This year's Rotary humanitarian of the year prefers to deflect the credit of his accomplishments to the many different people he collaborates with while doing his good work.
“This is really not about me. This is about, certainly the Rotary club and other good organizations in this area that do amazing humanitarian work … in doing things, not only for this community but in this case it projects from Alberta to the rest of the world. That's really the bottom line of this award,” said Robin Knudsen.
“This is a celebration, in my mind, about Olds, Rotary, and what they're doing,” he added.
Knudsen, a retired veterinarian, joined the Olds Rotary Club in 2005, about the same time as he became involved with Medic Canada, an organization that primarily gives out micro-credit loans to people in poorer regions of the world. His international work that he'd done previously got him involved in a feasibility study in Benin, Africa for Medic Canada.
“That's when it all started. Then once I started to get into Medic I found a very interesting thing to do and it was the right time in my life. It's incredibly rewarding,” he said.
Knudsen's passion for his volunteerism has deep roots, beginning with his father on the family farm. Knudsen grew up as a passionate believer in free enterprise, which drives his work with Medic Canada.
“Frankly, I love free enterprise and I love creating something of value. This is what I like about (Medic Canada). It's not aid; it is giving people the opportunity to be micro free enterprisers … and we're taking them out of poverty. That's really what drives me to do this stuff,” he said.
Mohammad Unis, a Bangladeshi economist who is considered the father of micro-credit, was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work in linking anti-poverty initiatives to peace.
“He was given the peace prize because when you have people that are happy and successful at their level, they're not going to be radical. This has a great deal to do with peace. There's a great connection between alleviating poverty and creating peace. And that, I think, is very important,” Knudsen said.
Medic Canada, which is made up of headquarters in Olds, an affiliate in Victoria and one in Newfoundland, is supporting a school in Benin that would otherwise not survive. The Medic International organization also has branches elsewhere in the United States. The Medic Canada network is a Knudsen family affair, with Robin's sister running the Victoria chapter and her daughter running the Newfoundland affiliate.
“This (school project) is straight grants, because if we didn't support that school, it would be dead. (The government) wanted to close it, and we've kept it open, and we're negotiating to take it over,” he said.
Knudsen will receive his award at the annual Rotary Harvest Ball on Oct. 27.
