Humanitarian Grants: Humanity in Motion
December
2006
Dear Rotary
family,
In many parts of
the world, December marks the beginning of the
holiday season. In this season of hope and
sharing, many Rotarians are traveling to
participate in a variety of humanitarian
projects — from National Immunization Days, to
water and literacy projects in Ghana and Niger,
to inoculating children against hepatitis B in
China. What a great way to celebrate the
holidays!
Humanity in
Motion, the name of Rotary’s public image
campaign, captures the very essence of our work.
Our humanitarian work is in motion all year
round, not just during the holidays. Rotarians
are working daily to serve the most critical
humanitarian needs. They’re providing
educational materials to learning centers in
impoverished U.S. neighborhoods with District
Simplified Grants, funding lifesaving heart
surgeries to children in China with 3-H grants,
and making microcredit loans to poor families in
India through Matching Grants. Every day,
Rotarians are changing people’s lives with the
support of the Humanitarian Grants Program of
The Rotary Foundation.
In recent years,
participation in the grants program has been
unprecedented. During a period of 34 years
(1965-99), the Foundation approved 10,000
Matching Grants. But in just the last six years
(2000-06), the Foundation has approved more than
15,000 Matching Grants. This significant growth
further demonstrates Rotarians’ deep commitment
to serving those in need.
The Humanitarian
Grants Program, along with Educational Programs,
helps fulfill The Rotary Foundation’s mission to
enable Rotarians to advance world understanding,
goodwill, and peace through the improvement of
health, the support of education, and the
alleviation of poverty. Many grant projects are
successfully implemented as a result of the
partnerships among Rotarians in different
countries united in service. It’s their
fellowship and cooperation that advances the
cause of world understanding and peace. Each of
the projects highlighted below represents one of
many humanitarian grant projects that clubs and
districts undertake in our ongoing efforts to do
good in the world:
- In China, a
3-H grant project sponsored by District 7250
(New York, USA) and the Rotary Club of
Beijing is improving the capacity of
hospitals to treat congenital heart disease
in children from impoverished communities.
Each year, 150,000 cases in China lack
sufficient resources for treatment. This
grant provides funding to train doctors in
the latest surgical techniques and helps
create a structure to sustain these types of
surgeries in the future.
- In San
Francisco, a District Simplified Grant from
District 5150 (California, USA) has helped
fund a learning center for underprivileged
children. This center, sponsored by the
Rotary Club of San Francisco Bay View, is
part of a youth complex in an impoverished
neighborhood that lacks resources to provide
children with safe places to learn and play.
The grant funded educational materials to
support mentoring and tutoring programs for
youth.
- In Athani,
India, a Matching Grant sponsored by the
Rotary clubs of Athani, Karnakata, and
Lancaster West, California, USA, has
provided microcredit loans to local
artisans, enabling them to improve their
businesses and quality of life. Artisans
often struggled to keep their businesses
going, pay for medical services, or educate
their children. By obtaining small loans
with lower interest rates from this grant
project, they have been able to generate
more income to help lift themselves and
their families out of poverty.
In this season of
joy, I hope we all take time to reflect on our
global village and think about what we can
accomplish with the Foundation’s humanitarian
grants to make the world a better place for all
in the year to come.
Sincerely,
Luis Vicente Giay
Trustee Chair, The Rotary Foundation, 2006-07
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