Happy New (Rotary) Year! And just as July is a time of renewal and regrouping for Rotary, so it is for Chiang Mai. The pleasant Green Season is in full swing and the average high/median/low temperatures are starting to drop, along with our air conditioning bills. Friends who fled the scene to avoid the hot/smokey season are returning and there is an air of rebirth around. It's evident in the start of the school year and our youth-based community service projects. Take some time to read about them, below. You can better view each story by clicking on the story's title where you'll be taken to the story on our website, displayed in a full-page, easy-to-view format.
Out-going President John Schorr is currently on holiday in the USA and so I am writing, what should be, his last bulletin message. On Saturday, 29 June, we held the District Installation Dinner and I am now the official President and am looking forward to the next 12 months. I'm pictured, below far left, with the other incoming club presidents for the city.
When I joined Rotary in 1985 women were not allowed to become members. They could assist the club if they joined an organisation called the “Inner Wheel”, open to the wives of Rotarians.
Can you imagine such a thing happening now in the 21st century? I know our club would not as lively as it is were it not for the female members.
One such member is Aree Shettlesworth, the wife of one of our members. Recently she presented her husband with a beautiful baby girl and presented us with a problem. Aree is a tremendous supporter of all we do in Rotary. She is undertaking a major project relating to the health of mothers and babies in the North of Thailand. We were very concerned that the new baby would cause her to spend her time at home rather than pursuing her Rotary career.
In the last five years Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC) has proved itself to be a highly innovative Rotary club. I believe we have proved this once again in solving the problem of Aree and her baby. We already have associated Interact and Rotaract clubs and thought we might start a Babyract club. Then we had a better idea. In this 21st century many organisations provide baby-care during their workday or meetings. Why should we not do the same? We now encourage mothers to bring their babies to our meetings and we will solve any problems that this causes when we know whether there are any problems or not. We cannot foresee any with Aree’s baby because every member, like Rotarian Maliwan, right, has fallen in love with her anyway.
Because we are an international club, and the only one that conducts its business in English in the North of Thailand, we meet many Rotarians from all over the globe who come to visit our meetings. Sadly, many of them cannot make our meetings as they are in Chiang Mai for such a short time and such was the case with Doctor Kirill and his fiancé Sophia Ali from Dover, Delaware. Luckily, our secretary Jerry Nelson and I managed to meet up with them at our new venue, the Royal Peninsula Hotel, where we had an enjoyable and fruitful discussion and exchange of banners.
This month was also a special month for us. For several years we have been delighted to host the Whim’n Rhythm women's senior honor a cappella group from Yale University. Every year we have enjoyed their performance and this year was no exception. They are wonderful! What made this performance different was that it made a good profit, swelling our charitable fund, which is the first year it has done so. Why did we succeed this year? Because we used our new venue which is ideal for us and the renowned organisational skills of Nancy Lindley.
Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC)-Kru Payu and Safe Child Thailand Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program
June has been a busy month for the CMIRC Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program (CWSDPP). All of our very generous donors’ funds were used in many parts of Thailand helping Thai children learn survival swimming and water safety.
John Schorr, the chair of the program also learned that his proposal for an oral presentation entitled: "Using Service Organizations and NGOs to Develop and Promote Children's Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Programs in Thailand: A Practical Guide for Poor and Middle-Income Countries"was accepted for presentation at the World Conference for Drowning Prevention sponsored by the International Lifesaving Society and the World Health Organization in Durban, South Africa, October 8-10, 2019. John will be in South Africa spreading the word about our program and hopefully getting additional international sponsors.
Australian Direct Aid Program Grant
In June our Australian Aid-funded CWSDP program in Phrao started its 4th and 5th swim course of the year. The fourth course ran from June 10 to June 21, and the fifth course is running from June 24 to July 5. We continue to work with 4th and 5th grade students at the Ban Chaeng Khu Ruang School (ร.ร.บ้านแจ่งกู่เรือง).
We continue to work with Evelind Schecter and Khun Nian, who are our local CWSDPP representatives in Phrao (students pictured right). Evelind is co-founder, with Michael Shafer, of the Warm Heart Foundation.
We are now actively planning another course for the BanYa Learning Centre for migrant children in Phuket in August. We will continue to work with the wonderful staff and administration at the British International School to teach the thirty children who were unable to complete the course the first time it was offered earlier this year.
Phetchabun
We have trained the instructors in LomSak and in Muang Phetchabun and conducted courses in both cities for 4th grade children. The programs were coordinated and co-sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lom Sak and the Rotary Club of Phetchabun Muang. These courses were assessed on June 27 and 28 by Kru Moo and Kru Pong, our expert evaluators based in Chiang Mai. We will soon have these assessments and will begin planning the next series of courses. Results will be included in the next Bulletin.
