Thousands of women across Rotary deserve recognition on International Women's Day, March 8, and while it isn't possible to highlight them all, we chose to profile several of them. These are women who work tirelessly on behalf of others, and whose efforts touch lives across the world, often in remote and inhospitable places. With projects focused on child and maternal health, economic development, and other humanitarian concerns, these women are proof of Rotary's diversity and global reach.
Every 10 minutes, a baby is born without a state – without citizenship in any country. The crisis in Syria and conflicts in South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and many other nations are producing new generations of refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers. Increasingly, they are long-term exiles who are spending years, even decades, in makeshift refugee cities with their families, unable to return home.
The number of people forced from their homes by war and conflict has surpassed 50 million for the first time since the end of World War II, when the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was created.
Among the graduates of the Rotary Peace Centers – nearly 900 since the program's inception in 2002 – are agents of change working to help this growing population of refugees.
Each year, Rotary Peace Centers host up to 100 peace fellows in a three-month program at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, or a master's degree fellowship at universities in Australia, England, Japan, Sweden, and the United States. Four alumni, who work for nongovernmental organizations and nonprofits that aid refugees, shared their stories with The Rotarian.
This year marks 30 years since Rotary launched PolioPlus, its campaign to rid the world of polio. Beginning on Rotary's anniversary, 23 February, Rotary members worldwide will be holding events to celebrate three decades of polio eradication progress.
Since 1985 Rotary and its partners have helped reduce the number of cases from 350,000 annually to fewer than 400 in 2014, and they remain committed until the disease is eradicated. Rotary has contributed more than $1.3 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect more than 2 billion children worldwide. In addition, Rotary's advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by donor governments to contribute over $10 billion to the effort.
