Rotary Club of Dragon participated in Music of Hope Christmas Concert, supporting a charity for those with a disability (photo). Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past month.
For the 17th consecutive year The Rotary Foundation has received a four-star rating — the highest level possible — from Charity Navigator, an independent charity evaluator in the United States. Our international Foundation continues to act as a powerful force for meaningful change and lasting impact through service.
In Uganda’s Ibanda District Parish of Irimya people in some remote villages earn less than $2 per day, have low literacy rates and education often no more than Grade 2 level and for some up to Grade 5 level. Many have had to walk over 3 km to fetch water from contaminated sources demanding time and energy away from any school or daily routines. Once they have brought home the water, the people in the Parish have suffered an extremely high rate of waterborne disease.
Thanks to some Rotary clubs in District 5040 and a local club in Uganda, the villagers now have a Gravity Flow System (GFS) of clean water flowing down in pipes from nearby hills to the seven villages in the valley below, a system which the local villagers constructed in good part themselves. The water pipeline system passes through a jungle forest to a reservoir tank of 45,000 liters of clean water. From the tank the water travels by a network of pipes to 37 taps for the 7,000 people living in the seven communities.
While Rotary and its World Health Foundation and government partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative have eliminated annual polio cases worldwide by 99.9% since 1988, preventing paralysis and even death among 20 million children, many children suffer from this incurable disease throughout the developing world, suffering deformed and paralysed limbs as well as breathing difficulties for their entire lives.
Hospitals such as Cheshire Services Ethiopia in Addis Ababa provide essential surgery to the limbs of children with polio to prevent further deformation. These surgeries also allow children to wear and walk with leg braces instead of being forced to crawl on the streets, as has been the case for many years. Cheshire Services Ethiopia, an international organisation that serves as the primary caregiver for children and youth with disabilities in Ethiopia, manages rehabilitation hospitals in Meganeshe, Hawassa, and Dire Dawa.
The District Nomination Committee is pleased to announce Assistant Governor Peter Roaf of the Rotary Club of Ladner as District Governor Nominee Designate to serve as District Governor in 2028-2029.
Rotary Club of Burnaby Metrotown continued distributing Coats for Kids to families needing a hand up with winter coats (photo). Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past two months.
Guatemala has one of the most extreme combinations of poverty, illiteracy and inequality. 4 out of 5 indigenous Guatemalans live in poverty and 1 in 3 cannot not read or write. In Guatemala’s Western and Central Highlands, the most illiterate part of the country, during the 2023 Guatemalan school year, primary school literacy training expanded in 30 communities, serving 5,711 students and training 243 teachers thanks in part to a Global Grant from The Rotary Foundation, US$1000 from the Rotary Club of Quesnel and 154 separate funding contributors.
The US$57,000 project aimed to strengthen both traditional and technological literacy in the communities supported in four key areas. This project was part of the Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP), a network of Rotarians and the nonprofit organization, Cooperative for Education (CoEd), to improve education for underserved students in Guatemala.
On the United Nations "World Polio Day", October 24th, a group of Rotarians and friends of various ages participated in the annual Walk for Polio. The walk started at Vancouver City Hall, where Councillor Rebecca Bligh presented the City's Proclamation in support of the worldwide day, to mark the success, but journey ahead, in ridding the world of polio
Polio (poliomyelitis) is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system. Rotary started the global campaign to end polio about 40 years ago, when there were 350,000 cases a year in 120 countries. Since joined by world health organizations, foundations and governments the number of cases has dropped to tens of cases in two remaining countries. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever. -- photos by Ken Choy, Rotaract Club of Richmond
Thanks to Rotary Club of Whistler, with support from the Rotary Club of Whistler Millenium, and The Rotary Foundation through a District Grant, a new bike park has just opened at Bayly Park to provide a community gathering space for Cheakamus Crossing residents. The renovated park builds on the former facility operated by Whistler BMX, which closed in 2024. The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has since taken over operations and revitalized the bike park. – Story courtesy of Liz McDonald, Pique Newsmagazine, Whistler; photo by Ken Martin
As World Polio Day approaches on October 24th here is a video of Bill Gates, at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, renewing the longstanding partnership with Rotary International in our joint commitment to rid the world of polio through the Gates Foundation's commitment to match US dollars raised by Rotary 2 to 1 raising up to US$450 million over the next three years. This renewed commitment is more than funding. It’s a promise to future generations, and proof that when we work together, we achieve the extraordinary.
Please join us on Monday, September 22, 2025, at 7:00 pm (PDT) to learn how -
"YOU could be a District Governor"
Rotary Club of West Vancouver Sunrise held its annual Ride for Rescue fundraiiser to support North Shore Search and Rescuse (photo). Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past three months.
As I get ready to start my District Governor club visits in September I am looking forward to learning about the clubs’ service projects and plans. I want to listen to concerns & challenges facing our clubs. I will provide some highlights of the District in 2025-26,
My role as DG is to support and strengthen our clubs so all members can fully enjoy the experience of Rotary.
Please check the District calendar for DG visits which will be updated as they are booked Thanks.
Jan
Jan Gisborne
District 5040 Governor
Since 2020 the cost of groceries alone has increased by 47% along with other cost increases such as rent, household expenses and childcare. Now 29% of children in BC face food insecurity including 44% of children in single parent families. For those who depend on school meal programs throughout the week, each weekend brings stress, fear, and empty cupboards. Then there the months when children are not in school.
Starting in 2012 Back Pack Buddies has engaged local schools, donors, social workers and other non-profits to deliver food to hungry children. Today it supports over 6,000 children every week in 73 communities across BC. At the Backpack Buddies food storage warehouse in North Vancouver problems had arisen with vermin accessing the stored food.
