Dr. Geetha Jayaram has dedicated her life to helping people in her native India and the United States overcome the torment of severe depression, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, and other mental illnesses.
Jayaram is a psychiatrist and associate professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. Her work expanding access to mental health services is much needed. Depression affects at least 350 million people and is the leading cause of disability worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
"In India, there is no mental...
To eradicate polio in India, Rotary members displayed impressive coordination and commitment. So it should come as no surprise that Rotary members in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, were able to mobilize more than 40,000 people to create the world's largest human national flag. The tribute to the polio eradication effort qualified as a Guinness World Records-breaking achievement.
"What impressed me most was that all of Rotary was represented: Rotaractors, Interactors, and Rotarians," says RI President Gary C.K. Huang, who participated in the event along with his wife, Corinna, and other Rotary senior...
RI General Secretary John Hewko met with NTV Kenya for a wide-ranging interview about what makes Rotary unique and why it's one of the world's most respected service organizations.
"Rotary in many ways is a great example of how countries could operate," Hewko said. "We are overtly nonpolitical, nonreligious. There's a culture within Rotary of everybody being equal. And when you join Rotary, you buy into the philosophy of peace and understanding."
Watch the video above (English only).
For decades, the small, pastoral communities in northern Kenya have been caught in a cycle of violence. Tribes have shed blood over distrust, scarce resources, and the theft of livestock.
Rotary Scholar Monica Kinyua founded the Children Peace Initiative (CPI) Kenya with her twin sister, Jane Wanjiru, to end the fighting by building friendships between children from different tribes.
Earlier this year, the sisters used a global grant sponsored by Rotary members in San Diego, California, and the Rotary Club of Nairobi to conduct a peace camp for children in Baragoi, Samburu County, one of the...
The recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the worst ever, has claimed several thousand lives and generated worldwide concern. But its impact pales in comparison to that of AIDS, which, despite advances in treatment, still kills more than a million people a year, the majority of them in Africa.
"Even with the Ebola outbreak at its worst expected levels, it's never going to reach what we've seen with the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Dr. Timothy B. Erickson, director of the Center for Global Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, speaking at Rotary's World AIDS Day event in Evanston on 1...
Club Information
Welcome to our Club!
Service Above Self
We meet Tuesdays at 6:15 PM
Warrnambool Football Club
Cramer Street
Warrnambool,
Victoria 3280 Australia
Let us all think of how we can spread the word and make everyone aware of Rotary. We need to make people aware of who we are, what we do, and what we stand for. So over this month of January let’s think of all ways we can get our message out to others.
President Marie Bennett opened the meeting and welcomed all who were in attendance. There were no guests as the evening was designated as a Club Assembly.
Bowling Night - 27 January - Dennington Bowls Club
Judy Ross advised that barefoot bowls at the Dennington Bowls Club has been organised for 27 January. All members will be asked to bring a salad or sweet, so please make sure the person who will be preparing this is notified! Families and friends are welcome. $15 per head. If the weather is wet, indoor bowls is available.
Rotary Club of Port Fairy - Annual Trivia Night - 16 February
Includes dinner and trivia and costs $30. A number of Rotarians expressed their interest in attending and wresting the trophy from Port Fairy.
Quilt Show
Oh oh. Terry's in trouble for "not working very hard".
Andrea Sampson advised that her role in the quilt show is over after being involved in 3 quilt shows and is more than happy to pass on the mantle to 1-2 others. Would suit someone who is retired or working part time because of the time commitment involved.
All those people who helped with the setting up, pulling down and on the day were thanked. Profit was $14,000-$15,000, a little down on previous years which made around $20,000. A debrief will be held next week.
The next quilt show will be in January 2017. Andrea suggested that perhaps RCW may wish to take over the interim spot in January 2016 for a future fund raising event.
Mal Price's partner won the $50 quilting voucher and Gordon Curran won the hamper which he generously re-donated to the draw for someone who would appreciate its contents more than he would.
BBQ's
Tony Austin advised that the BBQ prior to Christmas for the Warrnambool Motorcycle Group raised $200 and the Bunning's BBQ on Sunday raised nearly $800, which is a good result for the two events and a good money spinner that everyone enjoys. He thanked those who helped out at the Bunnings BBQ: Judy Ross, Anne Adams, Robert McNally, Astrid Sorensen, Sharon Stark and Trevor Williams. The editor would also like to thank Tony for all the hard work he puts into arranging and setting up these BBQ's and making it so easy to just role up and do the task assigned.
Relay for Life BBQ - 13-14 February
RCW has been asked to do the Friday night BBQ for which we get the proceeds, plus Saturday morning for the free BBQ for which Relay For Life will supply food. So please pencil these dates into your diaries.
Finesmaster Doug Maclean must have had his ear to the ground this week because he knew something about everyone. For instance, Andrea's pseudonym is "Attila the Hun"; Terry has a new punting system; Rach had only one day off for the month of December.... violins were heard; Sharon and Michael for a new house; David for attending; Trevor for having the same name of a criminal who so happens to live in the same street as Trevor; Gordon for winning the quilting prize and sending messages to the editor about petrol prices; Ian Sharman for his on-again, off-again beard; John Hunt for his recent swims and coming 1,800th and 3,500 came after him; Astrid for taking Australian flags from Bunnings; Alan Bowes for avoiding buying a sausage at the Bunnings BBQ and going in and out another door; Ian Cairns for not being able to help clean the house because he had a cut finger - zero sympathy from Rotarians who decided the injury was a paper cut.
