Programs

Rotary is dedicated to six areas of focus to build international relationships, improve lives, and create a better world to support our peace efforts and end polio forever.

Literacy

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Combating illiteracy has been a major focus of Rotary International since 1986 – and for good reason. UNESCO estimates there are over 800 million illiterate adults in the world and about two-thirds of them are women. Millions more are functionally illiterate, without the reading and writing skills necessary for everyday life.  Basic education and literacy is one of the Foundation’s six areas of focus. Everyone has the right to learn to read, write and enjoy the power, pleasures and independence of being literate. For some the journey will be easy, for others it will take much hard work and unfortunately for approximately 18 percent of today’s world population it will.

Rotarians can help by:

  • Developing programs in the community. Talk to the literacy professionals, welfare organisations and others in your communities who see the effects on people of low literacy skills and will have ideas about what you can do.
  • Changing this requires a multi-focus effort from government, the education and welfare system and those who care within local communities. But, every time a child is touched by a piece of wonderful literature, the situation improves just a little. Can your club help needy local families bring books into their homes
  • The ability to read, write, and do simple maths is critical for the well-being of individuals in any society. International Literacy and numeracy projects allow us to make a real contribution to building nations and reducing poverty. Work with another organisation by sponsoring an international project.
  • Let’s celebrate literacy and the efforts of Rotary clubs everywhere. Special emphasis should be a feature of every clubs program during Rotary Literacy month in March. We also ask clubs to celebrate International Literacy Day on September 8th each year.

Resource Rotary Literacy Rotary Action Group (lirag)

Rotarian Action Groups

List of Rotary Action Groups

A Rotarian Action Group is an autonomous group of Rotarians, family members, program participants and alumni who are experts in a particular field, such as microcredit or water and sanitation. Group members share their expertise by collaborating with clubs and districts on service projects.

For example:

  • The Rotarian Action Group for Population & Development partnered with Rotary clubs in Germany, Austria, and Nigeria to reduce maternal death by 60 percent at 25 hospitals in northern Nigeria with a program to prevent and treat obstetric fistula, a serious birth injury.
  • Rotarians for Family Health & AIDS Prevention Rotarian Action Group organizes an annual event that provides comprehensive health services to nearly 500,000 people in hundreds of locations in Africa and parts of India. These services include screening for HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, diabetes, blood pressure cancers, and more.

The following is a list of RAGS that you can access by clicking the RAG group

Addiction Prevention
Alzheimer’s/Dementia
Blindness Prevention
Blood Donation
Clubfoot
Diabetes
Disaster Assistance
Domestic Violence Prevention
Endangered Species
Enviornmental Sustainability
Family Health & AIDS Prevention
Food Plant Solutions
Health Education and Wellness
Hearing
Hepatitis
Literacy
Malaria
Maternal and Child Health
Mental Health
Microfinance and Community Development
Multiple Sclerosis
Peace
Polio Survivors and Associates
Preconception Care
Slavery
Water and Sanitation

About Rotary Action Groups