TRUSTEE CHAIR SPEECH
PRIP KALYAN BANERJEE
2016 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
District Governors-elect, class of 2016-2017, my brothers and sisters in Rotary. This
is our time.
I feel that I am perhaps the most fortunate man in all of Rotary. What an incredible
opportunity I have been given - to join you all to lead our Rotary Foundation during
its centennial year.
And what an opportunity each of you will have to lead your districts during this
milestone year, when we will celebrate our Foundation’s century-long history of
doing good in the world.
And we do have so much to celebrate.
There is, of course, the fact that, every day, we are moving even closer to
eradicating polio. And we can also celebrate the success of our Rotary Peace
Centers, which are sending more trained peacemakers into our troubled world every
year. But most of all, we can celebrate the millions of lives that have been saved or
transformed by Rotary and its Foundation over the past hundred years.
There is a child in Ethiopia who is alive today only because a Rotary Foundation
vocational training team from Germany had taught local health-care workers new
techniques for stimulating breathing, in the newborns, just after birth.
And there is a Mexican man named Gilberto who was paralyzed during a mugging
in the United States. He returned to Mexico, despondent, certain that he would
never be able to work again; terrified that he would be forced to live his life as a
beggar, perhaps. Then he found Alem, A-L-E-M, an organization supported by the
Rotary Foundation grants that trains people with disabilities to repair wheelchairs.
Now Gilberto has a skill, a job, and hope for a brighter future.
And then there are the six women in India who will not die from breast cancer
because the disease was caught early enough.
These six women live in the remote city outskirts of Tiruchirapalli or in short
Trichy in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. Like most women in this area,
they had never had a screening for breast cancer. In fact, it is likely that most of
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TRUSTEE CHAIR SPEECH
PRIP KALYAN BANERJEE
2016 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
them had never even seen a doctor. And the number of deaths from breast cancer
was rising at an alarming rate in that part Tamil Nadu.
Fortunately, two local Rotarian doctors spotted this troubling situation, and being
Rotarians, they wanted to do something about it.
So, they talked it over, and then, they realized that many of these women didn’t
know that they could in serious trouble and even if they did, they didn’t have the
resources to go to a clinic. They couldn’t leave their work to make a cumbersome
journey to see a doctor. They didn’t have enough money to pay the Rs. 1,200 or
about USD 20 screening fee. And they probably didn’t even know that breast
cancer can kill and that such screenings could maybe, save their lives.
So clearly, the two doctors had some obstacles to overcome. But remember, they
were Rotarians and they had access to many resources.
So, first they went to their own Rotary Club of Srirangam, and told their fellow
members of the problem and their proposed solution. And the club was absolutely
ready to help.
The best way to reduce the number of breast cancer deaths, these doctors agreed
was to bring the screening equipment to the women and provide free screenings.
But they wouldn’t stop there, because education was a key element of the project.
They wanted to show women how to do self-examination so that they could spot
any problems early.
And they wanted to assure the women that breast cancer is treatable, and that many
women recover and live their lives, especially if the cancer is detected early.
Well, the club agreed that their project was a very important one and applied for a
global grant, which our doctors from Tamil Nadu used to buy a bus, which cost
about 15000 dollars. They outfitted the vehicle with all the equipment needed to
perform mammograms, and bought educational materials in the local language to
teach women how to do self-examination. And they engaged a doctor and 2 lady
health workers to go round and explain things to the women.
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TRUSTEE CHAIR SPEECH
PRIP KALYAN BANERJEE
2016 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
All of this cost $34,000. That’s not really much money, relatively speaking. But its
potential for saving lives is enormous.
So the bus started going around the villages and would stop anywhere, where a
large group of women would gather. During its first two years, 2,500 women
received free screenings, and they also had an opportunity to talk to health-care
professionals about their other concerns. And the bus - it didn’t stop with only the
villages, but would also go round to the small towns as well, with equally
enthusiastic response. In India, by the way, a small town could have 1,00,000
plus, people.
And those six women whose cancer was detected? They are receiving treatment that
is covered by government insurance, and their chances for survival are very good.
So when we say that our Rotary Foundation is saving and transforming lives, we are
not exaggerating. It is happening in communities all over our world.
And it’s been happening now for 100 years.
One reason for our Foundation’s success is I suppose, is that we set ambitious, but
reasonable, goals every year. Rotary International also sets goals, which has caused
some confusion in the past because these goals haven’t always completely been in
sync, if I may put it that way.
So this year, President-elect John and I worked to establish priorities for all of
Rotary. Some of the goals underneath each priority relate specifically to our
Foundation, which is what I want to touch on briefly now.
The first goal—that is shared with all of Rotary—is to end polio—now and forever.
And we are making great progress, and you will hear more about that later during
this assembly. Yes, we are now, not just this close, but closer still, to finishing the
task.
Our next two goals are very closely connected. One is to strengthen Rotarians’
knowledge, engagement and financial support of The Rotary Foundation. And the
other calls for increasing the quality and impact of Rotary’s humanitarian service
efforts through our Foundation grants in our six areas of focus.
