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Newsletter 2022/14                                                                23 Sep 2022
President's Message
We have been advised of the passing of Bill Bishop, who had just celebrated his 100th birthday. Bill was president of the Randwick club in 78/79, please refer below for a tribute to him.
 
At our last meeting, we toasted the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, and to Alan Segal, who will be sadly missed by the club. 
 
Kim, representing the Blue Dragon Foundation, a Sydney based charity with its operational base in Hanoi, gave a most interesting talk on their work with many examples of the homeless young people and children they have rescued from people trafficking.  
 
We again welcomed Samantha, who will be joining our club as a member and Paul Woodward, as a guest. 
 
At our Board meeting last Wednesday we considered and approved the purchase of rice for the people of Sri Lanka from Avanti (Jasmine), a member of Kandy Rotary Club.  Sri Lanka is in the grip of the worst financial and social disaster in its 3,000-year recorded history!  In Avanti’s submission, she writes that a Rotary Collaborative Network could feed a village for one year. A 20 kg bag of rice can feed a family of four for one month.  
 
At the Board Meeting we also approved donations to three Rotary programs - Australian Rotary Health, Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) and The Rotary Foundation, including a special donation to the Foundation's Polio program. 
 
We also agreed to co-sponsor an application from a Brazilian student for a post-graduate scholarship under the Rotary Foundation's Global Scholar Program. Our current Scholar, Aya, will this weekend be visiting the Rotary Club of Cowra for their Cherry Blossom Festival, and we look forward to hearing of her adventure.
 
We are now finalising numbers and preparation for our social cocktail party on 28 September, so please come along and get to meet our Club and the District Governor, past District Governor and other guests. 
 
All welcome
 
Christine
Upcoming Events
Social Cocktail Get-together, friends welcome
Graphics Arts Club,
Sep 28, 2022
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
 
Club Meeting
Graphic Arts Club
Oct 12, 2022
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
 
View entire list
Speakers
Oct 12, 2022 6:30 PM
ROMAC - Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children
View entire list
Club Information
Botany Randwick
Wednesdays at 6:00 PM
Graphic Arts Club
182 Coward Street
Mascot, NSW 2020
Australia
Phone:
0417 297 632
2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at the Graphic Arts Club, 182 Coward Street, Mascot. 6pm for pre-meeting drinks and chat. The meeting, with dinner, starts at 6:30pm and normally concludes by 8:30pm.
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District Site
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Venue Map
We appreciate the support of the Graphic Arts Club for providing us with a great meeting venue.
info@ssgac.com.au
Executives & Directors
President
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Membership
 
New Generations
 
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Our last meeting
 
Guest speaker at our meeting on 14 September was Kim Miller, who told us about the great work of the Blue Dragon Foundation.  
 
Founded in 2003 by Australian teacher Michael Brosowski AM when he was working at Hanoi's National University.  From working with shoeshine boys and street children, the Foundation is now working in many areas, most notably that of human trafficking and slavery.
Since its inception, Blue Dragon has: 
  • Rescued 1,178 people from trafficking
  • Represented 205 people in court cases
  • Sent 5,894 kids back to school & training 
  • Provided shelter to 1,428 girls & boys 
  • Placed 385 teens in jobs 
  • Served 637,875 meals 
  • Built 226 homes for families 
  • Reunited 695 runaways with their families 
  • Obtained legal papers for 13,524 people 
  • Played 3,217 games of soccer!
The former Rotary Club of Randwick had been supporting the Foundation since 2004 and was proud to have been part of its remarkable journey.
News Items
Project Support
The Rotary Club of Botany Randwick actively supports a wide range of very worthwhile projects locally and internationally.  
 
September 2022:
  • 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
  • Ongoing support for Aya, a Rotary Foundation Global Scholar from Japan, undertaking postgraduate studies in peace and conflict resolution at the University of NSW
August 2022
  • Support for the Honest Ocean Project, in their quest to combat plastic ocean waste in South East Asia
  • Sponsored 14 year old Isabella to a RYPEN personal development weekend camp
July 2022
  • Supported The Timor Leste Consul-General Luciano Valentin da Conceicao in his fund raising to publish a book on the recent history of his country
  • Sponsored Teams from Sydney Children's and Prince of Wales Hospitals in the City to Surf, with their aim being to provide improved support for the families of indigenous patients
Read more...
Vale Bill Bishop 1922 - 2022
William Bishop, known to former members as Bill, passed away on 2nd September, after having celebrated his 100th birthday earlier this year, on 9 January.
 
Bill was a long time member of the Rotary Club of Randwick, serving as President in 1978/79.  He was a regular attender at our meetings until several years ago.
 
Born in Randwick, he contracted Polio when aged 10 and spent the next 18 months in a full-body plaster cast.  He was fortunate to recover well after intensive rehabilitation.  His resultant enthusiasm for life has since been appreciated by his many friends and family.
 
Read more...
Fiji Holiday
 
  •  5 nights in an air-conditioned room overlooking the ocean.
  •  Full cooked breakfasts, lunches and two course dinners (drinks not included).
  •  Ground transfers to and from the airport.
  •  Rainbow Reef snorkelling experience.
  •  Tropical garden tour.
Plus USD$1000 cash toward travel or spend as you wish.
Plus bonus two nights at a 5 star hotel at Denarau Island.
 
The prize is valid for 18 months and is transferable to friends (receipt has a gift certificate). And good news! your holiday is carbon offset.
 
To purchase tickets and support the projects of the Rotary Club of Botany Randwick, see https://itstime.org/rc-botanyrandwick
Rotary Information 
Rotary Statement on recent Polio detections

The recent detection of the vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 case in New York, USA, and isolates in several environmental samples collected in London are stark reminders that as long as polio exists anywhere, it is a threat everywhere. It also highlights the importance of vaccination as the only form of protection against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases and the work that needs to be done in our communities to encourage the uptake of vaccines. Also, as the world gets closer to zero wild poliovirus cases, it is increasingly important to track all forms of the virus wherever they may appear, including in polio-free regions.

The best things countries can do to protect themselves from polio until the disease is eradicated from the world are to: maintain high vaccination coverage and robust disease surveillance and be ready to respond in the event of an outbreak to minimize the risk and consequences of polio re-introduction or re-emergence anywhere.

The world currently has a unique opportunity to stop virus transmission for good. Still, all parties, including donors and country governments, must re-commit to polio eradication by fully supporting the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) 2022-2026 strategy. This focuses on adopting an emergency posture while generating greater accountability and ownership from country governments to eradicate wild polio and end variant poliovirus (cVDPV) outbreaks.

Rotary, a global service organization with over 1.4 million members, has been at the center of the worldwide effort to eradicate polio for over three decades. Every year, through our funding partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary commits $150 million to the global effort to eradicate polio. We have contributed more than $2.6 billion and countless volunteer hours to end polio forever. Together with our partners, we engage communities everywhere to encourage high vaccination rates, immunizing over 400 million children annually. More than 20 million people are walking today who otherwise would have been paralyzed because of our efforts and those of our partners in the GPEI.

The time for urgent action is now. A new vaccine has been deployed – novel oral polio vaccine 2 (nOPV2) – which is more genetically stable to stop outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus effectively. With sustained political and financial commitments, the GPEI is confident that we can achieve a world in which no child is paralysed by polio again.

The Four Way Test
 
The Four-Way Test is a non-partisan, non-sectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships.  
 
Of the things we think, say or do:
  1. Is it the TRUTH?
  2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
  3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
  4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
To contact the Club, please email info@botanyrandwickrotary.org.au