Rotary Club ushers in new leadership

Ruth Munyi receives the Instruments of Power, the Bell and the Gong, during her installation as the 8th President of the Rotary Club of Nairobi Thika Road in Naivasha on May 31, 2025.

The Rotary Club of Nairobi Thika Road has installed Ruth Munyi as its eighth president.

The installation took place on May 31 in Naivasha.

In her inaugural address, Munyi reaffirmed the club’s commitment to one of Rotary's key areas of focus on basic education and literacy.

“Charity must begin at home,” she said, outlining plans to scale up the club’s ongoing digital literacy initiative in the neighbouring Kasarani and Roysambu constituencies.

The club’s flagship project, Elimika, which means "be educated" in Swahili, is a grant-backed initiative aimed at transforming traditional learning by integrating digital tools into classrooms.

This journey began in 2022 with Garden Estate Primary School as the pilot. In the 2023/24 Rotary year, the Elimika Grant extended its reach to four more institutions: Ndothua Secondary School, St Vincent Maragi School in Muranga County, Birisha Primary School in Nyeri County, and CCM Mbuju School in Meru County.

Looking ahead to the 2025/26 Rotary year, the club plans to expand Elimika’s reach to more underserved schools while focusing on training teachers across multiple counties, including Turkana, to ensure effective use of digital tools in classrooms.

This initiative is being implemented in close collaboration with key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education to ensure alignment with national education goals and to foster long-term sustainability.

The evening also saw the recognition of dedicated members through the Paul Harris Fellow Award, bestowed upon individuals who contribute $1,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation.

Munyi was honored with a Paul Harris Fellow +1, acknowledging her continued support of the foundation’s global mission.

The Rotary Foundation supports humanitarian projects worldwide by funding sustainable solutions in Rotary’s seven areas of focus which are peacebuilding and conflict prevention, disease prevention and treatment  and supporting the environment.

Other priority areas for the voluntary organisation include water, sanitation, and hygiene, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy and community economic development.

In her closing remarks, Munyi expressed hope, ambition, and unwavering commitment to service above self. “We are not just changing lives — we are transforming communities,” she said.