A retired structural engineer, who at 88 still actively mentors younger professionals, has called on Ghanaians to consider their privileges as opportunities to serve.
Hajj Adam Babah-Alargi, who established the first indigenous engineering consultancy in the country in 1967, has indicated that the fulfillment derived from selfless service is far more rewarding than the honour brought by personal titles and accolades.
Speaking in an interview in Accra, Hajj Adam, who was born at Korle Gonno in Accra, mentioned some of the projects for which he handled the structural designs as the School of Architecture, Pharmacy Block, Vice Chancellor’s residence and the Queen’s Hall, all at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi.
Others are the Surgical, Maternity and Children’s Blocks, Nurses Training School and residences at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, and the presidential stand at the Independence Square in Accra.
Despite having retired from professional practice for the past 28 years, he is still active in voluntary service 50 years after becoming a Rotarian. Hajj Babah-Alargi is a charter member or founder member of Rotary Club of Accra-West, which is 46 years old.
Admitting that being a Rotarian has contributed to his deep involvement in humanitarian service, Hajj Babah-Alargi believes many more people can apply Rotary principles to their lives without necessarily being Rotarians.
The octogenarian volunteer believes, however, that non-Rotarians can familiarise themselves with some Rotarian principles to make it easier for them to appreciate thinking beyond just oneself.
Hajj Babah-Alargi cited the four-way test as a simple but powerful guide for those who choose to apply it in their dealings with others.
Developed by a Rotarian, Herbert J. Taylor in 1932, the Four-way Test is a simple guide that prompts applicants to ask four basic questions of the things they think, say or do.
The four questions demand truth, fairness, goodwill and better friendships as well as the need for those thoughts, statements and actions to be beneficial to all concerned.
Hajj Babah-Alargi maintains that perceiving others along such lines opens the way for a person to appreciate people and their needs.
Making reference to the theme for the current Rotary Year, “Be a Gift to the World,” the veteran volunteer reminds society of the brevity of human life, which should prompt all to think of giving something to the world before death calls.
