Last month I shared a concept that has stayed with me since my Positive Peace Activator training: “Every Act of Service is an Act of Peace.” I promised that each month we would take a closer look at one of the Eight Pillars of Peace. So, let’s start with a pillar that touches nearly every project Rotarians undertake: Equitable Distribution of Resources.

The Institute for Economics and Peace tells us that peaceful societies tend to ensure equity in access to resources such as education and health care, and to a lesser degree, income. Notice the key word: access. Equity is not the same as equality. Equality gives everyone the same thing. Equity asks what is keeping some of our neighbors from the basics the rest of us take for granted, and then works to remove those barriers.

If that sounds familiar, it should. Last month we looked at Dr. Galtung’s Triangle of Violence. Unequal access to schools, health care, jobs or justice is what Galtung called structural violence – harm that is built into our systems, even when no one intends it. When we work on this pillar, we are working on the invisible part of the triangle, which is exactly where lasting peace takes root.

So what does this look like in practice? Here are a few real-world examples from Rotarians and peacebuilders:

• Kampala, Uganda. After attending a Positive Peace workshop, a Rotaractor named Jude Kakuba used all eight pillars to revive a struggling school literacy project. For this pillar, school supplies went to every student equally, regardless of their ability to pay or perform. Enrollment grew from 327 to 805 students, and the share earning top grades rose from 30% to 62%.
• Dublin, Georgia. Right here in our own state, the Dublin Rotary Club partnered with the JOY Clinic to get medications to uninsured residents through “Saving Lives with Medicine,” a project of District 6920 and MAP International. The club didn’t have to run a clinic. It connected a trusted local provider with resources it couldn’t reach alone.
• Grayson County, Texas. The Sherman Rotary Club, together with the United Way, funds Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails a free book each month to every child from birth to age five in the county. Because the program serves every child, no family is singled out as poor.
• Sarasota, Florida. For its Centennial Project, the Rotary Club of Sarasota funded a food pantry inside a new Boys & Girls Club in the Newtown community, placing food right where families already gather.

Notice what these projects have in common. Each one asked not only “What do people need?” but also “Who isn’t getting it, and why?”

For those of us in rural Georgia, the barriers can look different than they do in a big city. Sometimes the issue isn’t cost; it’s distance. Here are some ideas your club might consider:

• Map the gaps. Before choosing your next project, talk with your school system, health department, churches and food bank. Ask where people are falling through the cracks.
• Rides to care. Partner with local churches to organize volunteer drivers for medical appointments, pharmacy visits or grocery trips.
• Connect students and job seekers. Fund Wi-Fi hotspots that your public library can lend to families without home internet.
• Bring the services to the people. Provide volunteers or transportation for the Georgia Dental Association’s free Mission of Mercy clinics, or work with local dentists on a school dental screening day.
• Give help with dignity. Place food pantries or “blessing boxes” where families already go, so no one has to ask for help in public.

Here’s a simple challenge for your club this month. Choose one project you already do and ask, “Who isn’t getting this, and why?” You may find that a small change in location, timing or partners opens the door to neighbors you have never reached. Then please share your stories with me so I can highlight them in future articles. (lauramcconatha@gmail.com)

Food drives, coat drives and school supply drives are important work, and we should keep doing them. Charity meets the need. Equity asks why the need exists in the first place. Rotarians, we are uniquely positioned to do both. When we make sure every neighbor can reach the resources they need to thrive, we aren’t just serving our communities; we are building peace, one pillar at a time.