End of Year Celebration

1. A Celebration of Lives

The Rotary Club of Kigali Virunga is mourning. On the same day the club inducted 12 new members it also stood in remembrance of these two esteemed members: Rtn. Titus Tortsea Abonjo (June 28^th 1986 – August 7^th 2024) and Rtn. Dr. Carmen Nibigira (1978 – 16^th November 2024).

Rtn. Titus was barely a year old in the club when he suddenly died in a tragic road accident that greatly pained his family and friends. Ever-active, Rtn. Titus was a prominent participant during last year’s distribution of kits for the Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW) and, notably, represented RCKV during the 2024 District Conference in held in Chad.  Rtn. Titus is deeply missed and will be remembered for his tireless dedication, unwavering kindness, and genuine care for others.

Rtn. Carmen touched many lives through her work in tourism and hospitality, where she was an unmatched industry titan. Her demise following an illness was a great loss not only to the tourism sector, but also to her own family and the Rotary movement. Dr. Carmen was an excellent resource mobilizer and tirelessly worked through her extensive networks to raise funds for the club’s activities. Eulogized by fellow Rotarians for her charm and wit, Dr. Carmen’s memory lives in the hearts of the many people whom she has impacted.

We celebrate Rtn. Titus and Rtn. Carmen, and the work they did to move the Rotary wheel forward. And just as these two esteemed Rotarians exit the stage, for 12 individuals, me included, their journeys as Rotarians are just beginning.

2. A New Journey

On the 6^th of December 2024, the Rotary Club of Kigali Virunga ushered in 12 new members three weeks ago. Held at the Century Park Hotel in Kigali, the well-attended end of year party brought together members and guests for a night full of joy as they ushered in the festive season.

The MCs of the night were Rtn. Peter Kiogothi who, impressively, fathered three of the twelve inductees that night and Rtn. Sylvia Gasana, RCKV’s Director of Member Engagement. One by one, each of the following people walked to the stage and took the Rotary Oath, before being pinned and becoming the latest additions to an ever-expanding family:

President Jacqueline Duniah welcomed the new members, who follow in the footsteps of 3 other members inducted four months ago in at the Club Retreat in Musanze District. She celebrated the growing membership as testament of the club’s enduring strength as it heads into the 25^th  anniversary in 2025. Then, the Rotarians had a great time as they celebrated the close of a succesfull year.

3. The Journey of a Rotarian

To have such a great number and diversity of inductees is indicative of existing members’ active evangelism to prospective members for whom they become Rotary parents and, in many cases, grandparents. In my case, that Rotary grandparent is Dr. Yusuf Dawood (1928 – 2023).

Dr. Yusuf Kodwavwala Dawood boarded a steamboat off the Indian coast of Mumbai in March 1961. After two weeks of sailing across the open sea he finally landed in Mombasa, Kenya, his new home. He travelled north to Nairobi where he set up medical practice that would span almost six decades, as a distinguished surgeon operating from the Aga Khan Hospital.

Yusuf Dawood was also a celebrated author who published more than 10 books. On the side, he also maintained one of Kenya’s longest running weekly newspaper columns, “The Surgeon’s Diary”. Spanning 41 years starting in May 1980 on the Sunday Nation, Dr. Dawood consistently published informative articles centered on his life experiences as a husband of 50 years to his beloved Marie; as a medical doctor, an author of stories, and as a lifelong member of the Rotary Club of Nairobi.

Dr. Dawood’s chief cause during his lifetime, both through the Rotary projects he engaged himself in and through his medical practice, was the fight against cancer. He established the first breast cancer clinic in Kenya centered at the Nairobi Hospital, and was famously referred to by his peers as “the breast guy.” At this clinic and others, he treated hundreds of patients, spearheaded cancer research and advocacy, and trained generations of oncologists who continue his mission.

One of the things that made Yusuf Dawood a unique person was his ability to easily communicate complex medical conditions and procedures to a lay audience. He wrote with empathy. He spoke about his patients in a relatable way that enabled one to travel into their lives, even only if for a moment, through his diary of a surgeon.

As a primary school boy in the 2000s, I started reading and enjoyed absorbing his deeply informative stories. This became a regular habit mine. and over the years I looked forward to his articles, all the way to the last one in October 2021. True to his life’s work, he published a moving article titled the “Tragedy of a dear colleague who had prostrate cancer.”

It is while reading an article on the “Surgeon’s Diary” that, as a teenager, I first came across the concept of Rotary Clubs. Dr. Dawood often shared the magic of Rotary through his articles. He narrated stories on the charity projects that various Rotary clubs were engaged in, both in the present and those from years ago, in his column. His evangelism spoke to me, and stuck in my mind. I said, back then, “maybe someday I will join Rotary as well.”

When I moved from Nairobi to Kigali earlier this year, I set out to fulfill this dream. That led me to the Rotary Club of Kigali Virunga, where I was warmly welcomed and promptly adopted by two fathers – Rtn. Jean Bosco Safari and  Rtn. Mellow Motsi.

They graciously helped me fulfill the conditions of membership throughout the onboarding process. Now, some 15 years since reading about Rotary in “The Surgeon’s Diary”, I can proudly call myself a Rotarian courtesy of the writings of my Rotary grandfather, Dr. Yusuf Dawood.

Each of the other inductees has their own story of the journey that led them into becoming Rotarians. For many of them, it is the words of their rotary parents (and grandparents), which led them to join the club and offer their time, skills and resources to doing charitable activities. 

With 12 new members and an active pool of existing ones, RCKV is set to head into its quarter centenary in a stronger position. As we usher this new year and embark on new projects, we shall go forth while honoring the work done by the Rotarians who have come before us, including the likes of Rotarian. Dawood, Rotarian. Titus, and Rotarian Carmen.

Gone, but not forgotten.