This Week: It's a Special Meeting to discuss Fundraising.

We have increasing demands on our services.  As our membership increases new members have suggestions for new projects and as government funding dries up there are increasing requests from existing projects quite apart from the ever increasing cost of living.

We are very fortunate in our existing support base both here and overseas but we have no idea how long we will have that backup.  The object of this meeting is to discuss the way forward.  The board needs guidance from membership as to their involvement and their ideas.  

This extends beyond fundraising to what is required socially as well.  Online meetings have distinct advantages and disadvantages.  Are we doing enough to meet each other face to face?

Last Week

Ron Smith gave us a very interesting talk on his visit to Greenland on business and specifically about the museum at the former wartime US Airforce base.  He actually landed on the runway that was built by the Americans.  

The museum was quite a surprise because of the large number of exhibits, from cartoons to weaponry.  It was well displayed and well maintained though I did wonder how many visitors there were per annum.  

Many thanks, Ron, for such an interesting and well illustrated talk.

Next Week

A change of plan.

Douglas Grossett will be demonstrating and talking about the art of making jewelry.

This is one of the eternity rings he has made.

He told me that he can plug a microscope into the computer and show us many interesting details.

International - Kenya

In the remote villages of Ndandini and Kyaithani in eastern Kenya, families live on less than $1 per day, and their homes are not connected to any electrical grid. Most cannot afford kerosene or paraffin to light their homes, which means students cannot see to do their homework in the evenings. The Rotary clubs of Sunshine Coast-Sechelt, British Columbia, and Machakos, Kenya, learned about the problem while working in the area on other projects.  

About 1,500 students attending local schools were each provided a solar light under a rent-to-own programme; students pay $1 per month, less than the cost of paraffin, for eight months, after which they own the light. The proceeds are used to provide another student with a solar light the following year. Project partner Kenya Connect, noting that the time students spend reading has tripled with the introduction of the solar lights, described the programme as “a game changer in our efforts to improve the quality of education for rural schools.” The project also included the construction of computer labs at two schools and a solar system to provide enough power for the entire setup. More than 200 teachers received training on digital learning and ways to better make use of computers in their teaching.