From Karatina to the WORLD

“Shepherd”

By definition; this is someone who takes care of a flock of sheep. In this case, the word “Shepherd” is synonymous with a large gathering of people or animals. According to the Holy Book, “Shepherd” is a word used to refer to Christ. On the same breath, the Quran also terms Prophet Muhammad as a “Shepherd”.

You can imagine my shock when I was busy looking for potential girlfriend(s) on Instagram, in the middle of an office meeting, when I came across a username “Shepherd_254”. Do we have a modern day Christ? Did Prophet Muhammad move into Kenya and I missed the headlines? I was in shock!

The profile revealed a guy I had met before. Short. An Authoritative voice. An intimidating male demeanour. Spectacles that remind you of Raymond Reddington from The Blacklist (an American crime thriller television series). A beard that was literally screaming for help, owing to its stunted growth. LOL.

The profile bio was short and precise: SK; Son – Brother – Friend.

Curiosity got the better of me and I skimmed through the “Shepherd_254”. One thing kept coming up, over and over again, in every photo posted; Rotary and Rotaract. By the time I was penning this article, SK had posted 70 photos from the Rotary and Rotaract circles, out the 122 photos on his ‘Shepherd_254’. Don’t play – I literally counted!

Disclaimer: This feature story is long. Almost double the normal word count. But today is an extraordinary day and we are talking about extra-ordinary service so, take your time.

Dear loyal reader of The Timeline, allow me to re-introduce S.K to you. For one last time, allow me to re-introduce him, again, as DRR: District Rotaract Representative. For the past 1year, S.K has shepherded District 9212, representing rotaractors from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Eritrea.

So – Why would someone splash Rotary and Rotaract all over his personal Instagram account? How can a Rotaractor from a small village in Karatina, Nyeri County, be invited as a Keynote speaker by a club in India?

To comprehend the preponderance and the magnitude of this, allow me to go back to 2014 and retrace the steps of S.K that culminated with him assuming the highest office in Rotaract Service Leadership.

You might think (we all do) that DRR is a lucrative position. However, nothing could be further from the truth. There is literally no power in Rotaract; unless your definition of ‘power’ is being addressed as a guest speaker, sitting in front during club meetings or cutting a cake. DRR is just responsibilities above responsibilities.

Having joined Rotaract in September, 2014, during his first month at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, S.K took a dive into leadership and community service. The thought of assuming the coveted District Rotaract Representative (DRR) position never crossed his mind before, till he joined the Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central (RCNC). Here, two RCNC members casually planted the idea in his head. Perhaps they were only complimenting his successful Presidency at RAC JKUAT in the Rotary Year 2016-2017 and appointment among the Assistant DRRs in 2017-18. As fate would have it, the two RCNC members ignited the thought of taking up more responsibility.

Before S.K blinked twice, he was elected as District Rotaract Representative Nominee in April 2018 in Naivasha, and one year later, he was installed as the DRR on May 2019 in Mombasa, Kenya, during the 2019 District Conference and Assembly (DCA)

Between that casual thought (mid 2017), RCNC nominating him for the DRR role (early 2018) and District Elections (April 2018), S.K was a keen observer and listener in an analysis mood to identify the District’s Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities and Threats.

After assuming the helm of the DRR on 1^st July 2019, S.K constituted a District team and together, they drafted one of the most ambitious blueprint for District 9212.

This 6-Pillar blueprint has been S.K’s true north as he shepherded Rotaractors in the District, to the next level.

Under S.K’s tenure as the DRR, District 9212 has grown exponentially and achieved the following strides, under the 6-Pillar blueprint;