Svet Lineham mingled with Club members selling badges for the Rotary Australia World Community Service fund. If you would like some information on RAWCS, please click on this link:
Interesting set of observations from a visitor from the other side of the Pacific.'Value what you have and don't give it away.' There's a lot to admire about Australia, especially if you're a visiting American, says David Mason. More often than you might expect, Australian friends patiently listening to me enthuse about their country have said, ''We need outsiders like you to remind us what we have.'' So here it is - a small presumptuous list of what one foreigner admires in Oz. 1... Health care. I know the controversies, but basic national health care is a gift. In America, medical expenses are a leading cause of bankruptcy. The drug companies dominate politics and advertising.
Obama is being crucified for taking halting baby steps towards sanity. You can't turn on the telly without hours of drug advertisements - something I have never yet seen here. And your emphasis on prevention - making cigarettes less accessible, for one - is a model. 2... Food. Yes, we have great food in America too, especially in the big cities. But your bread is less sweet, your lamb is cheaper, and your supermarket vegetables and fruits are fresher than ours.
Too often in my country an apple is a ball of pulp as big as your face. The dainty Pink Lady apples of Oz are the juiciest I've had. And don't get me started on coffee. In American small towns it tastes like water flavoured with burnt dirt, but the smallest shop in the smallest town in Oz can make a first-rate latte. I love your ubiquitous bakeries, your hot-cross buns. Shall I go on? 3... Language. How do you do it?
The rhyming slang and Aboriginal place names like magic spells.
Words that seem vaguely English yet also resemble an argot from another planet.
I love the way institutional names get turned into diminutives - Vinnie's and Salvos - and absolutely nothing's sacred.
Everything's an opportunity for word games and everyone's a nickname.
Lingo makes the world go round.
It's the spontaneous wit of the people that tickles me most.
Late one night at a barbie my new mate Suds remarked, ''Nothing's the same since 24-7.'' Amen. 4... Free-to-air TV. In Oz, you buy a TV, plug it in and watch some of the best programming I've ever seen - uncensored.
In America, you can't get diddly-squat without paying a cable or satellite company heavy fees.
In Oz a few channels make it hard to choose. In America, you've got 400 channels and nothing to watch. 5... Small shops. Outside the big cities in America corporations have nearly erased them.
Identical malls with identical restaurants serving inferior food.
Except for geography, it's hard to tell one American town from another.
The ''take-away'' culture here is wonderful.
Human encounters are real - stirring happens, stories get told.
The curries are to die for. And you don't have to tip! 6... Free camping. We used to have this too, and I guess it's still free when you backpack miles away from the roads.
But I love the fact that in Oz everyone owns the shore and in many places you can pull up a camper van and stare at the sea for weeks.
I love the ''primitive'' and independent campgrounds, the life out of doors.
The few idiots who leave their stubbies and rubbish behind in these pristine places ought to be transported in chains. 7... Religion. In America, it's everywhere - especially where it's not supposed to be, like politics.
I imagine you have your Pharisees too, making a big public show of devotion, but I have yet to meet one here. 8... Roads. Peak hour aside, I've found travel on your roads pure heaven.
My country's ''freeways'' are crowded, crumbling, insanely knotted with looping overpasses - it's like racing homicidal maniacs on fraying spaghetti.
I've taken the Hume without stress, and I love the Princes Highway when it's two lanes.
Ninety minutes south of Bateman's Bay I was sorry to see one billboard for a McDonald's. It's blocking a lovely paddock view. Someone should remove it. 9... Real multiculturalism. I know there are tensions, just like anywhere else, but I love the distinctiveness of your communities and the way you publicly acknowledge the Aboriginal past.
Recently, too, I spent quality time with Melbourne Greeks, and was gratified both by their devotion to their own great language and culture and their openness to an Afghan lunch. 10. Fewer guns. You had Port Arthur in 1996 and got real in response. America replicates such massacres several times a year and nothing changes. Why?
Our religion of individual rights makes the good of the community an impossible dream.
Instead of mateship we have ''It's mine and nobody else's''.
We talk a great game about freedom, but too often live in fear.
There's more to say - your kaleidoscopic birds, your perfumed bush in springtime, your vast beaches.
These are just a few blessings that make Australia a rarity.
Of course, it's not paradise - nowhere is - but I love it here.
No need to wave flags like Americans and add to the world's windiness.
Just value what you have and don't give it away. David Mason is a US writer and professor, and poet laureate of Colorado
An Aussie truckie walks into an outback cafe with a full- grown emu behind him.
The waitress asks them for their orders.
The truckie says, 'A hamburger, chips and a coke,' and turns to the emu, 'What's yours?'
'Sounds great, I'll have the same,' says the emu.
A short time later the waitress returns with the order 'That will be $9.40 please,' and he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change and pays.
The next day, the man and the emu come again and he says, 'A hamburger, chips and a coke.'
The emu says, ' Sounds great, I'll have the same.'
Again the truckie reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.
This becomes routine until the two enter again. 'The usual?' asks the waitress.
'No, it's Friday night, so I'll have a steak, baked potato and a salad,' says the man.
'Same for me,' says the emu.
Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, 'That will be $32.62.'
Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.
The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. 'Excuse me mate, how do you manage to always pull the exact change from your pocket every time?'
'Well, love' says the truckie, 'a few years ago, I was cleaning out the back shed, and found an old lamp. When I cleaned it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes.
My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.'
'That's brilliant!' says the waitress. 'Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want, for as long as you live!'
'That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there.' says the man.
Still curious the waitress asks, 'What's with the bloody emu?'
The truckie pauses, sighs, and answers, 'My second wish was for a tall bird with a big arse and long legs, who agrees with everything I say.
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An Aussie truckie walks into an outback cafe with a full- grown emu behind him.