Already we’re into September! Kevin and I have visited about 20 Clubs thus far and have plans to visit another 12 in the next few weeks. Each visit is so interesting.
What we love is the fact that each Club has its own personality. We are always warmly welcomed and members are keen to tell us about their projects, their successes, their areas of focus, their challenges. I’m delighted at the openness to doing things differently to achieve a different outcome.
One common theme is the fact that all Clubs without exception have youth and improving educational outcomes as a key focus. This month of course is Supporting Education Month. As Rotarians, and quoting from the RI website, “our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy. We support education for all children and literacy for children and adults”.
In our Clubs this happens in a range of ways. A favourite project, ably led by Joy Durrant, is Dictionaries in Schools – as relevant now as it ever was. This has been added to with the Usborne First Atlas, through the Bill and Lorna Boyd Charitable Trust.
Clubs tell me about the heart warming experience of handing these and other books out to children who may not have owned their own book before. Rotarians love the opportunity to go into schools and read too.
Many Clubs are offering scholarships that enable students to advance their learning in ways they might not otherwise have been able to.
Pacifica and Nigerian students from Massey Uni enjoying a meal at my place (Raymond Sisely) in Marton.
Thank God for Rotarians' wives, Joy, Priya and Ngaire who fed them. Organised by AG Venky. These students face an uncertain future because of covid. If they can get home at all they are unlikely to be allowed back into NZ to complete their studies.
Venky is working up a scheme whereby the students who are stranded here can be supported and use their time here in gaining new practical skills in running a small enterprise and such things as beekeeping and self sufficiency. Bringing the students together to understand their needs and to build a trusting relationship is the first step.
DG Gillian's facebook comment –‘This is brilliant. Thank you Venky and Ray for this important step towards us exploring how we can support these students.’ 'So Rotary'
I am so honored to serve as your president this year. We have important work ahead of us at Rotary, and we are going to have a lot of fun as we do it.
Last year, we launched our five-year Action Plan to build a stronger future for Rotary. We are working to increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt. The last several months have shown that we — as Rotarians and Rotaractors — can realize these goals as we forge a new path for the future.
Without question, COVID-19 has posed new and previously unimaginable challenges for Rotary. But within every challenge is perhaps an even greater opportunity. And while I could not have known what lay ahead when I selected my theme for the year, Rotary Opens Opportunities has even greater relevance as we begin our new Rotary year.
It has been heartening that in this Covid environment, Clubs have still been able to support Schools and other institutions in their literacy efforts.
Literacy orders have hardly taken a blip and thousands of Usborne dictionaries have been ordered, and increasing numbers of Rotary Rhyming Around the Alphabet books for our younger audiences of early learning. The District has done an admirable job in supporting literacy efforts and well done to many, many Clubs.
You may have read recently that New Zealand scores poorly on mathematical and literacy scales, on a global basis. Naturally this has implications for ongoing growth and development, and contribution, for an individual. A lower socio-economic household tends to have lower levels of literacy and mathematical skills. This is particularly important when we think about supporting, in particular, our low decile schools. Sometimes a child just needs their own special book.
Meanwhile, an Innocenti Report Card 2020, produced by the United Nations Children’s Fund Office of Research, released this week, reports on children’s well-being around the globe, with some surprising results. Unicef says New Zealanders should be shocked by the report, and that we must do better. Included in its findings, are some interesting comments.
Eastern Hutt Rotary was out and about recently presenting 52 very happy year 4 students, at Naenae School, with their Usborne Dictionaries.
Proudly presented by Jaye Howey and Glenda Barratt.
And that's not all!
There were 28 very happy recipients of Taita School who received their dictionaries.
Also, 12 fortunate children from Pomare School.
And finally, 16 smiling children from St Michaels School with their prize possessions.
A great annual cause presented by Eastern Hutt Rotary, thanks to ongoing Jaye's initiative.
Eastern Hutt was one of the first clubs in our District to be involved with this project, which was the result of the generosity of the Bill and Lorna Boyd Charitable Trust set up in 2008. We presented to 4 schools in 2009 and have continued to visit the same 4 schools each year. We have now completed 12 years and presented a TOTAL OF 979 DICTIONARIES!
The Rotary Club of Mount Victoria is proud to have worked along side BLENNZ ( Blind and Low Vision Education Network New Zealand ) and secured funding to purchase a PIAF machine for them. The PIAF “ Pictures in a flash “converts 2 dimensional diagrams into embossed, tactile diagrams to facilitate learning for blind and low vision students.
Thank you for coming over Leigh , Rob and Diane and giving us a demonstration!
A Story from Gloria O'Dowd, Inglewood Rotary Club - personifies our September month's theme of Supporting Education.
