will need to provide about 150,000 meals per day for many months to come. They are able to buy some of the basic food items locally for distribution if they could receive cash donations to do so. That would also help the economy.
  15. They need clothes including shoes as they lost all of their possessions. They ask for separated and sorted clothes.
  16. They understand the need for an overall plan for relief and will begin on that task as they can; however they must do all they can to sustain life and develop an ability for the population to become self sufficient in the short term.
  17. They have begun a concerted effort to locate Rotarians from all of the five Rotary Clubs that were affected. We will develop a report from each of the five Rotary Clubs so that we can also support them and assist them as individuals as they are also victims of the disaster. They have lost everything and need our help.
  18. We are considering the purchase of a truck for Rotary in Haiti in order to help them move the high volume of supplies from the ports or the airports to those that have been targeted for distribution and assistance. What Rotary sends in aid is received by Rotarians and distributed to those in need.
  19. All of these priorities listed does not mean that there are not other needs like x-ray machines, autoclaves, or specific supplies, but these listed are considered the top priorities for Rotary to pursue.
  20. We in Nassau are now organizing a cargo ship to take into Port-au-Prince all the collected supplies from Rotary in The Bahamas, The Red Cross and the Methodist Conference. We are able to fill about 12 containers or more and so it will be much more effective to spend about $40,000 for the ship to transport the goods. We will ship when the Port is ready to accept which is expected in two weeks. We will need the cash to pay for the ship but the containers are being lent to us at no charge. Again our Rotarians will meet and unload and distribute.
  21. The Rotarians in Haiti greatly appreciate the outpouring of support from Rotary in The Bahamas and the District 7020 but also from all the neighboring districts and around the world. They are strong and positive and will continue to work to bring their country to the healthy, vibrant and productive country that it needs to be.
  22. They specially thanked PDG Richard (Dick) McCombe for his incredible support and assistance from the first moment of the disaster. They also thanked RIDE John Smarge and DGE Diana White for our District 7020 for taking the time to fly in for this visit. They also appreciate the hard work being done by Rotarians within our District led by our excellent District Governor Errol Alberga.

We ask Rotary Clubs and Rotary Districts to consider the above and work with us to focus on their needs for today. However, please keep in mind that this is a long term relief effort and we will be part of the rebuilding and will need significant cash to participate in meaningful projects as time goes by and we have a plan in place for us to help implement.

I am proud to be a Rotarian and know that Rotary around the world will work side by side with our Rotarians in Haiti to bring them to a new and positive era for their country.

Please stay current with the needs as the transitioning of relief efforts will continue.

Barry Rassin

PRID 2006-2008

——————————————————————————

Shelterbox Response

From District Chairman Bill Loehr

More than 7,000 boxes are already deployed to Haiti since the 1/12 earthquake with more being packed in Cornwall.  There are an estimated 1 million homeless. Last year Boxes were sent to:
Malawi                       Samoa
El Salvador                The Phillipines
Pakistan                     Mexico
Indonesia                   and Niger
Sumatra
More than 60 countries and 100 disasters to date; Haiti currently the largest and most challenging since the Christmas Tsunami!

Email from DG Errol who covers Haiti

Dear Classmates,
Please send to all your Clubs.
Thank you all for your emails and telephone calls expressing concern and desire to help.
I know everyone is anxious to know what is happening in Haiti and in particular about our Rotarians.  So far we have heard from DGN Dr. Guy Theodore, PAG Nessim Izmery, PAG Dr. Robert Leger, Dr. Claude Surena Disaster Chair for Haiti, and they are all ok.
As you can see our District Disaster Chair Ray Whittaker has sent out an appeal and Claude Surena has given a report of how bad things are.  Haiti Liaison Chair PDG Dick McCombe has also made an appeal for money until we know exactly how we can respond in other areas such as food, water, shelter boxes, medical supplies etc.
Those who have satellite phones please ensure that they are charged and kept on.  A listing of the telephone numbers and who have the phones will be circulated shortly.
I heard that PAG Caleb Lucien, District Chair for Health and Hunger is using his satellite phone in Haiti and communicating Internationally for help.
Let us keep in touch with our District Disaster Relief Team and Haiti Task Force Team for instructions on how we can help.
One Love,

——————————————————————–

From Leon:

DG Carol King presents Pastor Leon with a PHF

Hello my friends,

I finally get connected.

The 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti very badly.  Lots of building are
collapsed; others are damaged beyond repair.  No body knows for sure  how many people died. The situation is not yet over.

I was at Blanchard  when the major event ( hit )  took place.  It was very scary to say the least. The damages done in some of the construction works are in most cases beyond repair.  I  also visited Cite Soleil after I’ve seen what’s happened in Blanchard.

