Page 6 - 2021年12月號

greetings, dear changemakers of rotary, PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
P ublic health is on everyone’s mind due to ing just six surgeries within our community. Today, our

goal is to complete another 20,000 surgeries over the
the global pandemic that still threatens the
next fi ve years.
safety of ourselves and our loved ones. In a
The world relies on Rotary to tackle challenges like
sense, COVID-19 has made all of us much
more aware of the roles and responsibilities these and to set an example for others. Over the past
of medical professionals than we were before we had decade, medical professionals and government workers
to wear masks and maintain social distance. In addi- have provided free health services to 2.5 million peo-
tion, while moving through this pandemic, we have also ple in 10 countries during Family Health Days, which
learned about the role we can play in keeping others safe. are organized by Rotarians around the world. Similar
December is Disease Prevention and Treatment health camps in India also provide thousands of sur-
Month in Rotary. The pandemic unfortunately has geries to those in need. Medical missions from India to
schooled most people on the toll that disease takes on Africa each year are an excellent example of hands-on
our communities. But fi ghting disease is something that service in disease prevention and treatment. Rotary
Rotarians around the world have been doing for de- members can also get involved at a local level; clubs
cades. In fact, it is one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus. in the United States and Mexico, for example, fund a
As Rotarians, we believe that good health and well- free health clinic in Guerrero, a small town in Mexico.
being is a human right — even though 400 million And of course, our eff ort to eradicate polio is by far
people across the globe do not have access to essen- the best story in civil-society health care.
tial health services. The work we do in establishing This month, think about how your club can focus
clinics, eye hospitals, and blood banks, as well as in on preventing and fi ghting disease. This is the time to
building infrastructure for medical facilities in under- take a bigger, better, bolder approach through both club
served communities, all returns to a central belief that and district projects that can impact more people. Re-
access, prevention, and education are the keys to stop- evaluate where you are with your goals. Create strate-
ping deadly outbreaks that harm the most vulnerable. gies that can sustain change over years, not months.
My exposure to health work began with my Rotary Everyone deserves a long, healthy life. When you
club, Calcutta-Mahanagar. There, among other things, Serve to Change Lives, your actions today can help ex-
tend the lives of others.
I helped pioneer a program called Saving Little Hearts
Sephi Bergerson that over the years has provided more than 2,500 free President, Rotary International
heart surgeries for children from India, Pakistan, Ban-
gladesh, Nepal, and Africa. Before the program went in-
ternational, it started locally with the goal of perform-

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