RotaryCanada. Building classrooms, bridging continents. Celebrating peace in Waterton-Glacier Les corvées. A new leaf Un nouveau feuillet

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1 RotaryCanada A new leaf Un nouveau feuillet October 2010 Octobre 2010 Building classrooms, bridging continents Centennial project serves Afghan students Celebrating peace in Waterton-Glacier Les corvées Une tradition pour le Rotary club de Drummondville oct10-rc-01-rotarycanada-v5.indd 1 8/3/10 8:19 AM

Reading, WRiting, and Rebuilding Canadian Rotarians unite to construct an Afghan school In August 2008, the Canadian International Development Agency contacted Past RI President Wilfrid J.

2 Reading, WRiting, and Rebuilding Canadian Rotarians unite to construct an Afghan school In August 2008, the Canadian International Development Agency contacted Past RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson to invite Rotary to participate in the Afghanistan Challenge, a partnership between the Canadian government and several service organizations to help rebuild Afghanistan. Twenty-three district governors accepted, and the Canadian Rotary Centennial Afghanistan Challenge was born. Wilkinson and Education is RI Vice Presfundamental for ident Monty J. Audenart, who helped rally change in this the support of district war-ravaged leaders, approached country. Past District Governor David T. Robinson for ideas. At the time, Robinson was president of the Canadian Rotary Collaboration for International Development (CRCID), a supplemental funding 2 Rotary Canada October 2010 source for Canadian Rotary club projects and programs. Robinson knew what to do build a school and who to go to: Past District Governor Stephen R. Brown, of the Rotary Club of La Jolla Golden Triangle, Calif., USA. Robinson had met Brown who, like Wilkinson, is now a Rotary Foundation trustee several years earlier and knew of his work with fellow club member Fary Moini to build a school and other educational facilities in Afghanistan s Nangarhar Province. With the generosity of Rotarians across Canada, Brown s contacts in Afghanistan, and Robinson s experience at CRCID, it took little time for the project a 20-classroom school in Jalalabad to take shape. The Rotary Club of Calgary Heritage Park, Alta., took the lead on working with CRCID, and the Rotary Club of Winnipeg coordinated donations. Four of the 23 participating districts contributed money from their District Designated Fund toward a Foundation Matching Grant with the Rotary Club of Jalalabad to purchase school furnishings, including desks and computers. The Matching Grant application came at a time when funds were severely limited at the Foundation due to the MohaMMad Ishaq NIazMaNd oct10-rc02-04-rotarycanada-v4.indd 2 8/4/10 8:24 AM

Below: Construction on Nasrat II continues as of late June. Right: Afghan girls learn outdoors as they await the completion of the new school. abdul qaum almas economic downturn, Audenart says.

In all, the districts raised over $250,000, which the Canadian International Development Agency matched by contributing $238,777.

3 Below: Construction on Nasrat II continues as of late June. Right: Afghan girls learn outdoors as they await the completion of the new school. abdul qaum almas economic downturn, Audenart says. The Foundation should be recognized for being a valuable partner in this centennial project. In all, the districts raised over $250,000, which the Canadian International Development Agency matched by contributing $238,777. Construction on the school, Nasrat II, began in January with the full approval and cooperation of Afghan officials. Heading up the building process is Mohammad Ishaq Niazmand, who served as charter president of the Jalalabad club. Through the assistance of Rotary in Canada, the school will accommodate 4,000 students, says Niazmand. More than two-thirds of them will be girls, which signifies a dramatic shift in access to, and attitudes about, education for females in Afghanistan. Less than a decade ago, fewer than one million Afghan children were enrolled in school, and nearly all were boys. Today, nearly six million students are enrolled, and more than a third are girls. Nasrat II follows the design plan of another facility built by Niazmand and his team. Niazmand calls it one more ring in a chain of assistance that has enabled Rotary to win the hearts and minds of the people of Jalalabad and Nangarhar Province. Education is fundamental for change in this war-ravaged country and will greatly contribute to changing a culture of war to a culture of peace, he says. Robinson concurs: There is evidence in other countries, in particular Bangladesh, that once women are educated, there is a virtual spiral of development, jobs, lower birth rates, education, and stability. Literacy is something that is so critical in making the world a better place. You can solve a lot of issues if people are literate. He is optimistic about the opportunities for global communication and the exchange of goodwill that the school s computer lab and Internet connectivity will present. Throughout the school year, CRCID is helping to implement a public engagement program to inform all of Canada s Interact clubs and 3,500 high schools about Nasrat II. The effort, modelled on a successful online network connecting students in the San Diego area with those at the Jalalabad school that La Jolla Rotarians helped build, aims to create a formal online relationship between Nasrat II and Canadian students. October 2010 Rotary Canada 3 oct10-rc02-04-rotarycanada-v4.indd 3 8/4/10 8:24 AM

