Volume 66, Number 1

July, 2009

Taking Steps to a Better World

 The Editor’s Blog
F orty years ago this month, Neil Armstrong stepped
foot on the moon and gave us one of the great-
est phrases in America’s history. “One small step
for a man, One giant leap for mankind.” (And too one
of the most misquoted, although there is much debate
as to whether or not he did say “a man.”)
Throughout the history of mankind, we have taken se-
ries of small steps - remember, Rome wasn’t built in a
day. But lately, it seems, small steps are becoming big
steps, or if they are small steps, they are moving very
rapidly.
Sometimes first steps
can be difficult. Rotary on the Web
And that brings me
to the subject of my  Rotary International
article this month. Website—
www.rotary.org
P r e si d en t Te r r y
Wages has asked
me to offer Rotarians  Rotary District 5710
the opportunity to receive The Rotopeka digitally rather than in a Website—
printed version. www.rotary5710.org
Now, I know that some of you are saying, that’s a giant leap for
mankind, while I am certain others are saying, I read it online any-  Rotary Club Website—
way. But while you think about it, here are some reasons to read it www.downtowntopekar
online. otary.org
1) Saves money in printing and mailing costs
2) Allows you to receive it faster, up to two weeks faster than you  Rotary International
might receive it otherwise Foundation—
www.rotary.org/
3) If you still want to print it, you can.
foundation
4) It’s in full color online.
So we’re giving you the chance to select how you want to receive  Twitter—
your Rotopeka. Just v i si t our websi te at www.twitter.com/
www..downtowntopekarotary.org and let us know how you want topekarotary
to receive the Rotopeka.

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 Korean Rotarians lay foundation for health center

By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 23 July 2009

Answering the call from Past RI President Dong Kurn Lee to reduce child mortality, Rotary clubs in Ko-
rea donated US$500,000 to build a new medical center dedicated to improving health care for
women and children in Tanzania.

The facility, set to open in 2010 at Tumbi Special Hospital in Kibaha, is expected to save up to 42 chil-
dren per day and will enrich the lives of one million residents of the country's Pwani Region, says
Sang Koo Yun, project leader and past governor of District 3650.

"This initiative is a representation of the dream [Past] President Lee has of reducing child mortality in
Africa and throughout the world," says Yun. "We hope the project will set an example for people
who wish to engage in similar initiatives."

A fact-finding team of Korean Rotarians, organized by Yun, traveled in November to Tanzania,

where the group visited medical facilities specializing in mother and child health care and met with
top health officials, hospital management, and local Rotary club members.

Based on the team's recommendations, the Korean and Tanzanian clubs selected Tumbi hospital as
the site for the new facility. The hospital is part of the Kibaha Education Centre, where health officers
and nurses are trained.

"Since the existing mother-child health care facility at the hospital needs updating and refurbishing,
a new operating room, delivery rooms, and an X-ray room are to be constructed. Also, more mod-
ern equipment and furnishings will be installed," says Yun.

The center will provide on-site training and educational programs to improve the quality of the
medical services and management. Public awareness programs will be designed to educate the
community about health and hygiene.

The Korean Rotarians' donations were matched by the Community Chest of Korea, which supports
the effort to reduce child mortality.

A dedication ceremony was held in April for the $1 million medical center. Vice President Ali Mo-
hamed Shein of Tanzania, who attended the event along with Lee, Yun, and several other Korean
Rotarians, praised Rotary's commitment to international service projects.

"Rotary International is an indispensable partner in providing services to the needy and promoting
social and economic development," says Shein. "The new facility will be an important step in
strengthening mother and child health care -- something that is in great demand in this country."

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 Minutes from June Board of Trustees

Secretary’s Report: Approved as presented. Moved by Al-

Rotary Club of Topeka vin, seconded by Blanche.
Officers
Treasurer’s Report: Accepted as presented. Moved by
Blanche, seconded by Jennifer.

PRESIDENT—Terry Wages
May 30 Membership: 196

PRESIDENT-ELECT—Gordon
Resignations: were received from Ashraf Sufi & Travis Mau-
Lansford rath, Blanche moved to accept, Jennifer seconded,
passed. Richard Ridley also submitted his resignation, we
VICE-PRESIDENT—Anita will check to see if he meets attendance privilege qualifi-
Wolgast cations before accepting.
TREASURER—Alisa Snavely
New Member proposal: for were presented for Larry
SECRETARY—Blanche Parks McCoig, Susan moved to approve, Henry seconded,
SERGEANT AT ARMS—Mike Locke
passed.

