Meeting: March 3rd, 2020
With Incoming President Glynis
Rotary Minute:
Colin told us about the Japan Scholarship. This scholarship provides funding for a candidate to live in Japan for up to 12 months where they learn about the culture and language.
Guests:
Ann Northwood, Igor Koroalski (Poland), Johann Kruger
Mathew Dunstan, Ella Wyndlow, Ian Wyndron, Gem Munro
David Mayor, Miami Mayer, Catherine Chen.
Here are some of our incoming and outgoing students as well as family and host family that attended our meeting.
Visiting Rotarians:
None.
Announcements:
- March 31st White Spot Beer and Burger. Please think about silent action items for this event and let Barney know what your item(2) will be. Tickets will be available at our next meeting or let Barney that you will be attending.
- Thanks from the Nanaimo Food Share Summer lunch munch program. This was the result of a $1000 donation from our gaming funds.
- Glynis is back from PETS. She was very taken by the all of the amazing things that Rotary does around the world, every day of every year.
- Rob talked about RYLA. We send students to go each year and this years selections have been completed. Five students will be heading down from Nanaimo this year. Rob will be ‘retiring’ from the RYLA coordinator role after 16 years!
- Rob also updated us on the last Loaves and Fishes. There were six members in attendance and this was followed up with a stop at the Craft Fair to sample their brew.
Upcoming Events:
- The next breakfast will be held on Saturday the 14t
- March 31st Burger and Beer.
Birthdays
- Marianne Turley
- Chris Campbell
- Catherine Chen
Anniversaries:
- Jim Turley 44 years of Rotary
What She Means:
When a woman's says, "What?" It's not because she didn't hear you. She's giving you a chance to change what you said.
Program:
Our talk this week was from Gem Monroe. He is an author and Co director of the Amarok Society along with his wife Tanyss. A number of years ago they were asked to help out in Bangladesh which has the ‘world’s worst school district’. Once there they realized that there were millions of children in the slums that were too poor to go to school at all. (In fact one child in three has no opportunity for education in the world.) Their idea was to help the poorest mothers educate the children in their communities. This was universally regarded as an impossible goal by the various aid organizations and they were fools to even try to make a difference in the slums. Undeterred, they created small schools to teach English, social studies, conflict resolution, and to ‘think’.
All women learning at the school must teach at least five children everything they learn themselves. Many teach even more.
This program brought such a change that many of these women feel that their lives only began when their schooling started and their sense of despair and depression lifted. The great reward of this process for the women is the teaching of the children to provide them with a better future.
They have developed relationships with Rotary clubs form around the world and particularly in Dhaka (There are 53 clubs there).
Don thanked the speaker.
“Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed. ” ― Mark Twain
