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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.
 
 
Stuart continued by noting that we also support the provision of Emergency Supply Kits across a number of countries including Fiji which began in 1985.  These are especially useful when extreme weather hits.  “We are also usually the 1st responder in these situations” noted Stuart.
 
Presenters Stuart & Jim
 
In addition Rotary makes Donations in Kind to help deliver education and medical equipment plus support disabled children in day care facilities as well as give some assistance with ensuring living spaces are appropriate  They also supply wheelchairs and work with supporting  the Mango Tree Centre in particular.
 
Next Jim gave us an update on the PolioPlus programme.  “In 2020 there were 139 cases of wild polio and now there is only one” shared Jim.  A huge effort is being put in place despite the effect of Covid including having a target figure of $50 million to raise in order to receive a sizeable donation from the Gates Foundation.
 
Jim finished by challenging us to become Centurions in order to help Rotary support the move towards this worthwhile goal.
 
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Guest Speaker Nicole
 Guest Speaker Nicole Macaballug
 
Honorary Philippines Vice-Consul Nicole
 
Lois introduced our International Night guest speaker, Nicole, the Honorary Vice-Consul of the C0nsulate of the Philippines.
 
Born in Manila but raised in Invercargill by her two parents who were doctors, Nicole was initially interested in the sciences but after attending a forum organised by the Sunrise Rotary Club she decided instead to study towards a B.Com which she followed up by completing her Masters in Sydney.
 
She was then inspired by a friend to study law and enrolled to follow this path at Otago University.  She later met with the Philippines Ambassador and two years later they both took on a role to support people from the Philippines who were living in New Zealand.
 
She then met Lois and at that time was promoted to her honorary role.  “If it wasn’t for Rotary I wouldn’t be in this role” she smiled.
 
Nicole explained that people from the Philippines value looking after family in a respectful manner via sharing wealth and showing respect for the elderly and are especially active working in the dairy, engineering and carer fields.  As the country continues to experience challenges in getting itself well organised, many tend to move to live and work overseas including coming to New Zealand which creates a brain drain on their home country.
 
When in NZ they need to meet various requirements to help ensure their time here respected and of value and this is what Nicolle helps them with in her role.
 
Jenny thanked Nicole for her talk and the Foundation & International team for an informative and interesting evening.
 
 
Snippets
 
Papanui Bush Visitors
 
I have our new Council Ranger and members of Conservation NZ down at the bush on this Friday morning from 9.30 am on if any members would like to make a Rotary presence, meet  them and perhaps throw in a little help, and hear (or throw in) a few forward thinking ideas. Morning tea as usual.

Naga Mihi Denis.
 
 
 
At our last meeting it was stated that the bank details for Centurion Fund would be in the next Chat. So, here are the details:
 
If you wish to support this fund, with money going to PolioPlus please deposit $100, with 'Centurion' as reference, to  our Trust account 03 1355 0661945 00.
 
This is tax-deductible, so a receipt can be issued.
 
Deryn
 
 
A Message from Deb
 
Due to the latest Covid19  restrictions the President Elect training  for next weekend at St Margaret’s College is longer a face to face so the club isn't needed to do the catering. 
 
A big thanks to all members who had offered their baking and time to help out.
 
The training will now be down virtually. 
 
 
 
Gary contacted  Mitre 10 Mega Sunday morning and found out that all Children's Playgrounds and Community BBQs are cancelled when In Level 2.
 
Thanks to all who volunteered to help.  The next BBQ is on April 10.
 
As we hadn't purchased all the loaves of bread yet the only thing we will lose is the 10kg of onions Cheryl and Gary chopped. They are freshly chopped and we have them in bags of 1-2 kg each.
 
If anyone wants any chopped onions let Gary know as soon as possible and he will drop them around - otherwise they go to the tip.  Got any good french onion soup recipes?
 
 
 
For the benefit of Club Chat, the winners of the International Committee Voucher Raffle were:
 
1st Prize: Return flight Trip to Chatham Islands   
Ticket No.166  won by Slade Hocking
 
2nd Prize: Helicopter Flight Instructed by Richie McCaw. 
Ticket No 130 Won by Arie Geerlofs
 
Cheers: Verdi
 
 
The President’s Blurb
 
The international dinner at the Netherlands Society clubrooms was very enjoyable. A different venue, a wonderful meal from former caterer Deborah and an interesting speaker in Honorary Philippines Consul Nicole Macaballug. Thank you to the members and partners that attended. 
 
