2018-07 July

ROTARY ORG JULY Meet the new RI president, Barry Rassin, and his wife, Esther

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Dear fellow Rotarians, One year ago, your Rotary International Board of Directors adopted a new vision statement, reflecting our aspirations for our organization and its future. It reads, “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” That simple sentence distills so much of what is essential about Rotary. We unite, because we know that we are far stronger together than we could ever be alone. We take action, because we are not dream- ers, but doers. We work to create lasting change that will endure long after our involvement has ended – across the globe and in our communities. And perhaps most important of all, we work to create change in ourselves – not just building a better world around us, but becoming better people ourselves. A quotation attributed to French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry goes: “If you want to build a boat, don’t begin by collecting wood, cutting boards, or assigning tasks. Begin by awakening in the souls of your workers a longing for the vast and boundless sea.” Each of us came to Rotary because we had a longing – to have an impact, to make a difference, to be part of something larger than ourselves. That desire, that vision for a better world and our role in building it, is what drives us in Rotary. It’s what made us become members, it’s what motivates us to serve, and it’s what led me to choose our theme for this Rotary year: Be the Inspiration. I want to see Rotary Be the Inspiration for our communities by doing work with a transformational impact. It’s time to start moving forward, by removing the barriers that are holding us back. Let’s make it easier to make adjustments in our clubs or start new clubs that suit different needs. Let’s work to strengthen Rotaract and smooth the transition from Rotaract clubs into Rotary. Let’s give all Rotarians the flexibility to serve in the ways that work best for them, so that every Rotarian finds enduring value in Rotary membership. Truly sustainable service, the kind of service we strive for in Rotary, means looking at everything we do as part of a larger global ecology. This year, I ask all of you to Be the Inspiration for sustainable service by addressing the impact of environmental issues on our work. The environment plays a key role in all six of our areas of focus, and that role is only becoming greater as the impact of climate change unfolds. It’s time to move past seeing the environment as somehow separate from those six areas. Clean air, water, and land are essential for healthy communities – and essential for the better, healthier future we strive for. Be the Inspiration – and together we can, and we will, inspire the world. BARRY RASSIN President, Rotary International



contents Vol. 197, No. 1 JULY 11 JUSTIN COOK 26 fC AeLaL MtEuBrAReRsY Rotary’s new president, Barry Rassin, strikes a perfect 1 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE balance between Bahamian bonhomie and decisive leadership. By Diana Schoberg 6 INBOX Photography by Alyce Henson 8 EDITOR’S NOTE 38 SCHOOL FOR SKEPTICS 1 1 our world In the internet age, literacy means distinguishing between fact and fiction. • Solid structure By Vanessa Glavinskas • It’s all in a day’s work Illustrations by Harry Campbell • Q&A with Fabio Pacucci • Mother of invention 44 C OMMUNITY BUILDERS • People of action around the world After fleeing conflict in their home countries, young • July events people living in a Ugandan refugee settlement establish their own Rotaract club. 22 viewpoints By Jonathan W. Rosen Photography by Emmanuel Museruka • Put a sock in it “ Barry Rassin is a rock star in Haiti 5 5 our clubs – there’s no other way to say it. ”He’s a rock star because they know • Down to earth what he’s done for that country. - John Smarge • 4 questions with Pieter Koeleman • Club innovation: Australia Nomads ON THE COVER Barry and Esther Rassin with some leggy • UConnevxepnetcitoendcGoeurnmtdaonwy n: friends in Nassau. (Photography by Alyce Henson) • Message from the trustee chair OPPOSITE Jean de Dieu Uwizeye (left) and Paul Mushaho • Crossword of the Rotaract Club of Nakivale, which is based in a refugee • Apply yourself settlement in Uganda. (Photography by Emmanuel Museruka) 64 LAST LOOK July 2018 The Rotarian | 3

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inbox Leafing through the regulations. Public ownership does preserve trip, but we now have the opportunity to go magazine forests for future generations. back in August, and I am sure Elizabeth will Products of the forest include timber, greet us with her warm smile. After reading RI President Ian H.S. Riseley’s wildlife, recreation, water, and oxygen. When Through Elizabeth, my Rotary club thoughts on the facts of our environmental I taught forestry, my students seldom came established a sister school relationship crisis and our responsibilities as Rotarians up with water as most important, but it is! between Bel Aire Elementary School in to help ensure the viability of our planet for My Rotary club also holds a Festival of Trees Tiburon, California, and the Elizabeth S. future generations [April], I could not be every December as a big fundraiser for our Mulbah Institute, a school in Monrovia founded prouder to be a Rotarian. Kudos to you, Ian: programs. by Elizabeth’s son. In the initial project, the Bel All too often, people identify with and choose Aire students raised money to buy and ship a short-term personal gain over the long-term WALTER GOOLEY commercial solar oven for St Joseph’s Hospital health and well-being of life on earth. Farmington, Maine in Monrovia. In subsequent years, the You have shown us that this is not who we fifth-graders of Bel Aire chose to fund projects are – or who we should be. A peaceful partner benefiting the Monrovia school, including a well, a library, a school bus, a playground, and As a Rotarian for 47 years, I was very pleased an internet system. The Rotary Club of Tiburon- to read the April article about Elizabeth Sele Belvedere matched Bel Aire’s funds and Mulbah and her work in Liberia [“A Nurse supports the ongoing project. For 2018, the Fights for Peace”]. I had the honor of meeting students have decided to invite Elizabeth to her in 2013, shortly after she finished her year visit their school. as president of the Rotary Club of Sinkor. With Elizabeth is a role model for all Rotarians Elizabeth’s help, Rotaplast International had and personifies Service Above Self. She makes partnered with the Sinkor club on our first me proud to be a member of Rotary. mission to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Monrovia. I found her to be an engaging, intelligent, and ANGELO CAPOZZI dedicated individual who kept a busy schedule helping others. The Ebola outbreak in Liberia Co-founder, Rotaplast International prevented Rotaplast from returning after that Tiburon, California BOB BARTH San Francisco I am a professional forester, a tree farm owner Students at the Elizabeth S. Mulbah Institute Fpo of 52 years, a Christmas tree grower, and a COURTESY OF ESEMI former state senator. I learned a lot about Paul Harris [“The Tree Whisperer”] in the April issue dedicated to trees around the world. Paul’s early life in rural Vermont and his humble beginnings are a great example of an oak seedling becoming a mighty oak. Forestry is a complex subject and has to be divided into subsets: publicly owned forests such as national, state, municipal, and urban tree programs; and private forests large and small. The pressure on private land is unrelenting. It’s about money and taxes and 6 | The Rotarian July 2018

A place for prayer? Planting mangroves in the Bahamas ALYCE HENSON / ROTARY INTERNATIONAL In response to Charles Shane’s “A Club for All Faiths” letter in the April issue: As a non- Christian (Jewish) person, I believe he is absolutely correct in his sensitivity. Our club has a very long heritage of nonsectarian invocations. My invocation, which I copied from some long-forgotten Rotary prayer page, is: “Creator and sustainer of all that is or ever will be, accept our thanks for this day and all its blessings. We ask that you guide and direct our club, its leaders, and our actions. Grant that each of us may feel our responsibility to Rotary, to our community, to our country, and indeed to all countries and peoples. Bless our fellowship today, and bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, in your service. Amen.” I’ve received many comments of appreciation on this invocation and gladly pass it on to any interested party. BOB KAHANE Annandale, Virginia Upon reading Mr. Shane’s letter regarding that we can continue to thrive and do good I’m a Christian, so this did not bother the tradition of beginning Rotary club works in our communities. Applying The me – except for the fact that one of our meetings with a Christian invocation, Four-Way Test to our regular club traditions members was Jewish. When I was I almost shouted out loud in my office! As and practices might be a good place to start. president of our club last year, after the a Rotarian in my 30s and an atheist, I, too, Pushing one set of beliefs over others, whether singing of “God Bless America,” I asked find this tradition to be uncomfortable and intentional or not, does not meet any of the members to pause for a moment of silent off-putting. Several members of my club criteria, in my opinion. prayer or reflection. This gave members have made an effort to make our club more the freedom to do what they felt was inclusive, including presidents who have JENNY VASQUEZ appropriate; our current president is asked me to share a poem, quote, or Federal Way, Washington following this practice. thought of the day in place of a prayer. Unfortunately, I have received feedback When I joined Rotary many years ago, we, too, HERB MANIG that the lack of prayer on those days had a Christian invocation at every meeting. Laramie, Wyoming disappoints several of our more senior club members. I still take my non-Christian turn The editors welcome comments on items published in the magazine but reserve the right to edit for when asked, but it does not feel entirely style and length. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or Rotary International welcome. Nor do I. leadership, nor do the editors take responsibility for errors of fact that may be expressed by the writers. I know that club traditions vary by region and that not all clubs follow this practice, but Follow us to get updates, share stories with your networks, I’m willing to bet that the majority of the clubs and tell us what you think. in my area do. We talk a lot about how to welcome younger The Rotarian, One Rotary Center, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201 USA and more diverse members into our clubs so WEBSITE therotarian.com twitter.com/rotary EMAIL [email protected] facebook.com/rotary July 2018 The Rotarian | 7

