A Shared Vision for Peace
Rotary and the United Nations share a historic common bond of world peace. Paul Harris founded Rotary International in 1905 as an organization dedicated to local community service. There were roughly 5,000 Rotary Clubs on six continents by 1939 when our entire planet plunged into an unimaginable world war. Rotary clubs in Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and several island nations were disbanded at the outset of this global catastrophe.

The end of World War II in 1948 offered an opportunity for Rotarians to help establish a fellowship international organization with global aspects for peace among all nations. Rotarians went to work to establish the United Nations.

This was no easy task. Many nations affected by WWII sought simply to rebuild and retreat inward with focus only upon their own domestic concerns. The League of Nations, after all, floundered with little support at the end of World War I in 1918. Paul Harris witnessed both early 20th Century world wars and led Rotary in providing the vital support of Rotarians to establish the United Nations in 1945.

Rotarians share a remarkable bond of peace with the United Nations. The implications of Rotary’s role in establishing the United Nations were essential. As Paul Harris envisioned, nations now meet in a collective world organization where countries openly discuss their grievances with one another. The UN is a forum of international peace and works with Rotary International in far-reaching efforts to save millions of lives around the world. The original alliance led to the historic Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and now today feeds millions of children, emboldens hope, and has reduced cases of polio by 99.9% on planet earth.

Food brings people together all year round. The holiday season, food banks are usually well-stocked with donations. Consider donating to local and international food drives to celebrate birthdays, special occasions, and any time during the year.  As we continue celebrating WFP’s efforts to provide food security for the world, collaborate with local and international organizations to bring awareness to conditions of poverty and be apart of the peaceful solutions to eliminate poverty forever. 

According to Feeding America, New Mexico has the second-highest rate of child food insecurity and has the fifth-highest rates of overall food insecurity in the United States. Laura Gonzales, the President of the Rotary Club of Los Alamos, could not stand by knowing that thousands of her New Mexican neighbors were left hungry. Laura decided to take action and design her presidential project around combating food insecurity in her home state. “Food insecurity is a critical issue in New Mexico all the time. The needs now, due to the COVID-19 pandemic are staggering. Rotary is a service organization and we are proactively addressing this problem.”

The Rotary Club of Los Alamos, a RAGFP Peacebuilder Club, teamed up with Meals of Hope and Crossroads Bible Church to feed thousands of people in Northern New Mexico. The Peacebuilders packaged over 40,000 meals on Saturday, September 12th and donated them to the Food Depot in Sante Fe for distribution to LA Cares, the Los Alamos Food Bank, and other Northern New Mexico charitable food outlets. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn, the number of families facing food insecurity dramatically increased. The Food Depot normally provides over 500,000 pounds of food each month to a network of non-profit relief partners in the state. Between March and June of this year, the Food Depot provided over 3,300,000 meals― about 1.5 times more than average. 

To address this problem, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos applied and received a generous grant from Rotary District 5520 and Rotary International to sponsor a peace and health project to provide 40,000 meals to families in need in Northern New Mexico. Rotarians, alongside Boy Scouts from Troop 22, members from the PMI Otowi Bridge Chapter, and Police Officers from the Los Alamos Police Department and the New Mexico State Police packed bags of ready-to-prepare meals of beans and rice. Each bag contained enough food for 6 servings along with cooking instructions and seasoning packets. Volunteers followed COVID-19 and health protocols established by Meals of Hope, wearing hairnets, disposable gloves, and masks while maintaining social distance.

If your Club is interested in hosting a Meals of Hope event, please contact Club President, Laura Gonzales at [email protected] or Meals of Hope co-leader, Alison Pannell at [email protected].  
 

Take action and join the RAGFP's Peacebuilder Club Network.

