ROTARY CLUB OF LIMBE  -  HISTORY

The Rotary Club of Limbe was chartered on the 23rd September, 1968 and became the third oldest club in the country after the RC Yaounde and Douala. In the late sixties, the opportunity for service was foreign but the concept of sharing which is African facilitated the growth of Rotary in the district. Although chartered as the Rotary Club of Victoria, the dynaqmism of its members that came from all the major towns in Fako division saw a crowd at a Rotary International Convention in 1972 where almost 8 members and some spouses attended. This huge attendance was repeated almost twenty years after when 6 rotarians and some spouses attended the centennial celebrations in Chicago last year. Charitable works for the communities of Buea and Limbe were hallmarks e.g the famous taxi stand at the gates of the Limbe Provincial Hospital. This started the development of huge projects and in 1992, a toilet block was constructed in the Hospital premises. Though it was never completed, the idea prompted Rotarians to harness efforts in furnishing the Hospital with modern surgical beds. Before this group of “old Rotarians left the scene, a Rotaract Club was born. They emphatically assisted Rotarians in most of their projects since they were community based and as it should normally happen, some Rotarians today were members of this Rotaract club. Through the Rotary Club of Guelph (Canada) the club engaged in the construction of Choko Ovens, a traditional Ghanaian method of fish smoking to assist fishing communities like Batoke, Wovia, Mbonjo etc.

The clubs membership strength was threatened in 1992 when it fell to less than 8 members for over three years. Notwithstanding the drop in membership, some major projects were achieved e.g. the creation of the Rotary club of Kumba. The endeavour to retain old members as well as introduce new ones was a collective effort. The club exchanged visits to other clubs within the country especially RC Douala Doyen and out of the country; Makurdi (Nigeria). Note should be mentioned of the famous trip to Makurdi where a statement made by the Club president from Limbe appeared in the headlines of a local newspaper.

In the event of developing the ideals of Rotary and sustaining membership, the club organized  a successful Inter City Forum in 1996. With the waning participation of Rotary clubs in Cameroon especially at District conferences and RI conventions, the RC Limbe is planning to organize another Inter City Forum in Limbe in November 2006 to inform Rotarians on the zeal for growth in Rotary.

In keeping with tradition, each incoming RI president unveils a theme for the year which is usually a brief, easily remembered call-to-action. This year, Richard Boyd has called Rotarians the world over to lead the way> The Rotary club of Limbe has elected to lead the way for Rotary in Cameroon. This, in the light of Bill Boyd, is Rotary’s ability to mobilize people and get things done.