New Rotary Peace Fellow Named to Help in Yemen

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All potential Peace Fellows are encouraged by Rotary to connect with a Rotary Club before applying, and they are required to have a District’s endorsement in order to apply at all. There are no Rotary Clubs in Yemen, or a District that includes the country. Dr. Fakhry took the initiative to find a club elsewhere, and was drawn to our District by the reputation of Swarthmore College and its commitment to Peace Studies. After first submitting his materials, he was interviewed by members of the Swarthmore Club, whose president submitted a strong letter of recommendation. He was interviewed again by additional members of our District, including four past-District Governors as well as our current DG and others, who enthusiastically endorsed his application to Rotary International.

Dr. Fakhry currently works for the International Red Cross, serving in his home city of Aden, Yemen. He is part of the IRC team providing health care for prisoners of war detained there. A civil war backed by competing foreign powers has been devastating the country of Yemen for well over a decade, producing what the United Nations has described as “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world,” with 21.6 million people requiring some form of humanitarian aid and 80% struggling for food and basic needs.

Dr. Fakhry trained to be a medical doctor in Yemen, worked clinically in the early years of his career, then moved in the direction of public health. He has worked with multiple non-governmental organizations and co-founded a volunteer project that digitally connected medical personnel in Yemen with medical experts in the U.K. for the purposes of sharing expertise and medical problem-solving.

Dr. Fakhry’s intention is to return to Yemen to contribute ever more fully to the peace-building efforts there and world-wide. Even if a peace agreement were to be miraculously achieved in Yemen, the aftermath of the war will take generations to overcome.

Dr. Fakhry will come to the U.S. in August 2024 to begin his studies. District 7450 looks forward to hearing about his experience as a Rotary Peace Fellow.