| The Club and the Albury and Wodonga branches of Bunnings are planning a joint exercise re the Community and placing a permanent seat at a location overlooking Albury Tigers Football Ground. The seat will be situated at Riverside Terrace, at the lower embankment level of the main road in a small recess. Manufacturing clients of Bunnings will be supplying their products for use, e.g. Dulux for painting the road safety rail, their cement supplier for concreting the seat to the ground etc. We have also cleared all ‘environmental’ requirements of Albury City Council, and there is an excellent possibility of them supplying a new type recycled seat to go toward the project.
Each year club members make a voluntary donation of approximately $100 toward the wonderful work undertaken on our behalf by RI. Each club is assessed on its annual contributions over a three year period when it makes application for various types of grants |
Community Service
The Dreamfields music event was held on Saturday 13th April at Riverina TAFE Environment Campus created to provide an entertainment experience for young local musicians and an under 18 crowd during school holidays. It was expected that around 600 kids would attend the afternoon/evening with tickets heavily promoted through schools with funds going to Head Space. Albury Hume RC voted to support Dreamfields to the tune of $2000 cash plus some manpower. Dan recruited a couple of marketing graduates who volunteered their time to help. Rotaract members were used to assist with operational planning beforehand, and also attended on the day to man the kiosk. It also happened that this event took place on a day which the Club was involved in Footy Gates and Harvey Norman BBQ. Ron Haberfield and Dan Sawyer attended to oversee the kiosk operation throughout the day. While Wodonga Council’s all ages RedFest on the following day attracted over 2,000 people, Dreamfields was a lowly attended event with only about 120 patrons enjoying a good atmosphere and no problems. The Rotary/Rotaract kiosk raised $550 for Head Space.
Kitenden, Tanzania – Pre School
The opening of the school went well. The teachers were well prepared and in the first week 35 students were enrolled. We expect that this will increase over the next month as word gets out to those who may not be aware what is going on in the centre of the village, or parents who were waiting to see how things work.
Visit to Kitenden by Project Manager and Maasai Elder Kisham, our project manager visited the school on the day of its opening. He was accompanied by my friend Clamian, a Maasai elder who owns a tourism business and has worked on community projects who went to give the Head Teacher some business advice on managing the school finances and staff. I have attached photos that they took of the school but unfortunately they arrived late in the village because of trouble with their vehicle (this happens in Tanzania as the roads are very bad and take a heavy toll on cars) and many of the children had just gone home, so there is only one photo with children in it. Kisham is back in the village this week and will take photos of the children. I think that you will find that the school is looking very attractive following the renovations. They spent time with the teachers and inspecting how the school was set up. Both Kisham and Clamian found the school in good order, but an issue was identified with the proximity of the toilet to the kitchen, which we are looking into.
Dear Siang
a, Here is hope that this e-mail finds you and your lovely family. I have to admit that the school is in good order now and I thank the Rotary Club of Albury Hume for funding this project and on behalf of my fellow Maasai who benefit from the school. I know how important it is for children to get a pre-school in Maasailand. When we were sent to school, it took us more than four years to be able to understand the teacher. By having a school like this one, means that these beautiful girls and boys will now attend primary school when they can understand the teacher and able to write and read. What a big impact Rotary Club of Albury Hume has brought to this land.
Club Meeting 3 April 2013
Presentation of Dr John McDonald Medical Scholarships At last week’s meeting gift awards including a Text Book, I-Pad and Diagnostic Equipment were presented to first-year medical students Loran Towell and Maddie Bullock, the 
first recipients of awards in the scholarship programme established by Albury Hume in memory of Past President Dr John McDonald. Loran is studying at the University of Queensland whilst Maddie is at the University of NSW … both young ladies completed their secondary education locally and hope to return to the Albury-Wodonga area when they have completed their studies. In a separate ceremony, later on Wednesday, Maddie also received a $5,000 Scholarship from Albury City Council, presented to her by Mayor Alice Glachan … this scholarship was established through the Rural Clinical School of Medicine in 2007 to assist first year medical students studying at the University of New South Wales. Maddie was selected as part of Council’s annual medical scholarship program which awards local medical students much needed funds to complete their studies. The overall aim of the program is to encourage doctors to return to regional communities where their skills are desperately needed.
President’s Message
| As I write this I am also thinking of the persons we all delivered our Easter bags to last week. The gentleman I saw in Prune Street was most appreciative and we spent about a quarter of an hour just chatting away on his doorstep. I hope other members who delivered the bags also had an enjoyable time passing on Easter cheer and happiness. Also a big vote of thanks to Anne McNaught and helpers who saved the day for us following Julie’s accident. Thanks too for all members assisting with the deliveries. I trust members also had an enjoyable Easter break with family and friends. Alison and I were joined for Easter Day by all our offspring and in one instance, their offspring.
Hon. Michael Kirby Luncheon Re our hosting this luncheon on 2nd May … we are beginning to receive some acceptances from fellow Rotarians of nearby clubs. Gordon will be forwarding a sheet at the next meeting to our members advising whether they will be attending. A reminder the date is 2nd May 2013 at Murray Gardens Retirement Village start approx. 12.30pm, and a cost of $45 per person. John McDonald Medical Scholarship Awards At this week’s meeting, we will be presenting two Scholarship awards in the name of Past President John McDonald. The recipients will be two ladies , one studying a Post Graduate Medical Course at Uni of Queensland, and the other an Undergraduate from Uni NSW. Their names are Loren Towall and Maddie Bullock from Wodonga. We are also hopeful to have Margaret McDonald in attendance to present the awards. |