enero 2017

Mothers play a fundamental role in every culture. But depending on where a mom and baby live, they have a different chance of living or dying, suffering or thriving. In sub-Saharan Africa, one in 39 women will die of pregnancy-related complications, and one in nine children will die before age five. (In developed countries, the likelihood of dying drops to one in 4,700 women and one in 167 children.) Globally, 19,000 children die every day. The Rotary Foundation is working to improve maternal and child health around the world.
Our photo essay explores the Rotary projects that are saving new…

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Rotary’s official mottoes, Service Above Self and One Profits Most Who Serves Best, trace back to the early days of the organization.
In 1911, He Profits Most Who Serves Best was approved as the Rotary motto at the second convention of the National Association of Rotary Clubs of America, in Portland, Oregon. It was adapted from a speech made by Rotarian Arthur Frederick Sheldon to the first convention, held in Chicago the previous year. Sheldon declared that «only the science of right conduct toward others pays. Business is the science of human services. He profits most who serves his fellows…

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Rotary will provide a $500,000 emergency response grant to support efforts to stem the recent polio outbreak in Syria. The funds are the first to the World Health Organization in direct support of a Global Polio Eradication Initiative plan to conduct large-scale immunization campaigns in the Middle East.
“It is imperative that we stop this outbreak quickly to protect children in Syria and throughout the region,” says Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee Chair Robert S. Scott. “Rotary and our partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are working together with local health…

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The Swat Valley of northern Pakistan, in the highlands between Kashmir and the Khyber Pass, was once a lush, peaceful place. It was ruled by Miangul Abdul Haq Jahanzeb — the Wali, or absolute monarch, of Swat. A modernizer, the Wali built schools for his subjects — girls as well as boys — and toured remote regions where no one had ever seen an automobile.
«A beautiful, pristine place where mountains climbed to the clouds,» Zebu Jilani calls the land of her childhood. «People called it the real Shangri-La.» The Wali was her grandfather. Princess Zebu, as Swatis still refer to her, recalls…

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Months of heavy rains in the heart of the Peruvian rain forest had caused devastating flooding. It was April 2012, and the Amazon River and other waterways had submerged entire villages, forcing families to leave their belongings on the roofs of their homes and find higher ground. Many had to live on wooden planks or under tarps. The Rotary Club of Iquitos called on Rotary’s partner ShelterBox, which provides tents and other nonfood items in containers to people left homeless by disaster.
Malcolm Shead, a volunteer from Llandeilo, Wales, was a member of the first ShelterBox response team to…

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For years, we described Rotary by the numbers: 1,220,115 members in 34,558 clubs in 200 countries and regions. Impressive figures, for sure, but they only tell part of our story. What numbers can’t convey is the essence of Rotary –- what sets us apart and inspires people to get involved.
So we interviewed members around the world to discover why they’re passionate about Rotary. What we found was a new way of talking about Rotary that focuses on three core ideas. Through Rotary, you can:
Join leaders from all continents, cultures, and occupations
Exchange ideas, bringing our expertise and…

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RI President-elect Gary C.K. Huang chose Light Up Rotary as his theme for 2014-15. Huang was inspired by the teachings of Chinese philosopher Confucius who said: «It is better to light a single candle, than to sit and curse the darkness.»
«There are so many problems in the world, so many people who need help. Many people say, ‘There’s nothing I can do.’ So they sit there doing nothing. Meanwhile everything stays dark,» Huang told the 537 district governors and their spouses and partners who are attending the 2014 International Assembly in San Diego, California.
«The Rotary way is the…

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Apply for a booth in the Billabong House of Friendship by 10 January to reach the thousands of Rotary members and guests who will be attending the Rotary International Convention in Sydney, Australia, 1-4 June.
Billabong is an Aboriginal word that means “meeting place,” and that’s just what the House of Friendship will be. With a booth, you have a unique opportunity to showcase your service project, celebrate your Rotary accomplishments, or share information about your Rotary Action Group. Rotary project booths provide a powerful opportunity to find partners for your project or inspire others…

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Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011.
To mark this historic triumph — reached after a decades-long battle against polio — Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, «India is polio free.»
The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The…

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In 2005, Razia Jan came up with a dangerous idea: to start a free private school for girls in her native Afghanistan. The Taliban were using extreme violence to keep girls from learning. In 2008, the year she opened the school, terrorists in the country — armed with bombs, poison gas, guns, grenades, and acid — killed 149 teachers, students, and employees in Afghan schools.
But Jan did not intend to let terrorists stop her. She approached Afghan Ministry of Education officials and persuaded them to donate a piece of land in a village 30 miles outside Kabul. Today, the Zabuli Education…

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