The Chronicle Vol 42 23 - Rotary Club of Croydon & Montrose · 2014-11-28 · Greeter and hugger for December Ian Cumming Cashiers for December Jean Stuart, John Hexter Two course

                                                                                 A publication of the Rotary Club of Croydon ID No 18360                        R I District 9810 Tuesday 2nd of December 2014 Volume 42 Number 23                                                            President Mr John Van Holsteyn                                                                

PROGRAM DATE Tuesday December 2nd. Dorset Gardens Hotel 6.30 p.m. for 7.00p.m. start Partners Night Christmas Function Details are coming DATE Tuesday December 9th. Dorset Gardens Hotel 6.00 p.m. for 6.30p.m. start SUBJECT Soksan School in Cambodia SPEAKER Donna Cooper CHAIR Jill Fletcher DATE Tuesday December 23rd Dorset Gardens Hotel, 7.00 a.m. for 7.15a.m start SUBJECT Last meeting of the year, “Breakfast Meeting”

RAFFLE PRIZES- M. Sinclair, J. Stuart, R. Taylor, E. Thomas. BIRTHDAYS - Heather Tinney Nov 24th, John Hexter Nov 29th. ANNIVERSARIES – Fred and Jeanette Griffiths Nov 1st, _ Roger and Dianne Paul Nov 3rd

The Rotary Club of Croydon

“Hugs all Round”

“Enjoy the ride”

Fun, fellowship and friendship combined into one giving spirit.

THE CHRONICLE 2‐12‐2014

Postal Address: P.O. Box 226 Croydon Victoria 3136

Meeting venue: Dorset Gardens Hotel 335 Dorset Road Croydon 3136

Club President: John Van Holsteyn [email protected]. 039 758 4699

Imm. Past President: David Ferres 039725 1899

Secretary: Joy Varughese [email protected] 0451 880 186

Incoming President Elect: Richard Gilham [email protected] 0428 329900

Treasurer: Eric Thomas [email protected]

Please advise apologies for meetings to Jean Stuart on 0416 036489 or mail : [email protected]

Greeter and hugger for December Ian Cumming Cashiers for December Jean Stuart, John Hexter

Two course dinner $25.00 at the Dorset Gardens Hotel.

Chronicle contributions and any articles of interest are invited from all members and persons that have an interest in the promotion of Rotary

International. Please email Richard at: pr/[email protected]

By close of business Friday.

Club Program for October – December 2014. 

Club Program for December 2014. 

Tuesday December 2, 2014     Christmas Function This meeting will be our Christmas gathering for 2014. Partners Night 6:30 for 7:00 PM start. The 

Christmas Dinner will be held at Dorset Gardens Hotel in The Elm Room. The all inclusive cost for 

the evening is $45 per person. Everyone attending is encouraged to bring along a wrapped gift to 

the value of $10 for a KK, remember last year the pot of herbs was the most sought after “gift”. 

What item will capture your imagination this year? 

Tuesday December 9, 2014  Donna Cooper from Soksan School in Cambodia will be our speaker 

for this evening. 

Tuesday December 23,  

As this is our last meeting before Christmas the meeting will change to a “Breakfast Meeting” 7:00 

AM for a 7:15 AM Start.   

Tuesday December 30, 2014    No Meeting 

Tuesday January 6, 2014     Meeting details to be advised . Going Bowling????   

Ross Taylor 

Tonight we said good night to Rachael Kensey who has been looking after us every week at our venue the Dorset Gardens Hotel. Rachael is off to be a mother again for the third time. Here tell a baby of the female gender may be the go. Good luck Rachael our thoughts are with you.

President’s Report  

We’re definitely getting into the busy Christmas season. Events are being  

organised earlier and earlier, and we found over the last few years that  the  

middle  weeks of December are relatively quiet. You may have a similar  

experience? 

Last Sunday, a few of our members and partners attended the fiftieth anniversary of the Lions Club of 

Croydon. It was a splendid event, which showcased the enormous contribution they have made to the 

community of Croydon. It will be our turn in another 7 to 8 years to celebrate that milestone. 

Our guest speaker on Tuesday, Errol Oehme, gave a very stirring and upbeat account of new developments 

in health that he expected to lead to longevity.  I trust that you will verify claims like this for yourself. The 

good message he gave us was that we can do something about achieving better health.  

Hope to see many of you at our Christmas celebration next Tuesday. 

John 

CHAIRMAN’ REPORT

You are what you eat! 

Hello all, at last Tuesdays meeting we had the pleasure of having Errol Oehme as our guest speaker.  Errol is 

at the forefront of cutting edge nutrition and does talks and presentations all over the world, his 

background and qualifications in various science and engineering fields has given him an insight into a 

world where conventional medicine dare not tread. 

His knowledge on nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and trace elements is that of an expert and his 

explanations on what to take, the amount to take, and very importantly how to take it had us all 

listenening with great eagerness.  Errol gave us some insight into the role that nutrients can play in the 

medical arena in regards to disease prevention and cure, also in the treatment of many other medical 

conditions. 

