The week of 14th November was an exciting and eventful on as I visited Clubs in Dar es Salaam on a fully packed program. My highlights for this week will therefore be a long but interesting read.
Upon my arrival for my second leg of Tanzanian Clubs official visits, I was warmly received in Dar es Salaam by the District Leaders together with Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Pugu, after which they hosted me for a brunch.
I later joined Rotarians for RC Dar Es Salaam Peninsula for their Club assembly. I enjoyed the informative discussions with this three-year-old club with an impressive diversity in membership and classifications. Their membership recruitment strategy is very intentional and focused on quality rather than quantity.
The Rotary Club of E Masaki, despite being a young online club, is doing a great job and has implemented various projects to support communities in and around Dar es Salaam. So far, the club has pledged $14,000 to the Rotary Foundation. I also had the privilege to induct two new members. We concluded my visit with a donation of more than 150 birth kits to Sinza Hospital, in addition to 1500 kits that had previously been donated by the Club.
At RC Mizzima, a 32-year-old club with a rich history, I was honored to meet the first female Club President in Tanzania and the third in Africa, Rtn. Stella Longway. I appealed to the club to have a strategic plan to reclaim their past glory.
RC Dar es Salaam Oysterbay is a premier and the biggest Club in TZ. The vibrancy at this club starts way before Sunrise, at 6.30am. I enjoyed their vibrant meeting that started early at 6:30am, where we shared the good news that we had raised Tzs 85 million from their most recent goat race fundraiser. The money raised will go towards various education projects, including the club’s signature Scholarship Project. The club has mastered power strategic of networks and collaboration with Rotaractors to create sustainable impact in their service projects.
Moving on, I visited a nursery school renovation project at Upanga Primary School implemented by RC Pugu. I was glad to see the happy faces of the pupils, teachers, and parents during the handover of the renovated classroom. RC Pugu is yet another young club that has managed to do impactful projects in their communities. I was greatly impressed by the club’s great presentation of the Rotary brand. At their club assembly we discussed and shared views on how to grow membership and carry out bigger and impactful projects.
I was happy to induct two new members into the club.
Following RC Pugu, I visited Kampala International University Rotaract which will be mothered by RC Pugu. I had the opportunity to address the Rotaractors and we agreed on how to fast-track their club’s charter since they had implemented several projects in the community.
RC Ukonga Mwembe Maadafu’s project visit at Mzambarauni Primary School preceded an informative and lively club assembly with the Club members. The meeting was hosted at a member’s home and was my first experience of an all-Swahili speaking fellowship. We saw an excited club with a mega plan to renovate a classroom block for the students with hearing impairments.
The meeting with RC Dar es Salaam started at 6 a.m. This smart, structured, and vibrant club is impacting and changing lives in our communities. They displayed the many projects and their contributions to the Rotary Foundation, celebrated Professor Kamuzora for becoming a major donor through a single donation of 8,000 dollars. We concluded the morning by donating 100 desks at Mwananyamala B Primary School in addition to the 1650 distributed to different schools before. The member of parliament, as well as the entire community who were in attendance at this function were ecstatic.
At Mbezi Beach Primary School, I observed the great change RC Mbezi Beach has made to facilitate a conducive working environment for students. They renovated 3 classrooms, transforming them into modern classrooms. The students appreciated what Rotary has done for them through donations, which also included safe drinking water. RC Mbezi Beach’s priorities membership growth and partnerships with other Rotary Clubs to grow the club and do impactful projects.
As we engaged with RC Dar es Salaam Sunset, I was touched by the work that the Rotary Clubs in Dar es Salaam have done over the years at the pediatric oncology ward at Muhimbili National Hospital. With the support of a resident doctor from Ireland, we were glad to note that various Rotary clubs from Ireland are mobilizing to provide blood testing equipment at the hospital in partnership with Dar es Salaam Sunset as the host club. I was honored to induct five new members into the club. President Jigna, her school, and her family are people with “Hearts of Gold”. It was very humbling to see the impact of their support towards feeding the cancer children at Muhimbili Hospital with protein shakes every day. To President Jigna and your team, you make us so proud!
Dar es Salaam City is another young Club that meets early in the morning. Their beautification of the Botanical Gardens is quite an interesting project that focuses on the environment but could also contribute to disease prevention as the space would provide a refreshing, invigorating and stress-relieving place for relaxation. The Club will no doubt be very significant in the near future when they grow their membership.
RC Bahari is another level of strong Clubs in Tanzania with 11 major donors. The club has a very big vision of growing the youth, farming, and many other activities countrywide, watch the space. I was also delighted to learn about their impactful service projects at Mtakuja Secondary School.
For our visit to Dar es Salaam Mikocheni, we visited Mwananyamala Hospital where I witnessed the hand over of hospital bed covers (Mackintosh) for approximately 50 beds donated by this Club. The Club has collaborated with the hospital on polio vaccination and has also donated birthing kits and mosquito nets to the maternity ward. I witnessed the vaccination of a one-day-old baby with the polio vaccine.
My visit to Chakula kya Mungu was the most humbling of the week. E-Masaki’s, I was overwhelmed selflessness and love of Visionary President Akash and his family who feed 35 schools with a total population of 16,000 pupils every weekday. I witnessed the preparations, packaging, and distribution of the food to schools. President AKSAH, is indeed a ROLE MODEL. Thanks for being the biggest blessing to these people and an ANGEL amongst our Rotary fraternity.
During my time in Tanzania, I also engaged with potential strategic partners for Rotary. We paid a courtesy visit to the Uganda high Commission in Tanzania and had a meeting with the Deputy Head of Mission Maj. Gen Geoffrey B. Muhesi. He expressed the willingness of his office to join hands with Rotary Clubs in providing support and partnerships to community humanitarian services. He looked forward to supporting Temeke Hospital. In attendance was their Consular, whom we had inducted into Rotary the previous day.
I also met with the PMI Resident Adviser and Malaria Lead, and we discussed potential partnership with USAID in the fight against malaria. The USAID representative proposed that Rotary begins working with USAID on various projects in the Songea and Morogoro regions. The Tanzania Country leaders are requested to follow up these strategic partnerships.
To commemorate the Rotary Foundation Month, I joined Rotarians from Dar es Salaam’s 14 Clubs in a fantastic evening event to thank everyone who has contributed to the Rotary Foundation and a huge contribution of USD 50,475 was recorded. Ahsante sana to all who support our Foundation.
A big thank you to our Rotarians in Tanzania for the wonderful visit, the great good that you extend to our communities, your thoughtfulness, friendliness, and service to those in need. It is simply priceless.
Please visit our website at https://rd9214.org/ for the pictorial of this eventful week.
Peace Taremwa
District Governor 2022 -2023