Author Archive
Good morning, we are excited for our upcoming Rotary speakers/events plus look forward to seeing our Rotarians and guests.
4/9/24 Travis Giffen – Public Works Director, hosted by Richard Baker.
4/20/24 Not on Tuesday or at the legion – Social at our fellow Rotarian’s home, Dave Beito, for the King of Wings competition preparation and sauce picking.
4/23/24 Close-Up Students we sponsored hosted by Rhonda Stucy.
4/30/24 Guest Rotarian – Joe Wiegand, Theodore Roosevelt Reprisor & Goodwill Ambassador. Hosted by Rhonda Stucy.
Whether you are already a Rotarian, have been a rotarian, or want to learn more about what being a Rotarian is all about. We would love to have you join us for our meetings.
“It’s Week ONE of RI’s Month of Maternal and Child Health
An estimated 5.9 million children under the age of five die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care, and poor sanitation — all of which can be prevented. Rotary provides education, immunizations, birth kits, and mobile health clinics. Women are taught how to prevent mother-to-infant HIV transmission, how to breast-feed, and how to protect themselves and their children from disease.
More than $102 million (USD) has been spent by Rotary International on Global Grants targeting Maternal and Child Health
Haiti has the highest maternal and infant mortality rate of any country in the western hemisphere. Rotary provided a fully equipped medical Jeep to volunteers and midwives to reach mothers and children in remote areas.
Cancer screening: Rotarians provided a mobile cancer screening unit and awareness trainings around Chennai, India, where there is a high mortality rate of women with breast and cervical cancer due to late diagnosis.
Preventing injuries and deaths: Rotary members launched a $3 million, five-year pilot to save lives of mothers and children during home deliveries in Nigeria. Since 2005, they’ve also repaired 1,500 obstetric fistulas — 500 more than their initial goal — restoring dignity and hope to vulnerable mothers.
“If mothers are empowered and healthy, so are their families, leading to an alleviation of poverty and hunger.” Robert Zinser, co-founder of the Rotarian Action Group for Population and Development and retired president for Asia at chemical giant BASF”
– Submitted by: Christopher W Knapp, District 6000 Foundation Chair
#trf #TRFRotary #Rotary #rotaryinternational #ServiceAboveSelf
A few more gems from our fun and grateful experience reading to the Challenger Elementary kids on Dr. Seuss’s birthday!
Is that Dr. Seuss himself in one of those pictures?
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss
#ServiceAboveSelf #DrSeuss #TRF #trfrotary #grateful #Rotary
Thank you to Shane Zutz for bringing us an update on all things DigiKey at our meeting yesterday! We appreciate you being a Rotarian and your willingness to keep us updated on such an impressive company!
#DigiKey #TRF #TRFRotary #Rotary #ServiceAboveSelf
Thank you to the Riverfest committee from the Thief River Falls Chamber of Commerce for presenting at our 3/26/24 Rotary meeting!
Also, happy belated birthday to Richard Laager and CONGRATULATIONS to Dick Sjoberg Sjoberg’s Cable Tv IncSjoberg’s Cable TV on 41 years as a Rotarian! That is beyond impressive and we appreciate your commitment to “Service Above Self” helping people both locally and worldwide for 41 years!
#trfrotary#Rotary#ServiceAboveSelf#riverfest#TRFChamberOfCommerce#TRF
We are looking forward to our speakers today for our Rotarians and Guests! There have been a lot of updates with the Chamber of Commerce and Riverfest recently so we are excited to hear about them.
3/26/24 3/26/24 Riverfest Committee
4/2/24 Digi-Key update by Shane Zutz
4/9/24 Travis Giffen – Public Works Director, hosted by Richard Baker.
4/20/24 Not on Tuesday or at the legion – Social at our fellow Rotarian’s home, Dave Beito, for the King of Wings competition preparation and sauce picking.
4/23/24 Close-Up Students hosted by Rhonda Stucy.
4/30/24 Guest Rotarian – Joe Wiegand, Theodore Roosevelt Reprisor & Goodwill Ambassador. Hosted by Rhonda Stucy.
Whether you are already a Rotarian, have been a rotarian, or want to learn more about what being a Rotarian is all about. We would love to have you join us for our meetings.
