DRR COLUMN VIVE LE ROTARY!
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MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT:
10 TIPS
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ISSUE 1
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D9200 Newsletter
INTRODUCING THE DISTRICT COMMITTEE
2007/08...
ROTARY YEAR AT A GLANCE JOKES
2006/07
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JULY 2007
A Bulletin of the Rotaract District
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t is with great joy that I join the Rotaract (Rotary) Family in ushering in the year 20072008 with the theme ROTARY SHARES . Of course this theme has nothing to do with the listing of Rotary on any of the stock exchanges of the world but rather a call to share ideas and resources to grow Club membership and effectiveness in projects. Special emphasis has been set on Net Membership increase and I take this opportunity to share that that our Rotaract Clubs goals is to have a net membership increase of one new member every half year. This should be indicative in all Rotaract functions like ROTS, RYLA, and District Conference etc where each Club will be required to have atleast one additional member in attendance. As Rotaractors, we have benefited from the mentorship of our Rotarians and it is important that we share the fruitage by reaching out to Interactors who are the largest buffer opportunity for Rotaract membership. I request you to not only identify Interact Clubs that you can mentor but also support your Rotary (Mother) Clubs in forming Interact clubs. As Rotaract Clubs, you are then requested to engage in 3 activities with the Interact Clubs from the available avenues of service. Your ADRRs will be your key contact people and your guides in achieving the Rotaract District Goals. Your Country Coordinators are also available to you with similar expertise and authority the ADRRs and are literally your nearest point of contact as far as the year s goals are concerned. Financial Accountability at Club level is a core pillar in the execution of the Club s Work-plan. Start by paying
your District dues $50 (US) by 31st July to the Country Fund account, obtain a deposit slip then communicate (Scan and email) the details to the Rotaract District Treasurer and /or ADRRs for a receipt. The Rotaract District Treasurer has developed a basic financial reporting template for use by Club treasurers where no other financial report is in use. Watch out for the monthly Bulletin, which offers R.I and district information relevant to this year s activities. Requests will be sent out for articles and this will be the opportunity to share best practices and enhance online fellowship. Training sessions are also being planned including 2 ROTS sessions and 1 RYLA per country. In addition to the avenues of service training, P.R, Finance and Administration are some suggested components of the training curriculum. Finally, lets start planning and saving for the 20th Rotaract District Conference in Dar-es-Salaam, 14th -18th May 2008 at Bahari Beach Hotel. You will agree with me that after the year s hard work, partying at the white beaches and swimming in the warm coastal waters comes as the best vacation ever. Between now and then, lets do what we do best: Share Rotary in our Professions, in our Clubs and in service to society. Lawi Sultan
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Vive le Rotary! By Jingo Allan, IP DRR Saturday 26th May was an historic occasion for Rotaract in D9200. After more than 3 years of grooming, we at long last have an RI recognized club in Northern Uganda. We all know what Northern Uganda has gone through for over one decade yet Rotary has been alive here. It all started with the charter of Rotary club of Gulu in 1985 and it was not until the mid 1990s and early 2000s that the Rotary clubs of Arua, Nebbi and Lira were formed. The Rotaract club of Lira UTC (sponsored by Rotary Club of Gulu)was formed 3 years ago by Rtr Ocaya Besse while a student there. It has remained provisional since, although it is now sponsored by the newly formed Rotary Club of Lira. Ocaya upon graduating went on to form the Rotaract Club of Gulu community which has been provisional for 2 years and I am now reliably informed that it shall have its charter within the next 3 months! The provisional Rotaract club of Arua (sponsored by RC Arua) was formed later. I had the opportunity of visiting them last Rotary year and are they active! The status of their application to RI is presently not known. The Rotaract Club of Gulu University was formed barely one year ago through the efforts of Rtr Kasirye Henry who spearheaded the formation of the club.
