D-2452 DG's Newsletter November 2015

DISTRICT 2452 GOVERNOR’S NEWSLETTER November 2015 ISSUE #5

District 2452 Governor's Letter Fellow Rotarians and friends Guess what, it is already November, one of the most important months within our calendar, the Rotary Foundation Month. As you all know, it was in 1917 when the sixth RI President Arch C. Klumph initiated an endowment fund. Eleven years later, it was renamed as Rotary Foundation. Today, Rotary Foundation represents the key element in the existence of Rotary International. October was very busy month for me and Ghada. We visited 36 clubs in Lebanon, Armenia, Georgia and Cyprus. We also witnessed a lot of great activities accomplished by our Rotarians across the three continents. I must thank my deputies and assistants in each country for the great planning, attendance and being meticulous to every detail. Special thanks to all ladies who spared no effort to make Ghada’s visit full of Rotary, fun and entertainment, In my official visits to clubs, I have always provided the following recommendations: 1. Adopt a good impactful project to be the club’s signature project. 2. Do it big so that the project can generate news worthy stories for the media to publish. This is the best way to promote Rotary image in your respective regions. 3. Apply for Global Grant (project total cost must be at least US$30,000) by inviting sister clubs and other Rotary clubs within and outside the district. In the presentation I made at every club visit, I have shown how funding from DDF and cash contributions in a GG project can be multiplied through fund matching provided by Rotary Foundation. Hence the reason why Rotarians are encouraged to contribute to Rotary Foundation. One of the criteria for a Vibrant Club is that every Rotarian contributes to Rotary Foundation irrespective of the amount. If one can afford to contribute US$20, by all means, remit your contribution without delay. The second part of our visits to the Rotary clubs in Lebanon started with the opening of a unique gathering organized by the Rotarians in there. “Together in Lebanon “ was an opportunity for more than two hundred Rotarians of Lebanese origin living outside their homeland from several countries including the United States, Belgium, France, Germany, and Brazil to meet in an international Rotarian assembly on the 7th of October. In addition to visiting and sightseeing, Rotarian enjoyed the opportunity to discuss joint projects to serve communities in all countries present at the conference. During this visit, we had the chance to visit several projects in different areas including those providing clean water to public schools and providing modern computer labs to others. It is important to say that during my visit, Rotarians in Lebanon were blessed with the approval of the Rotary Foundation for the funding to provide clean water and hygiene training to 80 public schools in the several districts of Northern Lebanon for the amount of US$375,000. Visiting the Rotary Clubs in Cyprus was another opportunity on how Rotarians can make a difference. Beside the Rotary business that included a well attended country assembly for the Rotarians in Cyprus, we attended the inauguration of few service projects in different cities. One of the best Rotary days we attended was the awards ceremony at the closing of the 3rd International Rotary Larnaca Kition charity tennis tournament. During a full week of tennis and Rotary, 109 players from Cyprus and other countries in Europe participated in this big event. I hope to shed more light on my visit to Cyprus in my next newsletter. Fellow Rotarians and Friends, It is my pleasure to announce that our District contribution to the foundation during the first 4 months of the year has reached US $ 145,085. Thank you for proving again that you are truly Gifts to the World. Before I close, I must congratulate our biggest contributors to the Foundation during 2014-15 under the leadership of our IPDG Khalil Al-Sharif. Mustafa Nasereddin District Governor 2

Rotary International President’s Letter One sunny morning at the end of June 1991, a van drove through the busy, rush-hour streets of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Winding through traffic to a northern suburb, the van arrived at the Forward Command Headquarters of the Defense Ministry. Security guards stopped it for inspection. When they did, the two suicide bombers driving the van detonated their cargo: thousands of kilograms of plastic explosives. The roof of the building was blown off completely. Debris was strewn for blocks. In total, 21 people were killed and 175 people injured, among them many pupils of the girls' school next door. More than a kilometer away, the blast shattered every window in my home. My wife raced toward the sound of the explosion – toward our daughter's school. Our daughter was then nine years old. That morning, she had forgotten her pencil case at home. At the moment of the blast, she was coming out of a stationer's shop, admiring her new pencils. Suddenly her ears were ringing, the air was filled with sand, and everywhere around her people were screaming, bleeding, and running. Someone pulled her into the garden of the badly damaged school, where she waited until my wife arrived to bring her back to our home – its floors still covered with broken glass. Sri Lanka today is peaceful and thriving, visited by some two million tourists every year. Our war now is only a memory, and we as a nation look forward to a promising future. Yet so many other nations cannot say the same. Today, more of the world's countries are involved in conflict than not; a record 59.5 million people worldwide live displaced by wars and violence. In Rotary we believe, in spite of all that, in the possibility of peace – not out of idealism, but out of experience. We have seen that even the most intractable conflicts can be resolved when people have more to lose by fighting than by working together. We have seen what can happen when we approach peace-building in ways that are truly radical, such as the work of our Rotary Peace Fellows. Through our Rotary Foundation, peace fellows become experts in preventing and resolving conflict. Our goal is that they will find new ways not only to end wars but to stop them before they begin. Among the hundreds of peace fellows who have graduated from the program, two from Sri Lanka, one from each side of the conflict, studied together. In the first weeks of the course, both argued passionately for the rightness of their side. Yet week by week, they grew to understand each other's perspective; today, they are good friends. When I met them and heard their story, they gave me hope. If 25 years of pain and bitterness could be overcome by Rotary, then what, indeed, is beyond us? We cannot fight violence with violence. But when we fight it with education, with understanding, and with peace, we can truly Be a Gift to the World. K.R. RAVINDRAN PRESIDENT 2015-16 3 z