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary
Week FOUR of RI’s Month of Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH).
Nobody takes water for granted in Zimbabwe, least of all the residents of Musekiwa and Mushaki. Located about 160 kilometers (99 miles) from the capital of Harare, the two villages have been drastically affected by the country’s water shortage. Until recently, many residents walked five kilometers (three miles) or more to find water every day. “They were getting some water from open wells, some from rivers,” says Trymore Tafadzwa Kabanda, a counselor for Mushaki. That changed when two Rotary clubs thousands of miles apart decided to collaborate on a grant-funded project. Members of the Rotary Club of Saint Helena, California, USA, learned about the villages’ situation in 2020 from a guest speaker whose wife had grown up in the area. They found out about the devastating effects climate change has had on rainfall in rural Zimbabwe, where more than 90% of households depend on agriculture for their main livelihood. “They had a horrendous water problem,” says John Muhlner, a past president of the Saint Helena club. “Women, for the most part, were walking miles every day to bring water back to their homes. Often, they would go and wouldn’t find water, or maybe the water they found would be contaminated.”
The Saint Helena Rotarians contacted the Rotary Club of Harare CBD, Harare, Zimbabwe, which conducted a community assessment. After that, the clubs raised funds and applied for a Rotary Foundation Global Grant. The US$82,000 project plan was to dig two wells, install solar-powered pumps and a water piping system, train residents to maintain the equipment, and conduct an educational campaign about the importance of hygiene….“Water touches on all of Rotary’s areas of focus,” says Mary Beth Growney Selene, chair of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Rotary Action Group. “Children are not being pulled away from school to go fetch water in a local river. Parents don’t have to spend time fetching water, so they can be more productive economically. People aren’t as susceptible to waterborne diseases. ‘It all starts with water,’ is what we say.” That was certainly the case in Mushaki and Musekiwa. “Now, most of the villagers don’t have to go more than a few meters to fetch water,” Kabanda says. “Also, diseases like cholera are prevented.”
Source [https://www.rotary.org/en/value-well]
Submitted by: Christopher W Knapp, District 6000 Foundation Chair
#ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary #rotaryinternational
Did you know that today is World Water Day?
Water is something we all need to survive. But 2.2 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water. That’s more than 1 in every 4 people.
Rotary members work to keep people healthy and can even strengthen communities through projects that help people get access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene. Rotary also has a new collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program that empowers members to clean up, protect, and monitor their local waterways.
#WorldWaterDay #Rotary #TRFRotary #ServiceAboveSelf
#Water
Did you know???
“It’s Week THREE of RI’s Month of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
The lack of access to clean water, sanitation facilities, and hygiene resources is one of the world’s biggest health problems—and one of the hardest to solve. According to a UN statistic:
About 663 million people do not use an improved drinking water source, most of whom are poor and in rural areas.
2.4 billion people live in water-stressed countries
Almost 950 million people still practice open defecation.
81% of species dependent on inland wetlands have declined since 1970
At least 3000 children die every day from diarrheal diseases—an avoidable consequence of poor water, sanitation and hygiene.
Over the past several years, Rotary has shifted its focus to also emphasize education, collaboration, and sustainability in WASH. With Rotary Foundation Global Grants, a dedicated Rotarian Action Group, and a partnership with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Rotary’s water, sanitation, and hygiene programs are achieving greater, longer-lasting change.
When people have access to clean water and safe sanitation:
waterborne diseases decrease
children stay healthier and attend school more regularly
mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.” – Olabisi Gwamna
#ServiceAboveSelf #Rotary
We are excited about what our neighbor Rotarians are up to!! The Rotary Natural Play Hill and Bike Park, sponsored by the FM Rotary Foundation (the charity established by the 5 Rotary Clubs of Fargo-Moorhead), in partnership with Moorhead Parks. The Play Hill is perched atop one of the few hills in Fargo-Moorhead and overlooks the Red River, including over 20 Play features to bring out the sense of adventure and freedom we remember from our childhoods. This $1 million project that will open in June involved hundreds of planning meetings over a 5-year period, 300 donors (and counting!), dedicated leadership by many volunteers, and a strong attention to detail.
https://www.fmrotaryfoundation.org/page/natural-playground
#ServiceAboveSelf #trfrotary #Rotary #community