To double the size of the Sushrusa School for Deaf Children in Bali, Indonesia, currently serving 100 students, and to serve many more and thousands in the future, the Rotary Club of Burnaby, with Rotary Club of Lions Gate and a District Grant of CDN$7,000, partnered with the Rotary Club of Bali Action, to complete and outfit a new wing of classrooms at a cost of CDN$35,000. The expansion, built between January and June 2025, included interior finishing, classroom furniture, air conditioning, lighting, and earthquake resistant features.
As we near the end of another Rotary year it's a time to reflect on our achievements throughout District 5040 and the groundwork we have prepared for what comes next. Rotary builds on the efforts of those who came before us. We strive to create opportunities for those who will follow.
Our Rotary theme “Unite for Good” is reflected in every act of service done by like minded people to create something larger than ourselves. During this past year our District adapted to our changing world to better strengthen and support our clubs.
Registration is now open for the District 5040 Rotary Family Picnic - part of the upcoming Impact Tour! Join fellow Rotary members and their families from across District 5040 for a fun, relaxed day of connection, community , and celebration. Don't miss the chance to be part of the energy and spirit of the tour - register today.
Rotary's Adventures in Health Care program in Prince George allows young people to explore the wide range of careers within the health care system and connect them to educational pathways and possible career. Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past month.
This is the last post of these monthly posts from clubs throughout the District. This series began three years ago as some form of “member communication” in keeping with strategy of the Public Image Committee, to create some sense of “community” in the District. Our team of 10 Assistant Governors has determined that a more informative method of reporting and discussing, focused on trends, needs and issues among our clubs – as the District aims to serve our clubs – will be more effective.
The more than 120 people who attended the Rotary Club of Steveston's 25th Anniversary celebration on May 28, 2026 witnessed Richmond Mayor, with Councillors Alexa Loo and Carol Day, deliver a City of Richmond Proclamation to recognize the club's long list of achievements.
They also heard from Hon. Steven Point, former Lt. Governor of BC (2007 to 2012), who grew up in a large family, of limited means with no books, in a small village of the Sto:lo First Nation. He eventually became Chief of the Skowlake First Nation for many years. Despite his humble beginning he pursued a distinguished career in law as provincial court judge and public service, including Chancellor of UBC. He was the inspiration and major supporter of Steveston Rotary's Write2Read program.
In rural communities across South Africa, limited access to water affects health, education, household income, and daily dignity. Women and children often spend hours each day carrying heavy containers over long distances, reducing time available for school, work, food production, and community life. The ECOroller Scaling Project addresses that burden with a practical 70-litre rolling water container that allows families to move significantly more water with far less physical strain.
The Rotary Club of Prince Rupert donated $2,100 which, with the help of the Rotary Club of Gibsons, received an additional District Grant of $1,050 from The Rotary Foundation to add to this project. Working with the Rotary Club of Hillcrest in South Africa that total donation of $3,150 was doubled by the Rolling Water Foundation to fund 60 ECOrollers delivered to families in South Africa.
BC & Alberta Guide Dogs (BCAGD), in the Ladner community of Delta is a charity which changes the lives of individuals who are blind or have low vision, children with autism, and Veterans and First Responders with Operational Stress Injuries and PTSD. It takes two years and upwards of $35,000 to produce one certified dog, provided free of charge to the recipient.
The Rotary Club of Ladner has supported the purchase of $15,000 in laboratory equipment for BCAGD’s new $7.1 million Breeding and Training Centre devoted to breeding of dogs, to produce puppies most suited to eventual training as guide and service dogs. Veterinarians working in this highly controlled, safe and sterile environment in the new building can use the equipment to monitor the health of each valuable puppy in its early weeks before leaving for raising with volunteers followed by training.
A dedicated leader, community pillar, friend, proud member of the Rotary Club of Squamish, and leader of various Rotary District 5040 programs, Lynda Rocha, passed away on May 5, 2026 at the age of 61. Lynda will be missed by so many in her community and throughout our District, especially in the cause of youth, as she lived her life that truly exemplified the Rotary motto of "Service Above Self."
With two new automated external defibrillators, purchased with Rotary funding, Quesnel Search & Rescue has increased its emergency response capacity in Quesnel and the surrounding Cariboo region by improving access to life-saving cardiac intervention in remote and difficult-to-reach environments. When a sudden cardiac arrest occurs, the availability of an AED in the first critical minutes can significantly improve the chance of survival. The Rotary Club of Quesnel donated $4,746 with an additional $1,582 from The Rotary Foundation through a District Grant for the purchase of this equipment.
Pender Harbour Rotary has built and installed 38 Western Purple Martin nesting boxes throughout the inner harbour for the large type of swallow which nests in groups on early April arrival following migration to the area from Brazil. Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past month.