SERVICE A message from the A s I write this, it is mid-April, and it is ABOVE SELF editor in chief snowing. The National Weather Service JOHN REZEK concludes that it has been one of the coldest The Object of Rotary Aprils on record in Chicago. At least we have that Literacy distinction, given the dashed aspirations of the THE OBJECT of Rotary is to encourage and foster must include local tulips. We’re so sick of seeing each other the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise in pu y coats. Those self-identifying as Canada and, in particular, to encourage and foster: the ability Goose have been the butt of intemperate remarks. to tell fact No one ever wants to face another North Face. FIRST The development of acquaintance from ction. as an opportunity for service; So we feel a bit envious as we look over senior sta writer Diana Schoberg’s terrific profile of SECOND High ethical standards in business and 2018-19 RI President Barry Rassin. We marvel professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all at sta photographer Alyce Henson’s lush, lovely useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s images. We’re all very happy that things are so occupation as an opportunity to serve society; beautifully tropical in the Bahamas, where com- mitted Bahamian Rotarians accomplish good THIRD The application of the ideal of service in each works while wearing shorts. We have a thin faith Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life; that by the time you read this, Chicago will have thawed and we will all have stopped feeling sorry FOURTH The advancement of international for ourselves. Reasonable, right? understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional That question raises another: How proficient persons united in the ideal of service are you at identifying false news on the inter- net? Read “School for Skeptics” by contributing The Four-Way Test editor Vanessa Glavinskas, which demonstrates that, in our modern world, literacy must include OF THE THINGS we think, say, or do: the ability to decipher deceit and distinguish 1) Is it the TRUTH? between fact and fiction. You will come away 2) Is it FAIR to all concerned? with more sympathy for teachers, who are com- 3) Will it build GOODWILL and pelled to take on an additional task, as well as with ideas for how Rotarians can help them. BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4) Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? And in our continuing celebration of Rotaract’s 50th anniversary, we take you to Nakivale, a refu- Rotarian Code of Conduct gee settlement in Uganda where young Rotaractors are exceeding expectations and making life more The following code of conduct has been adopted for livable in their community. Their achievements the use of Rotarians: suggest that Rotary’s future is in capable hands. AS A ROTARIAN, I will 1) Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life 2) Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect 3) Use my professional skills through Rotary to: mentor young people, help those with special needs, and improve people’s quality of life in my community and in the world 4) Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians 8 | The Rotarian July 2018

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JUSTIN COOK our world Solid structure ERIN O’LOUGHLIN Rotary Club of Holly Springs, North Carolina In a growing number of schools in the United States, children with autism are placed in classrooms with the general student population. The practice, known as mainstreaming, is intended to better integrate children with autism into society. However, they often don’t get the support they need to succeed, says July 2018 The Rotarian | 11

our world It’s all in a day’s work continued from page 11 ONE SATURDAY A YEAR, a bus full of unteered on other projects in the commu- Rotarian Erin O’Loughlin. Rotaractors, Interactors, and Rotarians nity, including house builds, and assists “If we’re not providing them with crosses the U.S.-Mexico border near Tijuana. with the construction. It’s a basic shelter, accommodations, how are they supposed to integrate?” asks O’Loughlin, whose They debark at an empty lot, where stacks without electricity or plumbing, but for the 13-year-old son, Marcus, has autism. “We need to provide an atmosphere in which of lumber and boxes of nails await them. recipients, it can make a profound differ- people with autism are within the commu- nity, but getting the support they require.” After a day of work, they leave something ence. Corazón also offers classes in basic One place that provides such support behind: a house. repairs and furniture making to help ensure is 3 Irish Jewels Farm, which O’Loughlin created six years ago with her husband, “It’s one of the most rewarding and that the new homeowners thrive. Colm (the organization’s name refers to the couple’s three children). The non- fun things I’ve ever done,” “It’s one of the most rewarding profit provides services for people with says Olivia Strohman, past autism as well as their families and op- erates out of a space in a commercial president of the Rotaract and fun things I’ve ever done.” district of Holly Springs, running pro- grams for children and teens. Eventually, Club of Ventura, California. O’Loughlin hopes to set up a residential program in a farm setting where adults “I’ve done three trips. Before the first one, The family who received the first house with autism can live and work. I’d never built a house. I’d built Ikea furniture. Strohman worked on had sacrificed housing Many schools in the Holly Springs area run year-round, with nine weeks of That was the extent of my knowledge.” to send their youngest son to school, she instruction alternating with three weeks of vacation. This schedule is par- For eight years, the club has worked with says. “He’s at the top of his class now. They ticularly tough for children with autism, who often thrive on routine. So 3 Irish Corazón, a nonprofit based in Santa Ana, Cal- were so grateful.” Jewels created Camp Bluebird, where children from kindergarten through ifornia, that manages social development pro- Receiving a new house is life-changing eighth grade can participate in a struc- tured vacation program that teaches grams and builds houses for families in for a family, but it’s also a significant event skills such as tying shoes, using utensils, sitting still, playing board games, and Tijuana and Tecate. Each year, the Ventura for the Rotaractors, most of whom have socializing with other children. Rotaractors have raised $9,000 for materi- never done any construction or spent much O’Loughlin had been a Rotarian before moving to North Carolina. When Tim als. Corazón delivers the supplies to a site in time across the border, Jaedtke says. Work- Beck, a member of the Rotary Club of Holly Springs, heard her speak at a fund- Mexico, and local volunteers pour a concrete ing on the house together creates a strong raising event for 3 Irish Jewels Farm, he recalls, “I immediately thought, ‘We have slab before the group arrives. bond within the club, which helps attract to have her come talk to the club.’ ” He asked her if she would be interested in “When we show up, there’s a slab on the new members – including Strohman, who giving a presentation. “She said right on the spot, ‘Actually, I’d like to join.’ ” ground and the lumber is all in a pile,” says says she joined Rotaract partly because She became a member of the Holly Dale Jaedtke, of the Rotary Club of Ventura, a she’d heard about the house build and Springs club in December. “Her passion made me think she was right for Rotary,” building contractor and Rotaract club adviser. wanted to get involved with the project and Beck says. “We know Erin is going to ded- icate the same energy to our projects.” “The windows, the doors. Everything is there.” the club. –ANNE FORD In a workday that lasts up to 10 hours, “It changes their lives and their outlook to 12 | The Rotarian July 2018 about 50 volunteers frame and finish the know they can make such a difference in house, complete with sleeping loft. On each someone’s life in one day,” Jaedtke says. “It project, the family who will move in has vol- was a winner from day one.” – NIKKI KALLIO

It’s important for “scientists to meet with people ”who think differently. Fabio Pacucci Delving into deep space Two years ago while earning his PhD THE ROTARIAN: How did you become interested A few months after my arrival here, I let the in physics, Fabio Pacucci led a team Rotarians in Taranto know that I’d joined Rotary, of Italian scientists who made an in the stars and planets? finally, after 12 years. amazing discovery: They found two black holes that may be the most dis- PACUCCI: When I was five years old, my parents TR: What is the focus of your research? tant and oldest yet documented. gave me a little telescope. When I was 15, my PACUCCI: I study how black holes formed very These black holes formed about father and I got up in the middle of the night to 13 billion years ago, Pacucci explains, observe a meteor shower. I asked him to take early in the history of the universe. Understand- and played an important role in the notes so I’d have statistics about what we ing this helps us understand how the first development of the universe. Astron- saw. At one point there were so many shooting galaxies formed. We believe that the formation omers are now fairly certain that a stars – 15 or 20 per second for about 10 min- of galaxies and black holes happened at the massive black hole lies at the center utes – that we were just staring at the sky same time and may have helped each other. of every galaxy. without taking notes. That’s one of the best memories I have of my childhood, being with my TR: Talk about your collaboration with TED-Ed, Pacucci, 30, is a postdoctoral asso- father and watching this amazing show at night. ciate in Yale University’s Depart- the educational video spinoff of TED Talks. ment of Physics and a member of the TR: How do you describe black holes to a Rotary Club of New Haven, Connect- PACUCCI: I collaborated with a team of anima- icut. He frequently gives talks about nonscientist? his research. tors, actors, and scriptwriters. The video PACUCCI: They are extremely massive objects describes what a black hole is, the different types, and the possibility that the planet Earth with gravitational fields so intense that a ray of could encounter a black hole and get sucked in. light can’t escape. They are like a cosmic That’s an extremely unlikely event, but it’s an vacuum cleaner that swallows everything interesting question to start teaching people around it and lets nothing out. about black holes. TR: How did Rotary pull you into its orbit? TR: You’ve visited dozens of countries. What PACUCCI: In high school I won a Rotary prize for have you learned from your travels? VIKTOR MILLER GAUSA my studies. That was my first encounter with PACUCCI: It’s important for scientists to meet Rotary. They suggested I join Rotaract in my hometown, Taranto, but I was moving to Rome with people who think differently, to challenge to go to university. Then I went to Pisa to earn my PhD, and I was traveling a lot. But as soon as your vision of the world and of your research I came to New Haven I said, “I have to do this!” with the vision of other scientists. It opens up your mind. — ANNE STEIN July 2018 The Rotarian | 13

our world Mother of invention ANN MOORE IS A NURSE who was an cruited her to join. “I was so excited. I “When we came back from our Peace COURTESY OF ANN MOORE early volunteer with the Peace Corps. She’s thought, ‘The more we can get Americans Corps assignment in 1964, I was very also an inventor – recognized by the Wall out into other cultures, the healthier we’ll pregnant,” Moore says. “About a month Street Journal as one of the nation’s most be as a country,’ ” she says. later, our baby was born and I wanted to influential – whose best-known product is carry her the way we had observed with the Snugli, a contraption that lets parents On the first day of training, which took the Togolese mothers.” carry their infants against their chests or place at Howard University in Washing- backs. Moore is quick to acknowledge that ton, D.C., she met another volunteer, Mike The alignment of Moore’s professional the Snugli was inspired by an age-old prac- Moore. “He was my French teacher,” she work in pediatrics and her personal expe- tice of mothers in Togo. says. “I was from a farm in Ohio – we rience resulted in her most famous inven- didn’t speak much French there.” tion. She enlisted her mother to help “Anything that we can do to get babies fashion what later became the Snugli, a and parents closer together to contribute Six weeks later, they were engaged, and sort of pouch with leg holes, padding, and to trust and bonding is so important for they married two weeks after that. They adjustable straps. Friends who saw Moore emotional health,” says Moore, who along went to Togo, where Ann was part of a med- carrying her infant daughter in it imme- with her husband, Mike, is a member of ical team working in preventive medicine diately wanted one, and then their friends the Rotary Club of Evergreen, Colorado. and hygiene. She recalls visiting crowded wanted one, and the idea took off. marketplaces in Togo and never hearing a In 1962, Moore was teaching pediatric baby cry. The reason the infants were so The Snugli was revolutionary in the nursing at Columbia University’s Babies content, she realized, was that they were be- mid-1960s, when breast-feeding was just Hospital in New York. The chief residents ing held close to their mothers – either gaining recognition among child-rearing at the hospital were organizing the first being breast-fed or carried securely on the experts as important for nutrition as well Peace Corps team to go to Togo and re- mother’s back – by means of a fabric sling. as for mother-child bonding. Columbia 14 | The Rotarian July 2018

