[D9640general] [eFlash_Rotary] Digest Number 782

[Garry Krischock]

 Messages In This Digest (2 Messages) 
  1. 1483: Heavy lifting for new homes From: Sunil K Zachariah  

  2. 1484: Rotaract celebrates 40th anniversary From: Sunil K Zachariah 

Messages 
  1.  1483: Heavy lifting for new homes 
Fri Mar 7, 2008 1:34 pm (PST) 
Heavy lifting for new homes
By Maureen Vaught 

Rotaractors from the University of New South Wales in Australia will 
travel to India and Mongolia in July as part of Habitat for 
Humanity's Global Village Youth Program, which sends volunteers ages 
14-25 to other countries to help needy people build new homes. 

Since 2004, the Rotaractors have travelled on the program to Cambodia, 
Fiji, the Philippines, and Thailand. They've paid their own travel 
and lodging expenses with help from corporate donations and eight 
Rotary clubs in New South Wales.

Rotaractor Yiling Cheah went on the Philippines trip in 2005 and led 
another trip in 2007 to Cambodia. There, she and 10 others built two 
houses in six days and donated money to build a home for a blind 
elderly woman and her grandson. 

Covered with mud and sweat, the volunteers in Cambodia mixed cement, 
laid bricks, and hauled soil in wicker baskets. The work was 
exhausting, but the bigger problem was the ankle-deep water caused by 
flooding. "The soil we carried was wet, meaning that it was a lot 
heavier to carry. It also meant that we had to work with things 
hidden in the water, whether it was our tools or parasites," Cheah 
recalls.

The hard work seemed worthwhile when the homes were presented to 
their new owners in a special ceremony. "The homeowners were in tears 
of joy. They were also in tears of sadness because we were about to 
leave, and they never really got to know us due to language 
barriers," Cheah says. "The homeowners didn't know how to thank us 
for what we had given them, and we didn't know what to say. It was 
only then that our team members realized what a huge contribution we 
had made to two families' lives in a matter of six days."

Source: Rotary International News
Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary


2. 1484: Rotaract celebrates 40th anniversary 
Fri Mar 7, 2008 1:39 pm (PST) 
Rotaract celebrates its anniversary 
Rotary International News 

In the late 1960s, noting the success of the recently formed Interact 
program, the RI Board realized the need for a program of service, 
activity, and fellowship for young adults no longer of Interact age 
(14-18). The name Rotaract (Rotary in Action) was selected to show 
the program's close affiliation with both Rotary and Interact clubs. 
RI President Luther Hodges inaugurated Rotaract in 1968, with the 
Rotaract Club of University of North Carolina-Charlotte, USA, being 
the first club. The club received its charter on 13 March and had 21 
members. 

Within a day of the certification of the Rotaract Club of the 
University of North Carolina-Charlotte, the Rotaract Club of the 
University of La Salle was chartered in Tacubaya, Mexico. The 
Rotaract clubs of Florence, Italy; Gaston College and Sylva, both in 
North Carolina; and Secunderabad, India, were all certified in the 
following weeks. Since the 1950s, many Rotary clubs had been starting 
unofficial clubs for young adults, so this fueled Rotaract's rapid 
growth in its first few years. Rotaract grew from 21 clubs in 1967-68 
to 289 clubs a year later. There are now 7,000 Rotaract clubs in 163 
countries and geographic areas. 

Rotaract clubs were originally open to young men and women ages 17-
24. Since 1971, young adults ages 18-30 have been welcomed. 

Learn more about World Rotaract Week , observed this year 10-16 
March. Contact Rotary history and archives for more historical 
information about Rotary. 

Source:RI Website
Courtesy: eFlash_Rotary 

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