My Rotary Moment

There has been so much that has happened in the past couple of weeks that I’m going to have to write multiple post this week in order to cover it all. I first want to discuss my recent travels to Tanzania with the District Governor (DG), Geeta Manek. I truly believe this is the first time that an Ambassadorial Scholar has travelled with the District Governor to make club visits. Although the DG was the main guest speaker, I was able to speak for a few minutes as well.  I was the living & breathing example of what the Rotary Foundation can do for a community and young people. It was quite interesting for me to sit among the Rotarians and guest, barely saying a word, until the DG would ask me to stand up and say a little about myself and why I was there. Quite a shock and awe factor if I say so myself. Most of the time, the Rotarians were shocked because I didn’t look like a typical Mzungu (foreigner) but look East African. So in the course of two weeks, I was able to complete all of my club visits while in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanga, Moshi, and the Kilimanjaro region.

I am actually quite happy to be travelling with the DG throughout my scholarship year because then I get to see how diverse Rotary is in east Africa as well as discuss my research with people all over the region. I also get to meet some interesting people and learn about the different projects that each club is doing (or not doing). As a Rotaractor, this is quite different for me. I get to sit in on the board meetings and see what goes on behind the doors so to speak. Every club has a different culture and that makes my experience here in East Africa all the more different.

I am shocked at how the clubs that were older seemed to be comfortable where they were. That’s to say that they didn’t feel the need to visit other clubs, recruit as much for new members, and their service projects were mediocre to say the least. I find that to be a human reaction to things. When one is in a position for too long, they feel comfortable where they are and ultimately hurt themselves.  While the small and oftentimes rural clubs were trying really hard and serving the community.

The most touching club that we visited was the Rotary Club of Lushoto. It was quite a hassle to get to the club, so I was a bit uneasy about what to expect. I was fully expecting the members to be exclusive given that their location was so remote. But then, in the cold mountains of Lushoto, I had a Rotary moment. If you’re not familiar with a Rotary moment, it is basically a point and time when an individual realizes the magnitude of Rotary.  It can push someone to join Rotary or Rotaract/Interact, or it can be the catalyst for someone to do more in the Rotary family. But nonetheless, it’s a positive experience that shows the good things that Rotary has done, is doing, and will do. The Lushoto Rotarians weren’t as flashy as the Rotarians in Dar es Salaam, social as the ones in Zanzibar, or even as hyper as the ones in Kampala. But they cared for their community, and that was evident. It was one of the few times where I really wanted to be a Rotarian. I didn’t feel odd or left out. I felt like I was a part of a family, a growing family that would accept me no matter what my faults or disabilities may be.

Most rotary moments, you hear about someone realizing the power of rotary via a service project or speaking with someone that has had a Rotarian help them in life. But mine was quite personal in that I’m realizing that no matter where in the world I may go, Rotary and Rotarians stand for the same thing. I had the honor of pinning a young man who was about 2 years older than me and tell the Rotary Club of Tanga what Rotary meant to me. At first, I was completely nervous and didn’t know what to say. I kept asking myself “what does Rotary mean to me?” As I listened to the country chair of Tanzania Jayesh speak to one of the new members as he pinned him, I realized that Rotary is like a religion, its personal to everyone - we all get something different from our experience with the organization. But we are all family and friends around the world under the Rotary umbrella. That’s what the Rotary wheel means to me. Each spoke is a different walk of life, but they all come together for one purpose. You can be sure that if you were to visit another part of the world and meet a Rotarian, they will be kind and generous, there to help you if need be, and there for you to talk to if that’s what you need as well. In the Rotary family, you’re never alone.  I’ve only been a rotaractor for two years, but I have gotten so much out of Rotary already and I am so happy to give back to not just Rotary, but the global community.

