Rotary International's October theme is Economic and Community Development.  Our speaker for October 16, is Mustafa Shirzad.  Mustafa is an Economist for the Hawai'i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), where he works on developing the State's tourism demand and economic forecasting models. His broader work spans economic impact analysis and economic development, including published State reports on economic diversification, Hawaii's business climate, and the economic contributions of international students and high-technology grant programs. In his previous roles, he worked on fiscal policy and public financial management. Mustafa holds a master's in economics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, specializing in causal inference and macro-econometrics.

 

Our Rotary Foundation works to strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, in impoverished communities. The Rotary Foundation spent $9.2 million last year to grow local economies and reduce poverty.

 

Rotarians make amazing things happen, like:  Breaking the cycle of poverty for women: Most of the women living in rural Guatemala do not have the collateral to get loans from regulated financial institutions. The Rotary Club of Guatemala de la Ermita helped 400 local women complete financial literacy courses so they could pool their money and fund their own microlending program.

 

Skills development, business training: In Esmeraldas, Ecuador, Rotary members helped grant more than 250 microloans and train more than 270 community members in sewing, baking, plumbing, microcredit, business management, and leadership.

 

Sustainable farming: In west Cameroon, soil erosion and loss of soil fertility have significantly reduced farmers’ harvests. Rotary members gave farmers the skills they needed to improve soil fertility, control soil erosion, and market their produce. The results: increased crop yields and profits.