Rotarians Providing International Volunteer Opportunities to Everyone
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Wayne McRann presented Developing World Connections, a charitable organization he founded in 2004 that provides international volunteer opportunities to people of all backgrounds, not just Rotarians. Over 20 years, the organization has engaged 3,500+ volunteers across 25 countries to build sustainable community projects like schools, wells, and medical facilities while fostering cross-cultural understanding.
Key takeaways
- Developing World Connections selects projects by consulting the Human Development Index, vetting local nonprofits thoroughly, and ensuring communities identify their own needs rather than external donors imposing solutions.
- Sustainable projects succeed when communities are prepared to support them long-term, volunteers teach maintenance and skills to local workers, and partnerships with trusted local organizations ensure ongoing success.
- Volunteers pay their own costs (typically $2,300–$6,000 for two weeks) but receive charitable tax receipts covering 25–30% of expenses, making international service more accessible to diverse participants.
- The organization employs 13 full-time staff and 3 full-time volunteers to manage semi-annual evaluations, infrastructure coordination, and both volunteer and fundraising operations across Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
- International volunteer experiences transform participants' perspectives on material wealth, family priorities, and global peace while providing communities with technical skills, economic stimulus through local hiring, and lasting infrastructure.
About Wayne McRannWayne McRann is a longtime Rotarian with 37 years of service and former president of the Rotary Club of Kamloops, British Columbia. He founded Developing World Connections in 2004 and served as an evaluator and monitor for Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation.
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Program: Rotarians Providing International Volunteer Opportunities to Everyone
Speaker: Wayne McRann
We bring you a new program every week on innovation, entrepreneurship, and education and how they contribute to service to others.
Having had the life-changing Rotary experience of volunteering in the developing world, a group of Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Kamloops Daybreak established a charitable organization to introduce others to volunteering internationally. Developing World Connections was formed in 2004 and conducted their first volunteer trips in Sri Lanka after the Dec 25, 2004, Indian Ocean tsunami.
The valuable experience of serving as an RI evaluator and monitor provided the knowledge to ensure the projects undertaken were sustainable and of greatest benefit to the host partner communities. Roughly 25 project communities have been served in Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, and projects range from education programs, to irrigation systems, school renovation or construction, entrepreneurial programs, and provision of eco-stoves. Assistance to women and girls is always a high priority, and to date, well over 3000 volunteers have served with Developing World Connections.
Our speaker, Wayne McRann, is a 37-year member of the Rotary Club of Kamloops Daybreak in Central British Columbia, Canada. While club president in 1998-1999, Wayne introduced his club to their first international service project in Guatemala, where over three years, they rebuilt a jungle village destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. For this, their club received District 5060's first Health, Hunger and Humanity Grant, and Wayne received RI's Service Above Self Award. Wayne was the District's Community Service Chair for three years, then the International Chair for three years, during which time he represented the District on the Canadian Rotary Committee for International Development. Wayne was appointed to RI's Cadre of Evaluators and Monitors and E&M'd 72 projects in Africa and South America.
Having seen the benefit of international service to fellow Rotarians, and having had the experience as a RI evaluator/monitor, Wayne determined he wished to offer this life-changing experience to non-Rotarians who seldom would have the same opportunity. After gathering together a group of Rotarians who would eventually become board members, Developing World Connections was formed in 2004, and became actively involved in international volunteer efforts after the Indian Ocean tsunami. Wayne asked his daughter to run his business, and then dedicated the next ten years to introducing over 2000 volunteers from within and without Rotary to volunteering in the developing world. Wayne retired in 2015 and stays closely connected to Developing World Connections.
Members and guests, please welcome Wayne McRann!
To learn more, go to:
https://developingworldconnections.org/
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