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What does our Prescott Sunup Rotary Club do that is completely unique, and different from what any other Prescott organization does? We send Prescott youth on Rotary humanitarian missions to Kenya and to central Mexico. Our meeting last Wednesday was our opportunity to hear from them what they believe their teams were able to accomplish, and about the powerful impact the experiences had on their own lives, which both teams described as "a life-changing experience."  Jenna Fox and Malia Hirasa, representing the 8-member Interact Ambassadors to Kenya team (5 students and 3 Rotarian Advisors), reported that they spent their first week based at Prescott College's Dopoi Center at Talek, working closely with the Maasai Tribe, whom they found to be generous, friendly and very grateful people. Besides meeting many of the Maasai people, they visited schools, giving school supplies to the students, visited our club's Rotary water project, and made two visits to the Maasai Mara game preserve (one day in a Land Rover with a guide, and another day on a 10-mile walk with a Maasai Elder). The second week the team moved to Naivasha to work with our club's longtime partners, the Naivasha Rotary and Rotaract Clubs, in dramatically changing lives of the disabled poor and their families, by bringing to them the gift of mobility, in the form of the crutches, walkers & wheelchairs our Interact clubs have collected and shipped to our partners there, Jenna and Malia each had personal stories to tell of how the experience of giving that gift of mobility impacted the grateful recipients, as well as themselves. They reported their team also interfaced with several Interact clubs while they were in Kenya.  Claire Donovan, Violet Williams and Ciara Coleman were equally enthused about their adventure in Rotary international service in Mexico, hosted by our Rotarian partners in Cuernavaca. They also visited a large Rotary Global Grant water project, a crime prevention project, and a project working with the deaf, but were especially impressed with Rotary project which is assisting and empowering large numbers of migrant workers. They learned an immense amount about the people and the culture in central Mexico, and found them and their Rotarian hosts to all be friendly and welcoming to their team. One of the things that impressed them most was how little people must have to be happy, as they worked with so many people who have so little, compared to what we have here in Prescott. The most gratifying part of their trip, though, was the opportunity to work with ALEM, the amazing mobile team of wheelchair-bound individuals who have been trained to become specialists in rebuilding and repairing wheelchairs. This ALEM team itself was created through a Rotary Global Grant, which was used to develop this mobile unit, creating employment, and providing a needed service, for people with a mobility handicap. Each Ambassador was trained by, and worked alongside a member of the ALEM team.  A rapt audience listening intently to all that our youthful representatives had to say. The Ambassadors repeatedly thanked the club for giving them this unique international service opportunity, and encouraged the club to continue to support the Interact Crutches 4 Africa Project and the Ambassadors program, in order to continue to meet needs and change lives, as well as to give other youth the chance to experience what they did, having trained and served as Interact Ambassadors. CLUB SERVICE A week ago President Laura presented Jerry Fohrman's badge to his wife Janet. Jerry's legacy Club Wheel of Fortune is seen behind Janet, and she had the opportunity to spin the wheel for the size of club fines that day.  Rotary Empowerment and Resiliency Ray Sanford San Juan Capistrano Rotary Club Rotary's organizational structure strikes a unique balance between top-down vision and bottom-up action. At the global level, Rotary International sets the overarching vision. However, it's worth noting that Rotary International doesn't direct specific actions; its role is to provide a motivational framework. This has turned out to be one of Rotary's greatest strengths, creating a system that is both resilient and adaptable.
This high-level guidance filters downwards through Rotary's Zones and Districts, which tailor these objectives to fit regional needs. Yet, the true driving force behind Rotary's impact is at the club level, where individual Rotarians and Clubs can initiate service projects based on their unique understanding of local needs.
This creates a resilient and adaptive organization where tasks and initiatives at the club level are not only valued but essential for achieving broader goals. It's a dynamic that allows us to apply our leadership and expertise in a way that's both localized and part of a larger global vision. Participating in this kind of organizational structure isn't just fulfilling on a project level; it satisfies a deeper yearning to live out values like fellowship, diversity, and leadership. It shows that a single individual, when aligned with a community of like-minded individuals, can contribute to global impact. It's not just about doing good in the world; it's about empowering an entire network to do good. And that sense of collective empowerment doesn't just feel good—it feels meaningful. COMMUNITY SERVICE Club Secretary Stella helps haul flags at Healing Fields. Eight of our Prescott Sunup Rotary Club members were among the 250 volunteers who participated in placing the Healing Fields flags in Tempe last Friday. VOCATIONAL SERVICE Congratulations to our Tim Wiederaenders, Editor of Prescott's Daily Courier! His newspaper was recently named The Best of the Best, receiving the 2022 Reader's Choice Award. INTERNATIONAL SERVICE  The 2023 Mexico USA Friendship Conference & Global Grants Exchange will be taking place right here in Prescott, Arizona at Prescott College and the Hassayampa Inn from October 27 - 29. Rotarians from Arizona Districts 5495 and 5500 and several districts from Mexico will congregate in Prescott to showcase a variety of international Rotary projects as well as decide on funding for each project. All are welcome to attend at their own expense. Please visit the website or scan the QR code above for information on pricing and options.
WE ARE APPEALING TO LOCAL ROTARIANS TO HOST ROTARIANS TRAVELING FROM MEXICO!!! If you have available room, please consider hosting a single or couple from Mexico. These traveling Rotarians will arrive around 10:00 PM October 26 and depart the afternoon of October 29. If you are considering being a host or if you have any general questions about hosting or the conference, please call or text Todd Clancy at 480-285-7719 or email: taclancy2000@yahoo.com.
Thank you very much!
Muchas Gracias! --Todd ClancyInternational Service Committee  Dentist - "Try to relax. I'll pull your aching tooth in five minutes."
Patient - "How much will this cost?"
Dentist - "It'll be $2,000."
Patient - "That much for just five minutes work?"
Dentist - "Well if you prefer, I can pull it out very slowly." __ A second-grade teacher, explaining the concept of rules, asked the students what rules their parents might give before taking them to a nice restaurant.
The first child offered: "Don't play with your food"
The second said: "Use your inside voice"
The third piped up: "Order something cheap"
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The English teacher felt nostalgic. He found the past perfect and the present tense. |
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