Rotary International group meets at Walvis

ABOUT 400 members of Rotary International’s District 9350, which includes Namibia, South Africa and Angola, gathered at Walvis Bay over the weekend.

It was only the second Rotary conference to be held in Namibia in 29 years. District Governor Ken Howes, who is set to step down at the end of June to hand over the reins to Alex van der Sluys for the 2007-2008 term, told The Namibian that Walvis Bay was chosen to host the conference “for sentimental reasons”.”This is a historic event in many ways.Besides me being the first Namibian to act as District Governor and ending my term soon, it is also the first time such a conference is being held under Namibian rule, although this is the second time in 29 years that it is held in this country.Because of this I decided to host the conference in Walvis Bay, exactly where it was held then too,” he said.”Another historic component is the chartering of our Rundu Club.”The Mayor of Walvis Bay, Derek Klazen, welcomed the group at the official opening on Saturday.He said that since its inception in 1958, the Walvis Bay Rotary Club had done great work there and members had endeared themselves to the community.The creation of a tuberculosis ward at the Walvis Bay State Hospital was just one of the club’s successful endeavours.”The Rotary credo of ‘Service above Self’ has always shone through in the community projects that they undertake,” Klazen said.The conference programme included the welcoming of new members and the introduction of the new District Governor who will take over from Howes.There were keynote addresses on environment and education, while club projects were highlighted and awards given.The new Rundu chapter received a donation of N$100 000 for its project for landmine victims, which is run in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Windhoek.The main aim of this project is to organise prosthetic limbs for landmine victims – including for those in neighbouring countries such as Angola.District Governor Ken Howes, who is set to step down at the end of June to hand over the reins to Alex van der Sluys for the 2007-2008 term, told The Namibian that Walvis Bay was chosen to host the conference “for sentimental reasons”.”This is a historic event in many ways.Besides me being the first Namibian to act as District Governor and ending my term soon, it is also the first time such a conference is being held under Namibian rule, although this is the second time in 29 years that it is held in this country.Because of this I decided to host the conference in Walvis Bay, exactly where it was held then too,” he said.”Another historic component is the chartering of our Rundu Club.”The Mayor of Walvis Bay, Derek Klazen, welcomed the group at the official opening on Saturday.He said that since its inception in 1958, the Walvis Bay Rotary Club had done great work there and members had endeared themselves to the community.The creation of a tuberculosis ward at the Walvis Bay State Hospital was just one of the club’s successful endeavours.”The Rotary credo of ‘Service above Self’ has always shone through in the community projects that they undertake,” Klazen said.The conference programme included the welcoming of new members and the introduction of the new District Governor who will take over from Howes.There were keynote addresses on environment and education, while club projects were highlighted and awards given.The new Rundu chapter received a donation of N$100 000 for its project for landmine victims, which is run in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Windhoek.The main aim of this project is to organise prosthetic limbs for landmine victims – including for those in neighbouring countries such as Angola.