My fellow Rotarians and friends of Rotary

Strong membership enables our club to do good in our local community and around the world. A strong membership also raises the public's awareness of Rotary and increases support for The Rotary Foundation and its programs. Building membership is a top priority throughout Rotary, from the RI Board and Rotary coordinators to district leaders. In my Rotary days in Sri Lanka the past President of Rotary International K.R. Ravindran (aka Ravi) was the District Governor and I commend his speech on the 'Benefits of Membership' (click) It is also in the Bulletin (click)

If we want to reverse the decline in membership that many clubs have been experiencing in the last 10 years, we need to have a cause that engages our members and communities. With this in mind, our Rotary club created a Membership Development Committee and Special Projects Committee to focus on quality members who would make a real difference in our community. After careful consideration and in line with our strategic plan, we decided to adopt a few new projects to address some pressing issues in the community.

Our communities were brought to a standstill by the COVID-19 pandemic. But now that the vaccine is becoming available in the NSW, we will be soon regaining our strength, confidence, and mobility to carry on our daily tasks.

We, the Strathfield Rotarians, have embarked on a few worthwhile projects despite the lockdown and the prevailing unprecedented pandemic crisis. The following projects are progressing well:

• Preparing indigenous communities for the workforce - Technical and life-skills Training Program

• Youth empowerment initiatives with youth awards and scholarships amongst the local communities

• Global Matching Grant Projects related to two Rotary focus areas: Disease prevention & treatment and Maternal & child health, including Covid-19 in rural India and Sri Lanka.

• Assisting "Parish Pantry" of St Paul's Church Burwood with their Food Bank program to meet the increasing demand of the homeless people in the Inner-West area.

• A social media campaign supporting vaccination in line with the stand taken by Rotary International.

• As part of our Golden Jubilee Celebration of our Club, Strathfield Council is going to display a plaque this week in the council chambers. It is another publicity initiative of our club.

Our club members have causes that have merit, validity, purpose, and relevance in today's context. Currently, our International Director Roy Ellis and I are exploring the possibilities of assisting Afghanistan with the evolving humanitarian crisis right now. Rotary Clubs all around the world can unite together. We cannot do everything but everyone can do something. Remembering the essence of our organization,

"Rotary is a worldwide network of inspired individuals who translate their passions into relevant social causes to change lives in communities."