May 1, 2020 (Apr 30, 2020)

Dear Club Members and Friends,

Last Friday President Elect (PE) Mandy Van arranged a ZOOM Board Meeting, Past Presidents (PPS) Pam Wood and David Marin joined the rest of the Board members. We also welcomed Bernie and Peter Mason to the meeting. The following issues were discussed along with other matters:

1 . We will continue ZOOM meetings for social and club meetings until circumstances allow resuming our normal meetings and activities.

2 . The Club financial situation is solvent, distribution of funds raised this year will be discussed at the next Board meeting. Fundraising 2020-21will be reviewed by the Fundraising committee. There will be an increase in District fees and RDU magazine costs for 2020-21. The Board will review the club fees in regards to this increase at the next Board meeting.

3 . Youth issues and the safe return to France of our Exchange Student Palmyre and her parents Mr and Mrs Desmarez. We regret that due to COVID-19 restrictions on social gathering, we didn't have the opportunity to hear from Palmyre about her year in Australia and to meet her parents during their visit. We hope Palmyre may be able to join us in a future Zoom meeting soon.

4 . District Assembly ZOOM meeting was held on 19 April. PE Mandy Van, PP Pam Wood and Garry Maloney participated. I couldn't as I celebrated the Coptic Easter with the family in Brisbane. I participated in President's ZOOM meeting arranged on 23 April at 7.15 PM by ADG Julie Thorpe. There are more meetings scheduled over the next month for Avenues of Service Directors and Coordinators as part of District Assembly.

5 . E-learning through My Rotary on the Rotary International website is highly recommended for all members. A link to Rotary International is available on the Home Page of the club website.

6 . An email has been received from Dr Denise Meuldijk of Macquarie Uni. Centre for Emotional Health Clinic regarding a research trial for ageing adults. Please contact me for further information if you are interested on migration.consultant@yahoo.com

Minutes from each Board meeting are made available to members once approved by the Board through the documents file under MyClubRunner via Members area on the club website or you can request a copy from Club Secretary Mandy Van.

The next Zoom meeting will be a social one for Friday 1 May at 7.30p.m. The following week we will hold a breakfast Zoom meeting at 7.30a.m. on Friday 8 May as a regular Rotary club meeting. All members and friends are welcome to participate. Please contact Mandy Van on email Mandy-van@hotmail.com or mobile 0404082611 for more information if you would like to participate in either meeting and have not yet responded to an invitation.

Regards

Mak Khalil
President 2019-20

Our first Zoom Board Meeting Friday 24 April 2020.

Rotary NSW Emergency Services Community Awards

The Rotary Districts of ACT and NSW Emergency Services Community Awards nominations for 2020 are now open.

The Emergency Services Community Awards are an initiative of the Rotary Districts & Clubs of ACT and NSW. In keeping with Rotary’s motto of“Service Above Self”, the Awards acknowledge and celebrate the selfless Community Service of Emergency Services Personnel while supporting two important Rotary initiatives:
Australian Rotary Health,
PhD Research Scholarship investigating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Emergency Services Personnel
Emergency Disaster Preparedness
Rotary Vocational Training Teams to Developing Countries in the Asia Pacific.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE AWARDS
Nominees must be an appointed paid or unpaid volunteer/member of one of the State/Territory Emergency Services who perform Community Service above and beyond the call of their normal duties.

To nominate a member of the Emergency Services in either ACT or NSW for these awards please go to https://resca.awardsplatform.com complete the nomination form in its entirety (the compulsory fields) and then submit same for judging.

To log in you can use the account details that you set up during the 2019 Awards period.

A Winner of these Awards previously as a Volunteer of the Year and/or Officer in Paid Capacity, is ineligible to be nominated.
A Finalist in these Awards, is ineligible to be nominated again within a period of 5 years.
A Nominee not selected as a finalist can be nominated again and in the following year.

More Details: https://nsw.rescawards.org.au/

Rotary Youth Exchange News

The Youth Exchange Committee in District 9685 is still working hard towards providing our inbound and outbound students with a positive experience during this time of uncertainty and changing lifestyles.

