Rotary International is made up of 34,000 clubs and 1.2 million members worldwide dedicated to a motto of “Service Above Self” 

 

Rotary brings together the kind of people who step up to tackle important issues for local communities worldwide. Rotary members from a range of professional backgrounds leverage their expertise to improve lives everywhere.

 

Since 1985, Rotary has united around the cause of eradicating polio worldwide. In partnership with the United Nations, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization and the Gates Foundation, we are close to wiping this devastating disease from our planet completely.

 

As Rotary realizes the goal of eradicating polio, it has turned its focus to even greater goals. Rotary International’s six areas of focus now include:  

1. Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution

2. Disease Prevention and Treatment

3. Water and Sanitation

4. Maternal and Child Health

5. Basic Education and Literacy

6. Economic and Community Development

 

The following information was taken from rotary.org. Learn more by visiting this official site of Rotary International.

 

 

Rotary International has identified specific causes to target in an effort to maximize our local and global impact. At the same time, Rotary understands that each community has its own unique needs and concerns.

 

Through global grants and other resources, we help clubs focus their service efforts in the following areas.

 

Today, 42 million people are displaced by armed conflict or persecution. Through our partnerships with several leading universities, Rotary Peace Fellows develop the skills to strengthen peace efforts, train local leaders to prevent and mediate conflict, and support long-term peace building in areas affected by conflict. We provide up to 100 peace fellowships per year at Rotary Peace Centers.

 

More than 100 million people are pushed into poverty each year because of medical costs. We aim to improve and expand access to low-cost and free health care in underdeveloped areas. Our members educate and mobilize communities to help prevent the spread of major diseases such as polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Many of our projects ensure that medical training facilities are located where the workforce lives.

 

More than 2.5 million people lack access to adequate sanitation facilities. At least 3,000 children die each day from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water. Our projects give communities the ability to develop and maintain sustainable water and sanitation systems and support studies related to water and sanitation.

 

At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. To help reduce this rate, we provide immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improve access to essential medical services, and support trained health care providers for mothers and their children. Our projects ensure sustainability by empowering the local community to take ownership of health care training programs.

 

Supporting education:

Sixty-seven million children worldwide have no access to education and more than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.

 

Nearly 1.4 billion employed people live on less than $1.25 a day. We carry out service projects that enhance economic and community development and develop opportunities for decent and productive work for young and old. We also help strengthen local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women, in impoverished communities.