View from the North ( Afghan school continued ) EarliEr this year, rotary international received an EXCEl award for general excellence of editorial products, which cited the first volume of Rotary

4 View from the North ( Afghan school continued ) EarliEr this year, rotary international received an EXCEl award for general excellence of editorial products, which cited the first volume of Rotary Canada. all of us who work to produce Rotary Canada are thrilled to be recognized by association Media and Publishing. it is a significant achievement for a publication in its first year. the EXCEl awards honour the best products in the field of association publishing. Overall, The Rotarian received seven awards acknowledging the outstanding work of its writers, editors, and staff, who also produce Rotary Canada. this issue continues in the tradition of journalistic excellence with a story on irwin F. stewart, a rotarian who is dedicated to service above self. he has changed the lives of many children in africa, and his story will inspire you to serve too. the report on Nasrat ii, the school that Canadian rotarians are helping to build in Jalalabad, afghanistan, is another example of distinction in reporting. it is a challenging article to write: Many rotarians are working to make this project a success, and each has a story to tell. the effort represents the culmination of 100 years of rotary in Canada, and i encourage every Canadian rotary club to support this centennial project. as we at the magazine continue to strive for excellence, we look forward to receiving your letters and comments about Rotary Canada. Do you find the stories appealing? What articles have captivated you? this is your magazine; we invite you to shape it. Chris Offer Chair, rotary Canada Advisory Board Rotary Club of Vancouver Chinatown, B.C. RotaryCanada Vol.2, No.2 RotaRy Canada advisory BoaRd ChRis offer, ChaiR Vancouver Chinatown, B.C. monty audenart Red Deer East, Alta. Paul Beaulieu Quebec-Charlesbourg, Que. nancy e. GilBeRt Parkdale-High Park, Ont. JennifeR e. Jones Windsor-Roseland, Ont. Rod thomson Abbotsford, B.C. John Rezek Editor in chief deborah lawrence Design director JaniCe s. ChamBeRs Executive editor donna PolydoRos Executive editor shannon kelly Copy editor Joe Cane Production artist eve neiger Art assistant for french and english translations and for more information: send letters, Comments, and editorial submissions to: rotarycanada@rotary.org on the CoveR onelinerimage: Canadian Maple leaf by Dr. Ed Munn, of Cambridge, England ( a single-line hand drawing representing the continuous surface and complex internal structure of a living cell. A new website, features a 3-D model of Nasrat II, which allows users who wish to sponsor a student to create an avatar of an Afghan boy or girl to place in the virtual school. The public engagement site also shows the latest project metrics, such as the number of contributions received, and helps students create a fundraiser to support the school. Users can also track the site s progress toward a Guinness World Record: one million online guest book signatures. Morgan Shortt, CRCID program officer and gender specialist, says the goal of the public engagement effort is to connect with up to 40,000 Canadian students through inperson presentations by Rotarians from the community. A contest challenges the students to develop a creative work about Afghanistan, such as a song, poem, essay, or video, based on research they ve conducted. The prizes include 50 Dell laptops. The focus, Shortt this is much more than simply building a school. it s doing our part to help rebuild a country by creating a beacon of literacy in an area of the world that desperately needs it. says, is to educate young people about cultural differences and the international development work undertaken by Rotary and Canada. Brown predicts that the construction of Nasrat II could affect thousands of people in Afghanistan. It will have a ripple effect on the families and friends of those directly involved. There s a substantial intangible benefit, he says. It enables the Afghans to understand that they have a friend in Canada. Adds Robinson: This is much more than simply building a school. It s doing our part to help rebuild a country by creating a beacon of literacy in an area of the world that desperately needs it. As Rotarians, it s about making a statement of who we are and what we stand for as we celebrate 100 years of Rotary in Canada. Paul EnglEman 4 Rotary Canada October 2010 oct10-rc02-04-rotarycanada-v4.indd 4 8/4/10 8:24 AM

