From the September 2015 issue of The Rotarian When Carole Kimutai was growing up in Nairobi, family members were always coming for long stays – a grandparent one month, a cousin the next. "Anyone who needed school fees would come to Nairobi, and my parents would assist," she says. "Or if my grandmother was sick, she would come to live with us until she was better. It was natural to help others." Years later, Kimutai was invited to a meeting of the Rotary Club of Nairobi-East, where she instantly felt at home. "I grew up seeing my parents help relatives, and now I am seeing people help quote-...

From the September 2015 issue of The Rotarian Chances are, you’ve heard of Psy and his signature song, “Gangnam Style.” He’s the Korean pop star with dark sunglasses and a distinctive galloping horse dance who was everywhere a few years ago, including on a This Close ad for End Polio Now. But what you might not know is that Psy is merely the tip of the colossal iceberg known as K-pop, short for Korean pop. If you plan to attend the 2016 Rotary International Convention in Seoul from 28 May to 1 June, you won’t have to search for K-pop – you’ll hear it in the streets, in cafes, in taxis, and on...

From the September 2015 issue of The Rotarian A Rotarian for nearly three decades, Jay Cook has helped hundreds of young people broaden their horizons through Rotary Youth Exchange. Recently, while working for the nonprofit Water Missions International, he’s turned his attention to bringing safe water and sanitation solutions to developing countries and disaster-stricken areas. Cook is a member of the Rotary Club of Charleston Breakfast and the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group. THE ROTARIAN: How did you become involved with Rotary Youth Exchange? COOK: My club was hosting a young...

From the September 2015 issue of The Rotarian When I was a college student in Wisconsin in the 1970s, those of us who worked at the 10-watt radio station hoped our signal would reach not only the 1,500 students on the Beloit College campus and the 35,000 residents of the town of Beloit but also the people in the cars and trucks passing by on the interstate 3 miles to the east – and possibly, late at night, the 150,000 who lived in the bustling metropolis of Rockford, Ill., 20 miles to the south. Some of us hoped to get jobs in radio after we graduated, and there was even talk about starting...

From the September 2015 issue of The Rotarian Before her family was forced into exile, before her mother was assassinated, before her father became president, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari was known for something simpler, but in some ways equally powerful: In 1994, she became the first child in Pakistan to receive the oral polio vaccine, as part of the country’s first National Immunization Day. Benazir Bhutto, then prime minister, gave the drops to her daughter herself, a compelling endorsement of the nascent campaign. “I was a baby at the time, so I don’t remember it,” says Bhutto Zardari, now 22. “...