Construction on a new school in Masaya, Nicaragua. Photo courtesy Leonor Fraser

By Rotary staff

Leonor Fraser and other members of her Rotary club arrived in Masaya, Nicaragua, ready to deliver shoes to the elementary schoolchildren and play with them.

It immediately became apparent that the school, located near a diesel plant, had bigger problems. The plant emitted pollutants into the air, which made the children and teachers lethargic, and the cracked building had no sanitation facilities. Fraser had difficulty breathing during her visit.

Through a Rotary Foundation grant, Fraser, her club, and Rotary members in Masaya were able to relocate the school, install plumbing, and even start a small chicken and goat enterprise so families could earn money to give the students a nutritious breakfast.

The children in Masaya were just some of the many beneficiaries of Rotary grants in 2013. Your generous giving to The Rotary Foundation makes projects like these possible. Here are a few other examples gleaned from our blog.

Tusu Tusubira and other Rotary members in Kampala, Uganda, have used a packaged grant to partner with Aga Khan University to train nurses and improve their expertise. The vocational training teams also hold medical camps, where hundreds of families who have limited access to health care can see a doctor.

In Nigeria, polio survivor Ayuba Burki Gufwan was determined not to let the disease slow him down. The teacher and lawyer, who uses a wheelchair, met a retired American pastor who helped him raise funds to start a business making bicycle wheelchairs for polio survivors. A few years later, he was visited by Rotarians on a polio immunization team, setting the ball rolling for a Rotary grant that would allow him to greatly expand his business. Today, thousands of polio survivors have been granted the freedom of mobility as a direct result of Gufwan’s work.

Make a resolution to do good in your community and around the world in 2014 by enrolling in the Foundation’s recurring giving program, Rotary Direct.

Learn more about ways to give.