 Our Speaker Madeleine King |
| Yegana Alasgarova introduced Madeleine King, who spoke to the club about her experiences on her two Friendship Exchange trips. Friendship Exchange is an international program that allows Rotary members and their friends to take turns hosting in their homes and through their clubs. Participants travel as individuals, couples, families, or groups, and need not belong to Rotary. The Friendship Exchange exists to
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These exchanges are organized around at least one of three themes: culture, service, and vocation, and are paid for by the participants or their districts. Hosts are not expected to assume a significant financial burden, and club or district funds may be available to offset the costs of exchanges that have a vocational emphasis.
Madeleine travelled to India on a Friendship Exchange in 2016 with Karin Buhrmann from the Rotary Club of Pincher Creek that is now the international partner in a human milk bank project in Auranagabad, India. Karen and Madeleine began their exchange in Mumbai, and travelled from there to Solapur, Auranagabad and Goa. On arrival in Solapur, they met Rotarian Manjushri and her family, who hosted Madeleine and Karin during their stay. Manjushri is a doctor who runs the Sawli Hospital, a maternity hospital and nursing clinic. The clinic provides women from poorer backgrounds a place to stay for up to ten days after giving birth. The four Rotary clubs in Solapur showed off several of their projects, including Anapurna Yojana, a prize-winning project that provides clothing and daily meals to 100 seniors. The project resembles our Meals on Wheels. They also visited a school for the blind that is supported by local Rotary clubs. Madeleine told us that the host Rotary clubs treated the exchange visitors as VIPs.
Following an excursion to Goa, Madeleine and Karin went to Aurangabad, where they were hosted by local Rotarians. Madeleine and Bob Taylor will be returning to Aurangabad in October, when they will go to see the hospital where the milk bank is being set up. In addition to visiting projects, Fellowship Exchanges allow visitors to sightsee, and Karin and Madeleine saw the Ellora and Ajanta caves. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Ellora caves are one of the world's greatest examples of cave excavation architecture.
Madeleine also went on a Friendship Exchange to New South Wales with Yegana Alasgarova. She noted the strong fellowship focus of the Australian exchange. She concluded her presentation by noting that while Rotary Friendship Exchanges are little known to our club members, they are immensely rewarding experiences.
Randy Borisenko thanked Madeleine for her most interesting presentation.