Patong Beach
The Rotary Club of Patong Beach (RCoPB) Larry Amsden Swim Safe Programme, under the leadership of program chair, Johan Storck, will continue the program with the Ban Sai Nam Yen School this year, with approximately one hundred 4th graders. We are also planning a special swim teacher training program for September 12 to 16, when Eve Fraser and her trainer-volunteers from the Oz Swim Aquatics/Global Swim Aquatics will provide Australian Swim Coaches and Teachers Association international certification-level courses for our Larry Amsden Swim Safe Programme team in Patong Beach and for local municipality employees as well. Lead teacher Gob and RCoPB President Karen are also actively involved in the planning.
Using funds generously donated by the British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy, we are planning to start swim programs for the 4th-graders at the Ban Chaeng Khu Ruang School (ร.ร.บ้านแจ่งกู่เรือง) in August and teach all 140 4th graders there from August to November. We will also organize a course for the students living at our partner organization, the Warm Heart Foundation. We hope to have the Phrao program assume the same annually fully-funded status as our Chiang Mai Municipal School Program.
Chiang Mai, CMIRC-Sponsored Program
Courses for the 2019-2020 Rotary Year have already started with thirty 4th-grade students from the Wat Chiang Yuen Municipal School. This year we will again teach all 4th grade students at all eleven municipal schools in Chiang Mai. We were very happy to see that our partner in this project, Bronco Kids Sports Club, has opened a new pool (right) to accommodate our students. Kru Payu of Kru Payu Swim, the organization that provides our swim instructors, trainers, and assessors, donated many swim boards and goggles to our program (photo top left). Many thanks to him for his generosity.
Swiss Lanna Society Chiang Mai
Finally, the Swiss Lanna Society will donate the proceeds from their Swiss National Day Event on August 1st to our Children’s Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program in Chiang Mai. This is a wonderful event, with food, music, and entertainment. All are welcome. It will be at the Skill Center Chiang Mai https://goo.gl/maps/ptYaLaB3AY5QxeYj6 and our water safety team will be doing drowning prevention and rescue demonstrations for the children around 4 pm. Contact Eveline Willi for details: SLS President president@swisslanna.com. CMIRC treasurer Nancy has tickets available for sale at 800 baht. treasurer@cmirotary.org
June has been exciting at the Burma Children Medical Fund's B.K. Kee Patient House with much activity. Every week has seen something new.
We had quite a turnover of patients and caregivers throughout the month and among other patients returning to Mae Sot was a 72 year old patient and his wife (pictured, right) who had been at the house for nearly three months. It was a tearful parting that mixed joy at his return home with sadness at his leaving us.
He was not alone. A 15-year-old young man with urinary problems went home, along with some heart patients, a child with a brain tumor and others. That doesn’t mean the house was empty; there are always new patients, usually accompanied by a family member as caregiver.
On Wednesday June 5th we had a special treat with the visit of twenty-three students from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Rotaract Club. You will see in other stories in this bulletin just how helpful the students were on our many projects. That was very true of their visit to B.K. Kee patient house. The goal of the day was to paint several patient rooms and the outside of the kitchen that had paint flaking off and badly needed a new coat.
We had twenty-three brand new painters, most of whom had never held a brush, so we divided into four teams and we were good to go, with a "guide" for each team. It could have been total chaos if I were the only one guiding but fortunately, I wasn’t. I want to thank Rotarian Mike Lake and BEAM students Saing Sint and Mwe Kham for helping to guide groups of the students in the bedrooms. I really appreciate the help of Payap University Rotaract President Dylan Scott Low (standing, at left with his team from HKUST) who dived right in on the kitchen wall, first with a scraper, then with a brush to demonstrate to the HKUST students proper wall preparation and painting. He worked very hard all day without pause.
We had a great lunch with several Thai dishes for the students, staff, patients and volunteers to enjoy. A few of the spicier dishes like som tam were not very popular but, as always, everyone enjoyed the pad thai and, of course, rice on the side. Many thanks to the staff at the house, Klao Wongsingsak and Mii Aye for coordinating the food and getting everybody happily fed.
And at the end of the day we had a great group roundup before heading back to Chiang Mai! The end results: One kitchen exterior with a new coat of paint over exterior primer; five bedrooms painted with three adjoining bathrooms; two additional rooms partially painted and more than a few students covered in paint. (Oh, and one project champion painted, also). Smiles all around and clients with just a little bit nicer place!
