Are you planning to attend the convention in Taiwan, or do you know someone who will? If so, we are seeking presenters to speak about their club's education and STEM activities in the Education & STEM Hub at the RI Convention's House of Friendship.

Co-hosted by BELRAG and the mEducation Alliance, the Hub will showcase Rotary-supported education initiatives and create opportunities to feature organizations seeking Rotary partnerships.

Interested in learning more about the Hub and/or want to apply to present? Contact us at medalliance@meducationalliance.org with the subject heading “Ed & STEM Hub – [Your Organization Name]” and/or fill out this Ed & STEM Hub Participation Form.

Our team will follow up with additional details about participation opportunities, presentation formats, and next steps.

THE ROLE OF ROTARY TECHNICAL CADRES

Rotarian John (pseudonym) shared his Rotary club’s experience that happened about three years ago. His club visited a community of individuals with physical handicaps. The club members watched in sympathy as these individuals struggled to move and get their work done. As a result, the club decided to purchase wheelchairs to enable them to move much better. It was an exciting opportunity, which the club embarked on with much enthusiasm and a sense of purpose.

The money was raised, the wheelchairs purchased, and joyfully delivered to the community. A job well-done; a box checked!

A few months later, some club members went back to visit the wheelchair beneficiaries. To their disappointment, the beneficiaries had sold the wheelchairs and were back to their original way of movement. Their leader revealed to the club members that they actually benefited more from being seen as handicapped, crawling, than from being in wheelchairs. So, they opted to sell the wheelchairs and use their infirmities to get money from people!

This was an excellent Rotary learning experience. The Rotary Club realized they had not obtained the community's permission to acquire the wheelchairs. They expected the chairs to provide them with much-needed relief. This event exemplifies one of the reasons Rotary Cadres collaborate with clubs, ideally before a project is completed. If Rotary had consulted a Cadre, that person would have advised the club members to organize meetings with the community to ascertain their true needs. Clearly, the community required financial assistance; perhaps a project to boost their economic empowerment would have developed from the conversations.

SUPPORTING EARLY YEARS EDUCATION PART III -

PLAY AND YOUNG CHILDREN

Rotarians often work with a community to establish a program for young children. These can start in the first year of a child’s life, when family members are invited to participate. The previous articles in this series have focused on understanding child development. Who are these little people? How can we integrate knowledge of holistic children’s brain development into a rich learning environment? How can we help parents do the same at home?

This article will provide ideas to help the community and/or educators plan programs appropriate for young children. For many children, play is not frequent in these settings. But what if educators used the freedom of playtime to let children invent, make choices, challenge their own thinking, and apply their knowledge to new situations independently? What if parents were invited to participate and observe what their children are learning and how? What if teachers knew how to carefully observe what knowledge and skills children are transferring to their play? How would this change their classrooms and the learning opportunities for young children? How would this enrich the community?

april 2026 Newsletter

THE ROLE OF ROTARY TECHNICAL CADRES