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Dear Fellow Rotarians,
Rosa and I have visited most of the clubs in our District and at the beginning of February we will meet with the Rotarians in St. Martin Nord, St Maarten, St Barts, Anguilla and the E Club of the Caribbean and believe me, it has been an unbelievable experience. Meeting with Rotarians and Rotaractors and seeing the amazing projects we visited, made us proud of leading District 7020 as it works to Grow Stronger in Rotary to Serve Better and continues Making a Difference in our communities.
The month of February emphasizes Peace and Conflict Resolutions and as we go through the District, many Clubs are doing projects that address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.
Rotary members are tackling this issue through projects that improve schools, give vocational training to high risk youth groups which would otherwise not have a chance to learn a skill. We visited clubs where Rotarians and Rotaractors together organized a Peace and Conflict Resolution Seminar. They aimed to educate young men and women and create an awareness that they are in control of their own lives by making good choices allowing them to deal with situations that can become a conflict. Micro Credit is being used by clubs to help in Community Development and giving hope. We participated in the hand painting of a Peace Wall in Negril where Both Rosa and I left our hand prints among all the others as part of this beautiful and meaningful wall. Peace Gardens are something that not only beautify our communities but provide a green and peaceful areas in which to meet. A Soup Kitchen and meal distributions that we saw impressed us. Without a meal, children can become volatile. Assuring at least a one meal gives PEACE.
We saw poor communities that are getting access to water for the first time with wells, rain catchment water. This, along with the addition of Sawyer Filtration systems, purify the water and avoid disease thanks to our Rotarians. Although the Areas of Focus emphasise different areas of need, acting where the need is seen, all of these projects contribute to the prevention of conflict when coping with difficulties faced by many.
Efforts in raising the self esteem and confidence of children are undertaken in many ways which improve their living conditions. Providing adequate food, sanitation, an education, vocational training where possible, teacher training seminars are all part of preventing conflict.
After the passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Rotarians in the islands affected did not hesitate to help the shelters by providing food, clothing, water and water filters as well as repairing roofs, finding legal advocacy, and counseling. Despite the fact that many of these Rotarians had themselves lost their roofs and belongings.
These are some of the many ways our Rotarians are already taking action in Peace and Conflict Resolution throughout our District 7020 and this month let us continue and do more to make an even bigger impact while we continue to Make a Difference.
I am proud to Lead Leaders who constantly show Service Above Self to Change Lives of people they do not know and make changes in our communities that only Rotarians are willing to undertake.
A famous artist said: ”When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know PEACE”.
Robert Leger
District Governor 7020
2017 - 2018
