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President's Message 07 December 2024
Bruce Turner
President’s Message
Greetings and welcome. Thank you for joining our online news and updates.
What can I say but WOW!
What a privilege it was to have Ned McLarnan present to our club on Monday night. While all involved in this project are to be congratulated on the amazing results, to hear Ned’s reflection on his participation in the process was outstanding. From the time his training commenced in Australia to the handling and delivery of materials, followed by the actual process of construction, Ned overcame so many obstacles. He managed to do so in such a calm and controlled manner, all the time taking the locals along with him on his journey. Our chair for the evening was Robyn O’Loughlin and her summary following Ned’s presentation said it all…..”Ned was the best natural teacher that she had ever known”…… To steal the theme for Rotary this year, Ned certainly brought “The Magic” to Lesse Oalia. Ned made a huge commitment to this project and the images of the children, the reason for his involvement, highlighted why there has been great support for this project. I can only imagine what could be achieved if we can involve more talented young people like Ned to contribute to the broader community. Thank you so, so much for sharing your story with us Ned, truly an inspiration.
If you would like to read John Oswald’s report on “Part One” of the project visit this link.
Updates for members:
Request for volunteers from Don Shields, Rotary Overseas Relocated Playgrounds, District 9780 Committee Chair:
We have a 40ft container being delivered to Digga Demolition in Moriac this Friday, which is going to be sent to Harare, Zimbabwe with 12 playgrounds, where they will be installed in partnership with the City of Harare. We have purchased the container, so there is no rush to load it (usually we get a weekend only to load it). Please ask your members to contact me if they would like to volunteer to load the container (over the next few weeks). We then have a 20ft container being delivered to Kardinia International College in mid-January for two playgrounds we are extracting for them, to which we will add a further 3 playgrounds. These are being sent to Kardinia’s Chiang Mai campus and will be installed in schools in the surrounding area of northern Thailand. Please let your members know to contact me if they can assist with dismantling these playgrounds. There is an order for 13 playgrounds (40ft container) for the Rotary Club of Angeles-Kuliat via Subic Bay, but this is currently on hold, whilst the Club President deals with cancer & they resolve some tax issues. I am looking to send a further 5 playgrounds to Cavite, Philippines for 4 schools and a barangay in the region. We have enough playgrounds in storage and being extracted soon to meet these orders.
Please click HERE for more photos relating to the President's Report
On Monday 2nd December, Judy and I attended the unfurling of the Lost Petition in Torquay.
We represented the Rotary Clubs of Torquay and Bayside Geelong and joined members of the Torquay Community House at the ceremony.
The Lost Petition is an ongoing textile artwork that lists women and children who have lost their lives to male violence in Australia from 2008. This work is 30 metres long and proceeds to grow in length as women and children’s lives continue to be lost to male violence.
There are 1404 names recorded on the Petition, ranging from 86 years to as young as 7 months.
In partnership with Surf Coast Shire Council, artist Dans Bain will bring her powerful artwork to the Surf Coast as part of the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based Violence.
As was mentioned at our last meeting on Monday, we would like to collect some quantities of food and small toys to give to the Torquay Food Aid Group before Christmas. They currently look after about 30-40 families weekly and hand out food every Wednesday afternoon from their warehouse in Primelea Way Torquay. We are looking for food and goods such as pasta, pasta sauce, tinned vegetables, fish, small toys, nuts, and inexpensive toiletries. We suggest that goods amounting to $10-$20 would be most welcome. There will be a box for any donations at next Monday's meeting. The cut-off point for donations is the 17th of December, 2024.
We propose to make this one of our ongoing community services over 2025.
