D-2482 DG's Newsletter October 2017-EN

Dear Fellow Rotarians, We said good bye to the seventh month (from the Latin September), which is in fact ninth, but we all know it is actually the third one for our Rotary year. I’m grateful for the hospitality of the 14 clubs I managed to visit (RC Varna, RC Dobrich, RC Kavarna, RC Plovdiv Filipopol, RC Plovdiv Puldin, RC Russe, RC Rousse Dunav, RC Tutrakan, RC Targovishte, RC Pazardzhik, RC Shumen, RC Popovo , RK Veliko Tarnovo). Special thanks to RC Nova Zagora and RC Smolyan for hosting two of the Pre-PETS. With the beginning of October we are entering the second quarter of the Rotary year. Not too ambitious, the district's calendar is saturated enough. The week from October 2nd to October 8th is dedicated to the relationship with our alumni. In the first half of the month the other two pre-PETS will be held in Balchik and Sofia. On 14 October, Haskovo will host the Rotaract Annual Assembly, and one week later in Bansko, our youngest Interact friends will gather for their assembly. On October 24th, we will celebrate Rotary‘s World Polio Day and start the World Interact Week on October 30th. The theme of the month - ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - is a logical continuation of the previous three. In an amazing way the theme embraces Rotary's main priorities while at the same time it gives each club the freedom to decide how to contribute to the development of its community. It is not necessary to provide statistics figures to describe the situation in Bulgaria. We are all aware of the socio-economic environment we are trying to live in. We are all aware that the times we live in are terrifying. We are aware that it is not within the reach of the humanitarian organizations to help all those in need. But is it really not within our power? In order to answer objectively to this question, we need to know the resources at our disposal. In general, our district includes 87 clubs, gathering 2000 Rotarians in more than 60 towns. This is our human capital. It is important to us, but there is something even more significant - our SOCIAL CAPITAL. This is our friendship, the trust we have been building for years, the interaction between us, our shared values and beliefs. Many studies prove the direct link between socio-economic development level and social capital. As a rule, communities with strong social capital show better results in coping with poverty, conflict resolution, and new projects implementation. This is because community development is not determined by the top, but by the basis. Where there are good citizens with clear goals and many friends, the progress is inevitable. During my club visits over the past three months I have seen many CENTERS of GOOD. Most clubs do not just carry out humanitarian activities, they act as social entrepreneurs. Earning the trust of their communities, they successfully respond to local needs, interact with other organizations, and restore peoples’ FAITH in GOOD. I will end up with the words of RI President Ian Rizley: \"… each of us chooses to serve, we do it because we know our service makes a difference in the lives to others. Whether we are building a new playground or a new school, improving medical care or sanitation, training mediators or midwives, we know that the work we do will change people's lives – in ways large or small – for the better. \"

My friends, let us continue to make a difference in our communities and start to believe that we have the power to change the environment we live in. Yours in Rotary, Emil Kotsev, Governor of District 2482 (Bulgaria)