Here at Spalding Rotary we support our own Rotary Foundation. This is the international fund used to carry out Rotary’s projects around the world. Around $90 million every year are spent supporting worthwhile projects around the world. Since the Rotary Foundation was established in 1947 around $1.1 billion has been given. In every case the expenditure is overseen by Rotary members.

This is the great benefit of Rotary International. With 1.2 million members in 166 countries around the world, people don’t need to ask the question ‘where will the money go?’ when they give their support to one of our appeals.

When you support Rotary’s Aquabox scheme you are not paying for a middle man. You're not even paying for staff! Aquabox is, like many Rotary projects, run by a Rotary Club. Members do all the work as volunteers. Indeed during the recent rush to get emergency Aquaboxes to the Asian region, the local community came and lent a hand.

When you give money to help people recover from the mud slide in the Philippines; you know it will be the Rotary Clubs in the Philippines who oversee the distribution of cash and resources. Exactly the same is happening in Sri Lanka right now.

The President of Sri Lanka has gone on record thanking Rotary clubs for taking the lead in disaster work. At a recent meeting no less than the Dalai Lamar expressed his thanks for the work of Rotary around the world.

Rotary is big. Very big. Consider this. Some projects we run are very big and very expensive. They cost a lot of money and require organisation which makes anything most of us have heard of seem like child’s play in comparison.

This is what was involved in the Polio Immunisation campaign in India.

• 640,000 vaccination booths
• 2.3 million Vaccinators
• 1.1 million Vaccination teams
• 137,000 supervisors
• 137,000 vehicles (this includes cars, motorcycles, bikes, boats, elephants, camels, etc)
• 200 million doses of Polio vaccine
• 6.3 million ice packs to keep the vaccine cold
• 191 million homes visited
• 170 million children immunised
• And just how long did it take to carry out this massive immunisation programme? One day.

The whole operation is carried out in a day. It’s the same in every country as we move towards the eradication of Polio world wide and for ever, by 2005. There’s another National Immunisation day this month (Feb 2005). Similar logistics; similar costs. The programme to eradicate Polio continues in addition to the extra load put on Rotary by the Asian disaster.

Rotary International has been the driving force behind the 20 year campaign to rid the world of Polio. A disease that has cursed mankind for 5,000 years. Rotary’s financial contribution by 2005 will be $600 million dollars.

Global issues need a global organisation. Rotary can maintain its local and national support and still carry out massive global projects. Why? Because there are 1.2 million members who, when they ask their community to help, they do. People know Rotary – they trust Rotary: yet most don’t have a clue just what Rotary does. The aim right now is to get closer to our community and get people involved.

Rotarians around the world are now focussing on AIDS. In particular we are helping an organisation called Hope and Homes in Africa. Every 14 seconds AIDS turns a child into an orphan. In 1994 the genocide in Rwanda saw one million people killed in 100 days. Ten years on many of the women raped are dying. Across South Africa around one million children under the age of 15 will have lost their mothers to AIDS.

As we go about our daily lives complaining because the council didn’t collect our recycling or the road is closed for resurfacing, isn’t it about time to look at what is going on in the world?

When great disasters occur the great British people show their concern. Their support is overwhelming, genuine and very personal. Let’s be honest; it is the people who are showing governments the way. The people are showing just how much politicians have lost touch with what the people of this country really need and want.

It is ordinary people who, at times of crisis, group together and achieve the most incredible feats. All for free and without any expectation of thanks.

Once the crisis eases where do these people go? How do they express their feelings and desire to help? We know there are many such people out there. They are the ones we want to talk to.

If you wait for the next disaster to happen; and it will; you build in a time delay for getting much needed relief to those suffering and in need. Stocks of emergency equipment have to be ready to be flown out in response to a phone call. Some of this is specialised equipment. Water filtration kits save lives. Without clean water people die quickly. They infect those who do have access to clean water.