Today as we officially mark the end of our project pilot, we would like to dedicate this day to all our participants who made this dream become a reality. In a very special way to a Young environment health and safety professional, Nelly Wanjiru, a participant of together for a new Africa pilot project was recently elected for Rotary year July 2022 – June 2023 to serve as the Assistant District Rotaract Representative in Kenya Coast Region and at the club level the International Service Director. She hails from Rotaract Club of Bahari Mombasa in the District 9212 that comprises Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Sudan. She is an environmental Associate expert currently working as an environment supervisor at Mombasa Southern Bypass Construction Project.
Ms Wanjiru’s Journey with Rotaract started in 2017, after participating in a number of activities and events. In 2018 she officially joined the organization” I joined the organization due to my passion for service and especially to make a positive impact on our societies. Through the different avenues of service in the organization, it offered me an opportunity to be of service and make a lasting change together with like minded young people.”She said. Her commitment is marked by entrusted responsibilities which she never feared to take, instead always took as an opportunity of growing, serving and contributing to her community.
The same year she was elected to serve as the community service director for the year 2018-2019, then later as International Service Director for the year 2019-2020, the President for 2020-2021 and Membership Director for 2021-2022. “Rotaract provides a platform where young professionals and leaders connect to peers; mentors and mentees; professional opportunities and people and communities in need of our help to make a lasting change. We leverage networking, connections and use our skills and resources to offer solutions to our local communities’ needs. We connect globally and hence in partnership with Rotary, Rotaract and Interact Clubs across the globe, we promote global understanding; lead with integrity and implement projects – eradicate global disasters like polio.”
Ms Wanjiru, is thankful for the soft skills gained from Together for a new Africa project, which she was part of the last 4 years.”Through Together for a New Africa training program on leadership I was able to experience the beauty of diversity and how it can unite us all globally rather than bringing differences among us. Some of the challenges in our communities that we are solving as Rotaractors are different in each and every country while they will also require unique solutions. The lesson on Identity that we covered during our second training course, was an eye opener and quite insightful on determining the community needs and coming up with the appropriate solutions for Rotaract projects since different communities could be facing similar challenges but which cannot be tackled by the same solution.”
Together for a new Africa has striked her way of seeing the world but most importantly on her way of working with others by valuing everyone’s effort and contribution. Two values have become a pillar of her collaboration with others:Collaborative leadership or Co-leadership and Ubuntu Philosophy and ethics. “Co-leadership is very important for our setting in Africa where there is a lot of potential for growth. In Rotaract I apply co-leadership in seeking partnering clubs nationally and internationally and also other organizations to implement the projects in our communities. Though it might become harder to unfold and wrap up in a way that everyone can understand, I try to promote Ubuntu culture in my working environment and in my leadership journey day to day, putting it into practice at the core of every process I undertake. As a Rotaractor, service is at the heart of the organization and Rotary’s motto is ‘service above self’ which means ensuring universal fraternity of our different communities we serve.
Nelly Wanjiru and other participants of Together for a new Africa project from all over the East Africa Community, are the true testimony that shows everyone that young people are not only dreamers and they are not afraid to take responsibility to be protagonists of the change they want. After 4 years of wonderful and challenging journey, one would fearlessly and undoubtedly say that we are on the right track.The success of Together for a new Africa is the success of every single participant at each level of their personal and professional lives.
