TRF Chairman Message

December 2008

Message from the chair -- Working for peace through our Foundation

Dear family of Rotary,

During the holiday season and Family Month on the Rotary calendar, our thoughts and wishes often turn to peace on earth – a state that sometimes seems impossible to achieve. As individuals, we may feel helpless. How can one person influence the brutal course of events, some of which are taking place thousands of miles away? As Rotarians, we have the opportunity – and the power – to work for peace through our Rotary Foundation.

Our humanitarian programs are helping to overcome the greatest obstacles to peace: poverty, disease, hunger, and illiteracy. By providing access to clean water, health care, and education, Foundation-supported projects are bringing hope to people in need, and hope is a powerful deterrent to war. Our educational programs are also promoting peace by bringing together people from different countries and cultures in an environment of goodwill and international understanding.

Right now, more than 400 graduates of our Rotary Centers for International Studies are working in the areas of conflict resolution, humanitarian aid, diplomacy, and government. Each year, about 80 more Rotary Peace Fellows join their colleagues to put Rotary’s ideals into action in war zones and areas threatened by conflict. And with your support, The Rotary Foundation will continue to swell the ranks of these peacemakers.

Our Foundation offers us many reasons to believe that peace is possible, and that Rotarians can help to make it happen.

Jonathan Majiyagbe
Foundation Trustee Chair