We’re still Lending with CARE®

In March 2022 The Rotary Club of Stockholm International board approved a proposal put forward by the club’s service projects committee for the club to join the Lendwithcare (LWC) micro financing programme run by CARE® International. 

By joining the LWC programme RCSI and other organisations/individuals are able to lend small amounts of money to entrepreneurs and entrepreneur groups in several low-income countries. The entrepreneurs in the LWC programme and their investment plans have been previously vetted and approved by established micro financing institutions in their respective countries. The micro financing institutions in the LWC programme have also been carefully selected by CARE®.

We’ve now been part of the LWC micro financing programme for almost 2 years and we’re still making a difference to the lives of so many entrepreneurs in low income countries. As of November, 2023 we’ve lent a total of 1080 GBP to 35 entrepreneurs in 11 low-income countries (Pakistan, Thailand, Malawi, Zambia, Vietnam, Rwanda, Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua, The Philippines and The Palestinian Territories). The loans RCSI and other lenders have made to these entrepreneurs have helped 50 other entrepreneurs and indirectly 439 family members. They have also helped create 22 new jobs.

Here are some photos of a few of the entrepreneurs we have helped so far.

Entrepreneur Spotlight

Here’s one example of a group of entrepreneurs in Zambia we’ve lent money to.

The Alumbwe 0701 Group in Zambia

RCSI was one of the 34 organisations/individuals that made a micro loan to this group of women. The total amount they requested was GBP 1193 and the repayment term agreed is 6 months.

Rotary Focus Area:- Economic and Community Development

The Alumbwe 0701 group is a lovely group that is based in Monze town comprised of five ladies who are into poultry farming and the selling of second-hand clothing to members of the community. The ladies have an average age of thirty-nine and are excited about getting a loan through Lend with Care because they have a passion to increase their enterprises further. The ladies have 32 dependants in their households which pushes them to work harder.

Click HERE for further details on the Alumbwe 0701 Group Lendwithcare’s local partner Microloan Foundation Zambia.

Invitation to Rotary Youth Leadership Award

Rotary Club Stockholm International invites a young professional with passion for leadership in business, governmental or nonprofit organization; interested in cultural and professional exchanges with professionals across Europe and worldwide; ideally 25-35 years old, graduated and with 1-3 years of work experience, with skills and ambitions to become a future leader – You will benefit a lot from this intense hands-on leadership training. See link for more details: https://intrylazone1718.org/

Place: Hotel Mercure Posejdon in Gdańsk Poland.

When: 15-17 September 2023.

How to apply: If you would like your participation fees (travel costs not included) to be sponsored by Stockholm International Rotary Club please send your application in which you tell us Why you should attend the training together with your CV to stockholm-international@rotary.se no later than 20th of July 2023.

Introducing Alley Hameedi our new club president for 2023-2024

Alley grew up in Lahore which is a cultural hub and the second largest city in Pakistan. Lahore is a city with great history where its origins can be traced back to somewhere between the 1st and 7th centuries A.D. Having completed his Bachelor of Science (Honors) studies in Physics, Alley strongly wanted to pursue his graduate and post-graduate studies in Europe. This led to him coming to Stockholm, Sweden in 2007 at the age of 23 where he got admitted to the Master program in Electrical Engineering at KTH, The Royal Institute of Technology.

After completing his master’s degree, Alley got the opportunity to do a PhD in the field of Quantum Physics at Stockholm University where he successfully defended his dissertation and was subsequently awarded a Doctorate degree in Physics in 2017. Since then, Alley has worked at and been a part of highly renowned, and leading organizations as AFRY and Ericsson. Currently, Alley is working at Smartoptics in the role of Product Line Manager, where Smartoptics is a rapidly growing company that develops state-of-the art optical networking solutions to fulfill the world’s ultra-strong bandwidth and capacity demands in this new era of connectivity.

Alley joined the Rotary Club of Stockholm International (RCSI) in 2018. Rotary and its values of fellowship and service above self are very important to him as his father, though inactive now, is not only a Past President but has also been a Rotarian for around 25 years. Alley, during his Presidency, looks forward to continuing in the footsteps of the previous Presidents and furthering their great work of recent years when it comes to strengthening fellowship, enhancing members engagement and the club’s service contribution with important community projects both locally and internationally.

Alley recently got married to his partner in the Stockholm City Hall on June 10th, 2023. Having lived in Sweden now for almost 16 years, Stockholm is home to Alley, and he is now a naturalized Swedish citizen.

Fighting malnutrition to avoid stunting in young children

Heights and Minds International Project – June 2023 Update

We are still making a difference. We are combating stunting caused by malnutrition by working with NGOs in Bandung, West Java. Starting in June 2022, your Club has been funding 50% of the operating costs for what is called a MindUp. Our funding helps provide training and resources used to help mothers and infants. We have a local Rotary partner, Bandung RC, who visit the project regularly. There are now MindUps in Senegal, Uganda, and Cambodia, but the one we support has been so successful as to become the flagship MindUp and they are sharing best practices and lessons-learned with all the other MindUps. Good job!