5 Profile Hearing is believing Irwin F. Stewart Some people spend their retirements golfing and fretting about their stock portfolios. Not retired doctor and Rotarian Irwin F. Stewart. The 80-year-old devotes much of his time to organizing projects that provide surgery, medical training, and hearing aids to health workers and patients in Kenya, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. (He does have some fun during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, all but the most pressing matters had to wait while hockey was on.) This month, he is coordinating a humanitarian mission to Kampala, Uganda, for about 25 nurses and surgeons from Rotary clubs in New Westminster, Richmond, and Vancouver. The ear, nose, and throat specialists will teach African medical practitioners how to clean and maintain equipment, remove cancerous tumours, and use surgical techniques. Although Stewart has travelled on many similar missions, this is the first one he has organized but won t accompany. Earlier this year, I had surgery, he explains. I ve seen the big cutting knife myself. So, I decided to stay at home and sit on the committee. Stewart, a member of the Rotary Club of New Westminster and past governor of District 5040, became involved with Rotary in 1979, after his eldest son spent a year in Australia through Rotary Youth Exchange. The idea of Service Above Self wasn t new to him: He and his wife, Lois (whom he met at a curling match in 1954), grew up during the Great Depression. A sense of neighbourliness has always been part of my life, he says. Without the community s help, he explains, some people in his hometown would not have survived the hardships of the era. Once their three children were old enough to stay with a babysitter, Stewart and his wife, a nurse with experience in auditory testing, began helping hearing-impaired youth around the world. I worked as an ear, nose, and throat specialist and had a particular interest in deaf children, Stewart says. My wife and I visited Fiji, Thailand, Samoa, and the RotaRy images/alyce Henson north Yukon to treat children with ruptured eardrums. In 1977, we visited Kenya to evaluate schools for the deaf and fell in love with Africa. Since then, they ve travelled to Africa 13 times on humanitarian missions. In 1989 and 1990, the couple went to Kenya to surgically repair children s perforated eardrums. Each year between 1994 and 1999, Stewart and other Rotarians spent a month in Zimbabwe training local doctors to detect and treat hearing problems and repair eardrums. The team also began testing and distributing solar-powered hearing aids, and from 1996 to 1999, its efforts were funded by a Health, Hunger and Humanity Grant from The Rotary Foundation. After the political situation in Zimbabwe became too dangerous in 1999, the group moved its work to Uganda. Stewart has distributed more than 2,500 solar-powered hearing aids in Uganda and Zimbabwe. He showcased the devices, whose batteries recharge in sunlight, at the 2007 RI Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Rotarians and Canadians alike have taken notice of Stewart s work. In 1999, he received the RI Service Above Self Award. In 2001, the Canadian government presented him with the Order of Canada, the highest civilian award, in recognition of his outstanding contributions in the health field. Stewart s most memorable Rotary moment came during a trip to Africa in My wife and I flew to Uganda on 8 September, he says, stifling tears. The other Rotarians were supposed to arrive 15 September. When 9/11 happened, I was sure they would change their minds. God knows, no one wanted to fly then. We went to the airport at Entebbe wondering if the team would arrive. We needn t have worried: All 21 of them got off the plane. Patty Lamberti October 2010 Rotary Canada 5 oct10-rc-05-rotarycanada-v4.indd 5 7/30/10 2:38 PM

FieldNotes DeDICATIoN To PeACe The making of an annual tradition in Waterton-Glacier It has been 115 years since the founding of Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta and 100 since the founding of

In this, Rotary s centennial year in Canada, it seems fitting to note another significant year: 1932, when the two parks officially joined to become the first international peace park in the world.

6 FieldNotes DeDICATIoN To PeACe The making of an annual tradition in Waterton-Glacier It has been 115 years since the founding of Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta and 100 since the founding of Glacier National Park in Montana. In this, Rotary s centennial year in Canada, it seems fitting to note another significant year: 1932, when the two parks officially joined to become the first international peace park in the world. Rotarians on both sides of the border had a hand in this historic moment. Joseph S. Low, president of the Rotary Club of Cardston, Alta., wrote about how it came together: The thing that appealed to me most [about Rotary] was the teaching of fellowship, international goodwill, and understanding. It always seems to me that if we were to keep our borders without armed forces to maintain peace and protect the rights of each country, that good will must be maintained and that understanding was most important. After attending a meeting at which Past District Governor Frank R. Freeze spoke eloquently on the subject of international fellowship, Low decided to pitch his club an idea that was taking shape in his mind: arranging an annual goodwill meeting at Waterton with Canadian and U.S. Rotary clubs. He suggested holding the gathering each year on alternating sides of the border. According to the minutes of the meeting at which Low made the proposal, the club heartily endorsed the idea and authorized him to make it happen. The dedication ceremony on 18 June 1932 included messages from Canadian Prime Minister R.B. Bennett and U.S. President Herbert Hoover. Both expressed sentiments similar to The LeThbridge herald CoLLeCTion, galt MuseuM and archives 6 Rotary Canada October 2010 oct10-rc06-07-rotarycanada-v4.indd 6 7/30/10 4:10 PM

