Category Archives: Empowering youth

Taking the global stage in Ghana

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Several Rotaract members raise their hands in the air while waiting for the performance at the Global Citizen Live event.
Rotaract members at the Global Citizen Live event in Accra, Ghana.

By Tetteh Kojo Boampong Adesa, charter president, Rotaract Club of Accra-Airport

I would never have thought I would get so much enjoyment out of a concert and be so exhilarated to be part of leading the charge for global change. Before the Global Citizen Live concert in Accra, Ghana, 24 September, Rotary International President Jennifer Jones, who was in our country visiting Rotary clubs and projects, encouraged all Rotaract members to be a part of the buildup to this big event by creating excitement. Our charge was to step on the world stage and join with artists and leaders around the world in creating awareness for the need to protect our planet and end extreme poverty.

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Global Citizen Festival excites passion for service in Ghana

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Rotaractors took part in the Global Citizen Festival in Ghana
Ernest Afun of the Rotary Club of Accra East and Chinazo Asunwa of the Rotary Club of Accra Legon East during the Global Citizen Festival in Accra, Ghana.

By Julian Andoh, president of the Rotaract Club of Accra-La East, Ghana

I was standing at the Black Star Square, a large public space in Accra, watching a global change movement happen right before my eyes. And the best part? It was a concert.

It all started when I was scrolling through social media and came across a flyer for a concert in Accra. I wondered what organization could get all these artists to come to Ghana to hold a concert this big. A quick Google search gave me the answer: Global Citizen, an action platform dedicated to rallying people around critical issues of climate change, poverty, and inequality.

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Mumbai Rotary comes to aid of a stranded student

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Members of the Rotary Club of Deonar, Maharashtra, India, gather for a group photo in front of trees
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.

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Kid, You Can project helps children take first steps

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Therapist Paramonova holds a verticalizer as a small child attempts to move forward
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 wait for years. And there are those who will never experience this happiness.

What is it like for a young person who can’t lean on his own feet? How do they see the world? What is their social circle?  Are they confined to the four walls of a small apartment, where they are heroically dragged along by their mother, whose life begins and ends with a child with special needs.

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Texas Rotarians let kids be kids at camp for Ukrainian refugees

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A child viewed from above assembles a wood block as part of a puzzle of several wood pieces
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 thought to have fled their homes. We began hearing about some of these families through our Ukrainian community here is Central and South-Central Texas. Children are entering our school systems with only the clothes on their backs. Many of the families have experienced violence, war, a shortage of food, water or shelter, personal injury, and disease.

Wanting to help, Rotarians in our district applied for a Disaster Response Grant from The Rotary Foundation to work with Peaceable Kingdom by Variety, a children’s retreat/camp in Killeen, for a three-night, four-day recreational experience over the Labor Day weekend. We imagined a space where the Ukrainian families could connect with their community, step away from the reminders of war, and take a much-needed deep breath. We wanted to give the children a place to explore, laugh and just be kids.

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