The Westerner for June 21, 2010
Meeting: chair & grace, Ben Doz; music, Jerome;
Attendance/Guests: 27 including Cheryl Bauer, Rotary Club of Edmonton, Andre Isaac, guest speaker
Hockey Pool Winner: Zen came back to pick up his winnings
Casino: Ben Doz announced last casino raised $72,450.25; well done all you workers
Air Cadets: Bill Buckham gave a good report from the squadron's annual review with info from Don St. Croix, 395's commanding officer - 395 won best squadron in the zone - average attendance per parade - 101 cadets; total muster strength 124 cadets comprised of 91 male and 33 female - female have many of the higher NCO positions; 55 cadets out on various summer scholarships including an exchange to the Netherlands, survival instructors' course, power flight course, 4 on gliding course, 39 in regular summer camp at either Rocky Mountain House, Penhold; 2 @ army drum major pipe band camp
50/50: Bill Arnold and Sandon did not match cards
Al Hamilton & Friends Golf Tournament: some golf positions left - sign up soon if you wish to golf; Brian needs some more volunteers - call him if you can work that day
Finemaster: John fined tables without guests, members not wearing Rotary pins, members that golfed on fathers day or participated in a bbq that day, Zen $5 because of hockey pool win
Guest Speaker: Andre Isaac is a second year medical student who is a member of the Edmonton Centre Rotoract Club (community based, not related to a specific unversity or college/club started in 2008). Andre started his Rotary career as a member of Cenntenial Interact Club @ Ross Shepard High School.
Edmonton Centre Rotoract acts on empowerment through education and all their projects centre on this initiative. Andre talked about Kenya Dig It, a SUBA Development Initiative project that the club under took. They helped rebuild Misori Primary School on Mangano Island in Lake Victoria, Kenya near the border between Kenya and Uganda. Because the school is close to the border, neither country has looked after supporting the school financially. The island has no electricity, no running water and most residents have never seen a person not born on the island. The school looks after 300 students but has no roof, poor walls. 21 Rotoractors went on the trip. They under went an 11-1/2 hour ride from the coast which included a short boat trip to the island. It rained every night which meant the club's supplies got rained out. The Rotoractors spent 3-1/2 weeks in tents which leaked every night. (Not anticipated during the 2 years planning and fund raising)
The Rotoractors were not prepared for the great poverty in the area. They worked on rebuilding the school floors, walls, roof. The islanders had no concept of women doing physical labour and were very surprised at the female Rotoractors doing hard labour. Andre showed a video which presented the signs they made for each classroom; patching or rebuilding concrete floors and walls; then repainting the walls and having the local children leave paint hand images on the walls. They also made a basketball court (the locals did not know what basketball was) and put up a 2 km fence to outline the school property (keep wild life and trespassers out). The fence was constructed with metal poles placed in concrete followed by barbed wire and chain link.
The project cost 345,000 Kenyan shillings ($5,000). The area now needs a nursery - what is there has no shelter from the elements - next year's project.
Population of the island is 15,000 when fishermen and other visitors are accounted for but only 5,000 actually live there. Transportation is not readily available in Kenya and the cost, especially of the boat trip for trips off the island, is high compared to income in Kenya.
Isaac was thanked by Ben Doz