The biggest key takeaway for me from the whole workshop was that Rotary represents endless opportunities to be helped and to help others.

Article by Nafiah Shariff, Rotaract Lautoka, D9920, Fiji

If it wasn’t for social media, I probably wouldn’t have known what Rotary was, hearing the name I thought it was probably something to do with oratories, boy was I wrong! Instagram introduced me to the world of Rotary via a post from Rotaract Lautoka regarding a book-drive and although at that moment I had nothing to give for the book-drive I made sure to follow the page, promising myself to participate in the next organized activity, which happened to be the Rotaract Intro Workshop coordinated by Rotaract Oceania.

The highlight of the whole day was listening to the respective officials (Melissa from Lautoka, Alisi from Nadi and Becky the Rotaract Oceania Chair) share with us their personal experiences with Rotaract, what Rotary and Rotaract means to them, and learning about the Rotary village in Ba. I also enjoyed playing bingo with the club members. It was an excellent way of meeting the other members and finding common interests. This moment ensured me that this club would not only be a meaningful one but a more hands-on and entertaining one.

An ideal local area where I’d like to focus on for projects will be the community of Lovu, Lautoka. It has quite a number of underlying issues such as improper housing and roads, limited amount of clean water as well as the fact that most houses do not have electricity. The poor conditions of the roads worsen during rainy seasons, forcing kids going to school to soil their uniforms and shoes.

Attending the workshop definitely ensured that I was in the right room with the right sort of people and that I’d love to be a part of the Rotaract family. The most exciting part that I’m currently looking forward to in Rotaract is becoming a source of aid and support to the underprivileged “Doing what the Government isn’t” all through the Rotary and the doors they open. I remember mentioning what all I want to experience from Rotary during a group presentation. “I’d love to participate in RYLA, travelling across to ensure help is reached in every corner of Fiji and perhaps one day in the future having enough experience to share stories as a Rotaractor to other newbies and maybe become a President”.

The biggest key takeaway for me from the whole workshop was that Rotary represents endless opportunities to be helped and to help others. It means that when others have closed their doors Rotary keeps theirs open. If I were to summarize what Rotary means in three words it would be Family, Love and Unity.