Claremont Sunrise Rotary - Four Avenues of Service

Claremont Sunrise Rotary has been closely involved in the promotion and selection of Ambassadorial Scholars from our region. Having so many undergraduate colleges in our locale makes this an obvious International/Vocational emphasis.

Our own Patricia Dillon and Rich Phillips put in many hours on the screening and selection committee.

For a Power Point Presentation on the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program, click here.

Be a goodwill ambassador and promote international understanding and friendly relations in another country

For information and downloadable application, see http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/EducationalPrograms/AmbassadorialScholarships/Pages/ridefault.aspx

One of our current Ambassadorial Scholars, Alina Shaw (from Scripps), can be followed on her adventures in Medellin, Colombia by logging onto her blog, alinacolombia.blogspot.com

Meanwhile, Lindsay Slote (from Pomona College) is in India. Her experiences can be followed at lindsayslote.blogspot.com

>>> Alina Shaw 04/12/09 1:49 PM >>>
Dear Patricia,

How are you?!? It seems like we have both been busy and uncommunicative lately. I hope that all is going well at Scripp; what is the word on campus about the new president? From what I have read, I get the impression that she will be a great fit. And what has the Claremont Sunrise Rotary Club been up to lately? Are many people attending the RI conference in Birmingham this year? I would love to get an update on what activities District 5300 clubs have been up to so I can share them with my local clubs here as I start my round of final presentations.

All is still utterly fantastic here in Medellin. Recently I have attended a social event hosted bi-yearly by my host Rotary club which was a great way to connect with Rotarians I didn't already know, am working hard on my research which is getting more and more interesting (along with LOTS of work), and preparing for the District Conference at the end of the month. My individual research project is looking at the experience of displaced pregnant women, and how displacement effects their emotional/pshycological health as well as the health of the baby especially in terms of access to healthcare. It is extremely difficult listening to so many horrible stories every day, but I am starting to understand the depth of repercussions caused by the armed conflict here--something I will definitely take back to the US and share with everyone.

Although people thank me for being interested in and listening to their stories (not many people care here), I feel useless not being able to help the internally displaced population more than publishing a few articles on their situation in public health and anthropology journals and educating people about the international community's abandonment of their cause. Did you know that Colombia has the largest population of internally displaced people after Sudan, at around 3.5 million? But unlike in Sudan, they are not concentrated in huge refugee camps but dispersed throughout the country in various urban centers. In Medellin, there are only 3 privately-run shelters housing about 75 people each when there are 120,000 displaced people that arrive yearly. The majority of families leave in reaction to a direct threat or violent incident, arriving at the place of reception literally with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Since they come from agricultural jobs, they have no marketable skills or knowledge of the city and depend on economic help from the government which barely gets them back on their feet if it ever even arrives.

This has prompted me to put together a group of 4 people I have met in the shelters who are educated and have community leadership experience, and we are planning how to start a shelter for just pregnant women whose needs are otherwise unmet paired with a micro-loan business. The idea is that it will house 15 women pregnant with their first child who arrive without a partner, providing them with shelter, food, healthcare, as well as educational and vocational training that they carry into the community when they re-enter the community after their baby completes 2 months. The micro-loan business will help them start a small business selling cell phone minutes, baking bread to sell in the neighborhood, or sewing projects so that they can support themselves after they start their new family--it is otherwise almost impossible for them to find work and often end up sleeping on the streets.

I was wondering with your experience in economics what knowledge you have of setting up micro-finance companies and if there are any books or contacts to which you could refer me. I am making sure that the women themselves are in charge of setting up the business, while I just provide some economic start-up and local connetions to which they do not have access. Based on this basic description, I was also wondering if you knew of any Rotary clubs in the area that are looking for new international projects and would be willing to help sponsor the new shelter. We are currently working on legally declaring the organization and coming up with an economic proposal; but the start-up costs will not be immense and continual maintenance will mainly include rent, food, utilities, maternal supplies, and basic healthcare. Of course I am involving local Rotarians, but the clubs here don't have many funds for new projects and they are mainly helping with their business connections and support.

Just to let you know, I will be returning to the US on July 2, thus ending my academic year in less than three months (tear). I will be in Southern California for most of August, and would like to schedule lots of presentations throughout the district--and in Claremont of course!!--but don't know if it is too early to get myself on the books.

Let me know what you think, and big hugs from Colombia!!!!

Alina

--
Becaria de Buena Voluntad, 2008-2009
Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, 2008-2009
Club Rotario Medellin, Colombia
Distrito 4280
alina.shaw@gmail.com
(cel) 310 414 92 64