2022-02 February

February 2022 Rotary Days of Service worldwide page 14 The 7 peace centers’ core curricula page 40 New report outlines ecolo ical threats page 48 The rapper Phenom mentors a new eneration of peace ambassadors at his Chica o academy — thanks, in part, to support from Rotary page 28 Emcee Skool

DIVERSITY STRENGTHENS OUR CLUBS New members from different groups in our communities bring fresh perspectives and ideas to our clubs and expand Rotary’s presence. Invite prospective members from all backgrounds to experience Rotary. REFER A NEW MEMBER my.rotary.org/member-center

,- , PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Sephi Bergerson A t the start of the Rotary year, I challenged tens of thousands of people learned that they may be every club to plan and host at least one living with diabetes. They can now be treated for the practical and action-oriented Rotary Day condition, and they also have been made aware that of Service. The event should address a chal- they should take extra measures to shield themselves lenge your community is facing that fits from COVID-19 and scores of other diseases that are into one or more of Rotary’s areas of focus and should caused or worsened by diabetes.  bring together volunteers from within and outside of Rotary. This month, on 23 February, the anniversary of Ro- tary, let us celebrate with more service days, showcas- Rotary Days of Service can motivate Rotary, Rota- ing Rotary’s work in our areas of focus. I look forward ract, and Interact clubs to plan innovative and impactful to hearing about your Rotary Days of Service. Please projects. They can showcase your work as people of share your projects on Rotary Showcase, or browse action and introduce prospective members to your club. that webpage to find inspiration and project partners. In particular, I encourage you to execute projects that I’ve been inspired by your response so far, and I focus on empowering girls, as they have been dis- want to share with you just one project that has cap- proportionately a ected by the pandemic. The Em- tured my imagination. powering Girls initiative is resonating very well with members of Rotary as well as with non-Rotarians. The India is home to an estimated 74 million people governments and NGOs in various countries are ap- with diabetes, a disease that is a leading cause of death. preciating this meaningful e ort. Let us keep focusing Furthermore, about 50 percent of those people remain on it. undiagnosed. I am also happy that the Each One, Bring One ethos Rotary, together with the Research Society for the is bringing fruitful results. Let us ensure that all club Study of Diabetes in India, saw the urgent need to members introduce at least one person to Rotary, and diagnose, track, and treat people who have diabetes. that we then all work to engage new members and keep Working together and with other organizations, we them in our clubs. hosted a nationwide blood glucose testing camp on 29 September, which is World Heart Day. In whatever we do, remember that we must push ourselves to grow more, do more as we Serve to Change The camp was spread across more than 10,000 sites Lives. in India, with more than 2,000 Rotary and Rotaract clubs participating in the e ort. More than 1 million President, Rotary International blood-sugar tests were conducted in a day, an accom- plishment recognized by the Asia Book of Records. But more important than breaking a record is the fact that FEBRUARY 2022 ROTARY 1

Witthaya Prasongsin 2  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022

WELCOME YOU ARE HERE: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Ratchaburi province, Thailand MARKET FORCES: Located about an hour southwest of Bangkok, Damnoen Saduak is often touted as Thai- land’s most popular floating market. Traders on sam- pans (slim wooden boats) hawk fruits, flowers, and street food known as “boat noodles” along a network of canals whose banks are lined with more vendors in stalls. THE DRAW: The main Damnoen Saduak canal, connecting the Mae Klong and Tha Chin rivers, was con- structed during the reign of King Rama IV in the 1860s. The principal market on the main canal dwindled as roads supplanted water transportation in the 1960s. But the market was revived as a tourist site in the 1970s before migrating to the ancillary Thon Kem canal, where it remains a top at- traction. THE CLUB: The nearby Rotary Club of Ban Phaeo, Thailand, meets Mondays at 7 p.m. FEBRUARY 2022  ROTARY  3

ROTARY GENERAL OFFICERS OF ROTARY TRUSTEES OF THE ROTARY INTERNATIONAL, 2021–22 FOUNDATION, 2021–22 February 2022 PRESIDENT CHAIR SENIOR EDITOR ART DIRECTORS Shekhar Mehta John F. Germ Geoffrey Johnson David Allen Calcutta-Mahanagar, India Chattanooga, Jennifer Moody Tennessee, USA SENIOR STAFF WRITER PRESIDENT-ELECT Diana Schoberg PRODUCTION MANAGER Jennifer E. Jones CHAIR-ELECT Marc Dukes Windsor-Roseland, Ian H.S. Riseley ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ontario, Canada Sandringham, Australia John M. Cunningham SENIOR EDITORIAL COORDINATOR VICE PRESIDENT VICE CHAIR COPY EDITOR Cynthia Edbrooke Valarie K. Wafer Sangkoo Yun Kristin Morris Collingwood- Sae Hanyang, Korea CIRCULATION MANAGER South Georgian Bay, Katie McCoy Ontario, Canada TRUSTEES Jorge Aufranc Send ad inquiries and materials to: Marc Dukes, TREASURER Guatemala Sur, Guatemala Rotary magazine, One Rotary Center, 1560 Sherman Virpi Honkala Ave., 14th floor, Evanston, IL 60201; phone 847-866- Raahe, Finland Marcelo Demétrio Haick 3092; email [email protected] Santos-Praia, Brazil DIRECTORS Media kit: rotary.org/mediakit Jessie Harman Per Høyen Wendouree Breakfast, Aarup, Denmark To contact us: Rotary magazine, One Rotary Australia Center, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201; Hsiu-Ming Lin phone 847-866-3206; email [email protected] Suzi (Susan C.) Howe Taipei Tungteh, Taiwan Space Center (Houston), Website: rotary.org/magazines Texas, USA Larry A. Lunsford Kansas City-Plaza, To submit an article: Send stories, queries, tips, Won-Pyo Kim Missouri, USA and photographs by mail or email (high-resolution Gyeongju South, Korea digital images only). We assume no responsibility Mark Daniel Maloney for unsolicited materials. Urs Klemm Decatur, Alabama, USA Aarau, Switzerland To subscribe: Twelve issues at US$12 a year Geeta K. Manek (USA, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands); $16 Mahesh Kotbagi Muthaiga, Kenya a year (Canada); $24 a year (elsewhere). Contact Pune Sports City, India the Circulation Department (phone 847-424-5217 Aziz Memon or -5216; email [email protected]) for details and for Aikaterini Kotsali- Karachi, Pakistan airmail rates. Gift subscriptions available at the Papadimitriou same rates. Pendeli, Greece Akira Miki Himeji, Japan To send an address change: Enclose old address Peter R. Kyle label, postal code, and Rotary club, and send to the Capitol Hill (Washington, Barry Rassin Circulation Department or email [email protected]. D.C.), District of Columbia, East Nassau, Bahamas Postmaster: Send all address changes to Circulation USA Department, Rotary magazine, One Rotary Center, Dean Rohrs 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201. Roger Lhors Langley Central, British Pont-Audemer, France Columbia, Canada Call the Contact Center: USA, Canada, and Virgin Islands (toll-free) 866-976-8279. Elsewhere: Chi-Tien Liu Gulam A. Vahanvaty 847-866-3000, ext. 8999. Yangmei, Taiwan Bombay, India Unless otherwise noted: All images are Vicki Puliz GENERAL SECRETARY copyright ©2022 by Rotary International or are used Sparks, Nevada, USA John Hewko with permission. Kyiv, Ukraine Nicki Scott Published monthly by Rotary International, 1560 Sherman Ave., North Cotswolds, England Evanston, IL 60201. Rotary® is a registered trademark of Rotary International. Copyright ©2022 by Rotary International. All rights Julio César A. reserved. Periodicals postage paid at Evanston, Illinois, USA, and Silva-Santisteban additional mailing offices. Canada Publications Mail Agreement El Rímac, Peru No. 1381644. Canadian return address: MSI, PO Box 2600, Missis- sauga, ON L4T 0A8. This is the February 2022 issue, volume 200, Katsuhiko Tatsuno number 8, of Rotary. Publication number: USPS 548-810. Tokyo-West, Japan ISSN 2694-443X (print); ISSN 2694-4448 (online). Elizabeth Usovicz 4  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022 Kansas City-Plaza, Missouri, USA Ananthanarayanan S. “Venky” Venkatesh Chennai Mambalam, India GENERAL SECRETARY John Hewko Kyiv, Ukraine

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CONTENT February 2022 Vol. 200, No. 8 On the cover: Monika Lozinska FEATURES 1  President’s message Teh’Ray Hale — 2 Welcome better known 28 Emcee Skool as Phenom — is CONNECT the founder of With an assist from Rotary, a Chicago acad- Chicago’s peace- emy transforms young adults into rapping 8  Letters to the editor focused Emcee ambassadors for peace 10  The specialist Skool. By Bryan Smith An expert who supplied top artists Photography by Photography by Monika Lozinska Monika Lozinska with the stuff of music 40 The seven centers of peace 6  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022 12  What would you do? Situated in different parts of the world, the Rotary Peace Centers offer tailor-made OUR WORLD curricula to train individuals devoted to peacebuilding and conflict resolution — no 14 Show and tell matter where they land Clubs organize a Day of Service to By Jeff Ruby demonstrate the good Rotary can do Illustrations by Jason Schneider 18 People of action around the globe 48 Natural hazards 20 How to bounce back A new report from the Institute for Econom- Build resilience in yourself and others ics and Peace highlights grave ecological threats around the world — and suggests 25 It’s all your business ways advocates can nurture a more benign environmental future Nonprofits need to embrace strategies for success from the for-profit world, By Miles Howard says philanthropy expert Illustration by Imagezoo 26 What it’s like 28 What it’s like to be a mermaid OUR CLUBS 54 Virtual visit Rotary Club of The Ridge, Lake Wales, Florida 56 Nice and easy Rotary’s online fundraising tool eliminates the paperwork hassle 57 Calendar 58 Make everyone welcome How to create a club that values diversity 60 Trustee chair’s message 61 In brief World Polio Day celebrates progress Rotary partners to fight malnutrition 63 2022 convention |  Crossword 64 Found Inspired by the Olympics? Join your Rotary friends and curl