Kids and COVID 
RAGFP Peacebuider Club, the Rotary Club of Winchester, worked with two local food banks to provide early childhood support to families adversely impacted by COVID. Rotarians bought “kid-oriented” items, e.g. diapers, formula, baby food, etc., and delivered them to food banks to help alleviate critical shortages of these items. This child-centered project, “Kids and COVID: Rotarians Providing Food and Supplies to Maintain Child Health During the Pandemic," attempts to alleviate some of the food and hygiene needs of disadvantaged infants and children in the city of Winchester and the neighboring county of Frederick. Rotarians purchased, transported, and delivered specific “child-friendly” foods and baby food, formula, diapers, and wipes to two well-established community food pantries for distribution to needy families.

Saving Lives through Blood Drives
Rotary Members in France teamed up with the Rotary Action Group for Blood Donation (RAGBD) to form Mon Sang Pour Les Autres (My Blood for Others) to help treat different illnesses and diseases that require blood transfusions. In 1998, their goal was to gather donations from 1000 blood donors in a single day. This goal was exceeded by 300 people, making it the largest blood drive in France at the time. The project grew significantly to reach a record of over 3,500 donors in four days, the largest blood drive in Europe. 

Today, 130 cities mobilize each year with thousands of Rotarians, Rotaractors, and volunteers to welcome over 30,000 blood donors. Since 1998, over 420,000 donations of blood have been received through the My Blood for Others project campaign. In addition to these incredible blood drive events, RAGBD also provides technical expertise in developing areas of the world. Blood transfusions are necessary for about 1 in 7 hospital patients, including accident victims, cancer therapy, malaria, thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, maternal trauma, among many other health needs.

Not only does this initiative collect a lifesaving resource, but also it elevates the portfolio of health into wider communities. RAGBD focuses on bringing youth into the center of these projects to encourage their participation in peace and health which is literally changing their lives and the lives of others.  

Conflict Resolution without Blame
In 1994, Rotarian Kathy Suerken from the Rotary Club of Mid-Bay taught World Cultures and Critical Thinking classes to 12-14 year old students using a powerful problem-solving tool based on the Theory of Constraints (TOC). This tool was so effective in resolving and preventing conflicts that it became the focus of her Rotary-sponsored after-school international club. These youth were searching for ways to let out their frustration and stress in coping with family problems, school expectations, and sometimes bullying situations, all while growing up into adults. 

The TOC tools enable children of all ages, demographics, and cultures to sort through their internal conflicts in such a way that they are significantly better able to resolve those external ones.  Sometimes when children just express—even in pictures—the needs of the other side of a conflict, it is enough to take away the anger and blame. The TOC tool named cloud is a conflict resolution diagram that uses a series of graphic organizers, words, and discussions to help identify the wants, actions, or choices that are in conflict from all parties concerned. When people do not feel blamed for a problem, they are more likely to be less defensive and more honest and forthright about the situation. In doing so, they are able to find win-win solutions that support both peace of mind and peaceful relationships. Becky Barr, who later transitioned to high school and joined interact, wrote when 14, “The TOC tool, the cloud, makes you realize it is not the people who are the problem, it is the situation.”

The Mid-Bay Rotary Club used the TOC tools to create start the Pathways to Peace Program to train Rotarians and educators to teach these powerful peacebuilding workshops to youth around the world. Starting in East Los Angeles, the Pathways to Peace spread to Rotary Clubs and schools in the Philippines, Mexico, Bulgaria, Panama, and most recently, Somalia. Sharmarke Yusef, a Somali Peace Fellow, uses the TOC tools from the Pathways to Peace program with youth to empower them to wage peace. 

"My life’s work is focused to support Somalia’s peacebuilding efforts and to provide trainings and capacity building to youth and adults to influence and change their mindsets. The Pathways to Peace Training provided insights, techniques, and strategies to address conflicts and to change perception and mindset with young adults—even those who are not literate."
          
To bring these powerful education tools of peace and harmony to you and your community, please contact Kathy Suerken at [email protected]. You can view Kathy’s presentation on Mid-Bay’s Conflict Resolution Without Blame: Pathways to Peace Project at the October 2020 TOC for Education International Virtual Conference at https://tocforeducation.com/videoblame.html. 

Take action and join the RAGFP's Peacebuilder Club Network.