The President of Rotary International for 2015-16 is K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran from Sri Lanka.
Highlighting Rotary's biggest challenge, the eradication of polio, Ravindran said, "A future without polio is a gift that we have promised to the children of the world. And indeed it is a gift that we will give."
Ravindran, a member of the Rotary Club of Colombo, Sri Lanka, used Rotary's successes in the fight to eradicate the disease as an illustration of the impact Rotary members can have in the world. When Rotary set a goal of eradicating polio 25 years ago, it was endemic in 125 countries, and more than 1,000 children were becoming paralyzed each day. Today, polio remains endemic in just three countries, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan. And in all of 2014, only 333 cases were reported. "We will battle on. We will prevail," he said.
Ravindran talks some of Rotary's other challenges, including membership.
"We have to find a way to bring back the fundamentals that built our organization: the emphasis on high ethical standards in all aspects of our lives, and the classification system that encourages a diversity of expertise in each club," he said. "Too often these ideas are viewed as little more than inconvenient obstacles to increasing our membership. But they have been essential to Rotary's success, and we ignore them at our own peril."
Click here to watch a short video of Ravi's abbreviated speech from the opening session of the International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA
I arrived in Sao Paulo International Airport (GRU) at 5:15 am. Mary Van Hout was on my flight and we were greeted at the airport by Camila Emy Palmeira and her mother. Camila was our club’s exchange student from Brazil in 2011-12. She attended Middleton High School that year. It was so nice to see a familiar face (one that I hadn’t seen in over 3 years). Camila and her mom graciously helped us out of the airport and to their car. We went straight to Breakfast at Bella Paulista, a 24 hour café and shop. It is famous in Sao Paulo. I had expresso (the most common coffee drink in Brasil) Cheesebread called Pão de queijo, and Coxinha (a fried meat filled pastry).
After breakfast, Camila and her mom drove Mary Van Hout to her hotel. On the way to the hotel, we experienced crazy Brazilian driving and we got a good view of the city. My first impression was that Sao Paulo was a BIG city and I was surprised to see graffiti everywhere, even on the nice buildings. Some of the graffiti is art which adds interesting cartoons and color to the otherwise bland buildings and walls, but most of the graffiti is not art and a violation of the property.
After we dropped off Mary, we drove to Camila’s apartment. Camila lives 1 block from the famous Sao Paulo Street called Paulista Avenue. She lives in a spacious 3-bedroom apartment (for Sao Paulo). It had two full bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a laundry room. Camila lives with 4 other female roommates. Two girls per room and one girl has her own room. The girls arranged for me to sleep in Camila’s room and in her bed. One of the girls slept on a mattress on the living room floor. They were so accommodating. I felt like I was an exchange student arriving at my first host family. Everything was so new and different.
Later that afternoon I showered (after learning how to use the shower, long story here!) and I walked to the Rotary Hotel called Mercure Paulista located 4 houses down from my apartment. Here I was able to catch the Rotary Shuttle to the convention. As I was waiting at the hotel for the Bus Shuttle, I met two sisters from Canada. The younger sister was a Rotarian and the other was just tagging along. They were very friendly and I would see them many times during the convention.
There was a large group of us waiting for the shuttle (that never came). A large coach bus was dropping off a group of Rotarians from France who had just arrived from the Airport. The driver said he could take us to the convention for a small fee. We all hopped on the bus and we each paid R$10 (which converts to just over $3 USD) for the lift. The Convention was 40-60 minutes away from most of the Rotary Hotels. I arrived at the convention and checked in. After check in I caught up with Bill Pritchard and we had a Devassa beer together.
Zone 28-29 was planning a “Friday Night Lights” party hosted by our very own Mary Beth Growney Selene. The party was at a club/restaurant/bar called Bar Brahma Aeroclube. It was located across the street from the Convention. Bill Pritchard and I walked to the party together. When we arrived, the place was packed with Rotarians. The party was serving free beer and appetizers. There was also a live band which I think was playing Samba music. I shook hands with many Rotarians such as Tom Thorfinnson, Mary Beth Growney Selene, and many more who’s names I forgot.
The party was so crowded that the room got very hot, so many people went out to the open air restaurant to cool off. There I met a young couple from Missouri, Jeremy and Heather Clevenger. Jeremy is going to be Club President in July like me. They were sitting with Ann Affeldt and her husband from our neighboring district 6270. I had met Ann and her husband at the Miami Airport on my way to Sao Paulo. Mary Van Hout and I had drinks with them at the bar in Miami.
I joined Ann, Jeremy, and Heather. Soon after we were joined by Tony Williams from an Illinois District. Tony is going to be District Governor 2016-17. I had met Tony at PETS and when he saw me, we both smiled and gave each other a big hug. It was great to see Tony and reconnect with him. That night we got to know each other very well.
In the restaurant part of the party, there was a live singer who sang mostly American songs that we all knew. As the night went on, and after we had several beers, we were ready for dancing. The singer played his guitar and most of us got up and started dancing to a few of the songs. I danced with Tony and Jeremy. It was so much fun. I kept thinking, I’M IN BRASIL and I’M DANCING!
Later in the evening, many of the Rotarians had left, but our small group was still going. The club turned into a hopping night club, of which you needed to pay to get in to dance. Our great singer was finished and a new one came in his place. It was approaching 1 pm and we were all getting tired. I shared a cab ride home with the Clevengers and made it safely home to my apartment. Home security is very good in Sao Paulo. There is a 24 hour door man at my apartment and he opened the street gate to so I could get in. It’s kind of like a prison gate, but I understand why it is necessary.
I was exhausted and went straight to bed.
*** I will post more details of my trip and experiences in the future bulletins ***
You might notice a new column on the weekly assignments called Rotary Minute. This is intended to be a quick one minute or less talk about Rotary. It can be a personal experience that involves Rotary or it can be a "Did you know?" fact. Be creative with it. Remember to keep it short and simple. We will randomly assign members to give a Rotary minute after the recital of the 4-Way Test.
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More than 20,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year in Sri Lanka, and many of them prove fatal. The Rotary Club of Colombo, Sri Lanka, set out 10 years ago to save some of those lives by establishing the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Centre.
In partnership with the National Cancer Control Programme and the Ministry of Health, the center in Colombo has screened more than 35,000 patients, mostly low-income, and detected more than 7,500 cases of abnormalities that required further investigation. The Rotary Club of Birmingham, Alabama, USA, donated a mammography and ultrasound...
As a member of Rotary, you’re part of a global network of community volunteers who are making a positive difference. Visit the new Member Center to access the many benefits and resources available to you, including:
Rotary Global Rewards, our brand-new member benefits program featuring discounts on travel, hotels, dining, and entertainment
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Rotary International Convention, our biggest event of the year
The Rotarian, the official magazine of Rotary
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Rotary is releasing $40.3 million in grants to support polio immunization activities in 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Pakistan, three countries where the disease has never been stopped.
The funds will help build on gains Rotary and its partners have been making in the fight to eradicate polio. Nigeria hasn’t seen a polio case since 24 July and the World Health Organization could remove it from the list of polio-endemic countries as soon as September if no cases are reported. Nigeria would have to go another two years without a case to be certified polio-free.
But the...
