By Rasheed Oluwaseyi Fasanya
Every time a question of provision of aid through civil society organizations arise, one must unarguably put into massive cognizance the essence and importance of the various Non-governmental organizations most especially the international organizations with global audiences.
For Rotary international, you may never understand what it stands for, the many principles and philosophies until you become a member of the organization. Over the years, there have been many misgivings about the club which cut across understanding Rotary, Essence and purposes, roles and societal impacts, majorly what the core values are and host of many others that have inadvertently affect the image of the club.
As an international fellowship and service organization operating in over 200 countries and with membership strength of over 1.22 million people, Rotary pride itself in her non-political, religious, ethnic discriminations as the club is opened to all and sundry.
Formed in downtown Chicago on February 23, 1905 by a visionary man Paul Harris alongside his friends: Gustave Loehr, Silvester Schiele and Hiram Shorey and with a determined purpose to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world.
Now that you know what Rotary is, let’s shift our attention to the motive of this piece, What exactly is Rotaract? Who are Rotaractors? How can I become a member of Rotaract a club? What makes Rotaract different from Rotary?
In what looks like a youth program for Rotary international as far back as 1968, Rotaract which is a coined word from Rotary In Action focuses on the development of young adults as leaders in their communities and workplaces. To better understand the little differences in these two clubs, it is more than permitted to liken this as an age grade platforms for young professionals with age limits and old business and professional individuals.
Rotaract is a service, leadership, professional and service organization for young men and women between the ages 18 and formerly 30 until the legislation which has removed age limit for members. It is divided into two categories, the institutional based clubs for higher institutions of learning and the Community based clubs for the general public.
Most of the rotaract activities take place at the club level where formal meetings are held, projects are planned and members get together on designated days for service project works, social events, or professional and leadership development seminars.
Serving humanity through the Tenets of the 4Ts
Time
Treasure
Talent
Thinking (Thoughts)
Time: Timeliness and punctuality
Treasure: Spending your money for the cause of humanitarian service
Talent: Using your skill for the betterment of selfless services
Thinking: Getting the right thoughts, setting the agenda and planning a meaning service project.
How do I become a Member?
To be eligible to become a member of any Rotaract club, you must be 18 years of age and above, must be a good citizen as the organization abhors any form of indiscipline, rascality and indecency. You must also be financially responsible and be passionate about humanitarian works. After which a successful intending member will be inducted into the club and be regarded as a Rotaractor.
Rasheed Oluwaseyi Fasanya is the President of the Rotaract club of Akowonjo, 2020/2021. Rotary year. He is a graduate of mass communication with a major in journalism. I write features, opinions and Personality Profiles.
