Past District Governor of District 1220, Valerie Leivers, has become only the third woman in Great Britain and Ireland to receive Rotary International’s Service Above Self award. Out of 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide, only 150 of these awards are made each year.
Valerie was recognised for her work in establishing clean water supplies and working with Aids orphans in India, where she is also running a project to build a new village. The award was presented by Rotary International President, Sakuji Tanaka, at RIBI’s Annual Conference in Harrogate.
On receiving the award, Valerie said: "Although it has my name on it, it is all the other people who have worked with me that have made this possible."
Valerie was nominated by Gordon McGlone of the Rotary Club of Wirksworth. Gordon said: "It takes a certain type of individual to drive a project through and Val has that drive to make it happen. She went out to India and saw a need for houses and on her return had the idea that she could improve the lives of people there by building a village. Without her enthusiasm, it wouldn’t have been as big or as successful as it is."
Mrs Leivers began her career as a PE teacher, later becoming a deputy head teacher, before going on to teach literacy, numeracy and art at Nottingham Prison.
