Reem Ghunaim and her nieces. Photo by Moataz Al Sadey By Reem Ghunaim I am a Rotary Peace Fellow from Palestine. My mother is a Palestinian refugee who fled her home with her family in 1948. My father’s entire village was displaced for two weeks in 1967. In fact, nearly half of my family are…
By Nancy Leonhardt, 2018-19 membership chair for District 6150, Arkansas, USA When it comes to membership growth, there are no magic potions. Our district was blessed to add more than 65 new members last year, one of only four districts in our zone to have any increase. But I can’t point to just one thing…
ShelterBox Head of Operations Alf Evans, left, confers with local contacts including Past RI President Barry Rassin, right, in the Bahamas. Report compiled by Diana White, past district governor, and District 7020 Rotarians The destruction left behind by Hurricane Dorian is devastating. In parts of the Bahamas, literally everything is gone, replaced by piles of…
Gold Coast Passport Rotary Club of District 9640 at Karma Collab Hub in June. By Jayde Purnell, Gold Coast Passport Rotary Club, District 9640 (Australia) A passport Rotary club is designed to attract a diverse demographic, and from my perspective, it’s working. On the last Tuesday of each month, I merrily waltz my way into…
The Rotaract Club of Jacksonville’s Beaches, Florida, USA By Charlie Flynn When I first walked into a meeting of the Rotaract Club of Jacksonville’s Beaches, I couldn’t have possibly known all the unique and rewarding experiences my involvement would afford me. I had no idea what was in store; the connections I would make, the…
By Kathleen Rose, vice president of the Rotary Club of Gilroy, California, USA I attended the Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany, in June, to widen my own leadership experience as I prepare to serve as club president next year. I was asked to present a breakout session entitled Women’s Leadership Skills: Strengthening Our Rotary…
Thineskumar Asokokumara By Thineskumar Asokokumara, past president of the Rotary Club of Subang, Malaysia In June, my company held interviews to fill an opening for manager of our Kuala Lumpur support center. We are a company of over 2,000 employees listed on NASDAQ and worth multi-millions of dollars. The interview was no small thing. A…
Knut Ebel congratulates president Stefanie Kämpf in 2016. Ebel went on to serve as president the following year. By Christoph Ahlmann-Eltze, president of the Rotary Club of Bordesholm, Germany Our club chartered 10 years ago, and from the very start, equality between the genders has been a priority. We alternate between a male member and…
Faisalabad Rotaract club members lead an evening class for child laborers. By Ebadat-ur-Rehman Babar, 2019-20 secretary, Rotaract Club of Faisalabad, Pakistan Our idea started back in 2018, when I and two other members of my Rotaract club began looking for an innovative, sustainable project. We wanted to submit an entry for the Rotaract Outstanding Project…
By Monica Mulholland, Rotary Club of Queenstown, New Zealand When I made the decision to come out as transgender to my Rotary club, my wife and I were worried that we would be shunned by our community and lose many of our friends, including those in the Rotary club. It is common for transgender people…