My name is Rotaractor Perpetual Machua, classification Procurement and Contract management. In my third year of study at JKUAT.
If I can sit and narrate my best years, months, weeks, days, hour, minutes, seconds are those spent in Rotaract, whether thinking about Rotaract or doing something with Rotaractors. A brief history of me and Rotaract. I came to know Rotaract about 3 years ago, while I was in high school. I came to hear the word Rotaract from my brother. Not stating his name will be disrespectful,I suppose.. So Stephen Machua, a well known social entrepreneur brought my mind to the beautiful world of Rotary and Rotaract. In his campus years at Technical University of Kenya, well known as TUK, Steve was a Rotaractor and among the team who spearheaded the growth of RAC TUK. During holidays, he'd tell us about Rotaract and the projects they do, how they visited other countries and such.. I was naive and just thought "hizi ni vitu za watu wakubwa" He also had his Rotaract T-shirt in which all I can remember seeing was a "round wheel" which is the Rotary logo.
Interestingly, my sister also joined Rotaract during her studies at MKU.. Seems it was a family thing..hahaa.. She also shared her moments at Sunshine Rally and this made me more eager to be part of this Rotaract world. So when I joined JKUAT in August 2016.. I could resist to ask around where and when Rotaractors in JKUAT met. So one day while walking along the streets of JKUAT, I met this Lady, in a blue t-shirt, I saw the "wheel" that I used to see on my bro's T-shirt and I knew this must be signifying Rotaract. I approached her and inquired more. She happily shared all information that I needed and since it was on a Monday they were going to meet that evening. Very curious, I joined the meeting that day, and the Mondays that followed. At the end of the semester I joined the club in a charity work event well known as Muthiga home visit that happens every semester. I had so much fun cooking chapatis with awesome Rotaractors, very friendly people, I came to interact with many guys, made friends and I felt a sense of belonging.
That's when I decided that am here to stay. I felt the urge to be with the group more and more and with that I couldn't miss any event or meeting. The next awesome thing that I remember was being elected as a director of the Professional and Leadership Development committee 2017/2018.. This was still in my first year in Jkuat. This was the best challenge that I received after being inducted to be a member of the club. Serving as the Prof Development director wasn't easy, I was young, not so experienced, still new in the university and here I am, heading a committee whose gender was very much unbalanced😂 more gents than ladies 'Juja boys' and most were in 2nd and 3rd year. This is when I felt I had to be strong not to fail the docket and help the club achieve it's main goal of professional and personal development. How we never missed amazing guests that pulled large numbers for the meetings is another story.I could feel an impact of what I was learning and experiencing in Rotaract. Through this experience I got a chance to go through Lapid Leaders Africa training, a leadership and entrepreneurship program that I joined because of Rotaract networks.
More experiences, more events, more projects, more fun activities, more challenging moments came throughout the year. Before the end of 2017 I could feel the difference, I could see the steps of growth and development that I had undergone by simply joining Rotaract. Being a board member and apparently the youngest.. I learnt lots of leadership and management skills, I could easily stand out confidently, I grew from an introvert to an extrovert though still working on that.. I knew how best to solve problems, how to relate with different people, I got to visit other Rotaract and Rotary clubs and grew my networks. Its through the skills I got from being in Rotaract that I became a leader in other groups in the school and amongst them being a hall representative in the school makes me feel like I have another Rotaract club in my hostel. All I want to see is Change, serving people tirelessly and after all these, seeing positive impact gives me joy in my heart.
Rotaract has taught me to be different, to think differently, to overcome my fears and stand out with the spirit of I can do it. Through team work I've learnt how me and you can change the world and make it a better place. Giving back to the society in various ways keeps me intact with Rotaract.
Currently am Serving Rotaract club of Jkuat as the Vice president and let me tell you something... Its amazing! Heading committees and seeing them thrive well is very much fulfilling. I feel good thinking about Rotaract, moments with Rotaractors are special! Telling people about Rotaract is fantastic! And seeing the impact of what we do, gives me free smiles.
A big Thank You to all who made me know and join Rotaract, my bro Steve, my sister Julie,, Jkuat Rotaractors who welcomed me to the club in 2016, who include the current Country Chair Samuel Karanja who was by then the President, Sikele, Arunga Pauline, Mbuvi Ambrose, Freddy Jamasita just to mention but a few.. God bless you guys for showing me the way to this awesome family of Rotaract. Am here to stay! And to bring many more members to join Rotaract and Rotary.
Lastly, Many thanks to the Almighty God for this far and for his graces and strength that make me do what I do each day.
Long live Rotaract! Long live Rotary!
#serviceaboveself
#betheinspiration
#racmmucares
#TFTwithRacMMU
#TransformationalTuesdayswithracmmu
Awesome. Keep it up.
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