My report for this edition is very brief. Thank you to Janice Hall, our District Governor, Jeremy Wright, Past District Governor, Vimla Hayman, Assistant District Governor and District Membership Chair Renga, for attending our cocktail party last Wednesday.
We welcomed and thanked Rotarians Danco Munoz Lezana, all the way from Chile, together with Ken Patteson, Warwick Nelson, Phillip Paraggio, David Thompson, Ray Aitken and Mark Swain for transferring to our club and for the positive impact and contributions they are making.
We inducted, congratulated and welcomed two new Rotarians: - Simon Van Wyk and Samantha Spanos.
It was a great night!
At our next meeting on Wednesday 12 October we will hear from Richard Woodburn about ROMAC – Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children, an amazing Rotary initiative enabling major surgery, such as open heart, not available to them in their own country, for children in the Pacific Region, rebuilding young lives.
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.
Our last meeting, on 28 September, saw a great roll up of over thirty members, partners and visitors enjoy a convivial social get together.
As President Christine has reported in her column, there were a few formalities, all very pleasant ones, with the welcoming of six Rotarians transferring from other Clubs, including Danco, all the way from Chile.
President Christine was assisted by District Governor Janice Hall in inducting two new Rotarians to the Club - Samantha Spanos and Simon Van Wyk - a big welcome to you both.
Past District Governor Jeremy Wright AM was also in attendance and presented Rotary International "Avenues of Service" certificates to three of our members:
Peter Hamer, for international service, particularly overseas aid projects
Greg Lill, for community service, involving multiple projects over many years
Richard Woodburn, for international service, particularly Rotary Overseas Medical Aid for Children
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.
New member Simon Van Wyk decided that he would support the Club's fundraising activities by volunteering as a marshal at the recent Blackmore's sponsored City of Sydney Marathon - here is his story ...
I volunteered for the City of Sydney Marathon. I did it mainly because the sponsor Blackmores was paying $70 per volunteer and I thought that was money for jam. For those that might be interested it’s easy. Apart from having to turn up early, which meant I had a nice early morning bike ride I had a good time. You get fed and watered and sent to your zone. There are very few instructions apart from "don’t be stupid". There are few instructions because there is very little to do. You stand around and basically make sure members of the public don’t ride their bikes across the path of the runners. You get to see the leading runners hurtle past you so fast you get to feel the wind off their bodies. You get to see that twice and it’s spectacular. You get to talk to all manner of interesting people. I had a great time talking to a teacher from Western Australia about the biggest nightmare in teaching - it’s the modern day parent. Anyway, as a way to earn money easily it’s definitely worthwhile.
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
Rotary members believe that we have a shared responsibility to take action on our world’s most persistent issues. Our 46,000+ clubs work together to:
Promote peace
Fight disease
Provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
Save mothers and children
Support education
Grow local economies
Protect the environment
Our mission
We provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.
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:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
To contact the Club, please email info@botanyrandwickrotary.org.au
As President Christine has reported in her column, there were a few formalities, all very pleasant ones, with the welcoming of six Rotarians transferring from other Clubs, including Danco, all the way from Chile.
Past District Governor Jeremy Wright AM was also in attendance and presented Rotary International "Avenues of Service" certificates to three of our members:
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.