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From the District Governor
It has been a very eventful past month. Adele & I have travelled to the Eastern and Western ends of our District visiting clubs and we are looking forward to visiting every club by the first week of December 22. I continue to be amazed by the fabulous variety and spread of club activity. Arts shows, golf days, BBQs, rotary shops, rotary markets, tree planting, community gardens, raffles, festivals. Support to local primary schools and secondary colleges and collaboration on rotary youth programs, environmentally sustainability projects, working with Local community groups, helping the homeless and community wellbeing projects. Many clubs have a signature overseas project they support in one of the 7 areas of focus (disease, health, peace, education, water, economic development, environment)  or contribute to The Rotary Foundation or Australian Rotary Health or other wonderful rotary programs. To quote our very inspiring Rotary International President Jennifer Jones ‘’The world needs Rotary more than every before”. Well let me say, our clubs are really achieving wonderful outcomes that will benefit others for years to come.
Congratulations! To 5 clubs in our district who have earned the Rotary Citation, this is the most significant award a Rotary club can achieve, for 2021-22. Well done to the President and members of RC Frankston Nth, RC Maffra, RC Moe, RC Rosebud Rye, RC Traralgon Central. IPDG Bill Degnan has posted a short article on the Rotary Citation later in the newsletter.
One of our highlights this past month was attending the Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) on Sat 20th Aug at Nossal High School. This was a joint District 9820 and District 9810 youth program activity. There were 20 delegations representing 20 countries who debated 3 resolutions in vigorous dialogue with sometimes humorous outcomes. It’s difficult to identify just a few Rotarians and Rotaractors from the fabulous team effort required,  to plan and activate this annual program. But I must say congratulations and special thanks to MUNA Leader Di Harrison, Youth Programs Chair Rob Cook and Secretary General Hakim Gassiep. This program is special because it amplifies the productive collaboration we have between Rotary Clubs and their local Secondary Colleges. It brings together students who really step up in their personal development and it involves Rotarians and Rotaractors working together. Please read more and see photos later in the newsletter.
Every year our district enjoys several major club anniversaries . Adele & I were privileged to enjoy an evening at the beautifully restored Regent Theatre, Yarram to celebrate the 75th anniversary of  the Rotary Club of Yarram. We were joined by Past District Governor Mark Humphries, District Governor Elect Linda Humphries and Assistant Governor Helen Lanigan. During the evening President Marcus presented a certificate to club members with over 10 years’ service and DG Paul inducted new club member Frances.
Rotary Leadership Institute- The first day of a 2 day program was run on Sat 27th Aug at Gippsland Rotary Centenary House, Traralgon. We had 20 Rotarians from 10 clubs attending. Congratulations to David Hanlon & Tim Wills for organising and facilitating the program. All attendees are looking forward to day two on 17th Sept.
 
Tony’s Trek -  Sadly, this event has been postponed until further notice. 
 
Rotary Youth Exchange D9820- A general communication is about to be circulated to all clubs from District Chair Barry Rogers in the coming few days. We are looking to restart Youth Exchange in our district but first, we are keen to ascertain what level of support clubs are prepared to show. We are also looking to pull together a new District Youth Exchange committee. If you are interested in a role on this committee or learning more about the program please contact Barry  barry.rogers@rotary9820.org.au
 
District 9815 (Merger of 9820 and 9810)- In the past month our main activity has been the appointment of the Co-Chairs from each district who will head up the initial 7 Focus Teams. Our D9820 representatives are  1) Administration/ Governance - David Hanlon.   2) Finance and accounting- John Cartledge 3) Youth Programs - Rob Cook. 4) Foundation -  PDG Mark Humphries. 5) PDG Bill Degnan - Community, Vocational & International.   6) Membership – Grant Godino   7) Public Image and media – Linda Ferrari.  Co-Chairs will be appointing team members who are Rotarians with various skills, experience & knowledge plus specialisations. The initial task is to put together a Focus Team-Action Plan,  which will deliver a merge of each function by 1st July 2024.
 
D9820 Conference 24 – 26 February 2023 – RACV Cape Schanck, Mornington Peninsula. – On-line Registrations are now open. (Top – Left side, District 9820 website) . This is your opportunity to have a great weekend away to enjoy fun, inspiring speakers, entertainment and great friendship. We will have everything set up for you. Just arrive and enjoy. Please plan your Feb 24-26 2023 weekend now and register.
 
