"We are really excited to work with our Rotary brothers and sisters in Nigeria," said Rotary District 6630 Governor Fran Bayless as she announced the District's Group Study Exchange (GSE) goals to the exchange program committee. "And 9110 District governor Richard Giwa-Osagie echoed his excitement about our exchange."
This year's GSE will take place centering around the District 6630 Conference May 1st and 2nd , 2009. The incoming team from Nigeria will visit from April 19, to May 17, 2009 while our representative will visit Nigeria from mid-April to Mid-May.
This year's exchange will be unique because the focus of the experience and the team embers will be around the disciplines: Water, Education, Public Health and Art/Music. Thus, recruitment for the non-Rotarian members will concentrate primarily on professionals from those fields. As always the team leader will be chosen from District 6630 applicants who have expressed interest in training and leading young professionals interested in spreading the goals of Rotary International and desire to "Make Dreams Real."
Group Study Exchange (GSE), an educational activity of The Rotary Foundation, offers a unique person-to-person opportunity for the promotion of better understanding and friendly relation among the peoples of the world. The program provides travel grants for the exchange of teams of young business and professional people between paired districts in different countries, enabling them to study the institutions and ways of life of their hosts and to develop personal acquaintances and exchange ideas. These young people bring personal knowledge of their own country to the thousands they meet while abroad. And from their study of another country - their observations of its customs, their explorations to its business and professional life, their meetings and discussions with its people - come many opportunities for the development of understanding and lasting friendships.
Nigeria, officially named the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising thirty-six states and one Federal Capital Territory. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in the north. Its coast lies on the Gulf of Guinea, part of the Atlantic Ocean, in the south. The capital city is Abuja.
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history, and archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC. The Benue-Cross River area is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium AD.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the eighth most populous country in the world with a population of over 140 million. The country is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies, and is one of the fastest growing in the world. District 9110 includes clubs centered around Lagos, Nigeria.
Applications for Team Leadership will be taken through September 1, 2009 and for team membership until September 29, 2009. Applicants for Team Leadership of Team membership can secure information and applications at http://www.rotary.org/en/serviceandfellowship/fellowship/GroupStudyexchange/Pages/ridefault.aspx or by contacting Bob Faehnle (440) 477-3413 at bfaehnle@gmail.com or Gerry Hornick at gerryh1@msn.com.