By Rotary Voices staff

In 1983, Alan Hudson spent several weeks on the Caribbean Island of Dominica as part of a Rotary Group Study Exchange. He was charmed by the local culture, and the warm welcome he received. So when an opportunity arose in 2012 to help people with diabetes on the island avoid having their legs amputated, Hudson jumped at the chance to give back.

Hudson’s Rotary Club of Hereford Wye Valley, Herefordshire, England, partnered with the Rotary Club of Dominica to sponsor a Step by Step program providing those with diabetes foot screenings at local clinics and training by health care professionals on how to exercise their lower limbs and take care of their extremities. Clubs in Herefordshire and Kent, Ohio, teamed up to raise more than $9,000 for the project, supported by a Rotary Foundation grant.

In the two years of the program, the number of lower limb amputations dropped 25 percent in 2012 and 72 percent in 2013. The government of Dominica has provided additional funds for diagnostic equipment to continue the progress.

The project is just one of many that Rotary members have shared on Rotary Showcase.