“Don’t think that because Advocacy and someone has a disability, they action can’t be a Rotarian.” K en Masson discovered a passion for helping people — Ken Masson with disabilities while he was working as a career 26 specialist for a human services agency in Massachusetts. When Patrick Kok he retired in 2020, he knew he Illustrations by Viktor Miller Gausa (top), Richard Miawanted to continue to advocate for what’s frequently defined as the world’s largest minority group. Rotary’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion gave Masson the opportunity to combine his passion with Ro- tary’s Action Plan; he co-founded District 7910’s Rotary Disabilities Advisers group. (See “Make Ev- eryone Welcome” on page 58.) In June 2021, Masson went on to charter the Rotary Club of World Disability Advocacy, Central MA and Metro West, a cause-based e-club that focuses on human rights issues. The club has 14 subcommittees around the world, all looking for ways to help people with disabilities in their communities. Their work includes vocational training, educa- tion, and networking for people with physical or developmental disabili- ties. (Write to [email protected] to sign up for the club’s newsletter or join its WhatsApp group.) “Our focus is taking somebody who has a disability and is struggling to be successful, probably because of societal issues, and working on ways to empower them,” Masson says. — maureen vaught Read more about how Rotary is focusing on empowering people with disabilities on page 58. FEBRUARY 2022  ROTARY  7

CONNEC Letters people examining their purpose in to the editor life, in the light of a post-pandemic reality. We need to look closely at the value we’ll give back in return for surviving. Keep showing us that Rotary is aware of the changes hap- pening, and help us see the way for- ward through service. — Linda Peterson, Rapid City, South Dakota The editors NO MORE EXCUSES STATE OF CONCERN welcome comments on I was so impressed by Vanessa Na- As a new member of the Rotary items published in kate, the young climate activist in Club of San Francisco, I appreciate the magazine but Uganda [“The Conversation,” No- Rotary members’ dedication to their reserve the right to vember]. At the end of the interview, communities. I know the annual edit for style and she said: “The climate crisis is here convention [“The Sky’s the Limit,” length. Published ... If you don’t believe that, it only November] is a highlight for many letters do not means that you haven’t yet seen it in in this organization. I also know the necessarily reflect your community or your country.” choice of location is made long in the views of the We have seen the climate crisis advance for large events like this. editors or Rotary all over the United States in the International past year: in the drought, wildfires, That being said, I am sorry to leadership, nor do and heat deaths in the West, and in know that at this moment Rotary is the editors take the extreme weather, flash floods, celebrating and investing in Texas, a responsibility for and drownings in the East. Scien- state that has found its way around errors of fact that tists have explained that this litany providing women their constitu- may be expressed of damages and deaths would have tional right to reproductive care. by the writers. been unlikely without a warming atmosphere. So the lone excuse The women who suffer most that Nakate proposes for Rotary from Texas’s new restrictions [on members who don’t see climate abortion] are low-income women change as a problem is insufficient. of color. If Rotary cares about the There are no excuses left. health of women and girls around Maybe it’s time for Rotary mem- the world, reproductive choice must bers to put climate change solutions be included. into the same category that we have placed polio vaccination: priorities — Esther Landau, that transcend politics. San Francisco — Chris Wiegard, MIX MASTERS Virginia co-coordinator, Phillip A. Matous made some vital Citizens’ Climate Lobby, recommendations to make new members feel welcome [Letters, Chester, Virginia “Make New Friends,” November] that those of us with established LIFE CHANGING club friendships would be well ad- vised to take to heart. I was especially moved by Jeff A couple of years ago, my club Ruby’s article “A Change of Heart” tried something to encourage our [November]. He is an example of members to mix it up. As we paid the seismic shift happening globally for our meals, we were invited to in response to the pandemic. I see pick a number out of a hat. The number we received would deter- mine the table at which we would sit during the meeting. The ran- dom mixing of members from one meeting to the next was a fun way to help both members and guests benefit from an expanded selec- tion of friends. — Robin Maybury, Sebastopol, California 8  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022

SYSTEMS THINKING sortium that bear responsibility for CONNECT the water infrastructure in their re- We read with interest the recent gions. While the units are designed articles about potable water issues to respond to a water-system emer- in the United States [“Water Pres- gency in a rural Arctic community sure,” October], particularly the one under winter conditions, we believe about rural Alaska. After our Rotary this type of unit may have broader District 5010 became aware of the use throughout the world of Rotary, complete loss of the potable water particularly in natural-disaster re- system in the village of Tuluksak, sponse. More detailed information district leaders decided to investi- about this project is available upon gate a practical, long-term way to request. provide an adequate and flexible emergency response to a major — Joe Kashi, Cheryl Metiva, remote-area water system failure. Michael Ferris, Michael Pollen, and Brenda Shelden, District 5010 (Alaska) District Governor-nominee Mike I read with interest the article on Overheard on Follow us to get updates, Pollen, who has extensive profes- water contamination from PFAs social media share stories with your sional experience with water and [per- and polyfluoroal yl sub- In our November networks, and tell us what wastewater systems in Alaska, led stances, such as Teflon]. A di erent issue, we wrote you think. the effort. We teamed with Jon viewpoint is that Teflon saved my about Rotary’s new Dufendach of CampWater Industries, life! When I was a young child in the partnership with the Rotary.org LLC, which manufactures ru ged, 1960s, a congenital hole in my heart Global Partnership portable water systems for remote was patched with it. I would not have for Education. [email protected] areas. A design quickly evolved for a lived until age 18 without the repair. lightweight helicopter-transportable Over 50 years later, I am still alive Excellent decision, @rotary emergency water system constructed and kicking. Obviously, PFAs can as all urgent on a sturdy aluminum frame rein- serve a valuable purpose. societal goals, /rotary forced with aircraft cables. The unit including those can filter and disinfect up to 7,000 — Ollie Phipps, dear to Rotary’s @rotaryinternational gallons per day of clear surface heart, depend on water that is pumped from beneath Orlando, Florida the transformation Rotary magazine ice on a lake or river. The power of education. One Rotary Center needed to operate the equipment is KEEPING OUR PROMISE Education deserves 1560 Sherman Ave. supplied by a portable generator or the support of all Evanston, IL 60201 the village’s power supply. The interview with Aidan O’Leary, Rotarians. the polio chief at the World Health Delia Mamon FEBRUARY 2022 ROTARY 9 We plan to donate four of these Organization, succinctly covered the units to organizations within the plan to eradicate polio [“The Con- via LinkedIn Alaska Native Tribal Health Con- versation,” October]. Rotary’s prom- ise proves that a polio-free world is within reach. We must keep knock- ing on doors to vaccinate infants, so we can make this world healthy and beautiful for our children. — Munawar Hameed Mangalwala, Karachi, Pakistan A health worker at a polio-vaccine transit post in northern Pakistan aims to vaccinate children who were missed during immunization campaigns. Khaula Jamil © Rotary International Equity in education will ensure a brighter future for everyone. It’s awesome that Rotary is committed to equity! Pam Brady via LinkedIn

THE SPECIALIST Yehudi Menuhin came together to collaborate on a violin mute — a device that bridges strings to dampen String theorist the sound — we designed it under Spector’s name. It is still being used today. This expert supplied top artists with the stuff of music In the old days, strings would be made of sheep gut or hog gut. Now an E string can be just a stainless- I n 1967, my dad and I bought a Chicago steel or tin-plated wire. An A string is made of nylon. Our D was a layer of nylon with a thin layer of nickel company that made strings for musical and silver, and our G was made of copper and silver. instruments. You don’t have to have musical The lower the note, the thicker the string. talent to make strings. I can’t play, myself. One of the best parts of the job was having back- stage passes and meeting artists like Isaac Stern and I took six cello lessons in my entire life. The Johnny Cash. I was on the board of Itzhak Perlman’s winter residency program for 10 years. The recitals instructor, a cellist with the Chicago Symphony Or- were fabulous, but the rehearsals were even more entertaining because of the interaction between chestra, said to me, “Did you know this is out of tune?” Maestro Perlman and his students. He would tell jokes, and the students would beg him to stop When we came into the picture, a violin A-string John Cavanaugh because they had all heard them so many times. operator could make 24 dozen strings a day. Dad Rotary Club of Sarasota Bay During the COVID-19 pandemic, school music sales being an engineer, he designed new equipment that (Sarasota), went south. I had retired in 2018 and my son had to Florida sell the business to a competitor. But we had a good could make 110 dozen better-quality strings a day. run. I have no regrets. Former president My role was product development, as well as getting of the Super- — as told to arnold grahl people to endorse our products and see how we could Sensitive musical string company improve them. We got endorsements from B.B. King and Charlie Daniels. After violinists Fred Spector and 10  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022 Photography by Octavio Jones

Let the world know We are Rotary Our new 30-second video shows what Rotary clubs are doing to make a di erence in their communities and around the world. Visit rotary.org/brandcenter to download and share Rotary’s latest video today.

CONNECT WHAT WOULD YOU DO? during each meeting to hear happy or sad stories from members. It No laughing matter would be very uncommon for any member to tell a sexist joke. E ach week, during one is included in a post-meeting discus- Next question However, if someone did, I would segment of your club’s sion about the joke. I would treat this not laugh or exhibit any signs of meeting, a member not as a cardinal sin but as a mistake Find the most acceptance. After the meeting, I stands up and shares and a learning opportunity for the recent question would discuss the issue with our club to discuss. on our blogs: club leaders and request that they something funny or in- Rotary Voices approach the person regarding his — Peter Prischl, Rotary Club of (blog.rotary. distasteful comments. teresting. During a recent meeting, org) and Rotary Mödling, Austria Service in Action — Dan Schiffer, Rotary Club of Mason, the club member assigned to this (rotaryservice My first thought would be that the blog.org). Share Michigan presentation delivered a sexist joke. club president should respond as your response necessary and later raise the point there, or send Rotary is an international orga- What would you do? at a meeting of the board. Making it to us at nization, so the answer might a direct comment and response at magazine​@ be different in different cultures. I would stand up and say something the meeting would only extend the rotary.org, for However, in my mind, Rotary club like, “This joke may not seem funny unfavorable situation. possible inclu- meetings are business meetings to some of our members, so let’s dis- sion in a future and such a joke does not belong cuss this in a small group afterward.” — Les Lee, Rotary Club of Chesham, issue of the there. I would not single out the Then, after the meeting, I would make England magazine. person during the meeting, but I it clear to the member who delivered would talk to him in private about the joke that these kinds of jokes have Our club does take a few moments how the joke was offensive. If the no place in Rotary. I also would make person continued to behave offen- sure that at least one female member sively, then the matter should be brought to the board for more se- rious actions; such behavior does not meet The Four-Way Test. — Ken Masson, Rotary Club of World Disability Advocacy, Central MA and Metro West 12  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022 Illustration by Martín Elfman

