CELEBRATING OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER!
United in Friendship and Service
Friendship. The foundation upon which Rotary is built is friendship; on no less firm foundation could it have stood. ~ Paul P. Harris.
Rotary started with the vision of one man — Paul P. Harris. On 23 February 1905, Paul P. Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram E. Shorey gathered in Loehr’s office for what would become known as the first Rotary club meeting. Harris’ desire for camaraderie among business associates brought together these four men and eventually led to an international organization of service and fellowship. Each of the first four Rotarians brought different professional perspectives to the organisation.
The Rotary Club of Hurlingham Nairobi celebrated its 35th Anniversary on the 23rd February 2024, to coincide with Rotary International’s 119th Anniversary. It was a Karaoke (Flashback 80s & 90s) Dinner Event. The purpose of the event was to celebrate milestones made by the Rotary Club of Hurlingham Nairobi since its charter 35 years ago in February 1989. The RI theme for 1989-1990 was Enjoy Rotary, hence our anniversary event theme; “Enjoying Rotary as we celebrate 35 years of Creating Hope in Communities.”
Rotary Club of Hurlingham is a vibrant membership club of the young and young at heart who are bonded by the desire of ‘Service Above Self’ to the society. Our main goal being to execute Rotary International’s objectives in our world’s most persistent issues.
Our mother club, Rotary Club of Nairobi (the oldest in our District), and our family of Rotary Clubs of Muthaiga, Nairobi East and Nairobi North have been instrumental in our club’s mentorship and growth especially from a number of their senior members.
Staying true to that spirit, we have since chartered three clubs, namely, Rotary Club of Westlands, Rotaract Clubs of Technical University of Kenya and Hurlingham. We have a number of Interact Clubs in pipeline to be chartered soon.
We come together as business and professional leaders in our respective vocations in order to provide community service, promote integrity and advance goodwill, peace and understanding. All this while embracing the Rotary’s 3Fs, Friendship, Fellowship and Fun.
have managed to achieve these through established structures, great coordination and proactive teamwork that effectively drives our ‘Happy Club’ – as we are known to be – towards achieving our Vision and Mission as the Rotary Club of Hurlingham.
Some of the greatest accomplishments of the club include: –
We boast of having most Past Presidents as active members of the club, some serving both at Club and District level every Rotary year. Our club members too, have consistently served at the District – 9212 – level in the last 15 years. This being a testament to the enduring bond that we have that unites us a club.
We did a Global Grant project proposed by one of our sponsors turned partner, Jacaranda Hotel, who have been supporting us for over 15 years, by allowing us to use their facility for our weekly fellowships for free, and we have reciprocated in many ways to show our appreciation. In 2014, as we marked our 25th Anniversary, we cemented our partnership by doing a project of their choice – the Kikopey Dispensary in Gilgil Sub County, Nakuru County. We helped setup and equip the Kikopey Dispensary and have continued to partner with them by organizing Annual Medical Camps, where the outreach is usually above 600 residents during this exercise. This year, just like the others, we held a successful one on 6th April 2024.
Our collaborative efforts and numerous community and vocational service projects have positively impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the various communities that we are involved in. We have so far completed Global Grants in four main focus areas – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Maternal & Child Health, Basic Education and Literacy, and Economic Empowerment. We also went on a fact finding mission and needs assessment for our proposed Peace Project – the first in Kenya – in the Kerio Valley belt, which borders Elgeyo Marakwet County; Baringo County; and West Pokot County. The area is prone to banditry attacks along the three Counties, where ongoing efforts have been made to encourage ceasefire and dialogue. A project we are undertaking with RC Nairobi Samawati and RC Eldama Ravine.
As part of jumpstarting this project, we plan to have a Rotary Peace and Cultural event on 17th and 18th of May 2024 at Chesongoch, Elegeyo Marakwet County, targeting communities from the Kerio Valley Belt – Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo and West Pokot Counties, which will largely focus on having community conversation dialogues, cultural events, training on economic empowerment and a free medical camp.
We have a solid mentorship programme that pairs Rotarians and Rotaractors, which has seen very tangible results in the last two years. The power of intergenerational partnerships in ensuring the continuity of Rotary’s impactful work, we have partnered with our Rotaract Club of Technical University and Rotaract Club of Hurlingham in their Community Projects which are still ongoing i.e Sunns Children Home in Kasarani, an Economic Empowerment Project and Shangilia Mtoto wa Afrika – a Basic Education and Literacy and also an Environment Project.
Also, in driving positive change in nurturing the next generation of Rotary leaders, we have organised mini Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) for our Rotaractors for many years and that is why our Rotaractors are now serving in the District 9212.