Joint District 9820 & 9810  MUNA 
MUNA “The debate”
RC Hastings Western Port 
RC Somerville Tyabb.
Casey Cardinia Rotaract ClubRC Trafalgar
RC Frankston Sunrise     RC Dromana               
RC Frankston            RC Moe "arm wrestle"    
 RC Warragul   RC Orbost
RC Yarram 75th Anniversary     RC Maffra 
RC Morwell 
RC Mount Martha 
                                                                                                   
Council of Governors lunch
On Saturday 13th August 2022, we had a most enjoyable District 9820 Council of Governors lunch. This is where the fabulous stories come out from the past and engaging discussion about the future. "Rotary friendship at its best"
News from the Peninsula Cluster
PENINSULA CLUSTER CLUB PROJECTS
The eight Peninsula Cluster Clubs are continuing to work collaboratively on the Peninsula Trail R100 Project under the outstanding chair of Ross Kilborn. The Baxter to Somerville section planning continues to progress on the Western Port side with the Moorooduc to Mornington section tracking well too. Club projects are underway with some completed with signage a priority to promote the missing links and directional signage.
Another joint project which is being headed up by Carolyn Such (Mt Eliza) and Chris Such (Somerville Tyabb), is an Interplast Cluster project with a Peninsula Cluster dinner planned for 8-November. Our thanks to the Such’s who are working with all our clubs to help advance the cause.
 
ROTARY CLUB OF SORRENTO – POINT NEPEAN HERITAGE MOTOR SHOW – 30 OCTOBER 2022
Following the cancellation of this planned event last year due to the pandemic, the Rotary Club of Sorrento is staging the inaugural Point Nepean Heritage Motor Show as a community activity for all to enjoy. 
This event is the first step towards establishing a new local tradition, that - in line with the manifesto of the Rotary Club to raise funds for local and international charities – intends to mobilise all interested car lovers to support the worthy cause of addressing the homelessness on the Mornington Peninsula.  Mums, dads, kids, older people and younger people are being forced from their homes during this current housing crisis. With nowhere affordable to go, they are living in their cars or in tents amongst the bushes. Each day Southern Peninsula Community Support is on the front line providing vital food, hot showers and material aid to nearly 2,000 of the Peninsula’s most vulnerable people and their families.
The aim of this event is – over and beyond fundraising for a good cause – to bring community groups together to appreciate a large-scale presentation of many of the state’s most significant heritage motorcars and motorcycles while enjoying music, local food and refreshments.
The location of the event is the iconic Point Nepean Quarantine Station, a popular target destination for many weekend outings and a spectacular backdrop for the show. Surrounded by the natural beauty of the environment, we are aspiring to attract several hundreds of classic vehicles.
We look forward to welcoming you and your family at the show, hoping for a sunny fun-day ahead.
https://pointnepeanmotorshow.com.au/
Rotary Citations
 
Five clubs in District 9820 have earned the Rotary Citation, the most significant award a Rotary club can achieve, for 2021-22. During a year that was challenging for many Rotarians around the world, your club demonstrated a commitment to achieve your goals, which ultimately helps strengthen Rotary and shape our future.
Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA)
The Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) was held at Nossal High School on Saturday 20 August. Twenty teams of two students representing various countries participated in the youth program - which increases students' awareness of other cultures & opinions, improves their public speaking & debating skills, and gives them opportunity make new friends & build Rotary connections.  
The teams debated three resolutions on the topics of: climate change, violence against women & girls, and space governance. The teams had to research their given country's stance on these issues and debate the resolutions from the perspective of their country.
The students participating were from years 10, 11, or 12 and came from a range of government and private schools across both districts - this was a joint Districts 9820 and 9810 event.
This was the first in-person MUNA event since COVID lockdowns, so the MUNA committee is delighted that the event went off without a hitch.
 
Several awards were presented at the conclusion of MUNA:
  -  People's Choice Award was awarded to China, from Nossal High School, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Casey
  -  Best Dressed Delegation was awarded to Saudi Arabia, from Frankston High School, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Frankston
  -  Peace Trophy was awarded to Ethiopia, from Mentone Girls' Secondary College, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mordialloc
  -  Encouragement Award was awarded to Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Nossal High School, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Casey
  -  Best Overall Delegation Runner Up was awarded to Germany, from Presbyterian Ladies' College, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Box Hill-Burwood
  -  Best Overall Delegation was awarded to India, from Mullauna Secondary College, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mitcham
 
MUNA is fantastic youth program that can build connections with young people and schools in your club's area, and only requiring a relatively small sponsorship fee from your club. If your club wasn't involved in sponsoring a team at this MUNA, I highly recommend doing so next year!
 
