Following the withdrawal of the previously selected Child 2 Family project, due to a mismatch between the project timeline and our funding disbursement schedule, the International Service Committee now has an additional $5,000 available to recommend for another international project.
The committee is therefore selecting an alternate project to put forward to the Seattle Rotary Service Foundation (SRSF) for funding consideration. Please note that selection through this poll does not guarantee funding; it means only that the project will be recommended to SRSF for consideration.
Below, you will find brief summaries of the three projects currently under consideration. I've also linked the applications for each project in the title if you'd like to take a closer look at their application materials. Please review each project and indicate which one you would most like our committee to put forward to SRSF. The project with the most votes by ISC members by Monday, September 7th at 5 PM will be recommended to SRSF for consideration.
1) Developing Local Leaders to Strengthen Education & Economic Opportunity in Nkomazi: This project will strengthen local leadership in Nkomazi, South Africa, by training a cohort of 12 Imagine Scholar alumni to lead and expand youth development programs in their own community. Funding will support leadership, communication, and organizational training, as well as new alumni-led roles focused on expanding programming to additional schools, documenting Imagine Scholar’s model, and helping other organizations replicate successful approaches. The project is expected to increase the number of students served annually from approximately 600 to more than 1,000 while building a sustainable pipeline of locally rooted educators, entrepreneurs, and community leaders. Over the long term, the goal is for Imagine Scholar alumni to increasingly lead the organization and drive community development, job creation, and educational opportunity within Nkomazi.
2) Global Grant 2580495 Clean water for Homa Bay & Migori: This project will construct six solar-powered community water systems in rural villages in Migori and Homa Bay Counties, Kenya, providing reliable access to clean water for approximately 15,000 people. Each system will include a borehole, solar-powered pump, elevated water tank, and distribution kiosk, with local women’s groups trained to operate, maintain, and manage the systems sustainably. By reducing the time women and girls spend traveling long distances for unsafe water, the project aims to improve health, school attendance, economic opportunity, and personal safety. The project will also provide clean water to a school complex serving 1,200 students, along with needed desks and school supplies.
3) The Belize 990: Capacity Building to Enhance National Emergency Response: This project will expand Belize’s centralized 990 emergency dispatch system into the Belize District, serving approximately 113,630 residents in the country’s most populous and highest call-volume region. The project will establish 24/7 coordinated dispatch, integrate fire, EMS, emergency management, and other response agencies, and improve response to traffic accidents, natural disasters, and other emergencies. It will also train 75–100 dispatchers and emergency responders across seven local fire stations in dispatch operations, communications, and Incident Command System coordination. By building on a successful pilot launched in the Cayo District, the project aims to reduce response delays, strengthen interagency coordination, and create a more sustainable national emergency response system.