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Discover a world outside the classroom through Discover 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 lpsuerLRLgoobOaObnarNlTesgmAeGm-itRea-ealTYrhsemEomeYRr.eOmMtxéUcachTnnaHeicniraEgasXes dsCdebeHucAtiorlNadmnGpuseEfnoaicrcmaeçaoãrnooe, solução de csyoooLLRolumOOvnriNnmTsgeAgG-ult,fRn-eaTbYricnmEuadYRtteOitMcohxhUnceahTslwalHkenionlEglrgslXe,desCt.sebHyauoAciuhlNdetGspoeEccarhecaaentoigvneeepnyroootubonlengmlyp-erson communication skills, teaches creative problem- LONG-TERM mundo num solving, and challenges you to change not only Long-term exchanges build peace one young person yourself but the world. young person 目新標世を代も交って換海を渡り、異oaaa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、siln短t.ohebwhalolcasitntigftaJlzeaoouceamitnandPSNdiog.ireEelEtoineSverhRWf,steseetVadloisofrngIGisotspCbilcryooEiEunooinabNnivulEaoandEferlXlnuorRdacmelCvlAoeabHovmTteveiAIvtmelOetoNmeNupsGrenmoSwEniltuetyontoraaoaiatolfnctdfnwnaoy.amdsdoitEttheomtuhxiommercneoarhgteibhcactp.hilunelueySialzgearttwnepuueadordre1y.iedrseor0B,lesednu0ea:at’trscnasUscofdkmonlrwemiiuineloaviinevntgesrhenttdrarssiwaiegtysilnt.ohebwhalolcasitntigfJatlzeaoocueamiSNPtnanddiroEg.iEeoeltnRieSWvrhfees,tVsetasldoiIoGfsnrgCiotipsboElEycroiunnNoiobanEiauvlEaondlXferRlnuodrCacmelAveloHavbTomteAeIvilOvtmeoNetmNpeGusrmSenoEwnieltutnyototroaaaiaolftncwdfnnaoy.amdisdtotEhtheomtuxiommercnaoerhgteibphcact.iuhluneleySiralzgeattpwneuueadoordrey1si.edreore0lB,sedn:u0eaat’tUrscnasscfonkmdolrwemiiivuneolaiienngtevsrrhenttdsarisiwtaegysilnt.ohebwhalolcasitntigflatJzeaoouceamitnanddiog.ieeltnieSvrhe,stesetadloiofrngiotspblcyroiunooibanivuloandferlnuoracmelvloabomtevivtmeetmeusrenowniltutyotoriaolfdnn.ydsoEmtuxocnohgtbhailneleizgaweedoeyidrorlsdeua’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 preshssktusuiilmndlsge,annlcetioastamrarninmaadnolynasoencurghvnuiacgalelgepdenrou,gfraeeinnss.dgsiotsahnkoaelrsta-ltceetariormnn,ntcSRheuHOwrsoOtTuoARgmRThi-YzTaEYbROleMUTH EpXrCesshktsHuusilmAidlnseN,agnnlGectiatsoEarmarninamadnolyasnoenurgcvnhuicgaaelglpedernou, gfraeinnssdgs.iotsahnkoaelrsta-ltceetariormnn,ntcheRSuwrsHOotuoOTgmARhRiTz-YaTbEYleROMUTH EpXrCesHsiAnNg GcoEmmon challenges. ROTARY 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 SHORT-TERM でしょう。 Short-term exchanges immerse young p Toma acción, promueve la comprenseióxcnhianntegrensa. cional and make newanforitehnedrscaurlotuurned. Stohme we olivrled.wDitehvheloospt families for aunpd make newanforitehnedrscuarltouurne.dStohme ewloivreldw. Dithevheolospt families for up another culture. Some live with host fam y forja nuevas amistades alrededor del mundo. to three months, while others embark o your leadershitpostkhilrlesewmhoilentyhosu, wdihsciloevoetrhtehres epmowbaerrk on a tour oyor ur leadershtipo stkhirlelsewmhoilnetyhos,uwdhisicleovoetrhethrseepmobwaerrk on a tour or go to camp for a few weeks. Go on an Desarrolla tus aptitudes de liderazgo mientras of Service Abogvoe tSoelcfaamnpd ffoinrdaofeuwt hwoweekses.riGouoson an adventureofinService AbogvoetSoeclfamanpdffoinr da ofeuwt hwoeweksse.riGoouson an adventure in one of more than 100 countries. descubres el poder de Dar de Sí antes de Pensar en Sí leadership canobnee soefrmiouosrelytfhuann! 100 countries. leadership canonbee osef rmioourselythfuann!100 countries. y cuan divertido es el verdadero liderazgo. Create your own promotional cards to showcase your youth activities. Available now in Rotary’s Brand Center. YouthProgramsCard_RotarianAD_halfpage.indd 1 2/6/17 2:32 PM

OUR WORL ROTARY DAYS OF SERVICE Photo courtesy of 1Station Show and tell Clubs partner with their communities to demonstrate the good that Rotary can do 20 P lanting trees, For its Rotary Build your conducting blood drives, Day of Service resilience screening people for project, the diabetes: These are a Rotary Club of 25 few of the ways Rotary Cavite Export Operate your members have responded to Presi- Processing Zone, nonprofit like a dent Shekhar Mehta’s challenge to Philippines, think big this year by organizing a erected a business Rotary Day of Service. handwashing station and sign 26 “Rotary kindled the spark that provided What it’s like within me to look beyond myself step-by-step to be a mermaid and embrace humanity,” Mehta instructions on told incoming district governors the proper way 14  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022 during the International Assembly to wash one’s in February 2021. “Service became hands. a way of life for me.” Believing that Rotary can do the same for others, members as well as nonmembers, Mehta asked clubs to plan a ser- vice day — an event where people in their communities could learn more about Rotary and see the impact of their local club, all while providing service to others. As clubs were tackling these projects, Mehta asked them to work with at least one local busi- ness, community organization, or government or municipality; to include a community discussion about how clubs can continue to empower their community; to pro- mote their events on social media; and to follow up with participants afterward, inviting them to get in- volved with a future Rotary project or attend a club meeting. Mehta often says he subscribes to the philosophy that “Service is the rent I pay for the space I oc- cupy on this earth.” The members of the Rotary Club of Kigali-Virun- ga, Rwanda, are striving to do the same. That club and six others worked together on a service-day project in which they planted

FEBRUARY 2022  ROTARY  15

OUR WORLD “The awareness walk also created an Twenty clubs in opportunity to encourage community Ventura County, leaders, specifically the monarchs of California, collaborated on a backpack drive the communities, to advocate for for their Rotary Day good mental health.” of Service project. 2,000 trees that will help feed and that provided step-by-step instruc- Plan to serve sustain two rural communities in tions on the proper way to wash Rwanda. one’s hands. The prefabricated RI President Shekhar Mehta has handwashing station was con- challenged every club to plan at least They planted avocado trees and structed by Lauro “Larry” Pascua, one Rotary Day of Service in 2021-22 to other fruit trees in the village of president of the Rotary Club of “bring together volunteers from inside Kinigi. In another village, Nya- Cavite Export Processing Zone. and outside Rotary” and to “celebrate kinama, they planted trees, such and showcase the work of your club in as eucalyptus, that will generate “One of our priority projects,” your community.” lumber and raw materials. The says Marni Sy, a past president club had to find space to plant the of the club, “is to donate hand- Guidelines trees on community land, get ap- washing stations for selective proval from the local government, barangays [small administrative Clubs are asked to plan events that: and find an agribusiness partner divisions] and schools to educate � are organized by two or more Rotary, to tend the trees. people about proper hygiene and the proper way of handwashing Rotaract, or Interact clubs “Both communities are inhab- in order to prevent the spread of � align with one of Rotary’s seven areas ited by farmers who are in desper- disease, especially during this time ate need of extra resources to top of the COVID-19 pandemic.” of focus up their incomes and help reduce � are promoted on social media, in a local their expenses,” says Rotary mem- The station was placed in a ber Murtada Ahmed. busy area of the city of Cavite. Sy newspaper, or in other media says deciding where to put it was � involve people who are not Rotary The club promoted the project difficult because many schools via the Rwanda Broadcasting and businesses were closed or op- members Agency and other media, as well erating on limited schedules due as on its social media accounts. to the pandemic. But the station Find out more Members also worked closely has been well received, and two with representatives of local and schools have since requested their Check out the Rotary Days of Service regional organizations, govern- own hand-hygiene stations. brochure posted at my.rotary.org/ ment officials, and beneficiaries of en/news-media/office-president/ the project. “The project was based on a presidential-initiatives. local needs assessment and was “Now all of those individuals coordinated with local community know what Rotary is and what it leaders who helped promote it does,” Ahmed says. among residents,” Sy says. another rotary day of service In Nigeria, a service-day event project, conducted in the Philip- was organized in response to a pines, emphasizes the benefits of tragedy that hit close to home, maintaining good hand hygiene to after a local Rotaract member died prevent illnesses. The club erected by suicide. Twenty-nine Rotaract a handwashing station and a sign clubs in District 9110 worked Short Rotary’s 2020-21 Annual At the UN’s COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, takes Report is now available at Scotland, in November, RI President Shekhar rotary.org/annualreport. Mehta pledged that Rotary will support projects to restore mangrove forests. 16  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022

