So three months in, how is it going? I certainly feel like this chap in the photo. All dressed up and the only way is down, FAST! As you can see in the photo, it is all calm and under control, more like a thrill ride and not an accident waiting to happen!
I am over ZOOM, as most who let me know their thoughts are too. However, Zoom is the only platform we have available to meet and communicate. While I sympathise with some members loathing of Zoom, what is your answer?? Even members who "don't do technology", what are you expecting? We have no choice, so get used to it. It is likely that Zoom will be here for some time to come. Many other Rotarians I speak to are in the same position. We are not alone by any stretch of the imagination.
The Club program has been specifically designed to showcase our opportunities in Rotary. Building our membership (Projects, Tony Heyward, Membership Forum, Polio Plus), exploring opportunities in our own community ( Projects, Casey Waste, Headspace, Supporting local business: Simon the Busker, ESRAG and local environmental projects), building a social connection (The best progressive dinner we have had all year), Who am I?, Behind the Badge, Darren Hodge Paramedic and looking inward to how our club functions (Club rules, Fireside Chat). Rotary provides so many opportunities and we need to be pumped up to make the most of these when the COVID gates are open. We have been penned in for far too long and we need a chance to do some Rotary work! I am expecting that most members will be brimming with ideas and the enthusiasm to get projects up and running.
Then we have the Coffee Club. This little "Jimbo" suggestion has produced the greatest contribution to the club by way of action. Don't underestimate the power of people on Zoom in their pyjamas!
While many Clubs have reduced their meetings to fortnightly and some are not meeting at all, I kind of like the flexibility of a weekly meeting with a Saturday morning coffee catch up for those that couldn't make it on Wednesday night.
Do you remember when we were kids, we all had a way to look out for each other? It is now time to get back into practice and get our youth back!
In the President's Plan, I wrote a bit about Fellowship and Member Welfare. I wanted to get a more robust version in place to make sure no members fell between the cracks. I assigned a huge number of people to this committee just to cover all the bases because everyone has their own friendship circles.
The committee description went like this: This committee is probably the most important and far-reaching committee in the Club. This is the care centre! People in this committee are charged with the welfare and engagement of the members. They are proactive in making sure everyone is alright and provide support when things go wrong. This committee is in charge of social activities that will create bonds between members and strengthen the social fabric of the club. A strong coherent club makes membership enjoyable and fulfilling. New members will quickly establish friendships through activities not directly related to the functions of the club.
OK, the function and purpose of this committee seem quite obvious to me and I thought it important to get it going ASAP, especially when we are all in isolation and things can go pear-shaped easily. We DO need to LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER. Jane Moore took up the challenge and has already made a difference to our members that she knows of, who need a boost. Jane cannot do it all on her own, remembering this is the most important function of Club Service in our Club. That huge list of committee members is needed to make sure everyone is covered by several people. It is fair to say that some people have come forward to help but more help is required. Jane has been very proactive considering I haven't written a job description which is a bit embarrassing for me. Please contact Jane if you can lend a hand to keep all our members connected and supported.
Here is an idea suggested by Jen Marshall in discussion with Jane.
"We also discussed welfare, which previously was checking in on members with illnesses or going through tough times. However, now with lockdown, really the entire club needs checking in on! As we are a club we should all be checking in on each other. So I was proposing we have a welfare week.
Using a current Rotarian list we match everyone up and for that week EVERYONE must contact their matched person. This can be a text message, an email, zoom call or a phone call. It could be a gesture or activity, this could include if you live within 5 km from your matched person, organising to go for a walk with them, dropping flowers, wine or a gift at their door (contactless). A couple of times a week, you could text a recommendation for a book, restaurant, recipe, weekend away location, podcast, or whatever interests that person, or you could send them a treat from a local cafe, anything. This could be contacted once for the week or it could be a couple of times - there are no rules except that contact must be made at least once in some way. We would try to match people that live within 5 km of each other and it is up to the pair to do whatever they want. But it is to remind each other that someone is thinking of them and to give people the chance to have a chat if they need it.”
I love the way this idea has evolved and that we have members in our club making an effort to come up with ideas to keep us together. Thank you to Jane for picking up the baton and Jen for coming up with a novel idea! It is up to us all to do our part for all our members.
