President Laura and Alison thank guest speaker Dean Sherk from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Goodbye Bel. We wish you all the best!
President Laura announced that Bel Sainz is leaving the club to pursue a new contract in Gdansk, Poland, and presented Bel with one of our club flags. Bel thanked the members for their warm reception of her and hopes to return for visits when in the area.
Is that a tent?
You Bet...it is!
Kitchener-Westmount Crown and Anchor
October 11-19
Volunteering for a shift at Crown and Anchor will be wunderbar!
Minutes of Luncheon Meeting - August 14th, 2019
Announcements
We viewed a clip from the Amazing Race Canada featuring their stop in the Kitchener-Waterloo area.
President Laura read Thank you cards from Kathy Tobi and Donna Piwowrek for our Memorial donations on behalf of Leo Tobi and Ed Piwowrek to the St. Paul's Cupboard and Lissard House, respectively.
Chuck Thompson reported that Gord Ferguson has sustained a fall at his home, and is in hospital. He will visit Gord and let us know his condition.
Alison Scott reminded members that August is Membership Month for Rotary. We are encouraged to reach out to people we would like to get to know better, and ask them to attend a meeting with us to see if they are interested in join our club.
Invocation led by Doug Fisher
Mystery Rotarian - Loves Frank Sinatra, sang in a Boys Choir, and has had many cars. While we all thought it was Todd Aitchison, Todd turned the tide and guessed correctly that Everton Wilmot was mystery Rotarian.
Guest Speaker
Dean Sherk, Development Officer, Faculties, Wilfrid Laurier University spoke briefly about the premier quality of the program we were about to hear about from Associate Professor Steve Sider, and how proud the university is to deliver this program in Haiti, Nepal, Egypt and beyond.
Steve Sider gave a very informative presentation on his work with the "Educator and Leadership Institute" whose goal is to deliver professional development workshops to Haitian educators.
Leading educators, including Laurier students and faculty provide instuction and engage educators in professional learning, with courses in mathematics, science, special education, critical literacy, early learning and school leadership. Last summer, 530 Haitian teachers took part in the program. At the end of the 5-year commitment in 2020, 1,000 teachers and 100 principals will have been trained, impacting the education of over 100,000 students.
Education of Haitians will influence the country's development, and affect their growth, especially in light of their natural disasters - earthquakes and hurricanes. Infrastructure will be better built and sustainable, personal economy will be increased, and generational poverty minimized.
Our club provided financial support for this program last year, so it was encouraging and gratifying to see how our funds are working for the betterment of people in need.
Steve taught us a Creole phrase that speaks to the tenacity of the Haitian people:
"Piti piti ti pay pay zwazo fe nich" which means "Little by little, straw by straw, a bird builds its nest". By working in small steps, you can build something that is strong and able to withstand the challenges that come its way. A great motto for all of us to consider.
For more information, contact ssider@wlu.ca or look up www.ELIcollaboration.org
