Family Is the First Institution of Leadership
Family, gratitude, balance and Rotary service Leadership is often described through public responsibilities: the board meeting, the speech, the project
Emmanuel Katongole
Rotary International Director, 2026/2028.
I was fourteen, selling roasted maize at the roadside to help my mother. A man stopped and asked me why I was not in school. That one question rearranged my whole life. Everything I have built since has been an attempt to ask it of somebody else.
From the Journal - Latest
Recognition Is a Responsibility
Awards, discipline and the work beyond applause Awards are moments of gratitude. They recognise work, encourage teams and remind us
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Partnership, fundraising and sustainable health institutions The story of the Rotary Blood Bank is sometimes told through the value of
Leadership Must Remain Human
Accessibility, personal voice and trust Titles can introduce a leader, but they cannot explain one. A profile may list institutions,
Strong Clubs Create Lasting Impact
Membership, belonging and institutional continuity Rotary’s global reputation is ultimately experienced through the local club. A community does not encounter
Africa Is Rising – and Leadership Must Rise With It
African agency, peace and global responsibility To say that Africa is rising is not to deny the continent’s challenges. It
From the journal - Lates
2 million
People kept alive by medicines from the factory he co-founded
US$1.3 million
Rotary Blood Bank delivered at Mengo Hospital
1st
Rotary Peace Centre in Africa, at Makerere University
30 years
a Rotarian, since 1996
1 of 19
Members of the Rotary International Board of Directors
Four Pillars: What the work is for
Hope
A stranger paid my school fees. I have spent fifty years trying to be that stranger for somebody else.
Health
I lost two siblings to HIV and a sister to childbirth. Then I helped build a factory and a blood bank. Grief is a poor master but a serious teacher.
Peace
Africa is not only a place where peace is needed. It is a place where peace is taught. Makerere proves it.
Enterprise
Build the institution, not the monument. If it cannot outlive you, it was never really built.
The Rotary world is coming to Uganda.
From 1 to 3 October 2026, Kampala hosts the All Africa Zone Institute. The Rotary International President, President-elect, General Secretary and fourteen members of the Board of Directors are expected — the first time the Board convenes in a single country in this way.
Come to the All Africa Zone Institute, and I promise you personal care.
Bring a project.
If your club, company or institution has an idea that serves people, we would like to hear it. Rotary is very good at turning ideas into buildings.
Support the work.
Every shilling we raise goes through The Rotary Foundation, where it is audited, matched and tracked. We do not collect money on this website. We simply point you to where it does the most good.