Kitenden Pre-School

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The attached photo show the Kitenden preschool children with eggs produced by the chicken preschool Chicken Farm.For newer club members Kitenden is a Massai village located in the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Your Club together with 34 individual Sponsors have provided the funding for total operation of the pr since 2013 – thus we are now entering our 7th year of support. The project educates young Massai (aged 3 to 5) to prepare them for Primary School. Massai have their own language – Maa – howe Primary School teaches in the Tanzanian National language of Swahili, thus the preschool teaches the Swahili as well as basic English and Numeracy skills.About 50 children attend the preschool each year and about 35 progress to Primary School, as ma children are very young and are at the preschool for 2 years. They are fed two meals every day. The p has 6 employees – 2 teachers, 2 cooks, a gardener and a security guard.We decided to construct the Chicken Farm at the preschool so as to provide protein in the children’ also teaches them how to look after the chickens and may encourage other Massai to look at egg producing as a business.The Farm took quite some time to build. Nothing happens quickly in Tanzania! It must be secured from animals – particularly birds. A few of us involved refer to it as the Hilton Hen House!However, it is now achieving its primary purpose – which is evident from the children’s smiling faces.

Exchange Students

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Our outgoing exchange student in 2019 is Tiegan Broussard, who will be travelling to Denmark. Tiegan was an engaging speaker who is 16 years old and looking forward to her trip. She spoke about wanting to help her host family become more proficient in English and is looking forward to fitting in with the locals. Tiegan has already spoken with her three host families and reckons that they are just like Australians. She is particularly looking forward to the chance to travel to Greece with her host school during one of the school holiday periods. Tiegan made the point that her family has very little money and that the opportunity given to her by Rotary means that she can achieve something that she could not otherwise even imagine – the chance to travel to Europe. One heartbreaking thing we learnt from her speech is that her family was kicked out of their home due to financial stress and that this was a cause of much difficulty for them. I am so pleased that we can help such a decent young woman, who gave a beautiful and moving speech.

Paying it Forward

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Guest speakers were Rod Bramich and Kellie Kadaoui. They spoke about the paying it forward schoolies project in Fiji and introduced some of this year’s participants. These were Nicolo Persia, Ella Clarke, Caroline Hvid, Bronte Lee, Joey Peterson and Jared Irving, each of whom spoke about what they hope to gain from the project.

It was great to hear how enthusiastic they all are to provide service above self for the people in Fiji. It was also fantastic to hear that all money raised for the project is spent in Fiji. One of the great things about money raised by Rotary is that 100% of it goes to the selected charity without money being siphoned off for admin etc. Another great thing about this project is that The Rotary Club of Milawa Oxley is also engaged and have made several visits to help with building and maintenance.

Rod reported that the locals are incredibly enthusiastic about the project and are always willing to lend a hand. In fact, they occasionally need to be discouraged from doing some things. Another interesting fact is that when westerners go there to help, they generally stay in the nearby resort. Our club members were the first Rotarians to actually stay in the village, which is very much appreciated by the locals. I am incredibly grateful to – and proud of – those club members who are involved in this and the Kitenden project. We certainly have a large reach around the globe!

President’s Message

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It has been raised by members that they would like to be more fully informed as to Board activities, so I thought that I would devote one President’s Notes per month to letting you all know what the members of the Board have been up to.

At the last meeting, the Board made decisions about the following:

  • It was decided to continue offering financial support to the CSU Foundation
  • It was decided that we should donate $300 as support to the upcoming Sidney Nolan exhibition at MAMA. This will help enable free entry as a way to make the exhibition more accessible
  • It was agreed that the Club will support Happy Family Day, to be held 8 December in the Botanic Gardens. This event is designed to help victims of domestic violence and we will be doing a BBQ
  • Around 70-80% of members made a donation to Foundation by paying extra for half yearly subs. This is a very pleasing result
  • The Board accepted the quote of $7,238 for a new BBQ trailer
  • In relation to Kitenden, Howard reported the following; “Deborah and I will be meeting with Future Warriors in Brisbane on the 15th and 16th of November. The objective is to plan the next few years for the Pre School and possible establishment of an English language Primary School located at the same site. We also will be receiving an update on the equipment provided to the Medical Clinic and the Chicken project progress”

November is Rotary Foundation Month

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The Rotary Foundation Month – November

November is the time to celebrate the wonderful work of The Rotary Foundation. Using the links in the pages under The Rotary Foundation heading on the left side bar, why not explore the activities of the Foundation and consider how you and your club can help.