R O T A R Y C L U B O F B E A U M A R I S W E E K L Y B U L L E T I N Number 35, 17 March 2014

Next Meeting

THURSDAY 20 MARCH

NO MEETING

DISTRICT CONFERENCE

THURSDAY 27 MARCH

SPEAKER: DON CULLEN

TOPIC: TIBETAN VILLAGE PROJECT

CHAIR: TRISH SMYTH

AV: ADRIAN CULSHAW

CASH DESK: ROB FENTON & MALCOLM PARKS

HOST: GREG EVERY

THURSDAY 3 APRIL

SPEAKER: TBA

TOPIC: TBA

CHAIR: CHARMAINE JANSZ

AV: DAVID LEA

CASH DESK: ROGER FREWEN & DAVID RUSHWORTH

HOST: GREG EVERY

Presidents Report

Despite having four members on extended LOA at the mo-ment, the attendance on Thursday night was very high and members and guests, including Penny Culshaw and Cathy Parkes, were treated to an excellent array of speakers.

Margie Read Flavell from the Beaumaris Sports Club Master

Planning Committee (BSCMPC) kicked off with an update on

the new Sports Club at the Oak Street Oval. The building will

cost an estimated $4.1 million against which approximately

$2.86m has been raised. The much needed and new venue

will include updated facilities for Beaumaris Lawn Tennis Club

as well as new Club rooms for Beaumaris Football and Crick-

et Clubs. The new building will include a function room, meet-

ing rooms, members Sports Bar, a café and a balcony that

wraps around the west, north and eastern first floor level.

A major contributor to the funds raised was from two very suc-

cessful “Day on Oak Street” festivals at which Adrian ar-

ranged for a number of RCOB members to assist by manning

stalls and cooking sausages.

Margie was effusive regarding the club’s support and present-

ed us with a Certificate of Appreciation. There are huge op-

portunities for RCOB to improve our visibility in the community

by association with this group in the future.

Rebecca Bartlett (successful World Peace Fellow applicant)

spoke of her travels and her success at gaining admission to

the University of North Carolina. The last few months has

seen Rebecca work in her chosen field of Maternal Health in

the Philippines, Narrabri, Sydney and Canberra. Rebecca

has promised to join us at Changeover before heading off to

North Carolina.

Contents

1 Presidents Report 2 Notices 3 Last Week’s Speaker 4 Bayside Mayoral Charity Golf Day 5 Club Structure / Picture of Week

SERGEANT’S HOMEWORK TOPIC;

NO MEETING

Unless stated otherwise venue is Victoria Golf Club 6.30 for 7.00

R O T A R Y C L U B O F B E A U M A R I S B U L L E T I N – S E R V I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 9 8 5

Page 2

Since a recent visit to Swaziland, Malcolm and Kathy

Parkes have been enthusiastically promoting an organi-

zation known as Possible Dreams International (PDI) and

on Thursday night, we found out why.

According to their website, there are currently 180,000

AIDS orphans and vulnerable children in Swaziland due

to the widespread death of men and women of child

bearing age due to HIV/AIDS where approximately 26%

of the population is infected.

Possible Dreams International identifies the need for re-

lief and provides medical care, food, water and housing.

Dr. Maithri Goonetilleke MBBS, BMedSc, Sc

(Biomedical), Executive Director and Founder of PDI re-

ally caught the club’s attention with his passion, humour

and heartbreaking stories. Maithri is one of the most in-

spiring speakers we have heard and it was of no surprise

that the club adopted PDI as a new international project

and presented Maithri with a cheque for $1,000 on the

night. A full report on PDI’s activities is included in this

newsletter.

Please support Chris D’Arcy’s request for volunteers for the Beaumaris North Primary School Fete on Saturday week (29th) which is, as previously stated, a wonderful opportunity to showcase the Club.

Congratulations to Richard Sherman who will finally be-come an Aussie this week and to Jim O’Brien and the golf team from Sandringham for filling most of the spots available at the upcoming Bayside Mayoral Golf Day at Royal Melbourne.

The bags are packed, the golf clubs are at the ready, the bling has been distributed – all we need to do now is travel to Bendigo and have a great time.

See you in Bendigo,

Robert

Hocking Stuart Sandringham 62-64 Station Street

Note; As part of our arrangement with Hocking Stuart discounts on agents fees are available to RCOB members.

Penny and Adrian Culshaw along with Margie Read Flavell

Peter, Rebecca Bartlett and Megan

2014 Bayside Mayoral Charity Golf Day Sponsorship Package

We are still looking for more sponsors for the above.

You can find the Sponsorship Package details on Page 4.

R O T A R Y C L U B O F B E A U M A R I S B U L L E T I N – S E R V I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 9 8 5

Page 3

This Week’s Speaker; Dr Maithri Goontilleke

Topic: Possible Dreams International

Maithri Goonetilleke was born in Sri Lanka and emigrat-ed to Australia with his family at the age of six during the height of the civil war. He grew up in Melbourne and graduated from Melbourne University with degrees in medicine and advanced medical science. In his final year of medical school he first visited Swaziland and was deeply moved by the experience.

