DISTRICT 1260 INTERNATIONAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
Half-yearly Workshop
Tilsworth Golf Centre, November 15th
2001, 7.45 p.m.
Report by Roy Lester, Member of the Committee
This
year’s Half-yearly Workshop attracted some 50 Rotarians from all corners of the
District, including D. G. Mike Gardener, and D.G. Designate Ian Holliday.
Following
his opening words of welcome, the District Chairman, Les Lee, got straight down
to business by reminding those who have not yet done so, to complete and return
their Achievements for 2000-2001 Forms. He has received 21 from the 52 Clubs in
the District! Based on the information currently received we have donated
£12,600 to International Service Projects and £15,000 to World Community
Projects, if this is pro-rated up to 52 Clubs, then District International
Committee’s will have given over £96,000 to charity, excluding the
contributions made to Foundation and the giving of ‘goods in kind’. To
help promote Rotary we need the facts – so please return your Form, if you have
not already done so.
The International Service Projects Library can be accessed through
District 1260 International Website, www.rotary1260.org/users/intnational. Here you will find all the information needed
about the projects, including what Rotary can do for Charities and what the
Charities do for us. The Website is always looking for success stories, with
pictures, to spread the good news of Rotary – just contact Guru Guruswamy at b.a.guruswamy@btinternet.com.
1. Disaster Rapid Relief – Update by Alan Cox (Harpenden Village)
Hundreds
of boxes, of various types, have been dispatched to different parts of the
world. A significant proportion of which have gone to Afghanistan and its
neighbouring territories – there is still an urgent need for hundreds more in
that region.
It is still proving difficult to obtain feedback about what happens to
the contributions made to disaster relief appeals, with the one exception of
the Red Cross, who can generally tell precisely what has happened to any money
donated.
Rotary
International designated disasters have been largely in the US this year –
although Clubs in the District are kept informed of the Notices, and should
make their own decisions on taking any action, the District International
Committee view is that a rich country such as the US is perfectly able to look
after itself.
Following the events of September 11th, the idea of establishing a
list of Rotarians who could be called upon at short notice, in the case of a
disaster occurring somewhere in, or near, our District, is being developed.
Although originated by International, the project has been passed over to
Community Services.
2. Ambulance to Belarus – Terry Taylor, John Collins, and Stuart Nicholls (Aylesbury Hundreds)
Picking up on a need identified by Les Lee during a trip to Belarus two
years ago, Aylesbury Hundreds Club partnered the Chiltern Chernobyl Connection
in a project to provide an Ambulance to the hospital in Honiki, a town some 5
hours drive south of Minsk. Funding was roughly 50:50, with C.C.C. supplying
the ambulance and Aylesbury Hundreds the where with all to get it to Honiki.
Enquiries
led to the Oxford National Health Trust, which had an ambulance surplus to its
requirements, but it was just an ambulance. No spares, not even a jack, and was
it roadworthy? – fortunately it was. There appeared to be no problem with
getting volunteers to act as crew to get the vehicle to Honiki, so it was now
only a matter of getting the necessary paperwork in order. Dealing with the
bureaucrats and paperwork was ‘unbelievable’ and took all the tenacity the Club
could muster, but never daunted they managed to get: ownership of the vehicle
transferred through DVLA; a Letter of Acceptance from the recipient hospital; a
Permanent Export Licence to replace the Logbook; and Visa’s and International
Driving Licences for the crew. Then came September 11th, and they
were looking for a few new crew members!
Recognising that there was virtue in joining forces with someone who had ‘done
it before’ the ambulance, packed with 300 blankets, Zimmer frames and
stretchers, joined the Convoy of Hope which set off for Belarus on October 17th
2001. The 10 trucks and the ambulance took 3 days on the road to make the 2500
miles journey to Minsk, where the first night in a proper bed was enjoyed since
leaving England, at one point the blue flashing light was pressed into service
to enable the ambulance to pass a five-mile queue of juggernauts.
On arrival in Honiki the crew experienced a great deal of very warm hospitality
(much of it from a bottle) during their overnight stop, before over-nighting
again in Minsk prior to flying back to the UK.
From Aylesbury Hundreds Club point of view, it was a very satisfying project
which involved the entire Club, and generated a great deal of good publicity
for Rotary.
3. Riders
for Health – Andrea Coleman, Field Support Director.
Our
guest speaker for the evening, opened her talk by giving us a language lesson -
in Swahili the word for motorbike is Yahooroo, meaning ‘freedom’, a word that
seemed increasingly appropriate as Andrea’s talk progressed.
In Africa, childbirth deaths are 1:16, compared with Europe at 1:4000, the
African figure being driven by the predominantly rural population, thus
remoteness from medical and hygienic facilities.
To address this problem a variety of outreach organisations, e.g. WHO, have
donated motorised vehicles, especially motorcycles. However, this in turn has
introduced its own problem of maintenance (or lack of it), as graphically
illustrated by pictures of a motorbike ‘graveyard’ which showed scores of
machines languishing through lack of spares and maintenance. This is where
Riders for Health come in. They recognised that vehicle maintenance was needed
and so set about starting-up Schools of Vehicle Management in Lesotho and The
Gambia, and now employ some 58 people in Africa in addition to the 8 staff in
the UK. The schools, which are only located in old ‘Colonial Africa’, teach
driving skills as well as vehicle management and maintenance to local people.
Typically, an unmanaged motorbike has a life of 8 months, with proper
management this can be extended to 7 years without breakdown!
In addition to the motorbikes being used to get the medics out to the villages
some are fitted with sidecars to bring patience in to hospitals and clinics,
and it was one such vehicle that was on display. It all looked rather hazardous
for the patient, strapped to a stretcher which in turn is mounted to the
sidecar frame. But we were assured that no one had been lost yet! A further bit
of ingenuity allows the motorcycle to drive a water pump that is used for
irrigation, and hence generate income for villages.
Riders for Health gets part of its funding from the WHO, who pay them on a
pence/mile basis for maintaining the vehicles, and by fund raising activities
within the motorcycle fraternity in the UK which provides about £200,000 a
year.
The
motorcycles which are Yamaha AG200’s are imported, but all other parts are made
and sourced in Africa. A complete machine costs about £5000, and costs £1000 a
year to support.
It was with reference to this final point that Ian Holliday, District
Governor Designate, rounded off the evening with the thought that this could be
the seed of an idea for an interesting project next year.
So
ended, at 9.45 pm an extremely interesting evening.
Roy
Lester,
District
International Committee. December 14th
2001