After
a comprehensive summary of her one-year tenure as president of the Rotary Club
of Banjul, Rotarian Fatou Bah has handed over the presidential baton to her
successor, Rotarian Abdoulie Cham.
At
a well-attended handing-over ceremony held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel on 29
June 2016, Ms Bah said: “Finally, the time has come for me, with great
pleasure, to hand over the presidential chain of office to Rotarian President
Abdoulie Cham, President Rotary Club of Banjul 2016/17. I congratulate you and
hand over the baton with the theme: “Rotary Serving Humanity.”
Mrs
Bah said it seemed not like four years from the day she joined the Rotary Club
family through the encouragement of Rotarian Fatou Bin Jobe.
“So
I became a member, and I never regretted it,” she said, while delivering her
end-of-term speech.
“Over
a year ago, when Rotarian Francis Jones asked me about the possibility of
assuming the presidency, I will admit, I was probably still assessing my level
of involvement in Rotary, at least subconsciously,” Ms Bah recalled with
sadness in the midst of excitement, as she looks at what the future holds for
her in her service to humanity.
“I
had been a member for only a few years at that time, but don’t get me wrong, I
was enjoying it, but I probably, because of the nature of my job as a Branch
Manager in the biggest nationwide bank; yet because of my belief in the Rotary
ideal of ‘Service Above Self’, I agreed to take on the President’s role for
2015/16. Now, in what seems like a blink of an eye, my tenure is at an end,”
she told an apt audience of Rotarians and other eminent personalities in
attendance.
“As
this Rotary year closes, I stand proud more than ever to be part of this great
organization: one that makes the world not poorer, but richer, replaces despair
with hope, raises up those whom fate has brought low; and more importantly, a
gift to so many, while allowing each of its members to be a gift to the world,”
she said of the Rotary family.
Rotarian
Fatou Bah said whenever one comes to the end of a worthwhile experience like
being the President of a Rotary club, especially a club like the Banjul Club,
there is always a mixture of emotions.
“For
me, these emotions consist of: relief – that those weighty responsibilities are
coming to an end; sadness – that what you’ve enjoyed and taken for granted will
no longer be available to you, and among many others; excitement – looking
forward to taking what has been learnt in the past Rotary year to solve future challenges of Rotary and the
wider world.”
Ms
Bah said under her tenure they had had some major accomplishments in the year.
“While
I intend to make a comprehensive list of them in the annual report later this
year, I want to share the following highlights with you now,” she said.
“These
I believe are some of the major accomplishments: Completion and handing over of
the Science Laboratory Project at
Kanifing; book donation to schools in The Gambia; adoption of the club’s constitution and bye-laws; induction
of 10 new members; Inter-city meetings -
(Dakar and Ziquinchorr clubs); special awards and recognition of service to
Rotary; increase in Paul Harris Fellows; launching of the Diabetic Foot Care
Project; nomination and election of first Gambian District Governor for 2018-19
Rotary year; and approval by the District for the formation of a third club in
The Gambia.”
She
also said they welcomed and bade farewell to a few people this year, “probably
more of the latter than the former, for my liking. But that is a challenge we
need to address as a club. A special
farewell was for the late past president Fred Oldfield, and I felt honoured to
have led the club at his funeral service. He was a true legend in our club and
in Rotary. May his soul rest in peace. Amen!”
She
added that they have also committed themselves to recapitalizing their
charitable trusts, and to building funds for future sustainable support for the
needs of their community.
“This
work has just begun, but I feel a corner has been turned, and the corner stone
laid.”
She
added: “What is really exciting now more than ever is that, we are thinking far
more ambitiously about what we can achieve than before. We have a major
fund-raising committee designing events that will blow our socks and other
accessories off, and raise substantial sum for our ambitious programmes.
“We
will be organizing a District Conference in 2019 that no Rotarian will want to
miss, and I know that DGN Allen has some great ideas about how we can build towards
this event in the years leading to it.”
Rotarian
Fatou Bah also said to run a club function effectively, there needs to be a
core group of dedicated individuals willing to the 3T’s - TIME, TALENT and
TREASURE at no cost.
“We
are blessed to have older members whom I like to call wise men. I have found
their support valuable, and it is empowering to know that the administration of
the club is in great hands.
“The
club’s Board of Directors had done a fantastic job this year. I have enjoyed their support and valued their
work with the committees. I value their
wise counseling, and they have done well to curb and mould some of my zealous
schemes into better shape during the year now ending.”
She
said further: “At the end of my term as the President, allow me to register my
sincere gratitude to a multitude of people, the most illustrious, the
anonymous, who did so much to bring me their overwhelming support, my employers
and co-workers the TBL family, and the Committee for the Governorship (district 9101); my
beloved son, Mohamed Nyabally, my entire
family and friends who have accepted my absence in good faith, and have
willingly shared me with Rotary
responsibilities during these intense
moments. All these people have one way
or the other helped to make easy my difficult task of serving the community.
“Dear
Rotarians , let me conclude by stating that to hold the Office of President of
the Rotary Club is a colossal undertaking, but a worthwhile venture. It
is an experience that cannot be truly conveyed in images or words. It is a wall of flame that will burn forever
in my memory, dancing with light, shifting within shadows.
“I
wish Rotarian Abdoulie Cham, incoming president, all the best for the year
ahead.”