At this week's Rotary Club of Berwick meeting, it is time to get out your finest hat and show your support for Australian Rotary Health. Each member wearing a hat will be invoiced $5, each member not wearing a hat will be invoiced $10. While this is just a bit of fun for our Club meeting, if you are really serious about supporting ARH, please head over to their donation page: https://australianrotaryhealth.org.au/support-us/quick-donation-form/
Australian Rotary Health (ARH) is one of the largest independent funders of mental health research within Australia.
ARH also provides funding into a broad range of general health areas, provide scholarships for rural medical and nursing students, as well as Indigenous health students. They provide funding into areas of health that do not readily attract funding, and promotes findings to the community. ARH is supported by a number of Rotary Clubs in Australia and on October 14th, it is the Rotary Club of Berwick's turn to support them.
The Centenary of Rotary in Australia and New Zealand is well and truly on the “horizon” for 2021!
What does this mean?
We plan to showcase and celebrate our first 100 years of community service
Launch new projects that will take us into the next 100 years
Rally Rotarians to share our Rotary goals in supporting vulnerable disadvantaged people in our world
Inspire by our actions to grow the membership of Rotary Australia
Share the fellowship that binds us together
The R100 Facebook page has been created because we think you "need to know" what is being put in place! We are planning to inform and remind you fortnightly of the exciting projects, events and planning for Wednesday, 21 April 2021 which we plan to sustain and continue into the next 100 Years of Rotary in Australia.
If you are eager to hear more immediately, please contact Hugh Bucknall at hbucknal@bigpond.net.au, or the Rotary Club of Melbourne at office@rotaryclubofmelbourne.org.au.
Extracted from Rotary Melbourne News for September 2020
Food waste is a major contributor in damaging our environment, because when food waste goes to landfill it decomposes and emits methane gas, a very toxic pollutant.
It is frightening that each year:
Australians send 3 million tonnes of food waste to landfill, the equivalent of 220 kg per person.
Victorian households throw out 250,000 tonnes of food, enough to fill Melbourne's Eureka Tower.
60% of the food we throw out is scraps.
29% of Australians leave 15% of their meal on their plate, when dining out.
Tips on cutting down on food waste
Shop smart - to avoid buying more food than you need, make frequent trips to the grocery store every few days rather than doing a bulk shopping trip once a week.
When supermarket shopping, avoid using plastic bags and wrappings.
If possible, avoid pre-packaged products and carry reusable
Store food correctly – improper storage can lead to a massive amount of food waste.
Learn to preserve to make food last longer to reduce waste.
Keep your fridge, freezer, and pantry tidy – an overstocked fridge can be bad when it comes to food waste.
Eat less meat as beef cattle are heavy emitters of methane gas.
Try composting, turning food waste into energy, but remember in the first place it’s best to reduce the waste we create.
Place food scraps in a Green bin for composting if the localcouncil provides.
Leftovers
Store leftovers in glass containers.
Consider serving smaller
Incorporate leftovers into your next meal.
Make delicious smoothies, be creative with the ingredients you use,
Making stock is an easy way to save on excess food.
Using the freezer is a good method to preserve food.
Keep track of what you throw away to prevent doing the same in the future.
Donate excess food to food banks and farms,
When dining out and not able to eat all on your plate, don’t be shy, ask for a doggy bag
North Cotabato Philippines Tank Installation and Skyhydrant Unit Monitoring.
This Global Grant project has been ticking along since 2015 with a number of setbacks along the way, including a change in the structure of the Global Grant to ensure sustainability and a slight problem with conflicts in the original project area.
The project has not been easy to implement and has required significant work by PP Terry Carmichael and PDG Tim Moore to make it work and get it to its current stage. Obviously, it has also taken a lot of work by the people on the ground to deliver the project.
Water Filtration for Six (6) Villages (GG# 1753140) at Barangay San Isidro, Midsayap, North Cotabato; Barangay Indahag, Cagayan de Oro City; and Barangay FS Catanico, Cagayan de Oro City’s, Philippines.
GG#1753140 is implemented with the objective of providing safe water supply to local residents in order to prevent the transmission of waterborne pathogens.
