Georges Budagu Makoko is the founder of Ladder to the Moon Network and co-founder of Amjambo Africa. Georges was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and moved to Rwanda in 1994 due to political unrest in his country. He came to the United States in 2002, where he sought and received asylum.
When he arrived in Maine in 2002, reporter Stephanie Harp wrote in Amjambo Africa, “he was desperate for news from the region of Africa he’d recently fled. But he couldn’t find any. Neither could he find many Americans who knew what was happening in his home country of the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbors. “Between them, Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo had lost more than six million as result of the conflict. I was shocked that people didn’t know anything about that, knew nothing about the human loss. It bothered me so much,” he said. “We lost almost everything, yet here people have no idea. How come they don’t know? I struggled to understand why.” Few Congolese lived in Maine at the time, several years before significant immigration began from Central Africa to Southern Maine. So he wrote a book about it. “I could see that people are curious about why people are coming here from the other side of the world. Why are they here? I wanted to answer those questions in my book.” He published Ladder to the Moon: Journey from the Congo to America in 2013, telling the story of what had brought him to that point, from childhood in a small, mountain village in Kivu, in eastern Congo, to facing conflict and war in Congo and Rwanda, to seeking and receiving asylum in the U.S.”
Georges worked as Senior Property Manager with Avesta Housing for 15 years. In 2012, he was awarded Site Manager of the Year, a joint award from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service and Maine Rural Development. He is currently the Director of Residential Services at Serenity Residential Care, LLC, a company he founded with friends to support adults with cognitive, intellectual, psychological, and physical disabilities. He serves as a motivational speaker and professional interpreter, and speaks more than six languages, including English, French, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Lingala and Kinyamulenge. He strongly believes in advocating for peace, reconciliation, and justice for all.
He graduated from National University of Rwanda with a degree in Business Administration.
Bits and Pieces | by John Marr
IT’S A NEW YEAR!
It’s the changing of the guard and the Independence Day pyrotechnics provided the big boom and the magnificent red glare to thank and recognize Ellen Niewoehner for a fabulous Zoom year of meetings that helped us remember that Rotary fellowship is always there and while we may not be able to sit around together we can still get around and make Portland and our world all the better. Thank you, past-president Ellen for an indelibly memorable year. Ellen always seems to be smiling but she seemed to be brilliantly incandescent as she passed the gavel to our 108th Portland Rotary Club President, Bob Martin. The flock will be well tended by our new, most erudite, shepherd.
Our meeting was Zoomed into by 36 members and 1 guest (Kirk Duffy we don’t count you as a guest or visiting Rotarian because we know your heart is with us). I guess the other 74 club members were off on vacation and forgot to take advantage of the technology that allows us to stay in touch with one another and remain part of the good works of The Club. When we Zoom in early we can still enjoy the banter and good humor of our fellow Rotarians and get a sense of what’s going on. For example, Elise Hodgkin, transitioning from her role as Administrative Coordinator, but remaining an honorary member, joked about the stories she could tell of the 15 Presidents she served and saved along the way.
Our new Admin is Alice Alexander, who has proven to be a quick study. President Bob introduced the club to Alice and asked her to give some background. Alice lives in Falmouth with her husband and her daughter. Alice was delighted to boast that her daughter is a recent college graduate and has already found a job. Speaking of jobs, Alice has 4 standard poodles she cares for and fortunately has a side gig as an administrative assistant at a veterinary practice – brilliant! She also works as the administrative manager at Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist church. Looks like the Board has made a good find bringing Alice on to help keep the cats herded, even if she is a dog person.
President Bob reminded us of the new Board members and Committee Chairs, some still to be named. He took this opportunity to remind everyone to send him your committee preferences and asked for help with the Windjammer which goes out to all members and about 150 others. If you have an interest in having some fun as a contributor to the Windjammer, please let Bob know, since the ranks are getting thin. As this writer proves, you don’t have to be of Pulitzer talent, just capable of cobbling a few paragraphs together to tell a story. You will have fun helping to keep people informed and will get plenty of compliments and thanks, I can personally assure you. If I can do it, you can do it!
In the course of the early meeting banter, we learned that Erik Greven was on his boat moored in Rockport Harbor and planning on enjoying the North Atlantic Blues Festival this weekend. It seems that other Rotarians will also be in attendance and maybe there will be a mini-meeting. Rotarians are always ready to have a fun time together at a concert, playing poker, or just grabbing a bite of breakfast at Becky’s, which is even more of a reason to find new members to bring into the club. As much as we need more writers for the ‘Jammer, we need new members even more so, so invite a friend to a meeting or to meet another Rotarian and learn about the fun we have.
It was a rainy day, so Cy Hagge came up with the perfect inspirational reflection to open the meeting. He recited a playful poem, entitled “Rain”. Which ended by saying it is raining “in my head.” Anyone that knows Cy knows that a lot goes on in that head!
While Bob is taking on the role of Club President, Dick Hall is assuming the duties of District 7780 Governor! Congratulations, Dick, you’ll do a phenomenal job. It’s hard to find anybody who has done more for Rotary and this club, in particular, than Dick. Dick has been involved in just about everything to do with Rotary and comes from a Rotary family making him the perfect fit for this august role.