Board Members Leave of Absence Request: None

David Beck Attendance Privileges Requests: None

Doug Scott Annual Banquet: will be Thursday evening, July 2 at the

Topeka Country Club.
Glenda DuBoise
Golf Tournament Update: Henry reported it made over
Fred Gatlin
$5,000 profit, exact amount to be announced at July board
Jennifer Haller meeting.
Henry McClure Next board meeting: will be July 8 at the Topeka Shawnee
Joy Moser
County Public Library. Meeting adjourned.

Asel Mukeyeva

Susan Mauch Respectfully submitted,

Past President—Kirk Johnson

THE ROTOPEKA John Wall
Editor—Greg Hill

Published Monthly by the Downtown Rotary Club of

Topeka

Downtown Ramada I nn, Suite 110 Topeka, Kansas

66607

Subscription $2.00 per year

Periodicals Postage Paid at Topeka, Kansas USPS 471-

860

POSTMASTER: Send address change to Rotopeka 420

SE 6th, Suite 110 Topeka, KS 66607

Rotopeka deadline is two weeks prior to the first

Thursday of the month

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Message from the President
By Terry Wages, President

A s everyone knows membership is important to any organization.

Membership allows for fun, friendship and fellowship at our meetings
and gatherings. When our Club=2 0has a consistent membership at 200 or
above we attract others who want to be involved with our Club as members
and speakers. We also have more financial resources and talent to help with
service projects and promote our works in “Service Above Self”. Our goal this
year is to add a net of two members. We are cu rrently at 195 members. In
order to end the year at 197 we will need to recruit one member for everyone
who leaves plus two. I challenge each member this year to partner with one or
more fellow members and recruit one new member.

We hope that every Rotary member will become involved in the club admini-
stration and with the many service projects. By becoming committed and in-
volved we hope to have every member as a Rotarian for life; active in a service
project, a club, fellowshipping with other members and financially helping
where help is needed such as Rotary Foundation.

One easy way to learn more about Rotary and service projects is to commit six
hours on August 8, 2009 and attend the Rotary Foundation Seminar, free of
charge plus lunch, at Washburn University Memorial Union. From experience, I
don’t believe you will be disappointed.

Back to membership. Prospective member's meals are paid by the Club during the recruiting and approving process. Hopefully,
prospective members will commit to become an active member after attending a couple of meetings. Once a prospect has com-
pleted the new member application and paid their deposit or dues, their name
is submitted to the Board for comment and approval for submission to the membership. The prospective member's name is pre-
sented to the membership three times for any comments. After the third presentation the prospect is submitted to the Board for
final approval. Once a prospect has been approved they will begin paying meals at the next full month. As an example, if ap-
proved at the July Board Meeting, the new member would begin to pay for their meals in August and every month thereafter.

The process for recruiting a new member is not to be exclusive but to be inclusive and compatible to Rotary's Gold Standards. The
membership committee will meet with every new member to more fully inform them about Rotary and answer any questions the
new member may still have unanswered. The membership committee will also try to fit the new member into a service project
or club administration that besGt matches interests and talents.

Best wishes to a everyone for a successful 2009 - 2010 Rotary Year. Thank you for allowing me to be President. I commit to do my
best to live up to your expectations.
With your help we can make this a fun and successful year.

Upcoming Programs
August 6, 2009—Meet Your Rotary District Governor, Jim Mattes
August 13, 2009—Hey, Mister, Your Alligator is Loose!, Gary Clarke, former director of the “World Famous” Topeka Zoo
August 20, 2009—The ARTS Mean BUSINESS in Kansas”: an economic impact conversation
Llewellyn Crain, Executive Director of the Kansas Arts Commission
August 27, 2009—AHS in OZ: the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center update, Joanne Morrell, Executive Director