One of the other projects that BCMF supports is what they call the “Stationary Project”, that provides school supplies for hundreds of poor students on both sides of the Myanmar border. BCMF Patient Liaison Coordinator Ma Myai (left), who normally works in Mae Sot, was at the house for several weeks during June. During that time, she guided several of the residents in sewing and painting hundreds of pencil bags for the project. During our Sunday visits, Mwe Kham and Saing Sint plunged right in and helped with the painting. I tried one day; I finished one side of two bags. During the same time others were completing both sides of four to six bags.
And this brings me to the next topic and a special-to-me pencil bag, pictured at the beginning of this story, top left. When you read this, I will have returned to my home in Portland, Oregon after two and a half years in Chiang Mai. I greatly regret that for personal reasons I must go back and, although I hope to return to Chaing Mai, I don’t see a way right now. One of the greatest joys of my life has been being of service to these wonderful people and during our regular visit on Sunday June 23rd I was surprised when the residents and staff had a going away party for me. I was greeted with a banner saying goodbye, a framed picture from the HKUST event, a tee shirt, a wonderful card and the special pencil bag. They had also made us quite a feast! Mi Aye made a traditional Burmese fish stew, "Mo Hin Kha" for my going away party. It was served with "kanom jin" (white rice noodles). CMIRC contributed watermelon, mangoes, and mangosteens. Later I was presented a Karen shoulder bag by Klao who was unable to attend the lunch.
Throughout the meal and our visit I had a new fan. The very feisty 2 year old girl (right) kept running over to me for a hug and wanted to be picked up. She has a wandering eye problem and is in Chaing Mai for diagnosis and treatment.
It makes it very difficult to leave. Mike Lake, who has been a staple at the house for much longer than I have been, is unfortunately also leaving the Chiang Mai area and I had been concerned who would be champion. Please welcome Maliwan Kaew Amphai as the new CMIRC champion for the house. Maliwan will help carry on the traditions of training English and talking with the patients, playing games and with the help of other volunteers continue the Sunday visits. Also, being a Thai person, she will be able to help the patients learn basic Thai along with her helpers Saing Sint and Mwe Kham.
Our Mae Tao Clinic efforts for June 2019 featured attendance at the 30th Anniversary celebration, launching our 100,000 baht in 100 days special fundraising campaign and initial preparation for our July 2019 tour. See the paragraphs below:
30th Anniversary: It was a pleasure to be among the 1,000+ people who attended the Mae Tao Clinic 30th Anniversary celebration on 22 June. While there were many speeches from dignitaries all commending the Mae Tao Clinic for their great work, I was most impressed with a woman who urged us all to continue to support the clinic in these challenging times. In a posting in late May 2019, the clinic mentioned that around 1.78 million people received medical consultations and 75,000 babies were born at Mae Tao Clinic in the past 30 years. Every year over 2,000 children are provided education and protection. Mae Tao Clinic would like to say "thank you" for helping to realize thirty years of much-needed services. Regardless of your continuous support, our work is not yet done. Please continue your generous support.
Dr. Cynthia, the founder of MTC, took the opportunity to recognize her staff, without whom the successes would not have been possible. While I was familiar with many of those she recognized, I was particularly happy to see Naw Goldrain (the amazing pre-GED teacher), Nway Nway Oo (the Child Protection manager) and Naw Annie H (Clinic Operations Manager) recognized. All are more than deserving! Mae Tao Staff recognition
"100,000 in 100" Campaign: The Child Protection Department and Child Development Center at Mae Tao Clinic urgently need our help with funding. Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC) wants to raise at least 100,000 THB ($3,250 USD) in 100 days. (31 May – 10 August 2019) The first announcements were unavoidably delayed. Although we are now behind schedule, I am confident that, with your help, this campaign will be a great success. Of course, all donors will be sent the results of our combined effort.
You can read their appeal and get a better understanding of their situation here: https://maetaoclinic.org/
The proceeds from this campaign will go the Mae Tao Clinic Child Protection Department and Child Development Center where they will provide food, pay for birth registration, fund child protection training and monitor and improve student health through the school health program. Money is desperately needed and will be well spent. (Some of the children we serve are pictured)
2. Make a bank transfer to the Bangkok Bank account used by CMIRC, held in the name of the club treasurer and past president (since local banking regulations don't permit a "club" to have an account in the club name). Name of account: Mrs. Nancy Long Lindley and Mr. John Keatley Schorr, Account Number: 531-090222-5, Routing Number (for ACH transfers): 026008691 SWIFT code (for wire transfers): BKKBTHBK
3. If you are in Chiang Mai, you can simply hand me the cash and I will make sure it gets routed through CMIRC and given to Mae Tao Clinic.
