Rotary International celebrates 110 years of service

Today, this “service before self” organisation has grown to 34 871 clubs worldwide, which connect to impact lives at both local and international levels; from helping families in need in their own communities to working towards a polio-free world.

There are 299 clubs in southern Africa and 84 clubs in D9400, which is made up of Botswana, Swaziland, Southern Mozambique and the Limpopo, North West, Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa.

Benoni has three local clubs, the Rotary Clubs of Benoni, Benoni Aurora and Benoni Van Ryn, who all actively manage community projects.

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders who dedicate their time and talent to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.

Rotarians contribute their time, energy and passion to sustainable, long-term projects in local communities across the globe.

Among millions of projects undertaken annually and globally, Rotary concentrates on and focuses on important issues such as peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy and economic and community development.

Rotary also offers expanded service opportunities involving the youth, such as Interact, which is a service organisation organised and sponsored by Rotary clubs for young adults aged 12 to 18.

There are more than 12 300 Interact clubs in 133 countries.

Rotaract groups are another leg organised by Rotary clubs, to promote leadership, professional development and service among young adults aged 18 to 30.

There are more than 8 000 Rotaract clubs in 167 countries.

Rotary brings together the kind of people who step forward to take on important issues for local communities worldwide.

Members hail from a range of professional backgrounds; doctors, artists, small business owners and stay-at-home parents all call themselves Rotarians.

These unique perspectives are connected to help leverage members’ expertise to improve lives everywhere.

The fastest growing Rotary regions include Southeast Asia and Africa.

In 1988, Rotary spearheaded the creation of their Global Polio Eradication Initiative, with its partners the World Health Organisation, Unicef and the United States of America centres for disease control and prevention.

Polio Eradication

Rotary is close to eliminating the second worst human disease in history, after smallpox, with a 99 per cent reduction in polio cases worldwide since 1985, when Rotary launched its PolioPlus programme.

To date, Rotary has contributed more than 1.2 billion dollars and countless volunteer hours to help immunise more than two billion children against polio in 122 countries.

Currently, Rotary is working to raise 35 million dollars per year, through 2018, for polio eradication, which will be matched two to one by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

For more information visit www.rotary.org.

For further information on each of our local Rotary Clubs, contact them on:

• Benoni Rotary Club: Sam Grolman, 011 849 4675.
• Rotary Club of Benoni Aurora: Heidi Tucker, 082 442 6710.
• Rotary Club of Benoni Van Ryn: Neil Murray, 072 053 7498.