By VIVIAN DANIEL
ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – As part of their relentless efforts to give back to humanity, the Rotary Club of Abuja CBD, made a noble call at Gidan Gimba, their “adopted community” in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, where they donated several items to the women, girls, men and children worth over N2.5 million.
The outreach to the community took place on Friday 25 October 2024, under what the Rotary Club of Abuja, CBD tagged as a “3-IN-1-PROJECT”.
According to the President of the Club, Rotarian Katherine Sambo-Adamu, the club’s purpose for the outreach was, first and foremost, to show love to them seeing that the times are hard.
“Our coming here is to show love to the community. It is also one of the things Rotary International enjoins us to do so. We go out to different communities as the Rotary Club is not only meant for us to do meetings in the different meeting places where we converge. No. Rotary Club is for us to go out there to reach out to people, show them love, encourage and help them out of poverty, as well as teach them so many skills that will help them, at least, to be economically empowered to meet their family needs”, she said.
She noted that the project comprises Maternal and Child Health, Basic Education, and Economic and Community Development. It included free medical tests, training in soap making, Izal making and production of puff puff. The club also gave out starter packs of flour, sugar and yeast to the trainees.
She said that the first was about the donation of mama kits for safe delivery, malaria drugs and mosquito nets. The second was the donation of 100 leaves of branded exercise books, writing materials, and stationeries (pen, pencil erasers, rulers, sharpeners, etc.) whilst the third was about donation of raw food (rice, indomie noodles, cooking oil, floor to fry puff puff, condiments, etc.) cooking utensils, and practical skill acquisition session.
On the other hand, while responding to questions from newsmen about the choice of Gidan Gimba and why, the club’s Community Project Chair, Rotarian Yelwa Abubakar, said, “Gidan Gimba has been our adopted community for the past eight years. Every year, we are here to reach out to them, and the purpose is to bring relief materials like food items and medical teams to check their health in line with the Rotary International’s 7 Areas of Focus, which is the reason we combined 3 projects in one visit.”
Rotarian Abubakar, a past president of the club, also dispelled the perception that Rotary is for the rich. “It is for the kindhearted people who have the mind to give. In Rotary you can give your Time, Talent and/or Treasure,” she said.
The Charter President of the Club, Rotarian Salome Garba, noted that “In Rotary it is important that every Club adopts a community they wish to reach out to from time to time, hence the choice of Gidan Gimba.” She highlighted that part of what they did for the community in terms of skill acquisition includes ‘how to fry puff-puff, make soap along with “Water and Sanitation” being one of the 7 project areas of focus of Rotary International.
Speaking further, the Assistant Zonal Coordinator, Rotary District 9127, Rotarian Evelyn Oyilo, further emphasised the motivation to reach out to Gidan Gimba community, saying that they required major support.
She said “When we first came here, they were all suffering from ‘river blindness’ because of black flies that were vesting on the open water they were drinking, hence the reason a borehole project was done initially.”
Likewise, in terms of human and infrastructural development assessment of the Rotary Club of Abuja, CBD’s projects so far, Evelyn noted further that some of them started during the time of Rotarian Max Amuchie, who was the club’s president two years ago. According to her, in the last seven to eight years, they have constructed a borehole for the community, built toilets for both males and females, done tree planting, and started building additional classrooms to complement the two classrooms they have in the community’s primary school.
She said the club looks forward to completing the classroom building project under the current President, Katherine Adamu and thereafter vacate Gidan Gimba to adopt a new community as giving back to society is a continuous affair.
She further cautioned on the need for people living in the community to handle the projects done for them carefully and clear the bushes around them so that these projects can be adequately sustained.
Additionally, the Rotary Club of Abuja CBD and friends equally donated used and new clothes to the people of the Gidan Gimba community during the outreach programme.
The Rotary Club of Abuja CBD goes beyond the surface to contribute immensely to those who lack the basic infrastructure for them to live a better life.
On a slightly different matter, the Rotary Club of Abuja, CBD, also mentioned that they have what is called the Rotary Community Corps (RCC). These are those they mentor in any community they adopt like Gidan Gimba, who take care of their projects and give feedback to the club from time to time.
One of the major highlights of the outreach was seeing the women who trooped out in their numbers to receive the gift items like mama kits, mosquito nets, etc and children who lined up to receive biscuits, boboand other soft drinks from members of RC Abuja CBD.
However, the Chief of Gidan Gimba, Malam Danjuma Audi, recounted all the Rotary Club of Abuja CBD has done for his community and appreciated them deeply for their visit and kind gesture.
