Author Archives: Rotary International

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Stories, not stats, attract people to Rotary

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Joe Otin

By Joe Otin, governor-elect of Rotary District 9212 (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan)

I gravitate naturally to statistics despite the negative feelings some people have about them. I think that information is the fuel that our world runs on and without it our systems will sputter, stall, and shut down. That is because statistics are significant in decision making.

When I joined the Rotary Club of Nairobi East, Kenya, 19 years ago, I was told that good Rotarians were defined by the regularity of their attendance, the frequency of their gifts to The Rotary Foundation, and most importantly by their ability to introduce new members to the club. Continue reading →

How will you respond to the flamingo challenge?

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Alison Frye at the District 6600 conference in May

By Alison Frye, president of the Rotary Club of Perrysburg, Ohio, USA
Back in July, the cover of The Rotarian featured a picture of RI President Barry Rassin and his wife, Esther, with a flock of flamingos. The cover received a lot of love on social media, and people began to attend Rotary events wearing flamingo swag and tagging Barry in the pictures. A few weeks ago, a couple of Rotarians were in a party store and filled their arms with tacky flamingo items and tagged Barry in the picture.

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Follow all the action from Hamburg

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Capture the Moment in Hamburg, Germany, 1-5 June.

Whether you’ll be attending the 2019 Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany, from 1 to 5 June, or you simply want to keep up with everything that’s happening there, you can find all the latest news on riconvention.org and social media using #Rotary19. Continue reading →

10 reasons to apply for a Rotary Peace Fellowship at ICU

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Cherry blossoms line the main entrance to ICU in March.

By Lorraine Hayman, incoming Rotary Peace Fellow at International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan, 2019-21

This summer, I will join the 18th class of Rotary Peace Fellows at International Christian University. Here are my top ten reasons for applying to ICU: Continue reading →

Climate change and The Four-Way Test

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Rick Olson and children

Rick Olson visits with children in Tanzania.

By Rick Olson, Rotary Club of Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA

Climate change is an impersonal, ambiguous term, which denotes negative impact on people around the world. But on a recent trip to Tanzania in Africa I met some of the innocents who will be most affected by the increased droughts caused by carbon dioxide emissions. Continue reading →

Medical pilgrimage in India treats thousands

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A child treated during the Rotary Club of Gandevi’s medical mission.

By Parimal Naik, grant coordinator, Rotary Club of Gandevi, India

In January, our club organized a medical mission to provided life-saving health care to the rural and tribal community of Gandevi in the western part of India. Our mission consisted of 26 visiting doctors and paramedics from an association of Indian physicians of Northern Ohio, USA. It was our third trip to Gandevi since 2010, and among 29 medical missions we have organized with the help of grants from The Rotary Foundation. It was pure pleasure to see the smiles on the faces of thousands of recipients, and on many of the team members as well. Continue reading →

Newest addition to the Brand Center

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Screenshot of the Power in Our Connections video. You can find it in the Brand Center.

By RI’s social & digital team

Have you visited the Brand Center lately? We’ve added a new video, “Power in Our Connections,” that you can share on social media. By doing so, you become part of our public image campaign, helping us show how we are People of Action. Continue reading →

Rotary Youth Exchange expanded my view of the world

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The author, third from left, on her Rotary Youth Exchange in Thunder Bay, Canada.

By Xolisile Sithole, former Rotary Youth Exchange student to Canada

It has been more than eight years since I embarked on a Rotary Youth Exchange to Thunder Bay, Canada, from South Africa. In many ways, it still seems like yesterday. It was an incredibly big year for me, having finished high school and qualified for university, and It remains one of my most treasured memories. Continue reading →

Pilgrimage produces project for peace

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Rotary Peace Fellow Magdalena Zurita on the Via Francigena

By Magdalena Zurita, Rotary Peace Fellow, International Christian University, Japan, 2016-18
In May of 2018, I completed my master’s studies as a Peace Fellow at International Christian University in Japan. As I waited for the graduation ceremonies, I pondered where I should put everything I had just learned into practice. I was awakened one morning with a new and unexpected thought – traveling. And the word “Tuscany” resounded in my head.

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Secrets to growing a new Rotary club

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By Corey Lopardi, membership development chair for District 5020 (parts of British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, USA)

Recently, I had the pleasure of  interviewing the newest club president in our district who moved to a small town of 1,770 and started a brand new Rotary club with 42 members. They grew to almost 50 members in just over 30 days. Continue reading →