The Los Angeles Cedars Rotary Club www.lacedarsrotary.org invites you to dinner to hear Karen Baroudi, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department International Liaison, make a presentation. The meeting is on Tuesday June, 16 2009 so please RSVP to
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or just show up.
Homemade Lebanese Cuisine will be prepared by Chef Samir.
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Karen Baroudi and her family immigrated to the United States in 1991. The tenuous political and economic situation at the time was a key motivation for the family’s decision to start a new life in the United States.
Though International Politics was always an interest for Karen, it was a high school World History course that inspired her to major in Diplomacy and World Affairs (DWA) at Occidental College. Within the major, Karen emphasized on Middle Eastern Politics and spent a semester researching the theory and practice of Arab Non-Governmental Organizations for a book due out in 2009. It was also during her time at Occidental that she interned with a local NGO, the American Friends of Neve Shalom / Wahat al Salam, which attempts to bridge the divide between Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel.
While still a student at Occidental College, Karen worked at United Nations Headquarters in the Department of Political Affairs, Policy Planning and Mediation Support Unit. There, she researched avenues for mediation in Darfur, helped launch “Peacemaker”—the United Nations mediation support tool, attended several conflict resolution trainings, and conducted an in-depth examination into the effectiveness of the UN’s integrated special political and peacekeeping missions. Karen’s research at the United Nations was used, in part, to write her senior comprehensive thesis: “Sirte-en to Fail: The Impact of Mediation Strategy and Contemporary Political Realities on Peace Processes in Darfur,” which was awarded honors by Occidental’s review board. In 2008, Karen graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Diplomacy and World Affairs. She was also inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. During her Occidental Career, she had earned DWA’s Outstanding Senior of the Year (2008), Outstanding Junior of the Year (2007), the prestigious Fifty Year Club Scholarship (2007), and other honors and awards. Determined to continue in the field of International Relations, Karen joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department International Liaison Unit in February 2009. (http://www.lasd.org/divisions/hqtrs/shb_overview.html#international). The small unit is tasked with arranging “best practices” workshops with international law enforcements experts, attending to the concerns of Los Angeles area consulates, maintaining ties with the ethnic media in Los Angeles, operating a 24-hr interpretation service, and more. In addition to Karen’s theoretical and practical knowledge of International Politics, Karen’s fluency in Arabic and French has helped her contribute significantly to the unit.
In her spare time, Karen enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, keeping an eye on developments in the Lebanese political sphere, and learning to cook Lebanese cuisine (with somewhat disastrous results!).
Thank You for Making our Annual Fundrasier a Success
We would like to thank all the supporters that joined us for the April 26 dinner cruise in beautiful Marina Del Rey. This event was fun, entertaining, and we raised $18,000.00. In addition we are still waiting for $4,000.00 from pledges.
We are happy to announce that we will immediately fund Matching Grant# 68107 to purchase Wheel Chairs for the Physically Challenged to participate in the Beirut Marathon. This project was funded in the following matter · LA-Cedars Rotary Club District 5280 $12,200.00
· Azusa Rotary Club District 5300 $1,000.00
· Beirut Metropolitan Rotary Club District 2450 $2,000.00
· Rotary International Foundation $7,585.00
However we still need to raise more money to fund the following projects by December 2009
1. Dispensary for the Red Cross in Bab El Tebbene
2. To supply the Red Cross of Koura an ambulance to serve the Koura region
3. Aramoun Library
4. Pet Waste Stations in Hollywood
5. Food, clothes and toy drive in Los Angeles
6. Reforest Lebanon project
International Avenue Of Service Announcements We are happy to announce that the United Nation Development Program also known as “UNDP” has featured the Los Angeles Cedars Rotary Club the 101 Stories from Lebanon. This book is a part of the activities for the National Human Development Report (NHDR) 2008-2009 whose theme is “Toward a Citizen’s State”. The book brings out to light 101 civic, cultural, environmental, social, economic and political initiatives. 101 stories of citizens from all over Lebanon who advocate women rights, peace and civic rights, ecotourism, environment protection, recycling and share their achievements, their passion and their responsibility, on a personal and organizational level. To read the whole article please click on the following link http://www.undp.org.lb/communication/news/NewsDetail.cfm?newsId=142 
Land Mine Detection Dogs and their work in Lebanon The Los Angeles Cedars Rotary Club would like to thank the Marshall Legacy Institute, The Lebanese Army , Robert Atallah, Berthe and Ronald Chagoury and many of our donors that made it possible o purchase and deliver to Lebanon two of 3 Land Mine Detection Dogs; Tiger and Cedar Lane. Tiger and Cedar Lane are hard at work with their trainers and handlers from the Lebanese Army in preparation to start their work in clearing land mines in Lebanon for the next 6-8 years. 