Gulu University club is within the equally young Gulu university, which has a student population of about 3000. Its success can also be attributed to the efforts of Rotarians in Rotary Club of Gulu. The Dean of Students is also the sitting president of the Rotary Club of Gulu; the University Secretary is from Rotary Club of Kyambogo and several lecturers are also Rotarians! The Rotaract Club of Gulu already has several activities such as the cultural gala and tree planting projects where it has partnered with other student based organisations. We had a great ceremony in which we witnessed Rtr Henry recieve club regalia for the first time. His reign however was short lived as within the hour he handed over to Rtr Charles Lubega. I thank the folowing rotaractors who escorted me to this historic occasion: Emmanuel Njuki, Kampala Sylvia Kitibwa, Bugolobi Edith Batenga, Butabika Robert, President of Buganda Royal Institute Nicholas Kanabahita, President of Kampala International University Thanks to Rotary, there is so much more lie in Northern Uganda than war. There is life! Vive le Rotary!
By the Numbers 1,204,694 rotarians worldwide | 530 rotary districts | 32,681 rotary clubs 7,179 rotaract clubs | 165,117 rotaract members* | 10,823 interact clubs 248,929 interact members* | 6,278 rotary Community Corps 144,394 rCC members* As of 31 December; *estimate “ As Rotarians, we don’t just sit back and talk about loving other human beings. As Rotarians, we demonstrate that love, and we share that love, through helping each other.” — RI President-elect Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, addressing the 2007 International Assembly 2
MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: 10 Easy Ways to Attract and Retain Members
1. Promote club and district activities which address important community issues
More than just enhancing Rotaract’s image, public relations can help gain support for projects, attract members, and improve the quality of service that you provide. The following are some tips on how to effectively promote Rotaract in the media: § Appoint club and district PR chairpersons § Know the media in your area § Offer knowledgeable spokespeople § Identify Newsworthy Story Angles
2. Develop a Rotaract web site and encourage community organizations to link to it Keep pace with the times, and the Internet is a powerful tool for sharing club and district activities. § Develop your own club or district web page. § Encourage community groups to send their visitors to your site for additional information on certain local issues and programs.
3. Solicit third party endorsements of Rotaract projects Share the work of Rotaract. An organization with which you partner is an excellent source for a third party endorsement. Ask them to talk up Rotaract at events, in organizational publications and through the media.
4. Ask the beneficiaries of Rotaract service to speak on behalf of the club or district No comment is more powerful than one made by a person or a family that has benefited from Rotaract’s work. People watching the television report or reading the newspaper report will be much more moved by their testimony.
5. Publicize member participation in club and district activities in business and trade periodicals Rotaractors spend a lot of time volunteering in their communities. Have their work recognized among their professional peers by sending a press release to various industry publications.
6. Arrange for Rotaract displays in local libraries, banks, city halls, etc. Many organizations will permit community groups to put up displays in their buildings. Order materials from the RI catalog and set up an educational display in heavily trafficked places.
7. Produce a video of club and district activity Many Rotaract clubs have members who have the equipment and knowledge necessary to produce a video, and editing can often be donated. A compelling video depicting hands-on activities is a good way of telling the Rotaract story. The video could be used as part of a display and it could be sent to interested members of the media and organizations. A shorter version could be submitted for consideration as a public service announcement. The tape could also be used for district conferences and other Rotaract events.
8. Promote Rotaract’s work with and for young people The media is interested in programs relating to young people. They are particularly interested in projects being carried out by young people such as Interact activities and the Ambassadorial Scholarship program. Promoting the work of young people to the media is a good way of updating the image of Rotaract.
9. Seek opportunities for Rotarians to speak at community events and in schools Visibility is an important prerequisite to membership recruitment. Be aggressive in identifying opportunities for members of Rotaract to speak at community events. Be proactive! Don’t wait to be invited.
10. Speak to the local press club Every major city has a local press organization. Learn about yours and call them to see if it might be possible to come and speak at an upcoming meeting. Tell them you’d like to talk about Rotaract’s role in important community issues such as drug abuse prevention, tutoring, antiviolence initiatives, and preventive recreational programs designed to provide structured activities in which children can be productive and have fun. 3
Introducing the District Committee 2007/08... APPOINTMENT
DISTRICT OFFICER
ROTARACT DISTRICT COMMITTEE (ROTARACTORS) Lawi Sultan Njeremani
DRR
Jingo Allan
IPDRR/ District Trainer
Hudson Mutalya
DRR Elect
Eric Opot
District Secretary
Aamena Jiwaji
District Bulletin Officer
Bonny Kamah
District Treasurer
Joash Mbogo
District PR Chair
Joseph Nyagari
On-to Conference Chair
Robinson Nkaire
District Webmaster
Winnie Kamau
District Conference Chair
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ROTARACT REPRESENTATIVES Biruk Melaku
Ethiopia
Karyna Okwaro
Kenya
Boniface Matambula
Tanzania
Edward Wamala
Uganda
Central
Vivian Tsisika
Coast
Northern
Country Coordinator Uganda Agnes Nantale
Western
Musaba Charles
Northern
Kagaba Paul
Publicity Sec.