From what I saw at 5:00 (the quake started at 4:53 and lasted 2 minutes; although, from time to time ,even now as I’m typing it continues to reappear for few seconds on different occasions)  the Medical Clinic and the Church at Blanchard seemed to be OK , the school has major cracks in front of the building by Gladys’s office and on the second floor by the library.  I saw several cracks around the foundation which looks like the earth is  split around the
foundation of the buildings . Thank God we encountered no deaths so fare in our compounds. Part of the wall in Blanchard suffered some damages but not major.

In Cite Soleil, we have lots of damages done to several of our buildings. The entire walls of the compound is collapsed, the back of the medical build is down. I saw water coming out of the ground due to several splits that were on the ground. The front of the church has some damages done to it but the building is functional. Other
buildings, such as the first school building we built has some damages done to it. The worst damages  I saw in Cite Soleil are the wall and the Medical building.

I didn’t have time to visit neither Repatriate or Ibo Beach.  I plan to do that later on today when I think it’s safe enough to drive. I heard that the quake might last until 6:00 a.m.  I doubt it seriously if the roads would be safe  enough to drive. I saw lots of debris as I was driving back home from Cite Soleil.  I couldn’t drive my car all the way home. Traffic was unbelievable and definitely indescribable. I left my car  on the airport road and walked home. My wife was happy
to see me. Cell phones weren’t working; she could get in touch with me to know how  I was.

Our house so far is safe except for few blocs that felt from a shade that I built when I had the generator. I couldn’t get to my office because the bookshelves are all over and blocked the doors. I couldn’t get inside the office.  My wife, Andremene, Nadege and I are all fine.
My mother- in  - law’s house is beyond repair but everyone is safe.
Most people including my wife decided to spent the night sleeping on the street away from any danger from any houses or walls. Several millions of people are doing the same for that’s what is recommended and made sense.

That’s all I could share with you for the time being; expect to hear more from me later on today after I gathered more information.

Please keep Haiti and its people in your prayers.

In the service of the King of Kings.

Leon & Jacky

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/pastor-leon-writes-from-haiti/feed/ 0 Update on Peace Fellow David http://www.rotary7670.org/update-on-district-peace-fellow/ http://www.rotary7670.org/update-on-district-peace-fellow/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:37:13 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=898 The article link below was sent to us by Peace Fellow David LaMotte.  It is an article from The Hindu newspaper about his work in India.

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/02/06/stories/2010020655200100.htm

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/update-on-district-peace-fellow/feed/ 0 India Friendship Exchange Update http://www.rotary7670.org/india-friendship-exchange-update/ http://www.rotary7670.org/india-friendship-exchange-update/#comments Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:30:45 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=815 RFE 2010 Team to India Ready

The RFE Team met on Saturday for their final orientation and are ready for their trip.  They depart on Wednesday January 13th and return February 2nd.  Their official RFE visit will be hosted by District 3060 in Surat, India.  However, District 3050, in Jaipur is hosting a heritage tour of India as well as a visit to the Jaipur Heritage Girls Schools, the site for the TRF Matching Grant funded by several clubs in the District this year.

Follow the team on there trip by visiting Amanda Shuford’s Blog at http://www.themisadventuresofamanda.blogspot.com/ Amanda, her Mother (Cathleen) and father (PDG Hamp Shuford) will participate in the trip as well.

2010 Friendship Exchange, India

2010 Friendship Exchange, India

Participants:

Wade Hampton Shuford III  (RC of Catawba Valley)
Kathleen Elizabeth Shuford
Amanda Lindsay Shuford (Teenager)
Clyde Dean Lutz (RC of Lincolnton SR)
Ginger Voyles Lutz
Rankin Allen Whittington (RC of Lenoir)
Sandra Whittington
Billi Joyce Black (RC of Franklin Daybreak)
STEVEN RAY STUDEBAKER (RC of Hendersonville Four Seasons)
ELIZABETH MARY TAIT
Jamie Anna Van Harlingen
Ann Van Harlingen (RC of Franklin)

Your itinerary will be as follows :

