Rotary District 9930 Newsletter March 2018 (Feb 21, 2018)

Hi Max,

This is our March newsletter from your hard working District Governor, who is really Making a Difference in our district.

Our District Governor Working Hard for us and Really Making a Difference!

This is the time of ‘summer month’ projects and I congratulate clubs on the many well-run projects taking place locally and internationally. This is also the time of preparations for the next Rotary year which is only four months away.

SOUTH PACIFIC PRESIDENTS ELECT TRAINING (SPPETS) was held over the weekend of 3^rd and 4^th March in Auckland. This is the opportunity for our incoming Club leaders from throughout New Zealand to come together, to share ideas and learn more about Rotary and how they and their Club can continue to Make a Difference.

At the conclusion of South Pacific PETS on 4^th March, a very constructive meeting was held of the Governor Leadership group, comprising DGs, DGsE, and DGsN from across all six Districts.

Rotary Down Under and Milford Membership Growth

Rotary's Polio eradication continues to face challenges.

The ups and downs of eradicating polio

Polio eradication continues to face challenges.In 2017 there were two outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV). The Democratic Republic of Congo had 21 cases (the last on 3 December) and Syria 74 cases (the last on 21 September). These were not wild disease cases but polio caused by mutation of the weakened virus in the oral polio vaccine (OPV). Click here for an excellent two-minute animation explaining cVDPV.

We know cVDPV is a risk of the vaccination programme but, for the 800 cases of cVDPV we have had since we started fighting polio in the 1980’s, we have given 10 billion doses of OPV to 3 billion children and have prevented 13 million cases of polio. Ironically, the way to prevent the vaccine virus mutating is to ensure more children in a community are vaccinated! That is what happens when a cVDPV outbreak occurs. A rapid response mop-up immunisation programme is initiated within 14 days by the Global Polio Eradication partners.

Rotary Convention ~ Inspiration Around Every Corner

Rotary's J R McKenzie Youth Education Fund

Information re the J R Mc Kenzie Youth Education Fund.

I get asked lots of questions re the J R Mc Kenzie Trust and The J R McKenzie Youth Education Fund (YEF).

They are two separate entities. Perhaps this explanation may help..

Shelterbox News

'EARTHQUAKES, CYCLONES, FLOODING AND STORMS'

These headlines may sound like the title of a latest Hollywood film...

But they are not! - Already February has seen a 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Mexico, a 4.4 earthquake in the United Kingdom, devastating Storms and Flooding in Bolivia and Argentina followed by a Cat 5 Cyclone in the Pacific, causing much damage to islands of Tonga

Cyclone Gita made landfall over the Pacific a few days ago – Tonga was the island that sustained the most damage.

District Conference 2017-18

REGISTRATIONS ARE STILL OPEN!

For details and to register visit www.9930conference.org

Diary of a Busy Rural Rotary Club ~ Thanks Wairoa

11 am Friday 23 February 2018 - Visit to Tahaenui Station to be hosted by John and Humphry Bayly. The trip to include a ride in horse-drawn carriage.
Last Meeting— Adrienne—20 tunnel rail cart tour. Fascinating to see the NZ countryside in a totally different perspective. Thanks, Adrienne.
Annette reported that there will be a tractor trek passing through Wairoa on Race Day.
We had been approached to hold a BBQ but as most members already had commitments we agreed to donate $100 to NZ Hospices instead. •
Thanks to Terry for firewood, we appreciate your organisation of the event and meal.
Mark has been in touch with Wairoa College and RYPEN search for participants is underway.
Foundation Dinner on Saturday $20 each for Rotary Foundation .

Rotary Henderson Presented World President Ian Riseley

The Rotary Club of Henderson welcomed Rotary International President Ian Riseley and Juliet to their club on March 8th, 2018.