Membership: 14 Community-Based and Institution Rotaract Clubs have been chartered, bringing the total number of clubs in the District to 101. Please note that this is the highest number of Rotaract clubs chartered in a single year in our District. Additionally, we have more Rotaract members than ever before in the history of our District. As per the penning of this feature, District 9212 takes pride in over 2,700 members. However, this was short of the initial target of 4,000 Members.
Projects: Clubs across District 9212 today are committing their time, skills and monetary resources to impact their local communities. This can be substantiated by: District-wide project: Green Rotaract Concept (Planting over 20,000 trees and championing environmental awareness), Country Project (Supporting girls in Samburu County & Peace Trainings in South Sudan), Regional Projects (Anti-Jigger project in Bungoma), Rotaract Clubs’ projects covering all 6 Rotary areas of focus (Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution, Disease Prevention and Treatment, Water and Sanitation, Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy, Economic and Community Development).
TRF: We can unanimously agree that The Rotary Foundation (TRF) is the heart and engine of Rotary. Rotaract Clubs across the district have since renewed and revamped their efforts in contributing money towards TRF. This means that Rotaract clubs will be able to draw Global Grants from TRF and roll out Multi-million projects impacting the community in ways previously impossible. In the culminating Rotary year 2019/2020, we have raised awareness of the TRF as an avenue of growing our impact as Rotaract, and consequently, Rotaractors across the District have raised over USD 2,500. In the previous Rotary Year 2018-2019, only USD 364.50 was donated by Rotaractors in District 9212 to TRF. As such, we’ve grown our TRF donation by close to 600%. This is impressive and the future couldn’t be brighter – Grow our donation further, eradicate polio and have Rotaract clubs implement TRF- Funded projects.
Purposeful Events: Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where you develop your skills as a leader while having fun and making connections. In the Rotary Year 2019-2020, RYLA Kenya was held at the grand Kakamega Rainforest, an experience that was phenomenal. Further, RYLA Ethiopia was held virtually for the very first time. Another purposeful project conducted in the District was on Valentines 2020 where Rotaractors convened, for the first time ever, to hike Mt. Kenya – in a bid to raise money towards TRF. Selfless, right? Hold up; who would forget the Rotaract Africa Summit 2019 in Ethiopia! This was a historic event that brought together dynamic young leaders between the ages of 18-30 years, from across Africa and beyond!
Training: District 9212 conducted regional Rotaract Officers Training Seminar (ROTS) training over 550 Rotaractors and now, the District has rolled out online training targeting even more Rotaractors.
Mentoring Leaders and Succession Planning: Strategic and Succession plans have been put in place by the District and this allows seamless transition within Rotaract Clubs.

Communication; Brand Awareness & Public Relations could be picked as one of the outstanding milestones the District has covered in the last Rotary year. For starters, the District team has successfully published four quarterly online magazines – telling your story. Further, rotaractors have regularly contributed to The Timeline; the first ever online District magazine in Rotary for breaking news and feature stories in the District 9212 and across the world.

Having outlined these milestones, allow me to point out that we are not there – yet. Rotaract is a continuum so within two years, some of the numeric goals set by the District will begin to roll by and manifest.

By now, I do believe you are beginning to appreciate the responsibilities that come with the title “DRR”. However, the warmth and reception you have accorded S.K in the past three years as ADRR, County Chair and DRR, is humbling. He has visited more than 90% of the clubs across the District and each visit is a memory.

”…The future of Rotaract is brighter than ever before. Young ladies and gentlemen are forming and strengthening professional, social and community connection more than ever before and making impact across the globe, in the communities and in themselves. Our District Strategy and Succession plan is on point and I retire a happy man. I shall be a resident at RCNC; advisor on call to the District and Country teams and, soon enough, a Rotarian. Rotaract changes each of us in ways we cannot even imagine. It has been an honour!…” 2019-2020 DRR S.K

Perhaps this could help us answer my earlier question “Why would someone splash Rotary and Rotaract all over his personal Instagram account?”

But wait – there’s more!

After numerous sleepless nights trying to understand why S.K refers to himself as “Shepherd_254” on Instagram, it dawned to me that he had literally shepherded the District, leading it to its current aggressive wanton growth.

I smiled. Took up my phone, sent 1,000 Kenya Shillings to S.K for work well done and…there it was. The confirmation message from Safaricom explained it all.

His name is “Muriithi”; a local kikuyu name which can be loosely translated into “Shepherd”. Yes!

Therefore, “Shepherd_254”, on behalf of Members, Guests, Friends and Alumni of Rotary and Rotaract in District 9212, it’s my distinct pleasure to say thank you – for your service and – tafuta bibi!