It was a busy meeting this week, we had lots of guests and things to get through.
Amanda Stapleton was delighted to receive her Paul Harris Fellow award from our Club, in recognition of all the great works she does in our community. She sent us a lovely thank-you email through Bob.
It was my first official PHF presentation as President. Hopefully there will be many more.
We had a terrific presentation from Di and Geoff Double, David Button and Greg Peck (RC Pakenham) on their trip to Balibo.
Balibo is a town in East Timor situated approximately 10 kilometres from the Indonesian border. There is a huge amount of damage left from the 1975 conflict with Indonesia. Repairs have never been done to the buildings and now most are derelict.
My understanding is that the trip was a reconnaissance mission to find out what the people in Balibo want and need and to work out how Donations in Kind (DIK) can get it to them. The people that went over took school supplies with them and distributed them in their travels while driving dodgy 4-wheel drive vehicles on very scary roads. Very brave of them, I think!
Cheryl’s rotary information presentation on Rotary Adventure in Citizenship (RAIC) was very informative. RAIC is an intensive and fun filled week-long program to help prepare young adults for full participation as citizens of Australia. Cheryl felt that we should be educating all our youth on how our government works, because it would help them understand our society better.
A reminder to members to please bring children’s and teenage books for donation to CNCISS. We received a laundry basket full this week. Thank you to all who contributed.
Amanda Stapleton's exceptional contribution to the community was recognised by the Rotary Club of Berwick at the meeting on Wednesday night, when she was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF).
Amanda became a councillor for Mayfield Ward of the City of Casey in 2008 and was elected Mayor in 2012.
Currently she is Deputy Mayor and her Portfolios of Responsibility include Families, Welfare of the Older Person, Welfare of All Abilities, Careers, Environment and Affordable Housing.
She is a popular councillor who is well known for her humanitarian work; in particular, working on behalf of those with disability.
In response, Amanda acknowledged the good work that the Club does in the community and expressed her sincere thanks for the honour bestowed on her.
Past President Ricardo Balancy presented a cheque for $10,000 from his year as President, to Rhonda O'Connor and Stephanie Whyte from St John of God (SJOG) Hospital in Berwick.
Ricardo was accompanied by Bob Lay AM, who negotiated the sponsorship of the Club by SJOG.
In response, Rhonda thanked the Club and stated that the hospital appreciated the ongoing relationship and support provided by the Club.
Now that the hospital was fully operational, funds are now being devoted to maintaining excellent service and support to patients and their families.
A very interesting and informative presentation was provided by some of the group of Rotarians who visited Timor Leste in June this year. The group included representatives from the Rotary Clubs of Berwick, Pakenham, Keilor and Port Melbourne.
They visited Balibo and Belola travelling in 4-wheel drive vehicles along generally unmade roads. Balibo is 75 Km from Dili airport and is only 10 Km from the Indonesian border.
It is infamous for the fact that Indonesian Special Forces killed five journalists from Australian TV networks in 1975. 70% of the country's infrastructure was destroyed in the Indonesian invasion and 130,000 - 150,000 people died.
Therefore, Timor Leste is a new and developing nation with very little resources and a strong need to develop education and health. Habitual chewing of the betel-nut has led to a signicant problem with dental hygiene.
Two years ago, Rotary funded the formation of a dental clinic in Balibo House, which had been purchased by the Victorian Government in 2003. This clinic was important because there had never been a dentist in that area.
At Wednesday's Club meeting, Cheryl Zuhlsdorff gave a presentation on a program run by the Rotary Clubs of Woden and Canberra for about 35 Year 11 students called the 'Rotary Adventure in Citizenship'.
As a relatively new arrival in Australia from South Africa, Cheryl appreciated the merits of this program in preparing students for full participation as citizens of Australia.
The students view Parliament in action, including the Budget speech and Question Time. Through role plays, they participate in law-making debates and explore the functions of the Parliament.
In addition, they get to visit Foreign Embassies, the War Memorial, Duntroon Military College, the National Science & Technology Centre and the Australian Institute of Sport. Through this program, the students see where they fit in the world.
Cheryl concluded her presentation by inviting PP Gus Dominguez to taste items selected from two different bags to determine which of the two he preferred. The two items were, in fact, the same product.
Cheryl stated that the exercise proved that "We are all the same and unless we are fully informed, we cannot tell the difference".
