By Rotary International

By Marty Peak Helman, District 7780 Foundation Chair

Children in a refugee camp in eastern Nigeria.

The American University of Nigeria (AUN) was co-founded by Rotarian Felix Obadan in 2000, and 12 years later, when Felix was governor of Rotary’s District 9125, which covers a large portion of Nigeria, he chartered the Rotary Club of Yola-AUN on campus. Their strong influence on campus makes it not surprising that many University professors and senior staff are Rotary members, and that the University prides itself on its work toward peace, entrepreneurship, and economic development as well as its strong academics.

The University’s mission is to graduate students prepared to take on the challenges in Nigeria and throughout West Africa – challenges of climate change, development, and peace building. And peace is not an abstract concept at the university. After all, it is located in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, in the region where Boko Haram is most powerful. In fact, those few dozen Chibok schoolgirls who escaped from being kidnapped by Boko Haram are now safely living at the University, where they are receiving social services and education.

Boko Haram has brought me to the American University of Nigeria as well. I am here as …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Volunteers from Capitol Hill Group Ministry assist the homeless. Photo courtesy Capitol Hill Group Ministry

By Quentin Wodon, Rotary Club of Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., USA

Sometimes the best way to gain a little attention for your club is to not talk about your club, but about other worthy groups and volunteers you are working with.

Rotary members are becoming more aware of the need to tell their Rotary story. But here’s the catch. It may be better to use local blogs or magazines in your community rather than your club or district’s own channels. This is because typically, these external sources will have a much larger readership.

But how do you get local blogs or magazine to use your stories?

Once in a while, you may have a great story to tell about your club that the blog or magazine will accept. However, they are not going to want to repeatedly publish stories on so narrow a topic. This is where talking about other organizations comes into play.

As president of my club this year, I have started to write stories about our nonprofit partners, focusing on their work, but also inserting a few lines about our Rotary club in each story.

The main local …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

By Evan Burrell, a member of the Rotary Club of Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia

Every single time you publish your online club bulletin or newsletter and email it to your subscribers, you should be asking yourself, “Have I made it informative AND engaging?”

Basically, your club bulletin could be the best piece of writing ever, but if no one reads it, what is the point? And if they do happen to read it but get absolutely no value out of it, what have you accomplished?

Make sure your club bulletin works for you, and the best way to do that is to make sure you are offering your readers something of real practical value.

Survey says

The original and most common form of engaging your readers is a survey. You could survey your readers about any number of things including how satisfied they are with your club or with a recent event, what they would like to see as future events, or what they think should be a topic for future speaker. You can even get more informal, and ask who they think will win the next big sports championship in your area.

Another way to increase reader interest is a generous use of photos, …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Last year’s Miles to End Polio team on ride day.

By John Hewko, Rotary International General Secretary

On 19 November, a team of Rotary staff and I will join Rotary members from Arizona (District 5500) and around the world to cycle up to 104 miles in El Tour de Tucson to raise funds for polio eradication.

The event is one of the top cycling events in the U.S., attracting more than 9,000 cyclists each year. We are aiming to raise $3.4 million, which will be tripled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for a total of more than $10 million for the fight to end polio.

In August, the World Health Organization confirmed two cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in Nigeria, the first cases in the country since July 2014. While this news is disappointing for all of us, we must remain steadfast and fully committed to fighting polio anywhere children remain at risk, including Nigeria and Africa. Now, more than ever, we need to redouble our efforts to help Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria to retain strong immunization coverage globally. Supporting the Miles To End Polio ride is one way to show these countries that Rotary’s commitment to polio eradication …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

School children in Kampala, Uganda.

By Carolyn Johnson, Vice-Chair of the Literacy Rotarian Action Group and member of the Rotary Club of Yarmouth, Maine, USA

Recently, I visited a small government school outside Kampala, Uganda. The school is located on the edge of a growing community, but most of these students live in a small nearby fishing village.

Many of the children were barefoot and dressed in what they could assemble of the school uniform. The school is basic: a concrete floor, block walls and a tin roof- but clean and neat, with all the children wearing broad smiles and clearly happy to be in school with caring and supportive teachers. The first time I visited this school, it was a very different sight.

Just three years ago, the school was a tiny building of three cramped classrooms – no doors and no windows. Each teacher taught two grades without books and education materials. That day, children weren’t attending classes, but a cow had made itself at home in the school: tipping over benches, knocking down the old blackboard with its horns, and doing what cows do. It was not surprising that parents didn’t enroll their children in school. It …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Mikah Meyer at the Grand Canyon. Rotary has helped Meyer reach for his dreams, including visiting all 400 plus U.S. National Park sites in a single tour.

By Mikah Meyer, former Rotary Scholar

Growing up as a pastor’s kid in Nebraska, I had a strong desire to get out and see the world. But I would never have had the opportunity to pursue my dreams if it had not been for Rotary.

I was awarded a Rotary scholarship during my junior year at the University of Memphis, while earning a degree in voice performance. I heard about the opportunity through a teacher who had been a Rotary Scholar herself, and a close friend who had been a Rotary Youth Exchange Student.

Meyer at Rotary International Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA during a stop to talk about his scholarship year and latest venture.

My goal was to study under one of the few teaching countertenors in the world, but paying for college on my own, I would never have been able to manage it. I spent my scholarship year at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and stayed on a second year to complete my masters.

But even before my scholarship year began, Rotary made the …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog

By Rotary International

Jean Best addresses participants of a peace conference.

By Jean Best, a Peace Officer in District 1020, with Rotary Peace Fellow Flor Yanez and Rotary Coordinator Keith Best

Who would have thought that sitting in an awareness raising session about Rotary Peace Fellows would have led to the creation of a skills based Peace Advocate Programme and an invitation to affect the lives of young people across the entire country of Mexico?

We received an invitation from Mexico’s national commission for peace after Rotary Peace Fellow Flor Yanez addressed the state congress in Mexico City about building a national engagement with young people through a culture of peace. The program provides a bridge from oral intention to practical reality. This reality empowers young people to develop conflict resolution strategies for themselves and to work with others in conquering conflict within themselves, their school, community, home, and beyond.

Half of the program develops skills for changing the mindset from acceptance to questioning to making informed decisions. The other half develops service projects to promote peace in their communities. The combined impact of these individual projects and skills contributes to a culture of peace.

From left, Jean and Keith Best with Flora Yanez in …read more

Source:: Rotary International Blog