Rotarians heard Ian speak on “The Future of Rotary”

Date: Thursday, March 8th, 6:30 pm for 7:00 pm

Venue: Lincoln Green Conference Centre,

159 Lincoln Road, Henderson, Auckland
Cost: $60.00, includes dinner and wine on the table

What Does Rotarian Stuart Batty do?

Stuart Batty Executive Director of Rotary New Zealand World Community Service Ltd (RNZWCS) (a charitable company that was established to recognise the need to take a New Zealand-wide view of World Community Service).

Each of the six NZ Rotary Districts is represented on the Board of RNZWCS. RNZWCS is recognised by the New Zealand Government as an Aid Agency Non Government Organisation (NGO) and has Directors and an Administrator to deal with funding from NZAID (New Zealand's International Aid & Development agency, located within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade).

All Clubs seeking NZAID funding must work through RNZWCS.

Rotary Peace Centers

Greetings from Evanston!

The Rotary Peace Centers are excited to announce the launch of the 2019 Rotary Peace Fellowship application.

We look forward to working with you as you complete the endorsement process for your district’s candidates.

As the 2019 fellowship application cycle begins, we would like to share important preliminary information about the 2019 application cycle.

How Rotary is Funding Polio Eradication

Looking to Create a Rotary Club Membership Plan?

The updated Strengthening Your Membership: Creating Your Membership Plan is now available on Rotary.org.

The publication helps clubs develop a long-term strategy for attracting new members and keeping existing ones.

It includes the Membership Plan Worksheet, the key material in the online course Your Membership Plan

Rotary - Cyclone Gita Tonga

14 February 2018.

We have been in phone contact with our in-country partners, Rotary Tonga and two local NGO’s with which Rotary has had a historical track record.

Everyone has been affected by Cyclone Gita on Tongatapu including Rotary members with some major damage to their homes.

The club is small in number and the President is overseas. It has fallen to the incoming President, a relatively new Rotarian to manage and we are giving her every encouragement.

Announcing the District 9930 Rotary Foundation District Grants for 2017-18

District Governor Leonie Tisch and District 9930 Rotary Foundation Chair Colin Olesen are pleased to advise

that $40,470 has been approved for distribution as District Grants for 2017-18.

Polio in Pakistan; then and now

‘Then’ is 2014, the year of my first visit to Pakistan. Following a presentation to the New Zealand National Immunisation Conference and a subsequent article in the nursing press on Rotary’s role in polio eradication, I was invited to present at a Rotary polio conference in Lahore for World Polio Day (October 24^th).

It was in Lahore that I experienced my ‘Rotary moment’. I am of the first generation who grew up without the fear of polio, the vaccine having been discovered a few years before my birth. Meeting polio victims in their teens and 20’s affected me profoundly and angered me. This should not be happening in the 21^st century!

Annual Rotary Youth Exchange Opportunity

A reminder to all District Rotarians that with the school year running out, it is time to promote and prospect for eligible 16 / 17 1/2 year old who would like to experience a year overseas as a Rotary Exchange Student with their exchange year commencing in January 2019.

Limited spaces are available for the exchange year January 2019 to January 2020.

District Selection Day for Rotary Youth Exchange is 28^th April 2018.

Applications closing day is the 31^st March 2018.

Rotary's Rapid Transformation for Lowane

For young Iowane from Fiji, the social effect of being born with a cleft lip was huge. The four-year-old always stayed close to his mother’s skirt when they were away from home as she tried to protect him from the teasing and taunts of others.

Without treatment, the condition would have continued to impact on his relationships in his community, along with complications for eating and growing healthily.

Iowane is a tall boy for his age and painfully shy. His mother Saumia said she felt ashamed of his deformity, a common response from parents in the countries in which we work.

Well, that’s about all there is for this issue for District Governor Leonie. Don’t forget that the new District website is now fully operational and you will find a plethora of information about Rotary, D9930 clubs, and all activities. Please take a good stroll through the site by clicking HERE.

Editor Max Patmoy (m ax@hawkesbay.co.nz)

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