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 Images from the

6
e Annual Banquet

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What does Rotary Do?
The next time you are asked what
our club does, remember all the
wonderful projects we have
helped make a reality. Here are
several of those projects:
Christmas in April
Help with TARC Winter Wonderland
Dictionaries in School
Dental Screenings
Scholarships for Washburn Students
Florence Crittenden Services
RYLA
Vocational Day for Junior High
Sponsor Ambassadorial Scholars
Christmas Bureau
Sponsor East Avondale Activities
Polio Reconstructive Surgery—
India
Cataract Surgery—Pakistan
Ambulance Project—Bangladesh
Medical Team—Panama
Shelter Box
Books for Peace Corp Volunteers
And Much, Much More
Of the things we think, say or do:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"
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Reach One, Keep One
The RI Board of Directors adopted a new membership slogan,
"Each Rotarian: Reach One, Keep One," at its June meeting.
The slogan emphasizes the need for Rotarians to focus on both re-
cruitment and retention in their membership growth efforts.
"Membership development is each Rotarian's responsibility," said
Paul Netzel, a member of RI's Membership Development and Re-
tention Committee and a past RI director.
"'Reach One' reminds us that because Rotary membership is by invi-
tation, it's essential that each Rotarian reaches out and invites
someone to join," added Netzel, a member of the Rotary Club of
Los Angeles.
"'Keep One' reminds us that it's not sufficient to simply sponsor
someone into Rotary; we must also see that new members become
active and involved Rotarians. We know this is an essential element
in membership retention."
The new slogan complements the Board's long-term membership
strategy, which was also adopted at the June meeting.
Member sponsor and retention recognition
At its January meeting, the RI Board adopted a New Member
Sponsor and Retention Recognition program, which became ef-
fective 1 July. The program, also part of the long-term membership
strategy, allows Rotary club presidents to nominate and recognize
individuals for sponsoring new members while focusing on reten-
tion. There are several award categories:
 Gold pin and certificate: For Rotarians bringing 25 members
into any Rotary club, with 20 still active after six years
 Silver pin and certificate: For Rotarians bringing 10 members
into any Rotary club, with eight still active after four years
 Bronze pin and certificate: For Rotarians bringing five members
into any Rotary club, with four still active after two years
Learn more about membership resources available to Rotary clubs
and districts by visiting the Rotary International Website.
Welcome Scott Gales to the Topeka Rotary Club

S
cott Gales was born in Emporia,
Kansas. After moving to Con-
cordia, Kansas with his parents,
he graduated from Concordia
Senior High School in 1986. He
attended Junior College at Cloud
County Community College for two
years then attended Kansas State Uni-
versity, where he graduated with a
Bachelor of Science from the College of
Archi t ec tu re and D esi gn f r o m
KSU. Scott interned in the Los Angeles
area in California, and also in Topeka,
KS while attending college. After
graduation from KSU in 1993, Scott ac-
cepted an offer to work with Michael
Wilson, of Architect One. That was a
busy summer for Scott. He and his wife,
Cheryl (Bowhay), were also married that
summer in Holton, KS. During Scott’s
senior year at KSU, one of his projects
was entered into the “William Van Allen
International Design Competition”. He was notified that summer of 1993 that it had won First
Prize. The award money allowed Scott and his wife, Cheryl, to travel throughout Europe for two
months during the fall of 1994. Scott passed his licensure boards for the state of Kansas in 1996. He has
been a Partner & Principal of Architect One since 1998.

Scott is a Past President & Past Active member of Topeka Active 20-30 Club. He is a director and Past
President of the TARC Foundation of Topeka. He is a Past President and member of the Topeka Chap-
ter of the American Institute of Architects. He has also served on the board of directors of the United
Way of Topeka. He is a member of the Most Pure Heart of Mary Knights of Columbus. He is also sits on
the GO-TOPEKA Board of Directors.

Scott and his wife, Cheryl, have made Topeka their home since getting married in 1993. They have 3
children Morgan (13), Ally (10), and Jake (6). They enjoy actively watching and helping with all of
their kids school and sports activities.

Scott is extremely excited to be involved in the community and getting to know everyone in Ro-
tary. He is thankful for this opportunity to be a member of this great organization and looks forward to
getting acquainted and helping where he can. Welcome Scott!

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 A program with teeth
By Nicole Chark Rotary International

woman lies stretched out in the grass. She

A
has just had a decayed tooth extracted; its
root was stuck in her gum, and the remains
were chiseled from her mouth.

Earlier that day, she walked more than 3

miles to Kasekulo, a fishing village and one location where
the Rotary Club of Kampala-Ssese Islands, Uganda, has
established an ongoing traveling medical and dental
clinic.

For more than 16 years, Ugandan Rotarians have taken

hourlong ferry rides from Kampala to this community of is-
lands. Since 200l, twice each year, members of the Rotary
Club of Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA, have partici-
pated in the one-day clinics. Another once or twice a
year, the Ugandans have visited the impoverished villages
without the Americans. The U.S. Rotarians learned about
the project while they were building water wells in northern
Uganda eight years ago. Together, the Rotarians provide
dental care, general health treatment, and deworming for
islanders, many of whom have never left the island or their
fishing villages.

