Rwanda was a newly independent country in the 1960s. Why not have a social, business, and charitable organization to mobilize young business leaders. Rwanda picked the British one, whose moto is adopt, adapt, and improve. Not a bad motto for a new country. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and in special honour of the young up and comers, go rafting after learning to make sushi. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
This is a good looking issue of stamps. The roundtable emblem shows the local variation for the chapter in Kigali and the African wild animals show the where the money went for the annual charity event of the club. Imagine the first young fellows putting together the club in exotic Kigali. How full of hope they must have been.
Todays stamp is issue A37, a 20 Centime stamp issued by independent Rwanda on July 31st, 1967. It was a 6 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents unused. Rwanda’s last stamp issue, on gorillas, was in 2010 and the authorities have declared many more recent issues unauthorized and illegal. That includes a two souvenir sheet issue of nine stamps each on Rwandan pornography. It may be fake but there is a stamp collecting story that needs telling.
The first Round Table Club was founded in 1926 by Englishman, of Irish mother and Swiss father, Louis Marchesi. He was a young businessman interested in networking and belonged to the Rotary Club. He didn’t feel the Rotarians were enough focused on the younger members that were also interested in adventures and available at night. Marchesi came up with the goal of adopt-adapt-improve as shown on this stamp and inspired when Marchesi heard the then Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, say at a trade show that the young men of Britain need to gather around the table to solve the Empire’s problems. The group was only open to males under 40 and met once a fortnight in a pub. Their wives were allowed to join the ladies circle. On the March after a member’s 40th birthday, they were retired from the club, although many local affiliates have 41 clubs for their former retired members and the tangent club for their wives. After World War II the club began to have international tables and is currently in over 60 countries. By keeping the membership young, the club can over more adventure based events while keeping up the annual charity aspect. The Duke of Edinburg was until recently the Royal Patron.
The Round Table club is no more in Rwanda. It is possible there is still a 41 club of former members that aged out as the organization says that many of those no longer stay in touch. There is still an active Round Table chapter in neighboring Tanzania. There might be hope for a recovery in Rwanda. It has made some progress economically since the 90s civil war. They have even recently joined the British Commonwealth. Though Rwanda was colonized first by Germany and later Belgium, there was a short period of British occupation during World War I. This made Rwanda eligible for the Commonwealth and their application was approved.
Well my drink is empty. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.