And in Ourselves
On the last day of Virtual RYLA 2020, somebody said of Rotaract that it is like going shopping and finding a pleasantly surprising two for one (or more) deal. That we join for this and find so much more, and that it’s up to us to grab what we can, be it friends, new skills or the chance to practice old ones, partners in life or business, the road trip that cements your youth or the most popular, and noblest of all, the opportunity to serve. In your report this quarter, Elvis, we need the latest life-partner statistics. Hope springs eternal, and here are a few highlights of Rotaractors finding or making for themselves or others, these deals of a lifetime.
We start in Ongata Rongai, Kenya, where I met President Muriuki who grew up loving the public library. He has fond memories of reading old books, nurturing his passion for computers on the now rare Windows XP, playing board games and generally letting his curiosity run the show. An opportunity to pass this to the next generation came through Kipepeo Safe Space, a free reading space for children in Rongai’s informal settlements. And for basic education and literacy month, they collaborated with their mother club, the Rotary Club of Ongata Rongai, roped in Longhorn Publishers and donated over 200 much needed books to the Butterfly. I cannot wait to see where this signature project collaboration between two clubs (Ongata Rongai and Lang’ata) leads.
Next, we follow Rotaract District Projects Director, Nancy, to Maasai Mara, where we’re bringing clubs together to work with Humans for Education, who have a mission to alleviate poverty through a revolutionary self-sustainable business model that creates financially independent schools, families and communities so that their children can gain the education they need. Nancy tells me Humans for Education have partnered with Rotary District 5180 to start 150 small businesses for women this year, and that any Rotary or Rotaract Club that would like to can join in, and that her team had the most fulfilling time passing their literacy, numeracy and business skills to the community as trainers, and can’t wait to create more impact.
Alright, we turn next to Natnael in Addis Ababa, who’s found a way to make Rotaract SPEAK. You’ll see what I did there soon enough. He’s a member of the Rotaract Club of Wodiyamado, and their podcaster. See, Natnael wanted to share stories of Rotaract impact in individuals and communities, to help people see the opportunities that exist around them in the Rotary family, and Wodiyamado Speaks, meant to be a coffee time conversation initially, has spread further than the walls of a coffee shop through the Internet. During my and District Governor Alex’s visit to Ethiopia, we had the opportunity to engage in conversation on leadership, courtesy of the Rotaract Ethiopia team and Wodiyamado Speaks.
Speaking of Rotaract Ethiopia, meet Country Chair and all-around amazing human, Meron. When Rotary International president, Shekhar Mehta visited our district, his first stop was Addis Ababa, and at the Indian Embassy in Ethiopia, CC Meron hosted an engaging conversation with the RI President, enabling Rotaractors and Interactors to pick the President’s mind on subjects far and wide.
And as the RI President visited Nairobi we brought 50 Rotaractors and Rotarians together with Pres. Shekhar, along with the ministry of environment to the Nairobi Arboretum, to enjoy the fresh air and talk about Rotaract, Youth and Environment. As he planted a tree, Pres. Shekhar emphasized on innovation as the way to tackle the environmental challenges we face, and a great exchange of ideas occurred with Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Environment. Here’s the big news, though. We had a goal to plant one million trees this year, and both the RI President and the Cabinet Secretary laughed this off and dialed things up to ten million trees. To emphasize their seriousness about this, the ministry of environment and related departments collectively pledged to donate 1.5 million seedlings to this effort, and the Chief Conservatoire of Forests in Kenya challenged us youth to step up to the challenge, promising to come along, roll up his sleeves and plant alongside us.
Now as we begin November and take a long look at the work Rotary has done to end polio once and for all, I would like to emphasize the increasingly active role that Rotaract is taking in raising funds for the foundation as well as the opportunity that creates to utilize funds from the foundation. Let us challenge our clubs to achieve giving certificates and even be all-giving clubs. Let us aim at raising twice what we raised last year and getting our clubs ready to receive and manage grants like Rotaract Naivasha. As we aim to double the 14 clubs that achieved giving certificates last year, let us celebrate the Rotaract Clubs of Embu, Nairobi Gigiri, Nairobi Central, Malindi and Menengai that have already achieved their giving certificates for this year and challenge ourselves to do more. I’ll see you in Thika on the 27th for their annual polio bikeathon!
Our Vision Statement speaks of creating lasting change around the globe, in our communities and in ourselves. Fellow Rotaractors, this is a drop in the ocean of the amazing things I’ve seen us do in our first hundred days this Rotary year as I visited clubs far and wide in Kenya and fellowshipped with Rotary and Rotaract in Ethiopia. The spirit of One Love highlights our commitment to service and to each other, and as we begin the next quarter, here are a few things to build together:
RYLA 2021 & 2022
Experiential training on leading self, leading teams and leading change. Join us virtually on November 3rd, 10th, 17th & 20th and in person in February in Ethiopia, with a project pitch in March 2022.
Reach out to the RYLA Chairs, Rtr. Vicky & Rtr. Jodahi on ryla.kenya@rotaractdistrict9212.org | ryla.ethiopia@rotaractdistrict9212.org respectively.
Projects
10 Million Trees Campaign – Your club can request for and plant its part of this great campaign.
Humans for Education – Join in to help one family start a sustainable small business
Safe Return to School & Loving Classrooms Initiative
Breast Cancer Awareness
Reach out to the Rotaract Projects Team on projects@rotaractdistrict9212.org
