Rotary Supports Special Needs Camp

Connecting with the Community

Papanui People in Action

Papanui Bush Regeneration

Papanui Funding Emergency Kits

Papanui Helping Youth

Papanui Helping the Community

If you want to know when you can help then click here to view the current list

Are you someone who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Rotary Papanui members are friendly and dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. Becoming a Rotarian connects you with a diverse and experienced group who share your drive to give back. You can achieve so much more by being part of an established worldwide organisation.

Future Project

Give Every Child a Future Project

Liz Courtney shared some key information about our Centenary Project for the Pacific which was chosen as it was deemed likely to have the most impact.

“A number of children in these regions die young, and our aim is to significantly reduce this with three effective vaccines” explained Liz.

So far there are 27 grants being applied for and some are already in progress. One target is to reduce the effects of the two biggest killers, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

UNICEF is working closely with the Ministry of Health in order to lower the mortality levels over three years by vaccinating the most disadvantaged children and adolescent girls across what is a challenging and remote region.

“These vaccines are effective, and we are ready to go once flights allow” noted Liz.

At this time Covid is not a threat, but there is concern about low immunisation levels. This will be included with the other vaccine rollouts.

Liz concluded by noting that the overall result will also help strengthen our borders by improving our neighbours’ situation and she suggested we can support this project by sharing with others what we are doing, seeking Corporate sponsorship and subscribing to the project’s website which is located here.

My Time in the RNZN

Geoff & Dorothy

Senior Lieutenant Commander Geoff Andrew, accompanied by his mother Dorothy, gave us an informative and interesting talk on his time in the RNZ Navy.

Geoff joined up when the cold war ended and noted that it changed dramatically over his next 30 years. .

“We currently serve a huge area including the south-west Pacific, Australia, southeast Asia and Antarctica plus at times taken an even broader area when required” began Andrew.

“New Zealand is involved in the protection of fishing, plus keep an eye on our closest neighbour Australia which is our only ally with other countries being seen as partnerships” he continued.

It is a very time-consuming job as the Navy needs a large amount of information which helps identify risk and place staff where they can do the most good. Some specific areas they are involved with include illegal fishing, smuggling, and watching ships entering our space plus they also keep an eye on a huge merchant shipping operation.

The Navy operates on a wide variety of platforms with people being the central part of our operations. Aotearoa, our newest and largest ship, has a specific role in helping keep our other ships at sea.

The Navy frigates are under constant upgrading which is an ongoing process as things change rapidly. “Our focus is also very different to 30 years ago and includes ensuring effective coordination, planning, investment and operations to achieve the desired results and my job is essentially to manage threats” note Geoff.

Collaboration is an essential component in order to understand what is happening in the areas the RNZN operates in. It is also tasked to watch for global instability and challenges to global world order. Covid has recently had an impact in taking staff away from these usual tasks in order to help manage the specific threats it brings.

Geoff started his career on HMNZ Canterbury which has served our Navy for 35 years. He also served on many other ships as well as ships from different navies with the biggest one being time spent on USS America operating out of Hawaii. “I enjoyed my time on them all” he smiled.

In closing Geoff noted that he found it a privilege to serve in a large number of areas where the accessing of key information was a critical requirement in order to help meet the goals of helping manage or reduce conflict quickly before other countries became involved.

Liz thanked Geoff for his informative and interesting insight into the extensive operational activities our RNZN has and continues to be actively engaged in during his career.

Mark & Stella Yaxley

A Visit by Mark Yaxley

DG Mark Yaxley, accompanied by his wife Stella, visited us last week and gave us some of his thoughts going forward.

Mark began his address by thanking various club members for their efforts and the great job they do. His thoughts then turned to a couple of sayings from a fellow Rotarian in the past which state: “Rotary opens opportunities” and: “Everything we do opens another opportunity for someone, somewhere.”

In terms of DG goals for the year, these have included (1) create and celebrate memorable moments and (2) collaborate with others to expand the reach and impact of Rotary.

With respect to our upcoming centennial year, Mark paid tribute to some projects that are addressing this including “Give every child a future” and Polio Plus. The addition of “supporting the environment” as a new key focus was also noted as a significant and important approach in what we do going forward.

“We want to be revolutionary from time to time” suggested Mark and he then shared a famous quote from Henry Ford:

“If I had asked people what they want they would have said faster horses!”

As for change at the top, Mark concluded by noting that RI’s new President Elect is Jennifer Jones.

Tony thanked Mark for sharing his thoughts with us and the challenges & opportunities these will bring in a constantly changing world.

The Chathams

The Chatham’s Experience

Our intrepid explorers

After an intro from Keith, Simon shared our Papanui Club member’s experiences from their recent visit to the Chatham Islands accompanied by the excellent range of pictures he took that showed the range of scenery, wildlife and activities they were involved in and the variation & starkness of the landscape that included references to a hand trained Weka, remains of planes and the ruggedness of life there.

“We almost didn’t land”, started Simon, as the cross wind was close to the maximum allowable but luckily they did touch down and so their journey began.

The Waitangi Wharf

The pictures of trees at varied locations showed then to mostly be quite deformed and small as they often have to grow at unusual ankles to survive the rugged weather. While some beaches showed quite geometric rock formations, many of them were also rugged but the group noticed that the seals seemed happy enough with their lot.

Our accommodation at Waitangi

While there is some power available, be it very expensive, there are also quite a few residents that live off the grid and use diesel to generate power when needed. As most items need to be brought in, shopping can also be a challenge with some residents ordering up to six months’ worth at a time.

