From Okey Sampson, Aba
One of the objectives of Rotary Club to produce leaders who would help to foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise particularly through the advancement of international understanding via a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service, was brought to the fore recently when District 9140 of the Club conducted training for its newly elected leaders in Aba, Abia State, tagged “District Team Training seminar (DTTS).”
District 9140 of Rotary Club is made up of the 11 South-East and South-South states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa and Cross River States. Others are Delta, Ebony, Edo, Enugu, Imo and Rivers.
It was in tandem with Rotary song: “A leader of repute, friendly and fair…”, of getting leaders who would serve humanity with integrity and make Rotary proud that made the Club, according to the District Governor (DG) 2016 – 2017, Akabom Enebong, to embark on the training.
Though a voluntary service organization, Rotary, however, does not joke with the training of its leaders if its objectives were to be met.
This could be encapsulated in Enebong’s words: “We are a voluntary organization, but we believe in the training of our leaders so that they will be able to manage the District well”.
Enebong, who recently came back from the United States of America (USA) where he went for leadership training courtesy of Rotary International, had this to say further about the training:
“I went to the USA for training and came back to train those who would help me to manage the affairs of the District in the coming year”.
While it would be the desire of the District Governor for people out there to learn to help someone they were better off, he assured that those trained would always find ways of putting to use whatever they garner in the training for the benefit of the larger society.
For Ijeoma Pearl Okoro, the immediate past District Governor of District 9140, the training which was for District Governors and those appointed to lead the various committees of the District, would not only rekindle the spirit of the leaders in the Club, but would also bring out the best in them in terms of relating with others and moving Rotary forward.
Mrs Okoro said through the training she received over the years, she had come to realise against the wrong notion that Nigerians do give, but just other Africans are in most cases held back by the problem posed by the culture of extended family.
Her words: “Nigerians from the point of leadership I have received so far give, but the only problem is the extended family system we practice in Africa. We take care of our extended families just before we give to others and that’s why it’s like the whites do better in giving.
“People have realised the need to give in Africa and there is change in this direction in recent years and we’ve emphasised this in the training and the leaders trained here will carry the message back to their various areas,” he said.
Some of the trainees, who spoke to Oriental News, said it was dream come true as they promised to take back to their various areas all that they have learnt.
Okodugha Osazere from Edo State, who is an Assistant District Governor said: “I learnt a lot from the training, it will help me to ensure the growth of the membership of the Club. The training will always help to remind me of my responsibilities as an assistant District Governor”.
For Linda Osuala who attended the seminar as leader from Aba Zone 1, comprising Aba Urban, Umunagsi, Ogbor and Abayi said: “I learnt at the training how to use Internet to communicate to the whole world as far as Rotary was concerned”, adding that what she learnt at the training would help her to grow the membership of her local branch.
Participants were tutored on how to work with club’s resources, strengthening membership and regional expectations.
Others were communication channels, and how to give and receive from Rotary Foundation.