D-2452 DG's Final Newsletter 2016

District Governor’s Be a gift To the world Letter Be a gift ` To the world Fellow Rotarians and friends. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Little did I know just how my life would change when I first joined Rotary twenty five years ago. Now I realize it was indeed a small step towards an extraordinary journey that made all the difference in the world. When I say “I am a Rotarian”, I am not bragging about my personal success or claiming to be better than anybody else. I am confessing that I am an ordinary man who was keen to help those who are in need, but because of Rotary, I am living my life to the fullest and have been given opportunities to do things I once did not dream possible. I truly believe that the greatest gift of being a Rotarian is that we are called upon to spread God’s love and grace through Rotary service. My journey as a District Governor has come to an end, and so have my monthly letters to you. I am blessed and thankful beyond my wildest dreams, but I also feel sadness and remorse at the same time as this chapter ends. After all, as I return to my home club, I question whether I have done the best job I could have with what I had, and how well I represented our district. After volunteering side by side with you and seeing your clubs being the vital part of your communities, I can proclaim with absolute conviction that I will be a Rotarian until I die, for it is engraved in my heart, “Service Above Self.” Mother Teresa once said, “At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by”’I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.’” This is my fourteenth newsletter issued during the course of this Rotary year. Beside the twelve monthly editions, I have published a special issue to recognize the District Polio Seminar held in Lebanon in September. The issue also aims to recognize the fact that District 2452 consistently ranks high among other districts in our zone 20B in terms of monetary support of The Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus program. In my letters I tried to tell you all the accomplishments our district achieved and the difference you have made in communities locally and internationally by raising money to support a variety of creative and innovative projects touching on all areas of focus adopted by the Rotary Foundation. I also covered my official visits to all the Rotary clubs in the nine countries of our District. Ghada and I were overwhelmed with the hospitality and kindness of all our fellow Rotarians everywhere. 1

Continue …. Be a gift To the world ` Be a gift To the world We had the privilege to witness the inauguration of so many distinct projects and we were honored to attend so many social gatherings and being present at fundraising events. Those included musical concerts and sports events organized by Rotary Clubs and their partners in Service; Rotaract and Interact clubs. Here I must indicate how proud I am of those great partners. What I witnessed during my visits to their projects is something beyond all imagination. Rotaractors and Interactors are truly our future. During the year, I had the chance to attend a lot of International Rotary events, an opportunity to learn and to expand our networks. The climax of these events was the RI Convention in Seoul which was unprecedented by all means thanks to RI President Ravi Ravindran and the organizing team coupled with the great hospitality of the people of South Korea. I cannot close my letter without thanking every member of my team who worked tirelessly to make it as good as possible. There is no way to name all but for sure, my Advisers, District Secretary, Conference Chair, my Deputies and Assistants, Chairpersons of all District Committees and of course my personal assistant. Without the support of my family topped with my wife Ghada life would have been really difficult. Ghada joined me in multiple visits to the 9 countries of our District across Africa, Asia and Europe in addition to attending international events outside the district. Fellow Rotarians We never know when we will be unable to do things. Until then, let us live while we can, let us give while we can, and let us love while we can. It is the greatest legacy to the world to be remembered as Rotarians. It truly has been my honor to serve you. Thank you for being a part of my life and walking along this Rotary journey with me this year to unwrap as many gifts as possible in this big world. Yours in Rotary, Mustafa Nasereddin District Governor 2

RI Convention Be a gift Seoul-Korea (28th May-1st June) To the world ` Be a gift To the world e) 3

Be a gift To the world Gift of Life ` Be a gift To the world A Dream Comes True Back in 2014 and long before I took the office of the Governor, I was wondering of what project I want to champion during my year as a Governor. There were many pronounced and successful service projects in the district led by devoted and faithful Rotarians in many areas of focus, but I needed to have one that will bring great impact to our communities. I went back in time to 2006 when we, together with many fellow Rotarians, established “Gift of Life Amman” to provide lifesaving pediatric cardiac care to children from all over the world with heart disease and with no access to necessary medical treatment. Since then, GOLA , with the help of Rotarians from Rotarians across the globe, Gift of Life International, and professionals from Riley Hospital for Children in Indiana, managed to save lives of many children from Jordan, Palestine, Syria Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan, and Uganda. In September 2015, we were blessed by the chartering of Gift of Life Lebanon in partnership with Rotary Lebanon and AUBMC - Children Heart Center. This made our dream grow even further to spread this project among the whole district. During its short period of existence, GOL Lebanon operated 30 cases for children from Lebanon. I recalled our continuous discussions with Dr Mark Turrentine from Riley Hospital for Children in Indiana on how can we do something different and to make this project sustainable. My decision was to work on a large Global and Vocational Team Training Grant that will support two main objectives. First was to arrange for VTT teams to travel to Al Khalidi Hospital in Amman, Jordan, to provide training to local healthcare professionals, and second to treat as many children with congenital heart disease as possible. This addition to Gift of Life Amman made us more determined to work on a large project that will bring real impact into the society and to serve the Rotary Foundation objective for disease prevention and treatment. Accordingly, and under the Leadership of PP Nael Musharbash Chairman of the GOL Amman and PP Lina Shehayeb, Chairman of GOL Lebanon and the invaluable support from District TRF Chair Usama Barghouthi, Rotarian Stephanie Kinnaman, D6560 Gift of Life Advisor, Dr Mark Turrentine, and Rob Raylman, CEO of Gift of Life International, decided to split the project into two large grants, one to be led by RC of Aley in Lebanon and the other to be led by RC of Amman Petra in Jordan. 4

Continue ….. Be a gift To the world The two gr`ants for a total of US$ 424,000 are funded by DDF from Districts c2o4n5t2ri,b6u5t6io0n,s7TBm2oe5ata5dh,egeabinwfytdorld 9102. Together with Rotary club of Verrazano (Brooklyn) and Non-Rotarian GOL 726 and GOL Florida, TWENTY SEVEN clubs from District 2452 representing Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Cyprus, Armenia, Sudan and United Arab Emirates partnered to finance those two grants. The objective of the first global grant will be to fund life-saving heart surgery for 21 Lebanese children and 10 Refugee children from Syria and Palestine at the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC); while the objective of the second grant will be to treat 40 children with heart disease from Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and Syrian Refugee Camps in Jordan. Furthermore, Jordanian healthcare professionals will benefit from this global grant as a result of the training they will receive from expert VTT teams enhancing their skills and providing them with the resources necessary to treat children with heart disease in their own country or a country close to where they may live. Fellow Rotarians and friends, This year, the theme set by President Ravi was to “Be a Gift to the World”. What could be better evidence to how right he was addressing Rotarians? Your contribution to this and many other projects is the best way to close a fruitful Rotary year and a wonderful start for another amazing one to show how “Rotary serves Humanity”. God bless you all. Mustafa Nasereddin District Governor 5





Congratulations Be a gift Governor Citations Awards To the world ` Be a gift To the world 8

Congratulations Be a gift To the world ` Be a gift RC of Saida Anniversary To the world Welcome to Rotary 9

Be a gift To the world ` Be a gift To the world