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January is Rotary Awareness Month

   D id you know that Rotary founder Paul Harris wasn’t the first president of a Rotary club?

That distinction is actually held by Harris’s friend Silvester Schiele,

who served as the first president of the Rotary Club of Chicago.

 Harris deferred his club leadership duties until February 1907,

when he was elected the third president of the Chicago club.

In honor of Rotary Awareness Month in January,

 Club firsts

On 23 February 1905, Paul P. Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele,

 and Hiram E. Shorey gathered in Chicago for what would become known

 as the first Rotary club meeting.

A second club was formed in San Francisco in 1908,

and soon after, clubs began to pop up across North America.

On 1 August 1912, the Rotary Club of London became the first club

 chartered outside of North America.

The Rotary Club of Dublin, Ireland, had been organized earlier,

 but didn’t receive its charter until 1 May 1913.

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pictures fom the recent International Assembly in San  Deigo

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NEW MEMBER

Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay

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 Rotary Club of Hannans

Esther Roadnight

Esther Roadnight OAM was been named as an Honourary Freeman of the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder,

 only the third person to ever receive the title.

The Freedom of the Municipality award represents the highest honour

that a Municipality can bestow on an individual.

 This recognition means to have "freedom of the municipality"

 and recipients therefore are welcomed at any and all civic functions and meetings

 (except "Closed" meetings).

This honour is most often restricted to only very exceptional cases

 of merit for an individual who has brought recognition

 of the respective Municipality through his or her achievements.

 In cases of granting the Freedom of the Municipality honour,

nominations shall be submitted by members of Council,

 and shall be considered at a Closed (Executive) Meeting.

The recipient of a Freedom of the Municipality Award

 shall receive an individually inscribed Freedom of the Municipality Medal,

 a framed scroll describing their achievements

and a lifetime pass for the free use of all municipal recreational facilities.

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Rotary Clubs of Kalamunda, Margaret River

 and Bentley Curtin

in conjunction with "The Western Teacher"

LEAVERS WEEK 

It doesn’t have to be the way it is!

by Don Rowe

The media thrives on the traditional “Leavers Week” with stories of booze, drugs, sex

and rock and roll - and to the untrained eye there seems to be very little alternative.

Sources close to the Police Department suggest that it also costs close to a million dollars

 to cover transport, overtime and all the rest of the outlays associated

 with keeping Rottenest, Dunsborough and Margaret River “under control”.

Then there are the social and financial costs of Bali!

But for an ever-growing group of students ending Year 12, there is a fantastic alternative.

Kalamunda Leavers Timor-Leste 2011 (KLTL11)

 provides an alternative leavers experience for young people in the Shire of Kalamunda

making a difference in the lives of others by volunteering in Timor-Leste.

In November, instead of marking the end of secondary schooling at local “Leavers” celebrations

14 young people travelled to Timor-Leste

to work alongside local people on community identified projects.

A group known as “Kalamunda Leavers Timor-Leste”

funded and supported a major water project to improve access to clean water for a community

 of 1800 people and engaged with students learning English in local schools.

Since its inception in 2008 this incredible project has supported 66 local young people

 to develop their skills and leadership abilities,

whilst making a contribution to communities in Timor-Leste.

In addition, outstanding participants are supported to take on the

role of a Junior Team Leader in a future program.

Supported by a dedicated team of volunteers the group is supported

 by the Rotary Club of Kalamunda Inc.

and is a Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) project.

Each year, volunteers raise approximately $60,000 through participant contributions,

 donations, and sponsorship and fundraising events to ensure the program's success.

So, how did students react to the experience provided by the Kalamunda group?

Caitlyn Pickles:

“In a country as rich in education as Australia we can become deluded

 into thinking that education is a given right provided to all human beings.

“Sadly, this is not the case.

 It is easy enough to read such a fact in a book or on the internet but to be confronted

with such a thing is a different story.

“Visiting Timor-Leste and the incredible people that call it home,

not only enabled us to help out but also reflect on just how lucky we are.

“Not only do we take simple aspects of education for granted such as paper and pens

 but also the priority that learning takes within our society.

“What we taught them in terms of English they taught us in life lessons,

forming a connection that will always exist across the seas.”

Bonnie Waghorn:

“The people of East Timor are so lovely, and they are very driven by community

 and the need to help others, which is amazing.

“The children are so eager to learn, and we learnt that they are taught about motivation,

 so that they will have the motivation to pursue knowledge

 and eventually help the people of their country.

“That is in stark contrast to Australia,

where we go to school with no thought as to what we want to do,

 and we take education for granted.

“This motivation and drive for learning is very inspirational,

 and I hope to take that drive with me into university.

“Going to East Timor was an amazing experience, one that I will not soon forget.”

Georgia Macleod;

“The amount of enthusiasm that the Timorese kids had, was incredibly inspiring.

“These two girls are examples of the kind of reaction we received as we drove by, waving.

“This kind of enthusiasm was also seen in the context of learning

when we taught English to school children.

“I saw such a desire for knowledge and so much excitement at learning new phrases

 of the English language.

“I think better education is one of the most fundamental steps

 towards enhancing the lives of people,

 enabling them to make informed decisions and allow them to create goals for the future.”

Another group sharing similar experiences were the students from Margaret River.

The journey almost never got underway.

