Rotary Club invests over $300,000.00 to impact lives in Upper West 

By Philip Tengzu

Wa, (UW/R), July 17, GNA – The Rotary Club of Wa says it has invested a total of $301,200 in projects to impact the livelihoods of the people in the Upper West Region, particularly in the rural communities in the 2022/2023 Rotary year. 

The amount, which comprised a cash investment of $53,900.00 and $247,300.00 in materials donation, was invested in seven projects that the Club executed within the period.  

They included a sight box donation to the Wa Methodist School for the Blind in partnership with the Rotary Club of Accra Ridge and a sanitary pad project in partnership with the Rotaract Club of SD Dombo University for Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS).  

Others were the donation of medical and nursing books to the Wa Nursing Training College with support from Dr. Godfery Bacheyie and the Rotary Club of Windsor, and the furniture workshop project where a machine room was constructed for the St. Basilide Technical Institute at Kaleo with support from Rotary Foundation and partners in Germany in collaboration with the FIC Brothers.  

Mr Stephen Mwinkaara, the Immediate Past President (IPP) of the Rotary Club of Wa, said this in Wa at the weekend during its 6th handing-over ceremony. 

Mr Mwinkaara handed over the leadership of the Club to Mr Agambire Alhassan Inusah to lead for the next year.  

Dr Zakarea Al-hassan Balure, the President-Elect of the Club and other Club Directors were also inaugurated during the ceremony. 

Mr Mwinkkaara said the Club also supported the Nakwabi- operation smiles project with over GHȻ84,000.00 within six months to enable one Reverend Sister Jane care for abandoned babies and orphans at the Nakwabi Orphanage. 

“We shall be providing the Nakwabi Orphanage with a 2-unit Bio Digester Toilet and other washrooms for both staff and children at the home.  

This, we believe, will help improve the quality of life of the kids through proper sanitation,” Mr Mwinkaara indicated. 

He intimated that the Club achieved 14 of the 18 goals it set for the 2022/2023 Rotary year under the theme: “Imagine Rotary”, but could not receive the Rotary International (RI) prestigious award due to their inability to settle their RI dues on time 

The Rotary Club of Wa currently managed one Rotaract Club in the SDD-UBIDS, but the IPP said plans were advanced to form Rotaract Club in the Dr. Hilla Limann Technical University and an Interact Club in the St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary in Wa.  

Mr Rudolph Adageba Kantum, the Assistant Governor of Rotary District 9104, encouraged the Club members to contribute generously to the Rotary Foundation. 

He said RI currently had about 1.4 million members across the world but only about 20 per cent of them contributed to the Rotary Foundation. 

He said the little donations they made to the Foundation could make a significant impact in the communities.  

Mr Kantum encouraged the public to see Rotary Club as an avenue to impact lives saying, “It is a myth that Rotary is for rich people. Rotary is for people who can give wholeheartedly.” 

He said one of the goals of the District Governor was to create at least five new clubs and add 200 new members to the Club and urged the Rotary Club of Wa to draw more members to the club as well as to increase members’ retention. 

GNA