Rotary projects around the globe
January 2026
United States
For more than two decades, young anglers across Nevada have gotten hooked on fishing during a statewide free fishing day. In the city of Sparks, the event tips the scales: On a Saturday last June, more than 2,000 people lined the banks of a marina for the event sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sparks. Rotarians, joined by community volunteers, provided free use of 1,200 poles and offered fishing tips, hot dogs, ice cream, and beverages. The club has sponsored its city’s Kids Free Fishing Day since 2002. One of the event’s founders, club member Don Welsh, organized an extra day for anglers with disabilities, including his daughter, Rebecca, who had trouble navigating the burgeoning crowds at the main event. Club member Ed Lawson, now the mayor in Sparks, prodded the state Legislature to grant an extra day of license-free fishing for those outings, dubbed Fishing with Rebecca.
Mexico
A Mexico City Metro train station pays homage to St. Martha with signs depicting the patron saint of cooks with a water pitcher. Yet for many families in Santa Martha Acatitla, a namesake settlement on the capital’s outskirts, potable water is in short supply, a problem exacerbated by an aging water system and prolonged drought. In October, members of the Rotary Club of Ciudad de México distributed water filters to 110 families in the community. Funded at a cost of $50 each by the Rotary Club of Lenexa in Kansas and a private benefactor, the filter distribution was coordinated by Woodland Public Charity, based near the U.S. club. Mexican Rotarians laud the partnership, which blossomed during relief work from the 2017 earthquake that devastated their country’s center. “By providing clean water to families in need, we are not only improving health but also building lasting relationships between our clubs and the communities we serve,” says Oscar Rivera Rodríguez, a past president of the Mexico City club and governor-elect of District 4170. “This project reflects the heart of Rotary: partnership, sustainability, and service with tangible impact.”
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19.00%
Share of Americans who went fishing in 2024
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74.00 million
People in Mexico who lack household access to safe water
China
The Rotary Club of Beijing is focusing attention on a condition at birth called hypospadias, in which the opening for urination is lower in boys. In rural China, the need for specialized medical training, financial hardship, and social stigma pose challenges to identifying and treating the condition, which can cause serious health problems if left unaddressed. The club has funded more than 160 corrective surgeries since 2016 at a cost of about $1,400 each using proceeds from its annual ball, a Rotary Foundation global grant, and other sources. In April the club sent a vocational training team of two Rotarians and two urology surgeons from the Children’s Hospital of Hebei Province to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the U.S. for three weeks of specialized instruction. Another 50 surgeries are expected in the near term, says club member Gilbert Van Kerckhove.
Philippines
An auto repair program that trains electric vehicle technicians at a Philippine university is getting a boost from the Rotary Club of Iloilo. With the support of a $32,000 Rotary Foundation global grant, the club provided equipment that is benefiting more than 300 students and faculty members, says Herman Lagon, a club member and college spokesperson. The university also plans to offer community-based training for youths and adults, with a goal of reaching 120 trainees annually through 2028, he says. The club partnered with the Rotary Club of Namweon Central in Korea. “The grant is of great help for the studies of the poor but deserving students, as well as a genuine service to the community,” Lagon says.
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1.00 in 1,000
Boys born with hypospadias in China
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20.00,000+
Philippine EV sales in 2025
Australia
Melbourne Rotarians made use of a long-standing partnership with Somali expatriates in the community to improve health care in the African country. With no in-country club to work with, the participation of the Somali diaspora in Melbourne was integral to the project’s success. Abdiwahid Hassan, a member of the Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington, collaborated with fellow Rotarians, Somalia’s Health Ministry, and a university in Somalia to fulfill a list of the most-needed items, some of which were donated by hospitals. Funds from the club and District 9800 helped cover the $18,000 cost of shipping. Nearly $100,000 worth of medical equipment arrived in Jariban in central Somalia in March, expected to help 40,000 people.
This story originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of Rotary magazine.