UN Day 2009 Youth

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 and RGHF board member

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.

Posted 7 December 2009 by Jack Selway