The Basic Education and Literacy Rotary Action Group Board of Directors had the honor of hosting a Webinar on a vital subject on February 13, 2026. The presenter was none other than Past Rotary International President (2021-22), Shekhar Mehta, a pioneer of the Girls’ Empowerment movement in Rotary. Mr. Mehta’s presentation began with a universal truth that when we educate a girl, we do not just change her life, we change the trajectory of her family, her community, and her nation. In the view of Mr. Mehta, Girls’ Education can be “a force multiplier for dignity, development, and economic growth.” Mr. Mehta cited a UNESCO data to point out that 133 million girls around the world are illiterate, which means that there are that many “dreams deferred” and “future leaders delayed.” Mr. Mehta made a call for Rotarians to not quit hope and to keep building on the progress made with 50 million girls having entered schools worldwide since 2015. Mr. Mehta emphasized the need to build awareness on the socio-cultural and economic factors that impede our girls finding access to basic and higher education, like poverty, child marriage, safety concerns, and lack of clean bathrooms etc.

If Rotarians want to make a difference in the lives of children, the most effective place to start is with the early years, considered to be from birth to about age six.  This period of early child development sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behavior, and health.

 

Early learning takes place within families and the community. It is shaped by the daily interactions of home life.  These simple interactions establish the pathways for lifelong learning, behavior, and health and thus, to the development of the whole child. Interactions include nourishment, being held, hearing sounds around them, listening to conversations or music, being guided to crawl and then walk, feeling safe, or, for some, feeling frightened.  The brain uses all of these experiences to orchestrate our physical, social, emotional, verbal, and cognitive development, determining how we learn, our behavior, and ultimately setting the stage for future physical and emotional health.   Once set, it is more difficult to change. These early years' experiences set the course of our lives, whether positive or negative. Children who have experienced fear and jump or hide at loud sounds, for example, have formed a safety trigger in their brains and will react quickly.  These children will need support to overcome this.

 

 

I have never been to Kenya. Yet over the past two years, as updates, photos, and reports from a Rotary supported basic education literacy (BEL) grant arrived in my inbox, I watched a project I helped shape on paper turn into something real.

 

From the first draft to final approval, the grant took nearly two years. At times, the process felt slow and challenging. But as the proposal moved through revisions and conversations between my club (The Ellicott City Rotary Club, District 7620), the host club, the international club (The Machakos Rotary Club, District 9212), and our partner, Kenya Connect, the questions we were asked forced us to sharpen our goals, strengthen our plan, and think carefully about sustainability. Looking back now, as I see the results, I am glad that I persevered. The support I received from Carolyn Johnson, a member of the Rotary Cadre of Technical Advisers, Past District Governor Barton Goldenberg, and Regional Grants Officer Nora Beamish-Lannon was invaluable to the project’s success.