This week's meeting was attended by 37 of our own members, 1 visiting Rotarian guest - Jim Robb from the Inverness Club and 2 non-rotarian guests.
This week was a speaker meeting and the members of the club were to hear from Paul McLaughlin from New Start.
Paul spoke as a representative of ‘New Start’, a local charity which re-cycles domestic goods for the benefit of re-housed people who have nothing and can not afford to purchase these items themselves.
He thanked the Club for their recent generous donation. The charity is about people – their quality of life is improved and their self-esteem is raised from the help they get, our environment benefits from reducing the volume of land fill by re-cycling large furniture etc, and everyone feels good at the end of it. To illustrate the latter, Paul quoted examples of people working for the Charity who had been ‘on the edge’ themselves but who had been helped by the feelings of well-being and satisfaction they got from helping others.
The Charity has a referral system by which they get to know of those needing help from other agencies. However, any one can make a referral if they know of a case of need.
Goods donated are all checked for safety and refurbished to a high standard before re-distribution. They employ a full time electrician and a full time carpenter for that purpose. Furniture which is not manufactured from fire-proof materials can not be accepted, but there are relatively few such items in a useable state these days.
New Start is mainly confined to the Highlands, but a Fort William depot was recently opened.
Paul was thanked for his presentation, and at the end of the meeting invited Club Rotarians to visit their depot to see how the furniture distribution was handled and administered.
Monday, 28 April 2008
MEETING ON 9th APRIL 2008 - SPEAKER MEETING
This week was a relatively quiet week as we only had 32 of our own members present.
Alastair Murray introduced his wife, Moira, who gave a description of the work of their charity, the Maya Leprosy Appeal.
Following a period as Church of Scotland Mission Partners, they went to Nepal in August 1999 where Moira worked as a Nursing Officer at a Leprosy hospital. Leprosy, or Hansens Disease, is contracted orally from an airborne bacilli and affects the hands, feet, nose and eyes. The resultant sores turn into horrific wounds but the patient feels no pain owing to a natural anaesthesia which accompanies the disease.
In due course, misunderstood by the Nepalese Government their visas were revoked and they had to leave. Before doing so, they taught home care principles to local people so that the treatment of Lepers could be continued in their absence.
They set up their Charity in 2003 and, from 2004, have returned to Nepal annually to continue their work of treatment and teaching self-help. They travel by the cheapest possible means and take with them a variety of essential medical supplies which they purchase, but also time-expired NHS dressings, bandages etc obtained free of charge and which would otherwise have been disposed of. On one visit they were accompanied by a Podiatrist to teach nail and foot care.
They set up a women’s group and have taught them to knit and sew, even those with almost no hands, and the items are sold to raise money. They also have Lepers producing cards and one who has been able to resume his shoe-making trade. These activities have been made possible by innovative strapping of hands so as to make them usable again – even for such simple tasks as brushing their own hair. Wound care has been handed over to locally-trained people, self-care is being taught, literacy classes have been set up, and scholarships for children aged 10 plus are being developed.
The presentation was accompanied by a series of pictures of Leprosy victims showing the extent of the effects of the disease, and some moving stories of particular individuals and how they have been helped to overcome the difficulties brought on as a result of contracting the disease.
The Charity has a Board of Trustees, but Alastair and Moira do most of the fund-raising themselves. They have few overheads but need raise a minimum of £2.5k per year.
Few could fail to be affected by the message delivered on the effects of Leprosy and how these 2 people are devoting their lives to do what they can to alleviate that in one small part of Nepal.
Alastair Murray introduced his wife, Moira, who gave a description of the work of their charity, the Maya Leprosy Appeal.
Following a period as Church of Scotland Mission Partners, they went to Nepal in August 1999 where Moira worked as a Nursing Officer at a Leprosy hospital. Leprosy, or Hansens Disease, is contracted orally from an airborne bacilli and affects the hands, feet, nose and eyes. The resultant sores turn into horrific wounds but the patient feels no pain owing to a natural anaesthesia which accompanies the disease.
In due course, misunderstood by the Nepalese Government their visas were revoked and they had to leave. Before doing so, they taught home care principles to local people so that the treatment of Lepers could be continued in their absence.
They set up their Charity in 2003 and, from 2004, have returned to Nepal annually to continue their work of treatment and teaching self-help. They travel by the cheapest possible means and take with them a variety of essential medical supplies which they purchase, but also time-expired NHS dressings, bandages etc obtained free of charge and which would otherwise have been disposed of. On one visit they were accompanied by a Podiatrist to teach nail and foot care.