4. For people who pay income tax in Australia, The United Kingdom, The United States or Japan you may make a tax-deductible contribution to Mae Tao Clinic through one of their partner organizations. See Mae Tao Clinic Donation Page
Please take a moment and send a quick note to mtc@cmirotary.org letting us know where you donated. Also please share this with your kind and generous friends!
July 2019 Tour: CMIRC’s next organized tour is scheduled for 24 – 27 July 2019. (a previous tour group is pictured, left)
In addition to seeing the Mae Tao Clinic campus and the Child Development Center, we are expanding the tour to ensure time to visit the Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rights (CPPCR), The Burma Migrant Teachers' Association and the office of Burma Operations at Mae Tao Clinic. It promises to be two days full of information to satisfy your curiosity about the real situation along the Thai/Myanmar border. Of course, we will also schedule some delightful meals and fellowship along the way. (While I can make suggestions, it’s up to the group to decide which restaurants we frequent). Updates to schedule will be posted at http://cmirotary.org/events/calendar
Assuming we have seven or more people traveling from Chiang Mai, we will rent a van and share the travel expenses. Those of you coming from Bangkok or other areas will have to arrange your own transport to and from Mae Sot.
I will be happy to secure room reservations on everyone’s behalf at the PP Residence at 500 THB per night per room. The rooms are clean, have air-conditioning, refrigerator, and a good hot shower. We typically gather at the PP Residence for group activities, including group dinners and day tours.
Interested in joining us? Please let me (jerry@cmirotary.org) know as soon as possible, time is slipping by and there is some coordination work to be done on your behalf.
Posted by Dylan Low President, William Churchill CMIRC Liaison on Jun 30, 2019
June was an eventful month for the RCPYU as it provided support to its sponsoring Club, attended District training, engaged in its first service project, assisted with the formation of an Interact Club and conducted its year-end meeting. The following highlights are from these activities.
PRIMARY LEVEL ENGLISH INSTRUCTION at St. Andrew’s Community Learning Center; Nina Wanwarin Yensuk, Project Champion
This project actually started in May and continued into June, 12th. RCPYU members participated as well as Rotaract visitors from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). The Community Learning Centre (CLC) at St. Andrew’s Siriaunda School periodically offers primary and secondary level English courses for the children of the surrounding Nong Pa Khrang community. A Facebook messenger group consisting of RCPYU members who expressed interest in volunteer-teaching English to Thai children in the local community was created. After RCPYU received the confirmed teaching dates from Gerry Gan, the St. Andrew’s School contact, they allocated each date to at least one volunteer. Each volunteer was responsible for coming up with their own lesson plans for their teaching dates. Teaching dates were every Monday and Wednesday from 20 May to 12 June, at 5:30pm to 7:30pm. Volunteers took charge of their own individual transportation to and from the venue. To address sustainability issues, RCPYU may explore how the program may be open to volunteers from the general student body of the Payap International College rather than draw only from RCPYU members.
ASSISTED CMIRC with its collaboration with HKUST service visit to Chiang Mai.
President Low and liaison Rotarian Churchill provided assistance which further involved RCPYU members' participation in the HKUST itinerary. RCPYU members engaged with Rotaract Club of HKUST members by greeting at the airport, painting at Burma Children Medical Fund's BK Kee Patient House (below, left), St. Andrew’s teaching, Khantoke dinner at Old Chiang Mai Cultural Center (below, right), whole-day sightseeing trip (10/6), Kad Namor shopping (10/6), Maya and Central Festival shopping trip (11/6). In addition, RCPYU members assisted with arranging transportation, a night market visit, and general social interactions. This endeavor took place over seven days while RCPYU members also continued with their regular academic programs. It is estimated that over forty hours were devoted to these activities in addition to the numerous hours of assisting during CMIRC's planning stage.
ROTARACT TRAINING
With the financial support of CMIRC, Rotaract President Dylan Low and then-Treasurer Diki Sherpa attended the RPETS training in Nakorn Nayok. RCPYU gives specific thanks and gratitude to Santi Chatterjee of District 3350 who not only provided support for RCPYU to attend another District’s training but gave personal assistance to RCPYU attendees as they traveled to and from the training locale. RCPYU has agreed to work with Khun Santi on an upcoming project in Chiang Mai. The two day event at Nakorn Nayok was directed to newly elected Rotaract Presidents and other officers. Knowledge gained from this training was immediately put into practice as RCPYU conducted it first membership meeting.