together to plan a walk designed to raise District 9110 Rotaract representative. He district grant and individual donations. awareness of the issue of depression and adds: “The awareness walk also created Each Rotary club reached out to non- suicide in Nigeria. The country, which an opportunity to encourage community profits and other organizations in their has a population of more than 200 mil- leaders, specifically the monarchs of own communities to identify children lion, has an age-standardized suicide rate the communities, to advocate for good who should receive the backpacks, and of 17.3 per 100,000, as compared with mental health.” to help with distribution. In total, Strong the global rate of 10.5 per 100,000, ac- says, there were at least 10 other orga- cording to a study published last year in In another Rotary Day of Service nizations involved in the project, which the journal General Psychiatry. project, last fall, 20 clubs in Ventura was publicized on social media. County, California, collaborated on a The walk took place in Ijanikin back-to-school backpack drive that de- Connecting with other commu- and Oto Awori, neighborhoods on the livered much-needed school supplies to nity organizations in this way fulfilled outskirts of Lagos. One of the organiz- children from low-income families. Mehta’s goal of using Rotary Days of ers, Ayodeji Ezekiel Sobowale, says the Service to raise awareness of the ways event was designed to help people un- The project got its start after Big Rotarians help their communities. “This derstand that depression is an illness Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County was a golden opportunity for us to reach rather than a character failing. It also reached out to the Rotary clubs. Big out to potential members and say, ‘You aimed to encourage people who are Brothers Big Sisters had about 1,200 really should join us on this project so suffering from depression or contem- empty backpacks that had been donated you can see what kind of projects we plating suicide to seek help. Partici- by the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los do,’” Strong says. pants carried signs with messages such Angeles Rams, and they wanted to stuff as: “It’s Okay to Ask for Help” and them full of supplies and give them to That outreach, he notes, is paying off. “Fight to Live... Make Mental Health a children in need. The Rotary members “We’re seeing that clubs around here are Priority.” were eager to accept the challenge and starting to pick up membership.” filled the backpacks with pens, pencils, The district promoted the event in a notebooks, calculators, and other sup- — annemarie mannion national newspaper and on social media, plies that students need to start off the including a livestream on Facebook. school year on the right foot. Clubs have posted more than 900 “Rotaractors also engaged people in direct conversation, talking about the “The backpacks went to kids whose projects on Rotary Showcase using awareness walk and inviting people to family incomes are really low and who join them. That attracted many non- have trouble purchasing their own sup- the tag ServiceDay2021. Rotarians, who participated and were plies,” says Randy Strong, a member introduced to their local Rotary and Ro- of the Rotary Club of Westlake Village Get inspired by what other clubs taract clubs,” says Sobowale, who is the Sunrise. are doing by browsing these projects, The items were purchased with a and after your event, share its details, along with photos and videos. Hybrid project fairs will take Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, will host A new Learning Center course, place this month in Colombia an RI presidential conference Public Relations and Your Club, offers (3-5 February) and Egypt (24- 12-13 February focused on wa- tips for club public image chairs and 25 February). Learn more at ter and sanitation, and disease others who want to promote their rotary.org/project-fairs. prevention and treatment. club. Sign up at rotary.org/learn. FEBRUARY 2022  ROTARY  17

OUR WORLD People of action around the globe By BRAD WEBBER United States UNITED STATES Canada While jogging on Memorial Day Island Park in Portage La Prairie, weekend in 2020, Patrick Shairs Manitoba, has been a meeting place discovered a holiday-appropriate for more than 100 years. In 2019, the spot for a break: the old City Cem- Rotary Club of Portage La Prairie etery in his hometown of Franklin, outlined a strategy for a phased, Tennessee. Shairs, a member of the $150,000 effort to revitalize an area Rotary Club of Downtown Franklin, within the popular lakefront park, was dismayed by the multitude where the club also sponsored a disc of badly stained and unreadable golf course. “The club felt that we headstones. That fall, the club could rejuvenate the duck pond to its started a project to restore several old glory as well as add new features,” historic cemeteries in the area. says club member Preston Meier. About a year later, 127 volunteers, Since 2020, the club has redesigned including members from other area and rebuilt a waterfall, added fencing Rotary clubs and students from and lighting, and constructed a deck local schools, had cleaned 560 with a pergola for special events. “We headstones and footstones and wanted a project that we could get our 140 plot pillars, using brushes and hands dirty in and have our finger- spray bottles filled with a biological prints on — a little blood, sweat, and solution recommended by a preser- tears in addition to the fundraising,” vation organization. They identified Meier says. 81 people buried in one cemetery who were not listed in the town’s Club of Portage La Prairie official burial register, something that would have gone undiscovered % if not for their efforts. OF THE PLANET’S Club of Downtown Franklin WETLANDS ARE IN CANADA The Rotary Club of The Ridge, Florida, was founded to attract busy profes- sionals who had young children and felt that the breakfast and lunch clubs in the area weren’t the right fit. The club views everything it does, includ- ing service projects, through the lens of family. Read more in “Family Affair” on page 54. 18 ROTARY FEBRUARY 2022

, % DRAGON BOAT RACERS IN EUROPE OF PHILIPPINE PROVINCES FEATURE England MANGROVES After a pandemic-induced hiatus, an annual dragon boat race sponsored Gold noted that the competitions in by the Rotary Club of Skipton 2018 and 2019 had raised a combined lured more than 150 enthusiastic $30,000. The event was conceived by paddlers in September. Thirteen 2017-18 Club President Mark Ludlam teams — with sobriquets such as a tribute to his late father, Brian, a as the Komodo Dragons, Craven past club president who had arranged Ravens, and Rainbow Rockets — a dragon boat race. About half of the collected pledges and raised about club’s 40 members helped steward $17,000 for the competitors’ chosen the 200-meter race. charities. Club member Andrew Club of Skipton RWANDA million Philippines Mangroves form an integral part Members of the Rotary Club of INDIAN CHILDREN of the coastal ecosystem of the Kigali-Virunga worked with six IMMUNIZED OVER THREE Philippines. They serve as a source other clubs on a Rotary Day of DAYS IN JANUARY 2021 of medicines, alcohol, and timber; Service project in which they a haven for coral reef fish; and a buffer against typhoons. In a planted 2,000 trees that will two-pronged effort to shore up help feed and sustain two rural the maritime trees and buttress a fishing village’s ecotourism drive, communities. Read more in in November the Rotary Club of “Show and Tell” on page 14. Bacolod-Marapara teamed with the Rotary Club of Victorias, the India Rotaract Club of Marapara, the Pasil More than 250 youths from schools Fisherfolks Association, and other and Interact clubs across several local organizations. They planted Indian states put paint and crayons some 1,000 mangrove seedlings and to paper in a poster competition provided the fishers with bamboo sponsored by the all-female Rotary to construct two cottages in the Club of Ahmednagar Priyadarshini. native style for rental to tourists. The Freedom from Polio art contest “Around the world, mangroves are stressed the “importance of taking threatened, but they are important,” polio drops to help our world get says Rolando Corona, president of freedom from polio forever,” says the Bacolod-Marapara club. “Their Bindu Shirsath, a club member who protection and restoration should be was among the five judges. The a high priority.” club recruited district PolioPlus committee chairs and tapped Club of Victorias Club of Bacolod-Marapara Facebook and WhatsApp groups Club of Marapara to publicize the inaugural project. “Since it was an online competition, the club did not incur costs except for making the e-certificate for winners and publicizing the results in local newspapers,” Shirsath adds, resulting in an affordable way to conjure creativity with a message. Club of Ahmednagar Priyadarshini FEBRUARY 2022 ROTARY 19

OUR WORLD BIG PICTURE How to bounce back Build resilience in yourself and others W from ADVICE however, applies to adults as well. hardship while oth- While Ginsberg acknowledges a ers stru gle? Experts DON’T LET YOUR GENES RULE YOU agree that resilience Kenneth Ginsberg, an adolescent hereditary component to resilience, he is a function of several elements, in- medicine specialist, professor at the is reluctant to bring up that fact in early cluding genetics, trauma, and personal Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and visits with patients. “If you put genetics development, not necessarily in that the Perelman School of Medicine at the first, people feel disempowered. It may order. Each of us is genetically hard- University of Pennsylvania, and author of be true that certain things are geneti- wired to recover after a failure — some the book Building Resilience in Children cally predicted, such as intelligence and more quickly than others. And, to an and Teens, came up with the term “7 C’s” anxiety, but really more than anything extent, our resilience is informed by (see sidebar). “I drew on concepts from else it’s that people around you support our experiences. A young person who the leading thinkers,” he says. “It’s about your growth and recovery.” is abused, neglected, or abandoned is raising youth to be resilient.” The model, less likely to develop the resilience of one who was nurtured and supported. Illustration by Zulema Williams But most important, whatever degree of resilience we possess, we can always work to increase it. Resilience gets projects accomplished and polio eradi- cated. It beats the odds, turning losses into wins. Which leads to the question: What, exactly, is resilience? According to George Everly Jr., pro- fessor of psychology and public health at Johns Hopkins University and co- author of Stronger: Develop the Resil- ience You Need to Succeed, resilience is a matter of both attitude and actions. Tenacity is an action. “People won’t be tenacious if they assume they are going to fail,” he says. “A resilient attitude is optimistic; it’s the belief in a self- ful illing prophecy.” If you expect to be resilient, you will become resilient. “But the attitude is impotent without subsequent action,” Everly adds. “This ain’t rocket science. We tend to couch it in psychobabble and the ethereal, and it is not.” Here’s how to learn the art of bounc- ing back. — 20 ROTARY FEBRUARY 2022

LET KIDS SOLVE PROBLEMS Jenny “A resilient attitude THE 7 C’S OF RESILIENCE Stotts, a social worker who is a member is optimistic; it’s of the Rotary Club of Athens Sunrise, Connection: Human connection Ohio, and District 6690 membership the belief in a self- is one of the most important chair, says we can build resilience in fulfilling prophecy.” elements supporting resilience. young people by simply supporting Find meaningful opportunities them. “Maybe they are having a conflict — George Everly Jr., to connect with friends, family, with a peer,” she says. “Instead of professor of psychology and public health colleagues, and your community. swooping in and fixing it, look for op- portunities for them to problem-solve. at Johns Hopkins University Competence: Knowing how to That is a resilience-building activity.” handle stressful situations and face challenges will make us more resilient. Stress reduction is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and improved to increase our social skills and build resilience. Confidence: When we’re confident, we know that falling down isn't a failure — but not getting back up is. Adopting a positive attitude will change our perspective on failure. Character: Always showing integrity, ethical conduct, and personal accountability will increase our self-confidence and our resilience. Contribution: When we contribute to our communities, our neighborhoods, and our families, the appreciation we receive drives our self-confidence and boosts our resilience. Coping: Strong social skills and the know-how to reduce stress prepare us to tackle life’s challenges. These skills can be taught to children, teens, and adults. Control: When we take responsibility for our decisions and actions, we begin to make choices that enable us to feel like we’re in control of our lives and able to overcome challenges. Source: Kenneth Ginsberg FEBRUARY 2022 ROTARY 21

