Club President Notification:
One June 26th, 2021, Rotary Club of Willowdale held it's second virtual Turn Over event. Our President Stephen Phillips handed over the gavel to President Elect, Chungsen Leung. Rotary Club of Willowdale would like to extent it's utmost gratitude to all the members of the 2020-2021 Board of Directors. We are looking forward to a fantastic year and we await with great anticipation to meet our Fellow Rotarians in person again.
Rotary Club of Willowdale would like to extent it's utmost gratitude for all the great contributions we received in 2020-2021. We are at the end of another Rotary year, and It was an honour to serve you as President. I am handing over the GAVEL to our President Elect Chungsen Leung.
Thank you everybody for a beautiful Virtual Turn Over meeting on June 26th, 2021. This was our second one, and I sincerely hope we will have the next one in person with all our Fellow Rotarians.
It's an understatement to mention that it was a very tough year for many! The Pandemic was a big lesson for all of us. The Rotary Club of Willowdale suffered the loss of great members and partners. Jan, Deborah and Carol, we will miss you forever!
Despite it all, people contributed to our projects, and for that we are grateful. Because of your kind donations, our projects were successful and made a significant difference in the life of many in Canada and abroad.
Thank you for contributing to: our Ham & Cheese project benefiting North York Salvation Army, our first Rotary Foundation Virtual Walk, our Food Bank benefiting North York Harvest Food Bank, The Phillips House project at the North York General Hospital, The Arusha School project in Tanzania Africa, The Kerala Schools Project in India -- offering computers to 15 schools in 4 districts, our Gratitude Garden project honouring our front line workers, SMILES benefiting locals and people in the Dominican Republic, and many more projects we are proud of.
I have no doubt that our projects will continue to be successful in the very capable hands of our magnificent team and new board members. Thank you for giving me this wonderful opportunity to serve you, and a big thank to my family for all the great support during this past unprecedented year. Service Above All!
Working Committees:
Fund Raising | Heather Graeme (Chair/Coordinator) Jobson Easow Margaret Adat John Simpson (Ham & Cheese) |
Speakers | Al Warren (Chair/Coordinator) Bill King Peter Vanek |
International/Community Projects
| Jobson Easow (Chair/Coordinator) Margaret Adat Heather Graeme |
Environmental Initiatives | Stephen Philips (Chair/Coordinator) Chungsen Leung |
Technical Support (Virtual Meetings) | Al Warren |
Legacy Projects:
Arusha, Tanzania - Margaret Adat
Kerela, India - Jobson Easow
Salvation Army (Literacy & Christmas Luncheon) - Dae-Gun Kim
Gratitude Garden - Heather Graeme
Scouts Peace Award (new) - Heather Graeme
Tree Planting (environmental) - Stephen Philips
Water Projects - Peter Vanek
70th Anniversary Celebration - Bill King (Coordinator) Stephen Philips
Two classrooms are now complete thanks to the generosity of the members, friends and family of the Rotary Club of Willowdale.
Posted by JK Nyerere Primary School on Saturday, March 20, 2021
Rotary Club of Willowdale is happy to be part of the Kerala Schools Project in India.
A beautiful project of over $29,000 CAD: Computers for 15 flood affected schools to help rebuild their IT labs.
This project is lead by our fellow Rotarian Jobson Easow. With the help of many kind people in Canada and abroad, this project completed it's first phase by delivering the first computers to the schools that were affected by the devastating floods in Kerala, India.
In 2019 a committee was formed at the Rotary Club of Willowdale in Canada, to start a project to re-build computer labs in 15 schools in Kerala. A fundraising event was organized and got commitment/support from 7 clubs. Many meetings were conducted between Willowdale and Indian Rotary club. The project applied for RI grant but was not successful, and the team decided to do this project in 3 phases. We are also thankful that in 2020 Kerala Rotary partner up with Rajagiri outreach in India, and the first schools are well equipped now to start rebuilding their IT labs. The Fundraising event in Canada in 2019, organized by Rotary Club of Willowdale's Jobson Easow, raised $29,000 CA. The Kalamassery Rotary Club added $2,000 US to the project. in early 2021, the first phase of this 3 part project was delivered to the first 8 schools in Kerala.
