Rotary Announces New Commitments on Education, Health and Environment
By Henry Ndirangu
Rotary has announced a raft of new commitments in the areas of literacy and education, health, and environment. The new commitments were announced on the sidelines of meetings between visiting Rotary International President and Kenya’s President H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta. The projects will be implemented in District 9212, which covers Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and South Sudan.
Speaking during a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi, the President of Rotary International Shekhar Mehta said the three-pronged initiatives will be implemented in partnership with regional governments with the support of members of Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact, which cut across different age groups.
In literacy and education, Rotary Clubs in the District will implement the loving classrooms initiative aimed at promoting social cohesion and positive relationships among communities, starting with children in primary and secondary schools. Rotary will also promote the uptake of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through the introduction of audio-visual material to complement classroom and lab-based studies.
The other initiative in the literacy and education pillar will be on the Girl’s Empowerment Initiative. It aims to provide a dignified learning environment for all girls, by improving access to education opportunities and enhancing the learning environment through efforts in renovating existing dormitories, kitchens, bathrooms, toilets and sewer lines, while sustaining provision of sanitary towels.
The health pillar will see over 250 children from the region benefit from essential heart surgeries done by doctors from India. The initiative will entail Medical Missions visits by heart specialists from India, who will in turn train local doctors to handle similar surgeries in future. On the same pillar, Rtn. Mehta also announced that Rotary in partnership with the Government will establish 10 eye hospitals to cater for cataract operations and establish blood banks in areas that are currently underserved.
In Environment, Rotary has partnered with the Ministry of Environment to plant over 10 million trees, increasing the forest cover in Kenya. Cabinet Secretary, Keriako Tobiko announced that through agencies in his ministry, they will donate 1.5 million seedlings to be planted across the country.
The President of Rotary International chose Africa for his first global tour since he took office in July 2021. He has so far visited Cameroun, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Kenya. He is scheduled to visit Uganda this week, where he will meet members of Rotary, Government officials and tour Rotary-initiated projects.