They set up a women’s group and have taught them to knit and sew, even those with almost no hands, and the items are sold to raise money. They also have Lepers producing cards and one who has been able to resume his shoe-making trade. These activities have been made possible by innovative strapping of hands so as to make them usable again – even for such simple tasks as brushing their own hair. Wound care has been handed over to locally-trained people, self-care is being taught, literacy classes have been set up, and scholarships for children aged 10 plus are being developed.
The presentation was accompanied by a series of pictures of Leprosy victims showing the extent of the effects of the disease, and some moving stories of particular individuals and how they have been helped to overcome the difficulties brought on as a result of contracting the disease.
The Charity has a Board of Trustees, but Alastair and Moira do most of the fund-raising themselves. They have few overheads but need raise a minimum of £2.5k per year.
Few could fail to be affected by the message delivered on the effects of Leprosy and how these 2 people are devoting their lives to do what they can to alleviate that in one small part of Nepal.
Monday, 7 April 2008
IAN'S VISIT TO GOA
One of our club members, Ian McDonald recently visited the Rotary Club of Margao (pictured left), here he talks of the welcome he recieved and the memories he has brought home with him.
We were staying in the Majorda Beach Resort in Salcete some 20 minutes from Margao which is the second largest city in Goa and has two Rotary Clubs, the Rotary Club of Margao and the Rotary Club of Margao Midtown. It turned out that the Vice President of the Hotel chain which owned the Majorda Beach Resort was also a member of the Margao Rotary Club and Rotary is obviously highly thought of in India and surprise was expressed by both the Hotel staff and the taxi driver who took me there as to how I was able to obtain an “invitation” to the Rotary Club. They were interested to find out that visiting other Rotary Clubs was all part of being a Rotarian and that Rotarians were generally made welcome in Rotary Clubs they might visit the world over.
As I mentioned to you I have in the past visited Rotary Clubs in Hammamet in Tunisia (where the business was conducted in French and I had to address them in French about our own Club), Kusadasi in Turkey (where only 1 member spoke English!), Sheridan in Wyoming and Scottsdale in Arizona and so Goa was the third continent where I have now managed a visit.
It was slightly strange travelling into a large Indian city at night particularly when the taxi driver only vaguely knew the location of the Rotary Club and when we eventually found the building in which it was located I had to look up to see a large sign outside a fifth floor balcony advertising the Rotary Club of Margao.
After climbing up the five floors to the premises in which the Rotary Club was based it appeared that they had a large permanent room which was the room which was used for meetings etc. When I arrived at the scheduled meeting time of 7.30pm there were only a couple of Rotarians including the Club Secretary about as also another visiting Rotarian, a Vice President from a Club in the southwest of England and his wife.
The room in which the meeting was held was set out theatre style with a top table and various pieces of Rotary regalia and mottos round the walls such as the four way test etc.
Apparently the reason for the room being set out like that was that there was a meeting of the Group Study Exchange scheme from New Jersey in the United States that night which they were combining with their regular meeting and also a celebration of their 45th Charter Anniversary. This apparently all meant that the meeting was going to go on until after 11pm with the GSE Group presentation as well as music and dancing as well as a meal.
The meeting did not eventually get going until about 8.15pm when everything was set but in the meantime I had an opportunity of meeting several of the members all of whom were very hospitable and interesting. I was also able to meet the members of the Group Study Exchange scheme.
Apparently the Club has some 85 members and has been involved in a variety of charitable and other activities and is very strong in the area. The members cover a wide cross section of occupations including Doctors, Engineers and other businessmen and women.
The President, Audhut P Kare who has his own distribution Company also made me welcome but when I explained that I would not be able to wait past 9pm when I had a taxi ordered he suggested that I stayed to the end and he himself would run me back to the Hotel. Unfortunately even having been presented with a rose to take back to Margaret (photo attached) who was dining alone back at the Hotel I did not think this would be particularly welcomed!
Among the interesting people with whom I spoke was one elegant Indian lady in a sari whose appearance belied her age of 92 – she had been a Rotarian for 16 years and was their oldest Rotarian. To my surprise she had a perfect Oxford English accent and it transpired that her family had been involved with MacKinnon & MacKenzie a big trading Company in Calcutta with Dundee connections through the jute trade and originally founded by 2 Scots from Campbeltown, and which eventually became the British India Steam Navigation Company. She herself had been educated at Oxford University and apparently her grandfather had trained as a Doctor at Edinburgh University in 1870 with two of his brothers also having been educated in Edinburgh!
The meeting started with all present reciting the four way test as apparently is the case each week before it moved on to the presentation by the GSE team at which stage I unfortunately had to slip away tactfully and found the taxi driver waiting outside for me as promised.
I left with an invitation to be sure to attend the next meeting but unfortunately it was after the end of the holiday but having found my way around I would certainly make a further visit on another trip to Goa. Certainly my experiences to date would make me encourage any other Rotarians to take the opportunity of visiting Rotary Clubs abroad – in whatever country they may be.
