President Ed Simon (right) and Bill Pegg (left) thank guest speaker Rizwan Shaloom.
Club Announcements:
- Condolences to John Villemaire and Rita Levato on the loss of Rita’s mother.
- No birthdays this week.
Anniversaries:
- Bill and Laura Green – April 26
- Klara and Mali Serjani – April 27
Announcements:
- Kitchener-Conestogo Club – Annual Lobsterfest – will be held June 3, 2018.
- VFL – Early bird draw is Wednesday May 2, 2018!!!! Get those tickets in! Please make sure all information is filled out And, sell, sell, sell.
- Longest Day of Golf – A group of our club members will be participating in the longest day of golf tournament in Walkerton – mid June. This is a fund raiser wherein golfers raise money (get sponsorships) to play a round of golf. All proceeds go to the Canadian Cancer Society. Please contact Ed Simon or John Thompson if you wish to donate. Our club is reviewing this tournament as a potential new initiative venture that we could take on in the future as a fundraising opportunity.
- Athlete of the Year – Silent Auction / On-line Auction. Our club has assisted with gathering prizes and will assist the night of the event. Please visit the on-line action at: https://www.32auctions.com/ter to view the great items up for auction.
50/50 Draw:
- Interesting fact – additional money added to the prize pot April 25th was $50.50. We all thought this was a good omen. We were all wrong. Karin Spencer, John Vickery and Karin Voisin all drew marbles, but not the winning one. The prize grows!
Rotary Trivia:
Q: What is the approximate value of the VFL grand prize? And what is the prize?
A: In a rowdy chorus of answers from all over the room it was determined that Laura Power had the closest answer. The correct answer was a Portugal Cruise worth $13,000.
Information:
- Prior to the introduction of our guest speaker for the meeting, Fred Martin from Conrad Grebel University College provided the club with some information about the Rotary Peace Scholarship. This year marks the 40thyear of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Conrad Grebel. The cost for an international student to complete the program is approximately $90,000. The support of our club along with the other 4 local Rotary Clubs help to annually contribute $20,000 to the Rotary Peace Scholarship.
Guest Speaker:
Our guest speaker was Mr. Rizwan Shaloom. Rizwan is a Rotary Peace Scholar from Pakistan. Rizwan came to study at Conrad Grebel in January.
Rizwan’s study focus is emphasis on his work in Pakistan is Tolerance & Harmony among all.
Rizwan took us though his life growing up in Pakistan. Rizwan and his family are among the Christian Minority in Pakistan and as such have faced and continue to face persecution. In fact Pakistan’s constitution does not permit individuals from minority groups to rule. Oppression based on religious beliefs is a current fact of life in Pakistan.
In 1997 Rizwan and his family had to flee their home as a result of attacks on his village related to their religious beliefs. His house was burned. This trauma stayed with Rizwan for a long time. However, he has turned that event into his current focus on peace building.
In Pakistan Rizwan has helped to organize and promote tolerance and harmony through many avenues such as performing in street theater performances, communication circles and speaking to and encouraging/empowering minority youth to speak up for equality. Social media and digital media are used to help identify and raise awareness for issues faced by minority groups.
Rizwan has come to Conrad Grebel with the goal to learn new skills and techniques to further his efforts at home. Ultimately, Rizwan would like to return to Pakistan and establish an institution to strengthen the rights of minorities.
Rizwan shared two videos with the club. The videos highlighted how street theater is used to convey messages and also clips from a campaign supported by Pepsi to provide lights “Litre of Light Campaign” that allowed street theater shows to be performed at night.
Bill Pegg suitably thanked Rizwan for his excellent presentation.
Side Note:
Rizwan is an exceptional individual who seems destined to go on and do great things based on his clear focus and genuine desire to make life better for those otherwise oppressed in Pakistan. Examples like this show why our fundraising efforts and support of the Rotary Peace Scholarship are so important.
