Stories
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Interested in Online Meetings?If your Rotary Club is struggling to find a way to stay connected during the Covid-19 pandemic, why not consider meeting online? Our E-Club has been meeting for an hour twice a month online using the Zoom webconferencing system. It gives our members the chance to see and talk to each other, hear about exciting projects our members are doing, and from guest speakers. The only requirement is a smart phone, laptop, tablet computer, or desktop computer. If you currently use any of these to talk to family using any of the services like Skype, you have all the technology you need to participate in an online meeting! If members don't have any of these, they can still call in to the meeting from a standard telephone and participate (but without the video). Our Club Secretary, David Dean, would be happy to provide a tutorial for anyone in your club to help you understand how to use the Zoom system for your online meetings. The basic process is similar to GoToMeeting and other services, but we have found Zoom to be the easiest to use for meetings with 50 or fewer people. Please email David at: secretary@rotarygreatersydney.org You're also welcome to attend our club's meetings any time. Staying connected with fellow members is crucial in this stressful time. We're happy to help you get started in any way we can. |
Lucy's Update from CongoInvitation to all to come to our fundraiser on Sunday March 15th |
Polio Eradication UpdateAs we near the end of the calendar year, you may be wondering how the End Polio Now campaign is going. The latest report as of 11 December shows a total of 117 cases of the wild polio virus (with 23 in Afghanistan and 94 in Pakistan). This is more than the same period in 2018, unfortunately. Nigeria is on track to be declared "polio free" soon, with its last case of the wild virus reported in 2016. There have been 216 cases of infection due to the immunization process itself so far this year, which is also higher than last year. There is a great website which provides a weekly update on the Global Polio Eradication Effort. Please click here to link to their website. |
Barbara's Update from KenyaHello friends of KINI It has been quite some time since the last Newsletter but things have been so busy here and my hands were full thus have only now been able to get this to you. We are needing more sponsors for needy children as we have had to add quite a number for this coming year. With KINI being known far and wide, we have many requests for children to be cared for who are in danger or being taken out of school. Day student fees are as low as $15 per term. Please email me if you have any questions. Again thank you for supporting KINI these last 7 years and we wish you a blessed Christmas and very prosperous new year. Please click here for Barbara's Newsletter Please click here for the Sponsors Request Blessings Barbara |
Rotary Foundation GrantsThe Rotary Foundation provides hundreds of grants per year around the world. A new tool on the Rotary.org website enables members to see the range of grants that have been awarded. Using reports to manage grants Grants reports are now available to all Rotary members in the Reports area of My Rotary. Encourage your clubs to use them to manage their grants. A guide to these reports shows members how to search for grants by sponsor, participation, location, and more. There’s also a Cadre Member Information report that lists members of The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers who can offer clubs advice on their grant-funded projects. Grant management training materials Grant management resources are now available in Rotary’s Learning Center. Find courses on making your project sustainable, conducting community assessments, planning effective projects, managing grant finances, qualifying your club for Rotary grants, reporting on grants, and much more. Consider using the online courses as a way for clubs to get qualified for a Rotary Foundation grant. Or combine them with a shorter in-person training that gives members a chance to discuss district requirements and ask questions. |
Bobbin Head Classic 2020The Bobbin Head Cycle Classic (the Bobbo), will be held on Sunday 29 March 2020. Please spread the word, recruiting riders and supporting their fundraising.
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Annual General Meeting 2019Our Club held its Annual General Meeting and 8th Birthday Party on Sunday 3 November in Parramatta. We reviewed and approved minutes of last year's meeting, approved the annual accounts for the 2018-19 financial year, and elected next year's board of directors for the club. We also heard from District Governor Kalma about her background and key issues for the District going forward. Draft minutes of this year's meeting are shown below. |
Rotary's Public ImageRotary adopted a modernised logo six years ago, and is encouraging all clubs to make sure their badges, banners, and advertising uses the correct image to ensure consistency of the "Rotary Brand" around the world. Here's more information about the Image from PDG Gina Growden, and what our club is doing to conform to the design. |