University conducted a study that found TOP LEFT TO RIGHT: HOA QUI POSTCARDS; STYLEMAGAZINE.HU that babies carried in Snuglis exhibited longer eye contact, better language skills, Clockwise from top left: Ann Moore was inspired by the way Togolese mothers carried their babies; and more emotional security. Low-birth- the Snugli and similar products have become popular and even fashionable; the Snugli was designed weight babies also gained weight faster. to be easy to use and to clean. Opposite: Moore poses with the Snugli in the 1960s (left) and in the 2000s with a Weego, which improved on the Snugli’s design. The Moores sold the Snugli in 1985. Around the same time, a respiratory thera- Peace Corps volunteers. “It is such a natu- woman thanked me for the Snugli. Years pist asked Moore if she could make some- ral continuation of a Peace Corps volun- thing that would allow patients to carry teer’s experience once they return to get ago, she had gone to China to pick up her oxygen tanks, and that led to Air Lift, a com- involved, especially in the international pany that makes soft-sided carriers for oxy- part of Rotary,” Moore says. adopted baby from an orphanage, and she gen canisters and high-tech instruments. Their oxygen-cylinder backpack helps And Rotary has brought them full circle. carried this new baby in her Snugli for two people who are dependent on supplemental “About six or seven years ago we went with oxygen to be more active. Moore continued Rotary to Ghana to do polio vaccination,” weeks continuously. That baby is now a to develop related products, including Moore recalls. “We drove to Togo, to the carrying cases for other medical gear. village where we were in the Peace Corps. teenager and is returning to China to visit It was a beautiful experience to go back.” In the 1990s, Moore developed a baby and work in that orphanage this summer. carrier called the Weego that featured And she continues to hear from people more adjustable straps and other refine- grateful for the Snugli. “At an Interna- Isn’t that terrific?” — NIKKI KALLIO ments on her original idea. tional Women’s Day lunch recently, a Rotary International has a partner- Moore says her dedication to making ship with the Peace Corps. Learn a positive impact in the world can be more at my.rotary.org/en/learning traced to her childhood on that farm in -reference/about-rotary/partners. Ohio, where she was raised in the Dunkard Brethren Church, a group similar to Men- nonites in that they dress plainly, live sim- ply, and don’t use certain modern devices. (Her parents were eventually excommu- nicated for using a radio.) In high school and college, Moore had her first international experiences, working through the related Church of the Brethren. “I worked in two international camps, one in Morocco and one in Germany, where kids come from all over the world and work to- gether,” she says. “So those influences in- stilled this wonderful feeling of how we’re all interconnected on this earth.” The Moores joined the Evergreen Rotary Club after Mike approached the club for a grant related to a singing group they belong to. “Within a week they asked him to join Rotary,” Ann says. “Both of us thought Rotary was a kind of old-white- guys thing, and then when we learned about it, it was like an exciting extension of our Peace Corps work – there was so much international emphasis.” The couple have been active in seeking to connect Rotarians with returning July 2018 The Rotarian | 15

our world United States Scotland Italy Singapore Brazil Pareooupnledothf eacwtioornld More than % United States Brazil Scotland of Brazilian children and More than 300 “golfers” – outfitted When a local arts center requested In 2006 the Rotary Club of Whitburn with clubs, hockey sticks, tennis financial assistance that would allow it began collecting used eyeglasses, teens accessed rackets, “and anything else that to offer photography and video training mostly through boxes placed in online social can propel a tennis ball” – braved to the indigent teenagers it serves, the area pharmacies, for reuse in Africa. temperatures of 15 degrees Rotary Club of Tatuí-Cidade Ternura Eleven years later, the club gathered networks in . Fahrenheit on a frozen lake to raise took the cue, equipping a studio with its 30,000th pair of spectacles, says about $24,000 for a local food pantry, cameras, lighting equipment, and club member Jonathan Moore. In says Ken Galloway of the Rotary computers. The facility, which opened September, the milestone package Club of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, in March, expects that “more than was delivered to the UK-based Vision which organized the 18-hole Bear’ly 100 young people will be trained Aid Overseas. “They improve access Open tournament and community for a new, dynamic, and promising to eye care in developing countries,” dance. The pantry serves about 600 job market” every year, says Carlos Moore says. “In addition to helping families each month. The February Orlando Mendes Filho, president of people in need, there is also an contest – now a fixture of the St. Paul the club, located in São Paulo state. environmental benefit. How long Winter Carnival – exceeded revenue The $7,000 project was funded with does it take for a pair of spectacles expectations as the club leveraged receipts from the club’s Italian night, a to disintegrate in a landfill?” interest in the Super Bowl, held the District 4620 grant, and an Interactor following day in nearby Minneapolis. who donated the monetary gifts she received at her quinceañera, the celebration of her 15th birthday. 16 | The Rotarian July 2018

Italy Singapore dreams,” Choo says. The club million encourages its members to apply athletes are In November 2017, the Rotary Club of The Rotaract Club of the Singa- their educational interests to club involved Acerra-Casalnuovo “Aniello Montano,” pore University of Technology and projects. In a community center in Special in metropolitan Naples, began a cam- Design hosted a 5K run in which library in Thanh Phong, Vietnam, Olympics paign to stop violence against women. 250 competitors, primarily college the collegians used their interior programs in Club members – including Letizia students, faculty, and staff, jogged design skills to install a solar Servillo, a psychologist and relational along streets near the campus, system that powered lights and countries. psychotherapist – took Non Siamo raising nearly $5,000 for disabled fans. For another project, called Sole (We Are Not Alone) to four athletes in the city-state. Pro- LeggoLaos, about 20 Rotaractors schools. Sessions featured theatrical ceeds were directed to Special have made trips to a school in the performances, seminars, peer educa- Olympians training for the 2019 Laotian capital, Vientiane, since tion, and conferences – all designed to World Summer Games in Abu 2015 to carry out small construc- change attitudes and behavior. During Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, says tion projects, hold lessons, and one session, high school students Jia Hui Choo, a club member and play games with schoolchildren. onstage read monologues from Ferite race director. “We aim to encour- The Rotaractors have learned from a Morte (Wounded to Death), a play age our university community and the students there as well; in one about women who have been killed at the public to lead a more active instance, a pupil taught them how the hands of their husbands or part- lifestyle and to raise awareness of to fold an origami flower. ners. The resulting discussion, Servillo the difficulties disabled athletes says, demonstrated the capacity of face – and of the role society can – BRAD WEBBER young people to tackle a tough topic. play to help them realize their July 2018 The Rotarian | 17