Why is The Rotary Foundation Important? Without projects, a Rotary Club will be a “meet and eat” social club, for with Projects, and only with projects, does the enthusiasm stay and flourish in a club. The Foundation is the magician’s wand that gives the club the power to do the unthinkable. The power to be a change-maker, a life-changer, an impact-forcer to do the following: Engage in a “large” project, tune it, polish it and turn it into a Global Grant Support another club’s Global Grant and you become a stakeholder in their project. Support End Polio Now: Engage in activities, delivering speeches, showing videos, and spreading awareness; plan a fundraising group activity. Change the life of a young professional, nominate him or her to a Rotary Peace Center at no cost to your club, all expenses paid by the Foundation. If some are not ready for these “projects”, contribute cash to the Annual Fund and let the Foundation choose what projects to fund, on their behalf. Giving can be made to the peace centers, specific areas of focus that interest you and your club. Think of what level of magnitude in service do you achieve if you get engaged in all the above. Isn’t this a miracle or multiple miracles?!! Local projects: Many clubs engage in “local” projects, that cannot wait the cycle of a global grant: why not?, there are always many good projects to do, Rotarians are conscientious to their community needs. Giving: Remember Confucius and his golden saying “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.” – make the Foundation your “charity of choice”, and it will “teach men to fish” and support projects that are sustainable for many years. So as we celebrate the Foundation month this year, we can safely say that “the Rotary Foundation is extremely important to Rotary”. PDG .Usama Barghouthi District 2452 Rotary Foundation Committee Chair 4

Thank You For Your Contribution To the Rotary Foundation During the Year (2014-2015) 5

Together In Lebanon More than two hundred Rotarians of Lebanese origin living outside their homeland met in an international Rotarian assembly “ together in Lebanon “ on the 7th of October. The conference which was organized by the Rotary Clubs of Lebanon was attended by Rotarians from all over the world including the United States, Belgium, France, Germany as well as native Lebanese from South America. The conference was opened with a speech by Rotarian Roony Farra who stressed the need for strengthening the ties between the Rotarians living outside Lebanon and their country of origin despite the difficult situation that Lebanon is in at the moment. He added that the visits to different areas and historic sites during the stay bring back good memories and help the Rotarian visitors to reconnect with Lebanon. The incoming Governor for the District 2071 from Belgium Natalie Toubia talked about continuing collaboration between Rotary Clubs of Lebanon and Belgium to implement projects that benefit greater numbers of people. DG. Mustafa Nasereddin gave a closing speech in which he expressed joy with the number of Rotarians who attended the conference wishing them all success in their endeavors. 6

Governors Activities During October 7

District Governor's Visit To Clubs In Lebanon 8

Upcoming Events First Joint District 2451 & 2452 Rotary Foundation Seminar in Sharm El Sheikh A Special Occasion to join the Rotarians of District 2451 in fellowship From Thursday 26th to Saturday 28th of November 2015 Looking forward to seeing you in this special Rotary Reunion DG’s Official Upcoming Clubs’ Visits COUNTRY DATES November 10-16, 2015 Jordan November 17-19, 2015 Lebanon November 22-25, 2015 Jordan December 6-10, 2015 Palestine January 10-14, 2016 UAE January 18-22, 2016 Bahrain January 23-25, 2016 Sudan 9

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O3frfdiceDOistfrTichte2G4o5v2ernor & Conference RCootanrfyerIenntecrenational Contact Details For more information: Governor’s Office Contact Details Engineer Ayah Mansour Zara20E1xp6o 19-22 Suite # 2, B-Level Telephone: +962 6 463 1874 Mobile: +962 7 9686 1699 Email: [email protected] Website: www.rotaryd2452.org 11