More than 26 Clubs in District 5000, as well as Clubs in the Philippines and Romania, joined with the Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset on three Global Grants designed to create a Pediatric Cranio-Facial Surgery Clinic for Romania and eventually for all Eastern Europe. The project was conceived by Dr. Dan Murariu, a Plastic Surgeon and longtime member of RC Honolulu Sunset. Fund raising has been led by Rich Zegar, also of Sunset, for a current total of about $300,000, with a goal of $350,000. Rich and District Governor Winton Schoneman have also visited the Grant site in Iasi, Romania.
Dan and Rich have worked with diplomats in the Romanian Embassies in Washington and Bucharest during this grant. Several Romanian Embassy personnel visited Hawaii earlier this year, where Rich gave them a tour of the Valor in the Pacific Venues at Pearl Harbor.
This month Romania celebrates “National Day of Romania”, the 100th anniversary of the consolidation of the various provinces into the modern Country of Romania on December 1st, 1918. To honor the celebration, the Romanian Ambassador to the United States asked each US State to produce a Proclamation talking about the fellowship of the People of the US and Romania. However, as of November 2nd they had not yet received a response from Hawaii.
One of the Romanian diplomats that Rich worked with contacted him to ask if Rich could help get the Proclamation in a timely manner. At the time, Rich, who knows no one in Gov Ige's office, was giving presentations at several of the Clubs that had supported the Grants. Rich started asking if anyone had connections in the Governor's office, and at the Ala Moana Club Danielle Lum put Rich in touch with Mei Yee Cheng, the Governors Community Relations Specialist. Mei Yee Cheng found and ran with the Proclamation request. The proposed proclamation had been lost in the chaos leading up to the election, but they were happy to work with the Ambassador's request.
Rich and Dan received the proposed draft Proclamation from the Romanian Embassy and Dan really thought that the efforts of Rotary in Romania had not been properly acknowledged. After some coordination with the Governor's office and the Romanian Embassy, Dan and Rich re-wrote the last four paragraphs of the Document to properly recognize Rotary's efforts.
Governor Ige signed the Proclamation on November 13th. That same afternoon, Rich picked up the Proclamation document at the Big Square Building and shipped it to Dan, who was in Pittsburgh, PA at the time.
Pictured above is Dr. Dan Murariu presenting the Proclamation to Romanian Ambassador Maior at a Gala Ball in Washington DC on November 16th, on behalf of the State of Hawaii and Rotary International.
Rotary Club of Honolulu Sunset greatly appreciates the support of all Clubs in continuing this dramatic project.