In 1976, I was fourteen years old and a street vendor in Uganda, helping to support my mother.
I was out of school not because I lacked intelligence, ambition or the desire to learn. I was out of school because life had placed survival ahead of education.
A Rotarian noticed me. He asked why I was not in class.
That question became the beginning of a different life. He took me into his family's care and supported my education, restoring something hardship had taken from me: the possibility of a better future. I returned to school, attended Namilyango College, Uganda's first secondary school, and later earned a Bachelor of Statistics degree and a Master of Arts in Economic Policy and Planning, both from Makerere University.
Today I am an entrepreneur, I serve as Rotary International Director for Zone 22, and I am Chancellor of Nkumba University, one of Uganda's few chartered universities, among other responsibilities. Whenever I stand before students or educators, I am reminded that my journey began because one Rotarian chose to see potential where others saw poverty.
Fifty years later, that question is still working, and it reminds me that education is a great enabler.
Education does not merely prepare someone to pass an examination. It gives people the confidence to dream, the capacity to make informed choices and the ability to participate meaningfully in society. It strengthens families, improves health outcomes, expands economic opportunity and builds more peaceful communities.
Literacy carries the same weight. A person who can read health information protects their family. A farmer who can interpret market prices makes better decisions. A mother who can read medicine instructions safeguards her child. A young person who can access knowledge gains power over their own future.
When Rotary invests in basic education and literacy, we are not funding one cause. We are strengthening every other area of our service. That is why, for us Rotarians, September is special. It is not simply another month on the calendar. It is the month we mark basic education and literacy.
Beyond the donation of books
Books matter. But lasting educational impact requires harder questions than "how many did we deliver?"
Before your club launches its next education project, sit with these questions:
- Are children learning in safe and dignified classrooms?
- Do the schools we support have trained, supported teachers?
- Are learners reading with understanding, or only reciting?
- Do girls have the facilities they need to stay in school?
- Are children with disabilities genuinely included, or merely admitted?
- Can adults who missed formal schooling access literacy and practical skills?
- Was this project designed with the community, so that its benefit outlives our visit?
We must move from isolated interventions to sustainable educational systems. Build and rehabilitate classrooms. Establish libraries. Promote digital learning. Train teachers. Support early childhood development and adult literacy. Mentor learners, provide scholarships, and create pathways from education into employment and enterprise.
Above all, pay attention
The Rotarian who changed my life first did something remarkably simple: he noticed.
Somewhere in your community, another child is waiting to be noticed. Another learner has left school because the family cannot afford fees, books, meals or transport. Another young person is quietly abandoning a dream because no one has yet told them that their circumstances do not define their potential.
Across Zone 21, Zone 22 and every corner of our Rotary world, Rotary must be present for that child.
As September closes the first quarter of our Rotary year, let us measure our progress not by meetings held or projects launched, but by whether lives are genuinely being impacted. Let us ensure that the energy with which we began this year becomes measurable, sustainable action.
The education I received enabled me to rise. Its greatest value, however, lies in my responsibility to help others rise.
When Rotary educates one child, we may be preparing a future entrepreneur, educator, public servant, university chancellor, or Rotary leader. We rarely know how far a single act of support will travel.
So let us open classrooms, open books, open minds and open doors. Because education does not simply change what a person knows.
It changes what a person believes is possible. It is an equalizer.
Emmanuel Katongole
Rotary International Director, Zone 22, 2026–2028