Lisselot Troconis is of Venezuelan origin. She has lived in El Salvador since the year 2000. a Salvadoran social leader and nonprofit executive recognized for her long-standing commitment to community development and public health in El Salvador. She serves as the Director and cofounder of Gente Ayudando Gente El Salvador., a nonprofit organization dedicated since 2009 to improving the quality of life of vulnerable communities through programs in health, education, housing, and social support.
Under her leadership, the organization has spearheaded impactful initiatives such as breast cancer early detection and awareness campaigns, community medical outreach, and support programs for women and families facing serious health and economical challenges. Lisselot has been a strong advocate for prevention, dignity, and access to care, particularly for underserved populations. She also works closely with international partners to promote sustainable development and housing solutions, People Helping People Network, Fuller Center For Housing, New Story Charity among others.. Her work reflects a deep belief in service, collaboration, and empowering communities to build healthier and more hopeful futures.
Our guest speaker on January 29, 2026, was Rebecca Fein, the Executive Director of Verity, Sonoma County’s sexual assault and human trafficking prevention, intervention, and healing center. Becky has a degree in sociology from UC Davis and a Masters in Public Health from Columbia University. She joined Verity as a volunteer sexual assault crisis counselor in 2009.
Verity started up in 1974 with the goal of providing comprehensive services to sexual assault victims and to seeking its eradication through education. Verity has gone through a series of name changes over the years, starting as “Sonoma County Rape Crisis Center” and later changing its name to “Women Against Rape” and “United Against Sexual Assault” until finally becoming Verity in 2011. Verity’s Prevention Education Program uses classroom and community presentations to increase awareness of sexual assault, sexual harassment, human trafficking, and child abuse. Children of all ages learn age-appropriate tools to help guide them through issues related to healthy relationships, grooming, child exploitation, and trafficking. Becky mentioned Verity’s efforts to combat Sonoma County trafficking and illicit massage problems. Verity works with law enforcement on the massage problem and noted that there are new ordinances in Sonoma County dealing with those problems, making Sonoma County on the cutting edge on this issue. Verity’s Intervention Team services include a 24/7/365 crisis and support line, advocacy for victims, assisting victims in reporting assault, in-person accompaniments at court hearings and forensic exams, and services for survivors. Sonoma County law enforcement organizations are required to notify Verity when a survivor reports sexual assault. Crisis support includes close cooperation with the Family Justice Center, of which Verity is a founding partner. Through Verity and the Justice Center, survivors can obtain a wide variety of support, including housing and financial support. Verity also helps provide group therapy.
Verity’s impact has been significant. It has presented to 1,421 elementary school students, 3,270 middle and high school students, and has interacted with 9,775 community members. It has also given tailored advocacy services to 1,216 clients, answered 1,149 crisis line calls, and given 1,033 therapy sessions. Verity receives 70-80% of its funding from the California Office of Emergency Services; some of that funding is from the federal government. Becky noted that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Verity is actively seeking donations and volunteers for its programs.
Many thanks to Becky for the excellent presentation. We look forward to many future collaborations between Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary and Verity.
On a regular basis, our resident photo pro Warren Smith, submits pictures of what is going on at the weekly meetings. You can always find the most recent pictures at the websites photo journal called "Meeting Sighting" Please note that all the meeting photos for the entire Rotary year are at this location with the most recent on the last page.
Thanks for all the great pictures Warren!Link to Meeting Sightings. The most recent are on the last page!
Measure twice cut once! Golden Hammer Leroy Carlinzoli makes final adjustments to the soon to be paver path.
Oh my, Bonnie, "what big claws you have!" "All the better to fill your wheel barrow with!"
For the third week in a row, Sunrise led over a dozen eager volunteers in re-landscaping the backyard at Verity. This phase spread playground and planting mulch and set new path bases for paving stones. Above, project manager Leroy readies the edging. Bonnie Landers, Grant Coordinator demonstrates a very novel and effective human skip loading set of claws: A first time seen by this crew.