RCPYU FIRST INDEPENDENT MEMBERSHIP MEETING
The Club conducted its first independent meeting on June 25th with President Dylan Low presiding. Among other agenda items was the election of the new officers and Board members for Rotary Year 2019/2020:
Dylan Low - President
Diki Sherpa - Vice-President 1
Peter Lee - Vice President 2
Wi Wi Waradon - Treasurer
Peter Koi Wongap - Secretary (interim)
Dayton Estes - Secretary (away)
Amy Kim - Public Relations Director 1
Bow Arnprayoon - Public Relations Director 2
Seal Wang - Service Project Director
The specific responsibilities of each position was presented and discussed with the leadership of President Dylan Low. Some specific topics discussed include:
Whether to and the extent of any collaboration with the Rotaract Club of Hong Kong Island East (RACHKIE) in December/January.
The utilization of an online platform to organize projects/activities.
New service projects to be undertaken by RCPYU.
Proposed service projects:
Teaching ethnic minority children in collaboration with a school of Grace Church
Project Champion: Peter Koi Wongap
Collaboration with the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)
Project Champions: Wi Wi Waradon and Darawan Khachonsaklawan
Teaching Collaboration with BEAM Foundation
Project Champion: Dylan Low
Fundraising for Wat Don Chan Orphanage
Project Champion: Nina Yensuk
In addition to the above the Club distributed Club Tees to its Charter members.
Fundraising activities were discussed as well other Club responsibilities of reporting requirements, and District and Thailand Rotaract events.
On note, the RCPYU membership has grown to nineteen (19) members.
INTERACT CLUB PRESENTATION AT PRINCE ROYAL'S COLLEGE
On 27 June, RCPYU President Dylan Low and CMIRC Rotarian Clarence Shettlesworth conducted a leadership engagement and introductory Rotary presentation at the Prince Royal’s College as part of a first step towards establishing an Interact Club at the school. The main topic of the talk was how Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact develop people into leaders who embody the motto of “Service Above Self”. The event was well-received and Clarence and Dylan received tokens of appreciation from the school.
BEAM is the acronym for Bridging Educational Access to Migrants
BEAM Education Foundation (BEAM) (https://beamedu.org/) was founded in January 2010 and is located in Chiang Mai, Thailand. BEAM is a registered non-profit educational foundation. The emergence of BEAM was in response to the rising educational needs of marginalized people, migrants, and refugee youth living in Thailand, most of whom are from Myanmar.
BEAM envisions people-oriented, peaceful, and developed communities in Myanmar and Thailand that can be sustained by empowering local communities through comprehensive and continuous access to education.
CMIRC involvement with BEAM is in two areas. One is a cultural exchange activity where club members and CMIRC friends share other culture experiences with BEAM students and the students share their individual experiences. This is all done in the English language and intended to improve the students' 1) English language listening skills, 2) English language speaking skills, 3) English language writing skills, and 4) their note-taking, analytical and reporting skills.
The second area of involvement is as resources for the students in improving their skills for taking and passing the Social Studies portion of the General Education Development (GED) tests composed of four subject tests (Reasoning Through Language Arts, Mathematical Reasoning, Science and Social Studies.) Passing the four tests provides certification the test taker has United States orCanadianhigh school-level academic skills. As the saying goes – mathematics is mathematics, science is science and English language is English language. But, US social studies is somewhat unique from a perspective of being focused on U.S. History, U.S. Civics and Government, Economics, and U.S. Geography.
Why is passing all portions of the GED important for migrant/refugee young adults? They cannot attend primary or secondary Thai schools and the education centers they can attend are not recognized as qualifying for entry into college and university (here in Thailand and globally). So, the GED is their only path for pursuing a college education, anywhere.
CMIRC involvement in the cultural program is beginning again on 1st of July. In the past we have had four representatives from CMIRC participating: Rotarians Linda, Gary, Roger and Nick. Friend of the club and past member Bob has participated, also. Presently three have indicated they plan to participate: Rotarians Roger and Nick and friend of CMIRC Bob. Presently, Rotarian Nick is out of country for family reasons. We would like to have at least four club members participating and ideally a total of six. At present, we have had to restructure the schedule to match our resources of three people – Nick and Roger and Bob. This permits three classroom sessions per week with a doubling up of students at the last third class of each week. The normal arrangement has been four sessions per week at BEAM with one CMIRC person per day per week.
What is the overall program commitment for the cultural program? The daily session runs from 1:30 PM-3:00 PM, ideally four days per week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. The CMIRC participants develop the daily class materials. The first session runs the weeks of July 1 through August 12 (7 weeks); a four week break, and a session from Sep 9 through Dec 2 (13 weeks). A total of twenty weeks for the program participants. The GED review session will start after the first of the year.
