Does Rotary OPEN Opportunities?
Recently I was having a conversation with one of the members of my club on what it means being a Rotaractor and what value one can attach to or derive from it. A few things came out quite clearly and one of the saddening aspects was how we as Rotaractors underutilize Rotaract and the platform it provides us.
Recently, the RI President Elect Holger Knaack said “Rotary is not just a club you join. It is an invitation to endless opportunities” and that took me back to one December a while back. I was hanging out with a friend who for the first-time mentioned Rotary to me. His selling point of why I should join resonated so well with Knaack’s belief.
I would not say that rotary really opens opportunities forthright but provides that platform for us to exploit the same. Indeed, joining Rotary is the first step, but that in itself is not a guarantee of us enjoying the fruits thereof. We have to reach out, stretch out, be open and take up challenges, take up avenues of service, be the first to say hi, be the one to make the first move, come out of our introverted tendencies and get social.
I have seen people grow. I’m talking of big growth, business wise and in social capital, just by virtue of them not just being Rotaractors but making use of the platform that Rotaract brings along.
Rotary opens opportunities for leadership: The various leadership platforms that Rotaract provides has transformed people who previously were thought to be timid and introverts into great orators, organizers, MCs, trainers, strategists and leaders with cases of people becoming professionals in what they were volunteering in. It all began with a bold decision to take up responsibility.
Rotary opens social opportunities: It provides access to a wide range personalities, nationalities, social statuses and cultures. We get a platform to meet and make longtime friends and in some outstanding cases, life partners or sibling we never had. It is amazing how a gentleman in Ndenderu never in their wildest dreams thought they would get acquainted with a lady from West Africa but oh, the things Rotaract does! How about that guy who got to meet their next mentor, employer and even a vital employee through Rotaract?
Rotary opens professional opportunities: Rotaractors and Rotarians alike are professionals in their respective fields and through Rotary and Rotaract, we are privileged to have professional exchanges where each of us gets to appreciate and grow our know-how of what the other member practices. It also gives us the opportunity to grow our reach of different professions and gives us a head start when in need of a specific profession.
It has provided a platform for young professionals to hone their skills and grow their capacities in areas in which they volunteer. Take a case of someone who was new to graphic design but volunteered and took up the challenge to serve as a PR director for their club and now they run a graphic design business or that amateur photographer who through Rotaract has grown their business and now that is what feeds them and pays their bills. Or that entrepreneur who gets their first pool of clients from the family of Rotary and Rotaract.
Rotary provides an opportunity to serve and find purpose: Through service projects that we take part in, we get to give back to the community and mother nature. And in some wonderful cases a number of us have discovered our passion and purpose in life through service.
Yes, this and more are what we have access to, but it doesn’t mean any of it will come to us automatically. We have got to be proactive, take up and properly utilize these opportunities to get the best out of us being members of Rotary and Rotaract.
Certainly, Rotary gives us access to opportunities; but it is upon us to open them.
Article by Peter Mwarangu |President RAC Malindi