As I mentioned to you I have in the past visited Rotary Clubs in Hammamet in Tunisia (where the business was conducted in French and I had to address them in French about our own Club), Kusadasi in Turkey (where only 1 member spoke English!), Sheridan in Wyoming and Scottsdale in Arizona and so Goa was the third continent where I have now managed a visit.
It was slightly strange travelling into a large Indian city at night particularly when the taxi driver only vaguely knew the location of the Rotary Club and when we eventually found the building in which it was located I had to look up to see a large sign outside a fifth floor balcony advertising the Rotary Club of Margao.
After climbing up the five floors to the premises in which the Rotary Club was based it appeared that they had a large permanent room which was the room which was used for meetings etc. When I arrived at the scheduled meeting time of 7.30pm there were only a couple of Rotarians including the Club Secretary about as also another visiting Rotarian, a Vice President from a Club in the southwest of England and his wife.
The room in which the meeting was held was set out theatre style with a top table and various pieces of Rotary regalia and mottos round the walls such as the four way test etc.
Apparently the reason for the room being set out like that was that there was a meeting of the Group Study Exchange scheme from New Jersey in the United States that night which they were combining with their regular meeting and also a celebration of their 45th Charter Anniversary. This apparently all meant that the meeting was going to go on until after 11pm with the GSE Group presentation as well as music and dancing as well as a meal.
The meeting did not eventually get going until about 8.15pm when everything was set but in the meantime I had an opportunity of meeting several of the members all of whom were very hospitable and interesting. I was also able to meet the members of the Group Study Exchange scheme.
Apparently the Club has some 85 members and has been involved in a variety of charitable and other activities and is very strong in the area. The members cover a wide cross section of occupations including Doctors, Engineers and other businessmen and women.
The President, Audhut P Kare who has his own distribution Company also made me welcome but when I explained that I would not be able to wait past 9pm when I had a taxi ordered he suggested that I stayed to the end and he himself would run me back to the Hotel. Unfortunately even having been presented with a rose to take back to Margaret (photo attached) who was dining alone back at the Hotel I did not think this would be particularly welcomed!
Among the interesting people with whom I spoke was one elegant Indian lady in a sari whose appearance belied her age of 92 – she had been a Rotarian for 16 years and was their oldest Rotarian. To my surprise she had a perfect Oxford English accent and it transpired that her family had been involved with MacKinnon & MacKenzie a big trading Company in Calcutta with Dundee connections through the jute trade and originally founded by 2 Scots from Campbeltown, and which eventually became the British India Steam Navigation Company. She herself had been educated at Oxford University and apparently her grandfather had trained as a Doctor at Edinburgh University in 1870 with two of his brothers also having been educated in Edinburgh!
The meeting started with all present reciting the four way test as apparently is the case each week before it moved on to the presentation by the GSE team at which stage I unfortunately had to slip away tactfully and found the taxi driver waiting outside for me as promised.
I left with an invitation to be sure to attend the next meeting but unfortunately it was after the end of the holiday but having found my way around I would certainly make a further visit on another trip to Goa. Certainly my experiences to date would make me encourage any other Rotarians to take the opportunity of visiting Rotary Clubs abroad – in whatever country they may be.
TODAY'S MEETING (02/04/08) - BUSINESS MEETING
Today we had 34 of our own members who were joined by one non-rotarian guest.
A relatively informal meeting today, the members heard that Cliff Sim is in the process of organising the annual cycle run on the 17th May 2008. Anyone interested in taking part should email lochnessrotary@uku.co.uk to have an entry form sent to them.
Next weeks meeting will be our club Annual General Meeting.
The meeting will start early at 12.45pm
A relatively informal meeting today, the members heard that Cliff Sim is in the process of organising the annual cycle run on the 17th May 2008. Anyone interested in taking part should email lochnessrotary@uku.co.uk to have an entry form sent to them.
Next weeks meeting will be our club Annual General Meeting.
The meeting will start early at 12.45pm
SPEAKER MEETING - RACHEL MACLURE
Today we had a slightly quieter than usual lunch with only 32 of our own members in attendance.
Today was a Speaker meeting and we welcomed Rachel McClure, Ambassadorial Scholar, who had the misfortune to experience a delay of over an hour on our esteemed rail services and arrived just in time to speak to us.
The qualities that won her the coveted Scholarship were exemplified in the aplomb with which she launched straight into a slick presentation on Rotary Scholarships, her home state of Mississippi,her observations on differences between Rotary in USA and Scotland and her ambitions for the future.