How does it work? The MindUp provides group counselling services for first 1,000 days of a child’s life. They monitor and record growth of the children and teach mothers how to improve their caring and feeding practices.

This month, we started our second year of support to the MindUp and it should be self-sufficient by June 2024. How’s that for sustainability? You can find out more about the project by checking out our previous update at: https://stockholminternationalrc.wordpress.com/…/fight…/

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Ron Pavellas Award for Community Service 2023

The Rotary Club of Stockholm International has the pleasure to announce that the recipient of the 2023 Ron Pavellas Award for Community Service is João Paulo, the founder of Alla Ska Få Mat.

Originally from Brazil, João Paulo established Alla Ska Få Mat in 2020 after witnessing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on unemployed and homeless members of the community.

Since then, supported by individual donations and assistance in-kind from hundreds of people, the organization has prepared and distributed over 30,000 meals along with clothing and funds to homeless people and others in demanding situations. Since February this year, at their locale in Abrahamsberg in Bromma, they have hosted weekly yoga and meditation sessions followed by meals and conversation to encourage fellowship and reduce isolation among vulnerable people.

The group has recently started operating in Gothenburg and has plans to expand operations including a tent in Södermalm and expanding the volunteer operations to include more unemployed, refugees and youth as a way to expand cultural exchange and reduce social isolation.

Read more about the group at their webpage: https://allaskafamat.se/ and join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/508142713473865/

The Ron Pavellas Award for Community Service is a 10 000 SEK personal stipendium awarded to an individual who has significantly contributed to the betterment of their neighborhood/community/peer group and/or has promoted integration of people in the Swedish community. To recognize and support the role of immigrants in the community, eligible recipients must be immigrants to Sweden themselves or the child of an immigrant.

This award, funded by the Rotary Club of Stockholm International, in honour of its founder, is in support of the vision of Rotary International which is to create a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves. Rotary works around the world to provide community service, to encourage high ethical standards and to help build goodwill and peace in the world.

The Ron Pavellas Award for Community Service

OPEN FOR NOMINATIONS NOW – DEADLINE 2 MAY 2023

The Rotary Club of Stockholm International’s Ron Pavellas Award for Community Service is a SEK 10 000 personal stipendium awarded to an individual who has significantly contributed to the betterment of their neighborhood/community/peer group and/or has promoted integration of people in the Swedish community. To recognize and support the role of immigrants in the community, eligible recipients must be immigrants to Sweden themselves or the child of an immigrant. Swedish citizenship is also required.

This award, funded by the Rotary Club of Stockholm International (RCSI), in honor of its founder, is in support of the vision of Rotary International which is to create a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves. Rotary works around the world to provide community service, to encourage high ethical standards and to help build goodwill and peace in the world.

Details

Award: The Award is a personal stipend of 10 000 SEK.

Eligibility: Candidates can be either a person born in another country or a child of such a person – in either case they must be a Swedish citizen. There is no requirement for when the person became a citizen. The candidate must also be a resident of the Stockholm Region.

Deadline: 2 May 2023

Nominations: Must be received in the specified form by the date above and can be in English or Swedish. Submit your completed nomination form HERE to SIRCronpavellasaward@gmail.com or use this link.

Nominators:  Must be a member of a Rotary Club.

Nominees: May not be members of a Rotary or Rotaract Club.

There is no restriction on the familial relatedness or ages of nominators and nominees. No person may receive the award more than once.

Awards ceremony: Will be held at RCSI’s 20^th anniversary event on Thursday 25 May 2023. The winning nominee will be notified in advance of that date.

The awardee must consent to any publicity RCSI may conduct regarding the award.

Rotary Youth Exchange – 1 Year International Exchange.

Är du 15-17 år och vill studera utomlands ett helt år?

• Många ungdomar väljer varje år att åka som utbytesstudent med Rotary och tillbringa ett helt år utomlands
• Som utbytesstudent bor du i familjer och går i motsvarande gymnasieskola
• Du lär känna en ny kultur, får massor av nya vänner och lär dig ett språk
• Din familj delar din erfarenhet genom att ta emot en utländsk utbytesstudent under samma tid som du är utomlands
• Möjligheten är öppen för alla ungdomar i Sverige. Det är inget krav på medlemskap i Rotary.
• Linnea åkte till Argentina för sex år sedan. Läs mer om hennes och andras upplevelser på vårt Instagramkonto!

Tag chansen till ett oförglömligt år!

Låter intressant? Vill du veta mer om det? I så fall Klicka HÄR
Intresserad av att ansöka? Se då till att du gör det före den 15 februari.
TILL REGISTRERINGSFORMULÄR

/

We’re still Lending with CARE®

In March 2022 The Rotary Club of Stockholm International board approved a proposal put forward by the club’s service projects committee for the club to join the Lendwithcare (LWC) micro financing programme run by CARE® International. 

