President's Message

 

With people away and not well we were again a smallish group at our last dinner meeting. I am sure that we all hope that those suffering poor health are well on their journey for treatment and recovery 

Our guest speaker for the night was Steve Chaney current Chair of District 9920 Rotary Foundation Committee. Steve is also a member of the Manukau Sunrise Club and a past District Governor.

Steve brough us up to date on the current structure of the District Foundation Committee and how it operates. He also shared the current situation on the International Polio Plus programme which has almost reached its goal of eradicating Polio in the world. There is only Afghanistan and Pakistan that still have cases. He included a review of another large international programme Peace Fellowships where the Foundation awards up to 130 fellowships to study at Rotary Peace Centres. Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centres program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals to become effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship and field-study expenses. 

In addition to these large international programmes Foundation delivers programmes for water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, economic and community development and the environment. The numbers involved are almost mind-boggling billions of dollars.

Another area that Steve covered that we will probably pursue in the future is accessing grants for our own projects through the district grant programme. There is some bureaucracy to go through associated with signing up to a memorandum of understanding but it may be worthwhile to help with some of our more significant or new projects.

The presentation was a reminder that the Rotary organization has both a local and international interface with Foundation only being able to carry out its activities due to the generous donations that members have made and continue to make. If you feel able to support Foundation the simplest way is to arrange for a small amount to be added to your account each month. Please contact John Richardson mob 027 534 3054 or email j44j54@gmail.com

All in all, Steve's presentation was an interesting update on Foundation but also somewhat challenging for club members His awareness of the extent of Howick Rotary s reach into the community was perhaps a little lacking and it was a good opportunity for me in my closing remarks to comment on the positive feedback we get from our community which in turn is the result of the many public and below the radar projects that we complete each year. We do indeed  punch above our weight !

Steve was ably hosted and thanked by David Fels and Mike Abercrombie did yet another good job steering us through the meeting.

Our one minutes speakers included Glenice Yeoman promoting an upcoming car rally and Mike Stanghan seeking RYLA candidates.

The raffle results were:
Have A Go   1st   John Richardson, 2nd Geoff Thompson. New World Vouchers   John Savory and David Owen.

Our next guest speaker on the 13th May is Sergeant Brett Meale from the Howick Police who will be giving us an overview of policing activities in the area.

Take Care and Stay Well,
Rob Mouncey
President