• Our candidate, Theo, successful in applying to attend National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) in January 2023
• Care and support for Melenaite, a baby from Tonga undergoing treatment at Sydney Children's Hospital under Rotary's ROMAC Program
• Ongoing support for Aya, a Rotary Foundation Global Scholar from Japan, undertaking postgraduate studies in peace and conflict resolution at the University of NSW

• Attendance for disadvantaged families at the World Festival of Magic
• Blue Dragon Foundation, a youth project in Vietnam

• Sri Lanka Food Aid, in conjunction with Rotary Club of Kandy
• Australian Rotary Health
• Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC)
• The Rotary Foundation - Annual Fund
• The Rotary Foundation - Polio Fund

This delightful story was submitted by Aya Murakami.  Aya, from Japan, is undertaking studies for a Masters in Law at the University of NSW under the Rotary International Global Scholars Program.  The focus of her studies is peace and conflict resolution, and she is jointly sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Nara, in Japan, and our Club, Botany Randwick.

About 3 to 4 hours drive from Sydney, after beautiful scenery of the Blue Mountains, there is a small but delightful town called Cowra. I came to know about the town before coming to Sydney, when a person, a chief priest of a temple and a member of Rotary Club of Nara, told me about the town. He suggested that I should make a visit to the Japanese War Cemetery during my stay, saying that it is a very special place. I was not aware of the details of the history and its significance until I made the visit over the weekend in September, 2022.

Cowra symbolizes peace and friendship between Australia and Japan, but there is also a bitter history behind it. There were prison camps in Cowra during the Second World War in which over 2,000 Japanese were held among other prisoners from different countries.

On 5 August 1944, 231 Japanese died after attempting to escape. They rest at the Japanese War Cemetery which lies next to the cemetery of Australians who lost their lives in the town during the War. The Cemetery is simple, yet tells us a lot about the history. Each grave has their name, age, sometimes a short description of how the person died. Mostly young men, some were kids, some were old. As we walked through the Cemetery, we imagined the faces of those who lived and died during that time.