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Rotary has an amazing number of sub-organizations, programs and initiatives.  They usually end up being named something that almost always turns into an acronym.  So, for those who get a little overwhelmed with the sheer number of Rotary acronyms, thanks to Past President Allen Horrell, we hereby present his collated list of Rotary acronyms... also available here:

The Regions of Rotary International

A new video recently released by rock band Nickleback, could almost be a Rotary-approved video.  Check out the message and the inspiration to work together to solve some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Go to YouTube to view

What an exciting year it has been for the Rotary Club of Ryde!  From a PR perspective, I couldn’t have asked for a better year.

The biggest news was of course our involvement in building the school in Borjegai, Afghanistan.  Such a good news story enabled us to get front-page billing in the Northern District Times, with a huge photograph and a headline “Ryde’s New School – 11,700km away”.  Just recently, we landed on page 4 of the Sydney Morning Herald.  We also got press in Rotary Down Under, thanks to PDG Alex Sawyer’s support and perseverance.

John Booth and his Weekly Times team has been an incredibly generous supporter of our Club this year, giving us numerous cover stories and column space galore, for The Tree of Joy and Red Shield Appeal, School Public Speaking Competition and our big Graffiti (Paint Vandalism) program, headed up by the dynamic PP Charles Kilby.

I have to say, much of this publicity had me running on autopilot this year, such is the momentum and influence the Club seems to have in the area these days.  I have had so much support by each Club member driving each event that they run, my job was a breeze!

While the press juggernaut forged onward – whether I was manning the helm or not – I was able to put a great deal of my efforts into the new Club Website, which launched on 12 August 2010.

Since launching, our Website:  www.ryderotary.org.au – has had 5,000 visitors and has attracted all kinds of interest.  Old friends have made contact, people have applied to give presentations to our Club, applied for scholarships, asked for support, offered to help out and asked about joining.  With continued attention, updating and maintenance, the Website can only become a more and more valuable asset to the Club.  I am very proud to have been in a position, both as PR director and as part of my chosen vocation, to have been able to facilitate this for the Club, of which I am equally proud to be a member.

I have to say a huge thank you to Adrian Hallet, my right-hand man, who is now stepping up into the PR directorship for 2011–12 – and rightly so.  He is a one-man PR machine.  With his trailers and signage, tools and gadgets.  Adrian is always there to help.  He makes 110% look like a cop-out.  He is always out there – on the ground at events and programs, flying the Club banners and stamping our name clearly around the city.

I thank the Club for having faith in me this last year and look forward to seeing what Adrian is going to deliver, as I focus exclusively on the Website and online marketing for the Club in the year ahead.

Dear President Allen,

Thanks you so much for your response. My husband Ben and I have fond and precious memories of the kind hospitality of Les and Shirley in their home when we had represented PRIP Royce and Jean Abbey in 2 other Districts besides your District . At that time then PRIP Huge Archer was trying to save funds for Rotary so RI Representatives like us were given assignments in multiple districts. We were given 3 in a row in Australia and although it was a bit hectic, we didn't mind at all as we met so many Australians who became our friends.

I am attaching an article I wrote on Polio Plus and in Angeles City, where it all started, this is synonymous with PDG Les & Shirley Whitcroft as they stipulated that the US$250,000 be earmarked for the Polio Plus Campaign in the Philippines. They traveled all the way from Australia to witness this historic launching of the first official Polio Plus NID (National Immunization Day) which was the scheme eventually followed all over the developing countries in the world in the years to come.

We, in Angeles and the Philippines will forever be grateful for their generosity in selecting the Philippines as the first recipient from the $US250,000 they donated for the Polio Plus Campaign. It would be great if you could convey to PDG Les our belated condolences on the demise of Shirley. She was such a sweet and lovely lady. Please tell him that we were also in Tanzania last year and visited the School of St. Jude and saw some of the classrooms that a number of Australian Rotarians donated and we're glad to know that he was one of the donors of those many classrooms. I have attached some photos of our visit to the school and below is the website I did on Rotary in Tanzania.

Please extend our best regards to PDG Les.

Cheers!