We also had the pleasure of hearing a little about his passion for stem cell research.  Again his expert 

knowledge had us all enthralled and I don’t know about you but I am now quite convinced that I’m going to 

live forever!  Considering the amount of questions asked of Errol at the end of his talk we all got something 

out of it and were well engaged.  Errol has offered to come back again to go into more detail on any topic 

that he covers.  I think that we would be very lucky, and that he would be very welcome. 

Thanking you, 

Rowan Cole. 

Sewing Day for Treasured Babies Two weeks ago I attended a sewing workshop for Treasured Babies. I have to admit like so many of us I could think of a lots of reasons why I couldn't afford to spend a Saturday sewing little night gowns for the Treasured Babies organisation. It wasn't until we were all gathered at the work table and were introducing ourselves that I heard a story that completely changed my attitude towards this day. A beautiful young women Sophie explained why she was there, she had lost two babies both born prematurely. Sophie and her husband received a Care Gift from Treasured Babies. In their lowest moment of grief they were offered a beautiful hand crafted gown in which to dress her little baby, a soft blanket to wrap the little one in and a tiny teddy. Sophie couldn't sew but undaunted she purchased a sewing machine and set out to learn to sew in order to give something back to the organization that had so much helped them in their moment of need. Sophie's story reinforced the reason I had given up my Saturday to sew with such an enthusiastic group. Treasured Babies' Program supports bereaved parents while they are still in hospital with their baby or babies. The Care Gifts packages contain beautiful handmade clothing that has been specially designed for babies who are very fragile. Our Club has supported Treasured Babies for many years as a Community Service Project.

Can you sew?

Would you like to help? I have the simple patterns to sew the gowns and I am happy to share these with anyone who would like to sew for Treasured Babies.

Pat Taylor

Foundation of Goodness

Our Special Projects recently received a donation of US$10,000 from Captain’s Choice to be made to the Village Heartbeat Project run by the Foundation of Goodness in Sri Lanka. This was followed up by a visit from passengers to the centre resulting in another US$30,000 donation from passengers. This is currently being processed through Rotary Australia World Community Service.

Established in 1999, the Foundation of Goodness, based in Seenigama village near Hikkaduwa has worked relentlessly to improve the lives and livelihoods of many thousands of people. The Foundation of Goodness was set up by Kushil Gunasekera whose family came from Seenigama. The aim was to give holistic support to the poor rural community to bridge the gap between the rural and urban sectors.

Before the tsunami: 1999-2004. In the early days, it provided English and Computer classes, Sports Training to village children, upgrades to villagers’ dwellings (including water, sanitation and electricity supply) and a simple medical clinic.

Rebuilding lives: 2005-2007. When the Tsunami struck in 2004, Kushil gifted what was left of his ancestral home and garden to the village, setting up firstly an emergency centre and then, with sponsorship from the Marylebone Cricket Club, developing the MCC Centre of Excellence, which is now the hub of the Foundation of Goodness' work.

The Post-Tsunami international funding has provided facilities and opportunities which have been open to all for free of charge and have benefitted around 20,000 villagers in about 25 villages.

Holistic Community Development: 2007 onwards. With most Tsunami disaster response work drawing to a close, the focus is now on ensuring long term sustainability of the model that was originally envisaged when the Foundation was set up in 1999. The work continues to target improving the lives of rural communities. Special emphasis is placed on developing children through the provision of Pre-School, English and Computer Classes and a significant Sports Programme in Seenigama. Adult learning is supported through training in computer and business skills and English classes and for the women, classes in industrial and domestic sewing and cookery to enable them to support their families and in some cases to go into business. Medical and dental cares are extending from tending the sick into preventative health care programmes.

Village Heartbeat Project

The first Village Heartbeat Centre opened in August 2007 in Udumulla, near Hikkaduwa, Southwest Sri Lanka. Its success lead to a second centre being established in Rathgama in 2010. The VHP Centres benefits700+ villagers annually.

In October 2014 a 3rd village heartbeat was set up in Monaragala, marking expansion of FoG’s work to the East and Southeastern regions of Sri Lanka.

The project is a rural community development model that can be replicated throughout the rural third-world. It is designed to empower local people through the provision of services vital to the community in one location at the heart of the village.

The Village Heartbeat Centre provides high quality facilities rarely available in rural villages including:

Computer Training Centre (equipped with ten computers) Community Centre Library English Classes Women’s Enterprise Courses Youth & Women’s Empowerment Programmes Children’s Goodness Club Village/ Environment Improvement Plans Spiritual training to improve the quality of life Volunteer expertise oriented programmes

All programmes are free of charge and are taught by qualified teachers. Overseas volunteers work with them to develop new classes and skills and these are open to all who wish to attend from the village and surrounding areas. As well as scheduled classes, the centre is also used as a venue for village clubs and public meetings.

Brian McDaid

Cherish your family and friends as if the quality of your 

life depends on them 

IT DOES!!! 

? Have you invited some-one to our Rotary Meeting this week? It is not that hard. Time to light up and continue your journey with Rotary and be proud of the Badge you wear. Look at what we did last year and it is going to get even bigger and brighter this year. Share the light. We are!

Are you interested in becoming a member of the Rotary Club of Croydon? Membership will expand new horizons for you. Give John a call on 039 758 4699 Email

[email protected]                     “HUGS ALL ROUND“

“HUGS ALL ROUND”