The Rotary Club of Matopos is ready to serve communities post the Covid-19 pandemic, saying the reduction of cases gives members a chance to re-engage people and assist the vulnerable.
A rotary club is a humanitarian service organisation that brings together business and professional leaders to provide community service, promote integrity and advance goodwill in communities.
After operating virtually for almost two years due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown, the incoming president of the Rotary Club of Matopos, Anita Dube, said the opening of life society gave them an opportunity to rebuild.
“I was inducted in the Rotary Club of Matopos in October 2019 and enjoyed the rotary for a few months before we went into lockdown. The main reason I joined Rotary was to fulfil my passion of serving communities. There is an African proverb that says, ‘if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together,’” she said at her presidential induction dinner Friday.
“Rotary gives the opportunity to go far because we all know teamwork makes the dream work.”
The incoming rotary president said like most clubs, Matopos has had its own fair share of struggles due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
“We have had to transition from seeing each other weekly, to not seeing each other at all until technology rescued us in the form of zoom meetings. We were all excited to see each other through our screens but eventually developed online fatigue,” Dube said.
“Thankfully pandemic has significantly slowed and we now have the opportunity to rebuild. We all have a vision of what our club must look like. This being the year to ‘Imagine Rotary’ let us use this chance to re-engage, shift focus and restrategise.”
Dube said as the incoming president, she imagined the Rotary Club of Matopos with a vibrant united focused membership that would grow with young dynamic youth.
“Youth who are bursting with fresh ideas and new ways of doing things but still maintain the rotary tradition. Let’s reconnect and be there for one another first, before other communities. Let’s work for our team and above all represent Matopos with pride and fly our flag up high,” she stated.
In the rotary year which started this July, the rotary club of Matopos will strive to achieve at least one project from each of its seven areas of focus.
“We have already committed to being actively involved in the upcoming fight against polio, as we are participating in the immunisation programme of Bulawayo. We have committed to boosting our dynamic ‘rotaractors’ in their brilliant environmental work and as the Rotary Club of Matopos, we will adopt a school in rural Matopos and support the children,” Dube said.
The outgoing president, Peter Rensburg, advised Dube that presidency was not a silo, but needs the expertise and commitment of all its members
“I could not have accomplished what we have done in the past year by myself. It takes all of us to make the rotary club remarkable. I have had a wonderful year of learning and I learnt to keep things simple and get on with it. When you get on with it, good things happen,” he said.
Rensburg added it was good to see the club members continuing a standard that started in 1986.
“This is the rotary club’s 35th year and we continue learning, growing and helping communities,” he said.
Business person, Obert Sibanda, who was the guest speaker and a senior rotary member, spoke on what made good leadership in communities.
“To make an impact as a leader, one need to understand others. I encourage you to adopt a team mindset and identify potential leaders. A good leader wins by having a good successor, if you don’t it means you haven’t groomed a successor and that’s not a good leader,” he said.
“A good leader inspires others to excel, helps others to excel. Leadership grows and as a leader one must always read.”
The Presidential induction dinner was attended by fellow Rotary club of Matopos members and invited guests from all walks of life in Bulawayo.