Wamai Patrick
On-to Conf. Sec.
Carl Eric M Opot, Secretary Rotaract Milimani You only live once and you re not coming back, so express yourself. -Salt N Pepa
Boniface Kimboka, Coordinator , Northern Tanzania. Rotaract Arusha
Joash Mbogo PR Officer
Rotaract Nairobi Central
Rotaract Milimani
A day without a smile is a day wasted. — C h a r l i e Chaplin.
Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is Aamena Jiwaji, a form of planning. Bulletin Officer 4
Allan Jude Jingo, District Rotaract Hope should be perpetual in nature - Colin Powell Trainer Rotaract Lukuli Nanganda
Synergy provides a platform for the Rotaract community to Hudson Mutalya DRRN interact, identify partners and exchange ideas on programs, Rotaract Rubaga, which can be executed in their Kampala communities - Rtr Binu Bhaskar
Country Coordinator Tanzania Boniface Kimboki
Rotaract Milimani The within ceaselessly becoming the without, from the state of a man s heart proceed the conditions of his life; his thoughts blossom into deeds, and his deeds bear the fruitage of character and destiny - James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
Joseph M Nyagari, On to Conference Officer Rotaract Muthaiga Winning isn t everything, but wanting to win is , Vincent Lombardi.
Country Coordinator Kenya Sara Keino
Lawi Sultan Njeremani, DRR
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has - Margaret Mead Vivian Perose Tsisika, Coordinator Coast Kenya Rotaract Bahari, Mombasa What we focus on becomes our reality!
Karyna Okwaro, A.D.R.R. Kenya Rotaract Victoria, Kisumu Be the Change, See the Change, Live the Change!
Rotary year 2006/7 at a glance By Jingo Allan, IP DRR 25 years ago, the 3rd African Rotaract Club after others in South Africa and Egypt was chartered in Mombasa, Kenya. Under the guidance of Rtn Pres Mohamed Abdulla, later a District Governor, Rotaract stabilized by expanding to Nairobi, then Kampala in 1984, Dar es salaam in 2000 and by early 2003 had reached Addis Ababa. Presently D9200 is the third largest Rotaract district in Africa after two others in Nigeria. I commenced RY 2006/7 with a plan that focused on 4 core challenges faced by each club – Visibility, Capacity enhancement, Relevance to the community and Rotaract extension. The progress made follows. Present Rotaract Distribution: In over a quarter Century of service, Rotaract has grown from 1 to 91 known registrations with a current distribution as 7 in Ethiopia, 29 in Kenya, 4 in Tanzania and 51 in Uganda. An analysis of Rotaract presence across D9200 has to be viewed from several perspectives: status and location, provisional and proposed clubs. Eritrea does not have any Rotaract club on account of lack of Rotary recognition by the Government. Ethiopia has 7 clubs all based in Addis Ababa, all 5 recognized clubs are active and 2 are provisional; Alegneta and Soliyana. Kenya has 29 clubs, mainly aligned along the Kisumu – Nairobi - Mombasa highway. 5 clubs in Eastern and Coast regions collapsed, 20 are known to be active and all 4 provisional clubs are in the Eastern region around Kisumu. Tanzania represents the greatest growth opportunity for the district with a total of 4 clubs. 3 are chartered and 1 provisional (Rotaract club of Hekima – Dodoma). Uganda has often amazed many for a country of its size; it has a total of 51 clubs, with 32 and 12 clubs are active chartered and provisional clubs respectively; 4 chartered and 3 provisional clubs are believed to have collapsed. The majority are located in the east, central and southern region of the country. I believe we have an effective number of 79 clubs out of 91 on paper with a total of 7 new clubs having been chartered this year and 6 being very weak. At the end of July, we had a total of 5 proposed Rotaract clubs across the District District Administration: Over the last 4 years, the DRR committee structure has changed in size and functionality each year in an attempt to ensure efficient coordination of the clubs. The performance of my team was some what average, but this goes on to show that there are several gaps that need filling right from the top. This year’s structure introduced country level officers serving under the ADRR in charge of training, Rotaract extension, partnerships
