The Lord is good, all the time. And it is in the goodness of the Lord that HE has made it possible for us to witness this day. I am extremely grateful to God for this day. I thank HIM for HIS mercies, blessings, protection and provisions through my journey in life which has brought me to this point, and for which I am sure, will take me further unto greater heights. I want to appreciate the members of the prestigious Rotary Club Onigbongbo for the opportunity to serve as the 40th President, a privilege I have been honoured with and a milestone for the club as well.
I acknowledge my entire family for their support and understanding, encouragement, love and prayers. My appreciation to friends and well-wishers for donations in cash and kind. I can’t thank the investiture committee enough for a job well done, particularly for their time, efforts and more importantly for the ability to have raised funds for this event. I will acknowledge specially the chairman of this committee in this regard. Thanks to all individuals and corporate bodies for their support also. Lastly, I thank all who have taken time out to be here today, and also those who would have loved to be here as well but for one reason or the other are unavoidably absent.
At the beginning of the 2021-2022 Rotary year which started on the 1st July 2021, when I took office, I identified the challenges of the last Rotary year 2020/2021 and also pointed out that we can (and will) overcome if we adapt and change.
As we will note, the theme for the 2021/2022 Rotary year is “serve to change lives”, for us to achieve this, we must adapt and change individually and collectively. This has been my driving force. Let us change our mindset towards affecting others and our community positively and thus change lives. Rotary is built on the foundations of service to humanity and this should fuel our desire to effect change(s) in lives.
The journey which started on the 1st July 2021 has no doubt been challenging, but with the support of
members, we have been able to make progress in and accomplish part of the programs for the Rotary year as enshrined in the areas of focus for Rotary International which are: (1) Planet earth Environment
(2) Material & Child Health care (3) Diseases Prevention & Treatment (4) Water & Sanitation (5) Empowerment (6) Basic Education & Literacy (7) Peace Building & Conflict Resolution
We have embarked on Planet Earth projects by beginning the planting of trees at Estate Primary School Ogba and also constituted a pupils-parents-teachers forum for the sustainability of the project. We have also identified and started towards the implementation of a Water & Sanitation 1 Disease prevention project in terms of reconstruction and renovation of a block of a toilet for Estate Primary School Ogba also, at an estimated costofN3,500,000 (Three Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira). We will be making donations of Mosquito nets, Cotton wool, Soap (wash & bath), and other medical materials and aids towards Maternal & Child care within and around the Onigbongbo Community.
RC Onigbongbo has an existing Microfinance scheme for which we intend to raise funds to the tune of N1,500,000.00 (One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) to increase beneficiaries from the current 20 to 50, under Economic Empowerment. This is outside sponsorship of individuals at the District level.
There are a series of scheduled lectures and seminars to cover for Peace Building and Conflict Resolutions, plus collaboration with The Nigeria Police for facility visits at the Ikeja Lagos Police College.
We have a key/star project under Health which is the IRAWO HEALTH CENTRE for which we have
approval from the Lagos State Government as we have secured the land and also done the architectural draining. For this project, we want to raise N35,000,000.00 (Thirty-Five Million Naira). For Education & literature, apart from donations of teaching and learning aids, we have approval from the Local Education Board to renovate sciences, and agric laboratories at Immaculate Junior/Secondary School Maryland at an estimated cost ofN25,000,000.00 (Twenty-Five Million Naira).
As per membership, we have new members to be inducted today and we are going to achieve growth in membership by 5 at the least. We have linked up with foreign clubs for partnerships hopefully and also applied for grants, by virtue of the experience of some members’ outreach. This is just a step out of the so many we have to make, and as such, we make another here and now by appealing to you all to align with RC Onigbongbo by donating in cash and kind generously so we can serve humanity to change lives. In our drive to change lives, we must mention Rotary’s achievement of attaining the “zero” level in polio eradication in Nigeria, but we still have a lot of work to do, which is why we are still embarking on the campaign to keep polio at zero through series of program and events. To this end, we have a target of $5,000.00 (Five Thousand US Dollars).
Rotary International recognizes people and organizations for their contributions, particularly the Rotary Foundation which honours people by awards and writing their names in gold and archives. There are various levels of donations ranging from $500, $1000, $5000, $10,000 all the way to $250,000. We can always find a suitable spot to make a difference.
It is very important for us to be reminded that Rotary is all about selfless service with integrity, and from the above programs and projects, we will see the magnitude of the work at hand. We appeal to you for your support as we strive to serve and change lives.
Rotary is a continuum and so, every year we embark on projects and programs to make our environment and the world better. Service and or serving is continuous as well, so if you have been approached before, take it as “honour in service” to respond positively and better again. That is the oil that fuels our developmental existence. Rotary is good, Rotary is fun, Rotary is pleasurable and Rotary is service. Thank you all once again for coming to join in our collective drive and desire to serve humanity and change lives. Please have fun, enjoy yourselves and God bless.
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