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Stories of impact are showcased at the Rotary International People of Action Dinner 2024. (Image: Rotary International)
On May 26th, Rotary International held the Rotary International People of Action Dinner 2024. Part of the 2024 Rotary International convention, the dinner was held at the elaborate Pan Pacific Orchard.
This dinner brought together 100 guests to recognise and celebrate the impact that Rotary International’s People of Action have through the projects that they champion.
Rotary is a global network with over 1.4 million members, who volunteer their skills and resources to achieve humanitarian goals.
The network started in 1905, and has worked together with the United Nations (UN) since the UN’s inception in 1945. Members usually join one of Rotary’s clubs, and work together to take action on causes they believe in. Additionally, to support individuals’s passion to drive around the world, Rotary International also has global programs and initiatives, like scholarships, and exchange programs.
Rotary also recognises the contributions of its members in various ways, including through awards
These People of Action
One such award is the People of Action award. This award goes to six individuals who have helped start an impactful project in their communities.
“Rotary defines impact as positive, long-term change that strengthens individuals, communities, and systems,” said Rotary International President Gordon McInally. “We are honoring these six Rotary members for helping people to thrive and for building the capacity of communities to lead and further develop these life-changing initiatives in the future.”
The awardees must be a Rotary member, alumnae, or a recipient of Rotary’s Peace Fellowship or Global Grant Scholarship, and must be nominated by another person. Self-nominations are not considered.
To qualify for nomination, individuals must be involved with an ongoing project or a project that concluded after June 2022. They must also have had a leadership role in its implementation.
All eyes on mental health
The projects of this year’s awardees are in the fields of healthcare, education, and environmental conservation.
Rita Aggarwal, Rotary International People of Action 2024 awardee (Image: Rotary International)
The first awardee is Rita Aggarwal, a consulting psychologist for 35 years. As a member of the Rotary Club of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India, Aggarwal is also an officer of the Mental Health Initiatives Rotary Action Group. Her project, Wellness in a Box—Nagpur, aims to help young people in India be more educated about mental health, and provides them with mental health services.
Rita created a curriculum for 14-year-olds that covered depression awareness and coping skills. The program also taught teachers counselling skills. Wellness in a Box—Nagpue has trained 2,280 students, 768 parents and faculty members in the “Break Free From Depression curriculum.”
The project of another awardee is also involved in bettering the mental health of a community. Bindi Rajasegaran is part of the Rotary Club of Ipoh Central, Perak, Malaysia. As a member of the Advisory Council to Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, she helped establish the National Coalition for Mental Wellbeing in 2019 — the project that earned her her nomination.
Like Rita, Bindi’s project addresses youth mental health, but through school counsellors instead. The National Coalition for Mental Wellbeing helps school counsellors develop their crisis management skills through a certification course, and teaches counsellors how to foster supportive and inclusive school environments.
The project also launched awareness campaigns to destigmatise mental health issues by encouraging students to openly discuss their mental health, and to seek help.
Bindi Rajasegaran is presented with the Rotary International People of Action 2024 award. (Image: Rotary International)
But don’t forget about physical health
Amal El-Sisi is a professor of pediatrics, and correspondingly her project looks at the physical health of her community. El-Sisi is a member of the Rotary Club of El Tahrir, Egypt, and The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers.
Her project, Heart2Heart treats children born with heart disease and primarily helps children in remote parts of Egypt, Kenya, Libya, and Yemen.
Previously, patients who were born in remote regions would have to travel to cities to access these lifesaving procedures. Over its four years of operation, Heart2Heart has treated 120 children in remote areas, and trained 20 doctors, and 50 nurses and technicians.
Aman El-Sisi is presented with the Rotary International People of Action 2024 award. (Image: Rotary Internation)
Elsewhere, awardee Walley Temple’s project, Towards the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Guatemala, focused on preventing the medical issue. A member of the Rotary Club of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Walley J. Temple is also a professor in the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary and the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.
Rotary International People of Action Awardee, Walley Temple, who accepted his award digitally. (Image: Rotary International)
Temple’s project intends to identify and treat the conditions that lead to cervical cancer. He also established a Royal College-approved training programme in surgical oncology.
In his program, clinicians conducted training, examined patients, and provided treatment. The project has screened more than 8,000 women, educated 3,000 women about cervical cancer, and trained and certified 65 healthcare practitioners.
Breaking the cycle with education
Also in Guatemala, but working toward a different goal, Steven Dudenhoefer, from the Rotary Club of Puerto Barrios, Izabal, Guatemala, founded the Guatemalan Tomorrow Fund. This project helped develop a work-based learning and job placement program for young Indigenous people in the country.
Steven Dudenhoefer is presented with the Rotary International People of Action 2024 award. (Image: Rotary International)
1,000 Indigenous youths receive vocational training at rural residential schools, and community education promoters visit these communities to recruit students and offer scholarships. Over 4,000 students have since graduated from this program, and 86% are gainfully employed.
Presently, the project is managed by Indigenous graduates of the program. The group works with multiple Rotary groups in Guatemala and the US, Asociación Ak’ Tenamit, the Guatemalan Ministry of Education, and local municipalities to ensure its long-term financial and operational success.
Planet Earth is always a priority
The last awardee, but certainly not least, is Evangeline Buella Mandia. A member of the Rotary Club of Marinduque North, Marinduque, Philippines, Mandia is the club Foundation chair and a past president, as well as the dean of the College of Environmental Studies at Marinduque State College.
She is also a member of The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers with El-Sisi.
Mandia’s project is the Mangrove Rehabilitation and Aqua-silviculture Project. As can be guessed from its name, the project addresses the decline in mangrove populations in Marinduque.
This decline is caused by deforestation, pollution, and climate change, and has resulted in increased coastal erosion, degraded water quality, and a loss of biodiversity.
Under this project, Rotary members raised funds to plant mangrove seedlings and rehabilitate established forests, and train community members in mangrove propagation and aquaculture. The project also established a seedling nursery and a long-term mangrove conservation plan.
Evangeline Buella Mandia is presented with the Rotary International People of Action 2024 award. (Image: Rotary International)
The Rotary International People of Action Dinner 2024 highlighted the extraordinary contributions of Rotary members who are driving meaningful, long-term change in their communities.
Through their projects tackling mental health, physical health, education, and environmental conservation in their communities, these leaders inspire others to join in making a difference, underscoring the crucial role of community service and leadership in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
