Notes from the President

We had another interesting night at the Canterbury Neighbourhood Centre.  Our speaker, Samantha Clarke, is an ambassador for Mercy Ships Australia. These are ships that travel the world providing medical care for areas of conflict or poverty. They often sit around the sub-Saharan coastlines and provide amazing life changing treatment for thousands but unfortunately this is only a small proportion of those seeking treatment. They are financed by wealthy donors including Bill Gates, but also smaller donors are welcome. I asked Samantha what we could do, as we are not a wealthy club, and what she wants is to get information about Mercy Ships and its invaluable medical support out into the community. If you want any more information, there is a free to air TV series about Mercy Ships.

John McCaskill was able to give us more information about the wonderful trivia night that was held last Monday. Just over 100 people attended and the event made a profit of $2500. It was incredibly successful and a testament to John’s determination.

I also introduced Adam Jecny, our Rotary exchange student from the Czech Republic. He is a student at Scotch in year 11, talented in the sports arena and gave a short presentation to the club about himself. I think he will have an amazing year at the school and with the members of the club.

An important event took place on Sunday – the selection of the four orthoptic students to go to The Philippines for our medical mission. We interviewed six female students who all had glowing references and presented well and therefore it was a difficult decision. It is important that the students chosen not only have good academic knowledge of orthoptics but are also socially adaptable, are able to mix well with the members of our Rotary team and also deal with the many patients we attend to. We are sorry that we are not able to take all applicants and that two students missed out.  Below is a photo of our team who selected the orthoptic students.

All club members need to remember our film night on 17th August. It should be a fun film which is probably what we need in the midst of winter in an uncertain world. There is a flyer for the film in this bulletin and tickets can be booked through Humantix. Please remember that seats are restricted so please book early.

I also need several more cooks to help on 19 August and would be grateful if you could let me know if you are interested in attending for a morning of fellowship and food. The kitchen is in Denham Road, Hawthorn, and I’ll give more details next week. 

The other good news I had to give was that the birthing kits are on their way to the Democratic Republic of Congo this very moment!

Next week, we will have another meeting back at CNC and I’ll look forward to joining you. 

Cheers, 

Jillian