President's Report We have heard from two excellent speakers at our last two meetings and there will be more details about each of them elsewhere in the bulletin. In the past two weeks, as a club we approved a further donation to the Mornington Primary School for the purchase of additional decodable readers. There has been a tremendous improvement in student reading since the introduction of this reading program, evidenced by teachers and in Naplan test results. As Dr Seuss wrote “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”. Reading has such a positive impact on all our lives. In addition, we agreed to support the Kailiki Village Water Project in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Port Moresby. This will transform the lives of teachers and students by providing running water to the school and the teachers’ houses. Our combined meeting with Mt Eliza was a great opportunity to re-unite with people we’d met on the Moondah Project and to make new friends. We look forward to working with them again in the future. Last Monday I met with Assistant District Governor Peter Rawlings and we discussed the year ahead. I’m excited about what the club can achieve this year. Please remember to complete your Working with Children and/or your Form 3 and give the paperwork to Eileen as soon as possible. It is now a legal requirement and we need to confirm our compliance by the end of the month. This week is Club Assembly and I will be presenting the Budget for this financial year. It’s also an opportunity for you to bring ideas and questions about the year ahead. Looking forward to seeing you there. Pam Hall Recent Events As our Bulletin editor is on leave, I will be producing them, along with Chris Reynolds, for the next few months. So, after many attempts, here we go! Judy Seager Since our Changeover evening, we have had two very committed, enthusiastic and informative speakers at our Wednesday dinner meetings. On Wednesday July 5th, Richard Godden spoke to us about the Kailiki Village Project in Papua New Guinea. Richard was a guide on the Kakoda Track and completed 76 trips between 2002 and 2018. During this time, visits to Kailiki Village allowed him to see the problems brought on by lack of access to clean water. He set about raising funds from his local Victorian community and, working with the Kailiki villagers, managed to put in 2km of pipeline with 12 tap outlets, allowing all villagers to have clean water within 30m of their homes. Richard presented his new proposal for an extension of the pipeline across the creek to the school and teachers’ houses, and the MRC members readily approved a grant of almost $6000 to enable all school children and their teachers to access clean water. On July 15th, it was our pleasure to host Mt Eliza Rotary Club members at our combined meeting. Steven Johnston from C2A, a not-for-profit organisation that provides opportunities for people living with disability, acknowledged the importance of the $4000 given earlier this year by our combined Rotary clubs to provide computers for disabled people at their centres. Steven spoke about the work done by the organisation and by the people they work with, the funding of programs through the NDIS and the continual challenge to raise funds for equipment and capital works. John Parkinson researched MRC's association with the C2A Mornington disability support centre, previously known as Kankama, from the booklet “A half Century of Service” compiled in 1997. Thanks John! - 1973/74 Establishment of Kankama,
- 1975/76 a painting from our Art Show to the value of $500 was donated
- 1976/77 Kankama was the main beneficiary of our Art Show receiving $5,000
- 1978/79 received thanks from the Shire for restoration work on original Kankama building in Albert Street
- 1984/85 Wheelchair provided
- 1985/86 $3,600 provided to Kankama for pool change room and roofing.
The work of our Rotarians exemplified the The Rotary motto of 'Service Above Self'.  Mt Eliza and Mornington Presidents, Carolyn Such and Pam Hall, with Steven Johnston. |
