How many Rotary club members know where the club has come from, or the journey it has taken to get where they are?  This is important but why?  Now is the best time to write your club's history with all the tools and help you need to achieve this.
 
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” - Marcus Garvey. How many Rotary club members know where the club has come from, or the journey it has taken to get where they are? Few clubs have a written history archived instead making mention of past successes and failures through word-of-mouth, if at all. Oral history tends to be highly inefficient and accuracy gets distorted over time. 
 
The history of the club is a connection with the past helping the understanding of how the club and its culture came to be what it is in the present day and showing what its values are.  The credibility of a club is as much a reflection of its past conduct and activity as it is of what it is doing today.
 
So, we are at a point in time where clubs in our District (and Australasia and the Pacific) have an excuse, if one is needed, to canvas members past and present for archived material that described past club activity and gather this together to create at least an overview of the club’s history and maybe an in-depth look at those significant projects the club can be proud to still talk about.
 
That excuse is the Mana Tangata history project that provides the tools to record your club history and offers the opportunity to have the best parts included in a publication of Rotary in our region over the last 100 years since the first Rotary club in this region in 1921.  More at:  https://www.rotaryoceania.zone/sitepage/mana-tangata-centennial-project/introduction   There is some ‘urgency’ to at least get a write up of your most significant projects of the past as the Editor is soon to look at the period of the last 50 years … do not miss out being included!  ASK if you need help as to what is needed.