Service in Action

By Fergal McCarthy, Peace Programs Manager at Rotary International and Project Lead on the Rotary-Welcome.US collaboration. 

Rotary has a long-established and respected footprint in the peacebuilding sector, from programs such as the Rotary Peace Fellowships to the service projects that it supports through the peacebuilding and conflict prevention area of focus. In addition, Rotary’s wider peacebuilding eco-system offers several other opportunities for our members to engage and contribute to sustainable and impactful peace initiatives, whether it’s through our extensive Rotary Peace Fellow alumni network, Rotary Action Groups, or one of our exchange programs such as intercountry committees, friendship exchanges or youth exchanges. As a collective, each of these programs and their activities play an important part in implementing Rotary’s long-term strategy of addressing the main causes of conflict – by bringing people together and fostering understanding, while building a powerful network of peacebuilders that create environments and communities where peace can flourish. Each of these peacebuilding initiatives helps Rotary members and their communities to develop the much-needed skills to resolve their own personal and interpersonal conflicts as well as those within their community.

But in addition to this, Rotary has a strong commitment to responding to the more immediate needs of those that have been affected by conflict and natural disasters. With the invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of 2022, and the outbreak of war, the global community witnessed the sobering milestone of 100 million displaced people in the world today – and that number is still growing. By the end of 2022, the number had reached 108 million, and with the recent outbreak of war in Sudan that number is expected to be even greater again today. With ongoing conflict, civil unrest, and natural disasters in many parts of the world – from Venezuela, Turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Ukraine, and many more – it is understandable that Rotary members are eager to respond to the immediate needs of those affected by these events. Through the service projects within the area of focus for peacebuilding and conflict prevention and the area of focus for supporting the environment, Rotary members are dedicating their time, talents, and resources to responding to the basic needs of those affected.    

This is how Rotary members are taking action

Following the recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Rotary members from District 3620 in Korea traveled to the Turkish regions that had been devasted by those events. After listening to their fellow Rotarians to understand how they might be able to help, they became a major contributor and international partner on one of Turkey’s grants that will provide some of the basic needs to displaced communities such as food and shelter. The Rotary members from Korea continue to support these efforts through different grant opportunities. 

In Austria, Rotary members have been providing a safe haven and a warm welcome to ethnic Kurds, who have been forcibly displaced by the ongoing war and political turmoil in their home country of Syria. 

In the small Canadian town of Parry Sound, Ontario, Rotarians have welcomed a number of young Ukrainian families that have been displaced by the war, through the recently created Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel government program. 

In the United States, through Rotary’s collaboration with Welcome.US, Rotary members all over the country continue to sponsor Ukrainian families that have been displaced by the war, helping them find somewhere to live and providing access to their extensive network throughout their communities. Through the Welcome Connect platform, US-based Rotary members continue to be matched with Ukrainian families that have been displaced by the war and are looking to settle in the United States. 

Through the recently created Pakistan Flood Response Fund, Rotary members have responded to the effects of the devastating floods of the monsoon season of 2022. These floods affected more than 33 million people, washing away over two million homes and displacing eight million residents.  

And in response to the ongoing political turmoil and refugee crisis in Venezuela, Rotary members in neighboring Colombia continue to respond to one of the largest displacements of people that Latin America has witnessed. Rotary members along the Colombian-Venezuelan border have been providing the basic needs for displaced communities such as food, medical attention as well as temporary shelter. 

Call to Action

The refugee crisis of today represents one of the most visible and heartbreaking outcomes of conflict and natural disasters. Responding to that crisis – and the multifaceted needs that it presents – is a natural desire and course of action for Rotary members that are already deeply committed and engaged with the goal of creating more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming communities. Bringing people together, in a caring and supportive environment, is at the very heart of what Rotary does. From our engaging club meetings to the service and peace projects that we create and implement throughout our communities, providing a safe haven and a warm welcome to newcomers within our community is just another extension of those long-embedded values.   

As we mark World Refugee Day, consider how you can play your part in supporting those that have lost everything, including the safe sanctuary of their home:

• Support refugees across the globe. Consider creating and implementing an international service project that alleviates the hardships of those that been forcibly displaced by conflict or natural disasters.  Apply for funding through The Rotary Foundation’s global and district grants, and create service projects that provide agency to those that have been displaced from their homes.  
  
• Support refugees within your community. If your country has a refugee support program in place, consider supporting a family that has been forcibly displaced by conflict or natural disasters and provide them with some of the most basic needs of all – food, shelter, and safety. Or, invite refugees that have already settled within your community to speak at your club and seek out local organizations as potential partners for your club such as refugee relief organizations. If you are a US-based Rotary member, register on the Welcome Connect platform and have your club become a sponsor for a Ukrainian family that has been displaced by the war.
  
• Be an advocate for refugee communities. Build awareness regarding the plight and the suffering that these communities have endured and be an advocate for the provision of the necessary resources needed by those affected.