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Nigeria reclassified as polio endemic
Nigeria reported three cases of wild poliovirus in the northeastern state of Borno in August of this year. Following the World Health Organization’s confirmation of these cases, the country returned to the list of polio-endemic countries. The other polio-endemic countries are Afghanistan and Pakistan.
These are the first cases detected in the country since July 2014, and while this news is disappointing for all Rotary members, we are confident that Nigeria can defeat polio. Rotary provided $500,000 to assist immediately with the outbreak response, and an emergency response plan has been put…
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Rotary recognized on public television's 'American Graduate Day'
Rotary was recognized on 17 September on public television’s fifth annual American Graduate Day program for its work with San Diego-based Monarch School, a K-12 school for homeless youth. The Rotary Club of San Diego, California, USA, was applauded for its work mentoring Monarch’s students, keeping them on track to graduate, and helping the school to continue thriving during tough economic times.
Monarch School CEO Erin Spiewak appeared as one of the show’s guests, along with Monarch Alumnus Cynthia Valenzuela, who attested to the positive, life-changing experience Monarch School gave her and…
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Practicing peace
Nations around the world will observe the International Day of Peace on 21 September, a date designated by the United Nations in 2001 as “a day of global ceasefire and nonviolence.”
Rotary’s commitment to building peace and resolving conflict is rooted in the Rotary Peace Centers program, formed in 2002. Each year, the program prepares up to 100 fellows to work for peace through a two-year master’s degree program or a three-month professional certificate program at university partners worldwide.
Today, nearly 1,000 peace centers alumni are applying their skills — negotiating peace in conflict…
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Plan to tune in to ‘American Graduate Day’ on 17 September
When public television’s fifth annual American Graduate Day hits airwaves in September, Rotary will be recognized for its work mentoring young people and keeping high school students on track to graduate.
Representatives from Monarch School, an elementary and high school for San Diego’s homeless youths, will talk about the school’s long-running relationship with the Rotary Club of San Diego, California, USA. The school started as an education center in one modest room in 1987. By 1998 it was in danger of losing its lease amid a wave of redevelopment in San Diego’s urban core.
A local Rotary…
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Charity Navigator upgrades Rotary Foundation’s rating
The Rotary Foundation has received the highest possible score from Charity Navigator, an independent evaluator of charities in the U.S.
In the most recent ratings, released on 1 September, The Rotary Foundation earned the maximum 100 points for both financial health and accountability and transparency.
The ratings reflect how efficiently Charity Navigator believes the Foundation will use donations, how well it has sustained programs and services, and its level of commitment to good governance and openness.
In the previous rating, the Foundation had received 97 points.
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Rotary district collecting relief funds for Louisiana flood victims
Rotary clubs of District 6200 are collecting relief funds to help thousands of victims after record flooding devastated communities in southern Louisiana, USA, earlier this month. Torrential rains caused rivers, streams, and bayous to swell, damaging or destroying more than 60,000 homes and killing at least 13 people.
The U.S. Coast Guard and emergency responders helped rescue more than 30,000 residents from the rising flood waters. As of 25 August, more than 3,000 residents were still in emergency shelters even after the water receded.
Donate to District 6200 disaster relief fund.
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ShelterBox and Rotary clubs take action following earthquake in Italy
A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy early Wednesday, killing more than 120 people and trapping an unknown number beneath rubble. Tremors were felt as far away as Rome, 100 km (65 miles) southwest of the quake’s epicenter.
International disaster relief agency and Rotary International project partner ShelterBox is sending a response team from its headquarters in the United Kingdom to the remote mountainous area of Italy where the destruction is most severe. The response team will arrive Friday, 26 August, to assess the area’s needs.
Luca Della Volta, president of ShelterBox Italia,…
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Hall of Fame singer Donovan becomes a Rotary polio ambassador
Legendary singer and polio survivor Donovan Leitch, better known simply as Donovan, has joined Rotary in its fight to eradicate the paralyzing disease that afflicted him during much of his childhood.
Donovan contracted polio at age three in Glasgow, Scotland. The disease weakened his right leg and left it thinner and shorter than the other. Confined to his bed for much of his childhood, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer said his father would read him poetry.
In a recent interview with the Daily Express, Donovan said that listening to poetry piqued his interest in creative writing. “If I…
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World Polio Day toolkit available — start planning now
Rotary’s fourth World Polio Day celebration, on 24 October, will highlight extraordinary progress in the eradication campaign and emphasize the work that remains before we wipe out the virus for good. With the number of new cases worldwide nearly halved from this time last year, we have the opportunity to rally our resources and see the last case of polio this year.
Health officials and Rotary’s celebrity polio ambassadors will head to Atlanta, Georgia, USA, for the event, the first to be held at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It will be streamed live and then will…