Rotary projects around the globe
February 2025
Mexico
District 5300 has provided homes for dozens of families in northern Mexico since 2008 through a tradition it calls “super builds,” a yearly day of construction by Rotary members from California and Nevada. The 16-by-20-foot homes are built through a partnership with the California-based nonprofit Corazón. The $18,500 cost per family pays for materials as well as school uniforms, books, and scholarships, says Robin Smith, of the Rotary Club of Las Vegas Summerlin, who has coordinated the initiative for nearly a decade. “There are clubs that give monetarily,” she says. “There are also clubs that physically build the homes. Then we have clubs that are able to do both.” The 2025 build is scheduled for 3 May.
United States
The Rotary Club of Bradley-Bourbonnais in Illinois has found jigsaw puzzles featuring scenes from the community to be a fitting fundraiser. In September, the club unveiled its third annual installment, featuring a bucolic scene of an 1850s barn. The club runs a photo contest each June to find images for the puzzles, offering a $100 prize. It credits the photographer by name and promotes a link to the winner’s website. “We’re celebrating what our community has to offer,” says Julia Mullikin. “People are looking forward to getting each year’s puzzle.” Club members staff tables at markets and enlist merchants and museums to offer the puzzles, which sell for $30. “We use just about every portion of the box to promote our Rotary club,” says Frank Koehler. Proceeds support scholarships, student recognition, and ShelterBox.
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67.00%
Share of Mexican tenants who spend more than 30% of their income on rent
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551.00,232
Number of pieces in the world’s largest jigsaw puzzle
Jamaica
Seven Rotary clubs and the Rotaract Club of Kingston came together to commission an interactive mural in the Jamaican capital. Scanning the painting with an app unlocks layers of additional information about topics including Rotary’s areas of focus, how to join, and how to contribute to The Rotary Foundation. “This mural is more than just an artistic expression,” says Steven Hudson, a past president of the Rotary Club of Kingston. “Each brushstroke symbolizes our dedication to these areas.” The clubs teamed up with the painter Anthony “Taoszen” Smith and digital artist Kianne Patrice Hutchinson to produce the augmented reality project in collaboration with Kingston Creative, a nonprofit art hub that promotes unity and economic development. “We are able to showcase who we are as Rotarians” through the mural, says Melissa Anderson, of the Rotary Club of Kingston East and Port Royal. “We change lives, one community at a time, and we want others with a heart of service to join us.”
Netherlands
A passion for peace prompted five Dutch Rotaract clubs to hold a symposium on conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. On 21 September, the International Day of Peace, club members welcomed Pappy Orion, founder of a nonprofit called Focus Congo, who discussed his journey from child soldier to peacebuilder. The event included panel discussions on the humanitarian crisis and celebrated Congolese food, visual arts, music, and dance. “Our club adopted the project because we want to raise hands, raise awareness, and raise funds to raise hope in the region,” says Nicholas Egunjobi, of the Rotaract Club of The Hague International. The event raised about $7,400 for Orion’s nonprofit. “The projects we are aiming to support include building and maintaining camps for internally displaced people,” says Ana Zlatevski, a member of The Hague international club.
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1.00974
Year the National Gallery of Jamaica was established
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1.00899
Year the first peace conference at The Hague was held
Nigeria
A year after installing a borehole well and toilet at a primary school, members of the Rotary Club of Kaduna returned to satisfy another infrastructure need. “The school was without desks at the time of a needs assessment, and the children were sitting on the floor,” Club President Portia Stephanie Aji says. A solution was at hand: School leaders had saved pieces of old furniture, and club members refashioned salvageable materials into desks and chairs. The club partnered with businesses and groups to provide the students with backpacks, dictionaries, notebooks, pens, and chalk at a hand-over ceremony in September during Rotary’s Basic Education and Literacy Month.
This story originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of Rotary magazine.