Meeting Notes for 17 March

President Tom opened the meeting looking resplendent, as Adrienne probably noted, in trousers and a shirt. After welcoming the assembled company, explaining the format of the evening, introducing the star players and ensuring that all were in no doubt that, following the blind coincidence of last week's Shelter Box presentation coinciding with cyclone Pam's destructive swathe right through our South Sea Island Neighbour and recent beneficiary of Dick Dawe's FAIM project - the island of Tanna - the evening would be all about the International Committee's renewed resolve to carry all before it. Tania was asked to welcome the guests, 

Tom promptly shunned the limelight, handing the meeting over to the MC for the evening, Past President Chris Curtis.

Chris welcomed the dancer, Kanmany Jegendran (below),  and her mother, and outlined the meeting agenda. Chris in turn, handed over to:

PP John Palmer:  Looking for a donation for the devastation of Vanuatu, John announced that Tanna Island was smack in the middle of the path of Cyclone Pam. JP had a total of $4500 donated from colleagues on a quick ring around today.  JP then handed the meeting back to Chris.

Chris then handed over to the the International Committee chairman, Dick. There was a lot of glad handing.

Dick then explained what evening was about in his inimitable, humble, low key, sotto voce, yet powerful and moving fashion.

Dick then asked Rtn Pat Price to take the floor.  Pat then appraised us with an outline of and progress report on the matching grant project in Nepal. The total funding from Rotary has reached $30,000 over a few Yrs; $15000 coming from RI to match our own club's contribution in partnership with local club, the RC of Kathmandu.  Pat founded the school as well as initiating his personal foundation, and it is now in its tenth year. You might remember that our contribution to the project was to build a year 11 and also a year 12 classroom.  This is somewhat revolutionary in Nepal as it is considered there to be a tertiary education.

80% of the school's intake is deliberately female, as the WHO reports that girls usually remain in their original location as adults while educated males travel abroad. This way the education remains largely within the city, so these girls can become community leaders and educators.

Chris:  Project in Nusa Tangarra.  This area is in the Southern part of Indonesia, including Flores and W Timor. Takes in Islands and consists deliberately of many small projects. Circa $600 per project. All work done by locals. The monies are grants and not loans and eke out over 3-4 years. Extending this year and going over on 24 May with a contingent of about five or six others, all Rotarians and all ladies. Fellows, Chris had thrown out the bait before adding that it is not too late to sign up for the gig. Entries close in a couple of weeks.

Then Off to West Timor for 4-5 days. Then driving to East Timor. Staying in Dili for a few days. Will be driven, officially welcomed multiple times, feasted, taken to high places - perhaps up to 4,000 feet.

Lively fellowship followed- and then the inevitable happened. Someone pulled the plug on the guest singer's audio and the evening entertainment looked like collapsing. But before you could say 'hey presto', the clubs version of the Eveready Man, Lindsay came up with  a solution. He relayed a transformer from the mother ship via low level oceanic VLF, bounced it off the old channel 2 tower, through the kitchen window, down the corridor, through the club's amplifier; the mic was converted to 4D entertainment mode, in other words giving the equipment an audio metric version of a good kicking and the entertainment got under way!   Kanmany sang two songs, most beautifully.

Then followed the best value raffle that I have ever seen, with prize winners far too numerous to mention. Thanks to the generous donors.

I'm not saying it was fixed, mind you, I just think it was an inspired coincidence that all eighteen prizes were won within an arms length of PP Martin. 

The evening rounded off with a sensational fund raising effort resulting in a collection to fund upwards of nine Shelter Boxes.

Congratulations to all.