Josie

http://web.me.com/jdhenson/Site_23/Rotary_in_Tanzania.html

Dear All at The Rotary Club of Ryde Inc.,

Thank you so much for your continued support of The School of St Jude through your sponsorship of Ms Christina Gabriel!

 As Ms Christina’s generous sponsor/s, we hope that you’ve enjoyed hearing directly from our students just how much your contribution is appreciated. Your sponsorship of Ms Christina, who is teacher of Standard 1 Science classes at our Moshono Lower Primary campus, supports both her and her fellow St Jude’s teachers as they work hard to educate Tanzania’s future leaders.

Life at The School of St Jude is continuing to thrive; we now educate nearly 1,500 students spread across three amazing schools, two boarding campuses and employ over 340 local Tanzanian staff.  All this would not be possible without the enormous contribution and generosity of supporters like you!

We hope you will enjoy the attached 2011 Update about Ms Christina, with news including her latest interests and opinions on life.  Also attached is a Teacher Sponsorship FAQs document, for all the details of supporting a teacher at The School of St Jude.

Thank you again for your incredible ongoing support of Ms Christina, and ultimately for standing with us in our Fight against Poverty!

Kind regards

Julie

Julie Luxton
Sponsor Relations Coordinator
The School of St Jude
Fighting Poverty through Education
Email: sponsorrelations1@schoolofstjude.co.tz

Website: www.schoolofstjude.co.tz
PO Box 11875, Arusha, Tanzania, East Africa
+255 686 049 142 or +255 755 106 058

Greetings from Tanzania!

We hope you enjoy reading our latest newsletter.

If you visited St Jude’s between the years 2002 and 2005, we need your help! The school is celebrating its 10 year anniversary next year and we are collecting visitors’ photos to help create a very special Anniversary Book. Please submit your photos to schoolofstjude@habari.co.tz.

Are you looking to add a new piece of fashion to your wardrobe? Check out the St Jude’s School Kanga and Kanga Bags now available for purchase through our Online Store! Show off a great accessory while supporting St Jude’s at the same time (they also make great gifts)!

Please help spread the word about The Hopeful Chef Cookbook by posting this video to your Facebook page or emailing it to friends. Remember, all proceeds for these great cookbooks go to St Jude’s!

Are you ready for an unforgettable adventure? Consider booking a spot on one of our exciting St Judes Tour Groups in July or September!

The FebFree campaign is now over and we’re proud to report the total amount raised came to $33,000…what a tremendous achievement. Big thanks to everyone who generously donated and gave up a vice to support St Jude’s!

Last but not least, don't forget to check out our eCard Gifts to find that perfect Easter, anniversary or birthday gift for a special someone in your life.

With hugs from All of us at St Jude’s!

After a ripper of an Aussie Day celebration (literally), our esteemed President Allen was not only unable to preside over the meeting, but couldn’t write his report either, as he wasn’t there.

In his place was acting President PP Geoff Brennan – and what a convincing act it was.  We almost believed he was in control of the evening.  In fact the four-way test speakers were in total control, as you will read about later in this report.  Our acting Hub editor toasted the Queen as splendidly as she edited this report, but Rotary Grace had a little trouble settling on the right pitch, for some unknown reason… an increased proportion of altos and sopranos in the room, perhaps.  David Johnston gave us a 4-minute run down of life at the 10, uh… I mean, 1, 10 & 11 Network, including the revelation that the board is swarming with billionaires.  Who would have thought The Biggest Loser would have had such broad appeal?  Ironic.

Acting Pres. announced a huge crowd of guests who managed to fit in the room thanks to an almost equal number of apologies.  However, it was great to see the triumphant return of Hameed Fazal and Terry Kerim, after their recent scarcity.

John Mazlin announced Red Shield appeal’s 2011 return (28 & 29 May) and Bill Payne explained just how valuable Bowelscan is, as it also returns for ’11, with 144 cancer and polyp detections and 164 positive results last year, saving untold lives in the city.  Peter Cooper gave Friday’s pasta-fest at Il Bolognese one last plug, before exchange student Anna Gossweiler detailed her hectic week, including a hair-dye malfunction and sailing on a rough and windy day in the open ocean.  Then it was Sgt. Longfield’s turn to take the stand – and all our loose change – with a barrage of loose cannon accusations.