Depart Jan 13  form Charlotte to New Delhi.Arrive in new Delhi on the 15th Jan.Stay and tour New Delhi until evening of 16th.On the evening of the 16th travel by road to Agra.Next day tour Agra and leave in the evening for Jaipur .Spend night of 17th and 18th in Jaipur.Leave midday on 19th to fly to Bombay(Mumbai) from Jaipur.District 3060 officials give The friendship exchange team a warm welcome and takes over the rest of tour.Team leaves  Mumbai on the 1st  or 2nd of Feb to arrive in USA on the same date 1st or 2nd.I will brief a details of this part of trip a bit later.You will be flying on Jet Airways for all of your trip except for Charlotte/Newark/Charlotte.The cost of airline only is approx.$1120(Pretty accurate) including internal flights.
Your host in Jaipur is ADG Aneel Bhutani.His address is as follows :
Aneel Bhuttani
SF 10-11 Second Floor
Nanak Plaza
LBS College Road
Raja Park
Jaipur ,India 302004
Telephone :
09828161788
Your host in District 3060 will be the District Governor as follows :
Major Shushil K Sharma
Sisa House ” Sameer Complex”
RS # 71
Navsarjan Society
Pandesara,Surat
Guarat, India
Tel
261 2892420
261 2891798
cell 9925227400

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/india-friendship-exchange-update/feed/ 0 Fishpond and Well Dedicated http://www.rotary7670.org/fishpond-and-well-dedicated/ http://www.rotary7670.org/fishpond-and-well-dedicated/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:51:13 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=770 Introduction

This is a Matching Grant project initiated by the GSE Exchange with Nigeria in 2007.  Several clubs from the district participated in funding the project which was brought to us by PDG Lemmy.

In a very elaborate ceremony which was attended by the Catholic Bishop of Otupko Diocese most Rev. Dr. Michael Apochi, the local government chairman and the entire Aidogodo Okpoga community the officers of Rotary International handed over a fresh drinking water/fish pond project to the Fatima girls high school.

The project which is a joint undertaking of Rotary International district 7670 in the USA and Rotary club of Makurdi, district 9125 provided a source of safe drinking water for the entire students of the Fatima Girls High school and a construction of four chamber fish ponds. An Interact club was formed ,a nucleus of the body charged with looking after the fish farm project.

The Catholic Bishop on his own part has undertaken the stocking and training of the young fish farmers. Rotary on its part gave a lump sum of a quarter of a million naira for the supply of feeds for the ponds which Rotary provided with sources of electricity and hydraulic pumps.

Accepting the project on behalf of the school, the diocesan Bishop praised Rotary and wished there were more associations willing to help in the upbringing of youths.  He promised to give the project all the time it deserves to make the project succeed.

Rotary designed the project in such a way that the students will consume twenty five percent of the yield to improve their meals while seventy five percent of the proceeds would go to sustaining the project.

Past district governor, Lemmy Ijioma who is the chairman of the local organising committee called on the student to take the new training seriously.
In attendance were the assistant governor Tony Agbo, President Bern Igoche, past Presitent Dr. Ame Idoko and a host of other Rotarians. The entire village shelved every other activity to be there.

Dedication

Below is the speech of the traditional ruler of Aidogodo-Okpoga
ADDRESS OF THE AGBO OF AIDOGODO, CHIEF JACOB OCHENGBO AT THE HANDING OVER TO THE SCHOOL AND OTUPKO CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF FOUR FISH POND CONSTRUCTED BY ROTARY CLUB OF MAKURDI WITH ASSISTANCE FROM ROTARY CLUBS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AT FATIMA GIRLS SECONDARY SCHOOL, AIDOGODO-OKPOGA IN OKPOKWU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA ON FRIDAY, 30TH OCTOBER, 2009.

The president,
Rotary club of Makurdi.
Rotarian Past District Governor, Mr. Lemmy Ijioma.
The Executive Chairman, Okpokwu Local Government Council.
His Lordship, The Bishop of Otupko Catholic Diocces,
Most Rev. Dr. Michael Apochi.
Rotarians, Rotary Club of Makurdi.
The principal, Fatima Girls Secondary School
Aidogodo –Okpoga.
The Parish Priest, Our Lady of Lourds Independent Mission,
Aidogodo-Okpoga.
Rev.Sisters
Fatima Girls Secondary School
Aidogodo-Okpoga.
Eldest Man, Aidogodo Community.
Ijachis of the 6 Clans, Aidogodo Community.
President General, Aidogodo Development Community.
Distinguished Invited Guest.
Gentlemen of the Press.
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is my greatest honour and pleasure to welcome all of you to Aidogodo community for the handing over ceremony of fish ponds built at Fatima Girls Secondary School Aidogodo Okpoga by Rotary club Makurdi in collaboration with Rotary clubs in the United States of America (U.S.A). These fish ponds are being handed over to the school and the Catholic Dioceses of Otukpo.

The people of Aidogodo Community are deeply appreciative of this benevolence of yours to the school which the catholic mission established in our area in 1980. The school has reduced the gap between boys and girl’s education in our community against what prevails in the Northern parts of Nigeria. The significance of Fatima Girls Secondary school to us therefore, cannot be overemphasized. We are seeing and we are feeling the impact of the school in our families.