A line begins to wrap around a school soon after the Ro-

tarians arrive, transforming it into a clinic. Two volunteer
physicians and two dentists attend to more than 300 pa-
tients. They often have so many patients that they work A Ssese Islander sits on a schoolroom bench
into the night and don’t leave until they attend to every- in Kasekulo Village, Kalangala, Uganda,
one there. Bainbridge Island club member John Walker while a volunteer dentist extracts a tooth.
Bottom: Ssese Islanders line up for treatment
remembers holding a flashlight into patients’ mouths so
as Phyllis Kwesiga, president of the Kampala-
dentists could pull teeth. In 2003, the Kampala-Ssese Is- Ssese Islands club, listens to their needs and
lands club built a permanent clinic on the main island of sends them to the right place for either den-
Kalangala. tal or medical assessment. Photos by Jessica
Scranton
With no other medical centers, villagers look forward to the
visits, says Joy Bagyenda, a member of the club. The com-
mon health threats facing islanders often come from the parasites in Lake Victoria and the
harsh presence of HIV/AIDS in small communities such as Kasekulo. In 2007, there were 54
documented cases of AIDS in this village. According to Bainbridge Island Rotarian Joanne
Croghan, the women held a meeting to discuss the active cases of the disease and the
(Continued on page 11)

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many children orphaned by it.
Uganda has an information campaign
to recommend safer sexual practices,
but this remote community does not
receive the educational outreach.
Croghan has helped out by making
cotton balls by hand and boiling the
instruments in water heated by kero-
sene lamps. She has watched dentists
yank and chisel hundreds of decayed
teeth. Any patient who has a tooth
extraction receives antibiotics. Every
child receives antiparasitic medica-
tion. Swollen bellies, a typical sign of
worm infestation, are commonplace
here.
Rotarians help the islanders in other
ways too. The Kampala-Ssese Islands
club brought life vests for the villagers,
who have a high incidence of drown-
ing. Bainbridge Island Rotarian Pete
Cholometes brought 50 pounds of
toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, mos-
quito nets, soccer balls, pumps, and
bouncing rubber balls to Kasekulo.
By the time the Rotarians leave the
village, many people have large gaps
in their smiles from the dental work,
but the children, who bounce their
new balls off the mud huts and the
schoolhouse, are having too much fun
Indonesian clubs help
2,000 children with cleft lip
By Peter Schmidtke Netherlands). This second,
Rotary International News US$45,000 project provided
surgeries to 149 impoverished
Syahrul Gunawan looked in
children in 2006-07.
the mirror and touched the
reflection of his nose and lips. Hamid, an orthodontist, and
two other Surabaya Central
The seven-year-old boy, who
Rotarians arranged patient
had received surgery for clefts
transportation, educated par-
on both sides of his upper lip,
ents about postsurgical care,
smiled at his mother and ex-
and provided children with
claimed how handsome he
books and toys. Rotarians also
was. Thalca Hamid from the
recruited local villagers to talk
Rotary Club of Surabaya Cen-
to rural families who may not
tral, Indonesia, recalls how the
realize the benefits of the sur-
boy’s mother told Hamid she
gery.
had given her son a normal
life. “The children and their families
have unbelievable pressure
“At times I feel like crying
and stress because many feel
when I hear about these chil-
that such defects are a curse,”
dren,” Hamid says, “because
Hamid says. “Previously, few in
friendships from all over the
our community realized how
world can change a child’s
complicated this defect is.”
life.”
Fast facts:
Gunawan was among the first
children in 2001 who received Cleft lip and/or palate is the
cleft lip or palate surgeries most common facial birth de-
through the efforts of Hamid fect, affecting one in 700 ba-
and the Surabaya Central bies worldwide and one in 500
club. Since then, 2,000 chil- in Asia.
dren have undergone surgery Cleft lip and palate defects
with help from Australian, can interfere with eating,
Dutch, and Indonesian Rotari- speaking, and breathing and
ans, among others. can cause dental problems,
Two Matching Grants have ear infections, and hearing
aided this effort, the most re- loss.
cent of which was cospon-
sored by District 1610 (The
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 785.232.7216

Gary Blitsch of Southwind Gallery in Topeka recently spoke to the Topeka Rotary Club about art and business in Topeka.

Meeting Makeups
Topeka West—Wednesday, 7
AM Marriott Courtyard, 2033
SW Wannamaker
Topeka South—Friday, 7 AM—
Kansas Room, Washburn Uni-
versity Memorial Union
Topeka North—Wednesday,
noon—Topeka North YMCA
Board Room. 1936 NW Tyler.

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