RI committee seeks to mobilize African Rotarians
By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 20 February 2009
A young girl waits outside a feeding center in Niamey, Niger. Reach Out to Africa, an RI committee, was formed to promote collaboration, increase service projects, and boost Rotary club membership in Africa.
Rotary Images/Alyce Henson
Four African countries will each receive 20 incubators purchased by Rotarians in India as part of a project supported by Reach Out to Africa.
Rotarians involved in the initiative worked with local clubs to raise funds for transportation and port charges, which will help the infant incubators arrive in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda by 30 June.
Reach Out to Africa, an RI committee, was formed to promote this kind of collaboration, to increase service projects, and boost Rotary club membership on the continent.
"Africa has always been full of challenges, where the needs surpass the resources," says Past RI Director Örsçelik Balkan, a member of the ad hoc committee overseeing the initiative. "Reach Out to Africa's aim is to essentially give clubs and districts the guidance, advice, and resources they need to execute the best possible service projects," he explains.
"Activities like the incubator service project will lead to a reduction in child mortality," says Balkan. "This is an example of the initiative helping local Rotarians practice teamwork."
Originated by Past RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson's advisory committee, the ad hoc committee consists of four regional subcommittees that cover eastern, western, southern, and northern Africa, and another subcommittee made up of Rotarians from around the world who have participated in successful projects on the continent.
The regional subcommittees identify the needs in their area, while the last subcommittee finds project resources from local and international Rotary clubs and organizations.
Reach Out to Africa will focus on projects related to water, health, literacy and education, economic empowerment, children's welfare, and disabilities.
Balkan says that increasing club membership in Africa is vital to the initiative's long-term success. The committee is striving to help African clubs and districts meet RI President Dong Kurn Lee's goals of a 10 percent net increase in membership and at least two new clubs per district.
It would also like to boost African clubs' participation in programs such as Ambassadorial Scholarships and Rotary World Peace Fellowships.
As one of the largest RI committees, it has the flexibility, experience, and capability to help clubs and districts carry out service projects, says Balkan.
"We encourage all clubs to be proactive," he says, adding that the committee can be used as "a tool to help accomplish the best service projects in Africa. Rotary now has a great opportunity to reach our destiny and Make Dreams Real for all people in Africa."
Learn more on the Reach Out to Africa Web site.