I want to be remembered for giving back to humanity: On Saturday, August 22, 2026, Rotarian Etheldreda Chinwe Anyanwu will be installed as the 6th President of Rotary Club of Lekki Novare, an occasion that will also be used for fund raising. The incoming President who joined Rotary Club, the global service organisation that plans volunteer projects which address local and international issues like poverty, disease and education, with one goal — to lift those at the bottom of the ladder – will also mark her 50th birthday. In this interview with News Editor ISHAYA IBRAHIM, she speaks on her motivations, her ambitious N20 million intervention projects, and the drive behind her mission.
Can you take us through your personal journey that led you to this moment — incoming president of the prestigious Rotary Club of Lekki Novare?
The journey started six years ago when I joined the Rotary Club of Lekki Novare. I am a humanitarian — I like to give out, and Rotary is about service above self, selfless service, giving back to the community, to humanity. Alone, with my limited resources, I can’t do much; I can’t create much impact in society or touch many lives. But when you come together as a group of people with the same vision, you can do great things — you can stand out, you can make a difference in the world.
So our little contributions of time, treasure, and talents mean we’re able to build things and touch lives.
There are different areas of focus in Rotary. One is basic education and literacy, which deals with secondary schools — we normally work with public schools and provide educational materials. We educate students, hold seminars on the importance of education, and help them think about their careers.
There’s also maternal and child health — we care for pregnant mothers, babies, and newborns. We go to hospitals and donate birthing kits and hospital equipment, and support the health of pregnant mothers and their unborn and newborn babies. We also work on polio eradication — Rotary International is working toward zero polio worldwide, partnering with organisations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
We also work on peace and conflict resolution, as well as environmental sanitation, water, and hygiene, among other things. When you put in the effort and become visible, and people benefit from what you do, you begin to earn recognition. I’ve served as service project chair for four years running, leading most of the committees on our various projects. This year, my club considered me fit to serve as president, and our theme for the year is “Create Lasting Impact.” Together, we want to attract global corporate bodies, companies, and like-minded individuals so we can touch lives and create a lasting impact in our society.
You mentioned “Service Above Self” as the Rotary motto — what does that mean to you personally, and how has it shaped who you are today?
With “Service Above Self,” this is an international organisation where nobody pays you a salary. You find yourself working, donating your limited resources to touch people who cannot pay you back. For example, we have a project this month — July — to donate birthing kits to hospitals for emergency deliveries. Those mothers won’t give anything back to you; you give, and nobody pays you. That’s Service Above Self: you give your time and energy to touch a life, without expecting any reward. It has taught me that you don’t always need to be paid before doing something worthwhile — before saving a life or putting a smile on someone’s face. Your joy comes from knowing you’ve made a difference in someone’s life or in the community.
You touched on the project you’re focusing on — I understand it’s a N20 million project. Of the areas of focus you mentioned — maternal health, water and sanitation, education — which is closest to your heart, and why?
Personally, I am a teacher, an educationist, and I own a school. So, the one closest to my heart is basic education and literacy — going out to impact children and helping them understand the importance of education and choosing a career path that will better their lives. Education is closer to my heart than the others, even though we embark on all of these projects together.
As a leader, how do you plan to rally your members and the community to achieve these big goals, given the scale of the projects?
That brings us to the installation. We’re about to hold a fundraising ceremony where we invite family, friends, corporate bodies, and like-minded, visionary people who want to give back to society. That’s how we drive the vision — all the money raised goes toward executing the projects. We try to attract government support, corporate partners, and individuals willing to give to humanity. That’s how we raise funds to carry out our projects.
Is there a personal experience that motivated you to undertake these projects, and to join Rotary and embrace its motto of Service Above Self?
Personally, I like to touch lives, and I see many people in society who need help — the poor, the deprived, especially children. In my school, I have children on scholarship, and every year I try to take children off the street — that is my mission. So I started looking for organisations that could help me actualise that, because alone, I can do very little, but together, we can do much greater things.
If you could reflect on your younger self — the young woman before joining Rotary — what advice would you give young girls looking at the future with a lot of uncertainty
I believe in positivity — staying on the positive side of life. I believe that if you’re positive and want to succeed, there will always be a way, always a window to succeed. I like to give, and I don’t accept defeat. I believe there’s always a way out — you don’t give up on yourself. You always believe that the universe, and God Himself, will provide.
There are also charitable organisations that go out to help, because some young girls may turn to prostitution or other negative paths, feeling nobody cares for them. We are here to lift their hands and say, “We are here for you, and we can empower you positively.” Even for market women, we support small-scale businesses — we give them capital to support their trade. So to young girls, I would say: don’t give up on yourself or feel like nobody cares, because we are here, and we care, and we can lift your hands.
Are you sometimes worried about the volume of need out there, and that resources aren’t enough to meet those needs? Do you ever feel scared?
Yes, I am worried, because our government isn’t doing enough to take care of all of this. There’s a lot to do, but we take it one day at a time, working within our immediate community. Rotary has a way of spreading across the globe — we belong to districts. My club, Rotary Club of Lekki Novare, covers the Sangotedo area geographically. There’s also a Rotary club in Ajah — and another in VGC. So we’re spread across different areas, and each club’s mandate is to care for its own community, though we can extend a hand to other areas too. We keep chartering new clubs so we can spread further and reach more communities in need.
Do you feel people sometimes misunderstand the Rotary Club — for instance, mistaking it for some kind of secret cult? Is there a myth about Rotary you’d like to clarify?
Yes. I also asked questions before I joined, because it’s an international organisation and people don’t always understand what it’s about — who’s involved, what their objectives are. I’m proud to say we are a humanitarian organisation; we support people globally and hold international conferences every year. We touch lives both locally and internationally. We’re very realistic, and our integrity is top-notch. We follow the Four-Way Test, which guides what Rotarians think, say, and do. It asks: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? We always stand for the truth, and we’re there to pull one another up.
You mentioned you had to ask questions before joining — what were those specific questions, and why did you ask them?
Yes, I asked questions because I like to know exactly what I’m engaging in, so I can be sure and be able to defend what I believe in. For instance, we pay yearly dues, which fund most of our projects. When I was asked to pay dues, I asked, “What is this money being used for?” I was told it goes toward humanitarian work and community projects. I like to be certain of what I’m committing to before I get involved.
Finally, ten years from now, how would you like people in Lekki and beyond to remember the impact of your 2026–2027 presidential year?
I’d like to touch lives within this community — we have a project at Sangotedo Market to clean it up and install waste bins at different points to keep the market clean. We also have a project to provide sanitary pads for a thousand young girls, to support their hygiene needs. Through our publicity efforts, we want people to know that Rotary is here in our community, actively touching lives and creating impact.
So, in essence, you’d like to be remembered as a woman who created impact during that period.
Yes, in this community. I want to be remembered for giving back to humanity, giving back to society. That is what I would like to be remembered for: the woman who touched lives, who played a role, in her own little way, in ensuring that Rotary Club delivered on its self-assigned mandate of positively impacting the society.
