INTERNATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF A ROTARIAN

As an international organization, Rotary offers each member unique opportunities and responsibilities. Although each Rotarian has first responsibility to uphold the obligations of citizenship of his or her own country, membership in Rotary enables Rotarians to take a somewhat different view of international affairs. In the early 1950s a Rotary philosophy was adopted to describe how a Rotarian may think on a global basis. Here is what it said:

"A world-minded Rotarian:  

• looks beyond national patriotism and considers himself as sharing responsibility for the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace;
• resists any tendency to act in terms of national or racial superiority;
• seeks and develops common grounds for agreement with peoples of other lands;
• defends the rule of law and order to preserve the liberty of the individual so that he may enjoy freedom of thought, speech and assembly, and freedom from persecution, aggression, want and fear;
• supports action directed toward improving standards of living for all peoples, realizing that poverty anywhere endangers prosperity everywhere;
• upholds the principles of justice for mankind;
• strives always to promote peace between nations and prepares to make personal sacrifices for that ideal;
• urges and practices a spirit of understanding of every other man's beliefs as a step toward international goodwill, recognizing that there are certain basic moral and spiritual standards which will ensure a richer, fuller life."

That is quite an assignment for any Rotarian to practice in thoughts and actions!

PolioPlus

PolioPlus is Rotary's massive effort to eradicate poliomyelitis from the world by the year 2005. It is part of a global effort to protect the children from five other deadly diseases as well-the "plus" in PolioPlus. The program was launched in 1985 with fund-raising as a primary focus. The original goal was to raise $120 million. By 1988, Rotarians of the world had raised more than $219 million in cash and pledges. By 1994, the cash total exceeded $246 million! These gifts have enabled The Rotary Foundation to make grants to provide a five-year supply of vaccine for any developing country requesting it to protect its children. Grants have been made to nearly 100 countries-a commitment, thus far, of $181 million to buy vaccine and to improve vaccine quality.

In 1988, the World Health Organization adopted a goal of eradicating polio throughout the world by the year 2000, and Rotary has endorsed that goal, hoping to celebrate a polio-free world in its own 100th anniversary year, 2005. Achieving eradication will be difficult (only one other disease, smallpox, has ever been eradicated) and expensive (estimated cost to the international community is nearly $2 billion). It will require continuing immunization of children worldwide, and it also must include systematic reporting of all suspected cases, community-wide vaccination to contain outbreaks of the disease, and establishment of laboratory networks. Rotary will not be alone in all these efforts but in partnership with national governments, the World and Pan American Health Organizations, UNICEF and others. Rotary's "people power" gives us a special "hands on" role. Rotarians in developing countries have given thousands of hours and countless in-kind gifts to help eradication happen in their countries.

End Of Polio