Seven members and four guests gathered at Timms for another most interesting meeting. Rudy, Wayne, John, Merle, Anthony, Leon and Nora were joined by Victoria Biggs, Dawn Rutledge-Brenner (Ladner Rotary), Steve Rutledge (Rotarian from Whitby, Ontario) and Khayanga Wasike (Rotarian from Kenya).
Following opening remarks and O Canada (“Excellent singing. Thank you very much.”) Rudy welcomed our guests. He reported that he and Wayne presented the $2000 cheque to the Alano Club earlier this evening, and were given a tour of their facility, meeting some of their members.
Khayanga was invited to speak and she told us about many projects her club has. She is their Foundation director and is involved in fundraising for TRF. Her club is interested in clean rivers and more projects than I could keep up with. I recall her mentioning one in which old vehicles are recycled into household items, avoiding having them go into a landfill. Khayanga, who used to live in North Vancouver and Haida Gwai, is out visiting her daughter and granddaughter. She is president and CEO of a company based in Canada which helps women in crisis. In Kenya women are not allowed to own land, so they have set up an area where they can have gardens. Water systems have been built.
Guest Speaker - Stephen Rutledge
Next we were on to our special guest speaker. Stephen Rutledge was accompanied by his chauffeur and sister, Dawn, and they actually arrived early and they and Victoria were setting up the room when we arrived this evening. Steve, who has received a Spirit of Rotary award, spoke about his experiences in Laos, a mountainous, land-locked country surrounded by Viet Nam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and China. He told us about Adopt a Village in Laos, a program which has served 35 000 rural villagers. Steve has been going to Laos for fourteen years, distributing water filters and helping individuals in remote locations. He showed a video and screenshots are available. He spoke about village politics and the three competing ethnic groups. The filter system he showed us kills 98% of bacteria in the water. One filter costs $125 and will last 6-8 people for eight years. They are made in Laos, which also helps the local economy.
At Rudy’s request, Steve also spoke about his experiences in Lebanon, including after that terrible blast in the harbour area of Beirut.
We were indeed fortunate to have two excellent presentations this evening.
Rotary Moment With Wayne
Rotary in Action : Canada
The pandemic’s toll on older people struck especially close to home for the Rotary Club of Cornwall Sunrise in southeastern Ontario. “Until COVID, our club met at a seniors residence, and the need for the residents to be able to get out was made clear to us,” says club member Elizabeth “Bette” Miller, a past governor of District 7040. To ease the isolation of the town’s older population, the Cornwall Sunrise club teamed up with the Rotary Club of Cornwall and their city government to introduce Seniors on Wheels tours on three-wheeled cycle rickshaws. Volunteers pedal seniors around on seasonal tours along the St. Lawrence River.
“The trishaw is used primarily by local seniors who would otherwise be unable to enjoy the beautiful scenery,” says Miller, whose club contributed an initial CA$3,000 (US$2,500) for the project. “The routes for the trishaws follow the bike paths with stops at points of interest, many of which are projects Rotary has partnered on with the city.” Volunteers and their passengers covered a cumulative 300 miles last year.
I wonder if something similar could be done here in Langley City, as new bike lanes are appearing everywhere. Is this a project that we could share with other clubs?
The Light Touch
Wayne followed this with The Light Touch, featuring three items.
I can’t believe I forgot to go to the gym today. That’s seven years in a row now.
I may not have lost all my marbles yet, but there’s a small hole in the bag somewhere.
I like to make lists. I also like to leave them lying on the kitchen table and then guess what’s on the list when I’m at the store. Fun game.
Other updates
Donations were made for: excellent presentations this evening; it’s amazing what man can do; adding another member to our club (a bit early); missing the meeting last week; entertaining a refugee from the fires in West Kelowna; our presentation – Rotarians are wonderful people; more for the presentations; LEPS’ repair café; our wonderful guests; and happy to be here (from Kenya); and pleased with the project providing menstrual pads so girls can go to school.
We closed with a toast to Canada. Next week at Timms we will be hosting our District Governor David Lukov. Plan to attend!
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