 

Service Above Self - Fellowship Through Service

I had the great opportunity to go to Sesse Islands with the Rotary Club of Kampala-Sesse Islands. The service project was a medical outreach to a rural/remote village on one of the islands. To be honest with you, the island reminded me much of Jurassic Park with the giant ants thick forest. It was great though getting to know the Rotarians and Rotaractors that came on the trip.  There was a big turnout at the medical outreach. For many, this was their first time going to a doctor since the last medical outreach only because it’s too expensive to go to the mainland for a doctor or they can’t afford the medication.  I was also delighted to see World Vision with Rotary as well as some pro bono doctors.  The phrase service above self reaches beyond Rotary and extends to other NGO’s and volunteers that believe in helping those that are in the most need.

Getting to Sesse Islands was actually an adventure in itself! We took a 4 hour ferry ride to the main island. Being on Lake Victoria felt like being in the middle of the ocean.  There were plenty of over islands in the distance, some with beach coast and some with cliff coast, but overall, it reminded me of being in California looking out to the Pacific at Catalina Island.  I definitely had some childhood memories come back while on the ferry.

Once on the island, we were greeted by the owner of the resort with refreshments and snacks.  We were all quite tired but managed to figure out our rooms and come back for a bon fire. At the fireside, I decided that this was a great time to get to know some of the Rotaractors that came on the trip.  They were all so friendly and I was able to make fast friends with them while dancing. Dancing in Africa is so different from dancing back home. I realized that they had incorporated some traditional dance moves while dancing to some modern reggae music. I was highly impressed! They were also quite impressed with how I danced.  For some reason, they think Americans are uptight and don’t know how to have a good time. But I’m proud to say that I represented the U.S. very well.

The next morning we set off to the medical outreach village, however, it was raining so hard that we had to wait for the rain to pass on our island as well as the island we were heading to. Once the rain slowed stopped, we all got on a boat that I was extremely doubtful could hold all of us. It took about an hour for us to get to the other island, which wasn’t bad compared to the ferry to the first island. We docked, carried supplies to the village, and without any hesitation, we were helping the community. There was a family planning room, dental care room, pharmaceutical room, and a room to see the doctors if you had any problems.  Without a doubt, the most crowded room was the one with the doctors.  These people didn’t see a doctor often if at all. In some cases, the only time that they did see the doctor was when the Rotary Clubs had a medical outreach to their location.

Because I don’t know Luganda, I was in charge of registration with Rotarian Justine and Rotarian Florence. I was handing out the numbers, but was still shocked at what I saw. The people had to state their name, age, and which village they were coming from. What shocked me was how young some of the mothers were and how some people looked to be about 60 but were actually 40. There could be a number of reasons for this inconsistency in age and how the person actually looked. I didn’t take any pictures of the patients because of my background with HIPAA for Fairfax County. It felt unethical to snap a picture without them knowing where it was going to be posted and used for. All in all, I could see the importance of Rotary here in Uganda. The Rotarians are important to their society because when the government doesn’t provide for the people, Rotary steps in and makes sure the basic needs are met with the help of other NGOs. That was quite inspiring to witness. I am very happy to be a part of such an organization.

Finally! An Update!

It has been such a LONG TIME since I've written a post! I'm sorry everyone for the delay in updating you about my adventures before heading to Uganda. There is so much to tell you that I don't know where to begin! HAHA! Well, since my last post the first big event that happened was the....

Ambassadorial Scholar Orientation:

It was so great to meet different Ambassadorial Scholars and learn where they are headed in this upcoming academic year. I met some great people who weren't even Ambassadorial Scholars but were apart of a Global Study Exchange Team. That particular program is for older professionals (who are younger than 40 though) who go to another country for about a month and exchange ideas within their trade or career field. How awesome is that? And people thought exchange programs were for high school and college students. :)

The mirror on the table is reflecting on us haha!

