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Rotary and its partners have helped immunize more than three billion children in 122 countries since 1988, reducing global polio cases by 99.9 per cent. Yet
Rotary’s promise remains unchanged: the work is not finished until every child is protected. Rotary International For Raj, that promise is deeply personal. His dedication began with a childhood memory, long before he became a Rotarian.
Rotary’s promise remains unchanged: the work is not finished until every child is protected. Rotary International For Raj, that promise is deeply personal. His dedication began with a childhood memory, long before he became a Rotarian.
“Helping my school friend up the stairs showed me, at a very young age, what polio can take from a child. That memory has never left me—and it continues to strengthen my commitment to end polio.”
A commitment formed in childhood
While attending primary school, Raj helped a friend climb the stairs because polio had made walking difficult. It was a simple act of friendship, but the experience remained with him.
Years later, Rotary gave Raj a way to transform that memory into sustained action through vaccination advocacy, fundraising, public education and international field service. His Rotary journey would take him from community projects in Trinidad and Tobago to National Immunization Days in India and leadership of regional efforts to eradicate polio.
Raj was inducted into the Rotary Club of St Augustine in July 1987. During his first Rotary year, he was named Rotarian of the Year for 1987–1988. He also became deeply involved in polio eradication in 1987, beginning an association with Rotary’s signature humanitarian cause that would define much of his service.
A milestone presidency
Raj served as President of the Rotary Club of St Augustine in 1993–1994, the Club’s 25th anniversary year. As its 25th President, he challenged the Club to mark the occasion by achieving major service milestones. During that year, the Club helped send 25 children to New York for open-heart surgery, facilitated the implantation of 25 pacemakers in elderly patients, encouraged members to contribute towards 25 Paul Harris Fellow recognitions and formally began providing Jaipur prosthetic legs to approximately 15 amputees.
The Club received a Rotary International Significant Achievement Award in recognition of its meritorious service. The award was presented personally in Barbados by Rotary International President Bill Huntley. Raj was also named Rotarian of the Year across the 14 countries then comprising Rotary District 7030 and became a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation. He subsequently received the Rotary District Foundation Award. In August 1994, he was invited by Rotary International President Bill Huntley to Barbados, where he received a Special Recognition Award and a Rotary Foundation Award for his contribution to Rotary.
Seventeen years of District leadership
Raj’s District 7030 profile records 17 years of District leadership in polio eradication and PolioPlus. Through this sustained service, he helped keep clubs throughout the region focused on vaccination, advocacy and fundraising. He also travelled to several Caribbean countries to speak about polio and encourage Rotarians to remain committed to its eradication. Raj became one of District 7030’s leading fundraisers for the campaign. His initiatives included a flag project, the sale of End Polio Now stickers and pins, and a five-car raffle. One of his most remarkable fundraising achievements occurred at the District Conference in Grenada in April 2013. In less than eight minutes, Raj raised more than US$100,000 for polio eradication by, in the words recorded in his biography, “talking the talk and walking the walk.” His appeal received two standing ovations from an audience of approximately 300 people.
Taking the promise to India
Raj’s commitment extended beyond fundraising and public advocacy. In 2004, he travelled to India to participate in National Immunization Days. He joined teams administering the oral polio vaccine directly to children as part of a mobilization reaching millions. For Raj, each vaccinated child renewed the promise first formed on his primary school staircase: to continue working until no child’s possibilities are limited by polio and no family must carry the lifelong consequences of a preventable disease.
Recognition for extraordinary service
Raj’s contribution to polio eradication has been recognized at Club, District, regional, international and national levels. His District 7030 profile records 236 awards, including more than 92 District awards. Over the years, he has also received numerous awards from the Rotary Club of St Augustine.
Past District Governor Leslie Harripaul presented Raj with three Paul Harris Fellow recognitions for his significant contribution to polio eradication.
Raj also received the Rotary International Regional Award for Polio covering North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean; the District 7030 International Service Award for Polio Eradication; and the District Governor Citation Award for 2003–2004. In 2007, Rotary International presented him with The Rotary Foundation Certificate of Appreciation.
His most distinctive international recognition came in November 2012, when he was named a World Polio Hero. According to his biography, Raj was one of only ten people worldwide to receive the distinction and the only person from the Caribbean ever to be so recognized.His service was also acknowledged nationally. In 2004, Raj received the Humming Bird Medal Silver for Community Service, a national award of Trinidad and Tobago.
A family united through The Rotary Foundation
Raj’s commitment to The Rotary Foundation is reflected not only in his service but also in his personal giving. His District profile recognises him as a Major Donor Level 3, representing cumulative giving to The Rotary Foundation of between US$50,000 and US$99,999. His biography records that Raj and his wife, Sati Jadoo, are Major Donors recognised with the Diamond pin. Their Level 3 recognition was described as the first and highest of its kind in the Caribbean at the time. Raj is also a member of the Paul Harris Society, which represents a personal commitment to contribute US$1,000 annually to The Rotary Foundation.
Foundation support became a family commitment. Raj’s parents, his wife, their three children, his sister-in-law, nephews and grandchild are all Paul Harris Fellows. This family culture of giving reflects Raj’s belief that supporting The Rotary Foundation is another way of carrying forward his promise to protect children and strengthen communities.
Service within and beyond Rotary
Although Rotary and polio eradication have been central to Raj’s life of service, his leadership has extended into business, education, religion and community development. He is a Past President of the Arima Business Association and has served as an Executive Member and Adviser to the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha. He has managed three schools for the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha and has also managed three temples, including the El Dorado Shiv Temple and the Five Rivers Amar Jyoth Krishna Mandir. Raj also served for 16 years as President of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, described in his biography as part of the world’s largest Hindu organisation. Across each of these responsibilities, the consistent theme has been service: organising people, building institutions, mobilising resources and improving lives.
The promise continues
Raj K. Jadoo’s story demonstrates how one childhood experience can become a lifetime of action. The young boy who once helped a friend climb a staircase became a Rotarian who helped lead polio eradication efforts across the Caribbean, carried vaccines to children in India, raised substantial funding, inspired fellow Rotarians and committed his personal resources to The Rotary Foundation. His Major Donor Level 3 recognition reflects more than financial generosity. It represents compassion translated into sustained action. As Rotary marks World Polio Day, Raj’s example reminds us that eradication depends on people who are prepared to remain committed for as long as the task requires. For Raj, the promise is simple: continue until every child is safe from polio. His life of service leaves Rotarians with an equally clear responsibility—to advocate, contribute, vaccinate and persevere until the world is finally polio-free.