Taylor Swift has said that no matter what happens to you in life, do good things to people. Doing so is the most important inheritance you will leave for the world. This wise saying by Swift, an American artist and musician, comes alive in the presence of Rotarians worldwide who give selfless service to those in need.
It is the same wise saying that brings to memory the recent District Conference and Assembly that brought together more than 1500 delegates, mostly Rotarians and Rotaractors, to Munyonyo, Uganda, April 23rd to 25th, 2026. This District Conference is annual, and my wife and I have been privileged to attend five of them, two in Tanzania and three in Uganda.
The most recent one, as usual, was alive with Rotarians, Rotaractors, friends of Rotary, families of Rotarians, and Rotary Representatives from the rest of Africa and the International Rotary Office. Imagine the monumental energy that emerges in a gathering of these like-minded people, generous volunteers, humanitarians! It is an indescribable experience, one that I cannot adequately express in this article.
Suffice it to say that we heard amazing stories of Rotarians improving Cancer Care in Uganda, of Rotarians constructing new modern toilets in Publics Schools in Tanzania. We heard that the Rotary Club of Arusha Mount Meru will soon complete the construction of the only Blood Bank in Arusha Region. All 247 Rotary Clubs had a wonderful story to tell.
One of the events that refuses to get out of my memory is that during the Opening Ceremony, the Guest of Honour, The Hon. Anita Annet Among, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda, became a Rotarian after her speech, and to crown it all, she donated US $ 10,000.00 to Rotary. And guess what? We were told that 50 Uganda Parliamentarians are Rotarians!
Yes, that is Rotary! It consists of one million four hundred Rotarians worldwide. Rotary was born when four friends in Chicago, USA, led by Paul Harris, constructed a public toilet in a bus station, using contributions from themselves and a few friends. That was the beginning of Rotary, in 1905.
The situation of Rotary in Tanzania needs plenty of improvement, compared to that of Uganda and Kenya. Uganda has about 9000 Rotarians, and Kenya, 4000. We in Tanzania are only 900. We need more Tanzanians to join Rotary, to join these volunteers whose best inheritance to the world is selfless service.