OUR WORLD 22% Share of Generation Z respondents (ages 13 to 27) who say they have no friends. This is a worrisome number, according to professor of psychology and public health George Everly Jr.; a key element of resilience is our relationships with other people. Source: 2019 YouGov poll TECHNIQUES that space are your coping skills.” volunteers, look at the recruitment Trauma, a lack of security, and process. “Is it easy to volunteer?” THINK YOURSELF POSITIVE As disruptions can erode those coping Stotts asks. “Are there barriers we trite as this may sound, the key to skills and diminish our resilience. don’t know about?” resilience is maintaining a positive attitude. The good news is that if Building resilience, she says, is a Also, all too often, she says, we you don’t feel positive, you can still function of increasing that space look at failure and ask what we build resilience by acting positive. between the stimulus and the reac- did wrong and what we should Fake it till you make it, says Everly. tion. With more space — more time do differently. “But we should Act as though you are tenacious to consider, to take a breath, to unpack our successes and learn and bound to win. “Even if you don’t reframe the world — we learn to get from those processes too. That is believe it, just adopt a positive atti- back up. building a culture of constructive tude that views the future as bright positivity.” and failures as steppingstones to One way to open up that space is success.” He points out that the si- to challenge your perspective. Say PRACTICE KIND LISTENING If you lent movie star Mary Pickford once you’re at an airport and see a flam- are talking with a seventh grader said, “This thing we call ‘failure’ is boyantly dressed woman walking who scored a winning goal in not the falling down, but the stay- toward you. “I’ve been socialized to a soccer match, here’s a good ing down.” draw conclusions about her,” Stotts question to ask, says Stotts: says. “But I can challenge my own “If you were giving advice to a Everly says that when we accus- perspective.” Instead of asking first grader about how to score tom ourselves to acting as though why she would dress that way at a goal, what would you tell them?” we will succeed, our perspective an airport, “I might wonder if she That builds confidence, and changes. That shift allows us to is an artist.” resilience too. begin to see life as a journey, not a destination. Stotts recommends getting into Or say an adult brought in a the habit of developing alternative project on-time and under bud- DISTANCE YOURSELF According hypotheses when we encounter get. Stotts recommends saying to Stotts, “One cool thing about a stimulus. “Then, when you are something like, “You really pulled personal resilience is that what you under stress you are more likely to this off well. Let’s unpack it. What are born with doesn’t necessarily do it,” she says. lessons apply to other things we remain static.” As a social worker, do?” Again, this drives connection, speaker, and trainer who special- FOCUS ON PROCESS In her competence, and confidence — izes in resilience, leadership, and workshops, Stotts helps expand and helps build resilience. organizational change, Stotts says the space between stimulus and there are many ways to increase re- response by treating failure from Everywhere, including in Rotary, silience. “People prosper from suc- a different perspective. Focus on “we hear the message to talk and cess and learn from others,” she “process, not results,” she says. speak and act with kindness,” says. “If we break down resilience, Say an organization wants to in- Stotts notes. “But we don’t hear it is the space between a stimulus crease its volunteer ranks. Instead as much about listening with and a reaction to the stimulus. In of looking only at the number of kindness.” 22 ROTARY FEBRUARY 2022

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GROWING IMNECMRBEEARSSHEISP THE GOOD WE CAN DO! Introducing the Membership Society for New Member Sponsors To recognize those who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment and success in growing our membership, we have launched a new recognition program. The Membership Society for New Member Sponsors is a virtual gallery for those members who have sponsored 25 or more new members. Visit rotary.org/membershipsociety

OUR WORLD GOODWILL more than 10 percent of America’s private workforce — providing It’s all your business more jobs than manufacturing, con- struction, or finance, according to Nonpro ts need to embrace strategies for success the National Council of Nonprofits. from the for-pro t world, The 2021 Edelman Trust Barom- says philanthropy expert Lisa Greer eter, based on an annual online survey conducted by global com- “W - have to file paperwork. They have munications firm Edelman, found . We bylaws. They carry appropriate in- that businesses are now the most are not a surance and meet safety standards. trusted institutions around the business!” As They have boards of directors with world because they are seen as both fiduciary responsibilities to their ethical and competent. NGOs are someone who organizations. viewed as ethical but less compe- tent. When people at nonprofits say has served as a board member, ad- So why does it seem like so many they don’t have to, and shouldn’t, nonpro its rail against anything operate like a business, or that they viser, and donor for nonprofits, I’ve that sounds businesslike? The should ignore accepted rules and view that businesses are bad and standards of business practice, it heard a version of this sentiment nonpro its are good is simplistic. reinforces that image. Here are some common miscon- more times than I can count. At a ceptions I have heard that try to So if people trust for-profit busi- justify why nonpro its shouldn’t nesses more than nonprofits, why do meeting, it might be someone’s re- operate like a business — and my some nonprofits continue to eschew thoughts about why they don’t business standards and practices? sponse while discussing a financial make a whole lot of sense. An overly energetic expression or organizational governance issue Only for-profit businesses focus of the “we are a nonpro it, we are on money. For-profit business is not a business” attitude indicates of the nonpro it. The statement about making a profit, hence the that a person is thinking more name. However, nonpro it busi- about appearances than about often carries a whi of disdain. nesses can (and often do) make the market forces and fundrais- money — they just invest it back ing tactics that will make an or- As someone who also has decades into their mission. That mission, per ganization successful, because the their nonprofit tax status, is meant roads to success in the for-pro it of business experience, I think it’s to benefit the public. How do you space and in the nonpro it space think nonprofits have endowments, are very similar. Nonpro its — in- time to examine the abhorrence of for example, if their income isn’t cluding staff, board members, and greater than their expenditures? donors — must insist on operating the for-profit world that is some- How does your like a business. They just have to Nonprofit folks are nicer and Rotary club be choosy about which businesses times voiced in the nonprofit one. more caring than businesspeo- operate like a to emulate, and smart about which ple. As the nonprofit organization business — and tactics to pursue. While the distinction in virtue Idealist states, “Di cult person- how does it not? alities, big egos, and o ce politics Continue the Nonpro its that are poised for between nonpro its and many can — and do — exist in any pro- conversation at long-term success will do what fessional environment. Perhaps a yourletters@ good businesses do: pay their sta profit-making ventures is clear, the higher percentage of kindhearted rotary.org. a living and competitive wage, people work in the nonprofit sector, train and support their personnel, scornful “we are not a business” at- but there is no way to measure this, Lisa Greer embrace appropriate technology, and there are plenty of exceptions.” is a philanthropist, welcome innovation, diversify their titude is used by some as a rationale nonprofit ranks, honor their volunteers, and Nonprofits are inconsequen- adviser, meeting do everything they can to be profes- for sidestepping the practices, stan- tial in terms of the size of their convener, and sional, honorable, and focused on workforce. Nonpro its employ the author of the results and their mission. dards, and protocols that are part bestselling book Philanthropy As a nonprofit, your work likely and parcel of any for-profit entity. Revolution: ights the ill effects of bad busi- How to Inspire nesses. To win that fight, emulate This is where nonprofits get into Donors, Build the good ones. Relationships trouble. and Make a — Difference. She Nonprofits and traditional busi- is a member of the Rotary Club nesses are not diametrically oppo- of Beverly Hills, California. Find site entities. The financial website her at lisagreer. com. Investopedia.com says businesses can be “for-profit entities or they can be nonprofit organizations that operate to fulfill a charitable mission or further a social cause.” Why deny it? Nonpro its are businesses. They have overhead and administrative costs. They compensate sta in accordance with labor laws. They don’t have to pay some taxes, but they do FEBRUARY 2022 ROTARY 25

OUR WORLD What it’s like to be a mermaid JENI HALL Rotary Club of Oswestry Cambrian, England I t was my childhood dream to become side of the glass unless they’re right up against the a mermaid, like every other girl who tank. You’re just doing flips and waves and trying to watches The Little Mermaid. Then, get them to interact. You hear them more than you see when I was 12 or so, I visited my local them. If there’s someone squealing with excitement, aquarium, and my goal shifted a bit. you can hear that through the glass and it’s really I really wanted to dive with sharks. nice. But mostly you have to hope that the people I became kind of desperate to do it. out there are enjoying the show. We try to make it look glamorous and pretty and sort of effortless, but We didn’t live near the sea, but we had a holiday honestly, when we get out of the water we’ve got snot dripping out of our nose and hair everywhere, and it’s accommodation, and whenever I could get to the cold in the water, so we’re shivering. That’s the side that nobody ever gets to see but us. beach I would be in the water. That hasn’t changed. When I’m performing, I become someone I did my first scuba dive at 14, in a local pool, different: Mermaid Seren. And she’s different from Jeni Hall. I’m a shy person, deep down. But when I and eventually got my scuba diving certification, transform into Mermaid Seren, I’m more forward and confident. I take on the aspects of a mermaid, the then went on to become a divemaster. A few years grace and fluidity. on, I heard there were going to be some mermaids My mum completely expected that I’d become a mermaid. She knows that I’ll do weird and wonderful at a trade show for divers, so I went. I had always things — that’s just me. But the reactions from others can be pretty big, so I’m quite careful when I felt that being a mermaid was more of a dream decide to tell people I’m a mermaid. Some people are excited. They say, “That’s so cool! I’d love to do that!” than a realistic career goal. But when I saw these Other people think I’m absolutely insane. Which I get. And the truth is, you are really out there, because mermaids, I was mesmerized. They were proper of the nature of the costume. Everything’s on display. When I first started, I was like, “Oh my, everyone can looking, with fins and tails and long flowing hair, see me.” But I don’t mind it too much now. Because of the costumes and the long hair and the makeup, and they moved very gracefully underwater, with no you do have some people who take a bit too much of an interest in us. We have our own term for them. We oxygen tank or diving regulator. I was immediately, call them “merverts.” like, “Yes, that’s what I want to do!” Probably the best reaction I’ve gotten was from my nephew. My sister brought him to the aquarium The trick to being a mermaid is learning this earlier this year when he was 8 weeks old and he was transfixed, just watching me dive. That was breath-holding thing. Luckily, the person who really nice. I feel privileged to be able to do this work, because not many people in the UK do it. trained those mermaids was at the trade show, When I give talks, I like to focus on ocean species and the ways we can help animals in need by and he took me under his wing. He could see that I reducing our personal impact on the environment. I try to be an educational mermaid. was willing to do the training. Because it’s a lot of I’m actually new to Rotary. I was doing some work. You have to do free-dive training, for starters. community work focused on conservation when Mike Lade of the Rotary Club of Oswestry I couldn’t hold my breath for 30 seconds when I Cambrian reached out to me. He told me that he thought I’d be a really good fit, and when he started. But I came out of a single day’s training able explained what Rotary did, I immediately agreed to join his club. So now there are loads of plans for me to stay underwater for nearly two minutes. I also to participate in different events. Mike keeps saying, “Oh, a mermaid would work well there!” had to learn the proper techniques for diving to a — as told to steve almond depth of 20 meters [about 65 feet]. There’s even a diet you have to follow. You want to get as much oxygen as possible, so you have to eat iron-rich foods. But you can’t eat too much, because you’ve got to have room in your belly to take in air. Then there’s the whole matter of learning to swim like a mermaid. The costume isn’t too bad when you get used to it, but to be natural-looking involves not bending your knees, pointing your toes, and loads of things you wouldn’t think of till someone tells you, “No, you don’t look like a mermaid.” Then there’s the whole business of having your eyes open underwater, and smiling and blowing bubble kisses. I trained for 18 months before I felt I was ready to get into a tank at the aquarium. My first time was absolutely terrifying. You basically can’t see through the water, so you’re going down blind. You can sense the fish and other sea creatures swimming alongside you, and depending on their shape and color you can vaguely guess what they are. But you can’t see the people on the other 26  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022 Illustration by Richard Mia

