Thousands join the Rotary Goat Races in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam.The first shot after overtaking the organization of the popular Goat Races was a full success for the Rotary Club of Oysterbay. The light-hearted event, which was under the motto “Wakanda Goat are You”, attracted more than 4.500 people to come to the Green in Oysterbay.

Highlights next to the races were the high range raffle supported by many local sponsors as well as the fancy dress parade, where guests could show off their best “Wakanda Style” referring to the success Marvel Movie “Black Panther”.

Going into its eighteenth year of existence but the first year under the name Rotary Goat Races, the popular family event attracted thousands of visitors on June 23rd. Held at the Green under the Motto “Wakanda Goat are You”, the guests enjoyed seven exciting races, numerous local food vendors, premier raffle prices as well as exiting betting and a competitive Wakanda dress parade.

The event started with the goats standing at the starting line, where the excited audience waited with baited breath as goats battled for the top honors. The owners of the seven winning goats, among them.  The winners celebrated with their individually styled goat trophy and people whose hunch was right for betting received price money.

 In between the races, raffles with high scale prizes were also conducted and several entrants won. Kids as well as elders rocked the Fancy Dress Parade and won prizes for best dresses. It was clearly the kids who stole the show.

Rotary Goat Races Project Leads Abdulrahman Hussein and Mathew Hellela were thrilled by the turn out. “It was out first take on the organization of the Rotary Goat Races and we are so happy that the event turned out to be a fun day for everyone presents and that the people trusted us to deliver a great experience”, says Abdulrahman Hussein.

 “It also shows that our volunteer team, that spent month preparing this event, was on the right track and all the hard work paid off giving everyone a good time”, so Hussein. Mathew Hellela thanked all the numerous sponsors for their trust and support.

 “We were new at organizing this sort of event and are very thankful for the trust all of our sponsors have given us Rotarians to do the right thing. This year was a good start and we hope to carry the success to the next years of Rotary Goat Races”.

 Anne Saels, President of Rotary Oysterbay said that she is really proud of her team and is looking forward to the education projects her Club is organizing in the near future, utilizing the revenues of the event. Those projects will focus primarily on different aspects of education benefitting the local community. 

This year’s Rotary Goat Races were sponsored by Resolution Insurance, SWISS, Toyota, Coca Cola, East Africa TV/Radio, Aggreko, SBL, Mastercard, Le Grand Casino and Red ‘n White. Generously contributed have also JC Decaux, PM Group, Almar Containers TZ, SBS, Abstrat, The Slipway Hotel and  Pizza Hut as well as Advertising Dar, ALAF-Safal Group and Britam Insurance.

Also in the list were Selcom Paytech, VClick Professional Photography, WS Insight, Green Waste Pro and CAPS Limited. The raffle was made possible by SWISS, SBL, The Sea Cliff Hotel, The Slipway Hote, Zen Spa, Engen, Coastal Airlines and 305 Karafuu Restaurant.

Other contributions came from Jumia, Advertise in Dar, Splendid Cleaners, TAN Management – Insurance broker, Merrywater, Vet Care, Dar Signs, Karafuu Restaurant, Prime Advertising, Reader Rabbits, World Link.

The Rotary Club of Oyster Bay was founded in 2009 and has currently about 70 members. It is the largest of the eight Rotary Clubs in Dar es Salaam and supports the community with a wide range of projects including a Community Health Initiative that organizes biannual medical camps in rural and urban Tanzania, the Vijana Poa project to help young university students find employment, the Rotary Dar Marathon to assist the work of CCBRT-Hospital, and Rotary Mission Green, a district effort to plant trees.

 Furthermore, the Rotary Club of Oyster Bay is currently building various Rotary Community Corps in order to deliver direct community support to beneficiaries. All proceeds of the Rotary Goat Races will be used on education projects of the Rotary Club of Dar es Salaam Oyster Bay, such as the scholarship program that funds University students in Tanzania, nipe fagio and Msasani primary school.