The Country Vice-Chair,

Assistant Governors present,

Past Presidents,

Serving Presidents present here tonight,

Fellow Rotarians,

The Chief Guest of Honor Bw. Philip Kipchirchir Murgor,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies & Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all, to this auspicious occasion of the induction of the Rotary Club of Voi Board.

Sometime in 2002, while working at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) based in Arusha, Tanzania, I sat next to a gentleman during a flight to Dar-es-Salaam. We had a pleasant chat. Upon describing my profession and my hobbies, especially in the cultural field, he quickly remarked that I sounded like a Rotarian. The man turned out to be Uganda’s Ambassador to Tanzania, Ambassador Katenta Apuuli, whom I later met only once thereafter, before returning home to Kenya in 2005.

Fast forward to the year 2012 in the month of April. I was then barely two years old here in Voi City, having decided to re-locate from Nairobi in November 2010. A man called Ashok Anand, Past President who, currently, wears many other hats-including being our Club’s Sergeant-at-Arms, our Permanent Celebrations Committee Chairman, (PCCC) besides being, also, the Assistant Governor for Mtwapa, Kilifi and Malindi Rotary Clubs, invited me to join a group of well-wishers and persons interested in establishing a Rotary Club in Voi.

Those were the preparatory talks, held at Galaxy Resort, that led to the Chartering of the Rotary Club of Voi, of which, I, together with Ashok Anand, Dr Hanif, Willy Mkubwa and a handful of others, became its Charter members on 22nd June, 2012. All I can say now, therefore, is, that, at the very least, Ambassador Katenta Apuli’s prophesy became true, since I am now a proud 5-year-old Rotarian!

Over the past five (5) years since our Club’s Charter, we have had Ashok Anand as Charter President, followed by Rotarian Hope Mwangola, Rotarian Willy MacBonke Mkubwa, Rotarian Dr. Hanif Zizimawalla , Rotarian Basil Mwakulomba and now myself, in that order.

Initially, however, we faced human and logistical challenges, including finding a permanent regular meeting point, as a result of which, we became nomadic. For instance, we have sat at Distarr Hotel in the CBD, Comfort Hotel in Kariokor, Rangers Nyama Choma Zone, Petro Plus Petrol Station across the Town a Kilometer away and, finally, at Silent Guest Resort, next to Kenya Commercial Bank where the Club currently meets every Wednesday evenings for only an hour from 7.00 pm.

In the process, although we did miss some steps along the path of our Club’s growth and development, we have, nevertheless, individually and, collectively, managed to pool our resources, talents and, especially time, to render humanitarian service to the Community as best we could.

MANIFESTO

As we embark on the implementation of our Club’s Planning Guide for the year 2017-2018, we propose and undertake, to do the following:

a. Paul Harris Library:

Completing the Club’s flagship Paul Harris Library Project at Mwanyambo Primary School, costing approximately Kenya Shillings seven (7) million;

b. Wheel Chair Project:

Boosting our well-established Wheel Chair Project, which is continuing to earn us plaudits and international recognition;

c. School Fees:

Extending assistance in the form of School fees, to needy students at Voi Secondary School and other institutions of learning;

d. Environment:

In recognition of the near-death status of Voi River and its Basin due to wanton destruction wrought by tree-felling both upstream and down-stream, the Club will seek to supplement the County and National Government efforts to restore our Water Catchments.

In the context of the above, we undertake to conduct out-reach programs targeting especially basic learning institutions in order to revive the historical 4-K (Agriculture and Environment) Clubs that taught us to conserve the environment in our youth.

Incidentally, as we engage with the Primary School Clubs, we shall, also, simultaneously, target them as hunting grounds for recruitment as potential interactors.

We now cordially invite you, our Country Vice-Chair, Assistant Governors present, Past Presidents, Serving Presidents here present, Fellow Rotarians,The Chief Guest of Honor Bw. Philip Murgor, Distinguished Guests,
Ladies & Gentlemen, to partner with Rotary Club of Voi, as we endeavor to make a huge difference in Rotary year 2017/18!

Last, but, not least, we shall, also, reflect internally, of course, as seek ways and means to boost our Club membership, noting, however, to emphasize on their retention.

As I hereby accept, humbly, to be the President of the Rotary Club of Voi, I must sincerely thank all of you, jointly, and severally, for taking time off your extremely busy schedules to share and to fellowship with us!
Thank you!