The winners of the remaining prizes from the international quiz night were drawn with a friend of Verdi's winning the Chatham’s Island trip and Arie winning the helicopter flight with Ritchie McCaw. 
 
Turning to this week who would have guessed that we are back under Covid restrictions. The Mitre 10 BBQ hut couldn't go ahead - most of the food purchased can be frozen and kept for the April 10 event. 
 
SPPEDS training for incoming Rotary club presidents  is on this coming weekend but because of restrictions on numbers and restrictions on the travel of those from Auckland it is being held on line rather than face to face. Nick and Liz are heavily involved in the weekend, Nick as incoming DG, Liz as part of organising committee and MC for the event. We wish them both well. President elect Grant will also be attending on line. 
 
The Covid situation has also affected the emerging student leaders group from Canterbury University who we were going to host at the Hanmer Springs Forest Camp 13-14 March. The date has shifted several times as we had to adjust to available space at the camp and our capacity to deal with the group. The students in the meantime have gone to an online learning platform. 
 
We have abandoned plans to do anything in March or April and the students are looking at the possibility of doing something local in May with our assistance possibly at Papanui Bush. 
The changes to this project can be frustrating but have been caused largely by matters out of our or the students control. Let's be patient as we seek to keep this activity on our programme for the year. 
 
Richard Hamilton has been very unwell and has been in hospital. He is now at home and would love to receive calls. 
Remember there is no Rotary meeting this Thursday 4 March.
 
 
Janice
 
 
Thought for the Week
 
 “A fool tells you what they will do, a boaster what they have done, and a wise person does things and says nothing.”
 
 
City Mission Letter
A Letter of Thanks from City Mission
 
 
Good Morning Cheryl
 
In terms of the Can Collection donation you guys managed to put together it was absolutely incredible. In the week leading up to Christmas day we handed out over 1400 Christmas food parcels, which was an all-time record for us here at the City Mission.
 
To put that in perspective that’s over 4x the amount we would hand out in a normal week throughout the year.   As you can imagine, serving that number of our people requires a huge amount of preparation, planning, volunteers and of course food.
 
Without people like yourselves getting together and supporting us we simply could not serve our people, so rest assured the work you and the team put in directly affected some of our communities’ most vulnerable families, and allowed us to provide them the opportunity to have the kind of Christmas that all kiwis deserve.
 
So from all of us here at the City Mission, thank you so much for your hard work and support. We couldn’t do what we do without the help of people like yourselves. We are humbled and ever so grateful for your continued support.
 
Ben Ryan
Foodbank Stores Coordinator
 
 
Upcoming Events you are welcome to attend
 
No Club meeting tonight
to be advised
Mar 04, 2021
 
Preparation for SPPEDS
St Margarets College
Mar 05, 2021 – Mar 07, 2021
 
Club Committee Night
to be advised
Mar 11, 2021
 
Club meeting at Papanui Club- Chatham Island Trip
The Papanui
Mar 18, 2021
5:55 PM – 7:30 PM
 
Coffee Club morning
Reality Bites Cafe
Mar 19, 2021
 
View entire list
Meeting Responsibilities
Duty Roster 18th March
 
Reception
Gimblett, Deb
 
Speakers Host
McFadden, Grant
 
Vote of Thanks
Tizzard, Tony
 
Visitors Host
Wright, Max
 
Sergeant
Geerlofs, Arie
 
Meeting Setup
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Room Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Duty Roster 25th March 2021
 
Reception
Bond, Mark
 
Speakers Host
Geerlofs, Janice
 
Vote of Thanks
Taylor, Tony
 
Visitors Host
Tizzard, Tony
 
Sergeant
Thomson, Rob
 
Meeting Setup
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Room Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Duty Roster 8th April
 
Reception
 
Speakers Host
 
Vote of Thanks
 
Visitors Host
 
Sergeant
 
Meeting Setup
McMurtrie, Denis
 
Banner Setup & Room Tidyup
Sedgley, Ron
 
Club Chat from Rotary Papanui
E: papanuirotary@gmail.com W: www.papanuirotary.org.nz
Apologies to rcpapologies@gmail.com      Chat Items to paice@xtra.co.nz
 
Centurions  $100 Payments to Rotary Club of Papanui Charitable Trust
Account number 03 1355 0661945 00.
In details area add your  name and the reference "Centurion".