SOME 160 Rotarians representing 74 clubs in South, Mid and West Wales, together with friends and guests, attended the new district governor handover at the Botanical Garden of Wales, Carmarthen. Past district governor David Wiltshire, who had completed a very successful year, installed Rotarian Kistiah Ramaya to serve as district governor during the second year of the second century of service. Kistiah was born near Johannesburgh in South Africa and left school in 1965 to study podiatry in London, graduating from the Chelsea School of Chiropody in 1972, after which he worked for the National Health Service at various clinics in North London. He was the district chief chiropodist for Greenwich and Bexley Area Health Authority and then moved with his wife, Carol, and their three daughters and one son, to Carol's birthplace in West Wales in 1979, where he opened his private practice in Lampeter, as well as working for East Dyfed Health Authority. On arrival, he joined Round Table and enjoyed serving the local community. He was elected as a town councillor in 1984 and had the honour of becoming the first Asian Mayor in Wales in 1990/ 1991. During the last 16 years he has served as Mayor of Lampeter on two further occasions, as well as being chairman of a number of organisations in the town. He joined the Lampeter Rotary Club in 1983, was club president in 1989/90 and again in 1998/99, served as area international chairman for nine years and subsequently served as district international chairman from 1998 to 2001, before becoming assistant governor from 2001 to 2004. The international theme for the new Rotary year is 'Lead the Way' and Kistiah looks to all Rotarians in District 1150 to deliver 'Service above Self' to thousands of people less fortunate than themselves, whilst enjoying fun and fellowship at the same time.