As the Club’s 35th President, I am proud of the milestones the club has achieved through the years. We are enjoying Rotary as we celebrate 35 years of creating hope in communities. I joined the Rotary Club of Hurlingham five years ago after attending several fellowships to understand what Rotary is all about.
Since my induction in October 2018, I have achieved the PHF + 1 status and steadfastly served the club in various capacities including; the Club Admin & Secretary, Membership Director, New Generations Director, and as Public Image and Strategy Director.
In line with my vocation, I revived the club’s Hurlingham Mambo newsletter, through which it increased club members’ engagement and expanding our club’s reach. This led to RC Hurlingham winning its first District Awards; District Public Image Excellence Award and I as the Best Public Image Director 2021-2022, presented to us by TRF Trustee Geeta Manek.
In the spirit of ‘We Are One’ in unity and creating hope to the world, I have been gifting every Rotary Club of Hurlingham member, a reflector jacket, one meeting at a time, as a reminder to each and every member to serve and impactfully change lives of one community at a time, as People-of-Action.
Rotary is a membership organization, and it is the distinct skills and contributions of each member, that serves as the driving force behind every initiative we Rotarians undertake. It is against this backdrop that we proudly launched our Member Series, happening each quarter. The aim of the Member Series is to convey the inspiring narrative of Rotary to prospective members, the belief that joining Rotary means becoming part of an organization with a profound legacy of effecting positive global transformations.
With over one million Rotarians worldwide, I am proud to have extended the benefits of Rotary by growing our membership number to 55, with more prospective members already lined up to be inducted before this Rotary year ends. Our contributions towards the Rotary Foundation over the last two years has been above USD5,000, this year we are at $7,978 and yet to submit more before the year ends.
This year, in enhancing participant engagement and expanding our reach, we have had great guest speakers – experts in the industry – who took us through several human interest topics, in club and joint club fellowships which included our Rotaractors and also mega joint fellowships.
Most notable joint fellowships were;
Topic: Disability and DEI in Rotary, where we had Rotarian Jeremy Opperman, RI Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Taskforce and a member of RC Newlands, Capetown on 6th September 2023. The mega meeting attracted an attendance of 30 Rotary Clubs and five Rotaract Clubs drawn from District 9212,9350, 7910, 9210.
District 9212 Governor Leonard Ithau’s Cluster Project visit to Kikopey Dispensary in marking the World Polio Day on 24th October 2023.
Topic: Measuring the Impact of Service Projects through Monitoring and Evaluation, where Dr. Regina Fuller-White, RI Area of Focus Manager, Basic Education and Literacy (BEL), which attracted 20 Rotary Clubs and threes Rotaract Clubs on 13th March 2024.
RCH is currently working on the following projects:-
- Kikopey Dispensary Phase 4: Disease Prevention and Treatment Project
- Suswa Phase 2: Water and Sanitation Project
- Kerio Valley Belt Peace and Conflict Prevention Project.
- Kyenze Primary School: Basic Education and Literacy Project.
- Embu County Schools: Basic Education and Literacy Project.
As the neon lights flickered to life, family and friends of the Rotary transformed the 35th anniversary celebrations venue, Jacaranda Hotel Westlands, Nairobi into a vibrant time capsule, pulsating with the iconic beats of the 80s and 90s. The air was electric, charged with anticipation and the unmistakable scent of nostalgia.
Club members and guests, adorned in their retro best, stepped through the doors and into a bygone era where vinyl ruled and mixtapes were the love letters of choice. In attendance in celebrating our 35th Anniversary Karaoke – Flashback 80s & 90s – Dinner Event celebrations were Mudavadi Memorial Foundation Trust Fund, Ushiriki Wema Initiative Patron and Spouse to the Prime Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of Kenya, H.E. Tessie Mudavadi, Rotary District 9212 Governor Elect, Dr. Joe Kamau, District officials, other Rotary and Rotaract Club members and guests.
It was more than a party; it was a resurrection of rhythms and souls, a night where memories spun on the turntable of the present, each beat a heartbeat of the past calling out to the dancers of today.
Beyond the achievements, Rotary Club of Hurlingham is known for being “The Happy Club”, a place where once you visit, you will always want to come back because the club’s culture is very warm, welcoming and vibrant.
What does it take to improve the situation in your community? It starts with that inner voice that is eager to help and wants to be part of something important. Our passion lies deep in who we are, not what we do. The power of one is not about being self-centered, rather about being socio-centric and recognizing each action we take, creates a reaction and impact on others, whether we realize it or not.
“The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better.” ~ Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
What will your power of one be?
Here’s to many more decades of service to humanity!
Cheers!
To Rotary the world over!
Hurlingham Mambo Issue 11
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UkofRym8bJtKUVIyJF_hvdAKGNri6ySE/view
~President Mejumaa Mbaruku