International Service Committee

Convenor :: Jim Gillespie

The committee's aims are to raise the awareness and effectiveness of international and world community service, and to promote international fellowship and understanding.

It organises fund-raising activities to provide financial assistance to establishes charities such as WaterAid, Hope and Homes for Children (qv), MAF, etc. and to help supply emergency relief aid in disaster areas of the world with Aquaboxes and ShelterBoxes, collection of old spectacles or unwanted tools to be refurbished for onward transmission to the Third World, etc. Through Rotary International, it seeks projects that can be matched with RI funding.

Water is one of Rotary's strategic priorities and this year's Club President, Norman Middleton, requested a specific focus on it for his presidential year. Whilst the International Services Committee has assisted Water Aid and Rotary Aquaboxes as projects we have supported in the past, and will continue to do so in the future as the opportunity permits, our group felt that the novelty of Roundabout PlayPumps along with the involvement of children — Kids Play, Water Pumps— made this a potentialy exciting project.

As in previous years, our committee will also be supporting Rotary's Africa Hope which is a project that seeks to raise funds to help the orphaned and the disadvantaged children in Rwanda and South Africa. These are children who have lost parents, especially mothers, due to war or Aids. Rotary (RIBI) will be raising the funds and administration on the ground will be covered by Hope and Homes for Children.

To fund this activity, the International Service Committee will be holding or hosting a number of exciting events so watch out for the details on our Forthcoming Attractions panel on the Club's home page.

Two places in Edinburgh Marathon

Two young, energetic stalwart supporters of Linlithgow Grange have offered to run the Edinburgh Marathon for us on May 27th 2007 to raise money for a Playpump for Africa. More details will follow soon. Thank you, young people!