Using Schools as Gateways for Social and Economic Advancements in Communities Surrounding Schools
MEETING FOR THE WEEK OF August 26, 2024
This Meeting at a Glance:
Program: Using Schools as Gateways for Social and Economic Advancements in Communities Surrounding Schools
Speaker: Mechai Viravaidya
Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday, our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time. Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you. Please also complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
To properly attend this meeting, please:
Read and watch the content below in its entirety.
Complete the attendance survey.
Everyone is encouraged to leave a comment in the Disqus section at the bottom of the page.
Message from our President
As the 2024-2025 President of our Club, I welcome our members, friends, and guests. Thanks for joining our weekly meeting.
WEEKLY FUNNY WITH SHAGS
We believe laughter is an important part of life, and we should all make time to laugh a little. This segment of our meeting is meant to tickle you just enough. These funnies are curated by member Steven "Shags" Shagrin!
Someone Just Called
Someone just called my phone, sneezed and then hung up.
I’m getting sick and tired of these cold calls.
INSPIRATION
Alright, someone is going to wonder if Rushton's lost his mind on these commercials, but this is another good one to share. From Axe, no less.
LEARN SOMETHING NEW
New Domino Record!
Now she's got to clean up 32,000 dominos. Great creation!
Club News For Members
Our Club News and Member links are now on the Members Only ClubRunner Site and are emailed weekly as a Club Bulletin. Please make sure your email address is current on ClubRunner.
Members, be sure to read our Weekly Club Bulletin, which is sent separately to your email address from ClubRunner each Monday. In it, you will find updates and information about what our members are up to, club activities, projects, Happy Dollars, news from District 5170, and various ways you can support The Rotary Foundation. We also send your Dues notices using ClubRunner email.
Our Weekly Bulletin, sent every Monday, provides club information. To stay informed, please ensure your email is current on ClubRunner and add mailservice@clubrunner.ca to your address book so it does not go into Spam.
PROGRAM: Using Schools as Gateways for Social and Economic Advancements in Communities Surrounding Schools
SPEAKER: Mechai Viravaidya
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley seeks to explore perspectives on service from across the world. The views of the speakers in our programs are their own and, unless stated otherwise, are not necessarily reflective of the views of our eClub or Rotary International.
If you have an idea for a cool speaker, please feel free to reach out to them directly or submit THIS FORM so our Program Committee can contact them!
Students play an important role in the management of the school which empowers them to bring social and economic development to their communities, as well as learn leadership, empathy and compassion. Students can be taught and empowered to become change-makers. Schools have resources that have been underutilized. Villagers have strong bonds with schools. There are more schools than any other governmental offices. Schools can be lifelong centers for all.
In 1974, our speaker, Mechai Viravaidya, launched the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) to combat Thailand's soaring population growth rate. Using unconventional methods and humor, he made contraceptives widely accessible, leading to a significant reduction in the growth rate to 0.5% by 2003. His innovative approach also proved effective in tackling the HIV/AIDS crisis, resulting in a remarkable 90% decline in new infections within 12 years.
Mechai’s impact extended beyond public health as he held key government positions and pioneered social entrepreneurship. Establishing Thailand's first social enterprise in 1975 to support PDA's operations, he later expanded it to include 18 others, notably the Cabbages & Condoms Restaurants and Resorts.
His dedication to rural development is evident through initiatives like the Village Development Partnership, empowering communities with sustainable ventures. Additionally, the Bamboo School, founded in 2008, stands as a beacon of lifelong learning and socioeconomic advancement. Mechai’s remarkable achievements have earned him numerous accolades, including the United Nations Population Award and the Bill and Melinda Gates Award for Global Health.
Members and guests, please welcome Mechai Viravaidya!
To learn more, go to:
http://www.mechaifoundation.org/
https://tinyurl.com/MVFdocuments (a folder with articles and more)
Our Three Podcast Series
Our main program speakers are available as podcasts in addition to YouTube videos! Each week, they are available on Spotify and Apple podcasts.
Or you can click below for this week’s speaker:
The Weekly Rotarian
Inspiring Solutions
And our original podcast, featuring some of the best of our previous speakers, is still available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
Development Success Stories
Our third podcast features success stories about economic development from around the world. It is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or you can click below.
UPCOMING PROGRAM RECORDING SCHEDULE
All of our guest speakers and programs are recorded live online over Zoom video conference. We welcome members and guests to join us in one of these upcoming recordings. Recordings are approximately 30 minutes long and are subject to change without notice.
Our online video conference room link for these recordings is always http://zoom.siliconvalleyrotary.com/. You are welcome to join us! Please note the timezone listed for all recordings is US Pacific Time (San Francisco, California, USA).
If you can’t join the live recording, please send your questions for an upcoming speaker to programs@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
THE ATTENDANCE SURVEY
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done.
We have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeup.
Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.
For all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from!
Important: Once you submit the Attendance Survey below, please make sure you see the confirmation message. If you get an error message instead, please try the 'submit' button again, and if that doesn't work, please refresh the page and fill out the form again. Thanks!