We all miss our in-person gatherings at the Clarion, consequently the Board has been looking for a new meeting place since the hotel can no longer accommodate our needs. Mike Fortunato has been working with the Italian Heritage Center, a past venue of distinction, and we may be able to get the gang together under one roof in the not too distant future. It will be splendid to break bread with Rotarians once again!
Get your pocketbooks open. Amy Chipman, an extraordinary fund raiser, has passed the Foundation Chair along to Patty Byers. Patty is experienced and not shy. She shared the club’s goal of $17,000 for the foundation, and a Polio Plus goal of $2,000. Patty reminded us of EREY, which stands for Every Rotarian Every Year. Simply stated, each of us should find a way to donate any amount to the effort so we can achieve 100% participation.
Blood Drive in Portland
Former Portland Rotarian Ronda Ferriera sent the club an email concerning the critical shortage of blood supplies:
You have probably heard news coverage regarding the severe blood shortage. I am hoping the Portland Rotary will consider helping.
On Friday July 23rd, we are holding a major blood drive at Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland from 9am-3pm. We have a significant blood unit collection goal for this drive, and with two weeks out, our registration is alarmingly low.
Portland Rotary’s 108th President
By Ben Lowry
On Friday, we were captivated by a presentation by our new president, Bob Martin, during our weekly Zoom meeting. Bob has been a member of several Rotary clubs over the past thirty years and joined our club for a second tenure in 2011. If you did not know much about Bob, you came away from Friday’s meeting amazed at his level of competence, passion and focus for the job at hand: leading our group out of the pandemic and into a position of leadership within our diverse community.
We’ve all heard of Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Motion: an object in motion stays in motion. But Galileo came up with the theory of inertia, showing that objects will slow and stall with friction. Bob used these centuries old notions as a backdrop for his SWOT analysis, concluding that our club need not be bogged down by inertia but must continue to adapt to our ever-changing environment as we remain committed to our service. Bob has spent his professional life helping guide businesses toward success and feels that many of the principles that he uses can be adopted by our service club, with the Rotary International motto of “serve to change lives” as a guiding beacon for the 110 members of Portland Rotary.
In September of 1915, our club became the 177th Rotary Club in America. Made up of white men who wore their hats proudly, Portland Rotary has grown and flourished, with women finally allowed into the club in 1987. But now, 34 years later, our club is still mainly older white men. The fedoras have been replaced by ball caps, and the international group has blossomed to 1.2 million Rotarians in 36,000 clubs, but overall membership is declining, and, in our little corner of America, our club doesn’t seem to be indicative of the population of Portland, Bob suggested. Within the 65,000 folks in the city, diversity is growing quickly—65 languages are spoken in the schools, the 25-44 age group is growing, 30% of the population have college degrees, and are busy working primarily in the education, healthcare and financial fields. Our club, with 70% males and 70% of the membership over the age of 50, needs to avoid becoming “male, pale and stale.” And we can do that, Bob declared, by taking initiative and reaching out to new members, as well as setting an agenda that considers the needs of our community while staying the course with our international efforts, which have been so successful over the past many years.
Bob wants Portland members to tell the story of Rotary, of our accomplishments and goals, in a more intimate, one on one, setting. He wants us to increase our presence in the community, to grow attendance at our weekly meetings, to bring new and fresh faces into leadership roles. And he is not afraid of taking on the tough issues, stating that we have often steered clear of discussing some topics, perhaps seeing politics as an excuse, rather than finding a springboard to an agenda of action.
Bob Martin, like all of his 107 predecessors, is excited and passionate about his upcoming tenure. But, with Bob, we have an incredibly unique personality. One of extreme intellect combined with a background in providing reasoned guidance to businesses, allowing them to look inward in seeking to avoid that inertia that can lull any organization into a false sense of security. We all have the same goals: to move our club forward in our continuing efforts to serve our city, state and the greater good of all humanity. President Bob Martin is the right person at the right time for our club. With Bob at the helm, we can achieve his lofty goals: adding 30 new members, increasing diversity by 20%, achieving gender balance by 2023, increasing member involvement and with that, adding to our relevance within our community.
From the reaction and questions from members, it seems clear that Bob will have plenty of support for his ambitious goals. We’re very proud to welcome Bob as our president for the upcoming year and we all look forward to helping in any way we are able.
Moment of Reflection
The Summer Day
By Mary Oliver
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
copyright Mary Oliver
Speaker Schedule
July 16 | Georges Budagu Makoko, Publisher, Amjambo Africa
July 23 | Jeff Sanders, CEO, Maine Medical Center
July 30 | TBD
August 13 | Rita Heimes, Chief Privacy Officer, Int'l Association of Privacy Professionals
introduced the club to Alice and asked her to give some background. Alice lives in Falmouth with her husband and her daughter. Alice was delighted to boast that her daughter is a recent college graduate and has already found a job. Speaking of jobs, Alice has 4 standard poodles she cares for and fortunately has a side gig as an administrative assistant at a veterinary practice – brilliant! She also works as the administrative manager at Allen Avenue Unitarian Universalist church. Looks like the Board has made a good find bringing Alice on to help keep the cats herded, even if she is a dog person.
