Why I Am A Rotarian
MARCH 6, 2006
 Traveling
Vietnam, a non-Rotary country, makes me acutely aware just why I
am a Rotarian and why I want to spread Rotary, the story of
Rotary and what it stands for.
Many Americans still
think of Vietnam as a war. Indeed we should not forget our war
experience here. We should study our past so we can avoid making
the same mistakes over and over.
Rotary had a
presence here before 1975. Although it did some humanitarian
things, it was not strong enough to be a factor in peace.
Achieving our mission statement of promoting world peace and
understanding will take more effort than just doing a few
projects. To be a factor in peace we would have to foster
person-to-person contact such as:
Youth Exchange:
Trang Nguyen was the
first Rotary Exchange Student from Vietnam to the US – and that
didn't happen until 1999. I understand there has been a trickle
since then. To be effective in peace we would have needed
thousands of Exchanges. I believe there would have never been a
war if there had been a Trang in every village in Vietnam. The
host families would not have let it happen.
I am a Rotarian
because Rotary brings people together and I want a
better world. Our small presence in Vietnam hopefully will grow
large and make a difference in promoting peace and world
understanding.
PDG Kent
Converse
District 5690
Rotary Club of
Kinsley,
Kansas USA
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