RadioRotary

Vietnam veterans Edward Frank and Howard Goldin (Spring Valley Rotary), co-founders of Schools to End Poverty (S.T.E.P.), describe how their mission--to provide children of the world with an opportunity to an education--has helped them find closure to this early period in their lives.

Steve Biolsi, Project Manager of Putnam County’s Habitat for Humanity, tells of how the organization is supported by local Rotary clubs and other community organizations. Mr. Biolsi also corrects misinformation about Habitat for Humanity.

Dr. Manoj Abraham (plastic surgeon) with Dana Buffin (New Milford, CT Rotary), Executive Director of Healing the Children, and Kathy Kruger, RN, (Rotary District 7210’s Rotaplast Chair, Pleasant Valley Rotary tell the uplifting stories of how children and adults are helped by corrective surgery, performed by volunteers who donate their time, skills, and finances.

Martha Underwood discusses the enormous benefits to everyone, not only those with special needs, that she has witnessed during her years as a riding instructor with the non-profit Winslow Therapeutic Center located since 1974 in Warwick, New York.

Rotary District 7210’s PolioPlus Chair, Bunnee Webb (Congers/Valley Cottage Rotary Club), provides us with the most current detailed information about progress by Rotary and the United Nations in eradicating polio worldwide. She also discusses her personal heartfelt experiences inoculating children against polio in India, and she ends with a very moving poem about Rotary’s promise to the children of the world. A special interview, for sure!

Two of Rotary District 7210’s Past District Governors, Jim Yarmus and Jeffrey Keahon, describe recent successful clean water projects implemented by District 7210 clubs in Central America. These are already saving countless lives from water-borne diseases. They discuss how Rotarians provide on-site technical expertise with professional engineers, such as Dr. Yarmus, and actively facilitate other projects, such as a school roof project, to improve the quality of life in communities around the world.

Ms. Fredlee Ann Kaplan (Chairman’s Council, Gift of Life International) and Mr. Bill Currie (International President, Gift of Life International), both members of The Rotary Club of New York, discuss how Gift of Life has saved more than ten thousand children’s lives by addressing the medical needs of children who suffer from congenital heart defects and other similar conditions.

RadioRotary host Jonah Triebwasser interviews Rotary’s humanitarians from around the world at Rotary International’s 2010 Convention in Montreal, Canada. Among the many featured guests are Rotarians from the Jaipur Limb Project, which provides inexpensive and long-lasting leg protheses, and ShelterBox Founder Rotarian Tom Henderson.

Eva Corredor, Emeritus Professor of French and German and a Rotarian since 1989, discusses how her involvement in Rotary’s international service programs provides an opportunity to work towards world peace and understanding. A member of The Rotary Club of New York, Professor Corredor explains why she joined Rotary and describes the many international projects with which she has been engaged, including Youth Exchange, Group Study Exchange, and Gift of Life.

Manuela Roosevelt discusses the humanitarian organization called Soroptimist International, a worldwide organization for women in management and professions, who work through service projects to advance human rights and the status of women. Most recently, Soroptimist International has placed special emphasis on clean water projects, a Rotary International effort as well.

Kevin Voisin, an 8th generation Louisiana oysterman and Terrebonne Parish Councilman, discusses current events concerning the Gulf oil-spill and fishing situation, false impressions about the Gulf and its seafood, and his optimism about the future, despite the setback caused by the man-made spill.

Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith covers a broad range of Rotary topics.

Author Barbara Allen, mother of four young sons, discusses her book, Front Toward Enemy, about her husband’s murder by a fellow soldier in Iraq and how the military court allowed the killer to escape punishment.

Louis Turpin, President of Rhinebeck Rotary and Advisor to Rhinebeck’s Interact Club (high school Rotary), plus 3 of the 10 students who participated in the Nicaragua Project -- Anna Katomski, Sean Phelan, and Sarah Turpin -- discuss their humanitarian work in Nicaragua. The project took a year to plan and was implemented this summer, 2010, primarily by Rhinebeck Interact students who helped build a classroom, provided clothing and school supplies, brought clean water treatment, and established gardens in a Nicaraguan community in need.

Louisiana professionals from several fields provide the latest information on the Gulf oil spill and reactions from the residents of Grand Isle, called "The Sportsman's Paradise." Environmental expert Windell Curole (Golden Meadow Rotary), General Manager of South LaFourche Levee District, discusses the most recent regional events.