Well by all accounts Tuesday’s meetings at the Murray Bridge Hotel and the Swanport Hotel were a great success. I can only really speak about the Murray Bridge Hotel but we were talking non stop, laughing a lot and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. The feedback is “we want to do this again”. Thank you to Jacquie and Jenny P for organising this.
The pic is of the Murray Bridge Hotel bunch. The Swanport group were having such a good time they forgot to take a photo.
Preparations for the Rotary Awareness Night are well in hand. I know a lot of invitations have gone out so hoping for a lot of acceptances. It is important to inform the general public about the wonderful work Rotary does locally, nationally and world-wide.
This week we return to the Bridgeport. Our Guest speaker, Mark Smith is going to tell us everything there is to know about sharks. Invite friends along to this meeting but don’t forget to let Jacquie know if you are bringing guests along.
Thought for the week:
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.” - Helen Keller
ROMAC commenced in March 1988 out of the actions of an Australian Rotarian who, with a group of surgeons, visited Lambasa in Fiji. They found the child mortality rate as high as 25% in some places. They quickly identified that lack of medical and surgical facilities and skills for children of the island nations in Oceania, was a major cause. Rotary faced the challenge to assist an 18-year-old Fijian girl whose right leg was threatened if immediate surgery was not performed.
During the next four years, eight children were brought to Australia for major, often lifesaving, surgery. Soon 20 Australian Rotary clubs were caught up in the success of each case and assisted in various ways. ROMAC established five regions representing clubs in the west, east, south, north and centre of the country.
ROMAC in New Zealand and Australia enlists assistance from medical experts, hospitals, nurses, physiotherapists, pathology and radiology services, airlines, sponsors and other supporters. Today ROMAC is providing surgical treatment to around 30-40 children from Oceania every year – we are making a huge difference in their lives.
Image shows Rosie, ROMAC’s 5th patient in 1991 and now our Ambassador, with Dulcia a recent scoliosis patient
Breadtags for Wheelchairs
Happy New Year to all our supporters!
We have hit the road running for 2025 with five wheelchairs provided to the Flower Foundation Home for the Aged in Pretoria - South Africa. One of these is for permanent use by Lenard (centre), while the others are for general use to enable residents to move around, e.g. get to the dining room and participate in activities. This takes our wheelchair tally to 124.
Object of Rotary
The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:
FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life;
FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.