A milestone for Kitchener Rotary 

This year has been a year of celebrating for Kitchener Rotary in so many areas with its 100th anniversary! The  Club’s Charitable Foundation is home to the Rotary African Women’s Education Fund (RAWEF), that this year sponsored its 100th student through RAWEF. What a milestone! To acknowledge this achievement, Kitchener Rotary hosted two of their Kenyan RAWEF students, as well as the program leader for one of our Kenyan partner agencies, SSND, Sister Joan Mukhwana via Zoom, from Nairo, Kenya.
 
RAWEF student Evaline Adhiambo Oluoch is working on her Bachelor of Commerce degree at the Technical University of Kenya in Nairobi. Evaline shared details of her home life in rural Kenya where her parents are peasant farmers and she lives in a mud hut with her six siblings. The opportunity to attend university would not have been possible without the bursary from RAWEF that covers her tuition as well as living expenses and a computer. University has provided Evaline with so many opportunities for learning, interaction with other students, and personal growth. After graduation, Evaline hopes to get a job, help her family and community, both financially and supportively, and one day, start her own business.
 
Faith Auma Otieno told the group of Kitchener Rotary Club members about her experience applying for the RAWEF bursary, and her skepticism that someone would actually provide for her education without expecting something in return…it turned out to be true! Faith is working on her Bachelor of Science degree in Agribusiness Management and Enterprise Development at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi. She selected that program because she believes that if she can help in improving agricultural practices, this will provide more, and better food for her community, resulting in a healthier population.
 
The Rotary African Women’s Education Fund (RAWEF) is part of the Kitchener Rotary Club Charitable Foundation. RAWEF provides bursaries for deserving women in East Africa for post secondary education and those bursaries cover tuition, living expenses, and a computer for the selected students. The students the Kitchener Rotary Club supports are generally financially challenged and would not be able to attend university without the bursary.   This program supports Students in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and began in 2010 and to date, they have supported university education for over 100 women. If you would like to help the Kitchener Rotary Club continue this initiative, please contact Martin Jones at mjones7260@gmail.com.
 
Kitchener Rotary has been supporting both the local and international community for over 100 years. Kitchener Rotary was the founder of the fore-running organization to KidsAbility and continues to support KidsAbility, and many other needy organizations in Waterloo Region.
 


 
Submitted by Paul Rostrup
Assistant Governor Kitchener Waterloo