I am sorry that there is no cheesy photo from our meeting of the 8th May – not only because our photographer is off sick, but also because our guest speaker, Club Secretary John Macpherson, and I are questionably photogenic. In the interests of time, John gave us an abridged version of his usual RAM presentation which was still very interesting – even for those of us who have been around Rotary for a while. Here are some of the highlights:
The main areas of engagement are PNG, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste, with a relatively recent thrust into Indonesia;
75% of the effort has been in the PNG where incidence has been reduced by 75% to date;
Timor Leste administration is particularly helpful and looks like beating their target of complete eradication by 2024;
Solomon Islands is running a Healthy Villages program where a small amount of money is allocated to provide wheelbarrows and tools to remove ponded water sites;
RAM has sponsored a PhD student to work in the Solomons, and this student has developed a Vector Control program wherein the mosquitoes’ regular routes are identified and treated nets are erected to eradicate them as they move around;
The Australian Army Medical research Unit has been a World leader in the malaria field;
RAM also works with a number of universities on a variety of research programs
Is the complete eradication of malaria the next big win for Rotary after polio?
Our meeting of the 15th May saw Frank Rodrigues revealing to us one of his passions – flying! He regaled us with a video presentation showing his performance in a series of dog fights with a rival high-performance light plane. The constant loops and rolls (with the odd stall thrown in for good measure) made us all quite dizzy. Frank indicated that the effect on him was quite marked as the induced gravity was up to 4Gs. Not something to be attempted lightly.
Frank also gave us a lesson on the various terms that are specific to such sharp manoeuvres and also talked about his experience in the flight simulator in landing at some of the world’s most challenging airports
Berrima Marketplace Playground Upgrade
Whoopee! We are on the verge of finalising the Marketplace Master Plan. There is still some debate as to whether a DA is required, mainly because of the heritage issues involved in a Berrima location. However, a heritage assessment suggests that all of the heritage impacts of the current design are “low” which, if confirmed, would mean that a DA is not required. I also attended a Councillor briefing ahead of the Council Meeting on the 22nd of May at which a presentation was made by the design consultant, Play by Design. The RCBD was publicly recognised for its contribution, and the Mayor invited me to participate actively in the subsequent Q&A session. The mood seemed generally very positive, so fingers crossed. I am sorry I am not able to circulate a copy of the plan before it has been approved by Council for public viewing (and the files may be too big to send electronically anyway). However, I can assure you it is looking good, with some really appropriate equipment in the mix for those with disabilities – one of which has been specially designed for this project and will be its first installation in Australia.
Southern Highlands Botanical Gardens
Chris Webb has been able to give us some preliminary results of their big Open Day and Plant Fair. He estimates over 3,500 people visited all sites over the weekend, of which nearly half were to the Plant Fair at the Gardens. As a result, they look like raising nearly $100,000 for future works. Our share for providing BBQ services looks like being around $500.
Youth Working for Youth Soiree – Ladies in Black
Our regular Youth Working for Youth social soiree will take place on Friday, 14th June. We will, with the assistance of our NYSF participant, Skye Holmwood, be serving refreshments at the interval of this Friday performance of Ladies in Black at the Mittagong Playhouse. Tickets are selling fast and your attendance and assistance would be greatly appreciated. Skye has been chosen to represent Australia at the 2019 Youth Science Seminar in Singapore. Some of the proceeds from our Youth Working for Youth soiree this quarter will go to helping Skye raise funds for her travel expenses. Your ticket price of $40 for this performance will include canapes and refreshments at interval, enthusiastically served by the Rotary Club of Berrima District. We are very proud of Skye and wish to thank the Highlands Theatre Group for their assistance in this fundraiser. Tickets are available through Trybooking at: www.trybooking.com/ZNWS and don’t forget to choose the Friday the 14th performance.
2019 RCBD Changeover Dinner
One of the highlights of our Rotary year is fast approaching, and Geri Gardiner and I are getting our act together. We have settled on a date that fits in with our President Elect’s busy overseas travel schedule over the next couple of months – so please put Wednesday the 26th of June in your diaries. We have decided to hold it at the Scottish Arms, East Bowral, with a selection of main courses for your delectation, as well as a welcome drink and some nibbles - all for the princely sum of $40 a head. To book, please click on the link below. You will note when you book that we would appreciate it if you could select a meal choice for each person if you can to make the chef’s job a bit easier – but this is not compulsory. Friends and family would be welcome to join us for this event.
On another note, could all Directors please start drafting their annual reports so I don’t have to chase you too hard in the final days.
Children’s Emergency Medical Fund
In case you are not aware, this fund has been set up at the District level to offer support to needy families with sick children. It is administered by the partner of the District Governor, or his or her nominee, and is funded by donations from Clubs in the District. Our Club usually holds a raffle at the Changeover Dinner with the proceeds going to the fund. It has apparently not had many calls for assistance recently, and it is looking for potential candidates. It is available to any family in our area where there is financial difficulty because of a child’s illness. This could just be things like the need to register the car in order to transport a sick child to specialist treatment, or because the family finances are unable to accommodate a particular type of treatment. If you know of any family where you think there may be such a problem, please contact me on whitederekd@gmail.com and I will convey the situation to District.
International
Eight brand-new glucometers and 14 boxes of test strips were donated to MAFO by a northern NSW hospital. We have passed them on to the Rotary Club of Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast, where International Aid Director, Del Cole, will include them in the next shipment to her Madang project in Papua New Guinea. The supplies will be a boon to the local Modilon Hospital, which suffers from serious financial constraints, and to a country that has a high prevalence of diabetes.
Unpacking a container of supplies in the grounds of Modilon Hospital, Madang PNG, shipped from Australia.
Where’s Wally Car Rally
I regret to advise that the plethora of enticing activities in the Highlands has made it difficult for people to choose which one to attend. As a result, the numbers of starters for this event have been a bit lower than we had hoped for. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to put it on hold once again. We WON'T give UP - so keep your Wally gear and we shall try again….
Wingecarribee Vocal Muster
Our long time friend of the Club, Richard Lane, and Frank Rodrigues have been hard at work preparing for a big event in the Southern Highlands on the 6th of June at the Gibraltar Hotel (see flyer below). Richard has provided a special discount price for RBCD members and their partners if we can put together a table of 10. If anyone is interested in attending, please let either Frank, Lyndall or I know as soon as you can. Please don’t make any individual bookings until we see if we can put a party together.
Possible Peddlers Market at Bong Bong Racecourse in September
I am pleased to report that there has been further progress on this possible fundraiser. Bridget Cosyn has done a great job so far in setting things in train, and she will now be able to put her mind to getting any necessary approvals in place. This will apparently include the need to obtain Development Approval from Council, so we hope there will be sufficient lead time to meet our target date. Once we have more of the detail sorted out, we will be updating you on progress over the next couple of months. Watch this space!
NEXT WEEK'S MEETING
The 29th May is the 5th Wednesday of the month and is usually reserved for our Youth Working For Youth fundraising activities. There will be no meeting on this date in lieu of the LADIES IN BLACK fundraising event on the 14th Jun.
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