Mrs Anita Senan, the Founder and CEO of Serving Hands (an NGO based in Lagos) and a Montessori Directress has been installed as the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Banana Island, Lagos.
She was formally installed by the first-ever, lady District Governor, Mrs Omatude Lawson of Rotary International, District 9110 at a colourful ceremony which was graced by Mr Chandra Mouli Kern, the Counsellor General of the Indian High Commission as the Chief Guest and attended by over 70 Rotarians and friends of Rotary, held at Cilantro, Victoria Island, Lagos recently.
It was a fitting crown for Mrs Senan, who was inspired to start the club by Past Imaginative President, Mrs Mamta Debroy of the Rotary Club of Eko Atlantic, the parent club of Rotary Club Banana Island.
In her speech, Mrs Senan said the club started in July with 26 charter members, consisting of 15 ladies and 11 gentlemen, many of whom are very senior-level professionals in corporates and business, and has grown to a membership base of 33.
She said the club, in addition to the fellowship opportunities it offers, is focused on improving the quality of life of the less privileged and has consequently identified a cluster of 4 island village communities, 45 minutes by boat from Banana Island.
“They are essentially a fishermen community of about 1500 people consisting of men, women and children. These villages have no electricity, drinking water, toilets, health care facilities, proper educational facilities, and no other supplemental income sources other than what comes from coconut and cassava cultivation,” she said.
The specific plans that can bring about transformational change to the community include the installation of solar energy, building of a health care facility for the villagers, sinking boreholes and building water treatment plants, erecting community toilets and providing educational facilities for the children, among other life-impacting projects. The club has already started implementing many of these projects through its own resources.
The ceremony also witnessed the installation of Charter Board Members and Paul Harris Fellows (PHF) by the District Governor, Rtn, Omatunde Lawson. The members were Ramachandran Nair PHF (Vice President), Bhushan Salgar (Secretary), Sharada Murali (Treasurer), Charles Jenarius PHF (Foundation Chair), Radika Ramchandran Roy, (Chair Membership) and Dr Arundhati RoyChoudhury (Chair Services).
Others include Fatima Sarfaraz PHF (Chair Youth Services), Mrs Rajeevi Vigneswaran (Chair History and Archives), Ashok Nair (Chair Admin) , Pretee Salgar (Chair Public Image), Ranjit Warrier PHF and Dr. Kala Nair PHF.
The 6 Paul Harris Fellows of the club donated one thousand dollars each to the Rotary Foundation, which would be channelised towards social community service projects globally and in Nigeria.
The Charter President also thanked the sponsors namely Grimaldi Shipping, Cilantro, Lagos Free Zone, Pepsi, Ok Foods from Olam, Wishbones Associates, Sharaf Shipping Associates, and Zenith Bank who contributed generously to support the installation event and the community interventions in the pipeline.