CREATE. SHARE. CONNECT. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? BE A VIBRANT LIDERANÇA. LEADERSHIP. CLUBLEADERSHIP. VOYAGE. ITNRSAPVIREAL.ÇÃO. ITNRSAPVIRELA.TION. INSPIRATION. 海学奉び仕外。体。験DFVO。ÉIARCMOJEUASVT. EIORNTLSAE.STLEEC.EREARTARAVDIOVRVIECNEENRE.L..SD..LGHSIERVIEAPOER.RRWVNTDSIR.C.IÃSAEOCV..OEVASLLTSLE.EECEREARRTARAVDYIVRVO.IENEECNR.LE..S..FLGHUSERIENAPOR.R.WVNDTI.R.CISAECV.OEASLVLEE.ECARRTVDIYO.IECNRE.S.FHUINP.. AVENTURAS. FRIENFUDNS.HIP. FRIENFUDNS.HIP. TRAVEL. DISCOVERY. FUN. DIVERSIÓN. FUN. FUN. Be a Vibrant Club guide includes: Descubra um mundo novo fora da sala de aula. Discover a world outside the classroom through • A club success story fromDiscover a world outside the classroom through Participe de um programa intensivo de liderança que an intensive leadership experience that builds an intensive leadership experience that builds ROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE plsuerLLRgoobOaObnarNlTesgmAeGm-itRea-ealTYrhsemEomeYRr.eOmMtxéUcachTnnaHeicniraEgasXes dsCdebeHucAtiorlNadmnGpuseEfnoaicrcmaeçaoãrnooe, solução de yscoooLLRolumOOvnriNnmTsgeAgG-ult,fRn-eaTbYricnmEuadYRtteOitMcohxhUnceahTslwalHkenionlEglrgslXe,desCt.sebHyauoAciuhlNdetGspoeEccarhecaaentoigvneeepnyroootubonlengmlyp-erson your regioncommunication skills, teaches creative problem- LONG-TERM mundo num Long-term exchanges build peace one young person solving, and challenges you to change not only young person yourself but the world. • Ideas for your club to try目新標世を代も交って換海を渡り、異aaoa国tncfaoamでdttheoiのmmerer奉eicct.huy仕Salettnuua活rdr1.ee動0B,n0eaにtcnscodo参lemulai加nevrentしariwaeg、sinl短t.ohebwhalolacsitntigftalJzeaoouceamitnandPNSdiog.ireEelEtoineSverhRWf,steseetVadloisofrngIGisotspCbilcryooEiEunooinabNnivulEaoandEferlXlnuorRdacmelCvlAoeabHovmTteveiAIvtmelOetoNmeNupsGrenmoSwEniltuetyontoraaoaiatolftncdfnwnao.yamdsdoitEttheomtuhxiommercneoarhtgeibhcactp.hilunelueySialzgearttwnepuueadordre1y.iedrseor0B,lesdenu0ea:a’ttrscnasUscofdkmonlrwemiiuineloaviinevntgesrhenttdrarssiwaiegtysilnt.ohebwhalolcasitntigfltaJzeaoocueamiSNPtnanddiroEg.iEeoeltnRieSWvhrfees,tVsetasldoiIoGfsnrgCiotipsboElEycroiunnNoiobanEiauvlEaondlXferRlnuodrCacmelAveloHavbTomteAeIvilOvtmeoNetmNpeGusrmSenoEwnieltutnyototroaaaiaolfcntwdfnnao.yamdisdtotEhtheomtuxiommercnaoerhgteibphcact.iuhluneleySiralzgeattpwneuueadoordrey1si.edreore0lB,sden:u0eaa’ttUrscnasscfonkmdolrwemiiivuneolaiienntgevsrrhenttdsarisiwtaegysilnt.ohebwhalolcasitntigfatlJzeaoouceamitnanddiog.ieeltnieSvhre,stesetadloiofrngiotspblcyroiunooibanivuloandferlnuoracmelvloabomtevivtmeetmeusrenowniltutyotoriaolfdnn.ydsoEmtuxocnohtgbhailneleizgaweedoeyidrorlsdeua’trsasfkmrwiineointgshtds 期間の滞在で新しいスキルを学びたいと思う大学生やフ presshstkusuiilmndlsge,annlcetioatsamrarninmaadnolynasoencurghvnuiacgalelgepdenrou,gfraeeinnss.dgsiotsahnkoaelrsta-ltceetariormnn,ntcSRheuHOwrsoOtTuoARgmRThi-YzTaEYbROleMUTH EpXrCehsstksHuusilmAidlnseN,agnnlGectiatsoEarmarninamadnolyasnoenurgcvnhuicgaaelglpedernou, gfraeinnssdgs.iotsahnkoaelrsta-ltceetariormnn,ntcheRSuwrsHOotuoOTgmARhRiTz-YaTbEYleROMUTH EpXrCesHsiAnNg GcoEmmon challenges. • Resources for your club onROTARY YOUTH EXCHANGE レッシュ社会人にとって、この上ない特別な経験ができる Take action, bSuhildoritn-tteerrmnaetixocnhaalnugnedseexirmcshtmaannedrgsienesg.y,oung people in Take action, bSuhilodrtin-tteerrmnaetxiocnhaalnugneds eimrsmtaenrdsiengyo, ung people in でしょう。 SHORT-TERM Toma acción, promueve la comprenseióxnchianntegrensa. cional and make newanforitehnedrscaurlotuurned. Stohme we olivrled.wDitehvheloospt families for aunpd make newanforitehnedrscuarltouurne.dStohme ewloivreldw. Dithevheolospt families for up My RotaryShort-term exchanges immerse young people in y forja nuevas amistades alrededor del mundo. your leadershitpostkhilrlesewmhoilentyhosu, wdihsciloevoetrhtehres epmowbaerrk on a tour oyor ur leadershtipo stkhirlelsewmhoilnetyhos,uwdhisicleovoetrhethrseepmobwaerrk on a tour or another culture. Some live with host families for up Desarrolla tus aptitudes de liderazgo mientras of Service Abogvoe tSoelcfaamnpd ffoinrdaofeuwt hwoweekses.riGouoson an adventureofinService AbogvoetSoeclfamanpdffoinr da ofeuwt hwoeweksse.riGoouson an adventure in to three months, while others embark on a tour or go to camp for a few weeks. Go on an adventure in descubres el poder de Dar de Sí antes de Pensar en Sí leadership canobnee soefrmiouosrelytfhuann! 100 countries. leadership canonbee osef rmioourselythfuann!100 countries. one of more than 100 countries. y cuan divertido es el verdadero liderazgo. Get your free copy at shop.rotary.org Create your own promotional cards to showcase your youth activities. Available now in Rotary’s Brand Center. The Tilley HatYouthProgramsCard_RotarianAD_square.indd 1 YOOURDRSERTODAY!FIND A CLUB2/6/17 2:36 PM 4/9/14 2:40 PM for Rotarians! Be a Vibrant Club Ad_EN14.indd 2 “The finest in all the world.” ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD! www.betterworldhats.com Rotary Licensee 18-4B-1300 $ 5 & :(:$ 1 7 7+( 5($ 23(1(5 ( 721 Advertise in The Rotarian ( $ 6 7 1$ 6 6 $8 *22' [email protected] $3+ , ' 7 ( 7 &23 7 6 (954) 406-1000 Florida (212) 292-3718 New York 6 ( 7 / (*26 :2 ( 6 52 % 5 (0 / ( $ ( / 62/ 5$6 $%625% %( 7+( , 163 , 5$ 7 , 21 &2+257 + , ' 7 $5'( $ / ( 12+ (( / %((5 0(5*( $ ) /2$ 7 Get Rotary’s free Club Locator app and find a meeting wherever you go! (5$6( %($7 / ( www.rotary.org/clublocator % /2& %$55<5$66 , 1 0 , / . 8*$1'$ 6$1' :('2 72 / $ 6 7 7 5( ( 18 | The Rotarian July 2018

23Reinvent our wheel What is your club doing? In coming Share your club’s great new ideas. months, The Rotarian will be showcasing: Email us at • NEW MEMBERSHIP MODELS [email protected]. • WAYS TO ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY • PROJECT IDEAS • FUNDRAISERS

our world JULY events 4th Flippin’ good EVENT: Pancakes on the Plaza HOSTS: Rotary clubs of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Centro, and Santa Fe del Sur, New Mexico 17Over the rainbow th WHAT IT BENEFITS: Local charities supporting youth EVENT: Rotary Pot of Gold Charity and families Golf Tournament WHAT IT IS: Start your Fourth with flapjacks. Between Rotary clubs of New Westminster and the pancake breakfast, children’s activities, HOSTS: New Westminster-Royal City, silent auction, vintage and new car exhibition, British Columbia live music, and arts and crafts show, you’ll WHAT IT BENEFITS: Local charities find something for everyone. 7 th WHAT IT IS: Get out on the greens and search for the pot of Row, row, gold at the end of the rainbow in the 23rd annual row your tub Pot of Gold Charity Golf Tournament. Four hole- in-one prizes will be ready to go in case anyone is EVENT: Rotary DockFest 2018 playing especially well. HOST: Rotary Club of Huntsville, Ontario WHAT IT BENEFITS: Local charities 28th Stayin’ alive WHAT IT IS: Come out and cheer for your favorite motorized bathtub (yes, bathtub) to win a race through a water obstacle course on the Muskoka Ri ver. EVENT: Concert at the Lakes Enjoy a barbecue and beer festival, live mus ic, HOST: Rotary Club of Santee-Lakeside, and all sorts of fun for kids. Come early for California the parade of bathtubs. WHAT IT BENEFITS: Scholarships for high school students 14 th WHAT IT IS: The theme of the ninth annual Concert at the Lakes Nice wheels is disco. Enjoy dinner alfresco along with live music and, of course, dancing. Make sure to visit the silent EVENT: July Jamboree auction before you dedicate yourself to the dance floor. Wild 1970s disco attire optional. HOST: Rotary Club of Cedar City, Utah WHAT IT BENEFITS: Local charities WHAT IT IS: Calling all car junkies! Hundreds of classic cars, including many hot rods, take to the streets of downtown Cedar City for this annual event. Check ’em out while you listen to live music, nosh on food court fare, and sip libations from the beer garden. Tell us about your event. Write to [email protected] with “calendar” in the subject line. 20 | The Rotarian July 2018

TOGETHER, WE CONNECT Now is the time to share your club’s story. Rotary has launched a global campaign to let the world know we are people of action. The more clubs that join in, the further our message carries. Go to rotary.org/brandcenter for step-by-step guides, easy-to-follow templates, and ideas and inspiration to tell your club’s story. Help spread our inspiring message around the globe.

viewpoints Put a sock in it Dining with Joe? Please check your opinions at the door by JOE QUEENAN T he last time I broke taking eight hours to do so. Because of control of the kitchen that RICHARD MIA bread with my for- his illness, his house was a wreck. night and whipped up a meal mer college room- a thousand times more pleas- mate Chris, we dined in a “You don’t even know Chris,” I told ing than the mush we were nondescript Italian restau- Richie, marveling at their generosity. being served. Yet nobody said rant on the outskirts of Phila- that the breadsticks were delphia. A few months later, “We know you,” he replied. stale, that the tomatoes were Chris would succumb to kid- The mood at the table that evening tasteless, that the lasagna was ney failure, heart failure, and was actually quite upbeat. The food, soggy, that the tiramisu was a bevy of other illnesses. however, did not match the occasion. The beyond redemption. And food was generic and uninspiring. nobody criticized me, a hapless, gastro- Also in attendance that evening were The food was blah. It was just this side nomically benighted Irish-American, two of my childhood friends, Joe and of crummy. Joe and Richie are food afi- for selecting such a dreary venue. Richie, and Richie’s wife, Mary. Mary cionados, and Mary could have seized A year or so later, when Chris was had been taught to cook by Richie’s gone, I harked back to that day, again mother, and each time I ate at her house marveling at Richie and Mary’s gener- it was like going back 50 years to the glo- osity in scouring the house of a com- rious era when Mrs. Giardinelli held plete stranger. Then I mentioned the sway over the kitchen. Chris had met forgettable food that we had shared that Richie and Mary only that morning evening. I told Richie and Mary how when they unexpectedly showed up touched I was that no one breathed a with mops and buckets and volunteered word of criticism about the meal. to clean his house from top to bottom, 22 | The Rotarian July 2018

