By Damilola Kushimo
The Osolo of Isolo, Oba Kabiru Kolawole Alani Agbabiaka, has promised to create enabling environment for Rotary Club of Isolo to build its proposed vocational training centre in the community.
The monarch declared his support for the club on the project when the District Governor (DG), Rotary International, District 9110 comprising Lagos and Ogun states, Rotarian Bola Oyebade, paid him a courtesy visit in his palace during the weekend.
The District Governor had come to identify with the Isolo branch of the club and witness as well as endorse its various activities in the community.
Commending the club for its consistent humanitarian projects in the community covering health, education, empowerment, sanitation, peace and security, the monarch vowed to play his part, as an authority in the community, to ensure the plan of the club to build a vocational training centre in the community is actualized.
To mark the coming of the DG, the club executed some programmes including presentation of N20,000 cash endowment each to 40 widows in the community; free Eye and Prostate Cancer screening for 200 residents; empowerment for six artisans with full equipment; presentation of face masks to the monarch; distribution of over 200 face masks to Senior Secondary School (SSS3) students of Ansar-Ud-Deen College as well as installation of wash hand basin and planting of two trees in the school.
The the club’s President, Rotarian David Taiwo, explained that the club spent about N2million on the projects, promising that more projects would soon be executed especially the construction of vocational training centre in Isolo community which he tagged a mega project.
In his words: “The amount spent is not quantifiable. If we want to assume, it is going to be over N2million in total. We have seven areas of focus in rotary and we have touched virtually 80 per cent of those service projects. In assessment we are still going to do more because we are just in the second month of the Rotary year, we still have nine months. We still have some couples of projects most especially the mega project which is the construction of vocational training centre in Isolo community. We shall start the launching and fundraising any moment from now and we believe that by God’s grace it will come to reality.”
Corroborating his words, the president of Ineerwheel Club, Abiola Opeifa, disclosed other projects lined up for execution to include Mother and Child Programme, awareness on different social abuses on women and men as she advised residents to brace up and prepare to benefit from them.
The DG commended the club for ‘doing very well,” and further charge them to fulfill other goals for the rotary rear.
He said: “This is a club that is doing very well. My expectations of the club were absolutely met. I must say that the club has been able to meet all of them clearly, 100%. I am impressed.
“There are other clubs, but so far, we’ve visited only 17 clubs. In term of performance, all the indices that we have realised, this club is top, so far, they’ve met all the criteria that we set for top clubs and clearly they have done that. The only thing, though, that they have not done right now which they have promised is the membership. They now cruise at the membership of 49 but we are targeting a membership of 100 minimum for all the club in our district.”
One of the beneficiaries – a physically challenged woman, who received a deep freezer and crutches, Mrs. Temitope Okesanya, was full of appreciation to the club for the empowerment, saying the items would be judiciously utilised to improve not only her own life but also the lives of those around her.
Also, the Vice Principal, Academics, Ansar-Ud-Deen College, Mr. Kazeem Odunola, applauded the club as he promised to ensure that the trees are protected.
