My Dearest Rotaractors,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the new Rotary year of “Reach Within to Embrace Humanity.” I have had the opportunity to meet most of the Rotaractors and I know that all of you truly encompass the caring, giving and nurturing spirit of Rotary.
This year’s theme of “Reach Within to Embrace Humanity” calls for Rotarians and Rotaractors alike to reach within the purest part of their body: their heart and find the three types of caring and love that exist within us. Firstly and most importantly, is the love that we have for our family as we work tirelessly towards making the world a better place for them. We do this by providing them with all their basic everyday needs such as food, shelter, water and love.
Spreading this love further our RIP Kalyan asks that we should now share this kindness with those close to us, namely our friends, neighbors and communities by helping them to make their lives, and the lives of the people surrounding them, happy and full of love.
Lastly we are faced with the epitome of the love that we have within us, the ability to take our love and share it with the whole world – to do what we can to make it a better place. This is what we Rotarians, and you, Rotaractors do everyday.
I really believe that Rotaractors are the future of Rotary. The good work that you do today paves the way for you to become great Rotarians tomorrow. I am proud to say that the Rotaract community in District 3450 is going strong and I am so very proud of you all.
I believe that it is important to stress that Rotaractors are our equals, our counterparts and that by working together hand in hand we can change the world.
In my year my dream is to build closer relationships between Rotaractors and Rotarians. To this end, I have made sure to plan two events to allow both Rotarians and Rotaractors to mix, learn about each other and to enjoy themselves. The first is a Wine tasting event and the second is a Rotary Karaoke event, both of which I am positive will encourage stronger relationships between Rotarians and Rotaractors.
The challenge remains: How can we reach Rotaractors and convince them to become Rotarians. The strongest point I want to get across to Rotaractors is that they do not have to conform, they can start a new club and create their own meeting schedules etc. Rotary is moving with the times, and Rotaractors are the future of Rotary. I hope that you remember that as we are all serving the same purpose “Service above Self”.
Yours in Rotaract,
David Harilela,
District Governor
Rotary International District 3450