Rotary plays host to professional team from Africa

   They’ve traveled half way around the world to a small town in Western New York and into a world as different from their own as it is far away in miles. They are five men and women from Rotary District 9210, representing South Central Africa, and they are participating in the Rotary Group Study Exchange program. District 9210 includes the countries of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and the northern half of Mozambique. It is a very large district with a total population of about 49 million people.

   Cal-Mum and Scottsville Rotary Clubs, along with five other clubs from District 7120, played host to the inbound group of professionals who stayed with Cal-Mum Rotarian host families from April 12 – 15.

   A program of the Rotary Foundation, GSE is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young business men and women between the ages of 25 and 40 and in the early years of their professional lives. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits between paired areas in different countries. For four to six weeks, team members experience the host country's institutions and ways of life, observe their own vocations as practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

   The 2007 Rotary Group Study Exchange Inbound Group did not know one another before the start of the trip but quickly bonded together in the spirit of friendship and exploration. They include:

  • Stella Dongo from Zimbabwe and the team leader. She leads a buyer group that also does marketing for a company that manufactures and sells furniture. Stella is married and the mother of 8 children.
  • Felix Gwimbi works in retail and distribution of fast-moving consumer goods in Zimbabwe. He speaks four languages and is married with 8 children.
  • Precious Besa of Zambia teaches food and nutrition to senior classes. She hopes to learn about nutrition, teaching, and the hotel industry on this exchange.
  • Sammy Alfandika of Malawi works in the public service / governance sector as a regional elections officer. He is interested in learning about elections management, conflict management, and general management. He is married with two children.
  • Frank Mvalo from Malawi works in the private sector in management and IT systems as consultant. During the exchange, Franks wants to learn more on strategic management and business planning, monitoring tools for the field of development, and the management of IT development projects. Frank speaks 3 languages and is married with one child.

   Upon the group’s arrival in Rochester, they attended the Rotary meeting held at the Convention Center where NY Governor Eliot Spitzer was the guest speaker. Their stay in the area included visits to Niagara Falls, the Memorial Art Gallery, the George Eastman House, Letchworth State Park and the Mt. Morris Dam. Locally, Cal-Mum Rotarians accompanied the group to the Big Springs Museum and the Genesee Country Inn in Mumford.

   Cal-Mum Rotarian Tom Coene is the coordinator for District 7120 Group Study Exchange. He says this group study exchange represents the widest cultural and economic gap of any of their previous groups. For example, the average income in Malawi is $600 a year. Seventy percent of the country’s population falls below the poverty level of $1 a day, or about $365 a year. Of the 14 million people living in Malawi, one million of those are orphans due to the AIDS epidemic. Malaria continues to be the leading cause of death in Malawi. Mary Lou Coene, a registered nurse and Cal-Mum Rotarian, said these facts are disturbing since both AIDS and Malaria are treatable diseases in the United States and other developed countries in the world.

   Inbound team leader Stella Dongo operates her own business as a merchandise director in Zimbabwe but was astonished at the abundance of food she saw on her visit to Wegmans grocery store. Felix Gwimbi, also from Zimbabwe, said he came to the United States to observe how American companies operate and what strategies he can borrow to make his own global marketing distribution company even more efficient. Everyone in the group remarked at being met with an abundance of American hospitality by their host families and wherever they visited. One thing they definitely did not appreciate was the cool, if not down right cold, temperatures last week in Western New York. They were curious, however, to see snow for the first time.

   Next month the Rotary Outbound GSE team will head for District 9210 in Africa. This group is comprised of:

  • Jeanie Wells from the Fairport Rotary Club. Jean is a nurse who has led medical missions to South Dakota reservations and to Peru.
  • From the Penfield Rotary Club, TC Pellett is the Director of Brand Management and e-Communication for the Greater Rochester Visitors Association.
  • Sarah Meyer, sponsored by the Geneva Rotary, is the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith College.
  • Hornell Rotary is sponsoring Laurie McFadden who is the Alfred University Librarian/Archivist, at the Herrick Memorial Library.
  • Rochester Rotary will send Kristie Antonitto, a photographer for WHAM-TV, working both on location and in the studio.
  • Joe Roman is a 6th Grade Science, Social Studies, and Reading Lab teacher at Wheatland- Chili Central School, represents Scottsville Rotary.

Scottsville and Cal-Mum’s Rotary Clubs are hosts to an African Group Study Exchange for four days last week. The group experienced the American culture, professions and vocations through their visits to area businesses and cultural attractions. On Saturday, April 14, the group toured the Big Springs Museum. Back row: Mary Smith, Jane Baker (CM Rotary), Stella Dongo, Tom Coene (CM Rotary), Frank Myalo, Diana Balch, Richard Nereau (Scottsville Rotary), Mary Lou Coene (CM Rotary). Front row: Sammy Alfandika, Precious Besa and Felix Gwimbi.

 

Patricia Garrett, curator of the Big Springs Musuem, leads the African Group Study Exchange on a guided tour of America’s heritage. Here, she points out the evolution of washing clothes, from the early pioneer methods to the wringer washing machine.