After all the regular formalities, it was time for the absolute treat of the evening, The Four-Way Test speaking competition.  Bob Kaye-Smith announced the event and introduced four amazing young competitors.

ERINA YIP, from Cheltenham Girls raised the bar rather high with a superb dream sequence, linking the subconscious mind to The Four-Way Test, the meaning of life, Nelson Mandela and the collective goal of improving the world.

NIKKI RAFTOPULOS, from Pymble Ladies College (PLC) astounded us all with a theatrical press conference from Julian Assange, complete with journalists’ questions and a very clever twist at the end, explaining why Julian is disguised as a schoolgirl.  Her presentation was very well researched and weaved powerful social justice issues in perfectly with the theme.

SKYE DONALDSON from The Pittwater House Schools took a very personal approach, talking about her memories of her Rotarian grandfather and her concern for homeless people.

ANEESH KANCHARLA from Shore School discussed racism and prejudice as a challenge to uphold The Four-Way Test and how Australia has sometimes demonstrated unacceptable levels of discrimination in years gone by.  Aneesh proposed that education and admitting that there could be a problem, was the way to a more peaceful and friendly society.

In the end, Judges DGN John Dodd and PP Doug Thompson had a very difficult time, being forced to separate the contestants in order of merit.  NIKKI took out the top prize with her highly polished performance, followed very closely by Aneesh, with Erina and Skye both awarded certificates.  All four demonstrated the highest standards and ideals, which is precisely what The Four-Way Test is all about.

Welcome to the last edition of my newsletter. I am now safe back at home and have been for the last two weeks. But before I get to writing about life back at home I still have to finish the January issue.
My last two weeks in Brasil were generally a sad occasion. Other than seeing people for the last time and packing, I didn’t do much else. Saying farewells to other exchange students and especially all of the friends that I had made in Brasil was a lot harder than I ever thought it would be.

My host parents had a New Year’s resolution to lose 5kg each over the month of January, so going walking every evening after work became a ritual that I was included in. It was great to get outside even though it was really hot and humid (probably equal to the “heat-wave” that is currently in Sydney). I started giving away my clothing with Australia written all over it to my host families and close friends since that I wouldn’t need them in Australia. I only kept the ones that I either liked or were worth something to me.

I went out a few times with the other exchange students for the farewells of the guy from New Zealand as well as my own farewell for me and the other girl from Australia. The timing was a bit tight because most of the other exchange students from my district were leaving to go on the Northeast Trip (there are 4 trips, 3 in January and 1 in November).

 Luckily my Rotary Club had one more meeting before I left so that I could do my presentation on my time in Brasil. I actually had to fight back tears while I was going through all of the major memories from my time in Brasil. At the end of my presentation I received a standing ovation from all of the Rotarians and hugs from all of them. I even managed to get most of them to sign my banner that I received from the Rotary Club when I arrived in Maringa. I have now solidified many relationships with the Rotarians in my club as now I have multitudes of offers for places to stay for when I return to Brasil (including places on the beach).

Well my last day in Brasil was a fairly short one for me in my city. I woke up at 4am to go to the airport where I went through security at 5am. I was surprised at the number of people in the airport at that time considering it was a Sunday. It was a very emotional experience for me but neither the other girl from Australia or I cried so we were both proud of ourselves for that. However, I can’t speak for my host parents who both cried during our last hugs. My Rotary Club President also came out to the airport to say goodbye to me. After finally making it through security with my blazer full of pins and several bags of hand luggage, we made it onto our 6am flight. (Photo: Me and my 3rd host parents)

We flew from Maringa to Curitiba in 50 minutes and then had a 2 hour stopover before continuing to Sao Paulo. The flight to Sao Paulo was only an hour long. So we arrived in Sao Paulo at 10am and we had the joy of waiting around until 9pm for our flight. We passed the time in the international terminal by watching movies or sleeping on the banks of chairs. Finally we found more Australian exchangers waiting for the same flight and the 30 (or so) of us were all back together at about 7pm. While sitting around and sharing stories we lost track of time and only 1 hour before our flight we went through customs/security. The queue was huge but thanks to being a foreigner we get the shorter line. Even so, most of us had to run for the plane as the flight was already on “Final Call”. Luckily no one got left behind.



