Lessons for Rotary from the District Covid 19 response INITIATIVE
“When a dog bites a man, it is not news. But when a man bites a dog, it is news.”
This adage is one that we have all become familiar with in Rotary. The work done by Rotarians across 35,000+ clubs in the world, has helped improve the quality of life for many people. But beyond the beneficiaries, there are few if any people who get to know about it.
And while clubs have effective Public Relations Directors, very few pitches to the media get to see news about Rotary’s work published or aired. Explicably, the media tends to be drawn to news that has conflict and absurdity, over other news values that would be associated with Rotary’s good work.
However, in Covid 19 there have been a few of the proverbial silver linings that have positioned Rotary prominently, in the hearts and minds of the people whom we seek to serve. Following affirmative action by a section of the media and intense lobbying by Rotarians who work in the media, organizations involved in humanitarian work have been receiving some of the ever-elusive media coverage.
By having one unified campaign that has touched over 4 million people directly, Rotary has been able to create a compelling narrative that impact and scale in more than half of the counties across Kenya, as well as significant populations in Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Sudan, which make up District 9212.
One of the things that helps is that campaign is fairly simple. Rotarians raise funds through contributions from the membership and their networks. The funds are then used to acquire handwashing stations which typically comprise of a 100-litre tanks mounted on a metallic stand and equipped with a tap. The funds are also used to buy food hampers for disadvantaged households and personal protective equipment (PPE’s) for use by frontline medical staff, some of whom are members of Rotary.
“Our networks have expanded from some of the organisations that have worked with Rotary in the past,” said Dr. Joe Kamau – Chairman of District 9212 Emergency response for Covid 19. “Because of our reputation, we are now being approached by some of the largest corporate institutions as their partner in the Covid-19 response initiatives.”
Rotary’s reputation has also propelled members to engage with the governments at different levels. For starters, Rotary has a seat at the National Business Compact on Coronavirus and Rotary has had an opportunity to work with county governments in some of their deployments at county level.
Indeed, when life hands you lemons, you venture to make lemonade. Covid 19 has presented a challenge across the globe, and we in District 9212 have taken this opportunity to show the world what Rotary is and what it stands for, in a way that we have not done before. There could not be a better time to be in Rotary.
Article by: Henry Ndirangu – Rotary Club of Madaraka
