Service Above Self, in Lilongwe since 1970
Chartered four years after Lilongwe became Malawi's capital, the club has spent fifty-six years turning the professional capacity of its members into water points, restored sight, school blocks and vocational training.
How the club came to be
The Rotary Club of Lilongwe was chartered on 9 January 1970. The capital had moved from Zomba only four years earlier, and the city that exists today was largely still plans on paper. From the beginning the club's work was infrastructural rather than merely charitable: boreholes, school blocks, desks, tree planting and medical camps.
As Lilongwe grew, the club chose to multiply rather than simply expand. It incubated the Rotary Club of Bwaila, and later sponsored the chartering of the Rotary Club of Kanengo to engage professionals working in the city's industrial zone. In February 2015 it sponsored the Rotaract Club of Lilongwe, giving young professionals aged 18 to 30 their own club and the club a genuine succession pipeline. That pipeline is still being extended — an Interact Club at ABC is being chartered in the current Rotary year.
The club marked its Golden Jubilee in February 2020. In the years since it has distributed Rotary's disaster relief funding after Cyclone Freddy, delivered multi-million-kwacha water infrastructure in Kasungu, and hosted the 401st Vision Care eye camp. In 2025–26 Rotary International recognised the club with a Club Excellence Award.
Milestones
Chartered on 9 January in Malawi's new capital.
Rotaract Club of Lilongwe chartered on 13 February, creating a route into Rotary for young professionals.
Golden Jubilee — fifty years of the club in Lilongwe.
Cyclone Freddy relief distributed in southern Malawi through Rotary's disaster response grant.
Kasungu water systems handed over, 401st Vision Care eye camp delivered, and an Interact Club at ABC begun.
Club Excellence Award, 2025–26
Awarded by Rotary International for fostering a positive experience for its members and reflecting the values of Rotary.
The board, 2026–27
Rotary board offices turn over on 1 July each year.
Member roster
Search by name, profession or office. Select any column heading to sort.
Interested in joining?
Membership is by invitation and each new member is proposed by an existing Rotarian, but the conversation starts the same way for everyone: come to a Tuesday fellowship and see what the club actually does. Send us a short profile and we will invite you.
Talk to us about membership