Young leaders honored as Rotary’s People of Action: Champions of Tomorrow
Honorees worked with Deaf communities, expanded access to education, and raised awareness about mental health
by Etelka Lehoczky
02 Mar 2026Rotary International has recognized six club members aged 30 or younger as People of Action: Champions of Tomorrow. The recipients, based in Colombia, India, Italy, the Philippines, Uganda, and the U.S., have led transformative initiatives by and for young people.
“By leading projects that provide educational resources to those in need, foster personal development, support mental health, and champion conflict resolution, these honorees are creating more peaceful and resilient communities,” said Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo.
Maria Manuela Córdoba Aguirre
Rotary Club of Bogotá Centenario, Colombia
Area of action: Removing societal barriers for people in the Deaf community
Maria Manuela Córdoba Aguirre founded Rotary in Sign Language (Rotary en-Señas) to address societal barriers faced by Colombia’s Deaf community. Without accessible spaces and leadership opportunities, young people were often unable to participate fully in society. The program brings together young people from Rotary and the Deaf community for bilingual workshops and other activities. The deaf participants act as facilitators and leaders, while volunteers who aren’t deaf gain skills in inclusive communication and sign language.
Córdoba developed Rotary in Sign Language after consulting with families, interpreters, and other organizations. She designed the bilingual methodology, forged partnerships, and ensured that input from the Deaf community was central. She also developed a monitoring and evaluation framework, collecting data and testimonies to establish the project’s impact. The result is a replicable model of inclusion and empowerment.
Rotary in Sign Language’s workshops and activities give young people spaces to learn, express themselves, and lead. The program has strengthened the self-esteem and autonomy of young people who are deaf and those who are not, while building lasting connections between communities.
Derrick Kabuye
Rotaract Club of Kampala South, Uganda
Area of action: Transforming a rural school
Derrick Kabuye helped a rural Ugandan school address multiple challenges to become a thriving educational facility. Nyakijumba Primary School had unsafe classrooms, poor sanitation, and limited teaching materials. It also lacked early childhood education facilities. Dropout rates were high, especially among girls who weren’t receiving menstrual hygiene support.
Since 2019, Kabuye has led the Rotaract Club of Kampala South in the Educate a Community Project, which constructed a five-classroom addition, renovated existing structures, and established an early childhood development program. A borehole now provides clean water. More than 545 girls have received menstrual hygiene education, and girls receive reusable pads to help them stay in school. The school’s enrollment grew from 60 pupils in 2016 to 274 in 2025.
Kabuye has recruited local and international clubs to the project, monitored construction work, and promoted the project within the community. He’s also worked at the site, planted trees, and gathered data for annual impact reports.
Raymond “Arky” Manning
Rotary Club of Metro East Taytay, Rizal, Philippines
Area of action: Reforming a community’s dispute resolution program
Raymond “Arky” Manning made his local community’s justice system more responsive, trustworthy, and effective. He led a project to reform the community mediation system in San Isidro, a district in the Philippine city of Taytay.
The project transformed the conflict mediation system with standardized techniques, digital case management, early interventions, and continuing training for mediators. In addition to training 30 adult mediators and 20 youth peer mediators, project leaders guided local young people in creating anti-violence and mental health awareness campaigns and organizing spaces for group mediation. The project reduced case resolution times by 70%, increased community trust by 85%, saved families an estimated 2 million pesos (US$34,000), and saved the government an estimated 5.5 million pesos (US$93,000). Today, it has a 99.5% conflict settlement rate and a 90%-95% compliance rate.
Manning, a law student and elected official in Rizal province, built partnerships with schools, faith groups, nongovernmental organizations, and government agencies to promote the project. It provides an innovative model for community-based justice that can be replicated around the country.
Olivia Raley
Rotary Club of Bardstown, Kentucky, USA
Area of action: Removing stigma around mental health issues and promoting suicide prevention
Olivia Raley has worked to reduce the stigma associated with mental health in rural communities through the Nelson County Yellow Tulip Project. The youth-led initiative raises awareness about mental health issues and promotes suicide prevention through educational campaigns and visible symbols of hope.
The stars of the project are 22 Hope Gardens at schools, parks, jails, shelters, and police departments around the county. In addition to planting and maintaining the colorful gardens, more than 100 young volunteers create educational materials and lead workshops about mental health.
Raley, the first social worker to be employed by the Bardstown police department, coordinated and promoted the project. She secured funding, mentored participants, led workshops, and established a framework for gathering and measuring outcomes. The project’s effect was evident in its first year, with surveys showing a 35%-42% increase in young people’s comfort discussing mental health issues and a 42% increase in their awareness of resources. Partnerships with schools, law enforcement, and health providers led to a 20% increase in the number of youth accessing counseling services.
Maria Grazia Rava
Rotaract Club of Faenza, Italy
Area of action: Providing first-aid training in schools
Maria Grazia Rava helped address a critical lack of first-aid training in her province of Ravenna, Italy. Local schools didn’t offer regular classes in first-aid techniques, leaving students unprepared for emergencies like cardiac arrest, choking, or other traumas. Rava created How to Save a Life, a training program supported by Rotary and Rotaract clubs throughout the region.
How to Save a Life teaches CPR and related techniques to students aged 14-19 in 40 schools. Students reported that they gained knowledge and confidence from the lessons, while teachers observed increased responsibility and composure during emergency drills. Parents and school leaders praised How to Save a Life and requested that it be repeated annually. The project currently supports more than 1,000 students.
Using what she learned in medical school, Rava ensured that the program’s results were accurately measured and reported. She designed participant questionnaires, coordinated data collection, and gathered qualitative feedback to refine the training approach. Her leadership helped transform the initial test program into a scalable, districtwide model.
Vansh Saini
Rotaract Club of Delhi Genesis Midwest, Delhi, India
Area of action: Expanding children’s access to education
Vansh Saini leads a comprehensive learning and development initiative for children in Delhi, India. After discovering that many local children didn’t reliably attend school and lacked basic life skills, members of Interact and Rotaract clubs created the Empowerment Academy. It offers classes for children aged 6 to 15 on education topics, life skills, hygiene, career development, and first aid.
The Empowerment Academy has educated more than 150 children since 2022 and has provided educational materials to students who couldn’t afford them. Forty volunteers have contributed a total of 1,000 hours to the program. The young participants have improved their literacy, confidence, and career readiness, and families report reduced stress. The volunteers also benefit, gaining leadership and project management skills.
Saini transformed a basic life skills project into a comprehensive educational program. He mobilized volunteers, introduced structured teaching internships, and established a robust monitoring framework. By tracking attendance, volunteer engagement, academic progress, and resource distribution, Saini made it possible to validate the program’s outcomes and ensure accountability.