By Edward Hicks, a member of the Rotary Club of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA I first became acquainted with The Rotary Foundation and its Fellowship for Undergraduate Study Abroad in 1970, as a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma. My faculty adviser suggested I apply for the fellowship. Little did I imagine how much it would…
Members of the Rotary Club of Deonar, Maharashtra, India, during a club social outing. By Jaee Bhilare I am a student at Amity University in Mumbai, India. I have routinely been taking the bus from Pune to Mumbai for the past two years. But a few weeks ago, I had the most unexpected journey. My…
The Rotary Iron Lung Education Exhibit (RILEE) makes a stop at Rotary International World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, on World Polio Day, 24 October. Photo by Leann Arthur By Suzanne Gibson, 2019-20 governor of Rotary District 6440 and a member of the Rotary Club of Barrington Breakfast, Barrington, Illinois While planning a youth assembly…
By Maiden R. Manzanal-Frank, 2015 Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand Maiden Manzanal-Frank The Rotary Peace Centers Program has truly transformed my life. After receiving the peace fellowship in 2015, my commitment to peace, human security, and development deepened further. In my current role as a senior consultant and impact advisor, I help organizations…
Jong-Geun Lee at the summit of a 3,400-foot peak with members of his Rotary club who took turns carrying him on an A-frame on their backs. By Jong-Geun Lee, District 3730 PolioPlus subcommittee chair and member of the Rotary Club of Wonju, Korea I was born in a rural village in southern Korea the year…
By Safia Ibrahim Safia Ibrahim Sometimes I catch myself admiring my daughter as she reads a book at bedtime or does her math homework. These are skills we have come to expect from a child at her age. However, my memories as a young girl living with a disability from polio in Somalia are quite…
Abe enjoying floor time. By Stephanie Graff As the mother of a beautiful, happy, baby boy, I’ve been only too happy to share so many “firsts” with my husband and son. From bath time to tummy time to bedtime stories, we recognize the importance of every milestone moment and experience, including those that are less…
Mark and Dave Anderson will be riding the trains in Sydney 24 October to raise awareness and funds for End Polio Now. Rotary members have been at the center of the worldwide effort to eradicate polio for more than three decades. Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985 and helped found the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in…
Olga Paramonova works with a child to help him take his first steps, assisted by the Katusha verticalizer. By Anna Tumanova, president, Rotary Club of Moscow Center, Russian Federation I remember how impatiently I waited for my Varvara to run. I waited for my daughter’s first step for 10 months. But there are parents who…
A child works on a craft project during the four-day recreational camp at Peaceable Kingdom in Killeen, Texas. Photo by Oliver Smith, Rotary Club of Northwest Austin. By Shannon Coleman, governor of District 5870 Central Texas, USA Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the United Nations estimates that more than 14 million people are…