Rotary District 9212 Lines Up More Than a Dozen Projects For Centenary Year
By Eric Ombok
When the next Rotary year began on July 1, 2024, Rotary District 9212 marked the start of its centenary year. The District — which covers Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Eritrea — kicked of the centenary celebrations with the signing of memoranda of understanding with Safaricom Plc, Pumwani Maternity Hospital and the Kenya Blood Transfusion Service on July 1.
Signing of the MoUs for a maternal and child health project and nationwide blood donation campaign, was the first of more than a dozen projects and other activities to commemorate the centenary year.
The launch program included rolling out the Safaricom Bonga na Rotary crowdfunding campaign and opening the way for clubs and clusters of clubs to start undertaking their chosen activities for the centennial celebrations, according to Rotary District 9212 Centenary Committee.
Other Centenary Projects
THE ELEVATE YOUR PIN CAMPAIGN: This is a fundraising initiative held jointly with the District Rotary Foundation committee (DRFC). The plan is to encourage Rotarians to elevate their pins from their current level to the next level.
If one is a Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) 1, they elevate to PHF 2, if its major donor 1, they push to major donor 2. The District Governor, the DRFC Committee and the Centenary Committee launched the six-month campaign on the sidelines of Rotary Club of Hurlingham’s installation on July 27.
PLANT YOUR BALANCE CAMPAIGN: This is an environmental initiative aimed at promoting the planting of trees, as a climate change adaptation initiative. Everyone will be required to plant the number of trees remaining in their age to get to 100. If one is 30, they plant 70 trees.
This launch was undertaken on July 29, in partnership with the State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as well as the Kenya Forestry Service. The actual tree planting drive will be launched at the University of Nairobi’s Kabete Campus on August 3. This campaign will run for six months and it seeks to grow one million trees.
JOINT CELEBRATIONS BY DISTRICTS 9212, D9213 AND D9214: District Governors from the three districts appointed Centenary Committee chairs to oversee the celebrations. As a way of ensuring we celebrate together, each district will identify a key activity that Rotarians from the other countries will join in and celebrate together.
ANNUAL CANCER RUN. The event by District 9214 and District 9213 will be the first joint centennial event and will be held in Kampala, Uganda at Kololo Grounds on August 25. District 9212’s Centenary Committee plans to mobilize more than 300 Rotarians from 100 clubs to undertake a road trip to attend this event and thereafter celebrate 100 years of Rotary in Africa. The planning, mobilization and running of the event is being done jointly by the Centenary Committees in the three districts.
Another joint event by the three districts will be held in Tanzania in November. The Centenary Committees are in the process of agreeing on the event and will provide the details in due course.
DISTRICT 9212 ANNUAL SUNSHINE RALLY IN JANUARY 2025. The initiative gives Rotarians and Rotaractors an opportunity to celebrate with differently abled children. The children are drawn from different learning institutions and homes of the physically challenged and are treated to a full day of food, fun and dance. This has been undertaken for the last 40 years.
This centennial year, Rotarians from D9213 and D9214 are invited to join in the Sunshine Rally, participate in the events of the day and thereafter have a joint centennial party as Rotarians and Rotaractors.
Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick who will be visiting District 9212 in January 2025 is expected to attend the Sunshine Rally and celebrate the centennial together with Rotarians from the three Districts.
JOINT LAKE VICTORIA INITIATIVE. Another project that is bringing together Rotarians from the three Districts is the Lake Vitoria Community Support Initiative. Given that Lake Victoria covers Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, the Centenary Committees plan to undertake a project that seeks to address challenges that face the communities around the lake.
In District 9212, the initiative will mobilize the fishing community along the lake, specifically in Homa Bay County, to run a program to address the fish-for-sex menace involving a section of the local women and fishermen.
This initiative seeks to encourage the fishing folk to embrace getting into Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies so that they can start saving to be able to invest better in the blue economy, empower the women to own fishing vessels, thereby reducing their vulnerability and giving them more control. This project will be launched in August 2024 jointly with the Homa Bay County Government, as well as different stakeholders in the community.
FUNDRAISING. A corporate cocktail will be held at the Capital Club, Nairobi, in August 2024. It is expected to bring together all the partners who have supported Rotary during the last century. This will also be a platform to pitch for partnerships and new or enhanced engagements in the new century.
