Our guest speakers today were from Kenya, representing the organisation ‘So They Can.’ Boniface Mouti and James Ole Mpilei are visiting Sydney to interface with the Crows Nest based ‘So They Can’ staff, represented by our member Claire, to discover first hand what support is available for their educational programs in Africa and to get a feeling for Australia.
Our Club is presently planning a project to jointly support ‘So They Can’ and the Rotary Club of Nakuru, Rift Valley to financially assist approximately 400 children and 40 staff to attend the Aberdare Ranges Primary School in Nakuru, Kenya.
Our guest speaker was Lisa Graham, CEO of Taldumande Youth Services. Taldumande Youth services, based over the North Shore, focuses on vulnerable & homeless young people & families. Currently 420 young people are being supported in numerous locations from the Blue Mountains to the Northern beaches.
Accommodation services come in 5 areas – these being Crisis (7 beds), Semi-independent housing, supported independent housing, homeless youth assistance and young offenders joint support. In addition, non-accommodation services include Specialist homeless services support, Outreach program, Intensive family support and an Aftercare program with an open door policy. They are also on call afterhours. More details available at www.taldumande.org.au.
Lisa explained how the complexity of youth had increased dramatic in recent years, due to the Internet / social media and them maturing earlier than in the last century. Taldumande(meaning place of refugee) is young person centric, but ensures they do not become too dependent on them. 15% of the funding is private, and the focus for private funds is in the Intensive family support area, as it has the most benefit and is not funded by government. Results are significantly better with family support.
Lisa’s 25 years’ experience showed thru with a well organised presentation, and we look forward to getting involved with her organisation.
Mark Warr thanked Lisa on behalf of the club.
On Monday April 3rd, our club had the pleasure of hearing Roger Williams highlight some of the work being done by Mary’s House.
Being a very new service provider in the local area, our members knew very little of this organisation before Roger’s presentation but we were quickly captivated by the vision and impact of this charity. Mary’s House serves to meet a vital need in Sydney’s North Shore as one of only a few shelters designed to give refuge to women and families fleeing domestic violence. Having only been in operation for 7 months, this amazing initiative is helping up to 18 women and children at a time by providing practical support, physical protection and emotional security. Within week’s of the service's opening in November 2016, it was immediately apparent how desperately a facility like Mary’s House is.
What was perhaps most inspiring about Roger’s presentation, was the way he described the genesis of Mary’s House. Although non-denominational, Mary’s House was the vision of a small group of committed members of a North Sydney’s Catholic Parish. They have raised over $400,000 to refit a home in the local area and have a small army of volunteers willing to step in and help.
As a club, we will consider the best way we can support the amazing work of Mary’s House but any members who missed Roger’s presentation and are keen to find out more can visit www.maryshouse.org.au.
2015, marked the 100 year anniversary, since Ernest Shackleton and his 27 companions were trapped in the Antarctic ice. Our speaker Kevin Fitzpatrick gave the club a rousing portrayal of what life was like for Shackleton and his Expedition. In 2015, Kevin was fortunate to not only travel to the Antarctic Continent but to follow the exact escape route taken by Ernest Shackleton in the 'Shackleton Double', a 1300 kilometre open boat trip across the fiercest sea on the planet followed by an epic crossing of South Georgia. Shackleton’s ship Endurance became beset in the ice of the Weddell Sea before reaching Vahsel Bay, and drifted northward, held in the pack ice, throughout the Antarctic winter of 1915. Eventually the ship was crushed and sunk, stranding its 28-man complement on the ice. After months spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued its northwards drift, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then made an 800-mile (1,287 km) open-boat journey in the James Caird to reach South Georgia. From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life. Kevin’s presentation and photos were another example of the quality of Speakers the Rotary Club of Crows Nest arranges for it’s members each week."
PRESIDENT’S REPORT FOR 2016-17 YEAR SO FAR
President Pete's spellbinding precis of YTD Club status.
