Sungai Watch is an incredibly successful NGO with a singular focus: “protect and restore our world's rivers by developing and designing simple technologies to stop the flow of plastic pollution from going into the ocean.”

According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, plastic production will triple by 2060. About 50% will wind up in landfills and less than 20% will be recycled. Our planet and rivers cannot absorb that much plastic waste.

Sungai Watch is making the difference the world needs.

As a 501(c)3-certified NGO based in Indonesia, they have built a team of 160+ local, full-time River Warriors.

That team is accomplishing quantifiable outputs since 2020:

• 380 trash-blocking river barriers installed across 37 subdistricts in Bali and East Java, Indonesia

• 4.2 M kg of non-organic waste collected from rivers, illegal landfill, mangroves, and beaches

• 2,461 total cleanup organized since 2020

• 29,353 total volunteers engaged across cleanups and sorting efforts

Their momentum continues.

Starting March 28, 2026, Sungai Watch founders, Gary, Kelly, and Sam Bencheghib will spend 57 days running across Java, the world’s most populated island for their 2026 Run for Rivers initiative. They will run an average of 25 kilometers each day to cover the 1,200-km total distance.

And they’re activating their 3 million+ global supporters to fund the largest river cleanup movement in Indonesia. They have a simple goal: raise $1 million dollars and permanently remove 1 million kilograms of plastics from Indonesia’s waters.

For every dollar donated, they will remove a kilogram of plastic waste from rivers, illegal dumps, mangroves, and beaches throughout Java.

Sungai Watch’s viral content has already galvanized massive volunteer mobilization twice. Their social media initiatives are creating and rewriting national environmental policy.

Run for Rivers 2026 is next.

When the Bencheghibs kayaked the Citarum River in 2017, President Jokowi deployed 7,000 military personnel for cleanup operations. In 2026, 10,000 people showed up to clean the beach in Kedonganan, Bali. President Prabowo and Governor Koster mobilized volunteers including military, community members, military, police, government officials, representation from small-medium businesses, corporations, and fellow NGOs.

Their videos have more than 3 billion organic views. They spark national conversation and international media attention. They know how to turn storytelling into quantifiable impact. And their 57-day run is set to be their biggest story yet.

National Geographic photographer, SeaLegacy co-founder, and recipient of BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Paul Nicklen is producing a feature-length documentary on this historic environmental movement.

Want to be a part of history? Your business can be a major sponsor. Reach out to their team at info@sungaiwatch.com to find out more.

Follow their adventure on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube.

Want to learn more about incredible organizations, change-makers, and experts like Sungai Watch?

The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley features weekly speakers from around the world, all on your laptop or cellphone. When Sungai Watch’s Partnerships Manager Dika Dai shared their success stories, we knew we wanted to learn more.

Inspiration is the one thing all ReCSV speakers have in common. From bird conservation to water treatment in Malawi to cervical cancer prevention in Guatemala, we are curious, compassionate, and committed to a better world. If you’ve read this far, we know you are too.

Prefer to join us via podcast? Click here to find your inspiration locally and globally.

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When Sport in Mind’s Craig Adams shared their story with the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley, we knew we wanted to support their success.

Sport in Mind describes itself as “the leading mental health sports charity in England and Wales.” Its mission is to transform people’s mental health through sport and physical activity, working in partnership with the National Health Service and sports governing bodies, and harnessing the power of sport to inspire, educate, and promote good mental health.

Since 2010, Sport in Mind’s long-term partnership with the NHS has enabled them to transform the lives of more than 31,000 people struggling with mental health challenges.

In their words, “While research shows that being active is clinically proven to improve mental health, sedentary living remains prevalent among children and adults with mental health problems caused by many issues (eg non-supportive environments, low levels of confidence and self-esteem, social anxiety, mental health challenges).”

Now, Sport in Mind have created a virtual challenge in support of World Mental Health Day on October 10th, 2025.

This year, the challenge will run for 10 days, from 10th-19th October, with the goal to complete 100km, either as an individual, or a team of up to four people. The distance can be covered in any way at all. Run, walk, cycle, swim, golf, row, or walk your pet!

This year’s World Mental Health Day theme, is Workplace Wellbeing. Our virtual challenge is all about boosting wellbeing, whilst raising vital funds to support Sport in Mind’s lifechanging work, supporting people’s mental health.

We’d love for you and your colleagues to get involved, and if possible, help us promote the challenge, so we can get as many people involved and moving, in support of their own wellbeing.

Registration and further details can be found at the below link. There is no entry fee, we simply ask participants to raise a minimum of £50 each.

Sport In Mind | Race At Your Pace

See you at the starting line!

You can listen to our podcast episode about Sport in Mind.

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If you want to make the world a better place, you’re welcome to start here. You can join curious and ambitious people from different countries, who speak different languages, are different ages, and work in different professions. What we all have in common is a passion for service - locally, globally, and digitally.

Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley. We are online, international, and flexible for all schedules.

Like all of the more than 30,000 Rotary clubs around the world, we are committed to empowering individuals and communities through service and investment. You can read about just some of the work we do here. Both our programs and our services projects focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.

From the Bay Area and beyond, we do projects designed to engage people locally and abroad. If you live in or visit the Bay Area, you can volunteer with us at Relay for Life, Project Healthy Children, and Hidden Hunger. Our flexibility allows us to do both small-scale projects with mini-grants and to lead major global grants.

We are also committed to inspiring people. We produce thought-provoking, educational, and inspirational video programs, and podcasts with world-class organizations, inventors, innovators, educators, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, athletes, and community champions.

And we’re looking forward to sharing some of our favorite stories here on Substack.

Prefer podcasts? We launched three different podcast series to highlight the unique work and success of people making a difference in this world.

Our weekly podcasts are:

• Inspiring People

• Inspiring Solutions

• Inspiring Women

Busy working professionals or busy retirees can do community service and be inspired on their own schedule, whether it’s reading our stories here, listening to our podcast series, or watching our programs online.

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