The pin on the right is the Rotary 2011-2012 logo for "Embrace Humanity Within"
The pin on the left for the Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar

I was also able to meet the other Ambassadorial Scholar from my district. She is absolutely wonderful and I'm glad I was able to meet her. She's actually headed to China for her academic year.  The one thing that I have taken away from that weekend is how the sense of helping others was with everyone. The Rotarians were all so helpful and a pleasure to be around and I could see that the GSE (Global Study Exchange) Teams and Ambassadorial Scholars were the next generations of Rotarians. I am extremely happy to have been apart of this event and more importantly this organization.


Rotaract:

Since the beginning of the new year, I've made it a point to get more involved with Rotaract. I was a member of my university's Rotaract club but I decided to go to a couple of meetings and social events of one the Washington D.C.'s community based Rotaract Clubs. And boy oh boy! Was it great to meet a group of young poeple like them!

After a meeting with the Metro Washington, D.C. Rotaract Club

Ice Skating in DC with the Metro Washington, D.C. Rotaract Club

They are all so energetic, willing to help, and FUNNY! After every Rotaract event, I was on fire and ready to get more involved and make some new friends. They all have different interest but come together to serve the community, gain professional development, and just hang out with different people. Conversations with Rotaractors are never dull HAHA!

I also did a community service event with a couple of Rotarians for the DC Rotaract Club. It was quite an enjoyable evening. On one of the coldest nights, we helped the Salvation Army give warm food and hot chocolate to the homeless. I haven't done something like that since I was in Girl Scouts and even then we just prepared the food. 

Uganda Action:

In the past couple of months, there has been a little progress with Uganda Action. The biggest step was confirming that the small group (Rotarians from the Crystal-City/Pentagon club and me) was able to go travel to Uganda in the month of March. Now we are currently trying to raise more awareness about EDAPO and the needs in Uganda. This particular update deserves its own post so I will make the next post all about the Uganda Action Project and EDAPO.

I am excited to go visit the location and Kampala. Every now and then the group recieves a picture from the president of EDAPO such as the one above and it warms my heart to see the children. But since the trip has been set in stone, I have been doing so much research on Uganda and have contacted so many people who are Ugandan or have been there in order to get a grasp of what to expect.

Since the trip is about 2 weeks away, you can expect a lot of pictures and more information on the Uganda Action project. I haven't been to Africa before so this is going to be quite an adventure!

 Until next time everyone!

The children of Uganda

Wow! Over the past couple of weeks, I have learned so much about Uganda! From the various cultures, to the nonprofit organizations started by people like you and me to help women and children. As I continue to learn about Uganda and African culture, the article UNICEF-Uganda has planted a seed of something to further investigate. This article explains that the United Nations and faith based groups in Uganda are coming together to create a safer learning environment for children.  I find this to be very interesting because Children's Rights (which can be lumped into Women's Rights and of course Human Rights) are overlooked by a lot of the international community. Culture plays a lot in how children are treated and raised. Sometimes young girls cannot go to school because they have to get water for their family. Now, you may be wondering "Big deal. That's so simple!" but it's not if you live miles away from the main water source and have to make several trips a day. That very dilemma initiated nonprofits such as Blood:Water Mission to build water wells to help rural communities.

This article REALLY sparked my interest because I have been thinking about my community service project while in Uganda. I have spoken to many local Rotarians about a good community service project and have decided to work with orphans and children in Kampala.  Even though I have a desire to help women, helping children is just as important. I believe that if we want to break stereotypes and promote global understanding, educating and working with children is one of the best methods. I have also come across many nonprofit organizations that are doing great things in the region as well as local Rotary clubs that are partnering with organizations such as Arlington Academy of Hope and EDAPO (Economic Development and AIDS Prevention Organization). I plan on discussing more about these two organizations in a later post as I continue to speak with different Rotarians about the various projects in Uganda concerning these two organizations.

I urge everyone to check out the hyperlinks. Organizations such as the ones mentioned in this post are just examples of the wonderful things happening in Uganda to help those in need.