District Governor's message for June 2012

Before I get carried away, let me first profusely thank all the Rotary family (Rotarians, Rotaractors, Interactors, RCCs ) in the district for the phenomenal support they have given me and Margaret as we led the district through the year. Like Margaret loves to put it "we had a blast"! We enjoyed working with all of you all and I will not try to single out anyone at this point. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.  

Someone once said that "it is but for hope we live". I would like to translate the word hope to include faith which is described as a firm belief, complete confidence or complete trust and certainty of things hoped for but unseen. What I have seen throughout this Rotary year gives me hope for a better tomorrow.

I can confidently predict an explosion of the Rotary movement in our District!

Talking about continuity it is a fact that the world has existed for millions of years and that great men and women have come and gone. Some have left this world without trace and nothing to be remembered for. Others have left a permanent imprint on the world. We in the Rotary family want to belong to the latter group. We want to be remembered and to have lived our short lives for something meaningful and significant!

Continuity is about us building on what we find to make the world a better place. It is about the leadership building on what others have done before. Will others have something to build on what you and I have done? Last year we were asked to continue "Building Communities and Bridging continents". I built my year on the success of immediate past

District Governor Stephen and other past District Governors before him. You and I must leave a firm ground for the future to flourish.

Transition is about change. Again change is said to be the only constant- It is said that "nothing changes like change"! The measure of a good leader is one who manages change and transition by ensuring that their successors succeed. The success of Rotary in our district next year will depend on how well the transition is managed. The success of District Governor Elect Geeta will be my greatest victory as much as her failure would, conversely, be my greatest failing! I must ensure she succeeds. We must do everything for the good of the future. I must remind us the famous saying that "to live in the minds and hearts of those who follow us is to cheat death"!

As we now write the final paragraph in the book of "Our Rotary Year" these are my final wishes;

1. That the quality and quantity of the Rotary Family will continue to grow

2. That the family will continue to Reach Within to Embrace Humanity through our motto of Service above Self

3. That Rotarians will double their efforts to support the Rotary Foundation

4. That we will continue to have fellowship and fun as we continue to deliver better, bigger and bolder projects in our communities

My pledge to the Rotary family is that I will continue to be an engaged Rotarian and one among equals with you. I will endeavor to provide mentorship at every opportunity, teaching what I have learnt over my short but illustrious career as your District Governor. I invite you to stay engaged with me on www.erikimani.org

Finally, as we exit, I pledge my support to the future leadership. As we enter another chapter where we will endeavor to build Peace Through Service, I will provide my best as a Past District Governor, Rotarian and your District Trainer!

Let me close by briefly reciting our achievements against the goals you set for us.

There were four overreaching goals;

1. Membership

We promised to grow membership by 10% from the existing 3,906 members in the district as at 30.06.11. We will deliver on this promise.

As I write the membership stands at 4230 with the following new Rotary clubs chartered/or in the process by 30 06.12;

• Uganda, 7 (Namugongo, Kihihi, Kabole, Kampala Day break, Nalya, Kanungu)

• Kenya, 9 (Ruiru, Mtwapa, Embu, Voi, Karengata, Ngong, Ongata Rongai, Madaraka, Kiambu)

• Tanzania, 1 (Mtwara)

2.Rotary Foundation

We set out to raise a record US $ 400,000 through your giving to the Rotary Foundation. As I write we have achieved in excess of US $ 430,000 and counting!

3. New Generations

Activities of Rotaractors and interactors reached an all- time high. More successful Rotary Youth Leadership Awards were held in practically all the countries than ever before. We witnessed a greater interaction between Rotaract and Rotary.

More Interact and Rotaract clubs were set up this year than any other before.

4.Image of Rotary

We were conscious of our promise to enhance the public image of Rotary. We took advantage of every opportunity and we believe that this was achieved.

I have met more people now curious about what is Rotary.

Fellowship and Fun

We promised to drive the fellowship and fun agenda to a new level. I believe that we more than achieved this if the competition I saw for the DG's awards and the RI president's awards is anything to go by. The attendance to District conferences and RI conventions particularly by first time attendees saw an all-time high! The attendance of Ethiopia and Tanzania to the District Conference and Assembly was an amazing record! Joint Rotary fellowships were the order of the day and Rotarian s were the better for it!

Service Projects

We were in our second year of the Future Vision Plan trial run. More clubs joined the ranks of qualification and I believe that by the year end at least 80% of the clubs in the District will have qualified for the first time under our certification process. Rotarians continued to Reach Within and Embrace Humanity in a greater way than ever before under the circumstances. District 9200 continued to enjoy its place as a preferred destination of TRF and RI project funds.

Once again, Margaret and I would like to record our deep appreciation to the family of Rotary for the phenomenal support you have all given us as we reached within to embrace humanity in 2012.

Thank you.