Upon his return to Australia, Maithri began to practice medicine at the Austin Hospital in Heidelberg, Victoria. During his spare time he began fundraising and engag-ing with local community leaders to find creative ways of supporting orphaned children and those suffering with AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. In his holidays he would return to Africa and volunteer as a doctor in rural and remote areas of Swaziland and further develop relation-ships with the local community. In addition to his work in Southern Africa he has also run single doctor medical clinics with the Daasanach people of Northern Kenya and the Orma tribe of Eastern Kenya.

A few years into his practice, Maithri made the decision to devote his life to empowering rural communities in the developing world. He is the Founder and Executive Di-rector of Possible Dreams International (PDI). As a doc-tor, he has worked in a diversity of roles around Austral-ia: as a medical registrar in tertiary hospitals, running sole-doctor emergency departments in rural areas, work-ing in indigenous communities and in correctional institu-tions.

Maithri has a love of music and has sung professionally for many years. He founded the Possible Dreams Inter-national Choir which is composed of Swazi youth from rural areas who use music as a tool of empowerment, singing to inspire those who are suffering in their commu-nities. The Possible Dreams International Choir released

their first CD ‘Voices for the Voiceless’ in 2011, and toured Melbourne, Australia in 2013.

Maithri speaks regularly around Australia and interna-tionally on issues related to HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty and the work of Possible Dreams International and has been featured on several national and international me-dia programs. He is the author of ‘Letters from a Young Doctor: Stories from Swaziland’ which was released by Ilura Press in March 2013. Maithri was also recently awarded the 2012 Carey Medal ‘in recognition of excep-tional and outstanding service to the wider community’. The Possible Dreams Paradigm was developed in re-sponse to an insidious cycle of disease (namely HIV/AIDS) and extreme poverty in rural areas of Swaziland. Swaziland has the highest level of HIV/AIDS infection in the world at 26% of the population. About 37% of the population are below 14 years of age with 1/3 of all chil-dren being orphans. Possible Dreams International honours the dignity of ru-ral people in Swaziland and uses a dual strategy of emergency relief aid and sustainable development pro-jects to empower communities.

Maithri gave a highly detailed, well illustrated talk which gave every one who was there an excellent understand-ing of the depth of poverty and desperation of the people PDI support in Swaziland. He also showed how the strategy of facilitating personal and community develop-ment created long lasting benefit not just short term aid.

To see more about PDI, its strategies and projects see the PDI website;

http://www.possibledreams.org/about/who-

we-are/

The website includes a comprehensive donation site.

R O T A R Y C L U B O F B E A U M A R I S B U L L E T I N – S E R V I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 9 8 5

Page 4

2014 Bayside Mayoral Charity Golf Day Sponsorship Package

Attached for your information is part of the pdf file for the

above. Click on this link if you want to see the full package.

http://beaumarisrotary.com/bayside-mayoral-charity-golf-day-at-royal-melbourne/

R O T A R Y C L U B O F B E A U M A R I S B U L L E T I N – S E R V I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 9 8 5

Page 5

Native American and Her Horse

From 2011 to 2013 Erika Larsen, whose photograph this is, travelled to many locations

in the western U.S. to learn about the significance of the

horse in Native American cul-

ture.

Katie Harris is photographed with her Appaloosa. Harris

made most of the horse trap-pings as well as her own tradi-tional outfits herself, including the bead work. Some of the trappings are passed down

from older generations but the girls like to make their own to

continue the tradition.

CLUB STRUCTURE 2013 - 2014 UPDATED 18/03/2014

CLUB SERVICE

President Bob McArthur Director Ken Mirams

PE, VP Ken Mirams Auditor Tony Phillips

Secretary Roy Seager Program Greg Every

Treasurer Malcolm Sawle Mee�ng A�endance Ken Mirams

Founda�on Mar�n Fothergill Communica�ons David Lea

Membership & Marke�ng Trish Smyth Fellowship Judi Hall

Interna�onal Fred Hofmann Sergeant David Hone

Youth Service Rob Fenton Photographer Greg Every, John Beaty

Community Chris D'Arcy Almoner Antony Nixon

Fundraising Adrian Culshaw Hosts & Cashiers Roster

On to Conference John Manks Youth Protec�on Officer Malcolm Parks

New Visions David Greenall

TEAM MEMBERS

Interna�onal Community Youth Service Fundraising

Harry Wolfe Geoff Abbo/ Kerrie Geard John Beaty

David Langworthy Richard Shermon Chris Mar�n Heather Chisholm

Geoff Stockdale Geoff Stringer Mary Sealy Roger Frewen

Ross Phillips Tony Phillips Megan Glenwright

Malcolm Parks David Greenall Golf Mike Hede

Tony McKenna Jim O'Brien David Rushworth

Roy Seager Charmaine Jansz

James Glenwright Antony Nixon

Susan De Bolfo

Membership and Marke�ng

Peter Flude

Richard Jones