WEEKLY ROTARY THOUGHTS

Week 31:

This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about our scholarship programs.

Ambassadorial Scholarships is one of the world's largest privately funded international scholarships programs. Last year, 737 Ambassadorial Scholars from 70 different countries studied and served as ambassadors of goodwill in over 60 countries. The Rotary World Peace Fellow program had 64 Peace Fellows from 27 different countries studying at the seven different Peace Centers. Although the program is still young, we are already seeing our graduates take important positions. One graduate, Arnoldas Pranckevicius is currently serving as the domestic policy advisor to Mr. Valdas Adamkus, President of Lithuania. Another, Richard Gee, is serving as senior legal advisor to the chief electoral officer for Afghanistan. Let’s make sure our local community is aware of our commitment to education and world peace through conflict resolution.

Week 32:

This week’s Rotary Foundation Thought is about Avoidable Blindness projects.

Realizing the urgency of the problem, Rotary clubs and districts around the world have endeavored to develop Matching Grant projects designed to combat avoidable blindness and assist those suffering from vision loss. Thousands of cataract surgeries have been performed as a result of Matching Grants involving numerous countries including Mexico, South Africa, USA, Lebanon, India and Turkey. Rotary clubs in Uruguay and Argentina partnered to provide equipment for a library for the blind in Montevideo, Uruguay. And, as a result of a matching grant obtained by Rotary clubs in Nepal and the USA, funds were provided to offer vision screenings, glasses and corrective surgeries for children in Kathmandu, Nepal. Isn’t it nice to know that Rotarians are restoring eyesight to so many?