Rotary International president Stephanie Urchick kicks off Kenya tour

Rotary International president Stephanie Urchick officially marked the start of her Kenyan tour with a visit to Pumwani Maternity Hospital in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Monday, January 13, 2025.

Urchick arrived in Kenya on January 12 as part of her African Magic Tour 2025, an extensive visit across five key African nations tour that will see her thereafter visit Senegal, Tunisia, and Egypt. Before arriving in Kenya, Urchick was visiting Uganda.

During the event, Safaricom Foundation committed to continue its maternal and child health partnership with Rotary District 9212 at Pumwani Maternity Hospital for two years.

“Maternal and child health is very, very close to our hearts,” Safaricom Foundation Chairman Joseph Ogutu said. “Our partnership with Pumwani and now together with the Rotary District 9212 will continue, because we firmly believe that no woman should die out of the noble act of giving birth to a child.”

“I was very impressed to hear about the plans to actually engage our community health promoters in the upcoming activities on capacity building because they are now our main link to the community and to implement primary healthcare,’’ Urchick said.

In Kenya, Rotary District 9212, which comprises of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Eritrea is hosting Urchick who will tour various projects. The previous visit to Kenya by a Rotary International President was by president Shekar Mehta in September 2021.

Urchick will announce Rotary’s commitment and support to several projects that will impact thousands of families and households in Kenya. Currently Rotary District 9212 has active grants valued at $6 million spread over the four countries.

Rotary International president Stephanie Urchick receives a welcome a dance.

“As Rotary District 9212 celebrates 100 years of impactful service in Africa, we aim to mark this milestone with a flagship project dedicated to improving maternal and child health at Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi as a national pilot,’’ Rotary District 9212 Governor Joe Kamau said.

The medical camp is the outcome of a 24-month partnership between Rotary District 9212 and Rotary Action Group for Family Health & AIDS Prevention Inc (RFHA) to enable Rotary clubs to roll out medical camps at seven different locations across Kenya.

In addition to Pumwani Maternity Hospital, the medical camps, known as Rotary Family Health Days (RFHD), will be held at Kogelo Health Centre (Siaya), Gichuru Dispensary (Kiambu), Transmara West Sub County Hospital (Narok), Embu Level V Hospital (Embu), Mukurweini Hospital (Nyeri) and Makongeni Health Centre (Thika).

President Urchick will also take time on January to enjoy Kenya’s world-class tourism attractions by having a game drive at the Nairobi National Park, visiting the Giraffe Centre and sampling Kenyan cuisine at The Carnivore.

Rotary International president Stephanie Urchick with Nairobi deputy governor Njoroge Muchiri at Pumwani Maternity Hospital.

Later on the same day, she will attend a Rotary Foundation diner to celebrate the achievements of the Foundation in Kenya. The grants of $6 million are provided by The Rotary Foundation, a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to undertake humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions.

 Key Rotary projects in Kenya include:

  • Information, Communication & Technology, ICT (Digital Literacy) – projects in
  • Kangemi (Tenderfoot) and in Tatu City
  • Maternal & Child Health – project dubbed Baby Mwanzo in Mukuru slums
  • Renovations and upgrades at Pumwani Maternity Hospital estimated to cost about KES100 million, while the blood Donation Campaign will require approximately KES10 million and another KES150 million for construction and equipping of two blood banks   
  • A partnership with the State Department for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to plant one million trees in six months.
  • A national initiative known as Rotary Sunshine Rally, catering for differently abled people since 1980.

 About Rotary

Rotary District 9212 is part of Rotary International, a global organisation with a membership of 1.4 million spread across 36,000 clubs around the world. Rotarians are professionals in various fields, business leaders and community leaders who offer their time and resources to solve community challenges.

The main objective of Rotary is service – in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world with focus in key areas that you can read more about Rotary here.

In Kenya, we have about 300 community projects that involve solutions in seven focus areas: disease prevention and treatment, maternal & child health, basic education and literacy, water and sanitation, peace and conflict resolution, economic and community development and environmental conservation.

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