Currently New Horizons Aotearoa Trust is only operating in Taranaki but if any Rotary clubs are interested in talking with Kere about expanding into your Rotary area schools please contact Kere Ell at:
Kere Ell, founder of New Horizons Aotearoa spoke at a pre-covid Rotary dinner meeting in respect to his programme of mentoring in schools, and in particular introducing his mentoring programme into Inglewood Primary School for Term 3 and Term 4 to years 7 & 8. Several members were very interested and from there members are now registered and attending during Term 3.
Kere founded the beginnings of New Horizons Aotearoa in 2013. It has since become the New Horizons Aotearoa Trust and is widely supported by Red Cross, TSB Community Trust, Taranaki Mounga, New Plymouth ITM, Puke Pine and many other organisations.
The purpose of the volunteer mentoring role is to be working with years 7 & 8 students, providing mentoring and guidance whilst rangatahi learn new skills.
Using tools of encouragement and praise the aim is to in install confidence in rangatahi. This model is running currently in several other schools in Taranaki and Waitara Rotarians are also involved.
A few years ago our club had a person join who was very keen on a particular project, yet she didn't know how to access, or even properly understand the potential resources of Rotary to make her project happen. Rather than it taking new members years to figure that out, RLI shows people just what those resources are and how members can put together a project, or help with a pre-existing one that satisfies their passion for service.
Find an RLI Workshop[ near you during September - November and come along to access the opportunity of Rotary.
On 25 August the World Health Organisation declared that Africa was certified as officially free of the Wild Polio virus four years after the last recorded case in Nigeria. This has been reported worldwide, and is welcome news at a time when the planet is in the grips of a Pandemic that is disrupting lives in an unprecedented way, but also is testimony to the effort of Rotarians to rid the world of this crippling disease.
In an email to all Rotarians RI President Holger Knaack said the following:
Every now and then scammers use Rotary’s name and the names of our leaders to attempt to obtain money and personal information. These are phishing and spoofing attempts that may come by email or through social media channels and are not authentic Rotary communications.
A recent phishing attempt has come to our attention claiming that Rotary International has reached an agreement with a major bank to share funds to help offset the impact of COVID-19 in our communities. Please do not reply to this attempt by scammers seeking your personal information.
If you receive what you believe to be a suspicious message from Rotary or a Rotary leader, please forward it to Rotary’s chief information officer at fraudreport@rotary.org and then delete it immediately. Please also report any suspicious social media accounts to fraudreport@rotary.org
The first in a series of eight informative articles on the role of the "Youth Protection Officer?"
Historically my District position has been titled “Youth Protection Officer.” I believe that the title should be the more inclusive “Youth & Vulnerable Persons Protection Officer.”
It is not only youth we need to be concerned about; it is all of the people who we, as Rotarians, deal with. Young people, people with disabilities, elderly people, all people who are, in any way, vulnerable.
In the past Rotary has focused on young people. Many Rotarians are involved in our premier youth programmes, International Youth Exchange, RYPEN, RYLA, Science Forum, The Brave Thinkers, Innovative Young Minds, Interact and RotoKids.
However, many of our clubs are also involved in programmes for people with disabilities and in activities for elderly members of our communities. The physical and emotional safety of these people is also our responsibility.
We need to be able to recognise the signs of abuse, harassment and neglect of all people in our care. We need to know how toreport our knowledge or our suspicions.
We are not expected to DEALwith abuse, harassment or neglect. But we must know what to do when it comes to our notice.
Remember, “All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men [and women] to do nothing.” (Abraham Lincoln, and many others.)
Our work through The Rotary Foundation continues, despite the restrictions on travel, and our contributions are more important than ever to improve people's lives.
Innovative Young Minds, an initiative between Hutt City Council and The Rotary Club of Hutt City, delivered an enlightening and engaging online 2020 programme.
Usually held in the July school holidays as a residential programme in Lower Hutt, IYM exposes 80 Year 11 and 12 young women to the myriad of research and career opportunities available in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and high-tech engineering).
Due to COVID-19, a residential programme wasn’t an option for 2020, so a one-week online programme was created. 70 young women, including 33 from the Wellington-region, spent the first week of the school holidays taking part in the virtual programme – this was delivered via Zoom and Google Classroom.
Yesterday (16/08) was a celebration of what Rotary and our community can achieve by working together.
Thank you to Inglewood businesses, golfers, Rotarians, Rotary District 9940 and KES Electrical for assisting Inglewood Rotary Club to have Solar installed at The Taranaki Retreat.
This was the culmination of 2 years fundraising at the Charity Twilight Golf Tournament.
It is wonderful to see so much pride in being an Interactor at the recent Rangitikei College Interact Club changeover at Marton Rotary Club.
Left to right, JOHN VICKERS (Interact Liaison Marton Rotary),MELANIE BEAGLEY (President), VINCENT GREEN (Immediate Past President), NIGEL BELSHAM (President Marton Rotary).
What a day!! Thanks to these wonderful volunteers for coming out to Matairangi/Mt Victoria to help us plant 200 native trees at the Forest at the Heart of Wellington
Please note everyone was appropriately socially distanced and those you see standing together are with other people from their bubble.
