Frank B. - will be visiting his mother and sister in CA over Easter; also shared his involvement with a RYLA group in Botswana
Mac H. - excited to have son Kevin and daughter in law Jenny driving in to visit for Easter.
Char M. - thanked Bob and Lenny for their work in organizing the Twins Stadium Tour event for Polio Plus; also for Hopkins Main Street being named a Historical Site which will promote additional opportunities for community investment
Bob H. - No beer will be sold at upcoming Twins Games - they lost the opener
Lenny N. - attended the Private Directors Networking event with over 100 attendees and for his guest Don
Mark Marlin - Participated in the Food Packing event - packed over 10,000 meals in less than 2 hours
Floriane was born in Bujumbura, Burundi in 1958
Raised in Rwanda, which is about the size of Maryland; land locked and small in comparison to other African countries; but has a very high population density
Was born to a wealthy father which allowed her to attend a number of good schools
After High School she worked as a presenter for a Radio station, broadcasting in French
She did her undergraduate education in Belgium, then went on to work for the UN with UNICEF
She married and moved to the US, to River Falls WI in 1988, living there and in Hudson
In 1990 she moved back to Africa with her husband who was working for the US State Department; Florianne returned to the US in 1994
Her career includes jobs at 3M, Arthur Andersen and Pillsbury
Her Rotary career started with the Minneapolis University Club, from 2006 to 2018
In 2011, she returned to Rwanda and started the Children's Village Orphanage, which ultimately housed 21 orphans
In 2015, the Rwanda government eliminated orphanages, changing over to a Foster Home model for orphans
In 2017 they changed the mission of the orphanage to become a pre-school; 53 children were chosen from the community to attend; they turned the dorms into classrooms and are constructing a new school building - they need about $15k to complete the project
There were a number of projects at the school funded by over $180k in donations and grants from Rotary (MURC/Minnetonka Club/SD Club), Frank Babka, and the Segal Family
Projects included $56k for above and below ground fresh water storage; Greenhouses and a School Bus - $54k; Fencing and fiberoptic cable for the school and grounds - $34k; a truck - $20k; Rabbit and Cow Sheds - $5k
They also have a very good relationship and volunteer support from clubs in Rwanda, including a Rotoract Club
They recently received a grant from Carleton College, authored by Rogette (an orphan from the original orphanage - once spoke to our club) to initiate a Women's Training Program to assist area women to learn sewing and agriculture projects; raising swine and growing food.
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