Page 8 - 2023年11月號

TRUSTEE CHAIR’S MESSAGE

The magnitude
of our impact

This month, as we celebrate The Rotary efficient implementation of your projects. And we
Foundation, let’s recognize it for what it is: one always aim for sustainable solutions.
of the world’s best humanitarian organizations. During the 2022-23 Rotary year, the
Many charities, relief organizations, and Foundation awarded 1,098 global grants. If you
nonprofits do the same type of work, and the public think of what a single grant can do, you begin to
associates them with the causes they work on. grasp the scale of our work and the magnitude of
But I wonder how many people know that Rotary our impact — an impact people can see and feel in
supports those same causes — seven of them in their daily lives.
fact — which we call our areas of focus. Our district supported a global grant project
If they want clean water, good health, and a that focused on basic education and literacy in
sustainable future for our planet, they support what Malawi, where we helped train 38 teachers who are
our Foundation does. If they envision a world where responsible for 4,000 students. We also built two
peace, full literacy, and economic opportunities for toilets and installed a pump, so they had water for
communities to support themselves exist, they also drinking and hand washing.
believe in Rotary’s mission. And if they want to see I will never forget that when Esther and I
mothers and their babies thrive, their vision aligns visited the school, a young boy pointed to my
with the work we do. Rotary pin, recognizing it from other volunteers
And we have a lot of work in progress who wore their pins during the project. He said, “I
through the Foundation. Polio eradication is know you helped me. I won’t be able to travel to
changing the world, one drop of vaccine at a time. thank the others who helped me, so please thank
Rotary Peace Centers are training peacebuilders to them for me.”
reduce violence and resolve conflict. And through So thank you, Rotary, on behalf of a child in
Foundation global and district grants, we are Malawi whose future you made a little brighter, and
improving lives in a real way. on behalf of thousands of others you have helped
The way we work also sets us apart. We have by supporting The Rotary Foundation.
global reach, with more than 48,000 field offices
in the form of Rotary and Rotaract clubs. We BARRY RASSIN
emphasize good stewardship of your funds and Foundation trustee chair

Illustration by Viktor Miller Gausa
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