A8

BY BILL CLARKE

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DALHOUSIE - Around the world, 30,000 children die from preventable diseases every day, but Rick Rogers of St. Stephen told the Dalhousie Rotary club that if every one of the 1.2 million Rotarians in the world gave $100, they could almost eliminate those needless deaths.

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Bill Clarke/Tribune

Dave Randall, president of the Dalhousie Rotary Club received a banner with the theme adopted in Rotary International president R. K. Lee, Make Dreams Real, from District Governor Rick Rogers.

Rogers, the Rotary District Governor, visited the Dalhousie club last Wednesday and outlined some of the major challenges facing Rotary International. These include eliminating Polio from the world. He said that there were 1,313 cases in four countries last year. Three of those countries, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, are in Asia; one, Nigeria, is in Africa. Efforts to bring Polio vaccinate children in these countries is a challenge because transportation is so difficult: there are areas that can't be reached by road of by air. In Nigeria, there's another problem. Clerics there have told the people that the vaccination program is a veiled plan to sterilize the children.

But there's hope. Working with other organizations, Rotary International has already gone a long way toward eradicating Polio, immunizing up to 10,000 people a week. As well, Bill Gates, president of Microsoft, has given Rotary $200 million with the stipulations that it all be spent on Polio in one year and that the Rotary Foundation match this amount over three years.

Rogers said that if each one of the 32,000 clubs in 200 countries were to give $1,000, the goal could be reached. He admitted that some clubs in developing countries would not be able to do this, but that the difference can be made up by those in wealthier areas of the world. He noted that some in this district have contributed three times the amount.

"We told the world we would do it...," he said. "It's time to finally get rid of Polio."

Rogers also spoke about the theme that has been adopted by R. K. Lee, the President of Rotary International: Make Dreams Real. He said that while it helps to give to charities, Rotarians should not forget their own charity: the Rotary Foundation, which supports programs around the world, bringing better lives to many millions in developing countries.

Rogers said that since 1999, Rotary has been trying to address declining membership. He told the members that they need to increase visibility, letting people know what Rotary is and what it does, both locally and around the world. He urged them to let people know about the advantages of being a Rotarian.