Posted by Haagen P. Cumlet

"Don't worry, if you just will have a few donors. What matters is that we start the project and spread the idea among members of the Rotary Family," says Slovenian Rotaractor Nina Kolenc.  Her  Rotaract drive for voluntary blood donation is , indeed, spreading.  

For the second year in a row, Rotaractor Nina Kolenc has been spearheading a blood donor drive in her native country of Slovenia and adding a global Rotaract dimension to the project. The campaign began in early February and peaked during World Rotaract Week, March 12 - 18, 2007.  Moreover, the Rotaract campaign for voluntary blood donation is spreading.

 

In May 2007, figures indicated that her second Rotaract inspired blood donor drive had more than 900 participants in 14 countries with some 50 clubs involved. This is up from 19 clubs in six countries in 2006, when around 250 individuals answered the Rotaract call to become voluntary blood donors.

 

The 14 countries are: Slovenia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Nepal, Egypt, Hungary and -new on the list - Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Ukraine, Turkey, Tanzania, Mongolia, Uruguay. The 14 countries are spread over four continents.

 

In addition, some Rotary Clubs and Inner Wheel Clubs took part in the Rotaract inspired blood donor drive.

 

At least two other main organizers from the 2006 Rotaract blood donor efforts were back as part of the 2007 campaign: Helina Tadesse from the Rotaract Club of Mella, Ethiopia, and  Yugal Bajracharya from Nepal.

 

Every year, a World Rotaract Week is designated to honor the chartering of the first Rotaract club, March 13 1968. To that end, Rotaract Clubs around the world put on various activities and compete for Best Service Project.

 

It was announced in early 2007, that three Slovenian Rotaract clubs (Maribor, Ljubljana, Celje) and one Hungarian club (Szeged) won the second place among the European contestants of 2006 for their joint blood donation project.

 

Nina Kolenc hopes that the international Rotaract blood donor campaign will have even more participating clubs during the 2008 drive, when Rotaract celebrates its 40th birthday.

 

On the website http://www.rotaract-celje.org/bloodunite.htm , Rotaractor Nina Kolenc is encouraging members of Rotaract Clubs, Interact, Rotary and Inner Wheel around the world to participate in voluntary blood donation: "Blood donation is simple, you should just go to the local hospital, donate blood, and let us know about it."

 

"Don't worry, if you just will have a few donors. What matters is that we start the project and spread the idea among members of the Rotary Family," she explains to her fellow Rotaractors.

 

Interviewed by Rotary International News, March 20 2006,

( http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/programs/060320_blood.html ), Nina Kolenc was asked how she got the idea for the blood donor project: - It stemmed from a personal experience. Five years ago when I was just 21, my heart stopped suddenly due to heart fibrillation, and I was declared clinically dead. I recovered but have not forgotten that life is short and that humans are mortal.

 

She has named the Slovenian Rotaract blood donor project after a quote "Magna est enim vis humanitatis" (Magnificent is the power of humanity) by the Roman writer and politician Marcus Tullius Cicero.

 

Nina Kolenc has since 2000 been a member of Rotaract Club Maribor, Multi-district 1910.  She was a member of Multi-district 1910/1920 Board as its Regional Coordinator (RCO) for Slovenia in 2005-06. During Rotary year 2007-08, she serves as District Rotaract Representative (DRR) for District 1910. She is a charter member of the Global Network for Blood donation.

 

Nina Kolenc invites interested clubs to join the campaign for voluntary blood dononation at any time by contacting her at bloodunite@gmail.com

 

 

Footnote: See pictures from the 2007 Rotaract blood donor drive in the column Photo Journals.