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TRUSTEE CHAIR SPEECH
PRIP KALYAN BANERJEE
2016 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Why are these goals so closely connected? Well, we have found over the years that
when Rotarians know about the good work our Foundation does, they are more
likely to get involved with humanitarian grants and projects. And they are also
more likely to contribute to the Foundation.
A little over 10 years ago, we began to ask every Rotarian to give to the
Foundation’s annual fund every year. We set a per-capita goal of $100, which,
frankly, is not an unreasonable expectation. And because we know that many
Rotarians give much more than $100 a year, we also know that too many of our
members give nothing at all.
I don’t know about you, but I find that very disturbing. It seems to me that our
Foundation should be the charity of our choice, for all our members.
One reason that many Rotarians are not contributing is because they don’t even
know that Rotary has a Foundation, let alone that it’s been doing good in the world
for 100 years. These are members in good standing. They attend club meetings and
pay their dues and participate in club projects. But they don’t know about their,
about our, Rotary Foundation.
So, it’s up to us to change that unfortunate reality, right? Let’s educate these
members so that by the time we meet to celebrate the Foundation’s centennial at the
2017 convention in Atlanta, every Rotarian in every club knows about The Rotary
Foundation and its good work.
And let’s not stop with just our membership. Let’s tell the Rotary Foundation Story
to the whole world.
Which brings me, this afternoon, to our final goal, and that is to raise public
awareness of the Foundation’s achievements and 100-year record of doing good in
the world.
We should be telling everyone about the 350,000 children who will not be stricken
with polio this year, or next, or ever again, because 31 years ago Rotary began
working toward a polio-free world.
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TRUSTEE CHAIR SPEECH
PRIP KALYAN BANERJEE
2016 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
We can also talk about those thousands of people in Africa who no longer live with
the threat of guinea worm or other devastating water-borne diseases, because of
Foundation-sponsored water projects.
Or, again, how in South Africa, local and American Rotarians are partnering giant
International, corporate houses to keep the scourge of AIDS in check.
And don’t forget
about all the girls who have a chance today, for more
complete education because our Foundation projects are providing schools with
sanitation facilities that offer essential privacy. This is the kind of initiative that
can change the world.
There are thousands of such stories in the Foundation’s history, and hundreds of
them are happening right now, all over the world. It’s up to us to make sure that
those stories reach a much wider audience.
Because when we tell these inspirational tales, others will want to join our clubs, or
support our Foundation, or volunteer their time, or donate goods to a project.
Another part of our story is how far The Rotary Foundation has come over this past
century. From that initial contribution of $26.50 in 1917, from Arch Klumph to
our Foundation, it has become today a leading humanitarian organization with 1
billion dollars in assets. We have spent 3 billion dollars on programs and projects in
our 100-year history.
So how did all that happen? It happened because visionary Rotarians understood the
great potential of our Foundation and worked to raise more and more money every
year.
For 2016-17, we have set a goal of $150 million for our Annual Fund, with a target
of $300 million in total giving for the year. Total giving includes contributions to
the Endowment Fund, the Rotary Peace Centers, and PolioPlus, in addition to the
Annual Fund.
Now I will agree that these are ambitious goals - but they are not impossible. To
succeed, we may have to look beyond our usual ways of raising money and seek
support from those who have never given to The Rotary Foundation. And that is
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TRUSTEE CHAIR SPEECH
PRIP KALYAN BANERJEE
2016 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
why we need to raise awareness, both among our members and within our
communities.
Every year, the Foundation tallies up the top giving countries in terms of dollars
contributed and also in per-capita giving. Not that long ago, I would never have
dreamed that my homeland of India would make it into the top ten. Yet, for several
years now, we’ve been on that list, and I’m proud to say that last year India ranked
number four. And its looking further up this year.
How did India go from being strictly a receiving country to one of the leading donor
countries? Well, it
helps that India, as a country, has been moving up
economically. And it also helps that Indian Rotarians have seen first-hand all the
wonderful work that our Foundation has done locally. But an important reason has
been the leadership in our districts who have worked to encourage more
contributions, both large and small.
Javier Sotomayor, the current world record holder in High Jump from Cuba, and
indeed, the person who has held his 8ft and quarter inch world record for the past 23
years, was once asked how did he manage to jump so high, much higher than his
own height? He just thought about it for 3 seconds and said, well, I tell myself I
want to jump this high, and my body just seems to follow.
And that’s what I’m asking each one of you to do next year. Challenge yourself and
your clubs to increase your district’s giving over last year and move your country
onto on the list of top givers. Please believe me when I say that, if you don’t ask,
you may never get. How, when and where – well, that’s for you to decide.
My brothers and sisters, now is our time to provide the leadership that will put our
Foundation front and center—for our members and for the world.
Now is our time to enable our Foundation to serve humanity for centuries to come,
by making sure it is financially strong and recognized internationally for its good
work.
Now, is the time to show the world that if we set our hearts and minds to achieving
an objective, we will unfailingly reach that goal.
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TRUSTEE CHAIR SPEECH
PRIP KALYAN BANERJEE
2016 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
District governors-elect, class of 2016-17, now is our time to be the leaders who
will proudly bring our Rotary Foundation into its second century of doing good in
the world.
Good luck and God bless you all.
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