The Westerner for July 5, 2010
Meeting: chair, Mike Ryan; music, Jerome; grace, Bob Kimmerly
Attendance/Guests: 37 including Cheryl Bauer, Rotary Club of Edmonton and potential transfer to our club; Wayne Cameron, Rotary Club of Edmonton South; John Brown and Shane Lafond, club guests; Leo Seguin, guest speaker and Rotary Club of Westlock
Al Hamilton & Friends Golf Tournament: July 29 @ Cougar Creek
Club BBQ: July 17 @ Mike & Shauna Ryans'; 5:00 cocktails; 7:00 BBQ; bring your own refreshments, folding chairs and food for BBQ - potato salad and condiments are supplied, as are the barbecues.
You can download a map from our Club Website. Directions - west on Yellowhead Trail to Stony Plain/Calahoo Overpass; north on highway 779 for 14 km.; turn left (west) on TWP544 road for 1.5 km.; second entrance on right - see Rosal Acres sign (has a map); on the right go to 29 Salmon Drive (about 1 km.) Phone # 780-967-4172 The only lot with a railway caboose in the side yard.
Club Fun Golf: @ Victoria Golf on August 16; tee times start 1:00 pm; steak dinner 6:00 pm; join for dinner if you can't attend for the golf; golf includes golf cart $65; dinner $35
50/50: Don Hamilton & Sandon split $56
Finemaster: Ben Doz plied Rotary trivia questions - what club lost its charter, when and why = Duarte CA in 1989 for enrolling women as members; first motto of Rotary = He Profits Most Who Serves Best; what does the Rotary wheel symbolize = civilization and movement; number of words in the 4 Way Test = 24; of the Rotary International Presidents annual theme, what was the only one that comprised of one word = Participate (the editor thinks Ben got everyone for the maximum $2)
Guest Speaker: Don McDermid introduced Leo Seguin, Rotary Club of Westlock, owner-operator of a storage business in St. Albert. Leo talked about Rainbow for the Future Foundation. Leo has also written a book on how to write and deliver Eulogies and plays defence for oldtimers hockey in St. Albert.
A lot of the foundation's efforts centre on Ethiopia and Eritrea. They make sure their money is well used in international humanitarian projects. They partner with good people including Gudina Toombs Foundation. Most are female literacy projects. The first project involved $10,000 to a teacher who developed a 2 room school with some micro bank involvement and a store. This was followed by a CIDA backed project to inprove the school building to educate the local population. Students are more girls than boys. The Whitecourt Rotary Club then donated funds to build a teachers' residence so good teachers could be attracted to the school. The micro finance portion is used to empower women.
Further to that, both a grinding mill for grain processing and the best water source were 7 km away. A local cooperative was set up to build and run both a local grinding mill and a water point. Bringing these important services to the small town meant more time for women to obtain adult education. Strong African women will push Africa into the forefront of international endeavours, in the future.
Girls are offered for marriage between age 9 and 11 in this area. Girls are now saying no to parents and the town council so they can become educated and productive. Education drives human successes. In Ethiopia, usually only 1 child per family is offered the path to education. Rotary needs to return to help all family members gain education. Poverty steals self reliance and self worth. Education helps reverse that trend.
The foundation has also sent a container of medical equipment to doctors in the area to support 2 hospitals, a clinic and a home for the blind. 16 water projects have been undertaken. Employing local people to work by hand to develop a system to utilize river water and deliver it to where it is needed has been a successful tactic.
Leo invites us to attend the Rotary Club of Westlock dinner theatre each October. Tickets can be obtained through Don McDermid.
Leo was thanked by Al Sanderson.