Mentorship; The Secret to Growing Rotary and Its IMPACT
The 4-Way Test guides the actions, thoughts, and utterances of all Rotarians, Rotaractors and Interactors. Beyond this, however, there exists the Rotarian Code of Conduct. One of the codes of conduct expected of a Rotarian in good standing is for them to ‘’Use their professional skills through Rotary to mentor young people, help those with special needs an improve people’s quality of life in the community and the world.”
For the past 3 years, the Rotary Club of Nairobi and the Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central have been running a Mentorship program. Members from both clubs have been grouped in small units where they engage in guided monthly discussions. At the end of the month, discussions from each of the small groups are compiled together and shared with the Mentorship program members, facilitating peer learning across the board. The beauty of it is that the groups get to go out for drinks together, have dinner together, go for walks, and once in a while catch a movie together. These small groups are our families within which we seek to grow each other and build healthy and fruitful relationships.
One of the key objectives of this program is to facilitate a smooth and timely transition of Rotaractors to Rotary. Over the years, we have seen the number of Rotarians globally stagnate at 1.2 Million. There is a need to come up with innovative and very effective ways of increasing Rotary membership. More Rotarians across the world would mean more impact to the society. This mentorship program is primarily aiming at achieving this. Participants also have a platform to experience both personal and professional growth, one of the key goals of Rotary and Rotaract. This is a partnership based on mutual trust and respect. It aims to nature Rotaractors to be proactive society leaders and make an impact in Rotary’s heritage and core values; service, fellowship, diversity, integrity, and leadership.
The structure of the program is such that a mentorship group is made up of Rotarians (at least 2) and Rotaractors (utmost 6). Once every month the groups meet over a cup of coffee and a few plates of fries (probably 5) at different locations within and outside the city center. Time to time a few guests get to join the group. Laughter, jokes, stories, debates, social and professional discussions fill the air over the next couple of hours as this now close buddies and friends share their thoughts and ideas. Recently, Alumni members of the club who are yet to transition to Rotary have also been incorporated into the program. All participants are expected to research extensively on the topic of discussion before the physical meeting to enhance the quality of discussions during the meetings.
Frequently, participants meet to review the program and devise techniques to make it more impactful. This was the case on 21st September 2019 where 36 members from the Rotary Club of Nairobi, Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central, and Rotaract club of United States International University – Africa held a cocktail party, bringing together the six sub-groups to share experiences and ideas on how to better the program. Alumni members of the Club who have since transitioned to the Rotary Clubs of Madaraka and Nairobi North also attended. Also present were alumni members yet to transitions to Rotary and guests to join the Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central.
It is through these monthly meet-ups that I have learned the value of Mentorship. It is through these meet-ups that I have learned Mentorship is not about the mentor telling the mentee what to do, but it is about sharing experiences, helping each other find a purpose, building meaningful relationships and working on ourselves, together. It is about holding each other accountable.
Whether old or young we all have something within ourselves, that we can share with a friend and make them feel better, believe more in themselves, make that one decision they have been afraid of all along; not because you are better than them, but because we all have experiences that if shared the world would be a better place.
Every Rotary and Rotaract club has the amazing potential to run an amazing, successful and fun Mentorship program. All it takes to initiate one is a cup of coffee. Thank you, past president, Dennis Munene and Past President Dr. Githanga for having the first cup of coffee and believing in the idea, thank you to all the mentors and mentees who have sacrificed their time and energy to make it a success.
It is through such programs that Rotary and Rotaract will establish a solid, successful and inspiring mentorship program that will not only benefit your members but inspire them to pour out their souls and hearts in serving humanity. I wish you all the best and pray that the Lord will give you the wisdom to carry out the amazing task ahead of you. It is the hope of the Rotary Club of Nairobi and the Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central that this program will achieve its objectives as set by the founding directors, presidents, and members.
By Fredrick Oburu – Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central
Lovely article Freddy. It captures the essence of the mentorship program perfectly. I do hope other clubs can adopt it and thrive.
I have benefited greatly from Mentorship program and continue to do ao.
The Mentorship program has played a huge role in my decision to join Rotary.