SYOHUARRE STORY If you’re a member of Rotary with a great story — or if you know someone connected with Rotary who’s got a fantastic tale to tell — we want to hear it. Share your story with us at [email protected]. Include “What It’s Like” in the subject line of your email. And look for the best stories in future issues of Rotary magazine. FOECBTROUABERRY 20220  ROTARY  2571

With an assist from Rotary, a Chicago academy transforms young adults into rapping ambassadors for peace Seventeen young adults — most of them 20-somethings wearing hoodies, jeans, and skullcaps or high-crowned baseball caps — stood loosely against the wall or sat hunched on church- basement folding chairs, all backdropped by a spray-painted graffiti-style banner bearing the words “Emcee Skool” that was tacked to the wood paneling. The room had the appearance of a typical church meeting space: overhead fluo- rescents and foldout tables laden with chips, cookies, and small paper plates. » by Bryan Smith Photography by MONIKA LOZINSKA 28  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022



Emcee Skool’s principal player Teh’Ray Hale, better known as Phenom, holds sessions for his school at the Firehouse Community Arts Center (previous page). Everyone, seated or standing, leaned in their neighborhoods. Attain that kind forward, watchful and alert. All eyes were of success, and by the force of their art on a man wearing camouflage, who a few and the strength of their presence, they feet away was prowling the tile floor like can become agents of change in a city that a big cat. Whatever challenge he might desperately needs young leaders who are throw at them, the young people were able to speak directly and with credibility poised and ready to respond. to the people most deeply affected by the violence, poverty, and other ills that plague They knew the man in front of them the South and West sides of Chicago, the well. This was the fourth and final night neighborhoods from which Emcee Skool of auditions for Emcee Skool, a six-month draws its students. course on how to use rap skills to create positive change in their city, Chicago. In The need to determine which young preparation for this moment, most of the people possess the talent, the openness, hopefuls had for weeks been attending and the commitment to embrace that open-mic rap events as well as “lyrical vision is why Phenom makes the Emcee workouts,” a series of Emcee Skool work- Skool audition process so difficult — and shops that taught rap technique. Most is so uncompromising about whom he lets considered the man a mentor, and some in. And that’s why, on this night, the 17 even saw him as a father figure. All gave hopefuls give him their full attention when him a respect born of his own accomplish- he issues his first challenge. ments and street cred. in the rap world, more than in just They knew what was at stake on this about any other, the respect and credibil- night: If they were one of the handful to ity that come from having lived the hard pass the grueling audition process, they knocks and the truths in the rhymes are would be privy to a full, structured course prerequisites for anyone trying to reach on how to become not only a polished disillusioned young people. rapper and emcee but a peace ambassador and role model working to stem the tide of Born and raised in Chicago, Phenom violence and bloodshed in their communi- took his first steps toward a career as an ties. They would also get a crash course in accomplished rapper turned rap guru in a living a purposeful life, taught by someone house crammed full with family, and with who came to that hard-fought maturity by the help of an unlikely tutor. “My mother trudging his own challenging path. was my first emcee,” Phenom recalls with a laugh. “She was repeating the Sugarhill Accordingly, that man, Teh’Ray Hale — Gang” — whose “Rapper’s Delight” is regarded as one of the first rap songs — Phenombetter known as “which was playing on the radio.” But she (pronounced fi-NOM) — is not merely didn’t just sing it. “She went and wrote the looking for people who can spit rhymes. words down,” says Phenom. “I’m watch- Plenty of young men and women can do ing this lady listen to the words and catch that, and some even break through to big them and transcribe them down on a piece success. But, as Phenom, Emcee Skool’s of paper for the purpose of memorizing founder, sees it, his students’ success must them. That right there made me want to manifest in greater ways: in a desire to use become an emcee.” their gifts as tools to move people, and in an enduring commitment to channel their A grammar school teacher, however, pain and heartbreak — in some cases their was the one who set him on his path. As brokenness — to become powerful voices Phenom tells it, he had been in and out of detention, and school administrators wanted to prescribe Ritalin to try to calm the boy’s overexuberant nature. That’s when the teacher stepped in with an 30  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022



Class is in session Top: Phenom conducts a “lyrical workout,” where participants included Brielle Robinson (bottom, left) and Tyenza Kentura. alternative to medication. “She gave me a Phenom included his essay in the appli- poem,” Phenom recalls, “and said, ‘Here, cation he submitted to the local chapter of read this in class.’” Public Allies, a social justice nonprofit that “At first, I was class-clowning it,” Phe- mentors young people and finds them paid nom admits, but the teacher was having apprenticeships with local community none of that. “No,” she insisted. “Read it.” service organizations. Michelle Obama, As Phenom recalls it, the reading was who lived in Chicago at the time, was its Clarence Darrow’s famous closing argu- executive director. “She taught us some- ment against the death penalty in the thing that stuck with me forever,” Phenom 1924 murder trial of Nathan Leopold and says. “Don’t approach any community or Richard Loeb, two University of Chicago group or anybody with your file cabinet of classmates who had, on a lark, murdered answers. You are a co-alchemist, and y’all a 14-year-old boy. “When I got to the are gonna come up with a prescription part that basically says ‘reach for your together.” dreams,’” Phenom says, “I put my hand The job Public Allies connected him out. I did it because I was being a clown, with helped launch Phenom’s early career but she said, ‘Memorize this and read it as a community organizer, running pro- for the assembly.’ So I put my little suit grams connected with various schools. on and did it, and they said it was so good Eventually, he co-founded a program they were going to enter it in a regional called LYRIC, an acronym for Let Your contest.” They did, and he won. Rhymes Inspire Creativity, which gave From that moment, Phenom says, young people the chance to hone their the power of the spoken word informed performance skills and speak to their nearly every aspect of his life. “Hip-hop communities about violence in a way that no other program had. I learned that LYRICwasasuccess — eventually serving as a peace partner to Rotary’s Chicago-area District 6450 — but these kids Phenom felt something was missing. “I learned that these kids need a finish line. LYRIC didn’t have a finish line. It didn’t have a point to rush to, where the need a finish kids could say, ‘We’re almost finished, you can do this.’ We didn’t give them certificates or anything.” The answer was obvious. line hit me so hard in high school,” he says. Create a school that holds two When he saw some kids rapping in the classes a week over a six-month period, cafeteria one day, he told himself, “Oooh, a school in which Phenom could take the best elements of his community work — I want to be that.” Eventually, Phenom his efforts to address violence in Chicago, became serious about school and was his own experiences, and the performance able to graduate “by the skin of my aspect of LYRIC — and use them to shape teeth.” Not long after, he was persuaded the curriculum. He would need to keep to write an essay answering the question: the classes small and make sure that the How would you change your community? enrolled students were both serious and 32  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022



Seeking inspiration in images Top: Oluwatosin Addesan (left) and Vinson Muhammad ad-lib an instant rap. Bottom: Kentura sits beside a Firehouse flower. in a place in their lives where they could Phenom began bobbing his head to commit fully. That meant auditions, as the beat, looked up, and then strode hard hard and as challenging as those for any before the group. He pointed at them and Broadway chorus line, as tough as any unleashed a verbal fusillade: tryout for Juilliard. It also meant finding funding. But from where? Back and forth it went, the rhymes spit out in a fierce chant — GO! — until phenom, his curtain of dreads spilling every one of the 17 had the opportunity to over his hoodie, looked lost in thought as single-handedly shout it out. an assistant fiddled with an iPad, trying to connect it to a Bluetooth speaker at And then, Phenom pointing: “You, you, his feet. Then, a rap beat dropped. Heads you, you, and you. Over here. The rest of nodded, picking up the rhythm. It was the y’all, stay there for now.” audition’s first challenge. founded in 2018, emcee skool cobbled “Magical its funding from wherever it could: perfor- Dramatical mances, crowdfunding, private donations Spora- from places like Chicago’s renowned Old dical Town School of Folk Music, and Phenom’s Acrobatical own pocket. After initially gathering in Idiosyncratical Phenom’s apartment — “my dojo”— Em- Mathe-MAT-ical cee Skool met elsewhere, including the RAP — GO!” Firehouse Community Arts Center on The group echoed back, immediately: Chicago’s West Side. When their usual venues weren’t available, they turned to “Magical church rooms, storefronts, and anywhere else they could find space. Dramatical But Phenom had an angel in his corner. Sporadical In the years before his school opened, his work had already caught the attention of Acrobatical city officials and community organizers, as well as a member of the Rotary Club of Idiosyncratical Chicago Southeast. Osei David Andrews- Mathematical, Hutchinson had seen Phenom’s LYRIC protégés perform at a peace demonstra- RAP!” tion in 2012, and he was blown away by their poise, their presence, and the power of their message. In that performance, Andrews-Hutchinson, who served as the 2015-16 governor of District 6450, saw precisely the kind of service and dedica- tion to peace work that Rotary hungers to support. Groups like Phenom’s “are on the front lines, literally,” Andrews-Hutchinson says. “Let’s connect with them and see how maybe we can help them build capac- ity or get exposure.” Andrews-Hutchinson, a member of Rotary for 21 years, says his home club was all in. The Chicago Southeast club was started on the South Side in 1997 in hopes of attracting more African Ameri- 34  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022