Days For Girls Refugee Project 2022
 
 
DfG distribution in the Annapurna region of Nepal at Dana Secondary School.
Many Days for Girls (DfG) teams in Australia have committed to supply DfG kits to refugee women and girls around the globe. The estimate for this year’s contribution from Australia is 14,000 kits. World Vision Canada has teamed up with DfG Australia to collect and distribute kits to women and girls in Somalia. This will build on to the 2019 Refugee Project when kits were distributed in Somalia as well as the Sudan, Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon and Afghanistan. DfG aims to shatter stigma around menstruation through education. Kit distributions are never made without the excellent education program being delivered. Access to timely, factual information about puberty and menstruation can lead to increased body literacy and a healthy public perception of menstruation and decreased stigma and shame. And perhaps the most important effect of this program is the impact on education of girls who are able to manage their menstruation and attend school regularly.
 
I am the Team Leader of the Far East Gippsland team. We will transport over 400 kits to Melbourne airport ready for transport overseas in September. The East Gippsland team will also contribute to the Refugee Project, making the contribution from Eastern Victoria quite substantial. If you are aware of any other groups who have supported this Refugee Project, please let me know so that we can include them in a future report to District 9820.
 
I am very happy to visit your club and present information regarding the Days for Girls project.
Ula Sheather
District 9820 Representative
Days for Girls
PH: 0409568649
Live4Life program
Around 900 Year 8 students from 6 local secondary schools, 520 sausages, 31 loaves x 17 slices of bread, 4 kg onions, 3 litres of assorted sauces and 8 Drouin Rotarians.
This was the recipe for the Bar-B-Que Drouin Rotary Club provided for the launch of the Live4Life program held at Lardner Park on Thurs 4th Aug.
Live4Life is a health promotion charity that operates across six rural and regional Victorian communities. It aims to improve the lives of young people through mental health education and suicide prevention.
The Rotary Club was asked to sponsor the event and did so with a $3350 contribution. Organisers then asked a number of service organisations in the area to help out cooking 1000 sausages at the launch. Only Drouin Rotary answered the call for support on the day.
Sounds like hard work. It was, but it was also good fun. “It was just as well we started cooking by 10:30 am because the students arrived a bit early for lunch and were only just able to keep up. Unfortunately a few missed out on a snag, but we could not have managed to do any more.” said Service Projects Director Bill Petschack.
And the members who volunteered were particularly impressed with the courtesy, politeness and general behaviour of all the students they encountered. Congratulation to them.
Flood Appeal
Our District’s Emergency Management Committee was concerned about the significant floods in the Windsor, Richmond area of District 9685 and transferred $5,000 to the District Flood Appeal. Many people were inundated four times during the past 18 months, the worst (highest level) being in June this year.
This $5000 donation was was directed to two families. At $2,500 each this meant significant repairs to electrical and/or structural elements of their family home.
Two families benefited from this donation:
  1. A family in Lower Portland: They are currently living in a shed on their property as their house undergoes radical structural correction. Their house, which was inundated several times over the past 18 months, the worst being this past June, has now been lifted 2m. This brings the living area about the worst of the floods. The funds received will go towards the rebuild and is very much appreciated.
  2. A family in Ebeneezer: They are now back living in the house, many think they are crazy, but it is their home and the money granted will help fix some immediate plumbing issues that have plagued them since the June flood. 
    They thanked Rotary for their support and assistance.
Seeking donations for Rotary Family Health day
A trip to Alice Springs
Our trip to Alice Springs
 Travelling again after going nowhere for two years was an adventure. The trip centred around delivering donated items to the Alice Springs Hospital, Purple House, Women’s shelter, and visiting an indigenous community.
Imanpa is an indigenous community which is situated 70kms on the Lasseter Highway  (on the way to Uluru). We visited the primary school where we were made most welcome. The school has 26 students, 3 teachers including the principal and 2 classrooms. The parents indicated that English, managing time and money were priorities. The children received hygiene bags, drink bottles, shoes, and socks which were a hit!
From the principal “So many people want to thank you, the church and Rotary for your kindness, determination and generosity. The ladies that work at aged care, the shire and sport and recreation all were so happy to receive the items and distribute them.  The socks and sport shoes made the kids day, They have  been wearing them since we gave them out. They are so proud and filled with excitement. It’s hard to put in words the transformation a pair of socks and shoes can have on these little people.” 
Delivering boxes of baby clothing, blankets etc to the maternity ward was very appreciated by the midwives who deliver approximately 800 babies per year. I was given a tour of the ward and also the children’s ward. Very busy hospital who have patients also from W. A. and Queensland.
Visiting Purple House and donating knitted blankets from the Fairview Knitting group (Warragul) was a highlight. The clients can spend up to 5 hours on the dialysis machines and need to keep warm. A purple house with lovely gardens, indigenous paintings on the fences, bbq areas, - a nice place to be when you aren’t well.
Peter also visited the Acacia Hill Specialist school to speak about Dream Cricket - there are 92 students currently at the school.
On the way home we stayed in Broken Hill a heritage city and had a relaxing time, and enjoyed a meeting with Rotary club of Broken Hill members.
Lift the Lid 8 October 
 
