Creating meaningful change for a global community

Imagine having 1.4 million “neighbours” around the world ready to collaborate on impactful projects, empowering local communities in need. 

For Ms Joanne Kam, a member of the Rotary Club of Suntec City, that’s what it feels like when the club embarks on community projects beyond Singapore’s shores. “Rotary is a global community where people unite and take action to create lasting change,” said Ms Kam. 

The Rotary network comprises 1.4 million members spread across 46,000 clubs, including 41 clubs in Singapore. Singaporeans are ranked No 1 in the world for annual fundraising per capita to The Rotary Foundation (Rotary’s charitable arm), and have made contributions to projects locally and overseas totalling nearly S$1.18 million between 2022 and 2023. 

In December 2022, Ms Kam and the Rotary Club of Suntec City began working with the Rotary Club of Patumwan in Bangkok to sponsor a farming project in Phrae, northern Thailand. Named New Farming Theory (or Khok Nong Na in Thai), the project helped 11 farmers in adopting sustainable farming practices that not only enhanced their livelihoods but also mitigated environmental challenges.

“The farmers acquired essential skills for managing their farms. This ensured food security for their families and equipped them with the knowledge to package and market their produce for income generation,” shared Ms Kam, who has been with Rotary for two decades.

The project was expanded into the province of Lampang in May 2023 with support from the Rotary Club of Doiprabaht, helping another 20 farmers. So far, Rotary clubs have raised more than US$75,000 (S$101,000) towards the two farming projects, thanks to Rotary member donations and matching funds from The Rotary Foundation.

“Rotary is like a big family,” Ms Kam shared. “We unite passionate people with diverse perspectives to exchange ideas, forge lifelong friendships and apply their professional expertise to enact positive, sustainable change around the world.”  

MAKING A DIFFERENCE WORLDWIDE

Like Ms Kam, Dr Shahul Hameed – who joined the Rotary Club of Singapore in 1995 – was inspired by its ability to impact communities around the world.

Among the club’s key causes is education, prompting collaboration on a project aimed at reducing school dropout rates in Malang, East Java, Indonesia. In 2010, the club began supporting an orphanage in Malang. While working with the community, club members noticed a concerning trend of school absenteeism among its youth. “The primary cause for school absenteeism and school dropouts was that parents could not afford to pay for essential school supplies,” said Dr Shahul. 

Working with the Rotary Club of Malang Central as its local project partner, the Rotary Club of Singapore started supporting 20 students in one school in 2011. Over 12 years, this number has grown to 800 students, representing 40 schools across two regions in East Java. 

In addition, the Rotary Club of Singapore worked with the local mayor’s office and its education department to provide regular large-scale teacher training programmes and parents’ livelihood programmes for these schools.

Beyond Indonesia, the club has extended its support to various international endeavours. This includes the establishment of eight Rotary eye hospitals – seven in India and one in Nigeria. These hospitals collectively facilitate over 10,000 cataract surgeries annually. 

Additionally, since 2013, the Rotary Club of Singapore and its international Rotary club partners have sponsored 168 major projects in 23 countries to the tune of US$11.2 million, with the Rotary Club of Singapore alone contributing close to US$4.08 million to these projects.

“We have a diverse group of individuals all over the world, each possessing keen insight into what community service, project assessment, project impact and long-term change are all about,” said Dr Shahul. “This allows Rotary to move away from spontaneous charity projects to true professional philanthropy initiatives.”

BANDING TOGETHER TO PROMOTE PEACE  

For Ms Bindi Rajasegaran, member of the Rotary Club of Ipoh Central, in Perak, Malaysia, the support for projects from international partners has been invaluable.

Five years ago, she led an initiative to create a peace-centric training programme for youth from the ASEAN region, with the goal of building a ground force of ASEAN youth peace ambassadors. “Our mission is to promote peace in all our community endeavours,” said Ms Bindi. “We decided it was best to address the peacebuilding issue by investing in our youth as they will be the leaders and decision makers of tomorrow.”

“However, the pandemic put a halt to the initiative and a collaboration with another university fell through. It was a challenging period, considering the substantial groundwork and syllabus development invested in the programme,” she shared.

Thankfully, when the idea was revived, it received support from not just her fellow club members in Malaysia, but also other clubs in Asia, including Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. 

“Being a member of Rotary is unique in that you belong to an international community and are welcomed anywhere in the world,” said Ms Bindi. “The pooling of resources can lead to the realisation of impactful initiatives, addressing complex community challenges and making a world of difference to the beneficiaries. That’s the beauty and magic of Rotary.”

Take action by visiting rotary.org today.