This IT lab infrastructure support project will allow 15 Kerala schools to get connected again.
Kerala is a small coastal state at the southern tip of India and was an idyllic tourist paradise until it was ravaged by unprecedented floods. The fury and ferocity of the rain and resulting floods was devastating for Kerala. The last time a flood of this magnitude occurred was in 1924.
The current floods could be described as the ‘flood of the century’ and it claimed almost 500 lives. The floods have caused immeasurable misery and suffering for the people of Kerala and the scale of destruction and devastation in Kerala is massive. Entire villages have been evacuated and bridges, roads and other infrastructure have been completely destroyed. Over a million people were displaced and it will set Kerala back by decades, at least two according to experts. The damage is estimated in the range of USD 6 to 10 billion. More than 25,000 kilometres of roads along with over 200 bridges have been destroyed or damaged, while estimates of the number of houses to be rebuilt vary from 50,000 to 100,000.
Tourism and agriculture sectors in the state have been badly affected. Needless to say, many people have lost their livelihoods. It is estimated that over 3 million people have lost their livelihood. Several medical facilities in the state have been damaged and health authorities are concerned about the risk of communicable diseases as the flood water recedes.
Rotary Club Willowdale (Canada) with the help of Rotary Club Kalamassery (Kerala) had undertaken the initiative to re-build computer labs in 15 schools of 4 districts in 3 phases.
Happy to report that the Phase 1 of this project is completed. The first 8 schools received their IT lab equipment in early 2021. Awesome job everybody!
Winter Issue Feb 2021
J.K. NYERERE SCHOOL, ARUSHA TANZANIA
This project began by chance when a fellow Rotarian, Margaret Adat, took a family trip to Tanzania in 2007. As a family, they decided to donate to a local school, J.K. Nyerere Primary School. What happened next is a testament to the results people can achieve when they live and follow Service Above Self, one of Rotary’s two mottoes.
Picture: Crowded classrooms, shortage of books
Picture: Semi-completed classrooms
Pictures: Construction currently underway to build additional classroom
The Adat family did donate to J.K. Nyerere Primary School nearly 14 years ago. And the impact that visit had on them inspired them to ask friends, family, colleagues, community members and the Rotary Club of Willowdale to support students, teachers and the infrastructure of a once neglected school.
The impact that our club has made in thousands of students and family’s lives in Arusha is nothing short of incredible. Since 2013, the Rotary Club of Willowdale has raised over $100,000 in support of J.K. Nyerere Primary School. Some recent initiatives include:
· Completing the construction of 3 classrooms due to overcrowding
· Adding another water tank to provide adequate water
· Ongoing repairs, including painting and purchasing supplies (desks, blackboards, etc.)
· Finishing the construction of the teacher’s residence to improve the school’s security
· Feeding students during national examinations (Standard 4 and Standard 7)
During the most recent Standard 7, the entrance examination for secondary school, 99% of students from J.K Nyerere Primary School passed. The school is now ranked 36th in the school district, a leap forward from it’s previous ranking of 69th, and a clear indication that our efforts are making a difference.
Feeding grade 7 students during naTonal examination period.
Rotary Club of Willowdale is very proud of this project and would like to thank our fellow Rotarian Margaret Adat and family for leading this project since 2013 in an extraordinary manner. SERVICE ABOVE SELF!
Enjoy the J.K. Nyerere Primary School in Arusha video, and get inspired to help us keep their students' dreams alive.
Go to our Donate button on our home page and contribute to this beautiful project.
 Highlights of Letter from SMILES Foundation to Rotary Club of Willowdale:
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