Donald MacRae Awardee-Zone 24 - Rotary Districts from Canada and Alaska and Zone 32 - Rotary Districts from the US North East Coast
Each year, these two Zones honor dedicated Rotarians or Rotary-based organizations for their international humanitarian work.
This year’s Donald MacRae award winners are long-time Rotarians who have each spent a lifetime of philanthropy and dedication to make lives better in Ethiopia and Haiti.
Each year, these two Zones honor dedicated Rotarians or Rotary-based organizations for their international humanitarian work.
This year’s Donald MacRae award winners are long-time Rotarians who have each spent a lifetime of philanthropy and dedication to make lives better in Ethiopia and Haiti.
Leo Seguin Zone 24
A past president of the Westlock Rotary Club in Alberta, he has spent 30 years improving lives in Ethiopia. Leo’s involvement dates to the mid-80s famine that struck that country. Through Rainbow for the Future, an Alberta-based organization Leo started in 2004 to focus on development work, he has been instrumental in raising $10 million that has helped one million people in Ethiopia by focusing on improved food security, clean water, schools and medical equipment.
The organization also stresses education and healthcare,
especially for girls and women. One of the first projects undertaken by the club was to fund a hostel for girls and young women. Because Ethiopia’s Karayu people follow the rains in search of fodder for their animals, the girls are not able to go to school, but instead, they marry at a very early age. Rainbow for the Future and Westlock Rotary built the hostel so the girls can pursue an education and delay marriage. Leo shares the story of his work in his book, Where a Bird Meets a Fish in the Sky.
especially for girls and women. One of the first projects undertaken by the club was to fund a hostel for girls and young women. Because Ethiopia’s Karayu people follow the rains in search of fodder for their animals, the girls are not able to go to school, but instead, they marry at a very early age. Rainbow for the Future and Westlock Rotary built the hostel so the girls can pursue an education and delay marriage. Leo shares the story of his work in his book, Where a Bird Meets a Fish in the Sky.
Donald MacRae Awardee-Zone 32
Dr. Jerry Lowney - Zone 32
A member of the Norwich, Connecticut club in D-7980, he has devoted time, talent, and treasure to serve the poorest of the poor in Haiti over the past 25 years.
What started in 1982 as a short-term mission trip to provide dental care has become a lifelong passion to improve health of Haiti’s poorest. In 1985, Jerry founded the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) which offers basic healthcare services to the 200,000 people living in the Jeremie region of Haiti.
HHF has developed a feeding program that offers 24-hour care for children suffering from chronic malnutrition. It has an inpatient maternal center for village women in high-risk pregnancies, and also provides routine maternal and pediatric care, and has helped to found a school of nursing.
For more than 25 years, Jerry has traveled to Haiti every three months to operate the Haitian Health Foundation, provide dental care, and more. His work has received wide-spread praise, and in 2013, the White House named him a Rotary Champion of Change.
Dr. Jerry Lowney - Zone 32
A member of the Norwich, Connecticut club in D-7980, he has devoted time, talent, and treasure to serve the poorest of the poor in Haiti over the past 25 years.
What started in 1982 as a short-term mission trip to provide dental care has become a lifelong passion to improve health of Haiti’s poorest. In 1985, Jerry founded the Haitian Health Foundation (HHF) which offers basic healthcare services to the 200,000 people living in the Jeremie region of Haiti.
HHF has developed a feeding program that offers 24-hour care for children suffering from chronic malnutrition. It has an inpatient maternal center for village women in high-risk pregnancies, and also provides routine maternal and pediatric care, and has helped to found a school of nursing.
For more than 25 years, Jerry has traveled to Haiti every three months to operate the Haitian Health Foundation, provide dental care, and more. His work has received wide-spread praise, and in 2013, the White House named him a Rotary Champion of Change.