It is nearly a month since my last report and a busy one both with Rotary and other activity. Mark Williams, Denise Schellbach, Paul and Violet Choy and Dymphna and myself had a truly wonderful week in Taiwan helping to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of our sister Rotary Club of Taipei Tatung. The hospitality was overwhelming and we were showered in gifts to the point of embarrassment. Violet and Paul introduced us to multiple special local food experiences and the local tectonic plates introduced us to what, we thought, was a spectacular earthquake experience.
The first meeting after our return on 29 April was by far the best attended for many years, courtesy of Denise Schellbach, and we were treated to a very impressive presentation by James Peterson, founder of “Breaking free”, on his project to protect and improve the mental health of school students. Dan Adler is presently in initial discussions with James on the possibility of “Breaking Free” being a candidate for support through the “Rotaryship” project.
The “icing on the cake ”for the 29 April meeting was the induction of three new members, Katrina and Michael Roetteler and Mark Scanlan. Heartiest congratulations to you all and we look forward to as much as possible of your company and assistance over the years to come. We also welcomed Chris Zammit, a teacher at St. Joseph’s Gregory Terrace, who made a special visit on behalf of the Principal to thank Denise Schellbach and the Club for its assistance with the Eddies Van over the Christmas Holidays.
We have recently made the following donations from PAF:
$7500 to DIK for transport of a container of school and hospital items to New Ireland. The container cost $2300 and this amount was donated by my friend Richard Pickworth in Port Moresby.
$1000 to Groups-4-Health (Prof Alex Haslam) at the Univ. of Qld.
$1000 for wheelchairs for Disabled Children to the Rotary Club of Surfers Sunrise
$5000 to Kyeema for the PNG Chicken Project. As Kyeema have recently been accredited by the Federal Government for the “Australian NGO Cooperation Program” our donation will now effectively be matched 5:1 by the Government. Because of this Kyeema will now be able to use the grand total both for the Chicken Project and a new Project to repair coral reefs on which so many people in PNG depend on for income and protein.
There is still time for applications to the 2020-21 Rotary Peace Fellowship. For further information go to rotarypeacecenters@rotary.org.
Our Golf Day on Friday 14 June needs more support and registration can be made through Club Runner.
We need volunteers for the North Queensland Flood appeal on 22, 23 and 24 May, 10am-2pm in the Macarthur Centre and for the RSPCA Breakfast BBQ on Sunday 19 May at Southbank. Please consider your availability ASAP and let Cameron Gibson or myself know if you can help. You can also just sign up here:
The social meeting at the United Service Club this Friday 10 May requires registration through Club Runner and please indicate if you would like to stay for dinner afterwards.
Ralph Praeger from the Sunnybank Rotary Club is our guest speaker at the lunch meeting on 13 May. He will talk about his club’s projects in Samoa, Tonga and the Solomon Islands.
Finally, the response to our Prof Alex Haslam Dinner at the United Service Club on Wednesday 15 May has been disappointing, both from the District and from our own Club. There is still time to register through Club Runner –PLEASE COME IF YOU CAN.
Yours in Rotary
Chris Muir
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
We have 2 events that need volunteers coming up:
Collection for NQ Flood Appeal
Dates - 22nd, 23rd and 24th May
Rtn Cameron Gibson has once again volunteered to coordinate the collection, and the Macarthur Central Shopping Centre has once again kindly offered to allow us to conduct the collection on their premises. email Mark Williams or Cameron Gibson to indicate your availability for this, or just sign up below:
The club has agreed to run a BBQ Breakfast for the RSPCA “Million Paws Walk” on Sunday 19 May and we will need volunteers for this. Contact Dymphna Muir or Mark Williams or just sign up below:
Rotary Sunnybank has a 10 plus year history of service projects in the Pacific – Munda Hospital in the Solomons, 2 trips rebuilding Nuku Nuku school in Tonga and last year rebuilding 3 classrooms in Samoa. The typical project takes a year to arrange and relies on donations from builders and suppliers along with the time put in by members. For Tonga we loaded school tables and chairs only to find out this was the first time many children has sat at a table for school work. Every trip is rewarding even for the unskilled and includes some downtime for sightseeing and a few beers. We are still seeking a $30,000 international grant to re- roof the Samoan school and use the roof water for the school toilets - at the moment they are drop toilets with a large drum and bowl to flush and wash your hands
Chair for the day was Michael Stephens, who started the meeting with toasts and invited President Chris to the podium to deliver his weekly message, the details of which are in the President's message above.
Today was a very busy meeting so spots, the sergeant session and the raffle were cancelled for the day.
The first item on the agenda was a happy one for any Rotary club, being the induction of three new members, Katrina Roetteler, Michael Roetteler and Mark Scanlan. President Chris performed the ceremony and gave club badges to the three new members.
L-R: New members of RCoB Mark Scanlan, Michael Roetteler, Katrina Roetteler, President Chris Muir and Membership Chair Keith Watts
After the inductions, we were treated to a short presentation from the Dean of Identity from St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, Charles Brauer who talked to us about the work and traditions of "Eddie's Van", a project of St. Joseph's College that feeds homeless people at Wickham Park on the edge of the Roma St. Parkland. Charles also extended the school's thanks to our own Denise Schellbach who has been helping the service continue over the Christmas Holidays for the past 18 years.
