Our joint guest speakers, Naomi Geenwood and Peng Eng, have been making a real difference to the lives of disabled children and their families in central Vietnam for the past 4 years.

The population of Vietnam is 91 million. One million children have a disability. 70% of disabled children do not have access to school. Further, 1.5 million kids are orphaned.

The Kianh Foundation is a grass-roots UK-registered charity founded in 2001 by Jackie Wrafter and her friend Jacci Bulman to address the desperate need for improved care and development for children with disability living around the Hoi An area of central Vietnam.

Their vision is to provide access to good education and health services for every disabled child in Central Vietnam. Their mission is to provide holistic and integrated multi-disciplinary services for disabled children, their families and the communities living in Central Vietnam.

Naomi and Peng spend considerable time at the centre. Naomi is an Occupational Therapist and Peng is a Special Education Trainer. Their main aim is to train the staff in rehabilitation techniques and educational programs for disabled children. Many of these staff are now at a level where they not only support the children in the centre but also provide their own training to carers in other centres.

Naomi and Peng believe that all individuals have abilities and that, given appropriate opportunities, they can be enabled to learn.

The Kianh Centre is located in Dien Ban which is a predominantly farming area in central Vietnam. The centre comprises one therapy room, 5 classrooms and a kitchen and mess hall. In 2012, there were 24 students ranging in age from 5 to 13. Now there are 101 students from 1 to 18 years in age. There are 120 children on the waiting list. Many of them suffer from cerebral palsy.

The centre is now seeking funding in order to expand the size of the facility. They are asking people to contribute to the cause by sponsoring a child or a staff member.

Our Annual Golf Day is happening this Friday 2nd March commencing at 12pm and the hard-working organising committee is expecting another successful day. The weather forecast is very promising and a large field of players will be competing for a number of team and individual awards.

The biggest prize will be a car from Ballan Holden if you score a hole-in-one on the 15th green. After two years of no success, the chances are increasing that someone will score an ace this time around.

The after-match dinner will start at 6pm and finish by 7:30pm.

The Rotary Club of Albert Park is marking the centenary of the Rotary Foundation by organising an evening of fun and celebration on the large ferris wheel, the Melbourne Star, at Docklands. ‘Star Carnivale’ will commence at 5.30 pm on 22 April and they are asking for your support for this unique event.
 
Seats on the Melbourne Star are $35 per person and, if a club buys a whole ‘pod’, $400 will be donated to the Foundation in our club’s name.  A pod holds 20 people.  Hampers are available should attendees wish to pre-order online. Drinks are at $6 per glass for wine, beer and cider and $3 for soft drinks on the night.  The ‘flight’ takes around 35 minutes. 
 
The Star will be lit up in Rotary colours for the evening. There will also be an international speaker, Astro Physicist Rachel Livermore, who will update us on the ‘Galaxy’. There will also be music and a few Star Wars characters for photo opportunities.

President Ross is asking for your support of this event as a way of us repaying the favour to Albert Park for contributing to our Ugandan water project. Please let Ross know if you would like to go.

Click here to see a flyer of the event.

Click here to visit the Rotary Club of Albert Park's website.

On Sunday 4th March, there will be a Clean Up Australia event to be held at Baden Powell Skate Park in Tarneit and you are invited to come along and join in the fun.

Peter and Elizabeth Ross will be attending and they would love to have your company.

Click here to see the details.

Rotary International President Ian Riseley has set down the challenge to Rotary clubs around the world to plant one tree for each member during this Rotary year.

Our Community Committee is planning to do better than that. In conjunction with Wyndham Council, we will be having a working bee on Sunday 29th April to plant one tree for each year of membership in our club. The total number of years of membership is 750 (give or take a few years), so we will be planting 750 trees in a spot along the Werribee River. And we will need all hands on deck to get the job. 

For now, mark the date in your calendar and stay tuned for more details.

Del King is currently District Community Service Chair, a former GSE Team Leader several years ago and a Past President of the Rotary Club of Flemington.  She has also served on the District Youth Exchange Team, has hosted numerous students and has spoken on many panels on her GSE experiences.  

For those who may know, or know of, Del, she is currently in a critical condition in Royal Melbourne Hospital with a deterioration of the illness which has plagued her for the last five years.

She was admitted to ICU last Saturday and her condition has deteriorated with multiple organ failure.  She is currently on life support, dialysis and being treated by a number of specialists.  

Her son has returned home from his Youth Exchange in Germany to be with his family.

Del has impacted on so many lives in her work as a police officer, hiking Kokoda twice with students from the Flemington area, GSE to India, her work on Youth Exchange and standing up for disadvantage everywhere.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this time.

• We welcomed Lynette Vaughan to the meeting. She was a guest of Lyn Fava.

• Last week's midweek Bunnings BBQ realized a profit of about $500. Thanks to all who participated.

• Philip Archer from the Rotary Club of Southbank has been elected as the District 9800 Governor Nominee (Designate) for 2021-22. 

• The number of delegates registered for the District Conference has reached the allowable limit. However, you can still register as a social delegate which entitles you to attend the Friday evening Welcome function and the Saturday evening conference dinner. The cost is $120. You can register via the Conference website.

• The 40th Weerama Festival is on Sunday 18th March. The organisers are seeking volunteers for the following tasks:

  • Parade Marshalls (8:30am - 12:30pm)

  • Set up (7am - 10am)

  • Pack down (4pm - 6pm)

  • Clean up (4pm - 5pm)

  • Litter management (11am - 1pm and 1pm - 3pm)

  • Management of specific areas (10am - 4pm)

  • Distribute surveys (10am - 1pm and 1pm - 3pm)

  • Stall assistance (7am - 10am)

If you would like to get involved, please send an email to info@weerama.org.au.