Potential peace ambassadors Clockwise, from left: Lauren Spratt- Osinaike, Courvosier Randolph, Jordan Body, and Shauwnique Wylie-Cross can members into Rotary. When Andrews- “Some other clubs, especially some of our Hutchinson joined, the club’s membership suburban clubs, were wondering, ‘Why do was predominantly Black. “It kind of we need to be doing this? This is not an became this unicorn,” he says. issue for me.’” After watching that LYRIC perfor- Andrews-Hutchinson’s answer: mance, Andrews-Hutchinson caught up “That’s the problem. You don’t get it with some of the performers. “They were because it doesn’t affect you personally. expressing how they’ve lost friends, how But this is an everyday issue. Our kids are their family situations are not conducive scared. Our kids have to look over their to a positive upbringing, but they were shoulders, they have to navigate how using their energy to effectuate other they’re going to walk to school because people,” Andrews-Hutchinson says. “They they don’t know how the turf wars are were young, teenagers and people in their playing out between the gangs.” 20s, but they were polished, they were Andrews-Hutchinson found a crucial together, they were organized.” ally in Pat Merryweather-Arges, a member He asked the LYRIC performers if they of the Rotary Club of Naperville, Illinois, were working with anybody. “They were and the 2012-13 governor of District 6450. At the time, Chicago was reeling from a spike in gun violence that especially af- They were fected young people. Merryweather-Arges was particularly shaken by the killing of a 7-year-old girl named Heaven, who was selling candy with her mother when polished, they shewascaught in gang-related gunfire. “We’ve got to do something,” Merryweather-Arges were together recallstellingsome fellow Rotarians. “She basically said: How dare you call yourself a Rotarian,” Andrews- Hutchinson says. like, ‘Yeah, we’re working with Phenom,’” “And not at least have compassion and he says. empathy for this. If we’re a peace organi- Just then, a memory clicked. Andrews- zation, we should be talking about peace Hutchinson had encountered Phenom in the streets of Chicago. We talk about nearly a decade earlier when the lat- getting people peace fellowships and ter was doing work with a group called sending them to our peace centers around POETREE Chicago. “I put two and two the world, but here we are right in the together and said, ‘Hey, I need to connect founding city of Rotary and we aren’t ad- with this guy.’” He approached Phenom dressing peace issues right here. and said, “I’m with Rotary, and I love “A number of us, specifically Black what you’re doing.” Rotarians, were like, ‘Yes, that’s what For Andrews-Hutchinson, support- we’re talking about.’ Rotary needs to be ing LYRIC seemed an easy call, but other relevant to our community, and this” Chicago-area Rotarians were less certain. — the issue of gun violence — “is really 36  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022



The pursuit of happiness The smiling eyes of Brittany White (top) are mirrored by Halina Kennedy (bottom left, in blue hoodie) and Desiree Lopez. relevant. So what do we do?” Phenom’s fourth cohort of students had One problem, Merryweather-Arges begun. “I wasn’t about to let COVID explains, was that people in the affected stop me,” Phenom says. “It was so many communities “had no idea what Rotary years coming.” Working within the stric- is.” So that year the district entered a float tures and protocols proscribed by the in the South Side’s annual Bud Billiken Centers for Disease Control and Preven- Parade, the largest African American pa- tion — wearing masks, practicing social rade in the country. Andrews-Hutchinson distancing, holding classes in outdoor invited Phenom and some of the LYRIC spaces when possible — that fourth performers to ride on the float. Soon, class graduated in June 2021. Phenom and LYRIC were performing at Rotary events all over the city. now, at the auditions in the church “Spoken word — poetry and hip-hop meeting room with the Emcee Skool combined — is their way of expressing banner on the wall, Phenom turned to themselves,” Merryweather-Arges says. some of the school’s graduates for ad- “They’re not into violence; they’re not vice. After five hours of rap challenges, into retaliation. They’re into trying to it was time to make the final decision on figure out how to make change, how to who would make it into the school’s fifth process the difficult feelings they have. It’s cohort. therapeutic for them, but it’s also a way of With one slot left, two young women, bridging a gap, bridging knowledge.” facing each other in the center of the To support Emcee Skool, Andrews- room, battled rhymes, back and forth, Hutchinson and Merryweather-Arges back and forth. After the women finished, worked with Phenom to prepare an ap- Phenom wheeled around and looked at plication for a Rotary Foundation global his lieutenants. He huddled with them. It grant; the co-sponsors were the Chicago was so close. Southeast club and the Rotary Club of Too close. He had planned to take only Trans Amadi, Nigeria. In August 2019, six of the 17, but they were too good. He the application was ap- raised the number to seven. proved for $50,000. Then, When it was over, the people accepted Rotary the COVID-19 pandemic into the program consoled their friends hit just as the money came who weren’t, then met under the banner through and classes for for a class photo. Next, Phenom looked at each of them, one by one. This wasn’t the end, he told them, it was the needs to be beginning. They listened and nodded as he said his school was going to be one of the hardest things they had ever done. And then, they exhaled. First class relevant to our wasinthree weeks. ■ A longtime contributor to Rotary, community BryanSmith wrote about the Chicago Rotarian and diversity advocate Xavier Ramey for the November 2020 issue of the magazine. 38  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022



40 ROTARY FEBRUARY 2022

Chulalongkorn University Bangkok University of Bradford Bradford, England University of Queensland Brisbane, Australia THE Uppsala University SEVEN Uppsala, Sweden CENTERS OF PEACE Duke University/ University of North Carolina Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina International Christian University Tokyo Makerere University Kampala, Uganda Situated in different parts of the world, the Rotary Peace Centers offer tailor-made curricula to train individuals devoted to peace- building and conflict resolution — no matter where they land by Jeff Ruby Illustrations by Jason Schneider R ita Lopidia vividly recalls her experiences as a Rotary Peace Fel- low at the University of Bradford in England. “The classes in African politics and UN peacekeeping were my favorite,” she says. “The politics course challenged me to dig deeper into research to understand the history of the conti- nent, and the peacekeeping class aided my understanding of global politics. As a practitioner, that was an eye-opener to have a global view of events happening around the world.” Lopidia’s time at the Rotary Peace Center profoundly a ected her. “After graduation, I traveled back to Africa and settled in Uganda due to the ongoing conflict in South Sudan,” she explains. FEBRUARY 2022 ROTARY 41

“There I established the The curriculum at each of the seven EVE Organization for peace centers has been carefully Women Development crafted to address speci c aspects and started engaging the of the peacebuilding process. South Sudanese refugees in Uganda and their host was created in 1999; the irst peace set its sights on opening one in Latin communities. Through my centers began classes three years later. America by 2030. organization, we were able Currently, Rotary has seven peace to mobilize South Sudanese centers in various locations around As you will discover, the curriculum women to participate in the the world; the newest, at Makerere at each peace center has been carefully South Sudan peace pro- University in Kampala, Uganda — the crafted to address specific aspects of the cess promoted by eastern irst in Africa — welcomed its inau- peacebuilding process — and train the Africa’s Intergovernmental Authority gural cohort of peace fellows in 2021. next generation of global change-makers. for Development — and that led to the Next, Rotary plans to establish a peace To learn more about the Rotary Peace signing of the Revitalised Agreement on center in the Middle East or North Af- Centers and how to nominate a peace the Resolution of the Conflict in the Re- rica, perhaps as soon as 2024, and has fellow or apply for a fellowship, go to public of South Sudan in 2018.” (You can rotary.org/peace-fellowships. read more about Lopidia and three other peace fellows in the following pages.) Lopidia is just one of the 1,500- plus peace fellows from more than 115 countries who have graduated from a Rotary Peace Center since the program 42 ROTARY FEBRUARY 2022

Chulalongkorn “My colleagues University and the lecturers Bangkok at the university have expanded my When a coup took place in Myanmar in February knowledge with 2021, the peace and development studies program at Chulalongkorn University worked to recruit and their shared support peacemakers there. Six months later, dur- experiences.” ing the evacuations in Afghanistan that followed the resumption of Taliban control, the program created an entire network to Salam M. Khanjar, Syria get people, including more than one Chula alumnus, out of the country. “We are looking for fellows who are sitting on the front lines of conflict,” says Mar- CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY, 2021-22 tine Miller, deputy director of the Rotary Peace Center at the university. Those • Professional development certificate can include a peace fellow who works with young people in prison systems in in peace and development studies, with California or one focusing on at-risk youth in Kenya. a focus on conflict analysis, negotiation strategies, and peacebuilding The nontraditional lecturers of the interdisciplinary one-year program have been embedded in conflict areas themselves. They include Gary Mason, “As a Syrian refugee now living in a Methodist minister who has been involved in Northern Ireland’s peace the Kurdistan region of Iraq, every- process, and Jerry White, co-founder of Landmine Survivors Network, who thing covered during my time at the lost part of a leg to a land mine in Israel. “It’s not the typical classroom,” says Rotary Peace Center is interesting and Miller. “The instructors are not professors. They’re writing articles and books. life touching for me. I have acquired They’re out there in the field doing it. And they’re certainly not bashful.” skills that I am using in my current work to reduce gender-based violence Since the peace center was established 17 years ago, the curriculum has among my Syrian refugee community evolved to include discussions of gender identity and a session on psychological and internally displaced people in well-being and trauma meant to tackle head-on the inherent stress of the con- Iraq. My colleagues and the lecturers flict resolution field. Chula’s long history of innovation has paid off: Seventy-five at the university have expanded my percent of the more than 500 alumni work for United Nations and government knowledge with their shared experi- agencies, for nongovernmental organizations, or in academia and research. ences from different cultures and contexts. You can feel the enthusiasm they have to work on peace and save lives around the world. And it’s helpful to know that we will continue to com- municate and that I can always seek support from them if I need it.” FEBRUARY 2022  ROTARY  43