Several CMIRC members have indicated potential interest in participating in the BEAM effort. If interested please contact Rotarian Roger at roger@cmirotary.org. Once Rotarian Nick, who is our coordinator, returns to Chiang Mai please contact Nick at DNdale49@aol.com.
Rotary has designated months to help clubs develop meeting agendas, projects, or public image campaigns based on these special occasions.
The concept is to give clubs a ready reckoner of the types of service projects that could be undertaken during the year and help plan the activities of the year, mostly based on the Rotary calendar i.e. Rotary Designated Months.
The focus for July is for the new leadership of the clubs to develop their plans for the year ahead.
Our friend in Rotary, Richard Allen of the Rotary Club of Gainesville, FL is organizing three trips to Cambodia in conjunction with Sustainable Cambodia. The text of his recent email is below. The 10-day trip is a bargain at less than U.S. $1000 (not including airfare to/from Cambodia), and while it is focused on going off the "tourist route", it does include a city tour of Phnom Penh and a guided tour of Angkor Wat. If you are interested please contact Richard directly at rallen@synogen.com
Dear Rotarians:
We’re sending this message to everyone who has expressed interest in one of the upcoming trips to Cambodia. Please also forward this message along to any friends you think might enjoy this, and Rotarians please consider forwarding this to the members in your club….
We have three trips planned to Cambodia for which you can sign up: Oct 3-13, 2019 … & Jan 9-19, 2020 … & Jan 30-Feb 9, 2020
These trips are a truly unique experience. We go far off the “tourist routes”. As those of you who have gone on previous trips know, you’ll visit families and projects in remote, rural villages. You’ll have the adventure of a lifetime AND you will help families and children in ways you may have never dreamed possible.
For those of you who have gone with us before, we’ll change the itinerary so you’ll experience new things. For everyone, there will be hands-on projects for those who want them. Or you can simply meet the families and children, and learn about life in Cambodia.
Either way, you’ll leave with lasting memories and friendships.
Non-Rotarians are welcome! These trips are organized and led by volunteer Rotarians, and they are a great way to experience some of what Rotary accomplishes around the world.
If you wish to join us on any of these 10-day Rotarian-led excursions… Please sign up as described on page 3 of the brochure I can send you via email. The brochure provides travel and trip details as well as daily itineraries.
Yours in Rotary service,
Richard R Allen
rallen@synogen.com Rotary Club of Gainesville, FL D-6970 U.S. Mobile: 352-317-2954
1.“Individual commitment to a group effort: That is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” -- Vince Lombardi
2. "None of us is as smart as all of us." -- Ken Blanchard
3. "Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much." -- Helen Keller
4. "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision, the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." -- Andrew Carnegie
5. "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships." -- Michael Jordan
6. “Teamwork is so important that it is virtually impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities or make the money that you want without becoming very good at it.” -- Brian Tracy
8. “If you can laugh together, you can work together” -- Robert Orben
9: “The speed of the boss is the speed of the team.” -- Lee Iacocca
10. “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team” -- Phil Jackson
11. “Great teams do not hold back with one another. They are unafraid to air their dirty laundry. They admit their mistakes, their weaknesses and their concerns without fear of reprisal.” -- Patrick Lencioni
12. “You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins.” -- Jim Stovall
13. “There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.” -- George Shinn
14. “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery
15. “There’s nothing greater in the world than when somebody on the team does something good, and everybody gathers around to pat him on the back.” -- Billy Martin
16. “No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you’re playing a solo game, you’ll always lose out to a team.” -- Reid Hoffman
17. “If we were all determined to play the first violin, we should never have an ensemble. Therefore, respect every musician in his proper place.” -- Robert Schumann
The Swiss Lanna Society Chiang Mai has graciously offered to donate the proceeds from their Swiss National Day Party on August 1st to the CMIRC Children's Water Safety and Drowning Prevention Program. We're invited to join them! Details below. Tickets are available from Rotarian Nancy or from one of the methods listed on graphic below. It's always a good party with great food, music, raffle prizes and fun. We very much appreciate the support of the Swiss community in Chiang Mai.
On Tuesday through Tuesday, June 4 - 11, the Rotaractors from Hong Kong University Science and Technology visited Chiang Mai and engaged in many service projects and activities.
On Tuesday, June 11, our club held a fundraising concert with Yale University’s Whim ‘n Rhythm women's a cappella choir at The Royal Peninsula Hotel.
On Sunday, June 16, there was the regular Sunday morning visit by club members to the Burma Children Medical Fund's B.K. Kee Patient House.
On Tuesday, June 18, we had our regular meeting at the Royal Peninsula Hotel with program presented by P. James Hay from the Rotary Club of Blouberg, South Africa.
