Another great meeting last week with a presentation from our Honorary Member, Jennifer Star PHF, founder of Tara.Ed, being the highlight.  This was particularly pleasant for me as I have heard so much about the wonderful work of this great young lady but had never had the opportunity to meet her in person.  I was not disappointed I assure you.
 
Over the 10 years that the Club has worked with her on her projects in India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan she has achieved so much with very limited funding – including engaging with over 18,000 students and a multitude of local teachers.  She works roughly along the lines of the “learning to fish” principle, don’t just go and help the kids but instead guide the local teachers on how to educate their students better.  Jennifer has plans for new programs in new countries and it is obvious that her new son, Sebastian, is hardly going to slow her down.  I hope we will be able to continue to assist this Bowral High graduate achieve her dreams well into the future.
It was also an unusual meeting in that our members were outnumbered by the visitors.  Not only did Jennifer’s parents and infant son attend, but there were also a number of people there who had been associated with Tara.Ed over the years, some of whom had travelled to the Asian continent with her a number of times.  No wonder she achieved recognition as NSW Young Australian of the Year in 2012.  Go Jennifer!
 
The rest of the meeting was somewhat colourless by comparison.  However, we did get the opportunity to thank Ian at the Bowlo for his catering services over the year, and to celebrate our last meeting there for the calendar year by breaking Christmas crackers and hacking into a delightfully sinful chocolate cake to mark the occasion.