“It was a social occasion,” Richie We are raised to believe that ternoon complaining that pro athletes said. “We’d just met Chris. And it was a honesty is the best policy. were bums, that they were all on the special moment for you and your friend. This is not true. If I offer you take, that the fix was in, that college The food was beside the point.” tickets to the theater or the football was far superior. opera or to see the Knicks play I wish more people would adopt this the 76ers, you had better The Eagles won their first NFL attitude, and not just when dining with enjoy the play, the opera, or championship that year. My father was the sickly or infirm. I can’t tell you how the ballgame. Otherwise, you’re never invited back to see them or any- many times friends have ruined an oth- not getting any more tickets. body else. Because he couldn’t keep his erwise joyous occasion by complaining mouth shut, I had to wait until I was 16 about the carrots, or saying the sole diet of condescending barbs will ulti- before my uncle took me to my first needed more lemon, or sending the mately make your company undesir- game. It was a dud contest against the steak back to the kitchen. For me, as able, if not unbearable. Oscar Wilde was lowly St. Louis Cardinals, and the Ea- soon as a person gets shirty with the famous for making derisive remarks gles were awful. waiter or waitress, or grumbles about about plays or books or paintings that some piddling issue with the check, the the people around him were obviously “Great game,” I told my uncle after- evening is kaput. Once a person has sab- enjoying. If you enjoy being the death ward. “Wish the Eagles had come out otaged an outing by pulling that phony of the party, then by all means register on top, but golly, I bet we’ll get them gourmand routine, I never dine with your disdain toward Handel, Ravel, next week.” them again. Renoir, or El Greco in the manner of Os- car Wilde. But keep in mind that Oscar My uncle took me to football games People like that can’t get it through Wilde died friendless and alone. for the remainder of my youth. their heads that on a social occasion, the food is secondary, if that. So don’t wreck I have always found something class- Throughout my lifetime, I have the evening just because the cassoulet ist and elitist about getting into it with learned to keep my mouth shut when wasn’t as good as the cassoulet you once the wait staff. I am shocked when I invite my companions are obviously thrilled had in the Montagne Noire district of people to eat in a restaurant I obviously by a performance I find less than out- southern France, a region between Tou- enjoy and then they bellyache about the standing. Recently, I attended a piano louse and Carcassonne that is renowned pastrami or the soup or the service. Do recital at Carnegie Hall. The Debussy for its cuisine. Shut your pie hole and they have no sense of occasion? Do they was great, the Beethoven not so great. eat your haricots. have no sense of proportion? Do they not My companion said she had never heard realize that if you mess with the manager anything more breathtaking than that It isn’t only in restaurants that peo- in a diner I’ve been patronizing since particular performance of the Appas- ple can torpedo an otherwise festive 1987, you are never getting invited back? sionata sonata. I thought the perfor- evening by getting up on their high And I mean never. mance was heavy going, with the pianist horses. I once had a pretentious friend playing wrong notes all over the place who would invite me to a concert, wait We are raised to believe that honesty and seeming to be ever so slightly out until I had said how much I enjoyed the is the best policy. This is not true. If I of his depth. But I didn’t say a word Messiah, and then contemptuously re- offer you tickets to the theater or the about my feelings. I said the concert was mark, “Oh, you like Handel, do you?” He opera or to see the Knicks play the fabulous. I said the pianist was a force would also do this with Chopin, De- 76ers, you had better enjoy the play, the of nature. What possible point would bussy, Dvořák, Brahms, Puccini, and opera, or the ballgame. Otherwise, there be, as the legendary Julia Stiles Donizetti. Accepting an invitation from you’re not getting any more tickets. My once put it, in “harshing somebody him was like accepting an invitation to father was invited to an Eagles game in else’s mellow”? my own beheading. 1948 by his brother-in-law, who had season tickets. He spent the entire af- I was not always so diplomatic. A I’m not sure what purpose is served close but deeply misguided friend has by this kind of choreographed snooti- spent the past 20 years trying to get me ness. It’s the sort of thing you do in col- to embrace contemporary country mu- lege when you’ve just learned the sic, a genre I despise. Lured to a Kenny difference between Aristotle and Archi- Chesney concert at Madison Square medes and you’re trying to impress girls Garden, I spent most of the evening with your wit and sophistication. But chatting with the ushers or making you should outgrow this kind of behav- phone calls or sending texts, anything ior by the time you get your BA. A steady to avoid listening to a performer I find criminally hokey. July 2018 The Rotarian | 23

WANT A MORE In retrospect, I realized that this was EFFECTIVE WAY TO not a very nice thing to do. Having been SET CLUB GOALS? offered a ticket to see Mr. Chesney, and knowing full well that nothing he sang ROTARY CLUB CENTRAL or did that evening could have changed POINTS THE WAY. my opinion about him, I should have ei- ther said, “Thanks, but I’m re-soldering GET STARTED AT ROTARY.ORG/MYROTARY some loose electrical wires that eve- 24 | The Rotarian July 2018 ning,” or at least camouflaged my dis- dain by saying something like, “I thought he did a very nice job on ‘She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.’ ” The next time Jimmy invited me out, we went to see a singer-songwriter most famous for writing “Take This Job and Shove It.” The mood was ugly in the club that evening. The room was filled with young men who looked as if they had taken quite a few jobs and shoved them. Halfway through the show, some drunk threw beer all over the lead singer, who left the stage and never came back. A fistfight broke out, and a young man ended up on the floor and the EMS people had to come and take him to the hospital. Oblivious to all this mayhem, Jimmy thoroughly enjoyed the concert, regretting only that it was a bit too short. “His voice is a little shaky, but he’s a great songwriter, isn’t he?” Jimmy said as we were leaving. And I, mindful that Jimmy had driven my wife and me to the hospital the morning my son was born, replied, “Absolutely fantastic. I particularly enjoyed ‘Longhaired Red- neck.’ A classic.” “So we’ll do it again?” he asked, hop- ing that the punch-up had not soured me on the genre. “Can’t wait,” I replied. I know he didn’t believe me. But that was OK. He was happy that when push came to shove, I had opted for friendship over a dreary commitment to the facts. And the truth is, I really did enjoy watching those young guys slugging each other. It was worth the price of admission. n Joe Queenan is a freelance writer based in Tarrytown, New York.

THANK YOU SPONSORS We gratefully recognize the following companies and organizations for their support of this convention, helping to further our humanitarian efforts around the world. SPONSORS SUPPORTERS Active Green+Ross® Megalomaniac Wines BNY Mellon Wealth Management Plan International Canada Centurion Asset Management, Inc. Re-Solved & SmartSimple Software Coutts Crane | Barristers and Solicitors Soles4Souls Great Lakes Brewery Mackie Research Capital Corporation Ultramatic Uzima Filters WITH SUPPORT FROM Thank you for helping to make the 2018 Rotary International Convention a success!

CALL ME BARRY Rotary’s new president, Barry Rassin, strikes a perfect balance between Bahamian bonhomie and decisive leadership 26 | The Rotarian July 2018

by DIANA SCHOBERG photography by ALYCE HENSON July 2018 The Rotarian | 27

SEVERAL MILES off the shoreline of Nassau, Barry capital of the Bahamas, when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti, 550 miles away. Shortly thereafter, Rassin got Rassin, the 2018-19 president of Rotary International, a call from Errol Alberga in Jamaica. At the time, Alberga balances in the bow of the bobbing Rat Bat. There are no was the governor of District 7020, which encompasses the colossal cruise ships out here, no noisy Jet Skis, only the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Haiti, as well as several other island occasional passing pleasure boat and the sound of water nations in the West Indies. lapping against the hull. In the turquoise sea below, giant turtles glide across the ocean floor. Alberga told Rassin – a former governor of the district and president of the renowned Doctors Hospital in Nassau “To me,” Rassin says, “the sea is freedom, it’s peacefulness. – about the earthquake and asked him to lead Rotary’s relief When I’m out on the water, everything fades away. You feel efforts. Rassin spent the rest of the evening pacing around like you’re at one with the world and nothing could go wrong.” his living room as he called other Rotary leaders in the re- gion. In a corner of the room, a television broadcast images A few minutes ago it was drizzling, but now the weak De- of Haiti in ruins – and then, scrolling across the bottom of cember sun struggles to peek through. The Rat Bat sways the screen, came the emergency warning that caught Ras- suddenly in the wake of a passing vessel. Unfazed, Rassin sin’s eye: A tsunami might be headed for the Bahamas, a stands perfectly poised, staring toward a patch of blue sky seismic sea wave so formidable it had the potential to wash floating on the horizon. over the entire country. LATE IN THE AFTERNOON of 12 January 2010, Rassin and his wife walked out onto their second-floor balcony and waited. “At night, if you look out toward the Rassin and his wife, Esther, were at home in Nassau, the 28 | The Rotarian July 2018

