A moment I will never forget was perhaps my most disheartening moment of the year, and yet, my proudest moment of Rotary.
A friend
and I were at dinner with two gentlemen from Geneva who were doing fieldwork in
Ghana as part of a nutrition-focused NGO. They asked about my research work in
Accra and my background in geochemistry and health. Laughing, they said that
their NGO could probably use that background in geochemistry even though the NGO dealt with
nutrition. One mentioned that though he knew nothing about nutrition- having
background in international development- he has set the fortification standards
for five countries, a fact he admitted was scary. Both men looked at me morosely and uttered, “Never go humanitarian.”
The men talked of their frustration with
large international organizations that have problems sticking to their code of
ethics and problems making sustainable projects. They said they have been kicked out of meetings because they stood up to the authorities. They said they have seen schools built where uneducated teachers were brought in to teach. They said there is too much money to be made by keeping people poor and hungry. They said it has destroyed their childhoods.
This news was Earth-shattering
to me, especially as someone who envisioned working with such an organization
in the future. At this moment, I finally realized what was so incredibly
special and unique about Rotary. It was exactly what has confused me about
Rotary in the past. I was always uneasy about the business and networking
aspects of Rotary, that Rotarians were often well-to-do, with comfortable
salaries and prominent careers. How much could these people know about
suffering? It was almost as if Rotarians were conservative hippies- business
people who still wanted world peace. Then it hit me. Rotarians use their
careers for humanitarian purposes; the humanitarian work is not necessarily
their careers. This set-up is ingenious. The world needs well-to-do people who
also care about hunger, poverty, and education. For instance, take Rotary’s six
main areas of focus: peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and
treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and
literacy, and economic and community development. They recognize it is in
everyone’s best interest to address these issues. Rotarians can have dignity in
their careers, whatever they may be, then also find dignity in how they use
their careers for service. This is why Rotary projects are so sustainable. When
I met William Boyd, the chair of the Rotary Foundation, he said that Rotary
projects are about 95% sustainable, which is tremendously successful. This level
of sustainability makes sense: for one, Rotarians have a background of skills
and knowledge, and secondly, they have no reason to try to make a project that
will only work for the short-term. I had never been so proud of Rotary than at
the end of that evening. It all finally made sense.
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