An 1860's stone cottage

“Only a small amount of road is sealed”, continued Simon, “with the majority being gravel as they are mostly on private land”. Cars are unwarranted and unregistered and the cost of bringing a car over by ship is $6,000.

Weather during the trip was often cloudy but they did occasionally get some sun. They also visited the statue of Tommy Solomon, the last of the full blooded Moriori, plus ancient carvings on the trees in the centre of the island.

One of the highlights was finding up to 150 million year old sharks’ teeth on the beaches at the lagoon. Other experiences including visiting and viewing a range of old buildings and also getting to see a few places where hardy residents were living off the land with few facilities that we take for granted.

Honey farm which produces freeze dried honey

Other interesting experiences included visiting a honey farm. The Freeze Drying is done in New Zealand, but the honey is produced on the Chathams. A unique blend of both native and imported fauna, Chatham Islands Honey is a partner in this venture which produces a distinctive taste.

We also enjoyed an interesting day with the Jockey Club where, despite a small number of horses being available, both gallops and trots were run. A visit to the Moriori Kopinga Marae was also a highlight with the building looking like a bird in flight from the air.

The Kopinga Marae

The group found the overall atmosphere on the Chathams to be very laid back in general and they bring back a wide range of memories from the varied and interesting sights, animal life, landscapes’, ruggedness and from the conversations they experienced with many of the locals.

We will also be looking for a suitable project on the Chathams we can support in the future.

New Rotary Associate

Welcome Brydie

Tony introduced Brydie Washington, our new Rotary Associate, to Club members attending our meeting last Thursday.

She chose us as her 1^st choice of Clubs and will be integrated into our culture and community projects. This is a year-long involvement, and Brydie’s activities will include attending relevant meetings and completing service activities with us over the coming year.

Brydie is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Science majoring in environmental science and psychology at Canterbury University.

In her application form she mentioned that her hope is that this programme will offer her a broader perspective and help her strengthen her current skills while also acquiring and developing new ones that will add to her self-confidence and networking abilities.

Welcome, Bridie, it is our pleasure to have you and we look forward to getting to know you more as we invite you to our events and the various the activities we are actively involved in that give back to the community.

SPPEDS 2021

SPPEDS Event 2021

Grant

Because Saturday was the last day of restrictions on meetings, the President Elect Development Seminar was held virtually last weekend via ZOOM. I was impressed with how well the medium performed with only minor glitches which were quickly overcome.

It was great fun attending both Plenary and Break-out Sessions, with Liz doing a fantastic job of keeping us on time and focussed. The Break-outs included varying groups of us being whisked away from the main group into smaller numbers which allowed us to interact more personally to discuss focussed topics.

We were also able to “chat” with either others or the entire group in the background.

While I did miss the opportunity to mingle and meet people in 3D, the range of speakers and the content was varied and topical to where we are at as well as looking at where we might focus going forward.

I was especially impressed with the last presenter, Christopher Luxon, MP for Botany Downs. Chris has vast experience in leadership including most recently at Air NZ and Unilever.

One particular slide that I valued was this one that relates to managing change by preserving the core values & purpose of Rotary while also ensuring we keep changing as our focus and practices to meet ongoing changes in the environments and communities we serve.

He concluded by suggesting we focus on building diverse teams and focus on 1-3 major changes with small goals rather that spreading our focus too thinly and to ensure we look after each other first and summarised this approach with the phrase:

“Invest in relationships 1^st and then focus on vision and action.”

Example to Youth

Every Rotarian an Example to Youth

A little bit of interesting history … (abridged).

The ABCs of Rotary by Cliff Dochterman

1992-93 President Rotary International

In much of the official literature of Rotary International relating to service to young people, a special slogan will be found: "Every Rotarian an Example to Youth." These words were adopted in 1949 by the Rotary International Board of Directors as an expression of commitment to children and youth in each community in which Rotary clubs exist.

Serving young people has long been an important part of the Rotary program. Youth service projects take many forms around the world. Rotarians sponsor athletic teams, handicapped children's centres, school safety patrols, summer camps, recreation areas, safe driving clinics, fairs, childcare centres and children's hospitals.

Many clubs provide vocational counselling, establish youth employment programmes, and promote use of the 4-Way Test. Increasingly, drug and alcohol abuse prevention projects are being supported by Rotarians. In every instance, Rotarians have an opportunity to be role models for the young men and women of their community.

One learns to serve by observing others. As our youth grow to become adult leaders, it is hoped each will achieve that same desire and spirit to serve future generations of children and youth.

It is a very thoughtful challenge: "Every Rotarian an Example to Youth." The slogan accepted many years ago is just as vital today.

International Night

International Night 2021

International Night Attendees

A great night was had by attending members and guests last week at the Netherlands Society Clubrooms. Great food was provided by caterer Deborah Gill-Smith with the chocolate dessert being a particular favourite!

Stuart Batty and his Foundation & International team hosted the evening which began by Euan going over a bit of history about Rotary starting in 1905 and being 116 years and three days old. It currently has approximately 1.2 million members in over 360 clubs across 220 countries with all members sharing the same common good of providing service to the community.

After toasting Rotary International Jim then raised a 2nd toast to the Usa River club in Tanzania which we are a sister club with. This club relies on support from Rotary in various ways that support their needs and in particular helping locals find and keep job opportunities.