From left: Barry Rassin at his home office in Nassau, Bahamas; a former colleague hugs him at Doctors Hospital, where everyone is on a first-name basis; Rassin converses with Charles Diggiss, who took over as hospital president when Rassin retired. Previous pages: A fellow member greets Rassin at the Rotary Club of East Nassau. ocean, all you see is lights, stretching down to the edge of the says Lindsey Cancino, past president of the Rotary Club of water, and then everything turns black,” Rassin recalled in a East Nassau, Rassin’s club. “It matched to the penny what powerful speech he delivered in January at the International was in the [disaster recovery] account. I was mesmerized.” Assembly in San Diego. “I looked at where the lights ended In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, Rassin and the black began, and I waited for the blackness to come worked with Claude Surena, a Haitian doctor and Rotarian toward us and swallow the light.” who had turned his home outside Port-au-Prince into a Fortunately, the tsunami failed to materialize, and Rassin makeshift shelter and hospital. There, Surena provided care got back to work. Over the next few days and weeks, as Richard for more than 100 displaced people. Elsewhere on the island, McCombe, another past district governor, tens of thousands were dead and tens of thou- headed Rotary’s day-to-day response, Rassin “The sea is freedom, sands more injured. In nightly calls to Rassin coordinated long-term recovery efforts funded it’s peacefulness. and his team, Surena – who, at the behest of by donations from Rotarians around the world When I’m out on the René Préval, then president of Haiti, would to The Rotary Foundation. He created a 132- water, everything fades later oversee the recovery of the nation’s pri- page spreadsheet to track each detail: how vate and public health sectors – detailed the much money was available, how much had away. You feel like medicine and other supplies he urgently been spent, which Rotary club was in charge you’re at one with needed. And then, each morning, a private of which initiative. “At the district conference the world and nothing plane flew from Nassau packed with the nec- the year after the earthquake, Barry went essary goods. ”could go wrong. through the dollars for every single project,” Rassin decided to tag along on one flight. July 2018 The Rotarian | 29

Rassin loves dogs – and gardening. He nurtures mangoes, avocados, guavas, and a wide variety of flowers on his family’s property.

On the four-hour journey, flying low over the ocean, he gazed out at the limitless blue of the sky and an azure sea dotted with green tropical islands. “It just looked like paradise,” Rassin said in his speech. “And then we came in over Haiti.” On the ground below, he saw buckled roads, collapsed houses, and entire neighborhoods turned to rubble. Unable to land in Port-au-Prince, the plane touched down on a grassy strip outside the capital. After unloading its cargo, the plane headed for home. “In a couple of minutes, we were out over the water,” Rassin recalled in his speech, “looking down on that same gorgeous view. Haiti disappeared behind us, the Bahamas lay in front of us, and there we were, in between. “And looking down at that water, out at that horizon, I realized that there was no line, no boundary between there and here, between them and us, between the suffering we had escaped and someone else hadn’t. It could just as easily have been the Bahamas. It could just as easily have been us.” BARRY RASSIN ALWAYS FELT he was sup- posed to go into medicine. It was his heritage. His father, Meyer, a notoriously brusque orthopedic surgeon, had ar- rived in the Bahamas from England during World War II to oversee the medical care of the Royal Air Force troops there. Except for some submarine activity, the Bahamas was out- side the theater of war. Nassau’s Oakes and Windsor fields provided flight training for would-be RAF pilots “I was never a good academic. destined to return to the fighting over Europe. Teachers always said With little in the way of military medicine to ”I never applied myself. occupy him, Dr. Rassin spent time ministering to local residents, including treating people with leprosy who had been exiled from society. This work endeared him to the populace. After the war, he returned to England, but in 1947, a few weeks after the birth of his son Barry, Rassin père returned with his fam- ily to Nassau to work in the government hospital. In 1955, he and his wife, Rosetta, a surgical nurse, opened Rassin Hos- pital to better serve their patients. Barry was 10 when his father had him watch his first ce- sarean section. (“That kind of freaked me out,” he says today.) This was his introduction to the family profession. His older brother, David, would earn a PhD, specializing in pharmacology, and devote himself to researching the prop- erties of breast milk. As for Barry, he enrolled as a pre-med student at Long Is- land University outside New York City – and flunked out after two years. “I don’t know whether it was too hard for me or I just had no interest,” he explains. “I was never a good academic. Teachers always said I never applied myself.” Rassin returned to Nassau and worked menial jobs at the British Colonial Hotel. He started at the front desk – “That July 2018 The Rotarian | 31

From left: With his wife, Esther, Rassin mingles with fellow members of the Rotary Club of East Nassau; in December, he helped Rotarians and Rotaractors plant mangrove trees at Bone- fish Pond National Park on the southern coast of New Providence Island in the Bahamas; the East Nassau club recently helped clean up a community center for teenagers with HIV/AIDS. was not me” – but was soon relegated to microfilming and under his belt (primarily at Miami’s Mount Sinai Medical delivering office supplies. After a year, Rassin realized he had Center), returned to Nassau once again, with his first wife to make a decision: He could either spend the rest of his life and their kids, Pascale, Michele, and Anthony. His goal was working at the hotel and living at home with his parents, or to bring the best in modern medicine to the country – and he he could go back to school. planned to do it at a transformed Rassin Hospital. In 1967, he moved to Miami, enrolled in community college, Charles Diggiss, today the president of Doctors Hospital and took whatever classes struck his fancy. He wanted to figure (as the reinvented facility came to be known), covered out what suited him best. “Two days in accounting and I said, emergency room shifts there in the late 1980s, when he was ‘This is me,’ ” he recalls. “It was just so easy. It came to me.” a surgical resident at the public hospital. “Barry was run- ning a hospital that was one block away from the public He transitioned into a business program, improved his hospital,” Diggiss says. “He had the courage to take that on. grades, and transferred to the University of Miami, where There was no promise of success, but every guarantee that he earned a degree in accounting – with honors. Later, he this was going to be frustrating, every guarantee that the received his MBA in health and hospital administration physicians were going to be skeptical.” from the University of Florida. Looking back, Rassin recounts the challenges he con- Back in the Bahamas, following several prosperous decades, fronted: “It was a battle with my parents. It was a battle with Rassin Hospital had undergone a decline. After the Bahamas the doctors. It was a battle with my wife.” All that pressure won its independence in 1973, a lot of British expats, includ- caused the demise of his first marriage, he says. But the ing many of the hospital’s patients, left the country. That’s friends he made through Rotary steeled his resolve to when Rassin, with several years of health administration 32 | The Rotarian July 2018

persevere. “It gave me the support from a group of citizens Rassin’s rise through the ranks of Rotary coincided with of the Bahamas who said there was really a need to do this.” the culmination of his plan to transform Rassin Hospital. In Several years earlier, Rassin was working for American 1986, he worked with a consortium of doctors to buy the hos- Medicorp in Hollywood, Florida, when a doctor asked him pital from Meyer Rassin and create the newly christened to join Rotary. Rassin declined. “In my mind, he was at least Doctors Hospital. In 1993, under Rassin’s direction, it com- 70,” he explains. “I was 30. People say new members aren’t pleted an $8.5 million expansion, and today it’s considered joining because we don’t ask. It’s not just the ask. I was asked. one of the Caribbean’s leading hospitals. I didn’t want to join.” As all this transpired, Rassin’s personal He changed his mind about Rotary when The friends he made life changed as well when he met and, in 1990, he moved to Nassau and met John Robert- through Rotary steeled married Esther Knowles. A successful son at a fundraiser for the East Nassau club. his resolve to persevere. banker, Esther dived into her husband’s life Robertson was helping out, and Rassin’s at Rotary. When he was district governor daughters, Pascale and Michele, were par- “It gave me the support in 1991-92, she accompanied him on a ticipating. The two men chatted, and at the from a group of six-month odyssey to every club in every end of the conversation, Rassin accepted citizens of the Bahamas country in the district. Their mutual respect Robertson’s invitation to lunch at Rotary. who said there was and partnership are evident when you see Seven years later, in 1987, he was the club’s them together. “Esther has always kept me president. Michele, the club’s first female ”really a need to do this. grounded,” Rassin says. “As soon as she thinks member, would take the helm in 2009. that my ego is kicking in, she makes sure she July 2018 The Rotarian | 33

kicks it back out. After any speech, if Esther was there, I always ask her how it was. She’s the only one who I know will tell me the truth.” Rassin retired as the hospital’s president in 2016, though he continues to serve on its board of directors. In retrospect, the long struggle to make his dream a reality was worth it. “You’ve got to take risks in this life,” he insists. “That’s what we’re here to do: not to follow the same old path, but to take out your machete, cut away the bush, and create a new way. People here weren’t getting good health care. They needed it badly.” “As soon as she thinks that “One of the most appreciable things about my ego is kicking in, she makes sure she kicks it his journey is watching how he committed himself wholly and fully to Doctors Hospital while maintaining his involvement in Ro- back out. After any speech, tary,” says Charles Sealy, who met Rassin if Esther was there, through Rotary and succeeded him as the I always ask her how it was. hospital’s CEO. “To see how someone can bal- She’s the only one who ance the two – except I don’t think the word is ‘balance,’ because he was wholly committed ”I know will tell me the truth. to each of them.” At the hospital, as in Rotary, people recognize Rassin as both a visionary and a detail-oriented administrator. They also salute him as a valuable mentor. “He’s good at identify- ing leadership talent,” says Felix Stubbs, a board member at Doctors who credits Rassin with creating the opportunities that led to Stubbs’ own stint as District 7020 governor. “When he sees someone with skills that he thinks could be advantageous to Rotary, he makes sure to pull that person along. That’s exactly what he did at Doctors Hospital. He identified good young leaders and pulled them up – and then he was able to retire and dedicate his time to Rotary.” AS BEFITS AN ISLAND organization, the Rotary Esther and Barry beneath the Queen’s Staircase, which was carved by slaves from solid rock in the 1790s. Club of East Nassau meets inside a wood-paneled room at a yacht club. Pictures of sailboats bedeck the walls. Sir Durward Knowles, who, until his death in February, reigned as the world’s oldest living Olympian (bronze and gold medals in sailing in 1956 and 1964, respectively), was an active member. In many ways, it’s the ideal 21st-century Rotary club: Sixty percent of its members are younger than 50, and one member is a dual Rotarian/Rotaractor. At a meeting in Oc- tober, there were so many women in leadership positions that a man didn’t come to the lectern for the first half-hour. One order of business: handing out attendance awards. Ras- sin receives one for 30 years of perfect attendance. Since joining in 1980, he has missed only one meeting. Though Rotary has been central to Rassin’s life for nearly 40 years, it was never his goal to become president of Rotary 34 | The Rotarian July 2018

