Making a DIfference, One Community at a Time

This is the 6th in our update on D5110 involvements with RI’s Peace Fellowship Program. Each year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of our peace centers. Thus far we have provided peace building skills to over 1,800 scholars.

Emmanuel Baya, sponsored by the RC of Rogue Gateway, is the founder and director of the Margarini Children Centre and Organic Demonstration Farm in Malindi, Kenya. The Centre is dedicated to combining a love for the soil with providing an education for the orphaned and marginalized children of the community. Known for his charisma and ability to inspire and motivate others, Emmanuel, Manu, has modeled the importance of working together as a community to take care of its members and to reduce poverty by encouraging members to solve their own problems. He attended Chula from January to April 2017.

For this update we interviewed one of the Centre’s biggest supporter Sage Emery of Creswell Oregon. She says that every time she talks with Manu he credits our program with his increased effectiveness. As an example, Kenya has been experiencing major drought for 6 years. So bad that the farmers and animal herders have had to compete for the community well water. To the point that the pipes were broken to allow the animals to have water preventing the villagers from having drinking water and from growing their own food. Leaving the much smaller well built by the Children’s Centre as the primary source for as many as 20,000 people. Because of Manu’s problem solving and conflict resolution skills the parties have learned to share this very limited resource. They appreciate Manu so much that they elected him to a position equivalent to mayor.
In addition, he has been able to grow the Centre to include a high school for those who could not be educated in any other way.

Peace is not just nonviolence. It is also when people work in harmony and freedom. This is what Manu and our program has helped to occur in one area of one country. We have a long way to go, but through Rotary we are making a difference.