5. Vikas Gora 

Sponsor Club: Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India, District 3020

Host Club: Loganholme, District 9640

Vikas Gora hails from a family of Gandhian social reformers from India. He is a social worker by profession and has 10 years of integrated development and disaster management experience, and also had worked in the fields of human rights, coastal and drought prone area development, institution building and promoting environment consciousness. His last job was as the Director, Disaster Management Wing of Arthik Samata Mandal, an NGO working for vulnerability reduction and disaster preparedness in south India.

He also worked in CARE India, Child Rights and You, Coady International Institute, and is a consultant to various international organizations and managed high value projects. He has studied environmental journalism, community development, people’s diplomacy and nonviolence in India and abroad. His passion in disaster management led him to pursue a part time Ph.D., on Community Based Disaster Preparedness.

His career goal is to work in the UN at the policy level and to address the socio-economic vulnerability issues in the South East Asian region. He is grateful to the Rotary Foundation in trusting and investing in him to make a difference. He thanks his sponsor Rotary Club of Vijayawada, Krishna, R.I. District 3020 and host Rotary Club of Loganholme RI District 9640.