By joining the LWC programme RCSI and other organisations/individuals are able to lend small amounts of money to entrepreneurs and entrepreneur groups in several low-income countries. The entrepreneurs in the LWC programme and their investment plans have been previously vetted and approved by established micro financing institutions in their respective countries. The micro financing institutions in the LWC programme have also been carefully selected by CARE®.

We’ve now been part of the LWC micro financing programme for 6 months and it’s going really well. We’ve already lent a total of 510 GBP to 16 entrepreneurs in 7 low income countries (Pakistan, Thailand, Malawi, Zambia, Vietnam, Rwanda and The Philippines). The loans RCSI and other lenders have made to these entrepreneurs have helped 28 other entrepreneurs and indirectly 274 family members. They have also helped create 7 new jobs.

The entrepreneurs we have loaned to so far have started repaying us according to agreed up-front repayment installment plans. Already we have received sufficient repayments into our LWC account to allow us to make further loans to other entrepreneurs in the LWC programme. This we will continue to do as the project proceeds.

Here are some photos of the entrepreneurs we have helped so far.

Entrepreneur Spotlight

Here’s one example of an entrepreneur in The Philippines we’ve lent money to.

Madelaine in The Philippines

RCSI was one of the 87 organizations/individuals that made a micro loan to Madelaine. The total amount she requested was GBP 2483 and the repayment term agreed is 12 months.

Rotary Focus Area:- Economic and community development

Madeleine is a 29-year-old woman entrepreneur. She lives with her partner called Jonhilou Monin. They have three children aged 6, 8 and 9 years old. All of them attend the local school found in Cebu province. To earn a daily income the couple have been running a restaurant for more than a year now.

Madeleine and her partner manage a restaurant for over a year now. Their daily income helps them to deal with their daily needs. Their restaurant is found near a mall and commercial buildings. It is open daily from 5 in the morning and closes at 8 in the evening. Her partner is in charge of cooking their daily dish to sell while Madeleine helps in preparing the ingredients. They now employ three female workers who helps in attending their customers’ orders, washing dishes, and cleaning the dining area. Madeleine received and repaid her first loan from Lendwithcare last year. Thanks to the loan, her business has improved, and made changes to their restaurant to have more space to dine inside. She said her daily income is above 10,000 pesos (£149.72).

On 8th of July last year, Madeleine opened her second outlet. With the help of the loan, the couple will continue to work hard to run their businesses and make sure to always implement food safety to ensure the safety of their daily consumers.

Click HERE for further details.

We’re providing aid to Pakistan via Shelterbox

We are proud to support Shelterbox in its response to the flooding in Pakistan. Over the past month Pakistan has suffered from heavier than usual monsoon rains and rapid glacial melting, resulting in flooding of a third of the country. The disaster has affected more than 33 million people with about one million houses damaged or destroyed, leaving thousands with nowhere to live.

Our club is assisting by contributing SEK5000 to Shelterbox from our emergency fund. Shelterbox is providing lifesaving aid for families by sending aid boxes that include tents, water filters and carriers, mosquito nets and solar lights. Shelterbox has been Rotary’s official partner for emergency disaster relief since 2012.

Club President 2022-2023

Hunter grew up in the Northeast United States spending much of his youth on the water and has wonderful memories of sailing with his dad. The coast in the Northeast is similar to the Swedish archipelagos of Goteborg and Stockholm.

 Professionally, he spent thirty-four years in the U.S. Air Force as an aviator and strategist, which led him to live all around the U.S. and Europe, his favorite country so far being Italy. His job took him  to over 60 countries, mostly in Europe and Africa, where he advised governments on ways to improve security.

He is now a private consultant on strategic security issues. Since arriving in Sweden, he and his Swedish wife are also trying their luck at entrepreneurship. They recently invented a tool made from 100% Ocean Plastic, which incentivizes removing abandoned fishing nets from the oceans.

His twenty-years in uniform demonstrates his long commitment to Service Above Self. Having spent years in Washington D.C. interacting with aid and development professionals, his interests now include maternal, new-born health, and nutrition in the developing world.

Having been in Rotary for just over three years, he was attracted to the club to learn more and spend time with a diverse group of rotarians dedicated to service. For his year as club president he hopes to strengthen fellowship, following the stress presented by the pandemic, and make sure that all members have a way to contribute, small or large, to club goals.

Hunter came to Sweden to be closer to family and friends, learn more about Swedish culture, and discover the archipelago and other parts of Sweden. Much of his free time is spent upgrading the boat he and his wife  use to explore the archipelago. He also enjoys jazz, fishing, and especially cooking authentic dishes from cuisines around the world. Hunter holds both United States and Swedish citizenship.