On behalf of The Aidogodo community, I sincerely express our profound gratitude to the Catholic mission that established Fatima Girls Secondary School here. We are grateful for the efforts being made by the principal to increase student enrolment.

I wish to heartily express immense pleasure of Aidogodo community for the fish ponds being handed over today. Indeed our community remains most grateful to Rotary club of Makurdi and the donor Rotary clubs USA for this wonderful show of magnanimity.

Aidogodo people of all classes, men and women, boys and girls, young and old have turned out in large numbers at this occasion as a demonstration of our appreciation and acceptance of this project.

Members of rotary club Makurdi and donor Rotary clubs of U.S.A present at this occasion should please accept our warm welcome. It is wonderful that the rotary club of Makurdi initiated this project and located it in Fatima Girls Secondary School in our community. We ever remain grateful to rotary club Makurdi and the donor Rotary clubs of U.S.A. like Oliver Twist, Aidogodo community looks forward to more relationship with the Rotary clubs in future.
Our sincere gratitude goes to our son, Dr. Mattew Ame Idoko, MFR, KSM who introduced Fatima Girls Secondary School, Aidogodo-Okpoga to the Rotary club for this project.

It is our habit to always acknowledge and thank people who make contributions to the development of Aidogodo community. We hereby specially thank the Rotarian past District Governor, Mr Lemmy who initiated this project and made the necessary contact with rotary district 7670 in the United States of America. (U.S.A)

Since this is the first homestead fish farm in our community there is need for joint effort of the principal and staff of Fatima and our community members to ensure success of the project. Thus, on behalf of my community, I assure Rotary club of Makurdi and the donor rotary clubs of U.S.A that our community will establish mutual understanding with the principal and staff of the school to foster ways of sustaining this laudable fish project.

We are aware of the significance of the project to the particular and to our community in general. The benefits we know include:
a). that students will have opportunity to acquire knowledge in aquaculture.
b). that there will be improvement in the dietary status of students of the school, which will also extend to families of our community as we are the nearest market for the fish produced from the school fish ponds and;
c). that the revenue from the sale of fish will enable the school authority to provide other facilities in the school that were hitherto hampered by lack of funds

On the basis of the foregoing benefits, the people of Aidogodo community will do everything possible to support the project and also assure the principal of assistance within our capability.

Once more, on behalf of the entire Aidogodo community, I commend the bishop of Otukpo Catholic Diocese, most Rev. Dr. Michael Apochi for his efforts in fostering successful running of Fatima Girls Secondary School Aidogodo-Okpoga. Similarly, I most respectfully commend Rotary club of Makurdi and donor Rotary clubs of U.S.A for their wonderful initiative in establishing this fish pond project.

Finally, it is my prayer that God grants you journey mercies to your respective destinations.

Thank you all.

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/fishpond-and-well-dedicated/feed/ 0 Foundation Banquet http://www.rotary7670.org/foundation-banquet/ http://www.rotary7670.org/foundation-banquet/#comments Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:32:21 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=745

Saturday evening the annual District 7670 Foundation Banquet was held in Hickory.  The evening was a great success with heavy attendance and great representation from the whole District.

Keynote

PRIP Frank Devlyn delivered the keynote speech, inspired us to support TRF and also recognized numerous Rotarians for their support of TRF and commitment to Rotary.  In attendance there were numerous special guests including Past RI Director Ken Morgan and his wife Winnie and PDG Mark Markanda.

Introductions

At the Banquet, Frank Dean the current DGNDE was officially presented as well as the Outgoing GSE Team to the Philippines.  Frank Dean gave an enthusiastic preview of his commitment to Rotary and the good works that the Foundation does around the world.  Frank promised a FANTASTIC year and great things to come in District 7670.

Pictures and more information are to follow soon.

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]]> http://www.rotary7670.org/foundation-banquet/feed/ 2 Nicaragua Wheelchair Distribution http://www.rotary7670.org/nicaragua-wheelchair-distribution/ http://www.rotary7670.org/nicaragua-wheelchair-distribution/#comments Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:19:40 +0000 admin http://www.rotary7670.org/?p=740 November 2009 Nicaragua Distribution

Rotarians from District 7670, including 4 generations of District governors, traveled to Leon and Chinandega, Nicaragua in November 2009 to distribute 260 wheelchairs they had sponsored. Frank Dean, who is District Governor Designee Elect, and a most enthusiastic supporter, said it all: “I love it when a plan comes together.” It did!

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