On Friday and Saturday, June 21 - 22, Mae Tao Clinic, Mae Sot, celebrated its 30th Anniversary.
On Sunday, June 23, the District Governor’s Salute event in Phitsanulok.
On Sunday, June 23, there was the regular Sunday morning visit by club members to the Burma Children Medical Fund's B.K. Kee Patient House.
On Tuesday, June 25, there was the monthly CMIRC Board Meeting at the Royal Peninsula Hotel.
On Friday, June 28, the last Friday of the month “Let’s Talk Rotary” lunch was at the Grandview Hotel White Elephant Restaurant.
On Saturday, June 29, there was the annual Chiang Mai Area Multi-Club Formal Installation Event at the Khum Phucome Hotel, Chiang Mai (photo below).
On Sunday, June 30, there was the regular Sunday morning visit by club members to the Burma Children Medical Fund's B.K. Kee Patient House.
For a complete and up to date list of events, check our online calendar.
Here are just a few of the important dates for members of Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC). These are opportunities to meet some of us and to meet other Rotarians from around the world!
Every Sunday at 9:30 am, regular visit by club members to Burma Children Medical Fund's (BCMF) B. K. Kee Patient House. Interested? Contact Rotarian Maliwan.
2 July 2019 - Regular club meeting, 7 pm at the Royal Peninsula Hotel. Program by Heather Askew about JoJo's Sanctuary. Gather at 5:45 pm for fellowship and an optional dinner; order from the menu of Thai food at the hotel.
16 July 2019 - Regular club meeting, 7 pm at the Royal Peninsula Hotel. Program by Ajarn Pattama Iamsuwan about the Thai Red Cross. Gather at 5:45 pm for fellowship and an optional dinner; order from the menu of Thai food at the hotel.
24 – 27 July 2019 – Mae Tao Clinic Tour. Contact Jerry Nelson
26 July 2019 - Last Friday of the Month, "Let's Talk Rotary informal lunch, 11:30 am at Duke's Restaurant, Mae Ping location. Contact Treasurer Nancy for details.
30 July 2019 - Social Meeting 7 pm, see Calendar for Location.
24 -25 August 2019 – District Membership, Foundations & Public Information Seminar, Phitsanulok.
30 August 2019 - Last Friday of the Month, "Let's Talk Rotary informal lunch, 11:40 am. See Calendar for location.
Posted by Jerry Nelson and Nancy Lindley on Jul 01, 2019
Rotary is not free; we give our hearts, we give our time and to some extent we give our money. Most of our heart, most of our time and most of our money goes to support our children’s projects. Yet we have operational expenses, for example, our website with its powerful tools such as this bulletin. We ask that you consider our sponsors for your needs.
Pern's Restaurant, a Mediterranean restaurant on Huey Kaew Road, near Central Kad Suan Kaew mall, is located across from the Shell Petrol station. Brian Pern and his friendly staff (including the legendary Mickey) create a warm and welcoming atmosphere for diners to enjoy steaks, seafood, chicken, pasta and vegetarian offerings. There are nightly specials and half-price house wine on Wednesdays. Most Wednesday and Sunday evenings you can enjoy smooth jazz while dining. First time diners receive a free glass of house wine when they reserve through Pern's website. Book here.
Royal Peninsula Hotel is an excellent international standard hotel located in the heart of Chiang Mai. They have 150 guest rooms with all amenities including free wi-fi. There is ample onsite, covered parking. The outdoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi are available to guests. There is both an indoor restaurant, featuring Thai cuisine and outdoor beer garden next to the swimming pool. The Royal Peninsula Hotel has two conference and banquet rooms, well decorated, with good acoustics. The staff at Royal Peninsula are very accommodating. The Chiang Mai International Rotary Club meets at the Royal Peninsula at 7:00 PM on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, with many members and guests gathering about an hour before the meeting in the hotel's restaurant for fellowship and an optional meal, ordering from the restaurant's menu of reasonably-priced Thai food.
Our sponsors donate money that supports our operational expenses, freeing funds for the projects we love. Please give them your support.
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In the last five years Chiang Mai International Rotary Club (CMIRC) has proved itself to be a highly innovative Rotary club. I believe we have proved this once again in solving the problem of Aree and her baby. We already have associated Interact and Rotaract clubs and thought we might start a Babyract club. Then we had a better idea. In this 21st century many organisations provide baby-care during their workday or meetings. Why should we not do the same? We now encourage mothers to bring their babies to our meetings and we will solve any problems that this causes when we know whether there are any problems or not. We cannot foresee any with Aree’s baby because every member, like Rotarian Maliwan, right, has fallen in love with her anyway.
