GUEST SPEAKER

Guest speakers Geraldine Edgar-Ralph and Casey Vallance were introduced by Chairman John Beks. Geraldine and Casey provided an informative account on a project to build a library for a school in Davo, Mindano in the district of Cebu in the Philippines which was devastated by the recent typhoon. Geraldine herself lost 7 relatives in the disaster. The trip was an alternative to the year 12 "Schoolies" trips and students were involved in raising funds for the trip and then working on a project to build a new library for the school. The project commenced in 2011 and in 2013 the project was completed. Casey, who was a participating student, told of the absolute joy on the faces of the students when they used the library and saw all the books for the first time. Casey said the experience of working with the building team, and preparing relief packages for those affected by the typhoon, was one of the most rewarding experiences of her life. Geraldine and Casey provided interesting videos of the building process and answered some interesting questions from Rotarians. The Rotary Club of Warrnambool was thanked for its generous donation and support and Geraldine advised that our Club's name had been placed on a plaque acknowledging all those who had contributed to the project.