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THE YOUTH PANEL/ ROTARY UN DAY 2009
Rotary International Day at the United Nations - November 6,
2009
The Youth Panel
Moderated by Helen B. Reisler, PDG
(PDG Helen is also an RGHF board member for zone 32)
The Backpack Project: Sohia Hameed was the president of the
Miami High School Interact Club and is currently studying at New
York University. She spoke about her former high school’s
Interact program. Sohia was born in
India, but raise in the
United States
and when she returned to
India
as a high-school student, she observed with how little supplies
the school children had. Her club decided to raise funds to send
backpacks filled with school supplies. Her Interact Club sold
1,000 paper heart neck-laces and a Walk- A- Thon for the Project
“B4US” and raised $3,000. The Rotary Club of Miami matched the
funds up to $2,500. The Interact club was them able to sent 400
backpacks to the students of an
Indian
School. Sohia’s most
significant lesson was the critical importance of youth
involvement, and she accentuated that the “Future of the world
is in our hand” Sohia received an extended standing ovation.
Microcredit Project: The other impressive panelist was
Anne-Charlotte Perrin, a member of the Rotaract of Paris and a
former Rotary exchange-student in the United States. Her
Rotaract club started a “Microcredit Project” in Madagascar, the
fourth largest island in the world and one of the poorest
countries. .Anne-Charlotte’s Rotaract club raised funds to
purchase zebus, sometimes known as humped cattle, to the poorer
families in Madagascar. An investor purchases
the zebu and rents it to
Madagascar
farmer, and the farmer sends a small repayment.
The conference ended at 4:00 p.m. sharp and many Rotarians
energized and motivated attended either the cocktail reception
hosted by the Rotaract Club of the United Nations, or The Rotary
Foundation Alumni reception on Madison Ave.
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