ROTARY CLUB OF McLean, VA
WEB: www.McLeanRotary.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tom Mangan
703-967-1795
DATE: July 25, 2007
LOCAL DENTIST LEADS HUMANITARIAN MISSION TO AFRICA
“What began, this spring, as a simple Group Study Exchange soon turned into a humanitarian mission”, said Dr. Lois Wilson, a member of the Rotary Club of McLean. She was the team leader for a group of young professional women on a Group Study Exchange to Africa. The exchange, sponsored by Rotary International, is designed to allow young professionals to observe their counterparts in other countries, to learn new techniques, and to share information about how their professions are practiced in different cultures. What they saw there inspired Dr. Wilson to begin a project to help the thousands of children, orphaned by the deadly HIV/AIDS virus spreading throughout much of Africa.
Dr. Wilson told the McLean Rotarians “HIV/AIDS in Africa has become pandemic. Everywhere we traveled, we found orphanages, established to house children whose parents have perished from the disease.” She presented slides showing the orphanages and told of their desperate need for assistance. As they traveled through South Africa, and Swaziland, the team found that many of these projects were sponsored by individuals or small independent groups with few resources. The children in some were living at a bare subsistence level.
The GSE team brought with them several small items to present as gifts on their travels. One of the most well received items was a silk scarf made from original water color paintings by local artist and Rotarian, Cherry Baumbusch. So many people asked where they could buy such beautiful scarves, that Ms. Baumbusch and Dr. Wilson developed the idea of marketing them to raise funds for the orphans. Working through the Rotary Club of McLean, they have developed a web site called www.pictureabetterworld.org. Through this fundraiser, they hope to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS and to assist other Rotary sponsored humanitarian efforts in Africa. Please go to the web site for additional information.
The McLean Rotary Club meets for lunch Tuesdays at 12pm at:
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
Fellowship Hall
1545 Chain Bridge Road, McLean, VA, 22101
Rotary International is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, and help to build goodwill and peace in the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians who are members of more than 30,000 Rotary clubs in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit www.rotary.org.
In addition to thousands of volunteer hours, each year Rotary contributes millions of dollars in humanitarian aid and relief around the globe, funds 1,000 international scholarships and provides cross-cultural exchanges for some 7,000 youth. Through its flagship program, PolioPlus, Rotary has contributed more than $600 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
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