Rotary sends 311 students to Leadership Academy

The Rotary International District 9111 has registered 311 students to participate in this year’s Rotary Youth Leadership Academy (RYLA).The District Governor, District 9111, Rotarian Dr. Oluwole Kukoyi, said that with the theme, ‘Our Youths, Simply Irresistible’, this year’s RYLA promises to be unique and extraordinary.

According to him, celebrities and showbiz stars like the Bisi Olatilo Show; Ali Baba, the king of comedy; Julius Agwu, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Arinze Okonkwo and others will attend the RYLA to motivate the participants.

“Nearly all the clubs in District 9111 are sending participants to this year’s RYLA. Some will send one, some two, some more, depending on each club’s strength and capability,” he noted.

He said the programme officially starts on Saturday, August 24, 2024, when all participants are expected in the camp at Sea School, in Apapa, Lagos and will end on Sunday, September 1, 2024.”

On his expectations from the programme, he said: “I expect that all the participants will come back home totally transformed.”

They will learn, relearn and unlearn. They will make new friends and build relationships that will last them a lifetime. They will also be exposed to a lot of things that hitherto they never knew. Their mindset will be totally transformed.

“RYLA, as a matter of fact, is one programme that no child participates in and remains the same. It’s simply a life-transforming event for every child. It’s happening on an Island, and some of the participants have only read about it in books. But this time, they are going to live and operate in one for at least one week. So, it’s going to be a totally new experience for them.

“This year’s programme is unique because our carefully selected speakers are going to treat special topics that are pertinent in today’s world, from ICT to success in different facets of life; discipline, entrepreneurship, academics, etc. Even vocational training has been incorporated into the programme so as to accommodate those interested in that route.

“My advice to the children is to be well behaved and good ambassadors of both their sponsoring clubs and parents, pay attention to everything being taught, soak in as much information as they can, imbibe all the lessons they can and then go back as different persons totally transformed and ready to take on the world. That is one of the reasons our theme this year is ‘Our Youths, Simply Irresistible’. We believe so much in our youths, especially their unquantifiable potential. And that is again one of the things we want to champion and propagate with this unique and distinct programme.”