and publicity. Good results were registered in each country. Great effort was also made to streamline the operations of the committee by collaborating with the DG team leading to major resolutions being passed at the 19th District conference and assembly in respect to finances, communication and training. Performance of Clubs: Rotaract Clubs focus their activities on 3 core areas; professional and leadership development and service projects. The Rotaract program has come along way since 1972 in its transformation of youth. In RY 2006/7, effort was made at enabling clubs realize the need for a balanced program that deals with their public environment, observes and maintain the six goals of Rotaract. Great effort was made at training clubs, making available Rotaract information through email, websites and verbal communication. The progress made though limited to more than half the clubs across D9200, makes us hopeful that through greater use of administrative tools, the Rotaract program shall be seen as a value addition component to society youth. All clubs in the District have a fairly balanced program for the core activities; however, many are also beset by internal conflict, membership turnover, poor image and varying participation by club officials. In RY 2006/7, we had a total of 11 ROTS, 3 RYLAs and many more internal trainings conducted by clubs. There is a still hope, however, that the effectiveness of Rotaract clubs shall improve over time. Future of Rotaract: Within the next rotary year, we hope for at least 5 new clubs formed across the district, but even then we do hope that at least half of the 45 rotary clubs not yet sponsoring a Rotaract club shall do so. Internally we hope to see clubs re-invent themselves and have stable approaches to recruitment and especially retention of membership. It is also hoped that each Rotaract club shall steer greater efforts towards Interact clubs. At District level, I foresee a broadening of the DRR structure to a level where ADRRs shall be responsible for smaller numbers of clubs, much like the present system of Assistant Governors. This shall be the most effective means of coordinating clubs in the district. Every beginning has an end. I was given the responsibility to steer D9200 Rotaract clubs for RY 2006/7, a task I handled with great heart, brawn and smartness. I thank and appreciate all Rotaractors and Rotarians for having expressed themselves with the year’s theme, “LEAD THE WAY” 5
A blonde and a redhead met in a bar after work for a drink, and were watching the 6:00 news. A man was shown threatening to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge. The blonde bet the redhead $50 that he wouldn t jump, and the redhead replied, I ll take that bet! Sure enough, he jumped, so the blonde gave the redhead the $50 she owed. The redhead said, I can t take this, you re my friend. The blonde replied, No. A bet s a bet. So the redhead said, Listen, I have to admit, I saw this on the 5:00 news, so I can t take your money. The blonde replied, Well, so did I, but I never thought he d jump again!
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Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other pulls out his phone and calls emergency services. He gasps to the operater: My friend is dead! What can I do? The operator in a calm, soothing voices replies: Take it easy. I can help. First, let s make sure he s dead. There is a silence, then a shot is heard. Back on the phone, the hunter says, Ok, now what? - Reuters.
A surgical patient was given the usual postoperative instructions. That night she called, wanting to know if her mother could visit. Any time, the doctor replied. Why do you ask? It says here in your instructions, no relations until after your post-op checkup.
Since spaghetti is now pasta and a TV set is a home entertainment system, the manager of my grocery store did his best to jazz up the lowly egg. He still has some work to do. A sign he put up in the dairy section advertised Boneless Chicken.
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A priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the Parish. A leading Senator and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and give a little speech at the dinner. He was delayed, so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited. I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had and affair with his boss s wife; taken illegal drugs, and gave VD to his sister. I was appalled. But as the days went on I knew that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of good and loving people. ..... Just as the priest finished his talk, the republican senator arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and gave his talk. I ll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived, said the politician. In fact, I had the honor of being the first person to go to him for confession. Moral: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER BE LATE!