The International Service Committee meets monthly and its role and terms of reference mainly covers four areas.
Whenever natural disasters occur around the world, the committee tries to respond quickly so that food, shelter and first aid are despatched without delay. The priority is always to get supplies of clean drinking water in the disaster area as soon as possible and we actively support the charities, Shelterbox and Aquabox. These two organisations are set-up to respond immediately to natural disasters.
The committee will support funding for overseas projects either with our club’s charity money or by making applications for Rotary Grants. Any appropriate charity can make a funding request. All requests are considered at our monthly meetings and those which meet our criteria may be awarded a donation, depending on the funds available to us. We generally focus on smaller registered charities which have connections locally but work to improve the lives of impoverished people around the world.
The committee supports the establishment of new small private enterprises in the developing world through participation in the microcredit scheme, Lend with Care.
Canterbury Rotary Club is linked with four other Rotary clubs in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands; this alliance of clubs is referred to as the Pentangular. The Pentangular clubs regularly work together to fund larger overseas projects.