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Light up the world

Rotary International president Gary Huang talks about how the world's oldest NGO serves communities across the globe.

Published Fri, Mar 13, 2015 · 09:50 PM

    WHENEVER he gives speeches - and he has given hundreds all over the world - the president of Rotary International (RI) Gary Huang likes to start with a quote he attributes to the Chinese philosopher Confucius: "It's better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."

    "For me, this sums up the philosophy of Rotary," he says. "There are so many problems in the world, but a lot of people say 'I can't do anything about them'. So they just sit there and everything remains dark. The Rotary way is to light a candle. I light one, you light one, 1.2 million people all light one. Together, we light up the world."

    Every president of RI - and they change yearly - has his own vision. Mr Huang's is "Light up Rotary".

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