After a three-year hiatus, Rotary returned to the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced KIRR-i-bas) on June 30, with the chartering of the Rotary Club of Tarawa.
The island nation of Kiribati, located in the central Pacific Ocean, found itself Rotary-less in 2016 following the closure of the Rotary Club of Bairiki and the previous termination of the Rotary Club of Kiritimati in 2015.
One of the world’s poorest countries was now without a Rotary presence. In 2018, a member of the Rotary Club of Richfield, US, approached District 9920 (covering part of Auckland, NZ, and the Pacific) about assisting a young Kiribati man, Eritai Kateibwi, to provide hydroponic units to grow fresh produce for the island’s communities.
While it was possible to assist the project through a global grant, a Rotary presence was needed in South Tarawa to help administer the grant.
A small delegation consisting of past district governor Jennie Herring and district governor elect Ingrid Waugh, with her husband John, visited Kiribati in May 2018 to set up a Rotary Community Corps and investigate the viability of the hydroponic units.
The South Tarawa Rotary Community Corps (STRCC) was chartered in October 2018 and fundraising to support the global grant got underway. More than US$140,000 was raised thanks to contributions by New Zealand’s six districts, one Australian district and the Richfield club’s district, along with other clubs and individuals.
With the STRCC now working well, meeting regularly and undertaking projects to clean up the beaches, a chance meeting with president of Melbourne’s Victorian Kiribati Association, Ruth Cross, sparked the idea of establishing a full Rotary club. Ruth and her husband Tinte were returning to Tawara in early 2019 and Ruth was prepared to lead the new club.
An interest meeting hosted by Jennie and Ingrid was set up in April, and 27 local Kiribatians came along to hear how Rotary could help their communities. Eight people signed up to be members of the new club that very night.
The Rotary Club of Tawara was chartered on June 30 and has already planned a long list of future projects.
The STRCC is focusing primarily on cleaning up its local communities, while the Rotary Club of Tawara is working on building relationships with other NGOs and community groups to deliver larger scale projects, as well as fundraising. They have already established some key relationships with microfinance organisation Kindling Kiribati, the Victorian Kiribati Association and Sewaid International, and will participate in a dental global grant between the Rotary Club of Auckland South, NZ, and a Rotary club in Taiwan.
Rotary has definitely returned to Kiribati!