There is no single solution for the challenges each community faces, but a regional, researched approach is what each Rotary needs to help their communities better.
This was the advice of Rotary International president Francesco Arezzo to local Rotarians on Friday (30 January) when he was welcomed in Stellenbosch by the City of Oaks’ Rotary Club.
Arezzo and his wife, Anna Maria, were hosted at the Devon Valley Hotel last week as part of his visit to Rotary District 9350, the Southern African region.
Alberto Vecchi, the Italian ambassador, also attended the gathering.
“We hope you will experience the passion, creativity and the resilience of our clubs and our communities,” District Governor Pam Rawbone of Rotary District 9350 told the delegation during the welcome.
“We look forward to showcasing some of the impactful projects from youth development and education to health initiatives and sustainable community upliftment.”
Rotary is an international humanitarian-service organisation that aims to help communities through its networks of volunteers. In Stellenbosch the local club has a rich history and has helped establish long-standing institutions such as the local hospice and Molenhof Retirement Home.
“If we really want to change the community we live in, if we want to be relevant and to solve the problems of communities, we have to think big,” Arezzo pointed out in his address.
“A small project is always fantastic, always good, but if we want to be really relevant, if we want to be important for the community we have to unite, work together as clubs for a very big, strong, important, relevant project for the community.”
The president’s theme for this year is “Unite for Good”, so his call for Rotarians to join forces comes as no surprise.
Rotarians from Sea Point to Newlands and Namibia attended the local gathering. Among their questions for Arezzo was the challenge posed by Rotary club members being older people, especially its implications for the future.
In reply, he urged clubs to engage more young people and encourage them to join, particularly for the good of communities. “We have to grow, grow in diversity, grow with young people. That is so important.”
Arezzo, a Rotarian for more than three decades, said in an ever-changing society it is important for clubs to keep up with change.
“Society is changing so rapidly. What is going on outside these doors now may well be different from what it was when we came in; such is the rapidity of the change. For those of us who are older such rapid change boggles the mind. Who understands the changing times?
“The new generations – they feel the change. They are able to see and to understand the first signs… much better than us.”
Arezzo emphasised the importance of networks and collaboration to make a bigger, lasting impact on communities.
“We are peace machine, but also a dream machine. I always tell people who are not Rotarians that if they had a dream they cannot realise alone they must join us. We can do so much with our network, the motivations and the tools to realise our dreams.
“The new Rotarians we are looking for are dreamers. We want excellence and that is not necessarily wealth, but the dreamers that are ready to work and which we can help.”
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