Hello Daybreakers,
Due to a double booking , this Week’s meeting was held in the smaller area beside the larger meeting room. The room size was perfect for those able to attend for plenty of fellowship and to listen to our guest speaker Kelly Giblin from Warrnambool College.
Kelly is the new Kalay academy coordinator and before she spoke on how she has been developing a relationship with the girls, she gave us a brief, but engaging, update on her professional development. Kelly has been an administrator with Moyne Shire before continuing her education with a Cert4 and working at Mortlake College in a chaplaincy role.
Kelly has used her part time role with the Kalay girls to engage and support them as required. She hopes that the program will continue to enhance their confidence, self-esteem, educational attainment and aspirations.
The Academy also provides additional activities within the areas of education, leadership, life skills, and healthy lifestyles. Participating with culture is encouraged using local indigenous females and elders in many of the activities provided.
During question time Kelly advised that funding was still an issue, Glenn offered to assist Kelly submit donation/funding applications that may be available through council or philanthropic organisations.
Glenn rang me on Saturday, to discuss a funding application he will submit to Council to assist the club with purchasing a new 3metre marquee and paint the underside of the new BBQ trailer. He spoke to Council about the possibility of a grant application to assist the Kalay program, sadly, he was informed that school programs do not meet Councils grant application guidelines. Glenn will continue his search for suitable funding opportunities to assist Kelly.
 | We found time towards the end of our meetingto have a laugh during the fine’s session. Geoff did his best to inform those present that he really did not deserve a fine as he had sold two vehicles to pay for his new Mondeo, in fact he felt that all present should contribute to hispurchase. |
Stories of service from around the world
Climate change and The Four-Way Test
By Rick Olson, Rotary Club of Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA
Climate change is an impersonal, ambiguous term, which denotes negative impact on people around the world. But on a recent trip to Tanzania in Africa I met some of the innocents who will be most affected by the increased droughts caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
.jpg) | On a 10-day biking safari to visit Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti, we camped in a school yard in a Maasai village west of Arusha, Tanzania. Three boys came to visit, and after giving them some treats, I took their photo with my phone. I showed them the photo, and a boy about 8 or 9 years old gestured to me he would like to hold the phone. |
.jpg) | So, I showed him how to take a photo with it and handed it to him. I also taught him how to take selfies and videos. Before long a group of about 15 children were gathered around us, looking at photos he had taken, enlarging the pictures of some of the kids, all to gales of laughter. It was so much fun. Seeing how quickly he learned to use the phone, without our knowing a word of each other’s language, was such a kick. These Maasai children live in a very dry area. The March-May “rainy” season had not produced a drop of rain by the time I left on 23 March. These young ones and the rest of their tribe are the least capable of adapting to even drier conditions projected by the climate scientists than the desert they already live in, hanging on by a thread. |
Yet, we in the United States who are in the most wealthy of countries and have produced and continue to produce the most carbon dioxide can’t even agree that human-caused climate change is real, much less agree on what to do about it
Is it the truth?
As a Prior Lake Rotarian, I join my club weekly in reciting The Four-Way Test. The first two lines are: “Is it the truth?” and “Is it fair to all concerned?” A guest commentary I wrote for the Prior Lake American, Commentary: Acting on climate change can make difference, outlines why it is the truth that climate change is real and caused by humans burning fossil fuel. Is it fair that those least able to adapt to the negative changes bear the greatest impacts while we do nothing? I think not.
We are not helpless in mitigating the consequences of our past and present actions. We as Rotarians can support actions including government legislation that promote feasible measures to effectively reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We can support Rotary projects that seek to alleviate or reduce the impact of climate change.
Join us in minimizing the damage to not only our economy and our lives, but that of the innocents in Africa and India who will be most affected.
Attending the 2019 Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany? See the schedule and breakout sessions for events relating to the environment.
May: Youth Service Month
- Meals on Wheels – Friday 24th, 31st
- Daybreak Care Program – Sunday 19th, 26th
- Soup Kitchen – Monday 20th, 27th.
- Rocket Man – Movie Night – May 30th – Polio Plus Fundraiser
June: Fellowships Month
- Wednesday 5th Club forum – 2019-20 committee positions
- Thursday 13th - Transition board meeting – Venue to be confirmed
- Wednesday 26th Club Changeover
Regards
Steve