We continue our glimpses of our past projects for the information of newer members - and as a trip down “Memory Lane” for the others.
This week we feature Past President Anne Scott and her report on our Zambia projects.
At the end of the last century, the Rotary Club of Hawthorn was involved in Matching Grant projects in Zambia.
Formally Northern Rhodesia – Zambia is a land locked country boarded by 8 other countries – Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. A former British Colony it gained independence in 1964 and its main source of wealth has been copper. Then the country was suffering from a very long drought, rural poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
In 2000 RC of Hawthorn in conjunction with the RC of Lusaka Central supported a 2-year ‘Skills Training’ in tailoring and chicken rearing.
On my first visit to the Project I met some of the graduates of the tailoring school wearing their very well made graduation dresses and they were setting up their own businesses in the market place.. Each person received a treadle machine and scissors etc and some seeding capital for material from Rotary that they would repay over time.
The chicken rearers were cleaning and sterilising the sheds waiting for the next delivery of day old chicks and the project has expanded to include laying hens. Of the 30 young people who started this project 25 completed the course, 2 having pulled out and 3 dying of AIDS.
Most of the children in the rural areas did not receive any education and this was a top priority for Jennifer Chiwela who started the NGO PAF.
What schooling there was was a blackboard propped against a tree or a few planks on bricks for the kids to sit on. With the support from local schools in Melbourne and our community we sent the first of the 7 containers with exercise books, school desks and uniforms etc.
Because of these trainings a community hall has been built with aid money from the United Church of Canada and I had the honour of opening this hall in the presence of several tribal headmen with many speeches, music and handshaking. The support from Rotary was spoken about many times and the brass plaque that the RC of Hawthorn organised was proudly nailed to the wall. The hall was not complete as the power had not been connected or furniture bought but the facilities provided skills training, education and health support for the villages. Many items from the container have been allocated for this area. We later sent mattresses to the hall so that those at trainings had somewhere to sleep other that the dirt floor.
The next project was the Water and Sanitation project. The village water supply was a well surrounded by a car tyre with a contained on the end of a string to fetch the water with the surrounding area fouled by the livestock also looking for water so we supplied bores and pumps and also trained toilet makers (one lady proudly told me she had made 17 toilets!). The project was to train pump menders for the bores and to construct hygienic toilets. The clinic was a desperate place where the patients lay on wire framed beds some without mattresses and their food supplied by relatives cooking in a nearby hut over charcoal burners with no running water available. We noted that this building and that of the community centre had iron roofs where all other roofing was of thatch. This would make them ideal for water tanks – a concept that the Zambians had no idea of.
As the number of little schools increased the was a need for a vehicle for PAF staff to visit and we had the support of Balwyn Rotary on procuring one from South Africa.
The goods in the container have been allocated to the various areas and the project manager in Nega Nega who often walks 20km a day visiting the villages was very excited at the prospect of having a bike to assist him in his work!
From the reception we received wherever we went and the appreciation for the support that these projects have given in helping the people to generate income or have better health and education we can confidently say that Rotary is making a difference.
GIRL GUIDES AND GIRL SCOUTS
Anne’s passion of course is for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
When Her Majesty Queen Azizah of Malaysia (then as Princess Azizah) visited Melbourne a few years ago, Anne Scott organised a lunch for her at the Melbourne Town Hall. On a personal level Her Majesty Queen Azizah combines her own desire for action with very active promotion of the cause - giving both her time and her support unstintingly to Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting. She is very active in their “Child not Bride” project,and it is now illegal for girls to be married under 18 in Malaysia
Our photo shows Princess Azizah of Malaysia and Anne Scott, flanked by then Hawthorn Rotary President Ngaire Cannon and our exchange student from Denmark, Anemone Kirk.
Our District Magazine, “The Networker” recently featured Anne Scott’s contribution to Girl Guiding and improving the lives of women. We commend it to you.
https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/stories/anne-scott-oam-improving-the-lives-of-women/
In 1987, Anne received recognition for services to the Girl Guides with a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). She received Rotary International’s highest honour the ‘Service Above Self’ award at the District Conference in Hobart in 2015. Anne was also acknowledged for her work locally with the City of Boroondara Citizen of the Year in 2005.
ROTARY SERVICE ABOVE SELF AWARD - The purpose of this award is to recognise those individual Rotarians who have demonstrated exemplary humanitarian service, in any form and at any level, with emphasis on personal volunteer efforts and active involvement in helping others through Rotary. This is Rotary International's highest honour for individual Rotarians. A maximum of 150 recipients world wide may be selected each year.