President of the Rotary Club of Adliya, Rula Husseini, speaks to Behnaz Sanjana about the global organisation, her role in it and its impact on the wider community.
As a small Club, we can do big things when joining forces with all stakeholders in our community, with an aim to focus our efforts on achieving those affiliations and alliances for the betterment of our communities and thus, achieve Rotary objectives in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Going by the motto ‘service before self’ Rotarians have been coming together to form lasting change for their communities across the world for over a century. “Rotary is a global network of more than a 1.2 million volunteers,” says Rula. “It has made an impact in various ways, one of the most notable being that the world is about to be polio-free, thanks to Rotary.”
The Rotary Club of Adliya (RCA) was founded in 1994, and is one of the five clubs in Bahrain. As its leader, Rula’s responsibilities include facilitating the cohesive functioning of all the club’s working committees in serving the community in various aspects. “Besides managing club operations, I forge a network in order to help my club fundraise money for community projects.”
The RCA has several activities focused on community development through the launch of many educational and vocational programmes in the pipeline for the year 2021-22. “We have set ourselves quarterly objectives around specific Rotary themes,” explains Rula. “Our first quarter’s theme of Education was a resounding success as our dedicated Rotary club members and like-minded volunteers, delivered weekly virtual courses on various topics to over 350 participants. In addition, our annual multigenerational discussion forum, ‘7ewar’, hosted a number of diverse speakers who are experts in the fields of education and literacy. Our theme for the second quarter is Disease Prevention and our focus in the following two quarters of the Rotary year will be Elderly Care and Youth Empowerment.”
The Rotary clubs in Bahrain hosted a gala event last month in honour of the visiting District Governor, where he interacted with Bahrain’s Rotarians to see their efforts for the betterment of the community, and understand in which areas the clubs needed the district’s support to accelerate new or ongoing projects.
In the near future, RCA will be focusing on RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards), a Rotary International initiative which focuses on building leadership skills for age groups 13-30. “It involves training workshops, experiential challenge chambers, social entrepreneurship pitches, sustainability project building, survival exercises and more. RCA looks to build partnerships and execute projects with other stakeholders, which will be the focus for RYLA Bahrain 2021” says Rula.
Commenting on why she is part the Rotary, Rula says, “The number one value that drives me day by day is giving, because I believe that when you give, you receive. Working alongside a structured platform that has a global network can multiply my efforts manifold. I can dream big about giving back to the community with the support of this network, and I can touch hundreds of lives instead of just a few if I work on an individual level.”
Rula adds that it isn’t just monetarily that Rotarians help the deserving. “Anyone who has a passion to give back to the community, using their professional expertise and network can be a part of the organisation by way of their time and efforts,” she says. “Giving is a core value present in every single Rotarian around the world.”
