We will have committee meetings. In addition, as it will be the day before ANZAC Day, we will devote some of the meeting to remembering and honouring members of our defence forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defending our country.
Our guest speaker, Dr Murray Verso, told us that trachoma is a contagious bacterial eye disease. It is caused by a lack of sanitation and personal hygiene. Repeated incidences of the disease can lead to blindness.
Australia is the world's only developed country affected by trachoma. It is prevalent in remote Aboriginal communities mainly because children do not clean their faces.
Ophthalmologist and former Rotary Scholar, Lien Trinh, initiated a program after discovering the high incidence of trachoma in outback Australia. Every Rotary District in Australia has now formed a special group to raise awareness and funds and to implement actions to eradicate trachoma by 2020. Murray is a member of the District 9800 group.
A number of projects are already in place to ensure that children in affected communities keep their faces clean. Some of these projects are:
Providing every home in remote communities with at least one acrylic mirror which is designed to facilitate pride in one's self and to highlight hygiene issues.
Provide every child at school with their own face washer. The usual practice is to share face washers and towels.
Run soap-making workshops so that people can make their own soap for their household.
Provide hand-operated washing machines to allow families to wash their clothes.
Donating funds towards the upkeep of community pools to ensure they are clean and safe from disease.
Murray explained that our club could help in various ways:
Make a donation for the purchase of mirrors, soaps or hand-operated washing machines.
Raise the profile of projects within the club and locally.
He said we could even come up with our own ideas about how to support the objective.
By achieving the goal of ending trachoma by 2020, it will coincide with a major event - the centenary of Rotary in Australia.
Click here to view a video about trachoma in Australia.
Click here to visit the End Trachoma by 2020 Facebook page.
Peter Copp is the Executive Director of the Werribee Mercy Health Foundation and he was at our meeting to receive a cheque for $20,000 from President Ross.
Peter thanked us for the very generous donation which was made possible through funds raised at our Golf Day. The foundation target was $2 million and, with only several months to go, approximately $1.5 million has been raised. Peter is confident that, with a bit more publicity and promotion, they will reach their goal.
He said the funds will now make critical care in Wyndham possible. He cited a recent incident where, after giving birth in the birthing ward at the hospital, a woman fell gravely ill. The only available hospital with a vacant critical care bed was in Frankston where she stayed for 5 days before returning home to be with her new-born child and her family. In the future, this situation will not happen.
Peter explained that the new building is nearly finished. Here is an image of what it will look like.
"I'm asking every Rotary club to plant at least one tree per member" - RI President Ian Riseley
Our Tree Planting Day is nearly here. On Sunday 29th April, commencing at 9am, we are asking members and their families and Friends of Rotary to come together to plant 750 trees along the Werribee River near the Shaw's Rd bridge. This number represents one tree for each year of membership for every member in the club.
While we will have assistance from Wyndham Council staff, we will require all hands on deck to get the job done as quickly as possible.
Past District Governor Julie Mason gave a brief presentation about the upcoming Rotary in Action event to be held at the Encore Events Centre on Sunday 6th May from 10AM to 12PM.
This is a joint initiative between the four Rotary clubs in the Chirnside Cluster. Attendees will hear about how Rotary is taking action to make a positive difference in supporting communities around the world and in Wyndham.
Interest has been high. The City of Wyndham is supporting it and a number of schools have indicated their intention to send student leaders and teachers who could become future Rotarians. Julie is also seeking our support by way of either cooking a BBQ or attending the session.
If you would like to be part of this fantastic event, click here to register. The cost is only $25 per person.
Click here to visit the Rotary in Action Wyndham 2018 Facebook page.
On Sunday 6th May, the movie "Breathe" will be playing at the Sun Theatre in Yarraville and you are invited to attend.
It is an inspiring new film depicting the devastating impact of polio.
It is a story about a British polio survivor Robin Cavendish, who contracted the disease in Kenya in 1958.
At the age of 28, he was paralyzed from the neck down, confined to a hospital bed with a respirator, and given just months to live.
