Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 22 March 2023 at the Graphic Arts Club.
Please advise if you will be attending to info@botanyrandwickrotary@gmail.com
President's Message
Welcome to this Newsletter of the Rotary Club of Botany Randwick Inc.
Our club has been serving the local and international community since 1948. It is part of Rotary International - a worldwide organisation of more than 1.2 million business, professional and community leaders whose members provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. As signified by the motto "Service above Self", Rotary's main objective is service - in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.
Rotary promotes the ideal of service through fellowship. Attending our meetings allows members to enjoy the fellowship of other club members, enrich their professional and personal knowledge, and meet other business leaders in their community.
As a Club we are fortunate in have a steady source of income from our collection bins at Sydney Airport, allowing us to support a wide range of local and international projects. We are particularly focused on the Rotary projects, Australian Rotary Health, Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) and Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) as well as The Rotary Foundation.
All are very welcome to any of our meetings in 2023.
The Guest Speakers at our meeting on 22 March 2023 will be Dan Wolody and Loredana Fyffe.
Dan is President of the Ukrainian Council of NSW and Treasurer of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations. He will be speaking about the war in Ukraine, the 1000s of people displaced to Australia, and the work he has led to support them.
Loredana is the CEO of Sydney Community Foundation and its subsidiary benevolent charity, Be Kind Sydney. She will share about Be Kind Sydney’s partnership with the Ukrainian Council of NSW that has provided critical support to Ukrainian women and families arriving in Sydney.
Our last meeting
Our guest speaker, Dr Keith Suter AM spoke about World Affairs Today.
Rotarians and guests enjoyed this talk immensely with his rich knowledge of world political history and using this knowledge to possibly foresee how the war in the Ukraine may play out.
Other world topics he spoke about included Chinese and American relations, climate change and its effect on being able to mine recourses currently impossible to access, climate change and its affect in food production, population and age demographics in countries such as China, Africa and Europe.
Question time went over which is a great indication of an interesting presentation.
We also welcomed a number of “friends of Rotary” and three members from neighbouring Rotary clubs.
Proudly Partnered with Sydney Airports Corporation
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.
The Rotary Club of Botany Randwick recently renewed its long-standing arrangement with Australian Rotary Health to provide an Indigenous Health Scholarship in 2023.
Through the Indigenous Health Scholarships, Australian Rotary Health is supporting the next generation of Indigenous health care providers to achieve an education that will help them assist their communities.
Each student enrolled in the program is provided with a $5,000 scholarship. The Indigenous Health Scholarship program is a collaborative project between Australian Rotary Health, participating Rotary Clubs, and the State and Commonwealth Governments.
For the past two years our Club has supported Tracie Lane, who has now completed a Bachelor of Nursing at Deakin University. To read Tracie's story, see https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/tracie-lane/
We look forward to hearing who our 2023 Scholar will be.
It is with deep regret that we advise of the passing of our member Past President Ray Atkin.
Ray is remembered as a successful and respected business and family man whose career spanned the automotive, property and investment industries and, for the past 30 years, art dealership and galleries. He joined the Rotary Club of Kings Cross in 1997, before transferring to Botany-Randwick in 2022, during which he served as President for multiple terms and as Director for many more. Ray embraced Rotary's ideals and values, especially the commitment to service. As was his nature, he was always prepared to provide help where needed and never shied from life's challenges.
We send our deepest condolences to Maria and the family. Vale Ray Aitken, a true gentleman.
Baby Melenaite was born with a large teratoma, a mass of tissue and blood vessels, on her lower back.
Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) arranged for her and her mum Michelle to fly to Canberra, where the 2.5kg tumour was removed. Unfortunately, some remnants remained and she was transferred to the Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick for further treatment. They have been living at Ronald McDonald House and members of our Club have been supporting them during their stay.
On 2 March Melenaite underwent 5 hours of surgery. Firstly an operation by Urologist Dr Sarah Guitronich to address the kidney issue. Then followed a 4-hour operation by Neurologist Dr Saeed Kohan to excise the remaining teratoma.
At this time, both doctors are very pleased with the outcome of the operations. After two week in hospital Melenaite, with her mum Michelle, are now back at Ronald McDonald House, adjacent to the hospital, pending check-ups with the doctors during the coming week.
When the Rotary world arrives in Australia for the 2023 Rotary International Convention, between 27-31 May, our vibrant country will be in the spotlight. This is a rare chance to be an ambassador for Rotary in Australia and for the warm, welcoming host city of Melbourne, so register today!
The convention promises to be an inspirational event, with distinguished speakers, energizing breakout sessions, and abundant opportunities to brainstorm ideas for ‘Doing Good in the World’ with Rotary and Rotaract members from around the globe.
Join us in Melbourne to Imagine What’s Next as we form and strengthen connections and learn from one another.
Register now and encourage your friends to do the same.
Very pertinant to our guest speakers on 22 March is Rotary support for the people of Ukraine.
As the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approached, Rotary magazine’s Wen Huang went on a personal trip to Europe, where he witnesses the resilience of the Ukrainian people and the wide reach of Rotary’s global network. Huang crossed the border from Poland to Ukraine and has reported back on Rotary's contribution to alleviating the pain and distress of the people of Ukraine.