Dear Rotarians, Rotaractors and friends,
Imagine being told that twenty-six dollars and fifty cents could help change the future of humanity. Would you believe it? In 1917, Rotary International President Arch C. Klumph envisioned an endowment dedicated to doing good in the world. The Rotary Club of Kansas City responded with the first contribution of just USD 26.50.
It was a modest beginning, but behind that gift was an extraordinary belief: that ordinary people, united by generosity and purpose, could achieve extraordinary things.
More than a century later, that belief continues to transform lives through The Rotary Foundation, including in the communities our Zone 21B clubs serve every day.
On 25 August 2020, Africa celebrated a historic milestone when the World Health Organization's African Region was certified free of indigenous wild poliovirus. For millions of families, this was more than a public health achievement. It represented hope, freedom from fear, and a better future for generations of children.
Behind that victory were decades of sacrifice, countless vaccination campaigns, dedicated health workers, and Rotarians, many of them from our own Zone 21B districts, who gave their time, resources and influence. Through The Rotary Foundation, contributions from across the world helped turn the dream of a polio-free Africa into reality.
Although our fight against polio continues, this achievement remains powerful evidence that collective generosity can accomplish what once seemed impossible.
This November, as we celebrate Rotary Foundation Month, I invite every Rotarian in Zone 21B to reflect on a fundamental question: When we give to The Rotary Foundation, what are we really giving?
We are giving children opportunities to learn, mothers access to safer health care, communities clean water, and families the dignity of healthier, more productive lives.
We are investing in possibilities we may never personally witness.
Our zone has benefited immensely from this generosity, through global grants, district grants and partnerships that have reached schools, health centres and villages across our districts. But our responsibility must extend beyond receiving support. Zone 21B must become a stronger contributor to the very Foundation that has transformed our communities.
Imagine a Zone 21B where every Rotarian gives consistently, every club embraces a culture of generosity, and every district takes pride in both its contributions and its measurable impact.
Our giving capacities may differ, but our responsibility to participate is shared. The value of a gift is not measured only by its size, but by the commitment and lasting change behind it.
Equally important is our responsibility to safeguard every contribution through accountability, integrity and sustainable service. The trust placed in us must always translate into meaningful community impact.
As Zone 21B joins fellow Rotarians from across the continent in Kampala for the 7th All Africa Zone Institute, from 26 to 28 November 2026, under the theme Our Rotary Journey Continues, let us renew our commitment to building a stronger Foundation and a more impactful Rotary. Those who contributed USD 26.50 in 1917 could never have imagined the generations their generosity would inspire.
Let our generation in Zone 21B be remembered not merely for what we received, but for what we gave, the lives we transformed, and the legacy we left behind.
Our Rotary journey continues. Through The Rotary Foundation, so does our legacy of doing good in the world.
Emmanuel Katongole
Director, Rotary International (2026–2028)
