The Rotary Club of Geelong Central is proud to announce we have been named a Shelter box champion for 2023-24
ShelterBox is a global disaster relief charity that provides emergency shelter and essential supplies to communities affected by crises, such as natural disasters and conflict. They deliver durable tents, tools, and other vital items to help families rebuild their lives in the aftermath of a disaster. By working closely with local organizations, ShelterBox ensures that their assistance meets the specific needs of each community, promoting resilience and recovery.
On the 16th of October 2024, I accompanied President Raymund Balicha of the Rotary International Club of Multinational Manila (RIMM), and we started by visiting Andrea Senior Home Care Inc (see enclosed brochure). This is a nursing home for the elderly, named after Andrea Senior, a Filipino who lives in the USA, and financially supports the home personally, providing the home free, and paying most of the costs.
In the Philippines, the elderly are normally looked after by their children in old age, but it is becoming an increasing problem that the elderly have no children (there is a 98 year old resident who has outlived her children) or are disowned by their children due to challenging behaviours, or they can no-longer afford to look after them due to dementia or health issues. This nursing home houses 9 elderly female residents and receives no government support. It is run on a daily basis by a Catholic nun, a retired social worker & a retired qualified nurse. Via one of their members, who works for the Department of Social Welfare & who used to work with the retired social worker, RIMM made contact & asked what they needed. The result was that today we delivered 14 chairs & a table (with another 10 chairs & a table to be delivered next week), along with tinned food & laundry soap. The tined food when supplemented by rice will provide meals for a week.
We then visited Kaysuyo National High School, a small rural high school with approx. 150 students in grades 7 to 10, which come from poor rural families. The school has 8 staff, and the Philippines Government provides the bare minimum. There is no air conditioning anywhere in the school, and many of the classrooms don’t even have fans. Obviously, this is not conducive to learning when the weather is hot &/or humid. RIMM purchased 4 ceiling fans, we donated them to the school. They were extremely thankful to receive them – cost approx. $60 each. The school has been added to the Christmas Giving Program of RIMM, which our club has supported with $1,000 each year for the last several years, and I have matched/doubled myself.
The enclosed letter also asks for a grass cutter, which the RIMM will donate, and I will supply a playground, along with a couple of boxes of 2nd hand school supplies (from RARE North Geelong).
The playgrounds designated for Vanuatu have successfully arrived, but due to “island time,” the shipping container did not reach its destination in time for the Rotary Club of Albury to complete the installation. Installation is now scheduled for the next trip in April. In the meantime, the local Chief is overseeing the care of the playground, which is being securely stored in the shipping container.
The playground sent to Vanuatu was sourced from Moolap Recreation Reserve, extracted by the Rotary Club of Ocean Grove. To enhance the play experience, a slide and see-saw from Sparks Reserve, Geelong West, were also included. The playgrounds were collected, stored, and transported to DIK West Footscray by President Don, representing the Rotary Club of Geelong Central.
A commemorative sign will be placed on the playground to acknowledge the contributions of our club, other participating clubs, and the generous donation from the City of Greater Geelong (CoGG).
This shipment marks the second delivery of playgrounds to Vanuatu. The first shipment was organized by the Rotary Club of Wendouree Breakfast and included playground equipment from Lubeck Reserve, Leopold (donated by CoGG and extracted by a member), Thames Boulevard, Werribee (donated by the City of Wyndham and extracted by our club), along with a swing set and rocker from Beeac (donated by Colac Otway Shire).
This initiative continues to foster community spirit and enhance play opportunities for children in Vanuatu. Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting project!
Recently, a collaboration between the Rotary Club of Geelong Central andt he Rotary Club of Wendouree Breakfast resulted in the dismantling of the Smythesdale School playground. Following this, additional poles were collected by our club, and the playground is currently in storage at Moriac, awaiting shipment.
In recent weeks Rotary’s global funding has finally been received by the Panaji Rotary Club in Goa, India. Unfortunately there have been some logistical issues, but now it seems the plans to build the toilet blocks and renovated facilities will shortly commence. Regular updates will be made over the coming months as the construction gets underway.Geelong Central’s financial commitment to the project was $3200. Last week while in Sarawak, Malaysia, a member of ours read an article about the Rotary Club of Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunie which last month completed a vital water project connecting running water to a remote village in Sarawak.