The Rotary Club of Crows Nest is in good shape, we are doing and achieving all the things that a successful club can and should do. We are holding regular meetings; members are enjoying fellowship, we keep running our successful fundraising BBQs and Melbourne Cup Trifecta – thanks to the dedicated support of members and we do good both locally and overseas.
Susan Bell - Rotary Member- Lower Blue Mountains & District Chair for Interplast. visited Crows Nest on November 14th.
Interplast was established in Australia in 1983 as a joint venture between Rotary and the Royal Australian College of Surgeons. It's main objective to conduct re-constructive surgery in countries ( South Pacific region) where these services were either non existent or minimal. The most needy patients being children with cleft pallets and sever burns.
The aim of Interplast is to take an experienced team of surgeons, nurses and support personnel to countries like P.N.G, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Fiji to conduct life altering operations on children previously identified as being urgent.
The result being these children are now able to return to village life , school and eventually jobs without the stigma of facial deformity.
Funding is always needed and sought to cover transportation of equipment, medicines and staff. Rotary plays an important role in this ongoing need.
Part of the ongoing need is training. Once a team from Australia leaves - the care and support for the young patients is in the hands of the local medical personnel and training sessions are undertaken by Interplast to ensure that aftercare is of the highest standard.
Naturally donations are need to maintain Interplast as an integral part of the Rotary landscape.
Sue was thanked by Tom Sweeney on behalf of the members and questions sought. One being why doesn't Interplast and ROMAC combine? The answer remains in the air.
David Rands, current Chairman of the district Rotary Foundation, and Past District Governor brought us up-to-date with the Foundation. Bill Lee started this Crows Nest Rotary relationship, with CAFIU in 1997 when he and others built 23 schools , either of 5 or 10 classrooms and all with teacher accommodation. An employee of CAFIU, Mr Liu Kaiyang was responsible for managing those early projects. Mr Liu is now the Deputy Secretary General of CAFIU. Ian Pocock, George Condell & myself visited China last week.
On Sunday 9 October, President Peter was invited to the dedication and opening of the newly built Community Herb Garden established by the Crows Nest Baptist Church beside the Church in Willoughby Road.Pastor Josh dedicated the garden to the congregation and the wider Crows Nest Community and Restaurants. He thanked the Church's partners who contributed to the project:
- North Sydney Council streetscape project
- Gosford Quarries for favourable pricing of sandstone blocks
- The Rotary Club of Crows Nest for contributing $1,000 of the estimated $6,000 cost
- The Crows Nest Community Centre
- A parishioner who helped select and lay the sandstone
- Parishioners Alison and Andrew who organised and supervised the selection of herbs for the garden
There will be a roster of involved parishioners to maintain the garden.
The idea of the garden is to provide free herbs to Church members and the wider Crows Nest Community, including restaurants. Herbs with a special Crows Nest origin as a Community resource. One of our members, Bill Lee has offered herbs from his own herb garden in Artarmon to the community garden.
Judging by the enthusiasm that the children present displayed in digging, planting and watering the herb garden, it should be a great success.
Nigeria reclassified as polio endemic
Nigeria has returned to the list of polio-endemic countries, following the World Health Organization’s confirmation of three cases of wild poliovirus in the northeastern state of Borno in August. While this news is disappointing, there has been significant progress toward ending polio in Nigeria, the rest of the African continent, and globally.
Read more about the decision
Learn what you can do to end polio
The Rotary Foundation turns 100 in 2016-17! Our Foundation stands at the forefront of humanitarian service, having supported thousands of projects to provide clean water, fight disease, promote peace, and provide basic education — as well as the historic project dedicated to eradicating polio worldwide.
- Learn more about the history of The Rotary Foundation
- Find information on how to celebrate and download resources
- Purchase centennial commemorative book, "Doing Good in the World"
Rotary is playing a vital part in eradicating polio
