Disease Prevention Month
 
In the Rotary world, April is Disease Prevention Month.  So, let’s address this very important matter.
 
My grandmother told me on many occasions that your health is everything.  She probably was right.  Many, if not most of us, take our health for granted.  We are the lucky ones.
 
Yet, there are over 400 million people in the world who can’t afford or don’t have access to basic health care.  We, in Rotary, believe good health care is everyone’s right.
 
Disease results in misery, pain and poverty.  That is why preventing and treating disease is so important. 
 
Rotary leads efforts both large and small.  Among other things, we set up temporary clinics, blood donation centers and training facilities in underserved communities struggling with outbreaks and health care access. 
 
We design and build infrastructure that allows doctors, patients and governments to work together.  Our members combat diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and, of course, polio. 
 
Prevention is important.  A focus on health education and bringing people in for routine hearing, vision and dental care is vital to this mission.
 
Disease does not prevent itself. 
 
Rotary educates and equips communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases.  Rotary members have hundreds of health projects underway around the world at any given time. 
 
The Rotary Foundation provides grants for projects and activities around the globe and in our own backyard.  The Foundation has given $65 million in grants to fight disease.  There has been a 99.9% reduction in polio cases since the program started in 1985.
 
In our District these Rotary clubs have made  amazing things happen:
 
  • The Carlsbad club provides bone graft harvest equipment to assist Rotary volunteer surgeons to obtain bone to reconstruct cleft lip and palate deformities for children in Baja California.
  • The Del Mar club has a program that focus’s on maternal and child health care in Ethiopia by the training of trainers to save babies lives at the moment of birth.
  • The La Mesa club supports a disease prevention and treatment program by providing funding for Alexandra Ameida’s doctoral training in research to help improve access to heath care and treatment for individuals who are co-infected with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis and are substance abusers.  This doctoral training will provide foundational, educational and research skills to help improve the lives of those in Brazil who are co-infected by HIV/AIDS and TB.
  • The Del Mar/Solana Beach (my club).  For years we have funded many projects in El Salvador, including the Molagrossa project.  There, people do not want to avail themselves of free medical services or are afraid of medical practices.  By providing five tons of free food at the medical clinic the people are now coming to the clinic for medical services.
Through Rotary’s disease prevention and treatment programs, we change the world for good.  For the better.  

This Saturday, we will be presenting the District Training Assembly via Zoom.  The assembly will begin at 8:30 am as we gather to welcome each other and have a schmooze.
 
We will begin the program at 9:00 am.  At 11:10 am there will be a session centering on District Grants, and at 12:10 pm there will be a session on Global Grants.  Both these sessions require two members in attendance from each club in order for the club to qualify for District Grants or Global Grants.  
 
The great thing about Rotary and our District is the education and training that goes into each one of us.  We can increase our knowledge and skills by attending these trainings.  There is something for everyone.
 
At the Rotary International website we can go to the Learning Center and find all kinds of resources.  There are training videos for officers of clubs; instructional, informative videos on subjects like the Foundation, Membership and Branding.  There are hundreds of learning videos we can access at any time for free.
 
Our District is also building out a library of videos concerning District Grants, Global Grants and those mentioned above from the Learning Center. 
 
I do encourage everyone to register and attend.  Did I mention it is free of charge?  And, you can watch from home or the beach or the park.  It is so convenient.  It doesn’t get better than this.  I am looking forward to seeing you this Saturday.
 
Well, that’s all the musings that are fit to print.