Sewaid Update 31 July 2019Here is an update on Tony's Sewaid Projects around the world. Well done, Tony and all your helpers! Uganda Glenda, our head sewing teacher is currently at the School For Life in Uganda, teaching at our Sewaid sewing workshop at the Katuuso school. This workshop is making a lot of great product, including uniforms for schools and fashion garments under their Kumi label. Glenda is there for three weeks checking on quality controls and maintenance of equipment etc. Thanks Glenda for the great job you are doing. Zimbabwe Leanne Abbott is in Chikombedzi Zimbabwe where she is teaching sewing at the local high school. Sewaid has helped Leanne with machines and supplies and she has advised that the students were once again very grateful for such small things like safety pins and such like that they can not get there. In particular the seams rippers were of great fascination as they had never seen such a tool ! Fiji Currently Sewaid is purchasing a new industrial high speed sewing machine and high speed industrial overlocker for Koroipeta. These machines are for the new Sewaid workshop which will soon be located in their new enterprise building which is now almost completed. More on this next month. Cambodia Last month a new overlocker and some spare parts and accessories were kindly transported to our Sewaid workshop at Sustainable Cambodia by a visiting school group from Bayview Colledge in Portland Victoria. Thanks to teacher Zac Jefferies for carrying this for us. Now we are packing up another shipment of fabrics which will be kindly transported by Jenny Knight in her November container. We are always very grateful to the number of other NGOs that help us with transport. East Timor Our Sewaid teacher team for East Timor in November (17th – 30th ) is all complete , and we are now busy preparing the shipment of machines, fabrics and accessories which will go down to Rotary DIK next week for shipment to East Timor. We will be teaching ladies selected from these areas and NGOs: Oecusse : organised by Judy Charnaud -Rotary E-Club of Greater Sydney ) Soibada : organised by Tamara Sloper-Harding -Rotary Club of Northern Beaches ,Sydney Dili: organised by Libby Bleakley – Rotary Club of BlackHeath, NSW Vinqueque: organised by Mira Fonseca of Dili. Hera : organised by Mira Fonseca of Dili The project will also by in conjunction with the Rotary club of Dili Kiribati We have also started preparations for our Sewaid teaching teams to Kirabati in March. More of this project in future news updates. |
Nigeria School ProjectPort Harcourt Nigeria - School Water Project Completed  |
Water is LifeE-Club member Judy Chernaud's work to provide clean drinking water in Timor Leste highlighted in the June issue of Rotary Down Under Magazine!  |
Sewaid Project in Solomon IslandsUpdate on Sewaid Project in the Solomon Islands  |
Vivid CruiseBuy your tickets now for our special Vivid Cruise on Friday 24 May! Only 100 tickets will be sold. To reserve your seat, just click on this link: www.trybooking.com/BBLUH  |
Clean up Australia DaySunday, 3 March is Clean-up Australia Day, and our members Marilyn and Dudley Mercer were hard at work at 7am with the Myall Coast Rotary Club members doing their bit!  |
Club ProjectsOur E-Club members support a variety of projects around the world. Here's a sample... JUST SOME OF OUR AMAZING CLUB MEMBER PROJECTS..... |
Comedy for a CauseNeed a laugh? Come to our Comedy for a Cause evening in Bankstown on 16 February!  Click on this link for tickets: https://comedyforacause.net/tc-events/eclub/ |
Hand Up Congo CelebrationPresident Oscar Akparanta thanked Lucy Hopgood-Brown and the Handup Congo team for their work in emergency medical training on Sunday 18 November.  |
Young Rotarians FellowshipOur Young Rotarian - Amanda Barnes featured in The Pulse November 2018 Newsletter!  The story should be out shortly. Click on this link and look for the November issue... |
Supporting The Rotary FoundationThe Rotary Foundation provides supports to thousands of projects in the community and around the world each year. Our E-Club members are proud supporters of the Foundation's work through their donations. In 2017-18, our club raised the highest amount of funds per member of all clubs in our District, and our District raised the highest amount of funds of all districts in Australia!  All Rotarians are encouraged to attend this year's Foundation Dinner to hear from our immediate past president of Rotary International - Ian Riseley - on 26 November!  |
Three New Members!Our club held its Annual General Meeting on Sunday 7 October at RDU House in Parramatta, with special guests District Governor Susan Wakefield OAM, and Rotary Foundation Scholar Garrett Milne. The highlight of the meeting was the induction of three new members into the Club by President Oscar: Dudley Mercer, Emmanuel Musoni, and Akin Ajayi.    We look forward to the special contributions to Rotary and to our E-Club of Greater Sydney that each of them will make! |
Sewaid Project in FijiSewaid Update for Fiji Alacoque provided the following report on her project in Fiji:  On 5th September I flew to Suva. On Thursday 6th I attended the Rotary club of Suva meeting & with PDG 9920 Malini Raghwan drove up and Tina & her Days for Girls team RAWCS ER17-2018-19 project 22- 2006-07 for the Presentation Day at the Homes for Home. It was through Malini during her year as DG we became involved with the Homes for Hope . On Friday 7th September with 4 members of the Rotary Club of Suva plus Milika Wata-Marshall a current AG and member of the Rotary Club of Lautoka , the Days for Girls team we did a large distribution to some disadvantaged ladies and girls in a village outside of Suva. The majority of these girls were immigrants from Kiribati but like the Fijians they speak English. Saturday 8th we went by coach to Nadi, and joined Gay Grillmeier , Sunday 9th September I picked up the Budget hire car and Tina , Lyn , Gay & I drove to Lautoka where we had a meeting with Kiji Louey from the Veisemati group in Ba. also present was Milika Wata-Marshall RC