Charity should be our way of life – Rotary governor
The District Governor of District 9125 Rotary International, Eng Mbanefo Nnoka, has called on Nigerians to see charity as part and parcel of their daily lives to improve the standard of living of people in their environs.
Nnoka made this remark recently at the investiture of Mrs Victoria Nkem Osakwe as the 6th president of the Rotary Club of Abuja, Maitama.
The district governor, who noted that government could not improve the living standards of Nigerians alone, added that was why organisations like Rotary must try to fill in the gaps that government was unable to close by contributing their quota to development.
Nnoka added that it was only when people began to appreciate the impact Rotary had in their lives that they would be willing to contribute and join Rotary clubs across the country.
He said that he wanted big clubs in the district to increase their membership strength by 25 per cent within the first 100 days of his administration in order to reach a projected 600 additional members.
“I have charged the clubs in the district to increase their membership by at least 25 per cent within the first 100 days. Some clubs have overshot that already. Surprisingly, they are the new and small clubs. We are pushing the big clubs to make sure they surmount that and by the end of this year, we are going to increase our membership by at least 600 members.
Speaking on the incoming president of Rotary Club of Abuja Maitama, Nnoka said, “Osakwe has raised a foundation stone for the new health centre, I also charge her to lay a foundation stone for the doctors and nurses quarters so that they can stay within that clinic and be able to work there.”
The Rotary Club of Maitama is building a modern healthcare centre, in a bid to retain doctors who usually avoided being posted to rustic areas like Galuwyi community, which is some hour’s drive after Mpapa settlement in Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Earlier, Mrs Victoria Nkem Osakwe, revealed that the Rotary Club of Abuja Maitama has two adopted villages - one in Galuwyi, in Mpapa and another in Dutse Alhaji.
She said, “The challenge there now is that when doctors and nurses and other health workers are sent there, they go back because the clinic was built with mud.”
“In this my time, I deemed it fit that we should build a modern healthcare centre. So we have demolished the old one and we have started the foundation for a new one already,” she said.
Apart from the healthcare sector, Rotary Club of Maitama plans to equip the library of Galuwyi Secondary School with textbooks and computers. It also plans to employ teachers to supplement the deficit of teaching staff at the school who will be knowledgeable in ICT applications.
Osakwue further said that her club had built a toilet and sunk a borehole in the school.
“But we need to renovate the building and the water taps so as to prevent diseases through proper hand washing and flushing of the toilet. This will lead to effective disease prevention and transmission from one person to another,” she said.
On her part, a past president of Rotary Club of Abuja Maitama, Winny Fonaka, advised the new president to continue from where her predecessors stopped through the execution of projects, holding the club together by friendships and good fellowships.
She said Rotary Club is a humanitarian organization and it’s all about giving. “What we get back is satisfaction, even in economic recession; we know that no matter how little, you have to reach out. We all know that a giver never lacks.”