 
New apporved projects by the club
Dispensary of the Red Cross in Bab El Tebbeneh The project aims to equip the Red cross dispensary in the deprived area of Bab El Tebbaneh in Tripoli with an ultrasound machine. This area has been labeled by the united nations to be below the threshold of poverty. The underprivileged areas of Minieh and Danniyeh will also profit from the project. The implementation of the project needs around one month, after reception of the funds from the TRF. Total cost for the project is $15,000.00
New apporved project from the Koura Rotary Club To supply the Red Cross of Koura an ambulance to serve the Koura region that serves more then 52 villages with a total population of then 45,000 The Red Cross of Koura has three old vehicles that are outdated and do not meet the International Red Cross updated requirements and standards. The Rotary Club Koura would like to supply the vehicle + conversion Project cost is $32,747.00
New approved project from Sahel Aley Aramoun Library Aramoun is a highly populated village in Sahel Aley area with 80,000 inhabitants. Located in the suburbs of Beirut, Aramoun and its neighboring towns have many public and private schools, where Aramoun alone has 5 public schools with 600 students each. However, there are no public libraries in the whole area, leaving the students with no free access to any research or other educational material. The Municipality of Aramoun, built an extension in one of the public schools to be used as a public library with a separate section dedicated for kids. The Municipality is to provide the necessary operational utilities (electricity, telephone lines, cleanliness, …) for the library as well as all the necessary furniture (desks, book selves, chairs, computers, …), and the Ministry of Culture will provide it with all the books and other educational resources. The purpose of this project is to help the Municipality of Aramoun furnish this new public library. Total cost of the project is $20,000.00
Projects approved to date for 2008-2009 1.Btekhnay Dental Clinic MG# 67962 project cost is $43,299.00 Hammana Club $1,500.00 ------------RI Match $750.00
LA-Cedars Rotary Club $27,366.00---RI Match $13,683.00 2. Wheel Chairs for Physically Challenged to participate in the Beirut Marathon MG# 68107 Total Cost is $22,785.00 Beirut Metropolitan $2,000.00----RI Match $1,000.00
LA-Cedars $13,200.00------------RI Match $6,600.00
Update about the Hammana Mammography machine from 2007-2008 The project is to provide an Affinity Mammography Equipment system a complete set for examination. Dispensary Hammana Health Center provides low cost medical services (3.50 US$ per consultation.) to about 4000 people in the Upper Metn Area of the city Hammana , Lebanon . The Center is in desperate need for the Affinity Mammography Equipments due to the high number of patients that the center cares for. The Rotary intends to supply this equipment with this Matching Grant. Total cost is $40,000.00 Hammana-Upper Metn $2,000.00-----RI Match $1,000.00
DDF from District 2450 $2,000.00----RI Match $2,000.00
LA-Cedars $22,000.00-------------------RI Match $11,000.00
Projects done to date •Medical Equipment to Ain-Ebel Hospital in the south of Lebanon - $64,700 •Ambulance to the Red Cross in Choueifat Sahel Aley - $29,699 •81 Motorized Wheelchairs for the Lebanese Army - $70,146 •3 Land Mine-Detection Dogs for the Lebanese Army, to help detect the mines in the fields in Lebanon - $60,000 •Assistance to the injured landmine and cluster bomb victims in the form of medical care and education to families about avoiding mine and cluster bomb fields - $58,000 •Cooperation with 11 of the 20 Rotary Clubs in Lebanon; our goal is to work with all 20 to help fund projects all over Lebanon. Thank you Richard Saad for raising the money for this project.
How To Become A Member - Fill out a membership application
- Yearly dues $600.00 to be paid in full or on a quarterly basis
- You can attend physical meetings or go online to learn about Rotary and what the club is up to
- Participate with one of the 4 avenues of Service committee
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