By Chiedza Muswe
With the aim of getting more young adults and millennials involved in the fight against COVID19, Rotaract Club of Borrowdale Brooke (RCBB) managed come up with unconventional ways to fundraise and assist victims, frontline workers and citizens in need.
Speaking at a donation ceremony that took place this week newly elected President of RCBB Darren Goneke said as RCBB said it was important to involve the youth in the fight against the spread of Covid19
“Our drive as Rotaract club of Borrowdale Brooke is to get the youth involved in the fight against a global pandemic that has taken many lives around the world. It is through their support that we are able to recognize and support men and women who are putting their lives at risk each day to save our loved ones,” he said.
Speaking on future endeavours, Mr Goneke hinted on new and exciting projects in the pipeline.
“There is more work to be done and with my newly elected team, we are committed to ensuring that we mobilise members of our community to tackle more priority areas that include health and education,” he said.
Former President of RCBB Temwani Kaunda highlighted the need to protect the front line workers which has motivated them to act.
“After reaching out to the clinic we realized that the medical staff is in need of protective clothing that make them less vulnerable during this time. It is with this revelation alone that prompted RCBB to act.”
RCBB conducted Instagram Disk Jockey (DJ) sessions on weekends for 2 consecutive weeks and the club managed to raise over ZW$10 000 that was used to buy protective clothing for front line workers at Hatcliffe clinic, which is a medical centre within their catchment area.
The Hatcliffe clinic is the only medical centre in Hatcliffe, a high density suburb in Harare. The clinic serves as a nearby facility for all Hatcliffe community members in need of medical assistance, therefore the facility is among critical medical centres that need to be well equipped for incidences of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Apart from PPE donations the RCBB club has managed to continuously support Hatcliffe clinic and Hatcliffe community for over 3 years. Through multiple fundraising events including their annual Cancer Run, the club managed to assist the clinic with renovations and organised nurse trainings to ensure Hatcliffe community receives the best medical assistance.
RCBB is a subsidiary of Rotary International, a global network of young adults who have a common goal to make a significant impact on their communities.
First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa last month called upon everyone to come together and help with whatever they can in the fight against Covi19 pandemic. President Emmerson Mnangagwa also highlighted that this is a challenge that will require unity and sacrifice to defeat the virus because disunity would be counterproductive. He also called on people to invest in public health so that the country does not become overwhelmed by such outbreaks.
