July 2020
International development soared to high altitudes in June. 
The Pashupatinath Temple on the banks of the Bagmati River in the Bagmati province of Nepal. Adobe Stock.
Four new Optimist Clubs were organized in Nepal. The Optimist Club of Kanchanpur came on board thanks to the co-sponsorship of the Optimist Club of Bixby, Oklahoma. The Optimist Club of Bagmati, Nepal followed three days later thanks to co-sponsorship by the Palmetto Optimist Club of South Carolina. The Optimist Club of Nawalparsai co-sponsors both of these new Clubs.

Optimists from our Club in Ilam, Nepal sponsored the next new Club in Shivasatakshi. The Optimist Club of San Antonio, Texas, co-sponsors this new group of Optimists from the U.S. Near the end of June, the Optimist Club of Dang, Nepal, organized with the help of the Windsor-Forest Glade Optimist Club in Ontario, Canada. These four Clubs represent 65 new Optimists. 

Our Optimist friends in Nepal aren’t done, though. The Optimist Club of Malangwa is scheduled to organize July 19, co-sponsored by the Riverside Optimist Club of Ontario. Development in Nepal began in 2017, and this Club means six of Nepal’s seven provinces will have an Optimist presence.
Optimists in the Caribbean made certain the Optimists in Nepal did not have all the fun in June. The Optimist Club of St. Jago Dela Vegas formed with 17 members in Jamaica. The Optimist Clubs of Harker Hall and North St. Catherine co-sponsor the new Club. Many of the new members can be seen here social distancing.
We are happy to announce that a new country will soon fly the Optimist flag. The Optimist Club of Dhaka, Bangladesh is scheduled for organization in mid-July. There is already talk among the charter members of forming a Junior Optimist Club in the nation’s capital, and a second regular club in Chittagong, Bangladesh’s second-largest city. Development efforts are also underway in Malta, where there are expectations for expanding Optimist International’s global reach by the end of September.
Administrative Corner

As Optimist International enters the final three months of the fiscal year. It is imperative that all of our Clubs in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia determine this month whether they are current on their financial obligations to the organization. We thank those Clubs that are current. Those Clubs that owe dues to the international organization are asked to provide Optimist International with an understanding for when this obligation will be paid before September 30. Failure to make payment by the end of the fiscal year could lead to the revocation of a Club’s charter to continue operations.

Optimist International appreciates the work of its members in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia and looks forward to their continued success.