Using your free time for community

Insight. There is a lot you can do personally to be an agent of change if you put your mind to it.

Although professionals are most times busy at their respective workplaces, they need to find time and offer voluntary services to their communities.

Experts describing this extra work as ‘service above self’, argue that providing free services to the community is one way of contributing to sustainable development and supplementing government work.

Dr Raymond Byaruhanga says he uses much of his free time to offer free medical services in communities where people cannot afford to pay.

“In Rotary, we use our respective vocations to identify the crucial areas of need and extend services there. Although the demand remains high, what is done reduces the burden,” says Dr Byaruhanga, the Head of Aids Information Center (AIC) and a member of the rotary club of Bugolobi said.

Dr Byaruhanga, who appealed to more people to develop the Rotary spirit of serving above self, was one of the medical personnel at a medical camp organised by the Rotary Club of Bugolobi. He said the rotary activity was a mobilisation tool seeking to bring on board professionals to use their various vocations in building communities.
Ms Jolly Kiregyera, the President of the Rotary Club of Bugolobi says such activities not only create impact to the community but also help in creating visibility of the one offering a service.

“I have been using my quality as a business management consultant to identify training needs among the urban poor and then I mobilise trainers to teach them how to do business,” says Ms Kiregyera adding that her involvement in community work as a Rotarian has helped in building her capacity and exposure. She says that working for communities does not only help the people who get the service but also the nation as a whole. It helps to establish clients for the volunteers’ respective professions and businesses.

Rotarian Leopold Lubega, a telecom engineer, says he uses the money raised from his job to finance activities that would benefit vulnerable communities.

Raising money
“My profession has no direct bearing on the needs on the community but what I do is to raise money to support water engineers in providing technology for water sources in rural areas or hiring trainers to build capacity of people in slam areas to live sustainable lives,” says Rotarian Lubega, the founder member of the 10-year old humanitarian club of Bugolobi.

Ms Kiregyera says that after 10 years of service, her club now focuses on recruitment of youthful professionals to sustain their service projects.

“We want to recruit the youth to help in shaping the morals, ethics and integrity of our society as a move to bring up a responsible population as they serve in rotary movement,” she says.

ekasozi@ug.nationmedia.com