(click for larger image)
in cooperation with
the Scandinavian Doctor Bank and Eric’s Help
Issue no 3, 2000 -- English edition -- home
Page: -- Contents -- (1), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
The Rotary Doctor Bank’s new chairman, former governor Kjell Åke Åkesson, has a positive outlook on the future of the Doctor Bank. He was instated on 1 July, along with Gunnar Fjellander as vice-chairman, also a former governor. At the same time, the board was complemented with Dr Nils-Johan Höglund, Uppsala, Dentist Åke Lagerqvist, Lerum, and Bank Director Wilhelm Lemchen, Jönköping.
In an interview for Rotary Nordic after a trip to visit some of the Doctor Bank projects in Kenya, Kjell Åke Åkesson says:
“I am impressed by how much the Doctor Bank has done since the first doctors were sent out in 1988, and how well-organized the medical work is, both at the hospitals and jeep-doctor relays.”
In future, he wants to invest more in the jeep relays and in doctors who reach the most impoverished, in rural Africa where most of the people live. This autumn sees planning for yet another relay, followed by more later.
“The need is unlimited. We are but in the beginning,” says Kjell Åke Åkesson. “I believe that very soon the Rotary Doctor Bank will become international and then be able to accept more doctors from countries outside of the Nordic ones. A great source of joy is that the contributions from both Rotary clubs and individuals are increasing.”
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Chairman of the Rotary Doctor Bank board, Kjell Åke
Åkesson (left) celebrates the Doctor Bank founder and honorary chairman,
M.D.h.c. Lars Braw... (click for larger image) |
In November it is once again time for the Doctor Bank Week, a concept introduced last year. This is when all the clubs get someone to talk about the Doctor Bank or show the film “Doctor Bank Africa”, talk about Rotary Doctors in schools and other gatherings, collect allowances in Water for Life bottles, and sees to it that News from the Rotary Doctor Bank is distributed to all members, to schools, and in other suitable situations. Please call +46 40 978070 for tips or to make orders. The week is also a good opportunity for club members to come with their own proposals on how to make the Doctor Bank and Rotary known in wide circles.
Dr Staffan Bohlin, member of Sälen Rotary Club, was appointed by his club to receive the prize in the Doctor Bank Championship. The club won by contributing 2,240 Crowns per member. The prize is for two people, and Dr Bohlin will travel with child care teacher Britt-Marie Landing, also a club member. They leave for Kenya in November to study, under guidance of the experienced Rotary Doctor Claude Laurent, the Doctor Bank work. Later they will report their experiences both in the club and for this newsletter.
To the next issue we hope to have the bottle full yet again and be able to announce a new winner. Remember, the club that contributes the most per member wins. Good luck!
(The illustration showed the bottle contents -- 780,000 Crowns -- as of 31 August.)