President Annet Nannyonjo's October 2020 Message
This month our country attained
58 years of Independence.
As much as
many joined in the virtual celebrations, a big majority continue to wonder what
kind of independence they have when they have not yet attained economic
independence? Many religiously wake up every morning before birds begin to sing
and work hard in the hope of improving their income levels and boosting their
livelihoods. Studies show us that only a few people in the world live above the
poverty line – the rest who are the majority still live below the poverty line
which means they earn less than 1$ per day.
Welcome to the month when Rotary reflects on engagements to empower
communities and boost economic welfare.
Economics rules the world! A
person who is economically empowered walks with his head up, speaks with
confidence, has a vision, communicates with optimism, and maintains positive
social behaviour. Poverty and inequality deprive man of his God given dignity.
Man suffers in the hands of a fellow man because of poverty. Empowerment is
liberation, it is trust, it is maturity and autonomy.
Economic empowerment is a set of
measures designed to increase the degree of autonomy and self determination in
people and communities in order to enable them to represent their interests in
a responsible and determined way, acting on their authority. This illustrates
and helps us to understand why world powers are not nations with the tallest
and strongest of men but rather ones that control world economics.
It is so amazing how Rotary is so
broad and well-rounded to reach all key aspects of meaningful life, health,
education, sanitation, peace and conflict resolution, water and sanitation,
environment and economic empowerment. All these areas complement each other and
are necessary ingredients of a better standard of living. Economically
empowered societies are most likely to be peaceful as everyone is engaged in
production, enjoying a better quality of life, having greater access to social
amenities, valuing education, appreciating small families and committing more
time to planning and positive thinking hence registering low crime rate. No
doubt, they enjoy better health. As Rotarians, we have a duty to make the world
a better place by offering opportunities for economic liberation.
I am enthused yet humbled by the
numerous projects across the globe that have received funding from Rotary to
promote peace through economic and community development, projects that
individuals could never have imagined. Rotary commits to a theme every month
and critical analysis of all leads to the same objective, service to others. We
have just concluded the month of Education and Literacy and we all appreciate
that literacy is crucial in economic empowerment. Prior to that, we had
membership extension. Again, a question is asked, why extend membership? The
answer is precise; to have more hands on the job. There is greater synergy in
numbers, and we should embrace all efforts to bring us together. We must
celebrate every life we impact. Life cannot remain the same in areas where
Rotary operates, those that visited Buikwe at the inception of our project and
now can attest to this. What about Katwe Bweya, does anyone remember that
school before PP Charles Magala started the first engagement? Friends, we
aspire to do more, but let us celebrate what we have done so far that way, we
will be more energized.
This struggle does not require heavy
machine guns, it is about identifying social needs, available resources,
population analysis and helping people to use their environment to solve their
problems. Empowerment does not lie in handouts! Teaching one how to fish is
more rewarding than gifting him with fish! Rotary has played this role fervently
and millions of dollars have been injected in communities all over the world.
Bravo!