Rhonda O'Connor from St John of God Hospital, Berwick, drew the winning ticket from Sandi's bag.
Believe it or not, it turned out to be Sandi's ticket.
On carefully drawing a card from the deck, Sandi drew the five of Clubs. To her great disappointment, she found that the Joker was the next card.
Make sure you buy your ticket before the meeting next week , when the Jackpot will be $308.50 amd there will be 49 cards and the Joker in the deck.
News Snippets
Women in Rotary
On Sunday 26 August, five ladies from the Club met at the Berwick Community Centre to undertake training in Malaysian cooking, organised by Diana Gomez-Fullaway.
Fried Noodles that had all sorts of vegetables included
Kueh Ketayap/Kueh Dadah (Pandan Pancake with coconut fillings)
By all accounts the event was highly successful and the results look very tasty.
'Fighting for Our Farmers' Drought Relief Appeal
Channel Nine’s 'FIGHTING FOR OUR FARMERS Drought Relief Appeal ' has now raised a staggering $9,410,292 to support drought-stricken farmers, since the Appeal launched on August 2.
This impressive amount was arised in partnership with Rotary and the National Farmers Federation (NFF). The donations are being administered by RAWCS and are being distributed to farmers in need with the help of the NFF.
Donors should know that 100-percent of their donations are going to the farmers.
Thank you to everyone who contributed.
Ask Izzy Website
Our guest speaker at next week's meeting will be Amodha Ratnayeke, Online Applications Manager, who will explain the purpose and benefits of the Ask Izzy website at https://askizzy.org.au
When you’re looking for support, Ask Izzy can help you to find the services you need, right now and nearby.
It is free and anonymous, and you can search over 350 000 services to find housing, meals, healthcare, counselling, legal advice, addiction treatment and a whole lot more.
September is Rotary's Basic Education and Literacy Month
Basic education and literacy is one of Rotary’s six areas of focus.
We know that basic education and literacy are essential for reducing poverty, improving health, encouraging community and economic development, and promoting peace.
According to a 2014 United Nations Millennium Development Goals progress report;
781 million adults are illiterate.
58 million children worldwide are out of school. Even after four years of primary schooling, as many as 250 million children cannot read and write.
If all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty, which would be equivalent to a 12% cut in world poverty.
In December 2017, it was reported that Australia's Year 4 literacy rate had risen from 27th to 21st in a study of 50 countries, but we still lag significantly behind those in countries such as Russia, England and Singapore.
Help to improve the situation by donating books to the collection organised by Rosemary Hughes for children and teenagers.
District 9820 Membership Forum
DG Janne Speirs requests that you come to hear inspirational speakers and participate in workshops on how to make Rotary interesting, so as to attract new members and inspire existing members.
When: Saturday 13 October
Where: Nossal High School, Berwick
Time: 10:00am until 4:00pm
2019 Multi-District Conference
The conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention Centre from 15-17 February 2019.
Early bird registration before 30 November will cost:
$175 per person, or
$125 per person for Rotarians < 2 years membership to encourage new members.
$110 per person for the conference dinner, which is optional.
Amanda Stapleton was delighted to receive her Paul Harris Fellow award from our Club, in recognition of all the great works she does in our community. She sent us a lovely thank-you email through Bob. 
Amanda Stapleton's exceptional contribution to the community was recognised by the Rotary Club of Berwick at the meeting on Wednesday night, when she was presented with a Paul Harris Fellowship (PHF).
Past President Ricardo Balancy presented a cheque for $10,000 from his year as President, to Rhonda O'Connor and Stephanie Whyte from St John of God (SJOG) Hospital in Berwick. .jpg)
A very interesting and informative presentation was provided by some of the group of Rotarians who visited Timor Leste in June this year. The group included representatives from the Rotary Clubs of Berwick, Pakenham, Keilor and Port Melbourne.
At Wednesday's Club meeting, Cheryl Zuhlsdorff gave a presentation on a program run by the Rotary Clubs of Woden and Canberra for about 35 Year 11 students called the 'Rotary Adventure in Citizenship'.
On Sunday 26 August, five ladies from the Club met at the Berwick Community Centre to undertake training in Malaysian cooking, organised by Diana Gomez-Fullaway. 
They were:
Channel Nine’s 'FIGHTING FOR OUR FARMERS Drought Relief Appeal ' has now raised a staggering $9,410,292 to support drought-stricken farmers, since the Appeal launched on August 2.
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