The next 3 hours were spent flying from Sao Paulo to Buenos Aires where I was sitting in the emergency exit row in the window seat. Along the way we had to divert a little bit due to a gigantic electric storm that was going on in northern Argentina. However I could see the huge bolts of lightning cracking down from the clouds to the ground. I tried taking photos but it was too far away to pick up anything. (Photo: Leaving Brasil)

The following two hours were spent in the airport of Buenos Aires waiting for our connecting flight to Auckland, but fortunately the single café in the whole terminal was open so we could at least buy something. This was a great opportunity to use up our Brasilian Reias (currency) especially when it’s about $7 for a can of soft drink. Anyway we made it onto the flight which would be our home for the next 14 hours. Interestingly I only experienced 4 hours of the 17th of January thanks to the International Date Line. The flight only took 14 hours but we travelled 30 hours in the process.

We arrived in Auckland at 8am and we had a two hour stopover. It was a little scary to see all the signs in the airport written only in English and also to hear all the airport staff speaking English. So considering I was so close to home I thought it would be fitting to have a beer and a pie for breakfast. I don’t know how I managed to survive the whole year with eating a pie.

Once back in Sydney I stopped off in Duty Free as you might as well use your 2.25L alcohol limit especially on drinks without taxes. It did take a while for me to get through customs. I got checked out by two separate people as they rummaged through my bags to find anything that I might have been bringing in without declaring it. Luckily nothing was taken off me, including my Amazonian blow gun, so I continued on down to the ramps to freedom.

When I saw my family standing there with a sign saying “Bemvindo a Casa” (or Welcome Home) I nearly started crying. I had to just concentrate and look straight ahead just to make sure. It was fantastic to finally give both my parents and my sister a giant hug even though I had been talking to them weekly or fortnightly. Driving back from the airport was a strange experience seeing the huge difference between Brasil and Australia. Now being home I can see the difference and how much better life is here in general.

Well I have now been home for a bit over 2 weeks. In that time period I’ve caught up with my best mates and their families and sharing my year with them. Considering that I probably only spoke to each of them maybe a couple of times throughout the year, there was much to catch up on. In the first week I got my green P plates and my PWC boat license. Getting back up to the house up at Wyee Point was a big highlight as I was finally able to go jetskiing and go donoughting.

I have now also enrolled in university. I will be doing Engineering and Business at UTS for the next 5 years so that will be fun. I’ll be majoring in ICT Engineering (Software) and Accounting.

There is nothing that compares to home and I don’t think that anything will ever be better than being at home with family and friends. After coming home from a year away I now know the true meaning of “Home Sweet Home”. Thank you for reading my blog over this last year. I have certainly enjoyed writing them and I’ve already received praise from people that I didn’t even know were on the email list.

I will be making my presentation to Ryde Rotary on 15 March and look forward to seeing many of you then.

Tchau,
James Dodd

Welcome to the first ever 2011 edition of my newsletter. These last two weeks have been very family orientated which made me miss home a little bit, but in two weeks today I’ll be leaving. Time certainly does fly when you’re having fun.
Christmas was a little bit different for me this year, mostly not celebrating it with my own family. Other than that Christmas was a relaxing, family orientated weekend. My host family and I spent the Christmas weekend in Santa Cruz de Monte Castello which is a small city where my host mother was born and raised. We have been there a few times before to relax for the weekend. Just before we arrived there it started to absolutely bucket down. Your line of sight was literally only 5 metres at most which was a bit frightening sitting in the back seat of the car. Nevertheless we arrived safely.

The Friday night was a more peaceful and a close family occasion. We had a barbeque of various meats and continuing in the holiday spirit much beer was consumed. It turned out that we actually missed the church service because we were all talking and enjoying ourselves ,not watching the time. However once it struck midnight presents were given to everyone and we all indulged ourselves into those gifts. My host family got me a pair of Santos soccer shorts (for those of who you don’t know, Santos is the best soccer team in Brasil) so I was greatly delighted. I gave my host parents a bottle of wine and one of my bigger cross-stitches that I had been doing over the last few months. I also thought that I needed to give my host grandma something so I made her a kookaburra cross-stitch. Some of you may remember that it was the first one that I finished here, however the one I gave her I had just finished that afternoon.

