Sanem Alkan, right, on stage at the Presidential Peace Conference By Sanem Alkan I have been a part of the Rotary family since my high school days after learning about this wonderful community from my father, a Rotarian. Several pivotal experiences over the years have helped shape who I am today, personally and professionally. These range…
Editor’s Note: This year marks the 25th anniversary of the World Health Organization’s certification of the Western Pacific Region as polio-free. To commemorate this anniversary, we invited Dr. Shigeru Omi, who led the WHO’s polio eradication efforts in the region from start to finish, to reflect on the story behind that victory. Dr. Shigeru Omi…
By Jessica Malaty Rivera — Jessica Malaty Rivera In the last five years, the world has had a crash course in public health. A flurry of scientific jargon-filled headlines has caused a fair amount of confusion, panic, and fear. This dynamic is not new, and, in fact, it has a name in epidemiology: infodemic. Epidemiology…
Three generations of Rotary Youth Exchange students from left, Ivan Vianna, his granddaughter Isabella, and his son Gustavo. By Ivan Vianna, Rotary Club of Belo Horizonte-Pampulha, Brazil — Whenever I speak about or write about Rotary Youth Exchange, my mind goes back to my teenager years and I have good memories. No doubt that year as…
Alexei Oduber (center) talks with a Canadian Rotarian at a project fair in Guatemala in 2010. By Alexei Oduber, Rotary Club of Panamá Nordeste, Panama As a past president of my club and district Rotary Foundation chair, I have seen and participated in many successful Rotary projects. A recent water sanitation project has shown me…
Rotaractor Benjamin Parent on the second stage of his round-the-world journey. By Benjamin Parent, Rotaract Club of Cannes Riviera, France — It all started with a dream and a question. I had tucked away in my mind for years a dream of cycling around the world. A series of questions pushed me to take the…
Volunteers turn out to help collect and distribute donations for fire victims, firefighters, and first responders. By Tracey Thompson Busa, Rotary Club of Marina del Rey, California, USA — The most destructive fire in Los Angeles, California, USA’s history broke out on 7 January in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Eaton. The Marina del Rey Rotary…
The author has his beard shaved to raise funds for polio eradication. By Jide Ogunleye, Rotary Club of Omole-Golden — I never imagined that my beard – something I had nurtured for years – would become a powerful tool for change. But on 22 February, I stood in front of a crowd, ready to part…
The author (second from left) with members of the Rotaract Club of Dhaka North on a service project. By M. M. A. Al Numan Tonmoy, Rotary Club of Habiganj Khoai, Bangladesh — When I began my university education in 2012, I was very introverted. I tried not to talk with people much and I would…
Participants in the Rotaract Club of Bogotá Centro Histórico’s Paz a la Vista project in the Ciudad Bolívar neighborhood of Bogotá, Colombia. By Mariafernanda Burgos Ariza, a Rotary Peace Fellow — My journey toward being a peacebuilder began shortly after I joined the Rotaract Club of Bogotá Centro Histórico in 2015. Rotaract planted the seeds…