Charles Brauer - St. Joseph's College GT
The next item on the agenda was our guest speaker, James Peterson, founder and executive director of BreakingFree, an innovative mental health charity that educates and encourages young people to live mentally healthy lifestyles in order to prevent mental illness and improve mental health. The organisation focuses on teaching people how to make mentally healthy choices, how to form mentally healthy habits and to how to develop a mentally healthy mindset. James gave an inspiring presentation that was followed by many questions from the audience.
James Peterson with President Chris Muir
Following the presentation, President Chris closed the meeting at 1:55pm.
By Ali Raza, president of the Rotaract Club of Bahauddin Zakariya University, Punjab, Pakistan
We live in a society where people call themselves humans before they know the need of being human; where they wish for a long life before they wish for healthy life; and where they work for wealth before they work for health. But I believe being human means being responsible. And that includes not just shutting our eyes when segments of our society are suffering and need our help.
At Right: Rotaract members talk to students about thalassemia.
A year ago, I watched a video on Facebook about thalassemia, an inherited chronic anemia resulting from faulty hemoglobin production. In the video, a child with thalassemia is interviewed. Tears started rolling down my face as the child asked her interviewer, “is God angry with me?” and “why is Allah punishing me?” How do you answer a question like that?
I knew that I had to do something. That day, I learned about Jehaad for Zero Thalassemia, an organization working to raise awareness of the disease and encourage blood donations. They were the ones who produced the video. I joined the organization and started working with them.
In January, I was invited to their annual convention at the University of Central Punjab in Lahore. I was blessed to be among people who had been working to help people with thalassemia for years. I watched that video a second time, and my eyes again filled with tears. But this time, I was filled with resolve to continue my efforts to raise awareness.
I came back to my Rotaract Club of Bahauddin Zakariya University in Multan, and we planned a thalassemia awareness campaign. We placed colorful posters with information about thalassemia all over the city. We distributed 1,000 pamphlets to students at the University and answered questions.
We also organized a seminar, “Jehaad for Zero Thalassemia,” inviting Dr. Ali Sajid Imami, a member of the Rotary Club of Multan Cantt, to share his expertise about the nature of thalassemia and how it can be detected, cured, and prevented. He also stressed our social responsibilities regarding the disease. Students asked many questions. Participants were given passes for a free test that detects thalassemia.
Dr. Ali Sajid Imami, a member the Rotary Club of Multan Cantt, leads a discussion on thalassemia.
During the seminar, I watched the same video a third time. But this time, instead of tears, I was filled with hope because we are successfully spreading awareness about this disease. Our work is not done. But we are taking steps to end thalassemia. It feels good to be a responsible human being, to make no excuses, and to work to make the world a better place. I look forward to working with my colleagues and encouraging others as we go.
By Kamlesh Chandan, Rotary Club of Lake Norman/Huntersville, North Carolina, USA
Jordan Koletic, left, and Robert Smayda Jr. at Rotary Day at the United Nations in 2014.
In 2015, I was working at one of the largest Fortune 500 banks in the United States when I read an article on our internal website about a team member traveling to eastern Africa. I found the story intriguing, and reached out to her for more details about the trip and to see if it had a connection with Rotary. But at the time I did not hear back.
Shortly thereafter, I began attending Toastmasters International meetings with a colleague, Robert, from the technology division. We both enjoyed our weekly dose of public speaking, and I learned that he was a young professional looking to become more involved in his community. I shared with him what Rotary clubs had been doing in the Charlotte community, and also told him about our international work. And he expressed interest in joining.
I had put the intranet story to the back of my mind until later that year, when I received my copy of The Rotarian. One of the articles covered Rotary Day at the United Nations and contained a photo of a young lady attending the event and a doppelganger of Robert sitting next to her. In my next Toastmasters meeting, I told Robert about the article and he said it was indeed him and his girlfriend (now wife), Jordan. He went on to tell me about her interest in women’s health issues in east Africa and how she had spoken about the issue at the event.
At Right: Kamlesh Chandan and Jordan Koletic at a Rotary club meeting.
Two months later, Robert asked me if he could forward my contact information to Jordan, who worked at the bank in the analytics group. She called me, and we talked about her east Africa project. That began a year of conversations. I was shocked she was the same person I had read about on the bank’s website, and I connected Jordan with local Rotary leaders. I was convinced The Rotary Foundation could help her with her interest in pursuing a master’s degree in advanced peace studies at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, with a focus on regions affected by conflict.
The chain of events impressed upon me how small our world can be. You never know when the person sitting next to you could be the next Nobel Prize winner, the individual that cures cancer, or just someone who wants to make a difference in the world.
My Rotary club and District 7680 (North Carolina, USA) applied for and received a global grant to fund a $30,000 scholarship for Jordan, who completed a one-year peace studies program in Human Rights and International Politics at the University of Glasgow in 2017. She is now working for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor within the U.S. Department of State. We stay in touch, and Jordan is considering applying for a Rotary Peace Fellowship.
That day made me a believer in 2019-20 Rotary President Mark Daniel Maloney’s theme, Rotary Connects the World.