Currently all our Outbound Students, those being hosted by clubs and districts overseas, are well and adapting to the change of living that we are experiencing here in Australia. One student has returned home after the YEP program was cancelled in the host country. That student arrived home safely on Monday morning after a very long trip. The student and the rest of the family are in isolation at home with the permission of the Chief Medical officer for NSW and NSW Health.

The Committee members are in constant contact with the students overseas and their natural families here in Australia. At the time of writing no student is contemplating returning to Sydney in the near future, a decision made by the student and their parents.

In relation to the Inbound Students, those students currently being hosted by D9685 clubs, 8 students have returned home to their country of origin mostly because their governments requested, they return. All 8 have arrived safely and are currently also isolating with their families.

The remaining students are being supported by the amazing Host Families, Club Rotarians and the district committee members.

What does this mean for the program next rotary year? We do not really know yet. If your club was considering hosting an inbound student for 20/21 please keep the funds in your budget until we have a clear idea of what the program might look like in the future.

We have 3 inbound students who will still be in our district until January 2021 who will need to continue to have a great Youth Exchange Experience. We are not yet certain what the departure dates for the 5 remaining European students will be as yet.

All of our outbounds will be returning in January 2021 with great stories to tell us of their year away. The parts of the program that capture that excitement will still continue.

The Committee Members join John and I in thanking all 9685 Rotarians for your support of the program so far in these difficult times.

Susan and John Wakefield

Co-Chairs D9685 Youth Exchange.

Cyclone Harold Devastates Vanuatu

Vanuatu Ravaged by Cyclone Harold

Dear Friends

On April 6^th Cyclone Harold made landfall in Vanuatu as a Category 5 cyclone, bringing devastation to the northern provinces. The provinces of Sanma, Malampa, Torba and Penama are most affected. It is estimated that up to 90% of buildingsand houses in Sanma are either damaged or destroyed. Communications are still down in most areas and, coupled with the remote nature of many communities, the full extent of the damage or casualties is still unclear. 160,000 people are thought to be affected.

Vanuatu is mercifully COVID-19-free and the government would like to keep it that way. As such, we are unable to send in a Response Team. Our Operations team have been working tirelessly to find a way to assist the people of Vanuatu, working with the National Disaster Management Office and locally based NGO's

FACTS ABOUT CYCLONE HAROLD 🌀

Cyclone Harold made landfall in Vanuatu as a Category 5
There is a shortage of emergency shelter items in Vanuatu and in-country partners are turning to Shelter Cluster partners for assistance
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is restricting direct SRT access, ShelterBox has identified a potential partner in CARE Vanuatu
Based on the needs assessment, we are looking at providing IFRC spec Shelter Kits (tarps, tools and fixings) plus additional IFRC spec tarps and rope; solar lights. The caseload would be 3000 households

If you have recently donated, please accept my thanks on behalf of the families you have helped.

Your support is CHANGING LIVES!

EFT: Bendigo Bank: ShelterBox Australia: BSB 633 000: Account no. 166 780 163 (please email office@shelterbox.org.au to notify us of your donation and receive your tax receipt).

Cheques can be mailed to: ShelterBox Australia, PO Box 254, Parramatta, NSW, 2124

$120 could buy a Shelter Kit

In every emergency, there is an urgency to act. The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated and slowed any response in Vanuatu but also allowed us the time to liaise with partners on the ground and get a better understanding of needs of the affected population. With your support, we can help ensure that families have safe shelter from the elements and potentially, the virus.

Kind regards

Mike Greenslade

CEO

ShelterBox Australia

mike.greenslade@shelterbox.org.au

Country IT Students Visit cancelled
North Ryde and Greater Sydney
May 24, 2020 4:45 PM – May 29, 2020 10:00 AM

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May 08, 2020 7:30 AM

Dr Wendy King - GP, MQ Health General Practice

COVID - 19 (Cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions)

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They said a mask and gloves were enough to go to the supermarket.....they lied ! Everyone else had clothes on!