Rachel is studying a MBA at Stirling University,she hopes that this study will give her the qualifications to obtain a place asa legislative aide to a Mississippi politician in Washington and thus become involved in policy formation and writing for economic and social improvement . She explained that“the Magnolia State”, which is perhaps best known for the segregation and Civil Rights issues of the 50’s and 60’s, is the poorest state in the USA, the fattest and 5th in the tables of domestic violence and homicide; it has a very poor education record with only 53% of children graduating from High School and 26% from College.
Many graduates leave the State in search of better conditions, thus perpetuating poor economic performance. Rachel admitted that at first she had intended to do so but had been enthused as to the possibilities of improving conditions and now wishes to remain.
She highlighted the attractions of the State, including their record as being within the top 5%of donors to charitable causes in the USA. Rachel acknowledged that within the States membership of Rotary is a career bonus and a form of networking she hopes to join her sponsoring Club on her return to the States and she is taking back with her the idea that Rotary can also be about socialising.
Her involvement in setting up a Rotaract Club with her host Club in Stirling shows that she is aware of the importance of’ Service above Self’ as well .She also expressed surprise that there were so few female Rotarians in Scotland!
Her presentation overall was a super example of the aims of the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program which, of course, include Supporting The Rotary Foundation’s ultimate goal of world understanding and peace by:
•Increasing awareness of and respect for cultural differences by sendingambassadors of goodwill to study in another country
•Instilling in scholars the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self through active participation in Rotary service projects
•Encouraging scholars to dedicate their personal and professional lives to improving the quality of life for the people of their home community and country
•Developing leaders who can address the humanitarian needs of the world community
• Fostering a lifelong association between Rotary and its scholars)
We have received a message from the WildHearts/WildDay Out team to tell us that theHighland Santa Six Fun Run has been nominated for the Best Sporting Event award at this year's ICA Awards. They go on to say "The fantastic success of the event could not have been achieved without your help, so thank you very much once again. It would be great if you felt you’d like to continue to show your support for us by voting for the Santa Run at the Awards. This will help us to spread the WildHearts message and recruit a few more Santas to dash about Inverness this year! To vote simply visit www.icaawards.com and click Santa Run in Category 9. You do have to fill out every category, but this should only take a few minutes.
Today was a Speaker meeting and we welcomed Rachel McClure, Ambassadorial Scholar, who had the misfortune to experience a delay of over an hour on our esteemed rail services and arrived just in time to speak to us.
The qualities that won her the coveted Scholarship were exemplified in the aplomb with which she launched straight into a slick presentation on Rotary Scholarships, her home state of Mississippi,her observations on differences between Rotary in USA and Scotland and her ambitions for the future.
Rachel is studying a MBA at Stirling University,she hopes that this study will give her the qualifications to obtain a place asa legislative aide to a Mississippi politician in Washington and thus become involved in policy formation and writing for economic and social improvement . She explained that“the Magnolia State”, which is perhaps best known for the segregation and Civil Rights issues of the 50’s and 60’s, is the poorest state in the USA, the fattest and 5th in the tables of domestic violence and homicide; it has a very poor education record with only 53% of children graduating from High School and 26% from College.
Many graduates leave the State in search of better conditions, thus perpetuating poor economic performance. Rachel admitted that at first she had intended to do so but had been enthused as to the possibilities of improving conditions and now wishes to remain.
She highlighted the attractions of the State, including their record as being within the top 5%of donors to charitable causes in the USA. Rachel acknowledged that within the States membership of Rotary is a career bonus and a form of networking she hopes to join her sponsoring Club on her return to the States and she is taking back with her the idea that Rotary can also be about socialising.
Her involvement in setting up a Rotaract Club with her host Club in Stirling shows that she is aware of the importance of’ Service above Self’ as well .She also expressed surprise that there were so few female Rotarians in Scotland!
Her presentation overall was a super example of the aims of the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program which, of course, include Supporting The Rotary Foundation’s ultimate goal of world understanding and peace by:
•Increasing awareness of and respect for cultural differences by sendingambassadors of goodwill to study in another country
•Instilling in scholars the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self through active participation in Rotary service projects
•Encouraging scholars to dedicate their personal and professional lives to improving the quality of life for the people of their home community and country
•Developing leaders who can address the humanitarian needs of the world community
• Fostering a lifelong association between Rotary and its scholars)
We have received a message from the WildHearts/WildDay Out team to tell us that theHighland Santa Six Fun Run has been nominated for the Best Sporting Event award at this year's ICA Awards. They go on to say "The fantastic success of the event could not have been achieved without your help, so thank you very much once again. It would be great if you felt you’d like to continue to show your support for us by voting for the Santa Run at the Awards. This will help us to spread the WildHearts message and recruit a few more Santas to dash about Inverness this year! To vote simply visit www.icaawards.com and click Santa Run in Category 9. You do have to fill out every category, but this should only take a few minutes.
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