His Excellency Kithsiri Athulathmudali
Former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the State of Qatar. Co-founder, One Million Drops.
Leads East Meets West initiatives across Asia, the Middle East and the Eastern Hemisphere.
The story
What if East and West didn't just work in parallel, but truly worked together?
Under the shared banner of Rotary International, two leaders from opposite sides of the world came together with one purpose: bringing clean water to the communities that need it most.
His Excellency Kithsiri Athulathmudali, former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the State of Qatar, represents the East. For years he has worked across Asia and neighboring regions, where access to clean water can transform an entire community. Steve Bender, Chairman of the United States Green Chamber of Commerce, has been advancing the same work throughout the Americas, building partnerships with volunteers and local leaders to design water systems that last.
Their paths crossed not by chance, but by calling. His Excellency's regional insight and grassroots engagement across the East align with Steve Bender's infrastructure experience and network throughout the Americas and Africa. Together they can reach far more people than either could alone.
Inspired by the mission of One Million Drops, they launched East Meets West at The Environmental Xperience at EarthX 2026 in Dallas, home of the Rotary Xperience, the largest Rotary environmental and sustainability gathering in the world. The partnership was formalized with a Memorandum of Understanding, and One Million Drops was presented at the 2026 Rotary International Convention in Taipei.
Now the idea is growing beyond water. Any Rotary club in the West can find a partner in the East, and any club in the East can find one in the West, for projects in all seven Rotary Areas of Focus.
Because when East meets West, water flows, and so does hope.