The connection involved installing a 1.5 kilometer pipeline to the remote village – giving the 75 residents across 30 households a steady clean supply of clean water. Sixteen Rotarians and volunteers travelled four hours to reach the village. The news article featured in the Borneo Bulletin stated “Access to clean water is a fundamental human right. “ Our team was determined to overcome the logistical challenges of working in such a remote location to ensure the people of Pa Adang have this basic necessity,” the club statement said. This is just one of many projects Rotary has been able to assist a group of people in a remote part of the world.
Our Rotary Ramblers Walking Group officially kicked off with a walk along the Barwon River on 10 September, which included the Rotary Walk on the West side of the river, finishing with a cuppa and sweet treat (for some) at Barwon Edge Cafe.
Check out the souvenir postcard, it was a perfect day for a walk!
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Other walks have included the Rippleside, Eastern Gardens and the Geelong Waterfront up to Limburners Point where we took in the fabulous views and were reminded of monuments for places of quiet reflection.
Identifying Rotary Contributions along the way
Along the way we have identified Rotary initiatives and sponsorships such as the Bicentennial Tree planting by members of our Club along the Barwon River, where you can also see the Safety Markets sponsored by RC of East Geelong.
Join the Rotary Ramblers Walking Group – Open to Family and Friends of Rotary
You can join the Rotary Ramblers WhatsApp group here to keep up with the schedule and to make suggestions for days and locations to walk.
The Rotary Ramblers walking group is open to Club Members, family and friends of Rotary.
walking 280km, exceeding our target of 250 Km, and
raising $1371 well above our $1000 target.
Thanks to everyone who walked and raised funds, donated funds, walked to keep us company or popped in for a cuppa after a walk. It was an inspiring team effort.
All funds raised go directly to the Peter Mac and the following note of thanks was received (an excerpt).
"Thank you for your compassionate support, which inspires the cancer researchers at Peter Mac. Your support gives our researchers access to the most advanced technologies and accelerates the pace of cancer research."
Sonya Kennedy, Community and Events Fundraising Manager Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation
It was great to see Club members family and friends of rotary joining in to sort fruit and veggies at Geelong Food Relief.
There are some fruits that you might never choose – these would definitely be hard to sell but were juicy and delicious, would you believe they are mandarins?
Hosanna shared some thought provoking, and at times disturbing, information about the work being done by Destiny Rescue to end child trafficking.
Understanding the Child Trafficking and Exploitation Problem
More than 1MILLION children are victims of exploitation today
4 out of 5 of those in commercial sexual exploitation are girls or women.
Commercial sex trade generates approximately $99 BILLION per year,
Soon to overtake GUNS and DRUGS trading as the biggest global “industry”.
Hundreds of Australian men have been caught up in just one case.
Online materials associated with sexual exploitation of children have strong links to child suicide, mental health issues and family violence in Australia.
About Destiny Rescue
Its mission is to rescue children from sexual exploitation and human trafficking and give them skills to stay free.
Has rescue teams available in 12 countries worldwide.
Performed 3.352 rescues in 2023
Over 17,000 people have been rescued by Destine Rescue to date.
Covert agents work undercover to identify children trapped.
Talking with children as part of Border & Transit monitoring results in rescue of individuals from active trafficking situations.
Rescue teams work in collaboration with law enforcement in case-building and rescue operations.
After children have been rescued they are given support to build skills to rejoin their community and stay safe in the future.
How we can all help to rescue a Child from Sexual Exploitation
Donate to Destiny rescue and help to rescue a child GIVE NOW
See the below notes from the meeting on the 15th of October 2024.
Colin spoke re the recent Food Safety Assessment from our last market and a report from attending the Presidents’ meeting last Sat 12 Oct. the combined group are suggesting Clubs each contribute $5,000 to the Geelong Community Foundation. Sounds like Geelong is leading the project.
I asked Richard to give us a brief outline of his recent trip to Borneo last week which sounded interesting.
Kim – has booked Friday 6 Dec at Elephant & Castle for our Christmas celebration; advised another walking group tomorrow (wed 16th ) and the Peter Mac walks.
Guest Speaker Hosanna (Destiny Rescue) was introduced by Tom – a very interesting presentation. I recall hearing a similar one at a Zone Conference a few years back. Hosanna recommended looking at a (think youtube?) video “The Shadows of the Web” for those who were interested.
From the Bulletin Editor
Happy November! We are bouncing towards the end of the year, with our most packed bulletin of 2024!
We absolutely love sharing these stories with you. Email the bulletin editor below if you have any stories to share!
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