This week was Circus Quirkus and as usual Jim and the team had a terrific event with some very positive feedback from social media.
Heartfelt thanks to Jim on another successful year. 2474 attendees were able to enjoy the event which is a monumental effort. Thank you.
A snippet from our Facebook page as below
Next week of course we have our annual DG visit – Jane Cox in which a number of topics will be discussed so we look forward to the participation of everyone and hopefully as many partners as possible. We shall also have some special visitors to the club and look forward to a terrific night.
You should all have received the note from Ros regarding this week's meeting being a "special event" - our DG visit, and one which we would encourage all members, spouses and friends to attend. Just in case you missed it, here's the note from Ros.
Dear Members
This week marks an important Club event with the visit of District Governor for 2015-2016, Jane Cox,
Sadly, the Club will also be saying farewell to Malcolm John and Alison. Malcolm has been an active and valued Club member for the past 9 years.
If you are bringing guests, or would still like to, please make sure you book them in with Ross before 12 o'clock Wednesday.
This week the emergency committee of the International Health Regulations (IHR) is meeting for the sixth time to assess whether the international spread of polio continues to constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Despite the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, a humanitarian pause enabled 50,000 children to be reached with the oral polio vaccine during the final week of Ramadan.
Wild poliovirus type 1 and Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus cases
Total cases
Year-to-date 2015
Year-to-date 2014
Total in 2014
WPV
cVDPV
WPV
cVDPV
WPV
cVDPV
Globally
34
9
134
31
359
55
- in endemic countries
34
1
117
31
340
52
- in non-endemic countries
0
8
17
0
19
3
- See more at: http://www.polioeradication.org/dataandmonitoring/poliothisweek.aspx#sthash.vQmnS5m9.dpuf
More often than not, each of my days starts with meeting one or more children who need to get heart surgeries done.
Their mothers and fathers wait for nine months for their bundle of joy to arrive but soon after the child is born they realize that the child has got a hole in the heart. And this creates holes in their hearts and their pockets. Their yearly income is not more than US$600 and the expense for a heart surgery is $3,000. It would take them five years to spend all that they earned to try and save the child, but who knows if the child will survive or not.
Fortunately I got initiated into the project of “Saving Little Hearts.” Over the last five years we were able to save more than 1,500 children’s lives by performing heart surgery, many coming from across the border from Pakistan. But one such instance made me realize it was far more than only saving their lives.
Rashi and I had travelled about 300 kilometers from our home to visit one of the patients who had come from Pakistan. Nazar Ali was just nine years old. He and his mother had travelled 14 hours by bus to reach the border of Pakistan and India, then another 12 hours by bus to reach Delhi. From there they travelled another 20 hours by train to reach the hospital where the child was operated on.
We met the mother and the child at the Hospital bed. The boy was smiling but the mother had tears in her eyes. Soon we realized that these were tears of joy – joy because her child got a new life. She said “it was a painful journey no doubt, coming so far but with my child now better and happy it means the world to me.”
And then she made a profound statement. She said “my son was born in Pakistan but he got a new life in India. He has not only just Pakistani but Indian blood in him too. Long Live India.” I suddenly realized the enormity of the statement.
For two countries who have fought three wars in 60 years, what could be a better way of bringing peace amongst their people? These hundreds of children who come from Pakistan for their surgeries in India under a program called “Aman ki Aasha” meaning “hope for peace” are all ambassadors Peace through Service.
Each day when we save three lives and do our bit to bring peace, I live my Rotary moment.
In an effort to keep Rotarians informed of the cadre’s activities, we are continuing distribution of Tech Talk, the cadre’s quarterly newsletter. I have attached the latest issue (August 2015)
Information about the cadre is also attached and any Rotarians who feel they would like to become cadre members should see the attached cadre registration instructions.
If you have any questions about the cadre, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Christian Pepera
Rotary Foundation Cadre Specialist | Stewardship | Office of the General Counsel
Currently Shelterbox Australia is distributing 14,000 tarpaulins in Nepal. The earthquakes have stopped shaking but the problem of the tens of thousands of the homeless remain.
Last financial year Shelterbox Australia raised over $A2 million. This is the first time that milestone has been exceeded.
Other areas that Shelterbox is working in include Syria, Cameroon, Chile, DPRK, Greece, Niger, Iraq and the Philippines. Situations in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi and Tanzania are currently being monitored.
The Rotary Club of Highton has been a regular contributor to Shelterbox for some years.
Don't smother each other. No one can grow in the shade. – Leo Buscaglia, 1924-1998, American Author and Expert on Love and Human Relationships A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. – Aesop, 620-560 B.C., Greek Fable Author As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary. – Ernest Hemingway, American Novelist and Short Story Writer
Airborne approximately thirty minutes on an outbound evening flight from Glasgow, the lead flight attendant for the cabin crew nervously made the following painful announcement..:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm so very sorry but it appears that there has been a terrible mix up one minute prior to take off, by our airport catering service... I don't know how this has happened but we have 103 passengers on board and, unfortunately, only 40 dinner meals... I truly apologise for this mistake and inconvenience."
When passengers' muttering had died down, she continued, "Anyone who is kind enough to give up their meal so that someone else can eat will receive free, unlimited drinks for the duration of our 5 hour flight."
Her next announcement came 90 minutes later... "If anyone would like to change their minds, we still have 40 dinners available."
While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old.. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, 'Are you a cop? Yes,' I answered and continued writing the report.. My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?' 'Yes, that's right,' I told her. 'Well, then,' she said as she extended her foot toward me, 'would you please tie my shoe?'
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake , was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked. 'It sure is,' I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do?'
) gold coins, as Community Service are running a raffle for a special cause.
By RI Director Shekhar Mehta.jpg)
