The Westerner for May 2, 2011
Meeting: chair, Mike Ryan; music, Jerome; grace, Fred
Attendance/Guests: 35 including Gem Munro, guest speaker, and Gabriel Munro; Steven P. Eleniak, Rotary Club of Edmonton Northeast; Bill Macklem, Rotary Club of Edmonton South; Robert Marshall, guest; Arlaine Monaghan, Assistant District Governor from Rotary Club of Spruce Grove
Gift Cards: please purchase from Kasey so we can use the profits on club projects
Eyes for Huehue: Al Sanderson advised that Zen had donated 2 tickets to the club - they were auctioned, Dave purchased; buy your tickets from Ben Doz to support the eye mission to Guatemala
Finemaster: Don McDermid filed himself $2 for missing a previous date to be finemaster; he then asked table questions which did not earn much so everyone paid $2
50/50: the Bill & Bill show - Mcdonald & Buckham did not match cards - $155 carried over
Casino: Bill Buckham advised that many members have stepped up to volunteer for the shifts on July 24/25
Guest Speaker: Rob Dunseith introduced Gem Munro who is a painter, poet, writer and has published a book on his family's Bangladesh experiences. Gem and his wife Tanis found a challenge in trying to educate women in the slums in Bangladesh and have had some success even though many people and organizations told them that the poor women in the slums had no ability to learn. Gem and his wife have , through their charity Ameroc, established a program to educate women who in turn must pass their learning on to at least 5 other women or children. Boys are allowed to attend the classes but the target is the women.
Gem has found that developing an association with Rotary Clubs has fostered better growth in their program to enhance the poorest education system on Earth (Bangladesh is known as the poorest of the poor, worst of the worst). The slums are possibly the most dangerous place on Earth with millions of children too poor to go to school and no other international charities work in the slums.
They decided to work in the slums to alleviate the condition of people through education. They could not build schools and bring in teachers. The plan was to teach mothers to be the neigbourhood teachers. Gem's charity has penetrated the slums and shown that the poorest of Muslim women can learn. They teach literacy in the local language, arithmetic, English as it is the language of advancement in Bangladesh, hygiene, nutrition, health, birth control. Slum life suppresses normal development. Disagreements escalate to violence quickly. By educating the women to think, the world around them starts to make more sense. If no learning, depression occurs, then dispair. With learning, life becomes precious, especially as they help others to learn.
Gem started a tour of Canada to sell his book but the chance introduction to Rotary starting in Belleville changed the focus. There are 40 Rotary clubs in Dacca, Bangladesh, and there is ample opportunity to partner 3 ways to improve the life style condition for some of the inhabitants of the Bangladesh slums. If we continue to work there, we can eliminate the ability of radical Muslims to negatively escalate the situation. We can also, through education, solve the problem at relatively low cost.
Gem was thanked by Mike Ryan.
Ed Schultz says to see an interesting article on Bangladesh - see National Geographic May 2011 page 58 "Bouyant in Bangladesh" - the residents refuse to give in to the rising sea (by Don Belt)