“I look at University of Bradford things differently, analyze nuanced Bradford, England issues, and back my analysis with evidence from research.” Rita Martin Lopidia, H ome to the largest program in the world devoted to peace stud- South Sudan ies, conflict resolution, and development, this diverse public research university in northern England offers seven different UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD, 2015-16 master’s degrees in peace and conflict studies and has educat- • Master of Arts, with a focus on inter- ed students from more than 50 countries. The sheer breadth national politics and security studies of the program means Rotary Peace Fellows can focus on anything from sustainable • Co-founder and executive director of development to contemporary security issues. “We don’t simply look at conceptual EVE Organization for Women Develop- issues,” says Behrooz Morvaridi, the peace center director. “The program prepares ment, which focuses on women’s issues the students to go and implement what they learn at the practical level.” in South Sudan and Uganda, as well as peace and security issues During their 15 months at Bradford, peace fellows can participate in field • Winner of the inaugural Women Build- studies in Africa, Northern Ireland, and other locations, where they talk to politi- ing Peace Award from the U.S. Institute cal leaders and immerse themselves in the regions’ institutions and issues. The of Peace (2020) trips become real-life opportunities to see how contemporary trends involving the environment, social division, climate change, and resource scarcity can af- “As an activist for peace and fect peace — and the ways in which communities show resilience in the face of women’s rights, my experience at conflict. Then there’s the trip to Oslo, Norway, to visit the Nobel Peace Center the Rotary Peace Center at the and some of the world’s preeminent peacebuilding institutions or to The Hague University of Bradford immensely to learn about the International Criminal Court system in action. improved my advocacy skills and my confidence in raising and arguing The fellowship’s most popular activity, though, is the “Crisis Game,” an key concerns around those issues. I off-site simulated conflict management scenario of an international situation look at things differently, analyze nu- in which each student plays a role, such as ambassador, journalist, or world anced issues, and back my analysis leader. “Students come up with great ideas to solve the problems, but [stu- with evidence from research. Overall, dents representing] other countries come with ideas that disrupt them,” says my experience at the peace center Morvaridi. “They learn specifically what the challenges are, how politics play a contributed to my growth profes- role, and how difficult problems are to solve.” sionally and has motivated me to push boundaries.” 44  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022

University of “I needed to Queensland not only unpack Brisbane, Australia my personal perceptions and biases gently, but also let myself adapt.\" A s one of Australia’s largest universities, UQ has long been Emily Nabakooza, Uganda known as a research innovator in the social sciences, a strength reflected in the 18-month Master of Peace and UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND, 2018-19 Conflict Studies curriculum, which, for peace fellows, in- • Master of Peace and Conflict Studies, cludes seminars on topics such as “embracing emotions.” with a focus on peacebuilding through Members of the school’s renowned political science department focus on the education role of images and emotions in shaping global politics, examining, for example, the • Founder and executive director of worldwide concern for Syria’s refugee crisis prompted by the heart-rending 2015 the Assisi Centre for Social Justice and photo of a Syrian toddler washed up on the Mediterranean shore. “We all know Peace, a youth-centered nonprofit those iconic images, and we are emotional beings,” says Morgan Brigg, director of focusing on issues related to gender the peace center. “We can’t just try to suppress that. So we embrace it.” inequality, social inclusion, illiteracy, and the nonviolent resolution of conflicts in A course in gender, peace, and security also challenges students to Ugandan schools and communities deconstruct “masculine” and “feminine” roles in peacemaking that tradi- tionally equate violence with men and victimhood with women. And the “My introductory course units in program’s administrators have put various systems in place to smooth each peace and conflict resolution confirmed fellow’s transition from their home country to life in Australia, such as a to me that my professional experience buddy system, where first-year fellows are matched with other fellows in could not be processed in isolation of their final semester. my academic training. I understood that to make the most of my fellowship, I The thoughtful approach to Queensland’s curriculum draws a wide range needed to not only unpack my personal of fellows — everyone from a documentary filmmaker to a former U.S. Marine perceptions and biases gently, but also — who explore and contribute to the world from a range of innovative angles, let myself adapt, learn, and unlearn including through dance, cultural tourism, sexual education, and the preven- through the process. Beyond learning, tion of online crimes. “The range of ways that fellows engage with peace and my fellowship has been a steppingstone conflict is really quite diverse,” says Brigg. “We want them to have the poten- upon which I developed social and tial to be excellent professionals and innovators.” professional networks. These networks have been an excellent source of sup- port in ways I never imagined.” FEBRUARY 2022  ROTARY  45

“It’s a truism that Uppsala University to be an effective humanitarian you Uppsala, Sweden must possess a strong degree of cultural awareness.” Jamie LeSueur, Alberta T he peace center at Uppsala University is known for its conflict data program, a comprehensive database of organized violence UPPSALA UNIVERSITY, 2013-15 and mortality. Around the world, policymakers and practitioners • Master of Social Science, with a focus from the European Union to the United Nations look to the Up- on peace and conflict studies psala program as the global standard for evidence-based records • Head of emergency operations at the — and the peace center’s fellows draw upon the same scientific approach toward International Federation of Red Cross social issues. “There’s a deep expertise here,” says Kristine Eck, the director. “Our and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), fellows want to understand cause and effect, and that’s a skill set we train them in.” leading humanitarian relief and disas- ter management efforts in disaster Highlights of the 20-month program include a joint trip with Bradford fellows and conflict situations in Africa and to Oslo to visit the Nobel Peace Center; there are also extended opportunities for elsewhere fellows to continue self-designed field work and research. For example, in Zambia • Alumnus of the Year, Uppsala Univer- they might focus on water and sanitation, or in Korea they could learn about nuclear sity, 2020 nonproliferation (designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology while promoting nuclear disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear “My Rotary Peace Fellowship energy). One student assisted in a quantitative research project that explored the re- provided the opportunity to learn and lationship between a society’s level of gender equality and its military effectiveness. study in a foreign context — and the applied field experience offered me a Sweden is proud of its history of pacifism, which enables fellows to take first entry point as a delegate in the advantage of local events such as “Philosophy Teas,” a series of discussions international humanitarian space. about peace practitioners and philosophers led by Uppsala professor Peter Less tangibly than the courses of- Wallensteen at a century-old theater — a tradition that began as a celebration fered, the fellowship offered a unique of Sweden’s 200 consecutive years of peace. “There’s an increased interest exposure to a diverse cultural context among our fellows in the skill set of peacebuilding,” says Eck. “A lot more that helped prepare me for interna- people used to come to us wanting to learn about conflict.” tional work. It’s a truism that to be an effective humanitarian you must possess a strong degree of cultural awareness.” 46  ROTARY  FEBRUARY 2022

Duke University and University of North Carolina Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina The Duke/UNC fellowship program is an anomaly among development and human security. The program’s willing- Rotary Peace Centers. For starters, the 21-month ness to think outside the box leads to unusual instruction, curriculum offers core courses in peacebuilding and with courses in water and sanitation and a peace- and brings together fellows from two college campuses 10 miles development-related film series. apart, which doubles students’ resources and flexibility. It’s also the only master’s program that doesn’t offer a degree in The classes offered are chosen for their direct utility in peace studies, instead focusing on international development the field: Because monitoring and evaluation have become policy at Duke and, depending on a student’s interest, various key job skills in the peacebuilding and humanitarian sectors, academic specialties at UNC. Duke/UNC offers a class in the evaluation of peacebuilding programs. “At the end of the day, employers don’t care if you The holistic approach gives peace fellows the tools to understand all the theories about diplomacy,” says Susan enter pertinent development sectors such as public health Carroll, the center’s managing director. “They want to know and education, where they can prevent conflicts and pro- that you can incorporate it into projects you work on and mote peacebuilding through, say, improving sustainable manage projects and budgets.” International Christian University Tokyo Founded in the wake of World War II, ICU embraces the Fellows pursue a master’s degree in peace studies within the mission of the United Nations and has a strong focus on public policy and social research program. the promise of international diplomacy. Osamu Arakaki, the program’s director, was a legal officer of a UN humanitar- The 22-month peace studies program prides itself ian agency in Canberra, Australia, and associate director Her- on the open dialogue between students and instructors. man Salton worked at the UN Headquarters in New York. The Classes at the graduate level are offered in English, and the school’s emphasis on intergovernmental peacekeeping organi- student-to-faculty ratio of 18-to-1 enables ICU to realize its zations is underscored in classes such as “The United Nations mission of small-group education. A field trip to Hiroshima and Sustainable Development” and “Multilateral Diplomacy.” enables students, including some who have come from war-torn countries, to hear the voices of survivors of the “ICU holds a mission to foster international citizens con- nuclear bomb and witness firsthand how Japan attempts tributing to the establishment of lasting peace,” says Arakaki. to overcome genocide through reconciliation. “The horror “And it has formed countless UN and international organiza- of Hiroshima is not simply in the past,” Arakaki says. “It is tion staff members and diplomats.” a real fear that the tragedy may be repeated in parts or even the whole of the globe in the future unless we make a The ICU Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is known concerted effort to avoid that situation.” for its interdisciplinary program and liberal arts approach. Makerere University Kampala, Uganda The newest peace center, and the first in Africa, Maker- of the Virgin Mary that foretold the bloodshed. “Our fellows ere is located in the continent’s Great Lakes region, an either interface with the people who have experienced the area with a long history of conflict. This gives fellows, a strife, or they are able to interact with the actual situations large percentage of whom are from or live in Africa, a chance through our field excursions,” says Helen Nambalirwa Nka- to interact in the direct aftermath of conflicts — or as clashes bala, the peace center’s director. unfold in real time. But rather than pinpointing the causes of war, Makerere’s curriculum teaches fellows to expand their Makerere’s curriculum, which emphasizes human rights notion of “peace” beyond a simple absence of violence and and refugee and migration issues, encourages students to into measures of personal safety and growth. use what Nambalirwa Nkabala calls the “no-method” ap- proach to peacebuilding — a fluid approach that, with its One of the highlights of the yearlong program is an intense emphasis on indigenous participation, allows communities weeklong trip to Rwanda, where fellows see how media and to engage with the peace fellows’ social change initiatives ethnicity directly fed into the country’s mass atrocities in rather then merely accepting predetermined solutions. 1994. To learn how spirituality influences behavior in war situations, students also visit Kibeho, a small Rwandan village Learn more about the Rotary Peace Center in Kampala where Catholic schoolgirls said they experienced apparitions and meet six peace fellows who are members of the center’s first cohort, at rotary.org/africas-agents-change. ■ FEBRUARY 2022  ROTARY  47