Three months. Ninety-one days. And already, so many stories.

As I come to the end of my third month as District Governor of Rotary International District 9370, I find myself reflecting not simply on the kilometres travelled or the clubs visited, but on the people I have encountered along the way.

September has taken me across some extraordinary parts of our District — through the Eastern Cape, Free State and Lesotho — and into communities where Rotary sometimes looks very different from one place to the next.

And perhaps that has been one of my greatest lessons this month.

Impact does not have a standard size.

Sometimes it looks like a large, well-established project. Sometimes it looks like three Rotarians refusing to give up on their community. Sometimes it is a retired teacher caring for children with very little other than an enormous heart. Sometimes it is a group of women being empowered to serve elderly people in their own community.

And sometimes it is simply one person asking another:

“How can I help?”

Small clubs. Giant footprints.

September began with my travels through Aliwal North and into Lesotho.

In Aliwal North, I was reminded again never to measure the heart of a Rotary club by its membership numbers. Here was a relatively small club that had rallied its community and collected more than R22,000 worth of pet food, alongside funds raised to support local animal shelters.

From there, we crossed the border into Lesotho, where I had the privilege of experiencing Rotary in a country filled with extraordinary warmth, hospitality and possibility.

The Rotary Club of Maseru is celebrating 50 years of service, but what excited me most was not simply its history — it was its future. I saw Rotarians investing in sustainable community solutions, including the establishment of a Rotary Community Corps empowering local women to support elderly members of their community.

Across Lesotho, I encountered Rotarians and Rotaractors who are hungry to serve, innovate and grow. I came away believing even more strongly in the potential of our younger generations and in our responsibility to create space for them to lead. And in Lesotho, I encountered Rotaractors on fire for service and a passion for their communities. 

My journey continued through Ladybrand, Ficksburg, Bethlehem and the beautiful Free State. Again and again, I encountered clubs of different sizes, different strengths and different challenges.

But behind each club were people.

And Rotary has always been about people.

Seeing what is possible

Later in the month, my travels took me to Queenstown.

There I met Mama Pumla, a retired educator whose formal career may have ended years ago, but whose calling certainly did not.

Despite her own frailty, she continues to create a place of safety and hope for children in her community. As I stood there looking at what she was doing with so little, I did not see scarcity.

I saw potential.

I found myself asking one of the questions that is increasingly shaping this DG journey:

What becomes possible when Rotary comes alongside people who are already doing good?

That, for me, is where some of our greatest impact can happen. We do not always have to arrive with the answers. Sometimes our role is to recognise the community heroes already at work, listen to them, and ask how we can help them do more.

My visit to Lukhanji Sunset reinforced another important lesson. They may be one of our smallest clubs, but within that club are Rotarians who were themselves influenced by Interact and who now want to create opportunities for another generation of young people.

There are challenges, certainly. But there is also possibility.

As District Governor, I don't want to visit clubs simply to inspect what they are doing. I want us, as a District leadership team, to walk alongside them, ask difficult questions when necessary, encourage new thinking, and help them see what might still be possible.

Celebrating lasting impact

One of the great privileges of this month was also recognising the Rotary Club of Kenton-on-Sea with a Significant Service Award for Kenton Sees.

For more than a decade, this project has been quietly changing lives through eye examinations, spectacles, cataract surgery and transport for people who otherwise may not have had access to the care they needed.

Approximately 200 people are assisted each year.

Think about what restored sight means.

It means independence.

It means dignity.

It means being able to read, work, recognise the face of someone you love, and participate more fully in life.

That is lasting impact.

And that is Rotary.

And now... October

As we turn the page into October, I want to issue a challenge to every Rotary and Rotaract club in District 9370.

Let's PAINT THE TOWN RED.

October brings World Polio Day on 24 October, and I want our District to be impossible to ignore.

For more than four decades, Rotary has remained steadfast in its commitment to ending polio. Rotary launched PolioPlus in 1985, and together with our global partners, the number of polio cases worldwide has since been reduced by more than 99.9%.

We are tantalisingly close.

But close is not finished.

If we succeed, polio will become only the second human disease in history to be eradicated globally, after smallpox.

Just think about that.

Generations of Rotarians have raised money, advocated, travelled, vaccinated children and refused to give up on a dream that once seemed almost impossible.

Now it is our turn to carry that commitment forward.

So, District 9370, I am challenging you.

Wear red.

Light something red.

Decorate your club meeting in red.

Get your businesses involved.

Walk in red.

Run in red.

Host an End Polio Now event.

Tell the story on social media.

Engage your communities.

Raise funds.

Raise awareness.

And wherever possible, create something so visible that people stop and ask:

“Why all the red?”

Then tell them.

Tell them that Rotary made a promise to the children of the world.

Tell them that we are closer than humanity has ever been to consigning polio to the history books.

Tell them that we are not stopping now.

Let's paint District 9370 red for polio.

From South Africa to Lesotho, from our largest clubs to our smallest, let us make October a month in which our communities see Rotary, hear Rotary and understand why this fight still matters.

Ninety-one days in...

Today marks Day 91 of this extraordinary journey.

And after three months on the road, I am also learning something personally.

Life cannot only be about getting through the next meeting, completing the next task, answering the next email or reaching the next destination.

Recently, I was reminded that the average human life is only around 4,000 weeks.

That thought has stayed with me.

This morning, James and I sat with our coffee in our garden sanctuary. Just a few quiet minutes together before another busy day began.

And I realised again that while I want this year to create lasting impact, I also want to notice it while it is happening.

I want to stop occasionally and smell the flowers.

I want to savour the coffee.

I want to laugh with the people travelling alongside me.

I want to listen to the stories.

I want to notice the Mama Pumlas.

I want to celebrate the small clubs doing big things.

I want to encourage those who are struggling.

And I want to finish this year knowing that I didn't simply complete the job of District Governor.

I lived the journey.

Three months down.

Nine months still to savour, serve, challenge, encourage and create lasting impact.

And next up?

October. Let's paint it RED.