This too shall come to PASS

There seems to be a new world order and it is not business as usual. At a time like this, within the Rotary space, we would be focusing on Maternal and Child Health as the theme for the month. Many Rotarians would also be gearing up for the International Convention and their District Conferences but we are in a different scenario with the presence of COVID-19 in the Globe.

Every day we’re hearing of countries on lockdown in an effort to fight COVID-19. We do not know what’s in store, and each passing day may only be inducing more anxiety. We’re used to waking up in the morning, getting ready for work, getting to work and being there for 9 or 10 hours, and heading home. Today, this all looks so different. Some people haven’t stepped out of their homes in more than a week. Some have lost loved ones, businesses have been shut and so much has now changed.  It’s uncomfortable because we’re so used to our auto-pilot mode.

There is a Zen story about a King in a faraway land who had everything he needed; things that made him very happy. He had also been through some rough and sad times like going to war with neighboring kingdoms, death or sickness of a loved one or a loved pet, disease in his kingdom and so on. His heart hence desired for something different. Something that would remind him to live in the moment. He then sent out word throughout the kingdom and asked his subjects to present to him things that would remind him to live in the moment. Whichever gift or thing he liked and met his desires; there was a reward for it. He received as many gifts and different things as he couldn’t even keep track of.

Then a young lad requested to meet the king and present his gift and when he went to see him, he presented a simple bangle to put on his hand. It wasn’t any stylish or extravagant, it was just a simple metallic bangle and in it were inscribed the words “this too shall come to pass”. The significance of those words was that at the very highest moments, the King would look at it and remember that this too shall come to pass and at the very lowest moment in the King’s life he would still look at it and say “this too shall come to pass”. This would remind the King to live in the moment.

As a continent as we navigate these unchartered waters, it may be helpful to know that indeed “this too shall come to pass”. Rotarians have been known to be People of Action and as People of Action, even in such uncertain times, People of Actions way of coping may be to help as much as we can. Economies round the globe have been shaken and so have our pockets and reserves, but the resolve to support others may be stronger than before. D9212 constituted an Emergency Response Team to help mobilize resources to fight the pandemic within this District. Your help and intervention is needed!

The Rotary Foundation made available funds to support Districts through the Disaster Response Fund which is a grant that supports Districts affected by natural calamities to help them recover. With the pandemic being a Global issue, these grants can only do so much and will certainly be exhausted. This does hence present an opportunity for this District and all other Districts, that after we have recovered from COVID-19, we may consider and hence the more we may need to make donations to the Disaster Response Fund. In the face of such calamities (hoping that they do not happen) it has become evidently clear that we need to build a fund that can support in such challenging times. The fund accepts online contributions and District Designated Funds. More about Disaster Response Fund can be found https://my.rotary.org/en/disaster-response-fund

Let’s stay safe and hope all who can stay at home will do so as we try to contain the pandemic. Let’s also remember that this too shall come to pass and when it does, we will proudly say that as People of Action we coped by helping as much as we could.

Article written by: Elizabeth Ng’ang’a – Fund Development Specialist | Foundation Services