Supporting the world community
Amwell Rotary Club is a part of the worldwide fellowship of Rotary Clubs that forms Rotary International.
This committee is responsible for maintaining the links that we have with other Rotary Clubs around the globe. Although we do not have any formal twinning arrangements in place, we do have close links with the three Rotary Clubs now established in Cluj-Napoca, Romania and we have also undertaken a joint initiative with Hertford Shires Rotary Club to work with the Rotary Club of Sandton, South Africa on various projects. See the link above for more details on these.
We also undertake various International and World Community Service Projects as Club Initiatives. These include :-
Visiting the Rotary Club of Cluj-Napoca
Funding for ShelterBoxes, these are emergency tent units that can be sent from a central depot to disaster areas worldwide.
As part of a Rotary District 1260 project, we have helped to fund a matching grant application to provide a minibus for a rural area in South Africa. This will allow many villagers access to much needed medical facilities previously almost impossible to get to from their remote locations.
Each year, we arrange for Rotary Shoeboxes to be filled, both by Club Members and by local schools. These are then distributed to orphanages across Eastern Europe.
For several years now we have been collecting unwanted spectacles on behalf of Vision Aid.
Along with other local Rotary Clubs, we have collected unwanted hand tools on behalf of Tools For Self Reliance to be refurbished and then sent out to various self help projects around the world.
A ShelterBox with typical contents
Starting as the brainchild of one Rotarian with the support of his Rotary club in year 2000 – ShelterBox has grown to become the largest Rotary Club project in the 100 year history of the organisation.
Each box supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The contents are tailored depending on the nature and location of the disaster, with great care taken sourcing every item to ensure it is robust enough to be of lasting value.
Highly trained ShelterBox Response Teams distribute boxes on the ground, working closely with local organisations, international aid agencies and Rotary clubs worldwide.
Rotarian support currently contributes an estimated 50% of ShelterBox donations. Recognising this worldwide support from the Rotary community, ShelterBox was designated as a Global Rotary Club Project in 2009.
New minibus for Rural South Africa
New minibus for Rural South Africa
Special Vocational School - Cluj-Napoca
Convoy 2000 and Romania
Amwell Rotary Club was a full partner in the UK Charity Convoy 2000
From the first Convoy in 2000 through to the final visits in 2004, Amwell Rotarians & friends traveled to Romania as volunteers to help improve the quality of life and general living conditions of children living in care.
We continue to support the work of The Clinical Science & Educational Foundation, a charity based at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London, in the work they are doing to improve facilities at Special School for the Deaf No 2 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
In 2008 we made a donation towards a much needed refurbishment of the nursery class dormitories.
