A new mother in Nigeria, brought her 2 weeks old son, born with a cleft lip, to a hospital where a Rotary sponsored medical team was providing free cleft surgery.  The team explained to the mother that the child would need to come back the following year for a repair because he was too young.  The mother began to sob.  She said, “You don’t understand.   This is not my first child.  The first was born with ‘water head’ (hydrocephalus?).  In the village where I live, my first child was thrown into the bush to die.  If I take my baby back to the village, I know what will happen to him.” The team repaired the cleft.  Mother and baby returned to her village.  Rotary not only changed a life.  Rotary saved a life.

The Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties just completed its fifth mission to Myanmar (formerly Burma) serving 89 children/adults who suffered from cleft.  They partnered with the Rotary Club of Yangon.  The funds donated by the Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties, nine additional clubs within Rotary District 6910 and other Districts and clubs around the world were matched by The Rotary Foundation totaling $64,000.  Alliance for Smiles will return to Myanmar in May of this year for another mission.

A small Rotary Club in rural Georgia has proven that Rotary can change the world!  For over ten years, the Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties has sponsored a project to address the needs of children born with Cleft Lip and/or Cleft Palate.  Approximately 170,000 children are born each year with this defect which results in severe stigmatization, social isolation, and multiple physical issues including speech problems, hearing loss, and malnutrition. 

By leveraging money from their local Club, the Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties generated support from Rotary District 6910 and other Clubs within the District.  They we also able to obtain funds from other Rotary Clubs and Districts in the United States and around the world.  By accessing matching funds from The Rotary Foundation, they were able to send teams of experts into multiple countries to provide care for underserved children and to train local medical providers in comprehensive cleft care.  The synergy of many Rotary groups, working together, demonstrates the power to implement a project which has changed the lives of so many children around the world.  This project has benefited children in Myanmar, Philippines, Ghana, China, Tanzania, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.

The Rotary Foundation challenges all Rotarians to “Do Good in the World” and provides support to enable Rotarians to do just that.  Over the last ten years, this project has changed the lives of over 2000 patients.  The effort of a small Club, starting with a small contribution each year, has accessed almost 1.1 million dollars.  This was accomplished by a synergy only available through Rotary.  Contributions from Rotary Club of Greene and Putnam Counties, other Rotary Clubs and Districts and private donations were matched by The Rotary Foundation.   Changing the World.  It’s what Rotarians do every day.

                               

If you are interested to know more about how you can get involved with the Rotary of Greene and Putnam Counties, please visit us at www.GreenePutnamRotary.org or on Facebook.