Clean water also reduces the exposure of individuals to chemical and physical hazards that could be ingested through contaminated drinking water. Diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases still rank among the leading causes of illnesses in the country. More information on what a Skyhydrant is can be found at:
This week, we have received a report for the North Cotabato Barangay site, which was turned over on 10th January 2020.
Purchased 1,000 litres capacity stainless steel tank from Cagayan de Oro as the supply of tanks in Midsayap or nearby cities are limited
Delivered the tank to Dualing c/o Dualing Marketing Cooperative headed by its President Aquilino Alinsangao who will manage the operation of the unit.
Installed the tank at the temporary site near the source besides the barangay hall. Target permanent area will be at their coop office at the back of the covered court. As of the moment their office was used as an isolation unit for LSIs coming back to their barangay.
Challenges encountered: unit is underutilized. During the visit, only 1 regular customer was availing of the clean water with four (4) containers being filled daily. The coop has not done any marketing of the water yet and are already thinking of availing a loan for the purchase of a vehicle to deliver the clean water to the residents and other target customers outside their barangay.
We suggested to start small and to encourage the members to patronize their product first and they themselves become the marketing arm, recruiting their friends to buy the clean water from the coop at a lower rate of P15 per container (the regular rate at refilling stations is at P25 – P30 / 5 gal. container). They can also ask those members that have vehicles (Motorolla's) to be the ones to deliver to customers outside their barangay and sell the water for additional income.
They were also expecting to receive the structure promised last January during the installation. They can give counterpart for the labor.
Plan of action: Coop to call a board meeting to discuss possible actions and call a general assembly after to introduce the safe drinking water services of the coop.
Needs frequent follow-up.
And also a report from San Isidro, Midsayap, North Cotabato
Visited Brgy. San Isidro and met with Rtn. Vic Sambo who welcomed us as Kap Valmoria was not around because of some emergency meeting with the Governor. Midsayap Rotary Past President Wilson Cortez was also around during the visit.
The unit is maintained by the women’s group of San Isidro headed by Ms Milagros Aposacas who does the backwash every day. She’s one of the 6 BHW trained during the formal turn over held last January 11, 2020.
Before the pandemic, most of the residents availed of the clean water for free especially the children. A pipe from the clean water tank is attached going to the school which is just beside the location of the skyhydrant water system. An average of 20-30 containers per day or average of 100 persons/day availed of the clean water.
Recently at the onset of the pandemic, those that fetched water from other barangays stopped getting water from Barangay San Isidro, due to travel restrictions. Because of the postponed classes, fewer children beneficiaries were able to avail themselves of the skyhydrant unit’s clean water. Only those who reside near the barangay covered court, where the unit is located, are regular customers fetching water at an average of 5 containers daily.
Actions taken: Re-orient staff in-charge on the operation and schedule of when to do the chlorination (once a week), especially given their source of water is brownish. Suggested putting a roof over the clean water tank and skyhydrant to protect the unit from becoming brittle and the hose from accumulating moss, thus contaminating the water. Clean/disinfect the water tank once a month. Recommended to have the clean water tested by an accredited water testing centre in Midsayap.
The Rotary Club of Berwick: Making a difference to the world in the many projects that it engages in.
For love of alma materWhen Rotary Scholar Chen Lin learned Kobe University in Japan was facing a COVID-19 related mask shortage, he united other alumni to
Securing medical care for homeless peopleA Rotary Peace Fellow uses her fellowship background and medical training to ensure that needs don’t get overlooked during the COVID-19
So far 10 brave walkers have joined us to help stop Polio. 38 people have donated to the cause and we are raising awareness of our Club and the work Rotary has done to eradicate Polio in the world. The Rotary Club of Berwick is doing its bit to End Polio Now.
Please join us, or donate to finish Polio off for good.
Food waste is a major contributor in damaging our environment, because when food waste goes to landfill it decomposes and emits methane gas, a very toxic pollutant.
GG#1753140 is implemented with the objective of providing safe water supply to local residents in order to prevent the transmission of waterborne pathogens.
Visited Brgy. San Isidro and met with Rtn. Vic Sambo who welcomed us as Kap Valmoria was not around because of some emergency meeting with the Governor. Midsayap Rotary Past President Wilson Cortez was also around during the visit.
