World Community Service Committee
The World Community Service Committee consists of members of the Rotary Club of Hamilton and occasionally non-Rotarians who are responsible for recommending, advising and managing international projects of the Rotary Club of Hamilton. Additionally, the Committee provides oversight and champions international humanitarian projects sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hamilton consistent with Rotary International six areas of focus.
Rotary & the Fight Against Polio:
Rotary is an international community that brings together leaders who step up to take on the world’s toughest challenges, locally and globally. The eradication of polio is one of our longest standing and most significant efforts. Along with our partners, we have helped immunize more than 2.5 billion children against polio in 122 countries. We have reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent worldwide and we won’t stop until we end the disease for good.
Since 1988, we’ve seen a worldwide reduction in polio cases of 99.9%. For more than two years, we’ve seen wild polio cases in only two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Rotary Club of Hamilton has been committed to supporting the campaign to End Polio. Visit the website www.endpolio.org for more information about the fight to eradicate Polio
World Polio Day – October 24th
The Rotary Club of Hamilton will be hosting two special events to recognize World Polio Day:
- October 23rd at 6:30pm – The HAMILTON Sign in front of City Hall will be illuminated in the colours of Polio (Red & Yellow) to recognize World Polio Day
- October 24th at our Rotary Meeting we will have a special presentation and raise funds to fight polio. You can make your donation at endpolio.ord/donate
Your donation helps Rotary and its partners reach every child with the polio vaccine. Thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, your contribution will be tripled, getting us even closer to a polio-free world.
Current Projects of the Rotary Club of Hamilton
Liberian Learning Center (First Phase)
In collaboration with Empowerment Squared and the Rotary Club of Monrovia, the Rotary Club of Hamilton is the sponsor club of the first phase of the Liberian Learning Center Project which will house the only public library, small business incubation and learning centre in the West African nation of Liberia. We are currently leading a fundraising effort through a global grant and welcome donations as well as other forms of support.
Ebola Legacy Academic Scholarship
In response to the Ebola epidemic in 2014, we partnered with the Rotary Club of Monrovia to support the Ebola Legacy Academic Scholarship initiative which is an academic scholarship program with the Mother Patern College of Health Sciences in Liberia to support aspiring healthcare workers pursuing Nursing, Physician’s Assistant and Laboratory Technology degrees at the Associate and Bachelor’s levels. Devastated by war for close to twenty years and rebuilding a health sector left in ruins, Ebola emerged and took the lives of over 200 of health workers. The motivation behind the scholarship initiative was to try and new health workers back into the system given the tragedy.
Currently in its third year, 19 of the scholarship recipients graduated in 2019 totaling 30 students who have successfully completed their studies over the three-year cycle, all of whom maintained high academic standards and demonstrated their commitment to community service in their respective areas as core requirements of the scholarship. The school’s graduating student with the highest GPA was proudly a scholarship recipient, and previous graduates are currently working in county health teams in Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa and Rivercess counties while others have moved into training health-workers, private facilities or faith-based health institutions.