Hansard

It was not mine.

This evening is an opportunity to celebrate and share some of the great work that clubs across Scotland carry out. However, as well as contributing to improving the lives of others, Rotary clubs provide fellowship and companionship for their members. Volunteers are given the opportunity to develop personal skills and to develop better awareness of the problems that face the world today. They are also given an opportunity to meet, work and have a great time with like-minded people. That aspect of Rotary life is often overlooked, but membership serves an important purpose and provides Rotarians with an opportunity that would otherwise be difficult for some to access.

In the Scottish Borders and in my constituency there are so many fantastic examples of the excellent work that is carried out by district 1020, such as the dictionary 4 life project that saw all primary 6 pupils at Burnfoot school in Hawick being given a dictionary. In addition, Rotarians keep children safe at the Border Union Agricultural Society show each year; and there was the Rotary Club of Jedburgh’s generosity to the group of Chernobyl schoolgirls who visited the Borders and were kitted out with new winter and summer shoes, thanks to the generosity of local residents.

There are so many worth-while projects that I could mention, but in the limited time that I have this evening, I will pick out just three examples of the excellent work that was carried out in district 1020 last year. Grant Stephen, of the Rotary Club of Duns, was given a champions of change award last year for his outstanding work in helping the local community. Grant raised money and awareness for Alzheimer’s Scotland and played a key role in the project to recognise Duns as a dementia-friendly town. Like the rest of the Borders, Duns has a higher proportion of elderly people in its population than the national average, so that work is all the more important for local residents.

Robin Hamilton, of the Rotary Club of Dunbar, received a champions of change award as a result of his involvement with the Kalimpong project in Bengal in India. The project helps to tackle the problem of human trafficking by providing shelter homes and vocational training centres. More than 100,000 children and many more adults are estimated to be trafficked in India every year. That initiative is therefore really worth while, and Robin has helped to raise nearly £50,000 for it since the project began in 2012.

Finally, the Rotary Club of Galashiels and District in the Borders has delivered 15 analogue breast screening lorries to India, in partnership with Indian Rotary clubs and led by local Rotarians Patricia Paterson and Peter Croan. The increasing toll of breast cancer in developing nations is a devastating situation. The disease was once considered to be a problem of affluent nations, but it is now rooted firmly in developing nations such as India. The breast-screening project will help in tackling the problem.

I am delighted that representatives from Rotary district 1020 are here with us this evening to celebrate their fantastic achievement last year. We have with us in the gallery Robin and Carol Hamilton, Grant and Anne Stephen, Patricia Paterson, Peter Croan and many others from across the district.

I am sure that we will hear about the work of Rotarians across other parts of Scotland in the debate, but I would appreciate hearing something from the minister about what the Scottish Government is doing to support the Rotary movement. I know, for example, that in partnership with local authorities, many Rotary clubs are involved in delivery of the community payback order system, and that others are involved in delivery of Scottish Government funded projects. A partnership exists, therefore, that I hope can be improved and developed.

As elected representatives, we can all play a part in supporting and promoting that fantastic work in our communities. Given the hard work that is carried out by Rotarians, the least that we can do is give up some of our time to speak at their events, write about the work of our local Rotary clubs in local newspapers or share a post or two on Facebook.

I am delighted to see the level of support in the Scottish Parliament for the Rotary movement, and I know that MSPs from across Scotland are grateful for the hard work of Rotarians in their areas. They deserve our support because, without them, hundreds of thousands of pounds would not be raised for charity, local projects would not be supported and many desperate people around the world would not get the help that they need. [Applause.]