Meeting of the Parliament 29 March 2017
I am proud to take part in the debate, and I thank my friend and colleague John Lamont for securing it. I warmly welcome the Rotary members who have joined us in the gallery. Tonight, we recognise their fantastic work. They are men and women who come from all walks of life and whose aim is to contribute to the lives of others and to make a positive impact, at home and abroad.
In February 2017, just last month, I attended an event here in the Parliament to celebrate the 112th worldwide anniversary of the Rotary organisation. My colleagues and I met Rotary representatives to learn more about local community initiatives and the Purple4Polio initiative, which was set up to eliminate polio throughout the world.
Two Rotary members from district 1020, who are with us in the gallery tonight, have made such an impact: Grant Stephen and Robin Hamilton. Recently, the district governor, Andy Ireland, proudly accompanied both gentlemen to the House of Lords, where they received champions of change awards.
I should declare an interest as, in my career as an agronomist, I worked with Grant Stephen, and I know that his enthusiasm knows no bounds. It came as no surprise that Mr Stephen’s work has been recognised. His relentless campaigning to raise money for Alzheimer Scotland has been influential, with Duns being recognised as a dementia-friendly town. That is brilliant for the Borders town and it is brilliant for raising Alzheimer’s awareness across Scotland.
We all know somebody with dementia. My grandfather had vascular dementia, which impacted hugely on our family. Every 30 minutes, someone in Scotland is diagnosed with dementia. About 90,000 people in Scotland have dementia and researchers now understand that one in three people born in 2015 will go on to develop dementia in their lifetime, unless a cure or a vaccine is found. In the context of how prevalent the disease is becoming, I hope that towns and cities across the south of Scotland and the whole of Scotland will use Grant Stephen’s work as an example of how to deliver dementia-friendly communities.
Robin Hamilton from the Rotary Club of Dunbar won accolades for his work in the Kalimpong project in Bengal in India, helping to tackle human trafficking and in the process raising nearly £50,000 since the project began in 2012. Kalimpong, which is in north-east India, close to the borders with Nepal, Bhutan and China, contains many vulnerable people at risk from human trafficking because of high unemployment and a lack of steady income. Those who are trafficked are at risk of becoming HIV positive and developing AIDS. Even when they are rescued, they risk rejection from their communities.
To put the seriousness of the human trafficking situation in the area into perspective, the figure of three cases in northern Bengal in 2001 had increased to more than 1,000 by 2010. In 2012 there were 8,000 girls missing in Bengal, many of whom had been taken into trafficking on the false promise of work in the city. Instead, they were trafficked for just $1,000. That is said to be just a small part of the picture. It is immensely saddening to hear of such practices and of vulnerable people being exploited to this day.
On a positive note, however, Robin Hamilton aims to create awareness through the Kalimpong project, teaching communities about trafficking and HIV/AIDS, providing vocational training to create sustainable livelihoods and creating a shelter home for women and young girls. We can all recognise the importance of Robin’s work, and it is right that we congratulate him and pay tribute to the project.
The work of Grant Stephen and Robin Hamilton does not stop here. They will continue to make a positive impact. I wish them all the best, and I congratulate them once more on receiving their champions of change awards. Furthermore, I congratulate Rotary International, which celebrates its 112th anniversary this year.
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