On the day before they flew out,

the bushfires destroyed many homes in the Margaret River area including one belonging

 to a close friend of their group organiser Emma Campbell.

Emma had to stay behind,

 but the group was picked up by Rotary's Peter Snell

who has worked tirelessly with the SSTUWA in delivering desks

 and chairs to schools in Timor Leste.

The Margaret River crew travelled to Atauro Island,

just off the coast, and worked on sinking a bore to provide fresh water to the local school.

One of the group, Carly Williams, wrote:

“Probably the biggest highlight for me was working alongside

 the Timorese and experiencing their culture.

“That's something that we don't get to experience every day, and was a huge part of the trip.

“Along with swimming at beautiful beaches, and exploring East Timor

 and Atauro Island it was an amazing, life changing experience that not only gave me a new sense of perspective but inspiration for the future.”

Carly said that once on the island and at work,

 village elders came to join them and performed a welcoming ceremony and dance ..

 and then invited the students to join them.

The SSTUWA are continuing to work with Rotary International

 to provide desks and chairs for students in Timor Leste

and still want to hear from schools that have surplus educational supplies

 and equipment that has been written off.

The Western Teacher will also continue to follow the Year 12 students across

 WA who have chosen their alternate leavers week.

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The Interact Club of Episcopal School of Knoxville, Tennessee, USA,

 is the grand-prize winner of the 2011 Interact video contest with its entry,

 “Change 4 Change.”

The video tells the story of how students at the Episcopal School of Knoxville

 collaborated to produce an illustrated children’s book

about the worldwide effort to eradicate polio.

 Managed by eighth-grade Interactors and club advisers Laurie Coburn and Susan Lancaster,

 the book aims to raise funds and build awareness for Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign.

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The emerging Rotaract Club of Rossmoyne

at the Rotary Club of Rossmoynes

Australia Day Breakfast in the Park

thanks to the Rotaract Club of Perth for the video

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Many Clubs celebrated Australia Day with the traditional Breakfast in the Park

Rotary Club of Rossmoyne

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Rotary Club of Kununurra

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Rotary Club of Kwinana

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Rotary Club of Kenwick

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Rotary Club of East Perth

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Rotary Club of Hannans

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Around the Clubs

Rotary Club of Freshwater Bay

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 Rotary Club of Manjimup

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Rotary Club of South Bunbury

Annual Childrens Fair 2011

almost a year old but well worh a look

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A couple of more happy snaps from D9465 Handicamp

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 Rotary Club of Attadale

Marianne Ziegler celebatingher 17th birthday

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Rotary Club of Hannans

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Rotary Club of Geraldton

Cameron Christie last week thanked the club for giving him the opportunity to travel on exchange.
 His talk entailed his speech to his future club on the promotion of Geraldton and our club projects. President Laurie pins a Rotary Badge on a very excited Cameron.

Marie Louise spent time at Beringarra Station in the Murchison

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Rotary Club of Boulder

 Students at the meeting of January 10th

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Rotary Club of  Karratha

Jade arriving at Karratha airport

 with Chris Vandenberg, Francis De Barba, Jade Candela,

 Robin Vandenberg and Paul Jagger

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Rotary Club of Willetton

Amy Lowe and family before heading for Venezuela

Students from D9455 and D9465

at Dubai airport

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Where is your club??

Rotary Club of Corrigin

send a picture your club meeting venue to philco@iinet.net.au

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CLUB FLYERS and PROMOTIONS

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ROTARY CLUB BIRTHDAYS

Rotary Club of Karratha

February 2nd [1979]

Rotary Club of Gosnells

February 8th [1960]

Rotary Club of Manjimup

February 12th [1952]

Rotary Club of Margaret River

February 17th [1960]

Rotary Club of Kojonup

February 19th [1966]

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This is a powerful message in our modern society.

 We seemed to have lost our bearing & our sense of direction.

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director who did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements
 were excellent all the way,
 from the secondary school until the postgraduate research,
 never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"

The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old,

it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?"

The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner.

 The director requested the youth to show his hands.

 The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"

 The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books.

 Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today,

 go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high.

 When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands

. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly.

His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled

, and there were so many bruises in her hands.

Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands

 that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee.

 The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother

 had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands,

the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked:

 " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand,

 and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation.

 Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.

 Number 2, by working together and helping my mother,

 only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.

 Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager.

I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others,

 a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done,

and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life.

 You are hired.

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Later on, this young person worked very hard,

 and received the respect of his subordinates.

Every employee worked diligently and as a team.

The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted,

 would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first

 He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts.

 When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him,

 and when he becomes a manager,

he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others.

For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while,

 but eventually would not feel sense of achievement.

 He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more.

 If we are this kind of protective parents,

are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

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You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV.

 But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it.

 After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters.

 It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid,

 but it is because you want to love them in a right way.

 You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are,

 one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person.

 The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort

and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

Looking in the mall for a nightgown,

 I tried my luck in a store known for its sexy lingerie.

 To my delight, however, I found just what I was looking for.

Waiting in the line to pay,

 I noticed a young woman behind me holding the same item.

 This confirmed what I suspected all along: despite being nearly sixty,

 I still have a very "with it" attitude!

"I see we have the same taste,"

 I said proudly to the twenty-something behind me.

"Yes," she replied. "I'm getting this for Grandma."