To contribute to making the local community "outdoorsy" and "active" in 2018 Rotary Club of Smithers raised funds and organized a major work party of volunteers to open the 4.2 km trail "Rotary Community Trail to Town" to the public. The trail allows people to hike in the summer and ski and snowboard in the winter from the ski hill (bottom of the chairlift) to the valley floor 3775 feet of vertical sparing over use of the road and the time of any drivers picking up skiers at day's end. The trail is also used by mountain bikers.
Since the trail opened the cost of renting trail maintenance equipment has risen steadily and volunteer workers had to work around the opening hours of the equipment rental shop. The Rotary club has now purchased its own equipment for $3,892, thanks in part to a District Grant from The Rotary Foundation of $1,946, which will prove less expensive in the long term and provide more flexibility for the volunteer workers.
Children and families in Powell River have had limited access to public spaces that encourage both physical play and creative musical expression. Research shows that musical playground equipment not only enhances cognitive and social development but also promotes physical fitness and emotional well-being.
Rotary Club of Powell River purchased and had installed for the hundreds of children and families musical playground equipment in a local regional park. The $15,000 installation, funded by the club and $7,500 from The Rotary Foundation District Grant, is creating a vibrant and inclusive play environment that combines the joy of music and physical activity for children and families as an opportunity for creative expression, learning, and community engagement.
Powell River Rotary partnered with the qathet Regional District for maintenance and upkeep and ongoing support.
Our members are people of action. We see this in our clubs and our communities.
We can build strong clubs by focussing on the two things that matter most: friendship and trust.
Building better relationships within our clubs and our communities.
Be creative, be flexible and be open to new ideas as we adapt to our changing world.
Below are links to transcripts and videos of Rotary International leaders who gave inspirational speeches to 16,000 Rotary members from 140 countries attending the June 21 to 25, 2025 Rotary Convention in Calgary.
For those with busy personal and work lives and not able to read the full transcripts or view the videos, through the links below, excerpts from the presentations are also offered below.
The first of nine fire trailers to be given to First Nation communities in BC – this one, “Phoenix”, going to the Siska community near Lytton, wiped out be fire in 2021 – was on display, along with the Write To Read project, in the House of Friendship at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary June 21 to 15, 2025. The exhibit was one of the first, among almost 250 exhibits, met at a main entrance to the House of Friendship for the 16,000 Rotarians and Rotaract members attending from 140 countries.
"Phoenix”, the first of nine fire trailers to be donated to the Siska First Nation community near Lytton and eight other BC First Nation communities, is now complete and ready for service. The fire trailer, which can be towed or airlifted to operate in hard to reach areas and provide rapid response to smaller fires before they become big ones, can also serve to fight fires right in the community. Rotary Club of Steveston and Rotary District 5040 leaders and a representative of Disaster Aid Canada, a Rotary organization based in Ladysmith, which contributed $350,000 to the project, dedicated the prototype, at a ceremony in March, but the final version has greater capacity and is decked out in full livery.
Dear Fellow Rotarians of District 5040:
As June 30th draws near and the Rotary year comes to a close, Judy and I find ourselves reflecting with immense gratitude on what has truly been a magical journey. Serving as your District Governor this past year has been the honour of a lifetime.
With our theme, “The Magic of Rotary,” and our shared commitment to “Empowering Through Unity,” we witnessed how much we can achieve when we come together with purpose, compassion, and collaboration. The year was filled with inspiring moments, meaningful service, and incredible fellowship—all of which were made possible by you, the Club Members.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has been under attack in this recent era of increased polarization. "The Challenge of DEI in a Divided World" was the topic of the third in a series of Positive Peace Conversations our District 5040 sponsored along with Rotary partner Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) on May 28th.
Chair of the former Rotary International Task Force on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and current Chair of the RI DEI Advisory Council Valarie Wafer spoke during the session about DEI and Rotary's commitment to it, by that name or another name which might avoid provoking negative reaction by some.
Powell River Members on Texada Island officially open a gazebo shelter which club members built and sponsored (photo). Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 30 days or so.
High school students sponsored by Rotary Clubs from communities throughout the District attended the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards weekend of learning and leadership. Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 30 days or so.
The President of our Rotary International network of 1.4 million worldwide members, Stephanie Urchik (in photo), the Chair of The Rotary Foundation and General Secretary/CEO of Rotary International confirm to Rotary members and all our communities served, that Rotary keeps its focus on service and values in these turbulent times in this message.
The 196 students and staff of Mwaasua Primary School and the 122 students and staff of Makaalu Secondary School, in Wamunyu, 112 km east of Nairobi, Kenya, have had to travel long distances daily to fill buckets of water from streams. Not only was that water not clean, leading to illness, the water collection took significant time and energy to collect. Both challenges took students and teachers away from receiving and providing education. The two schools told the staff of Kenya Connect about the need to collect uncontaminated rainfall in tanks right at the schools. Kenya Connect ensures rural children, from these two schools and 69 others in Kenya, leave education with options, by developing the skills, values and pathways to thrive by partnering with students, teachers and parents at 71 schools in rural Machakos and Kitui counties of Kenya.
The Rotary Club of Tsawwassen, working with Kenya Connect, has contributed $4,692 for the water tanks project, $3,128 from the club and $1,564 from The Rotary Foundation through a grant for Rotary District 5040.
The Festival of Performing Arts in Powell River was sponsored, managed, and attended by members of Rotary Club of Powell River. Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past 30 days or so.