The Saturday (or Christmas Day) followed in the same manner as the day before it. Most of the day was spent sitting around talking and sharing memories of the year that had nearly finished. During the day, once again following in the holiday spirit, much beer was consumed. Between 4 of them on Friday about 16L of beer was consumed compared to the 26L that was had on the Saturday between 6 people.  After everyone recovering on the Sunday, we returned late on Sunday evening to Maringa.
During the week I was taken by my host father to his two soccer games. Towards the end of the first game one team was left without a player. My host father then decided that he would put me in goal so then he could fill the spot in the field. I have never played goalkeeper in a game before so as you would expect I was a little bit nervous and still surprised that my host father had that much confidence in me. However over the next 10 minutes, the ball never passed me. Yes there were only two attempts at goal from the other team but neither of those attempts got passed me. I also totally embarrassed one of the attackers from the other team as I passed the ball through his legs to get passed him.

The next game on the Thursday was in a slightly different light. There had been massive confusion from the other team if there was going to be a game so only about half of them turned up. After some conversing they eventually decided to just play with mixed up teams. While everyone was changing, I was mucking around with one of the kids in the goal. My host father then said to me “Go down to the other end of the field for us in the goal”. At first I thought it was just to practice so they could take shots at me, but then came “Also put this shirt on” at which point I realised that I would be actually playing. Well to be short I did play the whole game as goalkeeper. Everyone was surprised, including me, at how decent I was but soon the other team found the hole in my defence. As most of you know I have fairly good hand-eye coordination, so any ball in the air was not much of a challenge for me. The chink in my armour was ground balls as it takes me forever for me to get my hands to the ground. However, even with the gigantic hole in my defence my team won. I had saved enough attempts at goal that we had managed to stay in front for the whole game. 

On the Wednesday night my host parents took me to the centre of the city to see the decorations and lights that had been placed on the cathedral. The sight of the cathedral all lit up was amazing. I took several photos of all the decorations and lights.

For the New Year’s Eve weekend, my host parents and I travelled back to Monte Castello. This weekend was a lot more relaxed than the Christmas weekend, but still many good times were had. Late on the Friday night we all went to Porto Rico, which I went to about a month before with the men from my host mum’s family, to watch the fireworks. There were about 20,000 people there partying and according to my host family that was the most amount of people that they had ever seen in Porto Rico. The fireworks were fairly amazing. They had placed boats on the river full of fireworks so it was quite a spectacular sight. I managed to take some very cool photos of the fireworks just as they were about to explode. 

The next Saturday and Sunday were spent relaxing and enjoying the first moments of 2011. For me it still seems a bit strange to consider that we are now into 2011. I don’t know why, but seeing the date “3/1/11” just looks weird to me. 

Well as you’ve read these last two weeks have been very relaxing and very family orientated. I have less than two weeks in Brasil until I start heading home. It will take me 53 hours to get home (thanks to the International Date Line) but I’ll eventually get there on the 18th of January. I will try to get a newsletter down when I get home to finish off the year.
I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Years and I look forward to catching up with a lot of you when I get back.
Abraço,
James Dodd

Here is a short note from Kristel Murray, a French Canadian student who came to our club as an exchange student in 2001/02.  It is always great to hear from exchange students to see how their life has progressed since their stay with us...

Well, my life hasn't change so much, I'm still very busy. In September, I started University to specialize myself in nursing. So, I don't have lot of time for myself and my family. I work a full time job, I take care of my family, I have university and I have 2 nights/week for workout and cardio to keep myself in good shape... lol

My son is now 2 years and a half. He changes so much. He speaks very well and understands more what we saying. He is so quiet, he is not a disturbing child.
It's not in our plan to have an other baby yet. We want to but with university... We will wait until next year.

All my family are in good health, I hope yours too. So give me some news to keep in touch. Even if I didn't write to you for ages.... You still have a room in my heart and I hope one day we'll see each other again!

Take Care!!!!
Kristel
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