July 2018 The Rotarian | 35

International. He was loath to even put his name up for Smarge and Rassin have known each other for two decades. consideration. But, he explains, “the Bahamas and the They’re from the same Rotary zone and served as district gov- Caribbean have never had a president, and Rotarians there ernors around the same time. They worked together closely felt I should put my name in and represent them. I realized after the earthquake in Haiti and served as account holders that they want to feel part of Rotary, and I was in a position of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, a donor advised fund where it was possible. So for them, I thought I should do it.” established through the Foundation that supported projects Sam F. Owori, a member of the Rotary Club of Kampala, totaling $6.5 million. “Barry Rassin is a rock star in Haiti – Uganda, was nominated in 2016 to serve as Rotary’s 2018-19 there’s no other way to say it,” Smarge says. “He’s a rock star president. After he died unexpectedly of complications from because they know what he’s done for that country.” surgery in July 2017, Rassin was selected to take his place. Rassin may be a Rotary rock star and the pride of the Ca- Among the first people Rassin called was “We just wear different ribbean, but he shuns the limelight, says his John Smarge, a past Rotary International di- friend Felix Stubbs, and considers himself a rector from Florida who had served as Owori’s hats. I happen to wear regular guy. Back when he ran Doctors Hos- aide. Rassin asked Smarge to serve as his aide the president’s hat this year, pital, it was not uncommon to see him too. “One of his first sentences was, ‘I want but Rotarians all wear roaming the halls in shorts and flip-flops. Sam’s memory to continue, and I want you to the Rotarian hat, When he visited recently, this time smartly help me do that,’ ” Smarge recalls. “Barry was dressed, everyone – from the staff at the uniquely qualified to come in at this time. He ”and I have that hat too. front desk to the doctors and nurses – will allow Sam’s memory to shine brightly.” stopped to say hello. One woman rushed up 36 | The Rotarian July 2018

From left: Rassin enjoys some time on the water with his good friends Wade Christie (center) and Felix Stubbs; golf is one of Rassin’s favorite pastimes; Rassin embraces his daughter Michele (right) and granddaughter Bella at a party thrown by Bahamian Rotarians in honor of him and Esther. and gave him a big hug. Another smiled and shouted, “Look- Caribbean flamingos, a species hunted to near extinction in ing good, Barry!” the mid-20th century. At Ardastra Gardens, a zoo and con- servation center in Nassau, the birds parade around a ring No disrespect there – just following company policy. In several times a day, stopping for photo ops with delighted the early 1990s, Rassin (that is, Barry) asked everyone at the visitors who perch on one leg to mimic their new friends. hospital to address their colleagues by their first names. He Rassin came here as a child, and he has returned many recalls that “one housekeeper walked up to me and asked, times with his children and grandchildren. ‘Can I really call you Barry?’ I said she could. ‘Well,’ she re- plied, ‘I’ll just whisper it because I don’t feel comfortable.’ It’s the last show of the day, and Barry and Esther stay afterward for a photo shoot alongside the flamingos. When “We’re all on the same level,” Rassin continues. “We just that’s done, they are shaking hands with the birds’ “drill ser- wear different hats. I happen to wear the president’s hat this geant” – the gardens’ operations manager, who is also a year, but Rotarians all wear the Rotarian hat, and I have that Rotarian – when Esther remembers something: They didn’t hat too. We’re all in this game together. We’ve all got to work get to stand on one leg like everybody else. together no matter what hat we wear.” She and her husband, now Rotary’s distinguished presi- THE BAHAMAS IS FAMOUS for its swimming dent, dash back into the ring. The squawking, coral-colored birds gather round. Barry and Esther thrust out their arms pigs (Google it, it’s true), but Barry and Esther Rassin wish and lift one leg off the ground. Their eyes lock, they can’t another creature would get more attention. The coun- stop laughing, and it looks as if they could remain perched try is home to the world’s largest breeding population of there, perfectly balanced, forever. n July 2018 The Rotarian | 37

School for skeptics In the internet age, literacy means distinguishing between fact and fiction W hen the BBC offered a quiz titled “Can You Spot of view. Students often decided if something was credible the Fake Stories?” I was confident that I would do just by how polished the website looked. The study high- well. With a master’s degree in journalism, lighted a fundamental problem: Today’s students are I thought falling for “fake news” only happened to other peo- struggling to differentiate fact from fiction online. ple. But I was fooled four times on the seven-question quiz. “We’re living in the most overwhelming information land- I’m not the only one who has trouble with this. Even the scape in human history,” says Peter Adams, a senior vice digitally savvy generation now growing up has a difficult president for the News Literacy Project, a nonprofit that aims time distinguishing credible content from fake stories. In to add information literacy to middle and high school class- 2015, Stanford University launched an 18-month study of rooms across the United States. “It’s confusing because people students in middle school, high school, and college across are consuming information in an aggregated stream, and social several states to find out how well they were able to evaluate media gives things uniformity. A post from a conspiracy theory the information they consume online. blog looks the same as a post from the Washington Post.” Nearly 8,000 students took part in the study, and the To help students learn how to evaluate and verify infor- results showed that they were easily duped. Many middle mation, the News Literacy Project launched a virtual schoolers couldn’t tell the difference between a news story classroom called Checkology. One part of the web-based and an ad. College students weren’t able to distinguish a tool allows teachers to present students with news reports, mainstream source from a group promoting a certain point tweets, and other social media posts. The students must by VANESSA GLAVINSKAS | illustrations by HARRY CAMPBELL 38 | The Rotarian July 2018

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New literacy determine whether they are credible by looking for a vari- funding initiative ety of “red flags.” $ Jodi Mahoney found Checkology last summer while researching ways to educate her students about fake Have you heard about the new Basic Education news. Now she uses it in her classroom, where she and Literacy Major Gifts Initiative? Chaired by Past teaches students about technology, from email etiquette to RI Vice President Anne Matthews, the initiative has basic coding. a fundraising goal of $25 million over three to five years. Gifts may be donated through directed con- “What’s the best way to prevent yourself from spreading tributions or by establishing endowments that may misinformation?” she asks a group of sixth-graders at Carl benefit a particular geographic area or district. Von Linné Elementary School in Chicago. Eleven-year-old The funds will support educational projects such Michael raises his hand. “I think, first you double-check as teacher training programs, vocational training the site where you got it from,” he says. “Then look for clues teams, integration of technology into instructional to see if it’s credible.” programs, and adult literacy programs. For more information, email [email protected]. “Good. What kind of clues?” Mahoney encourages the stu- dents to start naming them. One student calls out that you 40 | The Rotarian July 2018 want to avoid clickbait. “OK, what’s clickbait?” she asks. The room is quiet. “If you’re not sure, look it up. Let’s Google it.” The class decides that clickbait is something “designed to get attention or arouse emotion.” The students have learned that’s a red flag because a strong emotional reaction can over- ride your ability to critically evaluate information – a tendency often exploited by people trying to spread misinformation. Next, Mahoney asks them to log in to checkology.org to prac- tice figuring out whether information is fact or fiction. “Go to module three,” Mahoney instructs. The students put on headphones and log in. A few minutes later, 12-year- old Guadalupe struggles to determine whether a sample Facebook post sharing an article headlined “CDC Issued a Warning – Don’t Get a Flu Shot This Year” is real. She ulti- mately decides it’s real because the post “gave a lot of facts about the flu” and included a source. She clicks “fact,” and Checkology corrects her. This post was fiction. “That lesson shows that just looking at it doesn’t give you what you need to know,” Adams explains. “If you don’t go upstream to another source, you can’t know if it’s true or not.” While the sixth-graders can’t always tell fact from false- hood, Mahoney says she appreciates that Checkology encourages students to be skeptical. “They are so comfort- able using the internet that they don’t question it,” she says. She sees it at home too. “My [third-grade] daughter re- cently told me that the platypus wasn’t a real animal because of a YouTube video she saw.” After the class completes a module, Mahoney can create a spreadsheet to see how the students did. “The first week, they all scored very low,” she says. “The data showed me that I needed to be concerned.” At that point, her students couldn’t distinguish among types of media: News, entertain- ment, ads – they all seemed the same to them. After 13 weeks, she says, she’s starting to see students connect the dots, but emphasizes that they need to continue to practice. She adds, “This needs to be taught all the way through college.”

