Thank You, Rotary International
Where I was raised, in the central valley of
California, Rotary was an important organization, typical
of the kind of voluntary associations that foster a sense
of community in America. My late father-in-law was a
dedicated Rotarian, and over the years I have had the
privilege of speaking to a few Rotary clubs.
I've been thinking about that a lot lately since I
read Robert Putnam's provocative book Bowling Alone: The
Collapse and Revival of American Community. In it, Putnam
cites much compelling evidence that the electronically
connected, highly mobile life of people today has
increasingly isolated them from interacting with their
family, friends, neighbors and democratic organizations.
That's why the legacy of strong organizations like
Rotary is more important than ever.
I still recall vividly my experience driving 60 miles
through a snow and wind storm, temperature 25 degrees below
zero, to Waseca, Minn., a small farming community in the
southern part of the state, to speak to the local Rotary
club.
Ordinarily, with such a horrendous winter storm, I
would have called up and canceled my appearance. However,
the University of Minnesota, where I was serving as head of
Health Sciences, had recently closed a small campus in
Waseca, and there was understandably more than a little
resentment of the big university from the north ignoring
the needs of the community. So, I decided it was important
for me to make the trip.
Just before the turnoff to the town of Waseca, the
road became so slippery with ice that a heavy crosswind
literally blew my Explorer off the road. I called 911 on my
cell phone, and the operator told me, "The weather is so
bad, I don't think the emergency crews are going out
today!" Fortunately, a power company crew driving by
spotted my car teetering precipitously over the edge of the
road and stopped to help. Together, we were able to push
the car back onto the road. I drove at 15 miles an hour for
the remaining 5 miles into town. I fully expected nobody
else to show, but as I passed through the empty bar to
enter a back room of the restaurant, I was pleasantly
surprised to see the audience packed with Rotarians eager
to hear what I had to say.
In the years since that visit, my only contact with
Rotary has been to occasionally see one of its signs at a
restaurant or hotel on my travels. In my mind's eye, I
would see a group of small-town (mostly) professional men
and a few women, meeting weekly at a local restaurant,
gradually dwindling in numbers and unable to survive into
the 21st century. I assumed that perhaps they were
suffering from the lack of commitment that Putnam
chronicles so distressingly in Bowling Alone.
I was therefore surprised and relieved to learn
recently that Rotary International continues to thrive. And
I was very pleasantly shocked to learn something even more
interesting and impressive: Rotary International is the
largest single contributor to the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative. In 1985, Rotary made a historic commitment to
immunize all of the world's children against polio; since
that time, it has provided in excess of $600 million and
mobilized hundreds of thousands of volunteers for that
effort. It has helped to generate funding from U.S. and
European government agencies, and has played a major role
in advocacy for polio eradication. More than 1 billion
children have been immunized through this program.
Like the smallpox eradication initiative, led by Johns
Hopkins' own D.A. Henderson, the Global Polio Eradication
Initiative has made a huge difference in the world's
health. Since 1988, when polio afflicted about 350,000
children annually, the incidence of the disease has
declined more than 99 percent. Starting with dozens of
countries in which polio was endemic, today only four
— Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan —
remain in that class.
According to Rotary's Web site, the first club was
established in Chicago in 1905 by Paul Harris, an attorney
who wished to recapture in a professional club the same
friendly spirit he had felt in the small towns of his
youth. The name "Rotary" derived from the practice of
rotating meetings among members' offices. The organization
is dedicated to serving communities in need, expressed
through its motto, "Service Above Self." An endowment fund,
set up by Rotarians in 1917 "for doing good in the world,"
became in 1928 the not-for-profit Rotary Foundation, which
today receives contributions of more than $80 million a
year to support its humanitarian programs, such as the
Polio Eradication Initiative, as well as educational
programs to promote international understanding.
I know there are many very worthy organizations
providing important services to the unfortunate and
underserved, so I apologize for discussing just one. But I
thought my readers would find that the image of Rotarians
throughout the world, including those in rural towns like
Waseca, committed to eradicating polio is an inspiring
story.
Raising more than $600 million and dedicating tens of
thousands of volunteer hours to one of those "big,
audacious, hairy goals" in the service of humankind
warrants special attention! So, kudos to Rotary
International, a thriving organization of people dedicated
to doing well by doing good.
William R. Brody is president
of The Johns Hopkins University.
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