My sister Erva is a member of Rotary. Her club is part of a district that includes Haiti. No where on the news has Rotary, and what they have done, been mentioned. They were the first ones on the ground after the quake, the first ones to begin bringing in supplies. And, as a side note, little Tortola one of the British Virgin Islands, an island smaller than St. Thomas, with a population of about 23,000, raised in one day, $100,000. They are aiming for $200,000. GO ROTARY! Below is an email I got from Erva describing some of what Rotary has been doing. Pleases go to the link and read about Rotary's efforts to relieve the suffering.
There are a lot of unsung heroes - including the Rotary Clubs in District 7020 (and Haiti has 17 Clubs and is a member of this District). As of yesterday, we have been responsible for 57 flights filled with medical personnel and (55,000 pounds of) medical supplies, plus we have, through the Clubs in Haiti, coordinated the ground efforts to get the stuff distributed where it needs to go.
Red Cross makes the news. Rotary doesn't. If you'd like to know more about what we've already done - and we're going to be doing a lot more, check out www.clubrunner.ca/7020. This site serves as a link to all of the Clubs in the District and to Rotary International as well. Through this site, you can see what's been happening internationally, too. However, since the Haiti Clubs are literally our sisters, District 7020 has really jumped on this one...and NO ONE knows about it!
We'll probably do more for the re-building of Haiti than just about anyone. We need to watch and see. Rotary has just about wiped out Polio.
Yeah - I'm a bit passionate about this one. Am doing my thing to make sure that our efforts are part of my Club's weekly radio program.
Want to make a donation? Send it to our Rotary District and we'll see to it that another plane lands where there are no airstrips!
Thanks, Bish!
ReplyDeleteSmall as we are, our little hands and comparatively small numbers have already done a great deal.
Amazing. Great job Rotary!!! Thank you for helping.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you posted this about the work going on we wouldn't know about. And a huge thank you to the Rotary and Erva.
ReplyDeleteWow! That is amazing! (and also amazing that they haven't been mentioned in news reports....)
ReplyDeleteThree cheers for Rotary!
Thanks everyone! Haiti is so close to home, both to the VI and the US. What we do there may well be a beacon for the rest of the world.
ReplyDeleteYou should be passionate. While governments and politicians often use disasters for self-promotion, these agencies do the real job of helping.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder.
Thanks for letting us know!
ReplyDeleteGreat post and letter from Erva. Yup, there are plenty of unsung heros ... individuals who are not even part of an organization. I just discovered that a local woman died in the quake ... she helped in the orphanage.
ReplyDeleteWow, what an amazing organization. (And no, I hadn't heard about how much they were doing.)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sliding on the Edge. There are so many unsung heroes. It's a shame to see the US slammed as it's been lately because so many are working so hard.
ReplyDeleteGreat job, Erva!
Three cheers for the Rotary and Erva! Thank you so much for all that you do. I will print this out and give it to as many as I can.
ReplyDeleteAnd Bish thanks for telling us about this. Without you, we would NOT know. The suffering has broken my heart, so I am happy to help in the cause. :-)
This is amazing. I really enjoyed reading about your sister's efforts. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, everyone for you support and comments. It means a lot, more than you can know.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this post, Bish! What a great organization. I had no idea. And now that I know, I'm going to share the link. So many people feel heartbroken over this tragedy and so helpless. Again, thank you!!!
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