DG 2004-05

Rtn. Mohamed Abdulla

District Governor Mohamed Abdulla was born in Mombasa, Kenya and educated at the Aga Khan schools. He went to England to study for Chartered Accountancy and returned to Kenya in 1962. He went into public practice and formed the firm of Kassim-Lakha Abdulla & Co, Certified Public Accountants with his partners in 1964. The firm by 1969 expanded and had offices in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

The firm expanded to England in 1972 and then to Canada in 1978.

Mohamed joined the Rotary Club of Mombasa, Kenya in 1965 and was the President of the Club during 1971/72. Following are some of the highlights during his term of office:

• Launch of first Rotaract Club in the district - Rotaract Club of Mombasa.
• First Careerama for the whole day attended by 2,500 students was started. Continuous sessions were held in classrooms throughout the day to enable students to attend career guidance talks on variety of careers.
• The launch of the Education Trust Fund of Mombasa with the initial Trust Fund of Kshs 60,000, assisting 5 students in the first year from the interest income. Recently, the Trust paid secondary school fees for nearly 900 secondary students.
• Two of the board members – Rtn Jayantilal Rajani (Vocational) and Rtn Pip Barnes (Community) – went to become District Governors.

Mohamed chaired PDG Ken Joslyn’s District Conference in Mombasa in 1975. PDG Ken hailed from the Rotary Club of Nakuru.

In 1976, Mohamed migrated to Canada to start overseas offices of Kassim-Lakha Abdulla & Co, Chartered Accountants. Prior to his departure, he introduced his partner, Abdul Samji to the Rotary Club of Mombasa. He subsequently became the District Governor.

In Canada, Mohamed joined the Rotary Club of Calgary Chinook in 1978 and served as the District Chair of The Rotary Foundation. He spoke to various Rotary Clubs and at District Conferences explaining why Rotarians should assist The Rotary Foundation and become Paul Harris Fellows. He also started the tradition of a special event - Paul Harris Breakfasts - at District Conferences.

In 1985, Mohamed moved to Toronto for business reasons and joined the Rotary Club of Richmond Hill in the suburbs of metro Toronot. Although residing in Canada, Mohamed was a regular visitor to Kenya to keep in touch with his partners. He returned to Kenya in 1996 and joined the Rotary Club of Nairobi. He served twice as the District Chair of Vocational Service and spoke passionately at District Conferences why Rotarians should be actively promoting the concept of high ethical and professional standards. He felt that Fellowship and Vocational Service were the pillars of Rotary. He was the first AG for all Rotary Clubs in Nairobi during the governorship of PDG Hatim Karimjee.

Mohamed maintains that, informed Rotarians are active Rotarians. A Rotarian is a real Rotarian when he understands the true meaning of his membership. One can be a member of a Rotary club for a number of years but only be a true Rotarian when he understands the meaning of being a Rotarian.

He strongly feels that there is a dire need to market Rotary by talking more about 'Why we wear the Rotary lapel pin'. The perception of Rotary, that it is a charitable fund raising organization for only rich business and professional persons, must change if we are to attract new and younger members.

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