The Rotary Club of Apia has kicked off its 50th year Anniversary celebration in Samoa by presenting a fully functional Mercedes Benz Ambulance to the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.).
The ambulance was officially received and accepted by the M.O.H. Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Gaualofa Matalavea-Saaga, on behalf of the Health Ministry, on Friday, a statement from Rotary said.
The event was attended by the management and staff of M.O.H. and R.C.A. members at the M.O.H. offices at Motootua.
The project was the brainchild of Rotary Past District Governor (P.D.G.), Stuart Batty, who is also the Executive Director for Rotary New Zealand World Community Services (R.N.Z.W.C.S.).
Mr. Batty has been an avid and long-time supporter of the Pacific, especially Samoa. R.C.A. has purposely increased its efforts in supporting Samoa’s health sector through its Community Health mandate.
Thus, when Mr. Batty broached the possibility of bringing across an ambulance to Samoa with Rotary-Assistant District Governor (A.D.G.) and R.C.A. member Louise Main, the Club responded with an emphatic ‘Yes Please!’ - and so commenced the project with the refurbishment and fit out of the vehicle.
The fully kitted and functional ambulance was generously donated by; The Rotary Club Port Nicholson, Wellington; R.N.Z.W.C.S.
The two people receiving Goalsetter Awards at the RC of Port Nicholson’s award ceremony so moved the audience with their stories of adversity overcome that some were openly crying.
The awards are available for students in at least their second year of tertiary study in Wellington who have shown they can achieve goals, have overcome severe difficulties and have given service to the community.
As President Mike Selvadurai said “these awards are entrenched in the Club’s DNA.”
This year’s three awards of $3,500 were presented by local Member of Parliament and Minister of Finance Hon Grant Robertson at a sold-out breakfast function in Wellington on 10 August.
Hannah Gibson was born with a rare and debilitating condition that prevented her from any formal education between the ages of 12 and 20. She recently submitted the first draft of her PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Hannah was unable to attend and received her award at a club meeting a week earlier.
Kahui Tihore suffered from traumatic abuse as a child and didn’t learn to read till he was in the army at the age of 20. He has suffered from severe depression and PTSD but is now in a position help other young Maori men who have suffered traumatic experiences. He will begin his post doctorate studies in management next year.
Melissa Dol was raised in a dysfunction family forcing her to take on responsibilities way beyond her years. She is now in her fourth year of medical studies and hopes the adversities she has faced will make her a more empathetic doctor.
“Every year club members and their guests are moved by the tales of persistence, determination and the audacity to believe that what they want to achieve is possible.” said Awards convenor Jane Paterson.
Another busy and fun night at Kapiti Rotary's Thursday meeting on 3 September.
A great turnout with many members in their onesies to support Wellington Free Ambulance; presenting Rachel Osborne of Kapiti Youth Support with the Paul Harris Fellow award given in recognition and appreciation for her substantial contribution to Kapiti's community; to guest speakers Anne Russell and Rosemary Emery from Off the Page, designers of fun, educational e books tailored to older emergent readers; and inducting new member Martin Hening and his partner Sue into the club. All supported by Ingrid's wonderful beef stroganoff and pavlova. What a fun night.
After nearly 110 years, The Rotarian magazine is now called Rotary, a name that recognizes the breadth of the organization’s membership.
Inside you will find more numbers and charts, more lists and infographics, incorporating old and new elements into an overall design that enlivens the reading experience and dazzles while it informs.
Over the last few years our team have often been asked why clubs are required to update to the “new logo and branding”.
The roll out was in 2013/14 and is therefore no longer “new”.
Not only is it about aligning to Rotary International, it is also about being consistent in our messaging both in New Zealand and worldwide.
If you need help with the Rotary Brand Centre, there are people who can help.
Contact us, contact the Public Image team, talk to your Assistant Governor. There is help available to ensure your club is using the right logos and branding. Rotarians supporting communities, but also Rotarians supporting Rotarians. #Rotary9940#RotaryInternational
Greetings, fellow Rotarians and Rotaractors!
Literacy orders have hardly taken a blip and thousands of Usborne dictionaries have been ordered, and increasing numbers of Rotary Rhyming Around the Alphabet books for our younger audiences of early learning. The District has done an admirable job in supporting literacy efforts and well done to many, many Clubs.
The Rotary Club of Apia has kicked off its 50th year Anniversary celebration in Samoa by presenting a fully functional Mercedes Benz Ambulance to the Ministry of Health (M.O.H.).
Hannah Gibson was born with a rare and debilitating condition that prevented her from any formal education between the ages of 12 and 20. She recently submitted the first draft of her PhD in Cultural Anthropology. Hannah was unable to attend and received her award at a club meeting a week earlier.
October will be 'Growing Local Economies Month'