Governor s Letter. District Fellow Rotarians

Transcription

1 1 JULY 2015

2 Governor s Letter District 2452 Fellow Rotarians Another Rotary year has come to its final juncture and a new Rotary year just started. I can definitely feel the weight of office, not only because of the many items on the to-do list, but also to follow on the steps of a remarkable District Governor who helped us light up Rotary through his year of service. District Governor Khalil Al Sharif was a true example of those dedicated Rotarians setting up service above self. Dear friends, I know that the challenges we face are not easy but I welcome them. We have planned thoroughly and broken down the tasks into smaller ones. We have clearly spelled out our District Goals and we have prepared well for our year of service during our District Team Training Seminars and Presidents-elect Training Seminars during which I challenged you with my District goals. I want every club to achieve as many goals as possible. You can start as of today to reflect on the challenges I ve set for you and for myself. Our Clubs have chosen the best amongst us to be the World Class Presidents. I have chosen the best among our fellow Rotarians to become World Class District Officers. I am very confident that all of you are well-prepared and ready to assume your leadership roles. Now it is the time to perform our mission: to translate our plans into concrete actions --- and to make a real difference in the lives of our members in all the communities where the Rotary wheel of service will turn vigorously. How do you engage Rotary? You start by attending as many of your club s weekly meetings as possible. The friends and connections you make at Rotary meetings will last a lifetime. You continue to engage by taking part in the activities of your club. You go to fund raisers and service projects and learn how Rotary is working to make the world a better place. Then you volunteer to chair the committees making the club work. I close by highlighting the words of Rotary International President K.R. "Ravi" Ravindran saying to all of us: you have now been given this great gift: one year to take all your talents, all your gifts, everything that you are and can become -- and Be a Gift to the World, Yours in service, Mustafa Nasereddine District Governor 1

3 Rotary International President Letter We in Rotary aspire to great deeds. We admire those who gave great gifts to humanity: Abraham Lincoln, who gave the gift of human dignity to the downtrodden; Mother Teresa, who gave the gift of compassion to the forgotten; Mahatma Gandhi, who gave the gift of peaceful change to the oppressed. Their very lives became gifts to the world. We can be inspired by their example. We can be inspired to ask, how can I, in the life that I live without neglecting the responsibilities that are so dear to me how can I, too, become a gift to the world? As I considered my theme, I thought of the lessons I have learned through my Hindu faith. I thought especially of the story of Sudama. Sudama was a poor child and a bosom friend of Krishna, who was born in a royal lineage as an avatar an incarnation of the divine. As the two boys grow up, they drift apart, and while Krishna becomes a military leader and king of great repute, Sudama remains a humble villager. The years go by and Sudama's poverty deepens. Finally, he lacks even food to feed his children. His wife reminds him of his childhood friendship with Krishna: Perhaps it is time to go to the mighty ruler for help. Reluctantly, Sudama agrees, but resolves that he will not go empty-handed. He gathers together a few handfuls of rice all the food his family has left and wraps them in a piece of cloth as a gift for his friend. When Sudama enters the palace, he is overwhelmed by the grandeur and by Krishna's gracious welcome. His meager gift, so carefully prepared, seems a humiliating reminder of his poverty. Krishna embraces Sudama, who hides the hand holding the rice behind his back. Krishna asks what he is holding. Far from being disdainful, Krishna accepts the rice with gratitude and consumes it with joy as the two sit and talk together. Hours pass, during which the pleasures of their rekindled friendship push all thoughts of his desperate plight from Sudama's mind. When evening falls, Sudama sets out for home and only then realizes that he has neglected his task. He is returning with nothing, and Krishna has eaten his family's last grains of rice. Sudama steels himself to return to his hungry children. But standing before his gate, as dawn begins to break, he sees that the hut he left yesterday has become a stately home, and waiting to greet him is his own family: well-dressed, and well-fed by the baskets of food that appeared in their kitchen as Krishna ate each grain of Sudama's rice. Krishna understood what Sudama had brought him: everything he had to give. In return, Krishna gave him everything he needed. It is never the material value of a gift that matters it is the love that comes with it. Just as Sudama's gift to Krishna became a gift to Sudama, what we give through Rotary becomes a gift to us. And we all have a choice: whether to keep our gifts to ourselves or give them to others, and Be a Gift to the World. We have only one chance at our lives. And we will have only one chance at this new Rotary year. This is our time. Let us grasp it. Let us Be a Gift to the World. K.R. "RAVI" RAVINDRAN PRESIDENT

4 District Events Rotary Ineternational Assembly San Diego - January 2015 District Team Training Seminar (DTTS) Jordan - February 20-21, 2015 President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) Jordan - February 27-28,

5 District Events President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) Lebanon - March 14-15, 2015 President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) Bahrain - March 18-19, 2015 District Team Training Seminar & PETS Cyprus Bahrain - March Conference 28-29,

6 District Events President-Elect nd Training District Seminar Conference (PETS) Bahrain - March 19-22, 2015 UAE- April 25, 2015 President-Elect Training i Seminar (PETS) UAE- i April ay 25, J ne President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) Palestine - May 29 - June 1,

7 District Events Handover Ceremony 2452 Jordan 2n District - June Conference 15, 2015 Bahrain - March 19-22, 2015 over Ceremony Jordan - June 16, 2015 Handover Ceremony Handover Ceremony Jordan - June 15, 2015 Jordan June 15, 2015 Handover Ceremony Jordan - June 16, 2015 Handover Ceremony Jordan - June 15,

8 2452 District Conference ROTARY INTERNATIONAL District Amman - Jordan May rd Conference Register now at 7

9 DG s Official Clubs Visits COUNTRY Lebanon Armenia Georgia Lebanon Cyprus Palestine Jordan UAE Bahrain Sudan DATES September 14-19, 2015 September 24-27, 2015 September 28 -October 1, 2015 October 5-10, 2015 October 19-29, 2015 November 8-11, 2015 November 14-18, 2015 November 22-26, 2015 November 30- December 3, 2015 January 10-14,

10 Office of the Governor POSITION NUMBER Vice Governor PDG Usama Barghouthi Governor Advisor PP Ghassoub Kawar Governor Advisor PP Muhsen Al Mufleh abusihs@gmail.com Governor Advisor PP Shawkat Tadros shawkat_tadros@hotmail.com Governor Advisor, Communications & IT PP Aref Al Aref District Secretary PP Bashar Asfour District Conference Chair PP Rami Sha ban District Treasurer PP Nabil Haddad Governor s Assistant Eng. Aya Mansour itd2452@gmail.com dsd2452@gmail.com wrift@orange.jo nih@arabauditors.jo rid2452@gmail.com For more information: Governor s Office Contact Details Zara Expo (Managed by Grand Hyatt Amman) Suite # 2, B-Level Telephone: Mobile: rid2452@gmail.com Website: 9