Few Rotarians embody Service Above Self more personally than Bobba Venkatadri of the Rotary Club of Burlingame & Hillsborough.
Born into poverty in rural Andhra Pradesh, India, in 1943, Bobba transformed his life through education, determination, and hard work. He became a pharmacist and went on to a distinguished international career in senior leadership in the pharmaceutical and life-sciences industries. Today, he is using the opportunities that changed his own life to create those same opportunities for thousands of disadvantaged children.
Since joining Rotary in July 2020, Bobba has become a driving force behind his club's international service. As co-chair of the International Service Committee, he helped grow the committee from a handful of members to more than a dozen and has been instrumental in building partnerships among Rotary clubs and districts in the United States and India, The Rotary Foundation, nonprofits, corporations, and individual donors.
In just five years, his club has undertaken six Global Grants totaling more than $1.5 million, with a particular focus on educating tribal girls and orphans in rural India. The projects provide much more than computers: they combine modern computer and STEM laboratories, teacher training, student-performance measurement, community involvement, and solar power to bring reliable digital education to remote schools.
Bobba's goal is ambitious: to help 10,000 disadvantaged children gain the education and skills needed to escape poverty and build independent, productive lives. His Rotary service has also expanded into healthcare, including a Global Grant initiative to provide HPV vaccinations to 10,000 girls in India.
There is a remarkable symmetry to Bobba's life: A boy who escaped poverty in rural India through education is now using Rotary to give thousands of children that same opportunity.
For his extraordinary leadership, generosity, and measurable impact on young lives, Bobba Venkatadri is an exceptional Rotarian of the Month.