Mahoney included a unit on fake news for her sixth-graders, Are students because that’s when most of her students get a cellphone. in your community “They start getting bombarded with content in fifth, sixth, or seventh grade,” she says. She also wants schools to put more news literate? emphasis on teaching news literacy. “We spend a lot of time lecturing kids on what not to do on the internet and how to The Center for News Literacy and the News Literacy be safe on the internet,” she says. “Now we need to teach them Project offer lessons that teachers can integrate how to understand the content that’s out there.” into existing curricula. Free resources from the Center for News Literacy can be found at Former teacher Michael Spikes agrees. When he taught drc.centerfornewsliteracy.org. The News Literacy media studies and news production to high school students Project’s virtual classroom is at checkology.org. In in Washington, D.C., he would tell them, “You can’t be Sponge- New York, Washington, D.C., Houston, and Chicago, Bob and just absorb. You have to be an active consumer of the News Literacy Project also offers the opportunity to information.” His mantra: “Where is the evidence?” bring in journalists to teach part of its curriculum. Now he’s the project director for educator training and digi- “If a Rotary club in one of those markets wants tal resources at the Center for News Literacy, a program of to sponsor a more substantive engagement at a New York’s Stony Brook University. Part of his job is to help school, reach out to us,” says Peter Adams of the teachers integrate news literacy into their curricula. “I make News Literacy Project. Contact them at info@ my workshops very teacher-centric,” Spikes says. He often thenewsliteracyproject.org. Michael Spikes encour- encourages educators to use the center’s free resources within ages Rotary members to visit newsliteracy.org, an existing curriculum – social studies, language arts, civics where they can also request a speaker from the – given that every state has its own standards and that teachers Center for News Literacy. can’t always adopt a whole course. “We take a ‘train the trainer’ model in our approach and focus on teaching educators our July 2018 The Rotarian | 41 content,” Spikes says. “High school teachers are our largest audience right now, followed by college educators.” But, he says, the center plans to expand to middle school as well, call- ing that age the “sweet spot” to learn information literacy.

The Literacy Action “We’ve gone from Gutenberg to Zuckerberg,” Spikes Group can help says. “We now have unfettered access to information. Along with that, we’ve become not only consumers of in- you start a project formation, but publishers as well.” Because anyone can put content online and reach a wide audience, he’s adamant “We’re a consultant for clubs,” says Carolyn John- that information literacy needs to be integrated into public son, vice chair of the Literacy Rotarian Action education. “We teach much more than spotting fake news,” Group. “If a club has a project that they’re looking he explains. “It’s about developing a critical eye, so when to do, and they’d like to get other clubs involved, a student comes across a Facebook or Twitter post, or a we can help match people.” Johnson says the ac- site that seems to have all the answers they need, they ask, tion group is eager to support clubs that are inter- ‘Hold on, is this info verified? Is the source independent, ested in taking a broader perspective on literacy, or is it tied to some type of organization?’ including supporting information literacy. Find out more at litrag.org. “We thought of young people as digital natives who would know how to discern information because they know how to 42 | The Rotarian July 2018 turn on the cellphone and get on the internet, but less than 20 percent know how to critically evaluate the information

California Rotarian champions news literacy In 1985, Vicki Whiting was a third-grade teacher who wanted to encourage her fellow educators to use the newspaper as a teaching tool. So she created KidScoop, a page of child-friendly content that is now syndicated in 300 newspapers across North America. Whiting, a member of the Rotary Club of Sonoma would continue to be reinforced on social media, worsening Valley, California, started KidScoop after seeing echo chambers. They also couldn’t imagine a technological how reading the newspaper with her class helped solution that someone couldn’t manipulate. her students learn not only to read, but also to think critically. “If there were an article on a fire, But those who were more optimistic predicted that tech- we’d talk about what the fireman thinks about the nological advances would become better at stopping the fire. Then I’d ask the kids to write a sentence or spread of misinformation. One compared it to how spam two about what the family thinks about the fire.” filters were created to sort out junk email. They also pre- Studying the newspaper, she says, helped the chil- dicted that improved information literacy would help people dren learn to see the same facts and information become better judges of the accuracy of content online. from different perspectives. “Echo chambers and filter bubbles will continue to exist, “Compared with a lot of educational programs, it’s as these attitudes are typical of people’s behavior offline and cheap,” Whiting says. “For the cost of a dictionary, online,” said survey respondent Sharon Haleva-Amir, a lec- a Rotary club can give a classroom a newspaper turer at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. “In order to change that, for a year.” people will have to be educated from early childhood about the importance of the credibility of sources as well as the Learn more at kidscoop.com. variability of opinions that create the market of ideas.” that’s in front of them. In our media landscape, it’s up to us Pew researchers summarized one of the main themes to to figure out what’s reliable and what’s not.” emerge from the survey this way: “Technology alone can’t win the battle. The public must fund and support the produc- In July 2017, the Pew Research Center partnered with tion of objective, accurate information. It also must elevate Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center to solicit information literacy to be a primary goal of education.” experts’ predictions on whether new methods would emerge over the next 10 years to block false narratives and “Figuring out what’s news and what’s credible is a daunt- allow accurate information to prevail online – or if the qual- ing task for most adults,” Adams says. “News literacy skills ity of information online would deteriorate. They collected give all consumers, but especially teens, a chance to discern responses from 1,116 people, including experts in the tech- credible information, which is vital to civic involvement nology sector, researchers, journalism professors, experts and democracy.” ■ in internet policy, and media watchdogs. Can you spot the Just over half of respondents (51 percent) said the accu- fake stories? racy of information online would deteriorate. The rest thought it would improve. Of those who believed it would Test your own ability to identify false information not improve, many said our natural preference to believe online at factitious.augamestudio.com. stories that confirm our biases and craving for validation July 2018 The Rotarian | 43

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by Jonathan W. Rosen | photography by Emmanuel Museruka COMMUNITY BUILDERS After fleeing conflict in their home countries, young people living in a Ugandan refugee settlement establish their own Rotaract club July 2018 The Rotarian | 45

I t’s Monday morning in Nakivale, one of Uganda’s anxious. He’s not worried about missing out on com- largest refugee settlements, and the line at Paul mission – he’s worried about leaving his clients Mushaho’s shop is out the door. without any money. Mushaho has lived in Nakivale since 2016, “I don’t like making my customers wait,” he says, when he fled violence in his native Democratic Repub- looking out onto the lively area of tin-roofed stores, lic of Congo. After receiving death threats, he crossed women selling tomatoes and charcoal, a butcher shop into Uganda and joined a friend in the 71-square-mile displaying a leg of beef, and young men loitering on settlement that serves as home to 89,000 people. motorcycles. “There’s nobody else around who they The soft-spoken 26-year-old, who has a degree in can go to.” information technology, runs a money transfer ser- As an entrepreneur, Mushaho enjoys helping others vice out of a wooden storefront that doubles as his in Nakivale. But he also serves the community in an- residence. Business is booming because he offers his other way: He is the founding president of the Rotaract clients – other refugees from Congo, Burundi, Eritrea, Club of Nakivale, which may be the first Rotaract club Ethiopia, Rwanda, Somalia, and South Sudan – the in the world to be based inside a refugee settlement. ability to receive money via mobile phone from family and friends outside Uganda. He also exchanges cur- Clockwise from top: Paul Mushaho, founding president of the Rotaract rency, and his shop is so popular that he often runs Club of Nakivale, Uganda, stands in front of his money transfer business; the out of cash. On this day, he’s waiting for a friend to Nakivale club convenes for its regular Saturday meeting; with encouragement return with more money from the nearest bank, two from Sam F. Owori, who was then RI president-elect, Rotarians from the United hours away in the town of Mbarara. States and Africa joined forces in 2016 to help the Nakivale club get started. Sitting behind a wooden desk, armed with his trans- Previous page: Refugees from a strife-ridden region of Africa, the Nakivale actions ledger and seven cellphones, Mushaho grows Rotaractors come from several countries, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, and South Sudan. 46 | The Rotarian July 2018

Paul Mushaho is the founding president of the Rotaract Club of Nakivale, which may be the first Rotaract club in the world to be based inside a refugee settlement. July 2018 The Rotarian | 47

Nakivale isn’t a typical refugee camp. It’s actually a permanent settlement, a reflection of the Ugandan government’s welcoming attitude toward refugees. 18-year-olds in the settlement to help engage its large population of young people. After the event, she men- M ushaho learned about Rotaract – Rota- tioned her idea to Owori, who embraced it with one ry’s program for young leaders ages 18 modification: He believed the 13 winners could become to 30 – after entering a competition in leaders in their community, so he proposed a Rotaract club. 2016 organized by the American Refu- “He told me, ‘I was once a Rotaractor,’ ” Eifert says. gee Committee (ARC) for the young people of Nakivale. “When he saw these young people onstage, he felt they The competition, co-sponsored by Uganda’s Office were ideal Rotaractors. He loved their ideas. He saw of the Prime Minister, challenged young residents in they had talent and potential, and thought we should the settlement to propose business plans or innova- be getting behind them.” tions that could improve lives in their areas. Out of Owori turned to Eifert and Francis Xavier Sentamu, nearly 850 entries, Mushaho’s proposal – a beekeeping the 2017-18 executive secretary of District 9211 (Tan- business that would sell honey – was among 13 win- zania and Uganda), to make the new club a reality. ners. They each would receive a small amount of seed Sentamu’s club, the Rotary Club of Kiwatule, in Kam- money and present their ideas to a wider audience in pala, and Eifert’s Roseville club agreed to work together Kampala, the nation’s capital. to get the club started and to support its growth. The More than 60 Rotarians attended the Kampala duo then approached Mushaho about serving as the new event in October 2016, including Sam F. Owori, then club’s president. Of the 13 winners, he had stood out to the RI president-elect. (Owori died unexpectedly nine them. Humble and charismatic, he also spoke fluent months later.) Angela Eifert, a member of the Rotary English, had helped the other winners communicate Club of Roseville, Minnesota, and an ARC engagement their ideas, and appeared eager to assist the wider Na- officer, was also there. kivale community. Mushaho and another winner, Jean Eifert, who first visited Nakivale in 2014, had previ- ously proposed creating an Interact club for 12- to 48 | The Rotarian July 2018