Friends, one of my mantras in Rotary has been do more, grow more.
I am sure you are adopting this mantra. Do more, as in bigger and
impactful service projects, and grow more, as in increasing our
membership.
There is so much excitement across the Rotary world about our Each
One, Bring One effort. Everywhere I travel, club presidents, district
governors, and Rotary members — both veteran and new — express
appreciation that their membership efforts are inspiring the Rotary
world.
We are growing more, and I cannot wait to celebrate all of this success with you at the Rotary International Convention in Houston in June. There is still time to register and make your plans to join us. We are looking forward to a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will unite our members after far too much time apart.
As we grow more, we will have so much more opportunity to do more. April is Maternal and Child Health Month, a great opportunity for your clubs to consider what you are doing to support the health of mothers and young children. Improving access to care and the quality of care for women and children worldwide is an important focus for us and it also ties in very well with our Empowering Girls initiative. I appreciate the work being done by various clubs in this area of focus, and I would encourage you to think of ways to do more.
It has been so exciting to see Rotary members come together at the presidential conferences to share ideas about using our areas of focus to bring about big, lasting change in the world. The past and upcoming presidential conferences are looking at our new area of focus — the environment — and how our work to protect our planet must support our efforts to grow local economies, especially in places with the greatest poverty. I also had the honor to speak at the 26th United Nations climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, known as COP26. This important meeting brought together nearly 100 heads of state and government over a two-week period to set new targets for fossil fuel emission. My call to action was to restore mangroves, a crucial ecosystem that can mitigate the effects of climate change in coastal areas. Already, countries across the world are showing great enthusiasm for this plan.
Our survival is at stake — the damage of environmental catastrophe is
already upon us — and so, too, is our ability to lift the world’s most
needy out of poverty and offer them hope. We must find ways to protect
our planet while sustaining the economic growth necessary to achieve
our highest humanitarian goals.
This is a very exciting time in Rotary, a time when the world needs
us most. As we Serve to Change Lives, remember that we are also
changing ourselves. We are becoming the world’s great change-makers
and peacebuilders.
The world is ready for us. It’s time to rise to that call.
I congratulate you, fellow Rotarians, on completion
of the first quarter of RY2021-22. It has been a
learning experience, but alsogratifying for me on my
official visits to clubs. I have experienced amazing
projects that change lives in our communities, the
joyof inducting new members, and celebration for
Rotarians recognized for the generous gifts to the
Rotary Foundation. Mygratitude to Change Maker
Presidents, Assistant Governors and Area Support
officers who have contributed to the attainmentof
these accomplishments. In the remaining nine months
ahead of us, I encourage each one of you to Do
More and Grow More as we lay a firm foundation for
D9213. I implore you to keep up the positive energy
that you have so far exhibited, as youwork towards
accomplishing your goals.
I further congratulate you on successfully hosting the
Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta and
First Lady Rashi. Iremain indebted to the Chairs of
the projects that showcased activities namely Sam
Owori Rotary Vijana Poa Village, RI - USAIDWASH
Program, Rotary Centenary Bank Cancer Center,
Maternal and Child Health Program, Empower Girls
Initiative, RotaryMengo Hospital Blood Bank, and
Rotary Peace Center-Makerere University. I applaud
the efforts of the Rotary and Rotaract Clubs that
admitted 140 and 115new members respectively; and
the Rotarians and Rotaractors that were recognized
for generous gifts to the Rotary Foundation. I am also
indebted to thegenerosity of Indian Association and
Ruparelia Group for the warm reception to President
Shekhar. I appreciate the Organizing Committee led
by PDGRobert Waggwa Nsibirwa for the unrivalled
team spirit, passion, and talent that made the visit of
the RI President a memorable one.
Our theme in October is Economic and Community
Development. The work of Rotary is in the community,
and every community has its own unique needsand
concerns. The disparity in our community’s needs
and the capacity to meet them is quite appalling. The
ability to generate personal income andcontribute
to community wellbeing is simply a dream that looks
so distant for many people. Unemployment and
underemployment, along with a lack ofeconomic
opportunity, appropriate training, and social services,
are key concerns particularly in our communities.
As people of action, who are called to serve and
change lives, I encourage you to come up with
effective interventions and create that impact that
will leave apositive mark in our footsteps. I encourage
clubs to undertake projects that generate a skilled and
productive workforce and create more opportunities
forentrepreneurship. At such a time when Covid-19
pandemic has changed the way we live and work,
we should support our communities to change and
adaptto new ways of work in their day-to-day lives to
suit the changing times.
Polio eradication has been the top priority program
for Rotary International since 1985 with an aim of
eradicating polio from the globe, and we are very
closeto eradicating only the second ever human
disease, after small pox. I encourage all clubs to join
the rest of the world to celebrate World Polio Day on
the24th October 2021 and to renew our commitment
to undertake more awareness campaigns and routine
immunization to counter the threat of new cases.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is real in our communities
and WHO tells us that getting the vaccine protects us
from falling seriously sick when we get exposedto the
virus. For now, we are not sure when the pandemic will
be over, but every person who gets protection from
the coronavirus by getting a vaccinationhelps us move
closer to in-person meetings and events. I therefore
encourage each one of you, working with friends and
family, to promote observance ofSOPs by Ministry of
Health and to go for vaccination against COVID-19;
for you and I are eager to get back to in-person
fellowships and engagements withcommunities as we
Serve to Change Lives