Maltapost commemorates Rotary's centenary

A set of two stamps depicting Rotarians, both worldwide and in Malta, is being issued by the Philatelic Bureau of Maltapost plc on Wednesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this organisation.

The stamps, with face values of 27c and 76c, have been designed by Martin Bonavia and offset printed by Printex Ltd in sheets of ten on Maltese Cross watermarked paper. The stamps are 44 mm ¥ 31 mm in size, with a perforation of 14.0 ¥ 13.9 (comb).

The 27c stamp depicts Dar il-Kaptan respite home at Mtarfa, which the Rotary Club Malta helped set up and is currently helping to refurbish as an ongoing project. The 76c stamp depicts the international logo used by Rotary International to commemorate their 100th anniversary.

The Rotary Club of Chicago, Illinois, USA, was formed on February 23, 1905, by Paul P. Harris. Harris was an attorney who wished to recapture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his youth.

The name "Rotary" derived from the early practice of rotating meetings among members' offices. The world's first service club, Rotary's popularity spread throughout the United States in the decade that followed, and clubs were chartered from San Francisco to New York.

By 1921, Rotary clubs had been formed on six continents, and the organisation adopted the name Rotary International (RI) a year later. As Rotary grew, its mission expanded beyond serving the professional and social interests of club members.

Rotarians began pooling their resources and contributing their talents to help serve communities in need. The organisation's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its principal motto: Service above self.

During and after World War II, Rotarians became increasingly involved in promoting international understanding. In 1945, 49 Rotary members served in 29 delegations to the United Nations Charter Conference. Rotary still actively participates in UN conferences by sending observers to major meetings, and by promoting the United Nations in Rotary publications.

In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to immunise all of the world's children against polio. Working in partnership with nongovernmental organisations and national governments through its PolioPlus programme, Rotary is the largest private-sector contributor to the global polio eradication campaign.

Rotarians have mobilised hundreds of thousands of PolioPlus volunteers and have immunised more than one billion children worldwide. By the 2005 target date for certification of a polio-free world, Rotary will have contributed half a billion dollars to the cause.

Rotary International came to Malta in October, 1967, with the chartering of Rotary Club Malta. The first president of Rotary Club Malta was the late Anthony Miceli Farrugia. Since then 26 members have served as president, and three of them, Edward Sammut (1979-1980), Christopher Calascione (1988-1989) and Anthony P. Coleiro (1997-1998) have served as district governors.

Since 1978, Rotary Club Malta has formed part of the international District 2110, which today groups together 63 clubs in Sicily and two in Malta. Rotary Club La Valette Malta was chartered in 2002.

To commemorate this centenary year, Rotary Club Malta is financing an extension project at Dar il-Kaptan, the Respite Home for people with special needs at Mtarfa. This project will cost about Lm40,000, and fundraising efforts are taking place to raise the funds needed to complete the project.

Rotary Club Malta has always taken a particular interest in the needs of Dar il-Kaptan, ever since its inception in 1989, and has recently raised funds to have the home fully air-conditioned, to make life more comfortable for those using the home and also the dedicated people working there.

This two-stamp set is available from all 31 Maltapost branches in Malta and Gozo, from the Mobile Unit and from the Maltapost Philatelic Bureau, in mint or cancelled format, as a Presentation Pack or Souvenir Folder. For more information visit the Philatelic Bureau's Website, philately@maltapost.com (tel: 2123-9153), or the Maltapost Website www.maltapost.com