From Rotary D9212, With Love
So, you’re a Rotarian. You’re busy. You work long hours, get home, sit at your
desk. And Rotary. You work long weeks, and while many are thanking God
‘ni Furahi Day’, and looking forward to chilling on the weekend, you thank God
too, and then, wake up early on Saturday morning to go for a community project.
You’re a Rotarian, sure, it’s fulfilling. But it’s also hard. And you’re not thanked
nearly as much as you should be. Well, it’s the month of Love. And here at
District, we value every single one of you. So, we asked Rotary District 9212 to write you a letter just so you’re sure, you’re appreciated and loved.
Dear Rotarian,
By Rotarian we mean all of you, Rotary, Rotaract, Interact; if you have a pin
with our logo and you wear that pin proudly, this letter is for you. We are
halfway through the Rotary year, but if you’re like most committed members, I
am sure it feels like you’ve worked for twelve months already.
You had big dreams when the year rolled out, when we danced together and
declared, ‘We Are One’, back there in Addis. You returned to your clubs and
installed your new board. You were all beautiful and shiny and ready to serve,
because a Rotarian is always ready to serve, always above self.
It’s a powerful slogan, but it can also be a difficult one to live up to. Like life,
Rotary doesn’t always work out as planned. There were big things you wanted
to do, which maybe you haven’t accomplished to date and in fact, the road
ahead looks longer than the one behind you. There were new members you
were sure would be joining this great course, but some fell through, others
made promises they didn’t keep. Others left. Now, you may be disillusioned, asking yourself if they see something you don’t. If maybe answering this call
wasn’t the right one for you.
You took up a post because you believed you were up to the challenge, now
maybe the word ‘challenge’ is the biggest one you see. You planned to give
more, raise more, do more. But maybe what it feels like is that you’ve been
running around in very long circles.
Rotary is fulfilling, but we know that the Rotary journey of service is also hard. A wise man said the other day, we claim to be a group of volunteers, but what you really are, is professionals, running a professional multi-layered organization, without a payroll. A lot of the world will never know what you do, not really. They will never know that you give of your skills and expertise for free. They will never know you have transformed schools, impacted communities, saved lives, brokered peace, aided in crisis, helped mothers cradle healthy babies, been the invisible hand behind science and the advancement of the human race.
You’ve done all this tirelessly, sometimes thanklessly. You’ve worked in the
shadows; you’ve been in the trenches. You’ve done all this without seeking
glory, you’ve done it because you heard a call and you answered.
The world may not always know who you are, what you do or why. But we
know.
And for that we say thank you.
Dear Rotarian,
Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your endless nights. Thank you for
using your hard-earned resources to give someone else a better life. Thank you
for being honest and kind and gracious. Thank you for being a leader, for following, for supporting, for saying the things that need to be said, and doing
the things that need to be done. Thank you for choosing to be part of the solution, and when there appears to be none, not giving up until it is found.
And so, as we continue to the second half of the year, we ask you to turn your head towards the sunlight, the gratitude is that is being poured from us to you. We ask you to always remember through the grind, the tough times, the tasks that seem endless and thankless, that our why is a collective one.
Our why is service, a better today, a brighter tomorrow; now.
You may never hear it directly, but you matter, your sacrifice matters. When
you transform that one life you transform generations, you transform the
world.
We wanted to say, thank you. You are seen. You are honoured, you are valued.
It is the month of love, and our arms are wide open.
Dear Rotarian,
Thank you.
Love, Rotary District 9212.