SOUVENIR MAGAZINE LAUNCH. District Governor Dr. Joe Kamau will launch the compilation of the souvenir magazine. The magazine, which will be distributed during the District Conference in May 2025, will contain information about the journey of District 9212 since the first club was formed in South Africa on April 21, 1921. It will showcase the rich history of Rotary and its leadership to date.
This will be a celebration that will also recognize all the partners who have made the Rotary journey possible over the last 100 years. It will also be a narration of all the achievements that individual clubs have had in impacting communities in Africa, especially in our District.
ROTARY DISTRICT 9212 WALL OF FAME . This Wall of Fame will be a pictorial display of the achievements of the district. There will be both a virtual and physical display throughout the whole year. The Wall of Fame will be a printed canvas, which will contain pictures of all the past leadership of the District, key impacts of the District, accomplished Rotarians in the District and an impactful project by each club in the District.
ROTARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARDS (RYLA) OCTOBER 20, 2024. The engagement of the youth is a key pillar of the centennial year and working with the Rotaractors for their RYLA event will form the foundation of the youth engagement for the 100 years of Rotary service. The plan is to have the Rotaractors include Rotarians as part of the RYLA planning and program. This will ensure that they get the support they need from clubs in the district and give Rotarians an opportunity to be a part of their activities.
The theme for the 2024 RYLA is LEAP- RYLA LEAP (Learn, Evolve, Adapt, Propel), a program that aspires to empower young leaders with life-long leadership skills that will lead to impact and inspire others. This transformative program aims to nurture the next generation of leaders who embody the values of integrity, honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty, respect and care, as embodied in Rotary’s Four-Way Test.
RYLA-LEAP offers a unique opportunity to develop these values in young leaders while equipping them with practical skills for the ever-changing world. There will be 6 Mini RYLAs that will be undertaken, to give a chance to Rotaractors in the regions to participate in the program.
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION GALA DINNER ON NOVEMBER 30, 2024. The Annual District Rotary Foundation Dinner will be held on November 30. It is expected to be a bigger and more impactful fundraising event. Plans are underway to have Kenya’s Head of State attend the dinner alongside key partners and do a funds drive to raise more than $400,000 for The Rotary Foundation.
The dinner, which will be a black-tie event, seeks to also take stock of all the achievements of the foundation over the last 100 years in Africa, showcase the Wall of Fame and also celebrate all the giving milestones in the District. The venue of the event will be communicated by the District Rotary Foundation Committee, which targets hosting 400 Rotarians and guests.
The various Rotary regions in Kenya — Mt Kenya, Western Kenya, Rift Valley, Coast region– will also be encouraged to hold separate foundation dinners. The Centenary Committee help in mobilizing key people in the regions. The guests will include the key political leaders and local opinion leaders in the regions. In Ethiopia and South Sudan, efforts will be made to have the countries leadership attend the country chapter of The Rotary Foundation dinners.
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT ELECT STEPHANIE URCHICK VISIT. Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick is scheduled to visit Kenya in January 2025, after attending the Rotary Peace Concert in Uganda. During the visit, she will launch several centenary events including attending the Sunshine Rally on January 21 and visiting the Pumwani Maternity Hospital Blood Bank the following day.
President Urchick will also pay Kenya’s Head of State a courtesy call, with the aim of entrenching Rotary District 9212’s partnership with the government in improving the lives of communities. This will also open the way for Rotary Clubs to work with various County Governments.
ROTARACT SYMPOSIUM AT THE UNVERSITY OF NAIROBI AUDITORIUM. This will be a debate with President Urchick on the future of Rotaract. The target will be 600 Rotaractors attending the event. There will be a live broadcast of the symposium, to allow as many Rotarians and Rotaractors as possible to follow the discussions.
THE 100TH DISTRICT CONFERENCE AT SAROVA WHITESANDS MOMBASA. The annual District Conference will be held from May 15, 2025 at Sarova Whitesands Hotel, Mombasa. The conference targets 1,000 participants from all over the world. It will be the 100th District Conference since the first one was held in 1924 in South Africa. Key guests will be in attendance and participants will enjoy a once in a lifetime entertainment program.
