World Water Week 2012 – Rotary International Area of Focus
The theme for the 2012 conference at Stockholm International Water Institute is "Water and Food Security".
Michael Evans explains on www.earthtimes.org that delegates were told that over 900 million people in the world suffer from hunger and two billion more face serious health risks from under nourishment. At the same time, 1.5 billion people overeat and over a third of all food that is produced is either lost or wasted
World Water Week focuses on new thinking and positive action and from its original conception the organizers have been very much aware of the importance of involving the younger generation. An innovation for 2012 is the development of a Young Professionals’ Vision. The aim is that during the conference a group of young professionals will develop a vision of how to achieve water and food security by 2050.
Joining thousands of Rotary Clubs around the world, the Rotary Club of St. Maarten continues its distribution of Water Fountains to primary schools on the island. Rotary International maintains "clean water" on its agenda as a main area of focus and so clubs all around the world are challenged to make a difference in their communities with respect to this topic. St. Maarten is fortunate to have clean running water to almost every corner of the island and thus cannot be compared to countries that still have great challenges in supplying this very basic need. With this in mind and a little creativity we are still able to give content to this area of focus and develop projects that fit within the Rotary International agenda of "Clean Water".
The Mac school, which has 450 pupils, is the first of many primary schools that will receive water-fountains during this Rotary Year. On sight at the Mac school in St. John’s to receive the donation were school manager Rose Huges-Coram, Mrs. Juliana Hodge-Shipley and several pupils. Representing Rotary were Assistant District Governor James Ferris, past presidents Rebecca Low, Pierre Decelles, Kishore Idnani as well as club service director Henna Budhrani, vice president Robert Judd and president elect Maria Buncamper-Molanus.