In another first, Verity Executive Director Rebecca Fein works along side her sons, age three and five.
President Elect Max Childs looks on and snaps for his album.
Here the contrasting mulches, dark for possible planting, or raised beds, and the lighter play surface.
President Lori stands joyfully sentinel on her turf.
The long view. In just a couple of hours, half a dozen wheel barrows crowded the sidewalk without a collision or (serious) spill.
Mark Campbell, Club Public Image Director proudly displays our new club logo hat. Also responsible for securing our recently redesigned shirts and other identity apparel, Mark has raised our bar, leveraging our motto and theme Uniting for Good!!
At last month’s International Assembly, President-elect Olayinka “Yinka” Hakeem Babalola called on members of the Rotary world to live out our presidential message for the 2026-27 Rotary year: Create Lasting Impact.
This February, as we observe Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Month, we have an opportunity to channel Yinka’s call to action into real change.
Peace is not simply the absence of war. A life free from conflict but marked by hunger, instability, or the inability to care for one’s family is not true peace. Peace requires liberty, opportunity, and respect for human dignity. Yet fear often blocks that path — fear of change, of cultural loss, of people we don’t understand.
Fear isn’t defeated through avoidance or aggression. Knowledge is the first step toward peace. Rotary embraces this idea. Our Rotary Peace Centers and their peace fellows, along with other peace education initiatives, demonstrate how knowledge builds trust and helps communities find solutions to conflict.
In Colombia, decades of conflict have left deep wounds. The 2025 Rotary Foundation Programs of Scale awardee, Pathways to Peace and Prosperity, partners with the United Nations World Food Programme to expand opportunity, improve conflict resolution, and connect people with social services. Its goal is to break cycles of violence, poverty, and food insecurity so peace can take root.
In Maharashtra, India, People of Action honoree Swati Herkal built peace through prosperity. Her project confronted farmers’ declining soil health, rising debt, and illness caused by chemical fertilizers. She and her Rotary partners launched a regenerative agriculture program that revitalized the land, lowered costs, and restored stability. More than 1,100 farmers now participate and over 50 villages have adopted the model.
Rotary also advances peace by restoring dignity. In Chad, Rotary Peace Fellow Domino Frank discovered that more than 1,500 women who fought in a rebellion had been erased from reintegration programs. His advocacy led to Chad’s first Rotary Foundation global grant and the creation of Corridors of Peace. More than 100 women — triple the goal — completed literacy and vocational training and formed a cooperative to support their families.
From Colombia to India to Chad, the lesson is clear: Peace is not a dream. It is the result of sustained action with a focus on true, lasting impact. To replicate these successes, Rotary clubs can take three steps: Learn from peace fellows and other peace experts in our organization, apply a peacebuilding lens to community assessments, and prioritize impact over ceremony.
In a world filled with fear, Rotary cannot be satisfied with half-measures and empty words. If we are truly people of action, then action must define us. Together, we can Create Lasting Impact — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.
You can find all prior "RI President's Messages" at this LINK
February is Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Month, a perfect time to reflect on The Rotary Foundation’s mission to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace. Whether improving health, supporting education, or alleviating poverty, peace is at the heart of everything Rotary does.
Rotary Peace Centers bring our ideals into the world by training the next generation of peacebuilders. Since 2002, more than 1,800 Rotary Peace Fellows have become catalysts for peace in over 140 countries.
I am often asked whether our peace fellows continue working for peace after their studies. The answer is a resounding yes. Many serve in United Nations agencies, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and groups they’ve founded themselves.
Recently, I met with the recipients of our latest Programs of Scale award, Pathways to Peace and Prosperity in Colombia. This $3 million partnership with the World Food Programme is establishing four peace hubs that will train 1,000 people in conflict resolution and support 700 entrepreneurs in communities touched by conflict.
