We gather together on the lands of the traditional custodians, the Wurundjeri people. We pay our respects to all of Melbourne’s First Peoples, to their ancestors and Elders, and to our shared future together.
******
Presidential Press
It was a busy night with a number of announcements, a Royce Abbey recognition and a presentation by David Dobney on St Jude’s School in Tanzania.
Royce Abbey Recognition
Roger Leask and Peter Baker from the Royce Abbey committee were on hand to discuss the Royce Abbey Award. Most of our members will know that the Royce Abbey Award is named in honour of Royce Abbey AO DCM, the President of Rotary International 1988/1989 and member of the Rotary Club of Essendon from 1954 till his passing in 2014.
St Jude’s School in Tanzania
I am not sure about other club members but in my eight years with Camberwell I had never heard about this project. This is a total Rotary Project and Davd talked about the humble beginnings of this school which opened in 2002 with 3 children enrolled.
Today - each year, the school enrols around 200 new students into its scholarship program, 100% of the students enrolled into St Judes are on full scholarships which fund tuition, transport, extra curricular activities, clubs, boarding if needed, food, stationary, and excursions.
St Jude's currently supports 1800 students from primary through to secondary and over 90% of scholarships of these students, are supported by Australians, many of whom are Rotarians and their families.
This is truly the Magic of Rotary at work creating hope in the world.
Wednesday 24th July – Club Meeting Conochie Hall – Speaker Anne Petropoulos
Topic - Personal experience with neurofibromatosis and how the organization ‘Flicker of Hope’ is assisting those afflicted with this condition.
Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a genetic disorder that can cause tumours, cancer, epilepsy, disfigurement, blindness and learning difficulties including autism. One in 2,500 people are affected. There is no cure.
Anne Petropoulos, Director of Flicker of Hope, will outline her and her family’s personal story. They discovered very little was known about NF – from causes, treatment and support options, through to outcomes.
This week’s guest speaker is Anne’s inspirational personal journey from diagnosis to the establishment of ‘The Flicker of Hope Foundation’.
Wednesday 31st July – Fellowship Night - Bring along your spouses, partners or family members. Blue River, Thai Restaurant, 239 Canterbury Rd, Canterbury
it is a wet Sunday here in Hoi An so the perfect time to send out a Newsletter. It is also Tax time so I will be busy sending out Tax Receipts to our donors in Australia. Sadly, we do not have Tax Deductibility in any other countries, so I am only sending receipts to those in Australia. If, however, anyone else would like a receipt for their donations please do not hesitate to let me know & I will send it to you.
On Friday we had our end of school year concert. A bittersweet moment this year as we farewelled a much-loved student, Kim Ngân. There were tears and happiness all around (see attached photos). What an amazing achievement for Kim Ngan. She is our seventh child to attend mainstream schooling!
I cannot remember if I sent you all the link for the TV documentary, I was involved in here this year. I will add the link below in case I have not already sent it.
We hope to be in our new school around the end of August. Our Fundraiser was not a big success sadly. If I had a dog requiring $100,000.00, I think I would have raised it in a week. Sadly, building a permanent school for Deaf children is not so important. I was worried I would have to come out of retirement to raise the balance - not something I was looking forward to. Thankfully we did raise some money, plus, we had several Trust Funds in Australia and a very generous donor in Belgium who have helped us over the line. Just this week we raised enough to pay our builder.
Our builder has been amazing and has given us so much extra. Just this week he planted four free fruit trees for the children! Concrete driveway and boundary fences were not part of the signed contract as we just did not have the money for it ........ he is going ahead and doing it anyway - for free!!! We have been so Blessed to now consider him an HAB Angel.
Below is the link to the TV documentary. Please feel free to share it with anyone and everyone.
Susie Lachal from the Running Water Project sent through an update on progress with the new toilets at the Stung Sen High School in Cambodia. The school has 1450 students and staff but only 18 toilets and 3 urinals. The Club is helping fund 4 new menstrual health management toilets and 3 urinals, as part of a larger project that will provide 10 new MHM toilets and 10 new urinals. Progress is well underway!
The Youth/Vocational Committee is looking to find suitable candidates to sponsor at the RYLA Camp this year. RYLA is a 7 Day Residential Program, held each year in early December for young people, aged from 18-25, who would benefit from personal development and leadership training.
Such candidates can come from a wide range of backgrounds,such as Local TAFE or University, Theatre or Music groups,Sporting Clubs,Local Businesses,Religious Groups,Ethnic Community groups,Scouting.St John`s Ambulance.
Please contact Adrian Campbell if you can nominate a future Ryliarian for our consideration.
On behalf of Adrian and the Youth and Vocation Committee, I am excited to announce we will be conducting Mock Job Interviews at Camberwell High School this year. This is to prepare Year 9 students for entering the world of work as part of their curriculum.
When: September 4th and 6th, 8.30am-12.00pm: SAVE THE DATE
Where: Camberwell High School, 100A Prospect Road, Canterbury
16 volunteers required on each morning, working in pairs, no experience necessary. I would hope that most volunteers could work both sessions
Rotary members (current and past), partners and friends welcome to volunteer
Working With Children Check essential (Camberwell High requirement)
I will be sending out the Volunteer Signup List by email next week, with information regarding the interview process, OR you can sign up now by clicking HERE.
There will also be further support and guidance during August.
If you have any immediate questions regarding this exciting project, please feel free to contact me by phone or email.
Have you ever wondered which Sunday you have been allocated to? Can't find the email from Alan?
Then look no further! This new widget has been added to both our website Home Page - it's at the bottom of the right-hand column, right under the 3 most recent Bulletins. And it will be in each Bulletin as well. Just click on the blue "CSM Signup List" link. It's that simple - try it!
All Rotarians are invited to attend the Open Day for Rotary Donations in Kind on Saturday 10th August 2024
Donations in Kind West Footscray, is a volunteer-based recycling facility and is part of Rotary’s Donations in Kind Network, a project of Rotary Australia World Community Service, (RAWCS.) It is a specialist operation that focuses on recycling goods with 85% of the goods processed being redeployed and just 11% sent to process recycling.
Donations In Kind processes goods donated by the corporate sector and distributes the goods through Rotary clubs to those in need wherever they are located, both locally and internationally.
We have also developed partnerships with several hospitals, aged care homes, schools and other suppliers who donate new and outdated stock to us. Rotary clubs then use this stock to fulfill projects in developing countries.
We would be delighted to welcome you to the store, participate in a guided tour with one of our senior volunteers, and participate in the formal opening ceremony at 11am.
As we are planning for several forms of catering, we would like everyone to please register through the link below. There is no cost to attend.
