Rotary projects around the globe
April 2025
Ecuador
Recognizing the link between renal disease and eye problems, the Rotary Club of Quito Luz de América — “light of America” — conducts free medical and eye screenings for people with chronic kidney disease. Common risk factors for kidney disease, like high blood pressure and diabetes, can damage blood vessels in the eyes, leading to poor vision and other problems. Most recently, 10 club members joined health experts in November to offer examinations for 100 people at the Teodoro Maldonado Carbo Hospital in Guayaquil. Interactors assisted. Three medical professionals help with the screenings: a general practitioner, a gynecologist, and a project leader trained in optometry and visual therapy, says Olga Camacho, a past club president. “To conclude the day, we hosted an artistic show to bring joy and hope,” she says.
Bermuda
In October, Girl Scouts joined their parents and Rotarians in a beach restoration project along Bailey’s Bay in Hamilton Parish. “They collected over 1,000 pieces of microplastics, several tin cans, paper, large plastics, and rope that were on the beach near the mangroves,” says scout troop leader Cathy Bassett, a longtime educator who is president of the Rotary Club of Hamilton. The girls, ages 7 to 10, are studying the preservation of mangroves in Bermuda, Bassett says. The scouts have also conducted a geographical study of sand to learn what gives Bermuda’s beaches their distinctive pink color. The mangroves, shrubs, and small trees that dot shallow waters along parts of the 75-mile coastline support biodiversity.
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10.00%
Share of the world’s population affected by chronic kidney disease
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51.00 acres
Mangrove coverage in Bermuda
England
The Rotary Club of Darlington has raised nearly $160,000 over the past 14 years by giving Christmas trees a new use. In January, more than 70 Rotarians and friends collected 18,000 trees to be chipped and sold to a biomass processor to generate electricity. Teams traveling in vans worked in snow and ice over two days to gather the trees and collect donations per pickup. The project is as much a fun social occasion as it is service, says David Hayward, who has led the campaign since its beginning. “Everything is loaned free from local supporters, including a large cafe to operate from, the big vans, a tree surgeon chipping all the trees, plus hundreds of pies and pasties to keep our volunteers well fueled,” he says. “Success relies on number of trees plus enthusiasm, dedication, energy, and fun.” The funds raised support a hospice and other local charities.
Netherlands
An annual sale of used books, puzzles, and other items speaks volumes for the fundraising prowess of the Rotary Club of Venlo-Maas en Peel. Over three days in January, thousands of bookworms bought $75,000 worth of books, a record sum directed to the club’s charitable foundation, says Peter Elbers, governor-elect of District 1550. Around 140 Rotarians and other volunteers staffed the fair, which the club co-founded 36 years ago. The event is the culmination of a year’s work, with Rotarians sorting and categorizing about 450,000 books each year in warehouse space donated by a club member, Elbers says. Books left unsold are pulped for recycling. “Some people come every year to buy a few bags full of books and return them as a gift a year later,” Elbers says, “and then, of course, buy new books again — a good way of implementing environmentally friendly circulation.”
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8.00 million
Real Christmas trees sold in the UK in 2021
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43.00 million
Books purchased in the Netherlands in 2024
Vietnam
When a primary school teacher in Vietnam’s highlands explained that many of her students’ families struggled to afford warm clothing, the Rotaract Club of One Million Lives Saigon mounted a collection drive. In December, Rotaractors delivered 1,000 garments to villages that are home to Indigenous ethnic minority groups in Dak Lak province, more than 150 miles from the club’s home base in Ho Chi Minh City. “Despite the challenging journey, we are committed to providing support to improve their living conditions,” says Thi Duong, the club’s president. Over 100 adults and children received the gently used clothing, including coats, shoes, gloves, scarves, and other accessories, which were shipped to the school along with food staples.
This story originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of Rotary magazine.
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