Rotary International President's July 2008 Message
Dear fellow Rotarians,
The beginning of the Rotary year is always an exciting time, with new
club and district officers, a new theme to work with, and a renewed
sense of purpose for our service projects. The beginning of this
particular Rotary year is, of course, especially exciting for me as I
look forward to meeting Rotarians throughout the world and seeing
firsthand the many remarkable projects you are carrying out.
In planning how your club, and each one of you, can Make Dreams Real
this year, I ask you to consider the millions of children who never
even have the chance to dream. Every day, more than 26,000 children
under the age of five die from preventable causes. As appalling as
that number is, it is a decrease from the figure of 30,000 that first
caught my attention and spurred me to bring this matter of grave
concern to Rotarians.
UNICEF's State of the World's Children 2008 report states that "by
2006, the most recent year for which firm estimates are available,
the annual number of child deaths globally fell below 10 million, to
9.7 million, for the first time since records began." I would guess
that some of the improvement in child survival rates can be directly
attributed to Rotary projects that have been successfully addressing
problems related to health, hunger, water, and literacy for a number
of years now. So I asked myself: "What would happen if 1.2 million
Rotarians focused their service efforts on keeping even more children
alive?"
I think we already know some of the answers. If Rotarians provide
insecticide-treated bed nets, fewer children will succumb to malaria.
If we dig wells and address sanitation problems, more children will
have clean water to drink and more hygienic surroundings. And if
Rotary clubs carry out effective nutrition projects, we can save some
of the almost five million children who die each year from
undernourishment.
UNICEF estimates that fully two-thirds of the 9.7 million deaths in
2006 were preventable. With Rotarians working to provide vaccines,
oral rehydration therapies, accessible health care for mothers and
newborns, and other relatively simple interventions, I'm confident
that many more babies will not only survive but go on to live
healthy, productive lives. Let's Make Dreams Real by giving these
children the chance to grow up and have dreams of their own.
Dong Kurn (D.K.) Lee
President, Rotary International, 2008-09
