By John Wahlund, Area of Focus Manager for Maternal and Child Health & Disease Prevention and Treatment

The fourth annual Rotary Family Health Days (RFHDs) took place throughout sub-Saharan Africa in April 2014, providing comprehensive health care services to the most vulnerable and underserved populations in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, Lesotho, and Swaziland. RFHDs were conceived, developed and are continually managed by the Rotarian Action Group for Family Health and AIDS Prevention (RFHA).

As Rotary’s Area of Focus Manager for Disease Prevention and Treatment, and Maternal and Child Health, I have had the privilege and responsibility to establish strong working relationships with RFHA’s CEO Marion Bunch and her colleagues. This path led to my participation in the kickoff of the 2014 RFHDs in South Africa this past April. Having been involved in many PolioPlus National Immunization Days in years past, I thought I knew what to expect, but I…

By Divya Wodon and Naina Wodon, Interact Club of Washington International School, and Quentin Wodon, Rotary Club of Washington, Washington D.C., USA, TRF Cadre of Technical Advisors, and authors of Membership in Service Clubs: Rotary’s Experience.

Neil and fellow Rotarians with the ambulance given to Setiganga Community Hospital, Nepal

In 2009, after several years of planning, Neil Young from the Rotary Club of Towsontowne, Maryland, USA, traveled to Nepal with a group of Rotarians on the occasion of donating an ambulance to the Setiganga Community Hospital which serves over 100,000 people in the foothills of the Annapurna Range. The donation was made possible through fundraising by several clubs (Towsontowne, Hunt Valley, and Downtown Towson in the USA and Damauli in Nepal) as well as matching funds from the district and The Rotary Foundation. The project started when Prem Mahat, also a Rotarian from the Rotary Club of Towsontowne who…

By Jesse Davis, Rotary Grants staff

With June coming to a close, we hope you enjoyed our selection of unique stories from different Rotary Fellowships about the service activities they undertake, enhanced by their member’s shared interests and expertise.

As we have seen throughout the month, service comes in a variety of formats. In some cases it is filtered through a shared vocation, as evidenced by the Yachting and Flying Fellowships, while other times it is closely aligned with Rotary’s Areas of Focus, as the case with the International Fellowship of Rotarian Doctor’s program, CALMED.

Mayford painting of Comely Bank, the home of Paul and Jean Harris.

While Rotary channels our commitment to service at home and abroad through its Guiding Principles, there is still room for interpretation, and to that effect, some Rotary Fellowships approach service initiatives by preserving and promoting the legacy and history of our organization. The…