THIS WEEK......

Our guest speaker was Mike Hamer who is the President of the Rotary Club of Woodend. Mike gave an impressive presentation on the work that his club is doing to build a new school in Vanuatu.

Some of the key points were:

• There are many issues relating to education in Vanuatu including low literacy rates, lack of attendance due to people living in remote areas, class overcrowding and sanitation.

• MIke's club is in partnership with the Rotary Club of Santo in Vanuatu to build a community school in the small rural village of Mwast on the island of Espiritu Santo. The only access to Mwast is by 4-wheel drive.

• The current school is small and overcrowded with limited electricity, toilet and water facilities.

• Detailed construction plans for the new school are now in place. The proposal is to build a double classroom with an office. It will have a concrete floor, brick walls, timber trusses and a colour-bond roof.

• Rotary will provide all materials for construction, including a water tank.

• The local community will provide the labour and tools.

• The target commencement date is October 2019.

• The cost of the project is $115,000. Much of this funding was already been raised through club donations and District and global grants. However, more funds are required.

• We can help by providing funds or supplying essential school equipment such as computers, furniture or teaching aids.

CUT, GIGGLE AND SEW THIS SATURDAY

Another wonderful Cut, Giggle and Sew session will be held this Saturday (21st September) at the home of Therese and Jason Daddy, 43 Geogan St, Werribee.

Please come along for a few hours from 9:30 to 11:30 to join in the fun of making scarves and beanies and other stuff for the homeless and, at the same time, just having a chat and a cuppa.

Please text Lyn Fava on 0412 353 385 if you are coming.

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SPECIAL FOOTBALL EVENING NEXT WEEK

At next week's meeting (Tuesday 24th September), we will be having a special football theme as part of the Grand Final week celebrations.

The highlight will be a special guest appearance by Jeff "Joffa" Corfe who is leader of the Collingwood Cheer squad. The lowlight will be mad Pies supporter Enzo Maddalon sucking up to Joffa as the Chairperson for the evening. It's even possible that Enzo may even wear his version of the gold jacket.

The food for the evening will be typical footy food including pies, hot dogs, chips and hot jam donuts. For the health conscious, we will be supplying some fruit.

All you need to do is show up, preferably in your footy gear.

It promises to be a great night.

INTERNATIONAL CUISINE EVENING - 1st OCTOBER

You're invited to our International Cuisine Evening which is being held at Di Caprio's Restaurant on Tuesday 1st October.

You will have a choice of some fabulous Italian, Greek, Asian and Spanish food at a cost of only $25 per person. Vegetarian meals will also be available.

In addition there will be a big raffle. There will be many prizes including a range of overseas wines. All proceeds will be directed to our international projects.

The International Committee want this to be a BIG NIGHT for the club so they would like you to invite as many family members and/or friends as possible.

FUNDING APPROVED FOR IMAGINATION LIBRARY

Funding has now been approved by the Board to enable us to proceed with the Imagination Library at Manor Vale Primary School.

The concept is the brainchild of Dolly Parton who is working in conjunction with Rotary to give the gift of literacy to kids across Australia. 

It is a community-based program which provides preschool children with free home-delivered books and literacy resources each month.

The goal is to help Australian children, especially those in disadvantaged communities, to gain the skills they need to start school ready to read, learn and succeed in life.

The Board has agreed to support this program for up to 30 children for a period of 3 to 5 years subject to it meeting our requirements.

We will be reviewing the program regularly to assure that the children are receiving the books and they are having a positive impact on the local families involved.

Our commitment will be $9 per student per month for up to a maximum of 30 students

This equates to $270 per month or $3240 per year.

If at any time we feel that the program is not meeting our needs we can cease supporting it.

Click here to read more about the Imagination Library.

 

The St. Andrew's primary school will be holding its annual Parish Fair on Saturday 16th November and President Brian is keen for us to have a stall at the event. He says this is an opportunity for us to have a greater exposure with the greater community and to raise some funds at this well-established and popular family fair.

 

The Rotary Club of Central Melbourne is holding its 27th annual Rotary Foundation Paul Harris Breakfast on Thursday 21st November 2019 at the RACV City Club. 

The guest speaker will be Dr Andrew Browning who has spent 17 years living with his family in Ethiopia amongst some of the poorest people in the world.

He specialises in treating a devastating birth injury called obstetric fistula.

Andrew is one of only a handful of surgeons in the world who have dedicated their lives to helping treat this problem. His charity has now built 3 maternity hospitals in Africa.

Tickets for the breakfast are $70 per person or $650 for a table of 10.

Click here to book for the breakfast.

Click here to see a flyer.