A student graduating this year from high school, in communities served by clubs in Rotary District 5040, with plans to pursue post-secondary education, including trades, can apply for the $1,000 Dave Hamilton “Service Above Self” Bursary by May 15, 2026.
Students who are eligible are part of the "Rotary family", having participated in their school's Interact Club, Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA), Youth Exchange or Adventures programs. More details…….
An April 18th Meet and Greet of 75 members, family and friends from all eight Rotary and Rotaract clubs in Richmond and Delta was an opportunity to learn about other clubs in the Area, be inspired by presentations on each club's achievements in service to our community and the world, and open the door to more collaboration on future service
The event, which leaders of all the clubs agreed to hold, was an opportunity to encourage members to network with each other – beyond our own clubs -- and not only achieve results through fellowship and friendship, but to network and learn from each other.
Rotary Clubs of Ladner, Richmond, Richmond Sunrise, Richmond Sunset, Steveston and Tsawwassen participated.
In and around the City of Lipa, Batangas province of the Philippines, about 80 kilometers south of Manila, many of the 387,392 residents are too poor to afford dental care. Of course, poor dental health aggravates or leads to other health problems.
Led by Richmond Sunrise Rotary Club member Dentist Dr. Danilo Salcedo and a team of several club members who also work in the health services professions, joined professional dental workers from Caring Hearts Dentistry from Canada and dental care providers in the Philippines on a dental care mission in February 2026. Members of the Rotary Club of Lipa assisted in administering the clinic.
With funding from Richmond Sunrise Rotary of $5,000 and a District Grant from The Rotary Foundation of $2,500 the dental mission this year treated over 2,000 patients, many children who had never had any dental services performed previously as well as seniors and adults, unable to afford dental services. Rotary World Help shipped equipment and supplies from this area to Lipa. Repairs were also made to needed dental equipment repairs or replacement.
Nominations for the 2026 District Awards are now open. The Rotary District 5040 Awards recognize outstanding contributions made by Rotarians and their clubs. Your nominations highlight achievements in various categories and inspire greater engagement. We learn from recipients’ entries, making recognition valuable.
As described on the District Awards page, categories include: > Outstanding Club of the Year > Rotarian of the Year > Don Evans People of Action Award > Rotary Public Image Award > Membership Awards (to be awarded later in the year based on year end results).
Ian Evans, of RC Lions Gate, (phhoto) celebrated his 75th anniversary as an active Rotary member on March 2, 2026 – the longest serving member among our 1.4 million members worldwide. Ian will celebrate his 100th birthday this summer. Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past two months.
𝐑𝐈 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔-𝟐𝟖, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝟓𝟎𝟒𝟎 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.
Director Marty will visit every district in Zones 28/32– from Barrow to Bermuda as well as Kelowna, Kalamazoo, and Kingston.
Clubs are preparing to send a high school student to Ottawa this Spring for Adventure in Citizenship, joining many from across Canada (photo). Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past month.
Pregnancy at the age of 18 years and younger is considered high risk. Pregnancy at those young ages comes with three times the risk of maternal death and twice the risk of neonatal death as opposed to that for older age groups. Early adolescents often don’t have access to reproductive health services provided in the mainstream public health sector. An Economic and Social Council Commission of the 47-nation-member United Nations reports that early (adolescent ages 10-14 years old) pregnancy is increasing, mostly from consensual relationships, estimated at 7 infants per day.
Quality prenatal care in the Philippines has been a challenge particularly in urban poor areas because of the cost. The Rotary Club of Vancouver Mountainview made a modest contribution of US$100 to the US$41,443 project to enable it – sponsored by the Rotary Club of Las Pinas in District 3030 and by other clubs and Districts in the Philippines -- to apply for a Rotary Global Grant. Then Mountainview Rotary committed to donating $1,000 every year to Las Piñas Rotary to expand this project to other areas in need of this service in the Philippines.
Five of seven members inducted into Rotary Club of Richmond's new Satellite Club, plus one Richmond Rotaract new member (photo). Here are many of the other achievements and activities of some of our clubs in Rotary District 5040 in the past month.
Featured on the national CTV News channel, December 17, 2025, is a story about a discarded food recycling system for people in need, in London, Ontario run by volunteers, many from a local Rotary club. This kind of work is going on here in communities throughout BC.
As I spent the last several months doing my club visits I was continually impressed by the amazing work of our Rotarians.
We make our communities both local and global a more joyous place for all.
Never underestimate the impact our projects have on the lives of others.
May you all have a safe and wonderful holiday season and spend time with those you love.
Take care.
Jan
Jan Gisborne
District 5040 Governor
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.
