In the October edition of Rotary Down Under our cover story featured the fabulous Shelterbags, which areproviding portable protection for those sleeping rough. At that time orders needed to be placed with the Rotary Club of Terrigal, NSW, by October 30, 2021 for delivery by March 2022. However, Sheltersuit’s production capacity has improved and they […]
Rotary clubs and districts embraced the concept of World Polio Month in October, with thousands of urgently needed dollars pouring into END POLIO NOW accounts throughout Australia and New Zealand. By PDG Bob Aitken AMRI End Polio Now Coordinator, Zone 8, 2018-23 Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator Peter Garnett convened a zoom meeting of Assistant Regional […]
Thanks to COVID and its long tail, restrictions in Auckland, NZ, have been prolonged and the planned End Polio Now Auckland Transit campaign was postponed until February 25, 2022. So, what could be done to celebrate World Polio Day on October 24? Ronald Chen, of the Rotary Club of Auckland Harbourside, had an answer. The […]
Two world wars and the Spanish Flu did not stop Rotary from its mission of service to humanity. Today, however, it faces a new host of challenges, foremost of which are another global pandemic and an endangered earth. COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc not just on life but on livelihood as millions of people lost […]
Afghan refugee Abbas Nazari was all geared up for his gig as keynote speaker at this year’s World Literacy Festival in Christchurch, NZ. When COVID restrictions forced the postponement of the event, the Rotary Club of Havelock North seized the opportunity and invited Abbas to be a guest speaker at the club. What ensued was […]
A tragic coincidence transformed the lives of four young girls in Zambia, and while the cause of the chance meeting is nothing short of heartbreaking, kindness and compassion nurtured hope out of horror. Matthew Raymond, co-founder of The Limapela Foundation, tells the story. As we headed to the Zambian mining town of Kitwe on a […]
PDG Bob Aitken AMRI End Polio Now Coordinator, Zone 8 There is an air of expectation around World Polio Month in October this year. The challenge of COVID-19, Zoom meetings and virtual events underline a newfound spirit in Rotarians, who are no longer prepared to ‘buckle under’ and sit on their hands as a result […]
The Rotary Club of Port Macquarie West, NSW, recently celebrated an incredible milestone in the organisation’s 50-year history: raising more than $100,000 from its Hundred Thousand Million recycling project. It’s now three years since the launch of the Hundred Thousand Million project, after the club saw an opportunity to raise money through the New South […]
The Rotaract Club of Canberra, ACT, has been providing headsets to aged care facilities in Canberra to increase access to music for those living with dementia. The program, Music for Dementia, provides the training and infrastructure to the facilities, and as a result the quality of life of participants has improved drastically. Each person is […]
Scepticism about Rotary e-clubs is unfounded, writes Jane Loxton, whose mobile club has afforded her many opportunities. By Jane LoxtonPresident, Rotary e-Club of NextGen It is interesting the responses I and fellow club members have experienced from ‘traditional’ Rotary club members. The most common ones are, “Oh, you don’t have meetings” and “You don’t do […]
The Rotary Club of Morisset has found their niche making masks for COVID-ravaged communities in Australia and abroad. With the onset of the pandemic and the initial lockdowns in Australia, the Rotary Club of Morisset, NSW, like many clubs, had to put their projects and fundraising on hold. But feeling the need to do something […]
The Rotary Club of Brisbane International, Qld, answered the call to help families affected by a catastrophic cyclone in Fiji, utilising building materials from an unlikely source. Tropical Cyclone Yasa, a category five tropical cyclone, battered Fiji’s second largest island, Vanua Levu, on the night of December 11, 2020. The destruction left behind was devastating […]