Our Job Is To Do Good In The World -Rotarian Ifeyinwa Ejeize

Following a successful youth summit at Alausa Lagos Yesterday, the District Governor, Rotary International, District 9110, Rotarian Ifeyinwa Ejeize fielded questions with journalists; the Eagle team of CAMI EZENWA, Editor and MacWllliam Olelewe, Chief Marketing Officer reports

Could You Please Give A Brief Background Of What We Are Here Today For?

My name is Rotarian Ifeyinwa Ejeize, Ifunananya Ejeze, District Governor, Rotary International, District 9110 which covers Lagos and Ogun states.

Rotary international is the biggest and largest Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in the whole world, and we have different programmes every month.

The month of May is for Youth service, so we use this month to educate youths; to talk to them, prepare them for tomorrow; to try to guide them against different vices like drug abuse

Today, we have to do this in partnership with Youths and Sports Ministry, Lagos,State, to bring together youths from different schools – our Rotaractors  and Interactors too because Rotary has different cadres, we like to catch them young.

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So, we have called all of them – the hall is full, I think we have about 4,000 youths here – to teach them the basic things they need to know.

Thus far, would you say the summit is achieving its purpose, given what has already happened in the outline of activities?

We have had very explosive sessions, talking to them about vices, including what parents need to do; why they have to avoid peer pressures, and why they shouldn’t do something simply because somebody else is doing it. And also, that drugs takes no one anywhere. And to ask, which one do you want, to  get high to heaven or high to the grace.

Our Job Is To Do Good In The World -Rotarian Ifeyinwa Ejeize 2

Rotarian Ejeize after delivering a successful youth summit yesterday

We have told them, when you are sent to school, to read, concentrate on your studies, read and prepare yourself for better tomorrow.

Drugs as we know never leads anybody to anywhere. The greatest musicians that this country has produced, were destroyed by drugs. The greatest artistes that this country produced that were on drugs have all been destroyed by drugs. The youths normally have that erroneous belief that one needs to be high to be able to act, to be on stage, to be educated.

We see that you also have a handful of outstanding personalities here to help drive home the message?

Yes, all the artistes we just presented on stage, none of them is a drug addict, none of them is in these vices but they are great artistes.

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Take this other particular artiste, one of the great musicians that the country has produced, what brought him down? – drugs. The moment he left the natural intelligence that God gave him and decided to help himself by taking drugs, thinking that would make him perform better on stage, the drugs brought him down.

So, The Underlining Message Is For Youths To Live Right?

We want to let our youths know the difference. And to also remind our parents that education starts from the home, not in school, because the teachers have only a few hours to stay with the children. Even before they get to enter school at all, the parents would have started their education from home.

So, we want to tell them the basic things that they need to know. And to encourage them that a child must not get everything that he asks for. What they should give them is what they need and not what they want,.

Aside Today’s Event, What Other Areas Of Interventions Have You Had In Line With The Rotary Mandate?

We take a lot of programmes to schools. This year, we have taken health programmes to even Immigration and International Airport. We have been to different schools, even to Nigerian Customs.

Don’t forget, our Rotaractors are in different schools so we take the different lectures to them.

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Our interactors are for secondary schools. If you get into the hall now, you see secondary schools participating, so we talk to them, educate them, and let them know reasons why they are Rotaractors or Interactors.

As Rotarians, our job is to do good in the world. That is part of our way of giving back to the society, because everything cannot be done by government.

Editor’s Note: The Eagle News Media congratulates Rotarian Ifeyinwa Ejeize and her team and would be available to create awareness about their lofty philanthropic works.