By JOSEPHINE IGBINOVIA

Mrs. Kefe Adedibu is the immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Satellite Town, Lagos. In a chat with Vista Woman recently, she recounted her experiences as a club president, including how she had to juggle the task with her business and family life. A graduate of English from Delta State University, Kefe operates an event management company known as APHEM Solutions. Enjoy!!

When I joined the club, I was very reserved. But serving  as a secretary, vice president and then as the president, has taught me how to handle various tasks and different individuals. During my tenure, the Rotary Club of Satellite Town was able to execute a number of projects. One of such was the building and commissioning of two public toilets at the Rotary Park in Satellite Town. This was to enable shop owners and operators around the area keep the environment free from human waste.

With assistance from our district, District 9110, we sank a borehole at Ade Oshodi area of Ijegun Egba. The community is already enjoying the facility. We participated in the last polio plus immunization exercise that was carried out in Lagos State. The Rotary Club of Satellite Town was one of the sixty-two clubs that participated in the two-day health programme carried out by the Rotary Family Health Day committee of Rotary International.

Mrs Kefe Adedibu

There, we attended to hundreds of patients who had one health issue or the other. That event also created an awareness in me to the spate of poverty in Nigeria which is becoming increasingly alarming. I noticed a lot of families who came with their babies that had been sick for a long time but could not go to a hospital due to lack of funds. I wonder what would have happened to those families if we had not organized that Health Day.

In terms of membership development, our club also inducted seven new members. During the 2011/2012 Rotary year, the club also received two prestigious awards; Achievement Award and Excellent Leadership Award. I’m happy that through the support of my executives and club members, I was able to achieve all that I set out to achieve. On a scale of one to ten, I will score myself nine.  After this incredibly memorable year, I am more than happy to hand over the responsibilities of our club to the incoming President, Rotn Imoh Gabriel Usoro, whom I’m sure would take the club to greater heights.

I joined the Rotary Club of Satellite seven years ago during the tenure of my husband who was the club president then. Naturally, I love giving and helping people with the little I have, and that is the tenet of Rotary. When I took over the reins of office last year, my business had to suffer a little because I had to be fully involved in activities organized by the district. My home did not really suffer because my husband has always been very understanding. Most times, we plan things together. Whenever I’m not around, he does his best to be there for the children.

Ipresently run my own event management company called APHEM Solutions. I was trained in event management even before I decided to take it up as a full-time employment. I already had a university degree at that time and was working with a firm. I however felt uncomfortable about not having enough time for my baby who was still very little. Also, I noticed that I had passion for event management. Presently, I also train and organize ushers.

I always tell people to learn to think outside the box rather than depend solely on their university degrees for employment all the time. I believe you can make money from whatever creative and honest activity you set your hands to do. If you’ve decided on something to do on your own, simply engage first in a feasibility study.

Above all, you must have the passion. These days, even guys are earning a living from making women’s hair! There are a lot of things people could earn a living from in this country.   However, I want to call on our government to improve electricity supply in this country.’