Welcome to another issue of our weekly bulletin! Find out who our upcoming speakers are, what we covered during the last weekly meeting, and learn more about our Member of the Week.
Mark your calendars
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The Mission: The Group Service Exchange program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange and service learning opportunity for young professionals in their initial years of professional life.
The Mission: The GSE program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for young professionals in their initial years of professional life. Rotary districts in different countries are paired to send and receive professional study groups of three to four to non-Rotarian team members and one Rotarian team leader to travel for three to four weeks, staying in the homes of Rotarians when possible.
However, DG Ray Freaney wanted to have Rotaract members to have the opportunity to learn about new culture and tradition. To fit this mission, a GSE (GROUP SERVICE EXCHANGE) team Rotarians and Rotaractors from our district visited Rotary District 3292 in January for three weeks. Our District will also have an opportunity to host a delegation from Nepal later in the year.
The Team: The District GSE team leads were PDG Tulsi Maharjan from the Branchburg Club and Robert Weisman from the Somerville – Bridgewater Club, and two Rotaract members were selected to participate in this program. The team of Rotaract members were Elizabeth Guinta and Monika Perez from the Raritan Valley Community College Rotaract club.
Group Service Exchange team in Action
The Assignment: During the visit to Nepal, the GSE team members visited and observed and learned about the local history, culture and worked on many humanitarian projects, while sharing their own culture and traditions with their hosts and Nepalese Rotaract members.
GSE team in Action
Team lead PDG Tulsi Maharjan: In addition to leading the team, Tulsi worked with various Rotary and Rotaract clubs in Nepal to expand our Rotary District’s ASHA PROJECT, which has been going on since the major earthquake in Nepal in 2015. More than 10 Rotaract clubs from Nepal participated in the Humanitarian mission projects in Nepal, visited many schools, Orphanages and worked on hands on projects with Rotaract members in Nepal.
Passion into Action
Robert Weiseman: wanted to learn about how Nepal is developing Mushroom farm and tryed to prepare to take a new VTT team to Nepal to help Nepalese farmers prepare and encourage to develop emerging technologies and become innovators.
Elizabeth Guinta: worked with students from Nepal and visited many schools and orpahnages. During her time in Nepal, Elizabeth was excited to experience how schools are using teaching methods in Nepal, especially in early childhood education settings. On her return her goal is to share her knowledge with others on campus and increase cultural understanding and thereby bridge the gaps that inevitably occur.
Monika Perez: Visited various orphanages and even join the “Mitini” program (lifelong Friendship). She is looking forward to visiting again to Nepal to work with new Rotaract friends in Nepal with new projects.
GSE team in Action
JOIN US AT THE DISTRICT CONFERENCE
Join us at the District conference to hear from the team about their exciting GSE trip to Nepal. I, for one, looking forward to hearing about their exciting experiences in Nepal.
Sandra Cisneros once said “The older I get, the more I’m conscious of ways very small things can make a change in the world. Tiny little things, but the world is made up of tiny matters, isn’t it?” I think the world is also made up of tiny actions, the little things we do for one another are sometimes the actions that have the most impact. Privilege can be blinding and it gets way too easy to take things for granted, like having access to books to study from, having access to a computer and reliable internet, or even as simple as just having a pencil to use and paper to write on.
I’ve lost count of the amount of schools and orphanages we have visited in the 22 days we’ve been in Nepal, but the smiles and look of pure happiness of all the kids we encountered will forever have a place in my heart. I got to witness how a few packs of chalk could mean the world, how a story about believing in yourself and achieving your dreams served as a reminder that they can do anything and everything they set their hearts on, how something no matter how simple (erasers,pencils, pens, lollipops, gum, chocolate, markers,etc) could light up kids in a way that melts anybody’s heart. This trip was an opportunity to help create and maintain hope, we went to multiple towns, districts and cities: Gorkha, Pokhara, Lamjung , Banepa, Dhading, Patan and many many more, switching from doing need assessments to going to schools and orphanages and donating school supplies/money/sweaters/hats to taking dance lessons from all the kids, it feels like we saw so much of Nepal yet there is still so much more to experience that it is a must to come back.
I’m extremely thankful to the Asha project for choosing me to be one of the volunteers for this trip and I’m looking forward to working with them in any future endeavors. To anyone considering volunteering with the Asha project or Rotary international, just go for it, get out of your comfort zone, it is an extraordinary experience that you won’t regret.
Always remember: YOU CAN DO IT, anything you set your mind to, work hard and believe in yourself. So many unforgettable friendships and memories, I write this on my last day, seriously considering staying longer/already planning to come back.
1st Annual Just Jersey Fest Food Truck and Music Festival in Branchburg.
BRANCHBURG – Several thousand people made their way to White Oak Park for the 1st Annual Just Jersey Fest Food Truck and Music Festival on Saturday, May 11, 2019.
The festival included live music, 50/50 Rotary Raffle, gifts for upcoming Mother's Day, special flower sale and food from more than 30 food truck vendors.
Many of our four legged friends also enjoyed the event as well.
Branchburg Rotary is pleased to let you know that we had sponsored 10 students to go to Nepal and Colombia this year. Here are some pictures from their trip to Nepal.
2019 humanitarian mission to nepal - change makers
Orphanage visit in Patan
Orphanage visit in Patan
Pokhara School visit
Pokhara School visit
2019 humanitarian mission to Nepal - change makers
change makers
Manny and Abby
Emily with students
The Asha Project banner reached the base camp of the Mt. Everest.
The Rotary Club of Branchburg recognizes the many wonderful volunteers in our community
who are the backbone of every successful Rotary fundraiser and service project. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and helping our community please email us at BranchRotary@gmail.com
Last week's speaker
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Join us at the District conference to hear from the team about their exciting GSE trip to Nepal. I, for one, looking forward to hearing about their exciting experiences in Nepal. 
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