During the meeting, I thought I recognized one participant as Brigitta von Messling, a German peace fellow I worked closely with in Berlin 13 years ago. But so much time had passed I wasn’t sure. When I asked Gladys Maldonado, a leader of the Colombia initiative, she confirmed it was Brigitta:
Brigitta is based in my city, Cúcuta, and is an active member of my Rotary club. She does wonderful work with the United Nations as an observer of the 2016 peace agreement Colombia signed with rebels. She even travels to remote locations in the Catatumbo region, an area of northern Colombia that has experienced violence by armed groups.
She has my utmost admiration. I had the good fortune of meeting her three years ago. She’s incredibly intelligent, with a gift for recognizing the strengths of others.
Brigitta is invaluable to my country, my city, and my Rotary club. She connected me with the World Food Programme so we could build the Programs of Scale project, which has filled my city and country with hope.
What Gladys said about Brigitta echoes so many stories we hear about Rotary Peace Fellows worldwide: They are invaluable. They remind us that peace is built one person at a time.
Your support of The Rotary Foundation opens countless opportunities for transformation.
You can find all prior "Messages from the Foundation Trustee Chair" at this LINK
Indian developer donates US$50 million to The Rotary Foundation
By Etelka Lehoczky
Declaring that “giving is a duty,” longtime Rotary member Ravishankar Dakoju pledged that he and his wife and fellow club member, Paola Dakoju, would donate approximately US$50 million (4.5 billion Indian rupees) to The Rotary Foundation. Dakoju announced the gift at Rotary’s International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, USA, on 13 January.
“Years ago, Paola and I shared a dream: that one day, when we had enough to live with dignity, we would return 85% of our wealth back to society,” said Dakoju, a member of the Rotary Club of Bangalore, Karnataka, India. “My friends, that day has arrived.”
Dakoju, who serves as The Rotary Foundation Arch Klumph Society ambassador for Asia, spoke about his belief that philanthropy is a personal responsibility and explained his and Paola’s determination to give away their surplus wealth.
“What we keep may serve only our family, nothing beyond that. What we give The Rotary Foundation will serve humanity,” he said.
Ravishankar and Paola Dakoju stand onstage at Rotary’s 2026 International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, USA, 13 January 2026. Ravishankar announced he and Paola would donate approximately US$50 million (4.5 billion Indian rupees) to The Rotary Foundation.
Photo by Monika Lozinska. Credit/Copyright: Rotary International.
Dakoju told assembly attendees how his life experiences led him to commit to philanthropy. He described how his father, who had donated all of the family’s land to poor farmers, died suddenly when Dakoju was age 10. Dakoju recalled how he, his mother, and his six siblings were left with less than US$2 in the bank. He said he failed in school and misbehaved, even leading a street gang, before he earned a college degree and eventually co-founded Hara Housing & Land Development Ltd. Now it’s one of the leading land developers in Bangalore.
Dakoju also found Rotary. He was impressed by Rotary’s values of fellowship and service, and as his business grew, they supported The Rotary Foundation. In 2018, they committed to donating approximately US$14.7 million (1.3 billion Indian rupees) to the Foundation. It was one of the largest contributions in the Foundation’s history.
“Whatever I have achieved so far came from the kindness of people, the grace of life, and the opportunities Rotary brought into my world,” Dakoju said at the assembly.
Dakoju has funded global grants and other programs in his district and worked on numerous service projects. In August, he pledged to match donations of up to US$50,000 (4,500,000 Indian rupees) for each district in India that created pooled endowed funds to support environmental and education-oriented initiatives. He also participated in a five-year project to plant 10 million saplings in Karnataka state.
At the assembly, Dakoju emphasized the connection between his commitment to Rotary and his philosophy of giving.
“Rotary gave me new life, new purpose, new friendship, new meaning, and a global family,” he said. “And life has taught me this beautiful truth: When you give more than you think you can, life returns to you more than you can ever imagine.”
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