Rotaract Mediterranean CR Interview Series : Tunisia

Welcome back again to one of our beloved and close-to-heart series! The CR interviews series! This time we are taking you all the way to Tunisia, for an exciting interview with Wayma Khalfallah Tunisia´s CR. In this interview, we go way back to her journey of joining Rotaract and how she stumbled upon the Magical world of our Med family.

E: So, Wayma, tell us more about yourself.

W: My name is Wayma Khalfallah, I’m 25 years old. I am a french teacher and I am studying for my master’s degree in French. This year I will be Tunisia’s CR and the president of Rotaract Club Rades from District 9010. 

E: Wayma, I would like to know what inspires you in life.

W: I love photography and discovering new cultures, new cities and countries. In my free time, I enjoy watching movies and series. 

E: How did your creative side benefit you in your experience as a french teacher and Rotaract? 

W: Besides my job, Rotaract inspired me to develop my skills such as communication, learning Photoshop and sometimes writing. I would say it was a good opportunity for me to discover new skills.

E: This brings me to my next question. How did your journey in Rotaract begin?

W: I first discovered Rotaract in my city when my friend joined in 2016. two years later I joined and in 2019 I was the head of the professional development committee. In 2020 I was the chief of protocol, in 2021 I was the vice president and now I am the president for 2022. 

E: How did you learn about Rotaract Mediterranean and why did you choose to be CR this year? 

W: I discovered Rotaract Mediterranean during the M2R Tunisia in 2019 since then I have been following the med news and actions. I would say becoming a CR was a challenge for me. I was inspired to become a CR after attending the Medicon in Morocco in 2022. There, I had the chance to meet Rotaractors from all over the world including the upcoming CRs who I would say encouraged me to apply. 

E: What motivates you to be a Rotaractor and a CR?

W: For me personally being a CR is a great opportunity to represent my country in other Mediterranean countries and to discover new cultures and new Rotaractors. Being a Rotaractor is not only about service but also it’s like having a whole other family. I was lucky to meet amazing people and develop my skills. 

E: Can you tell us about your day-to-day roles as both a president and a CR?

W: I am very lucky to have an amazing Committee this year to help me with the load of work. I don’t feel as pressured since I know I can rely on them to split the work and for that, I am thankful. As for being a CR, I consider it as a second job. That is why it’s really important for me to equally and successfully divide my time between being a Cr and a president. My duties as a CR include informing Tunisian Rotaractors about the new med actions and challenges. Once a month I prepare a newsletter in the form of an electronic magazine. I am currently working on the September issue… I also have to attend a meeting once a month with other CRs.

E: How do you balance your personal life and your duties as a Rotaractor?

W: Despite the CR and president roles, I have enough time to juggle the Rotaract roles and my personal life. As the CR, I dedicate one day to writing the CR newsletter and getting other work done over the weekend. As the president of my club, I have a great committee that I collaborate with. They make the president’s role easier for me. It is of course kind of challenging to do both CR and president. However, I hope I will do a good job in both roles.  

E: What accomplishments are you proud of as a Rotaractor?

W: First of all, I am proud to be a Rotaractor and I have been a part of it since 2018. It’s been an opportunity to develop myself in many aspects and accept new challenges. For example, I took the challenge and privilege of becoming a CR for Tunisia and am happy to represent my country in the Med MDIO. So, I have consistently pursued and accepted the next challenge as I view these as opportunities to grow. 

E: As a leader of your club what advice would you give to fellow Rotaractors who in the future would want to become one?

W: I would tell them to get out of their comfort zone to seize new growth opportunities. It won’t be easy in the beginning and you may feel like giving up at times. However, if you stick to it to see it through, in the end, you will feel happy and proud. So I would advise them not to shy away and take the next challenge. 

E: What is your goal for this year as a CR, and what legacy do you wish to leave?

W: My goal this year as the CR is to encourage my country’s Rotaractors to find out more about the Med and participate in the challenges and projects. I know that Tunisian Rotaractors are hard-working and highly engaged so I want them to participate in the activities by the Med as much as possible. I want to see more Tunisian Rotaractors participating.

E: What do you think your input in Interota as both a president and a CR would be?

W: I have the chance to participate in this great event as a person that carries both of the roles that you mentioned. I want to work hard to achieve success there. I am working hard to take part in organising an enjoyable event for us all as best as I can. To contribute to the event’s success, as the CR, I will promote our event in the Med and as the president, I will encourage my whole club to participate. 

E: How do you think Interota will help build bridges between clubs from the same county and districts as well as between different districts?

W: Interota will be a great opportunity to bring together a large range of clubs from a variety of districts and countries. Cultural exchanges and other interactions between these different participating clubs will be a great way to build bridges between clubs and people that would not normally come together. Hence, it will be a great opportunity for the Rotaractors to get together and have an enjoyable and memorable time. 

As you can see, Wayma has wonderful ideas as a CR for Tunisia this year and we are sure she will be a great motivator for both Tunisian Rotaractors and Rotaractors from all around the globe. We have also gathered some great insight regarding the Interota, the big event of the year and we are looking forward to seeing you there!

Written by : Eslem Dridi, Sarp Oktay, Sirine Elloumi