From the October 2015 issue of The Rotarian Eleven years ago, Jim and Roberta Graham developed a personal connection to Afghanistan after their son Rick, who was stationed there with the Indiana National Guard, learned of an infant in a refugee camp who needed heart surgery. In a story that tugged at the heartstrings of Hoosiers and was recounted in The Rotarian (January 2011), the Grahams worked with Rotary clubs in District 6560 (Indiana) and others to bring the infant, Qudrat, to Indianapolis for surgery. Tragically, Qudrat died shortly after returning to Afghanistan, but in his memory,...

From the October 2015 issue of The Rotarian When you travel to Seoul for the 2016 Rotary International Convention, 28 May to 1 June, few experiences will bring you closer to the local culture than a visit to a Korean spa, called a jjimjilbang. But don’t expect plush bathrobes and dim rooms filled with candles. This is an entirely different kind of relaxation. You will be required to undress completely and shower before you enter the gender-segregated baths, where you’ll find a number of pools for taking calming dips. You can get a massage, which here means an intense scrubbing over every inch...

From the October 2015 issue of The Rotarian Kristine Howell admits there was wine involved the night she decided to hold her wedding at the annual Spring Zing fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Mt. Clemens. But in vino veritas – so she must have meant it when she threw her hands up in frustration during a meeting to pick the fundraiser’s theme and said, “You guys could always throw me a wedding!” “I was kidding, but they ran with it,” laughs Kristine, who took office as president of the Mt. Clemens club in July. “They knew we’d been trying to get married, so they were thrilled.” Personal...

From the October 2015 issue of The Rotarian As the world hurtles down the path of modernization, many cultures resist the speed of change. Korea embraces it, yet retains a balance many of us worry we’re losing. In Seoul, business-suited fathers patiently escort their children to school. Multigenerational families pause by ponds and brilliant bursts of wild azalea. Each day before dawn, Buddhist monks throughout the land sound fish- and cloud-shaped drums to wake all creatures, from sea to sky. It is a ritual thousands of years old, and in Korea, this rhythm of tradition infuses everything....

From the October 2015 issue of The Rotarian We Americans like to think of ourselves as “rugged individualists” – in the image of the lone cowboy riding toward the setting sun, opening the frontier. But at least as accurate a symbol of our national story is the wagon train, with its mutual aid among a community of pioneers. Throughout our history, a pendulum has slowly swung between the poles of individualism and community, both in our public philosophy and in our daily lives. In the past half century we have witnessed, for better or worse, a giant swing toward the individualist pole in our...