Frankston Golf Day 23 October
Heritage Motor Show  30 October
Yarram Golf Day 27 November
District Conference 24-26 February 2023
 
RAM Congress 25-26 May 2023
 
Before the Covid-19 pandemic a child died of Malaria every 2 minutes. Now it is EVERY MINUTE. There has never been more urgency to Finish the Fight and eliminate Malaria in the Western Pacific Rim. PDG Dai Mason (D9600), PDG Bruce Anderson (D9780) and PDG Tony Spring (D9820) are organising a Two Day Congress on Finish-The-Fight Against Malaria. This is the two days immediately prior to the RI Melbourne Convention next year.
 
Those invited to speak include: 
  • Sir Peter Cosgrove (Past Governor General of Australia)
  • Lady Roslyn Morauta (Vice-Chair of the Global Fund)
  • Professor Michael Good (Institute for Glycomics – Griffith University - Gold Coast Campus)
  • Philip Welkhoff (Director of Malaria - Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)
  • Adriana Lanting (Chair of Malaria Partners International)
Registration for the congress can be accessed at https://www.ramcongressmelbourne2023.org/

 
Rotary International Convention Melbourne 27-31 May 2023
 
 
 
 
This is a once in 30-year event that should not be missed. If you haven’t been to a Rotary International Convention, then this is your opportunity to hear and see from Rotarians from all corners of the world. If you have enjoyed Rotary International Conventions previously, then you know how fantastic they are and Melbourne will be fantastic! It is here on your doorstep with no international travel expenses. It will never be more affordable! 
  • Book now to get the best registration rate and importantly to secure your place at Signature and Hospitality events, which have capacity limits to ensure a comfortable and rewarding experience.
  • Imagine the opportunity to meet and mix with 25,000 people of action from around the globe.
  • Imagine the possibilities flowing from inspirational speakers, break-outs with Rotary leaders and from opportunities at the House of Friendship
  • Imagine the opportunity to attend and/or volunteer to be an Ambassador for Australasia and the Pacific Islands.
Volunteers are still required to assist in the running of the Convention. 
  •  A vital part of the Convention is to have an engaged and friendly volunteer workforce. We as Rotarians volunteer our time, energy and skills all the time. It is part of our DNA and makes us who we are - we are a people organisation.
  • It is an opportunity to witness Rotary at an International level and by volunteering, to be part of its success.
  • It is an opportunity to volunteer and be an Ambassador for Rotary and our country.
  • Giving up four hours for a single shift is not a big ask - the more volunteers we have, the greater the load is shared.
This Convention is an opportunity to see what Rotarians around the world do, speak to people from different countries about common projects or new projects, and hear world class speakers from within Rotary and from leaders in their fields outside Rotary.
 
Register now for the best prices. Don’t leave it to the last minute as the registration fees increase significantly as the Convention gets closer.
 
I look forward to seeing you at the Melbourne Convention in May 2023
 
Tony Spring
 

Editors Note

Lots to read this month... did you read everything or just scan the photos?  This month I am offering a special "Diligent Reader Award" to the first person who emails me with the answer to the question below. Your prize will be your name in the newsletter next month as a Diligent Reader! 
 
So - what did Peter and Sally Dell give the children in Imanpa? 
 
And remember, your contributions are what makes this newsletter valuable, so keep  sending them to me at newsletter@rotary9820.org.au.