Rotary's International efforts promote acceptance of cultural differences, greater understanding and peaceful outcomes across the globe.
WE-GO Rotarians support International Service by sponsoring and participating in projects focused particularity on less developed countries. We often collaborate with other Rotary clubs or international partners to support our service aims or provide financial assistance. We try to work on at least one international project per year. Some of our projects require one or more members to visit the project location and country.
International Service includes responding to regional and global emergencies such as Hurricane, Tsunamis, Tornadoes, Earth Quakes, Refugees, and Climate Change. WE-GO supports international projects where Club members take an active role initiating the vision and setting up the organization. For example, we developed CHAP (Community Health Advocacy Programs) in India supporting mobile diagnostic health screenings for diabetes and hypertension over a five year period.
We advocate for and support Rotary International’s Polio Plus, Safe Drinking Water Projects and Rotaplast's Operation Smile. We also support other charities such as Doctors without Borders, Rise Against Hunger and Plumpy Nut to address severe malnutrition across the globe.
Our club is active in Rotary Youth Exchange with other countries. Please see our New Generations page for more information.
Examples of WE-GO's International Projects include:
ShelterBox: In response to natural disasters around the globe, our club has sent life-saving ShelterBoxes to aid in the relief efforts. We’ve helped with the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, the tsunami in Japan and the recent Hurricane Dorian damage in the Bahamas.
Rise Against Hunger: WE-GO financially supports the supply of dry meal kits for international distribution. Members, family and friends also roll up their sleeves and help package thousands of meals ready for shipment.
Dominican Republic: Over the last decade, Michael Ceffaratii of West Chester along with his son Kyle have journeyed to remote villages in the Dominican Republic to develop safe drinking water resources, build education facilities and supply children with baseball gloves, bats and balls. WE-GO has helped provide financial support and helped the East Side Little League collect used baseball equipment for shipment to the Dominican Republic that was distributed by Michael and his group of volunteers.
Rotaplast: Rotaplast International, Inc. was founded in 1992 by Rotary Club of San Francisco members by Dr. Angelo Capozzi and Peter Lagarias to facilitate a surgical program in La Serena, Chile to treat children with the cleft lip and palate anomaly who would otherwise not receive surgical intervention and would suffer life-long physical and social impairment. This has grown into a major Rotary project world-wide. WE-GO Financially supports Rotaplast's mission and overseas assignments.
CHAP: Community Health Advocacy Programs founded by WE-GO's former member Govinda Malya, provides mobile diagnostic health screenings for diabetes and hypertension. WE-GO provided the seed funds to launch the project in India and is helping to promote the project to other parts of the world.
WE-GO financially assisted a Micro-Credit Loan and Training program in Ecuador, refurbished a school playground in Guyana and the supply of school desks in Ethiopia.