New Amsterdam Rotary Club preparing youths to become leaders

The Rotary Club of New Amsterdam, as part of its efforts to ensure that youths today make the best choices, held a seminar on Saturday last aimed at providing youths with the necessary skills to become leaders.
The seminar, a calendar event for the Club, catered for school-age children. Past

President of the Club, David Armogan, in explaining the importance of the leadership award programme, said the main focus was to build capacity as several topics of importance to young people were discussed.
“The important thing is to build capacity in those in whom we see potential…and we have seen potential in all of our students in our high schools, so it is important that we train you to take up positions later on in life,” Armogan told participants at the opening of the seminar.
Among some of the issues discussed were leadership, entrepreneurship, communication skills, suicide prevention, transmitted diseases and the Sexual Offences Act. Dr Narine Sooknanan, who is also a past president of the Club, dealt with the issue of teenage pregnancy.
The Rotary Club of New Amsterdam is one of two such clubs in Berbice and one of six in the country. The Club seeks to develop persons either on its own or working in collaboration with Government agencies or other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
The Rotary organisation is established in 133 countries and has a membership of 1.2 million. New Amsterdam Rotary Club President Ramroop Rajnauth said the 112-year-old organisation sought to place service above self. “We are made up of professionals and business people all coming together to give that vital service to the world at large; the needs in water and sanitation, health care and education. We even foster in forging peace where we see we can be a part of. We are not a political organisation, but we try to be involved in every way to ensure that our people are better, and are better off,” Rajnauth said. (Andrew Carmichael)