However, with the encouragement and help of his wife, Diana, Robin was able to leave the hospital and spend the rest of his life advocating for people with disabilities and popularizing a new wheelchair with a built-in respirator.
“The message of this film is that you can achieve anything if you have the right people around you,” said Jonathan Cavendish, son of Robin. “If you put everything into your relationship and really go for it, life will start looking rosier and better.”
“The thing to remember about the 1960's is that we were all frightened about the things we didn’t know,” Jonathan said. “Nobody had ever met anybody with that degree of disability. People were frightened by polio. People would shout at us in the street complaining about my father being in a wheelchair when he should have been in the hospital. Can you imagine that?"
“However, my dad was a very nice, inspirational, and charming man — something which has been captured in the film. My dad wanted to put everyone else at ease and imbued that spirit with other disabled people who he encouraged to move out of the hospital.”
Despite the less-than-expected numbers at the Rock 'n Roll night, organiser Marty Vaina said the night was still an enjoyable evening.
The music was great, the dance floor was full and the food and drink were in ample supply. To Marty and others this was a measure of the success of the function. Plans are already underway to make the next R&R night bigger and better.
Well done to the organisers, in particular the brains behind the event, Marty Vaina, for putting in the effort to try something different.
You are invited to join District Governor Peter Frueh and Anne and District Governor Elect Bronwyn Stephens and Mark for the District 9800 Changeover lunch at “The International” in Brighton on Sunday 3rd June.
This year the Changeover will be celebrating our District and all that we have achieved together – Rotarians and Clubs, with assistance and support from the District Leadership Team.
There will be fun, special projects and Rotarians honoured.
Entertainment will be supplied by our own sensational “Barking Dogs” with Sue Foley. So bring your dancing shoes.
Dress to impress but don’t feel the need to be uncomfortable.
In true Rotary style, there will be funding opportunities for two projects of $1,000 each. Submit a short, informal project plan, register a table of 10 before May 18th and be ready to claim the prize and announce the project to all our District Rotary friends. You could even gain support from other Clubs and possibly receive a Foundation District Grant.
Our mid-week Bunnings BBQ last week realised a good profit of $1,100. Well done to everyone who assisted.
The next mid-week BBQ at Bunnings is on Thursday 17th May, followed by another one on 14th June. As usual, we will be seeking assistance from members and Friends of Rotary. Please email Jason Daddy if you can help.
We now have sufficient numbers to cook sausages at the Werribee Mansion Fun Run this Sunday from 8:30-11:30am. The event is in aid of the Leukemia Foundation and our very own Kathryn Williams will be participating. So, while your services may not be required for the BBQ, you are encouraged to come along to cheer Kathryn on.
The District Assembly will be held on Sunday May 20 at Tabcorp Park in Melton. This is an opportunity for incoming Board members to join President Elect Graham Roper to gain fresh ideas about their specific portfolio and to connect with other Rotarians in the District prior to the start of the new Rotary year.
Donations in Kind has put out an SOS to anyone who can help on Saturday 28th April with the transfer of 99 beds from Peter Mac Hospital to a 40 foot container which is headed for a Russian hospital in Cambodia. The beds are located on various floors and will have to be wheeled to the lifts to get to the loading dock in the basement. If you can assist, please call the DIK Coordinator, Bob Glindemann, on 0418 102 702.
Lyn Fava is planning a Harvest Festa in conjunction with Wyndham Central College for some time in August/September. Further details will be supplied shortly. Watch this space.
Footy Tipping - Congratulations again to Marty Vaina who tipped another 9 out of 9 in Round 4. Talk about a roller coaster ride! Some people are wondering if he has some way of entering his tips after the round is completed. Tony Todaro is now the leader by one from Marty Vaina and Peter Ross.
Here is a photo of Michael Redding and the two Gordon TAFE students who received scholarships from our club at the recent awards night. Michael said the scholarships were well received and he believes that we should continue to be involved in the future.
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
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