Tag Archives: service project

Warmth in winter: A tale of compassion and community service

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Members of Rotaract in Bangladesh pass out warm winter clothing and blankets to the Santal tribe, many of whom lost their homes in a devastating fire.

By Md. Saddam Hossain Roni, past president, Rotaract Club of Dhaka Orchid, Bangladesh, and a Rotaract adviser

December in the Gaibandha district of Bangladesh brought not only the crisp bite of winter, but also a tragic incident that left the local Santal tribe without homes. A devastating fire swept through their settlement, leaving them exposed to the unforgiving cold. In the spirit of Rotary’s commitment to service, the Rotaract Club of Dhaka Orchid and the Rotaract Club of Purbasha Plus embarked on a mission to provide winter clothes and essential medicines to these homeless tribal people.

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Temple Run gives sacred sites a clean sweep

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Members of the Rotary Club of Yala clean a temple in the Kathmandu Valley.

By Gautam Shrestha, immediate past president (2022-23) of the Rotary Club of Yala, Nepal

Gautam Shrestha

Kathmandu Valley is renowned for its rich cultural and historical heritage. It’s home to numerous World Heritage Sites, and many visitors are attracted to the temples, squares, and stupas that reflect ancient and diverse cultural traditions. Local people come to the temples to pray or visit as part of their morning walks. Older residents meet up to have a friendly chat or sing devotional songs called bhajan. The temples are a place of community, prayer, and reflection where people of all ages come together.

Recently, members of our club became aware of a troubling problem at some of these sites. Their beauty was being marred by a buildup of dust and debris. People arrive carrying plastic bags, but in their devotion to worship, they fail to keep the temple area clean or dispose of the trash they generate. There’s also a practice of disposing of plastic and paper waste materials by burning them in the temple area.

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My Rotary journey: from member to Rotarian

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Amy Payne, middle, with her Rotary mentors Richard Wheaton and Reda Tabor.

By Amy Payne, Rotary Club of Scottsville, Kentucky, USA

A year ago, I walked into a meeting of the Scottsville Rotary Club with a mission to present the newly opened Victory Hill Dream Center. Little did I know that this meeting would mark the beginning of a life-changing transformation for me.

From the moment I stepped into that Rotary meeting, I knew I had found more than just an audience for my presentation. I had found a Rotary family that welcomed me with open arms, embracing my vision of service and community support.

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Canoe introduces club to Indigenous culture

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Blake Cowan (from left), Nathan Wilson, and Tom Smith by the Wave Warrior.

By Tom Smith and Blake Cowan, Rotary Club of Tsawwassen, British Columbia, Canada

On a sunny day last September, Blake and I left our stresses behind and paddled Wave Warrior, a 39-foot-long ocean-going, fiberglass canoe designed by members of our local Indigenous community, on its inaugural journey.

Our Rotary club has been working towards Truth and Reconciliation with the local Tsawwassen First Nation (TFN) for the past several years. At last year’s Peacebuilder award ceremony, we honored two Indigenous members with this award. As one of the members, Nathan Wilson, was part of the Delta School District’s Indigenous Teaching Program, all the teachers attended. 

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Fitness project promotes health for Oglala Lakota schools

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By Martin Cohn, Rotary Club of Springfield, Vermont, USA

For more than a decade, members of Rotary District 7870 (New Hampshire, Vermont, USA) have been helping residents of Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The district’s service projects have ranged from making upgrades to the local nonprofit radio station, to providing laptops for students, to delivering materials for traditional quilts. District Rotarians have also partnered with South Dakota Rotary clubs to fund a makerspace for native artists.

This past fall, we were contacted by Doni DeCory, director of health and wellness for the Oglala Lakota County School district. She was looking for a way to help students and teachers get healthy together. She wanted to make wellness a priority. Her idea was to give each student and teacher their own Fitbit.

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