Because we are an international club, and the only one that conducts its business in English in the North of Thailand, we meet many Rotarians from all over the globe who come to visit our meetings. Sadly, many of them cannot make our meetings as they are in Chiang Mai for such a short time and such was the case with Doctor Kirill and his fiancé Sophia Ali from Dover, Delaware. Luckily, our secretary Jerry Nelson and I managed to meet up with them at our new venue, the
Australian Direct Aid Program Grant
We continue to work with Evelind Schecter and Khun Nian, who are our local CWSDPP representatives in Phrao (students pictured right). Evelind is co-founder, with Michael Shafer, of the 
Phetchabun 
We have trained the instructors in LomSak and in Muang Phetchabun and conducted courses in both cities for 4th grade children. The programs were coordinated and co-sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lom Sak and the Rotary Club of Phetchabun Muang. These courses were assessed on June 27 and 28 by Kru Moo and Kru Pong, our expert evaluators based in Chiang Mai. We will soon have these assessments and will begin planning the next series of courses. Results will be included in the next Bulletin.
Using funds generously donated by the 
Chiang Mai, CMIRC-Sponsored Program
We were very happy to see that our partner in this project, 
Swiss Lanna Society Chiang Mai
We had quite a turnover of patients and caregivers throughout the month and among other patients returning to Mae Sot was a 72 year old patient and his wife (pictured, right) who had been at the house for nearly three months. It was a tearful parting that mixed joy at his return home with sadness at his leaving us. 
We had twenty-three brand new painters, most of whom had never held a brush, so we divided into four teams and we were good to go, with a "guide" for each team. It could have been total chaos if I were the only one guiding but fortunately, I wasn’t. I want to thank Rotarian Mike Lake and 
We had a great lunch with several Thai dishes for the students, staff, patients and volunteers to enjoy. A few of the spicier dishes like som tam were not very popular but, as always, everyone enjoyed the pad thai and, of course, rice on the side. Many thanks to the staff at the house, Klao Wongsingsak and Mii Aye for coordinating the food and getting everybody happily fed. 
One of the other projects that BCMF supports is what they call the “Stationary Project”, that provides school supplies for hundreds of poor students on both sides of the Myanmar border. BCMF Patient Liaison Coordinator Ma Myai (left), who normally works in Mae Sot, was at the house for several weeks during June. During that time, she guided several of the residents in sewing and painting hundreds of pencil bags for the project.
During our Sunday visits, Mwe Kham and Saing Sint plunged right in and helped with the painting. I tried one day; I finished one side of two bags. During the same time others were completing both sides of four to six bags.
One of the greatest joys of my life has been being of service to these wonderful people and during our regular visit on Sunday June 23rd I was surprised when the residents and staff had a going away party for me. I was greeted with a banner saying goodbye, a framed picture from the HKUST event, a tee shirt, a wonderful card and the special pencil bag. They had also made us quite a feast! Mi Aye made a traditional Burmese fish stew, "Mo Hin Kha" for my going away party. It was served with "kanom jin" (white rice noodles). CMIRC contributed watermelon, mangoes, and mangosteens. Later I was presented a Karen shoulder bag by Klao who was unable to attend the lunch.
Throughout the meal and our visit I had a new fan. The very feisty 2 year old girl (right) kept running over to me for a hug and wanted to be picked up. She has a wandering eye problem and is in Chaing Mai for diagnosis and treatment. 
The proceeds from this campaign will go the Mae Tao Clinic Child Protection Department and Child Development Center where they will provide food, pay for birth registration, fund child protection training and monitor and improve student health through the school health program. Money is desperately needed and will be well spent. (Some of the children we serve are pictured)
CMIRC’s next organized tour is scheduled for 24 – 27 July 2019. (a previous tour group is pictured, left)
CMIRC involvement with BEAM is in two areas. One is a cultural exchange activity where club members and CMIRC friends share other culture experiences with BEAM students and the students share their individual experiences. This is all done in the English language and intended to improve the students' 1) English language listening skills, 2) English language speaking skills, 3) English language writing skills, and 4) their note-taking, analytical and reporting skills.
Why is passing all portions of the GED important for migrant/refugee young adults? They cannot attend primary or secondary Thai schools and the education centers they can attend are not recognized as qualifying for entry into college and university (here in Thailand and globally). So, the GED is their only path for pursuing a college education, anywhere.
These trips are a truly unique experience. We go far off the “tourist routes”. As those of you who have gone on previous trips know, you’ll visit families and projects in remote, rural villages. You’ll have the adventure of a lifetime AND you will help families and children in ways you may have never dreamed possible.
On Tuesday, June 11, our club held a fundraising concert with Yale University’s 