Lautoka Monday Tina & Lyn returned home , Gay & I drove to Ba. For the next 4 days we stayed at a fairly basic 2 bedroom rented accommodation. We presented the 2 sewing machines ( 1 donated by you) and the second one together with numerous sewing accessories purchased with the $400 donation from our Rotary E-Club of Greater Sydney. I also purchased additional sewing accessories & fabric together with an iron & ironing board for the group . Gay conducted sewing classes , my role was as usual co-coordinating everything and assisting where possible. Gay inspected the Veisemati Team Ba making Days for Girls sewing kits to make sure they are being to the correct specification. There was an average of 14-15 ladies present each of the days. There were a few new ladies who had never used a sewing machine before, Gay conducted basic as well as advanced classes. She demonstrated how to cut out and sew a fabric backpack. ( say no to plastic campaign ) She also conducted lessons on hand sewing , as a number of ladies from the villages have no personal sewing machines. The Group meets in a hall attached to the Christ the King Catholic Church Ba. the Parish Priest Fr. Niland Iman is a great supporter of the Women’s group, and has been promoting the back pack for sale which will raise funds for the group. The Veisemati Team still has way to go consolidating , they meet for sewing 2 days a week. They are in the process of establishing their bank account. They are being supported and assisted enthusiastically by PP and current 9920 AG Milika Wata-Marshall of the Rotary Club of Lautoka.  |
Drought relief projectA partnership has been formed between Rotary Australia, Channel 9 and the National Farmers’ Federation to help our drought-stricken farmers.
A fundraising appeal was launched on Channel 9’s Today show - Thursday 2 August.
In Australia, farmers are the lifeblood of our country and they are in crisis. Record breaking heat and lack of rain means farmers are struggling to feed sheep and cattle, and keep crops alive. Families on the land are suffering and they need our help. Channel 9 and Rotary Australia have partnered with the National Farmers’ Federation, launching an appeal to big business and everyday Australians, so we can provide some emergency relief. 100% of donations go to the farmers and are tax deductible via Rotary and RAWCS. Every dollar counts.
The link for the donation page for the project is: |
Phoenix #39 - 18 July |
Amazing ProjectsOur E-Club members support a variety of projects around the world. Here's a sample... JUST SOME OF OUR AMAZING CLUB MEMBER PROJECTS..... |
SewAid ProjectSew Aid provides sewing machines and training enable people to begin earning a living in many countries |
Helping people with disabilities make their own music Music has been an important part of leading an ordinary life for students at the Music School for Children With Disabilities in Honor of Paul Harris in Lublin, Poland. Founded by Rotary members, the school serves 20 students with various disabilities, including Down syndrome, autism, and visual impairments. The Rotary Club of Lublin-Centrum-Maria Curie-Sklodowska has provided funding with help from Rotary Foundation Matching Grants and the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society, which houses the school. After their son Mateusz was born with underdeveloped eyes, Mariusz and Joanna Kania looked for ways to help him be active. When he showed an aptitude for music, they looked for a teacher and were thrilled to find the Paul Harris music school. |
Finding Safe Haven For years, Angalia Bianca had slept in abandoned buildings throughout Chicago. She stole. She did drugs. She spent time in and out of jail for forgery, theft, trespassing, and possession of narcotics. But after she landed in prison for the seventh time, something changed -- Bianca knew she wanted a better life. She just didn’t know how to make it happen.After serving her time, Bianca sought help from a local homeless organization, A Safe Haven, and moved to its shelter in the Rogers Park neighborhood. Bianca followed the program closely -- she attended all the required meetings, passed drug tests, and volunteered at every opportunity. |
Saving lives in Ghana What is it like taking a large team to Africa? It has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. In mid February, I began leading Rotary members from all over the East Coast of the United States through Ghana. I’ve tried to give the team a warm Ghanaian welcome like I’ve received on my earlier trips. A large trip is a real blessing because each person sees Ghana and our work in a different way.A highlight for the team was greeting the chief of Sagadugu. The team got excited about buying goats and food for children in the villages where I support eight churches. It was good to see the pastors of most of the eight churches, and I had to explain that we were just passing through on our way to Bolgatanga. |
India celebrates three years without polio Throughout India and around the world, Rotary clubs are celebrating a major milestone: India has gone three years without a new case of polio. The last reported case was a two-year-old girl in West Bengal on 13 January 2011. To mark this historic triumph, Rotary clubs illuminated landmarks and iconic structures throughout the country with four simple but powerful words, "India is polio free."The three-year achievement sets the stage for polio-free certification of the entire Southeast Asia region by the World Health Organization. The Indian government also plans to convene a polio summit in February to commemorate this victory in the global effort to eradicate polio. |