memorial of all that neighbourly relations should be between adjoining nations, Bennett wrote.

faith that it will forever be an appropriate symbol of permanent peace and friendship, wrote Hoover. Today, Rotarians govern the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association.

each year in September, Rotarians from 149 clubs in Canadian districts 5360 and 5370 (parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Saskatchewan) and U.S. District 5390 (Montana) gather for a weekend of fellowship and goodwill.

7 the Rotary founders. It is my earnest hope that this great International Peace Park, stretching across our common frontier and in which citizens of both our countries may seek recreation, may forever remain a permanent memorial of all that neighbourly relations should be between adjoining nations, Bennett wrote. Dedication of the Waterton- Glacier International Park is a further gesture of the good will that has so long blessed our relations with our Canadian neighbors, and I am gratified by the hope and the faith that it will forever be an appropriate symbol of permanent peace and friendship, wrote Hoover. Today, Rotarians govern the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Association. Canadians and Americans are equally represented on the 18-member board, and the presidency alternates between the two countries. each year in September, Rotarians from 149 clubs in Canadian districts 5360 and 5370 (parts of Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Saskatchewan) and U.S. District 5390 (Montana) gather for a weekend of fellowship and goodwill. everyone seems to agree that the most moving moment is on the final day, when club members join hands across a white ribbon symbolizing the border between their countries and recite this pledge: In the name of God we will not take up arms against each other. We will work for peace, maintain liberty, strive for freedom, and demand equal opportunities for all mankind. May the long existing peace between our two nations stimulate other people to follow this example. P.e. Opposite page, top: Joining hands across the border at the 32nd annual Waterton-Glacier Peace Park Assembly. Opposite, bottom: Rotary Youth Exchange students gather with Mounties and Montana state troopers at the 2009 assembly. Above: 1963 assembly at Prince of Wales Hotel. FieldNotes Les Rotariens Jean-Guy Roy (à gauche) et Dominic Savard assurent l'entretien du Pavillon Rotary qui doit être repeint régulièrement. + DoNNer De son temps, une tradition pour le rotary club De DrummoNDville par GIlles Gravel président du rotary club de drummondville Le rotary club de drummondville s implique depuis près de 50 ans dans sa collectivité. non seulement, il participe généreusement au financement de nombreuses activités caritatives, mais ses membres donnent également de leur temps chaque année, comme au Centre normand-léveillé. Le Centre a été fondé par normand Léveillé, un ancien joueur professionnel de hockey sur glace qui a évolué avec les bruins de boston. il offre tout au long de l année des services adaptés aux personnes vivant avec une déficience physique ou mentale. Les membres du rotary club assument l entretien du Pavillon rotary qui doit régulièrement être repeint. ils aident également à la pose des bordures de la patinoire pour que les jeunes qui viennent en colonie de vacances puissent jouer au hockey, l une des principales activités hivernales. «grâce au travail des membres du rotary club de drummondville, le Centre peut conserver ses équipements en excellent état et continuer à offrir des services adéquats à ses nombreux visiteurs. Pour nous, le rotary fait toute la différence», affirme normand Léveillé. Canada at a glance 80 Percentage of approved program funding requests matched by CRCID 7 Number of Rotary districts in CRCID s target development area $1,880,000 CRCID s developing country program budget, Year that CRCID program funding applications are due October 2010 Rotary Canada 7 oct10-rc06-07-rotarycanada-v4.indd 7 7/30/10 4:10 PM

The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Matching Grants Application For grant requests of US$ 5,000 to US$ 150,000

The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Matching Grants Application For grant requests of US$ 5,000 to US$ 150,000 Rotarians may use this application and attach additional pages as needed or may answer the questions