Rotary District 9570 Central Queensland

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1 Rotary District 9570 Central Queensland 1

2 March is Water and Sanitation Month Rotary Monthly Theme Each month of the calendar year is celebrated in Rotary with a different theme with the exception of May. Each club throughout the Rotary world is encouraged to concentrate on programs to promote each of these months. Rotary focuses on Community Service and promotes International Peace and Understanding. By celebrating each month and using these themes as a guide, Rotarians can ensure that all of the various programs of Rotary are administered throughout the entire year. 2 2

3 DG News February is Conflict Prevention and Resolution Month. Hi Everyone, Welcome to the March edition of the District newsletter. Its been another busy and rewarding month at the District Governor s office. The District Officer and Assistant Governor training was held in Rockhampton. The attendance was great, and the comradery was always enthusiastic. More importantly the content was invaluable. This year the District Governor from D9550 was in attendance. It was rewarding for me to see the group inspired and motivated. A big thank you to District Governor Elect Michael Buckeridge and the District trainer Brian Jessop for a great weekend. The Biloela Rotaract club was chartered, and this was a great night. It is encouraging to see a group of young people enthused in serving the community. The Biloela Rotary club is a great mentor to this club, and I believe this will be a very strong Rotaract club in the future. Speaking of Rotary clubs, the Passport club was charted during the month. This is a very exciting move in our District and the club is the first passport club in the region and will set a benchmark for future passport clubs. March also saw interviews being held for the District Governor in who will be the first District Governor in the new merged District. It was an honour to conduct these interviews with my fellow District Governor Greg Marlow. The successful candidate was our own Martii Kannnunen from the Discovery Coast Rotary Club. This month is Water and Sanitation month for Rotary. Water is the largest natural resource but only 3% of it is freshwater, of which just 1/3 is accessible for use in agriculture and cities. The rest is frozen in glaciers or hidden too deep underground. We should not take water for granted. Rotary has a very active action group in the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group (WASRAG), Cathy is a member of this RAG and I encourage all members to visit the site and encourage clubs to have guest speakers address the water and sanitation issue during the Month of March. In summary a busy month with lots of results. The District continues to move forward. On personal note I want to thank all Rotarians for their condolences on the passing on my mother. Regards, Rod Medew 3

4 Calendar of Events... Friday 1 March Board meeting at PETS Oaks Grand Gladstone 1-3 March Presidents-Elect Training Seminar Oaks Grand Gladstone 1 March 31 May Applications for NYSF January 2019 intake Student EOIs open 9 March Biloela Rotary Beer & Wine Night March World Rotaract Week 31 March Second registration deadline for Rotary Convention in Hamburg 4

5 CQ Rotary Roundup Contents 2 Rotary Monthly Theme 3 DG News 4 Calendar of Events 6 Meet a District Officer 7 District Officer Training 8 Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group 10 District Conference 12 Congratulations Martti 13 News From Around the District 14 Rotaract Club of Biloela Fifty Years in Rotary 15 RYLA The Role of Peers in Preventing Mental Illness in Youth 16 Trachoma Update 18 Invitation to Passport Club Launched in Our District 20 Facts about Water 21 Rotarian Action Groups 23 Clue Detective - Online Puzzles 24 Capture the Moment in Hamburg

6 Meet A District Officer 6

7 District Officer Training The annual district Officer and Assistant Governor training was held in Rockhampton in March. The program delivered motivation, inspiration, and new ideas for District Officers. Some of the most experienced district leaders conducted informative discussions on all phases of Rotary administration and service projects. The sessions equipped participants with valuable new ideas to make the District effective and interesting. This year the DG and Training Officer from D9550 joined us and we all learnt something about their District and the programs they offer. The program has now become a very important part of the District calendar. Part of the program is networking and enjoying each other s company. Below is the Friday night dinner with AGs. 7

8 The Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) was formed in 2007 by a group of Rotarians, recognized by Rotary International, and focused on WASH projects. Since then it has facilitated many hundreds of projects helping clubs find partners, ensuring sustainability, stressing the importance of a needs-driven approach, and developing best practices. They encourage a holistic, integrated approach in which water is not the end in itself, but is rather the means to a better life and livelihood in the community. Most importantly, WASRAG links water and sanitation to improved hygiene, better health, and empowerment of the community especially women, irrigation and agriculture, education and literacy and, ultimately, child mortality. Calling all Rotarians As a Rotarian Action Group (RAG), WASRAG invites Rotarians from around the world to join them and engage in the battle to provide safe water, sanitation and hygiene for all. Any Rotarian interested in supporting WASRAG can Get Involved with our activities and be Linked to global WASH assistance efforts. A Rotarian Action Group ("RAG") is an association of Rotarians from around the world who are dedicated to a particular, unique area of service. Members of a RAG conduct hands-on, global service projects that advance the objectives of Rotary International. Each RAG is officially approved and 8

9 recognized by the RI Board of Directors, but functions independently of Rotary International and sets its own rules, dues requirement and administrative structure. Rotarian Action Groups shall be entitled to use the Rotary Marks, consistent with existing RI policy governing use of the marks. Rotarian Action Groups shall be entitled to communicate with the worldwide network of Rotary clubs, districts, and multi districts as per RI s communication policy. Vision Statement Health, education and prosperity for all through safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Mission Statement Providing human, technical and financial support to Rotary clubs and districts seeking to help communities to gain sustainable access to water, sanitation and hygiene. WASRAG Goals: Access and connect with experts in WASH Provide technical guides for all stages of WASH projects including program life cycle Seek funding outside the Rotary domain to complement internal resources Facilitate connections with other organizations sharing Rotary goals Alert Rotarians to the availability of expertise and financial resources Identify and share Rotary and other resources available to Rotarians. Assist and enable clubs to seek support from other clubs, from TRF and beyond Rotary Ensure clubs can learn of the needs of other clubs Maintain and build a collaborative working relationship with RI and TRF Implement appropriate processes to monitor and evaluate the impact, efficacy and sustainability of Rotary projects and programs Facilitate the exchange of idea and information 9

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12 Marttti Kankkunen from the Rotary club of Discovery Coast has been selected as the inaugural District Governor for our merged District in Martti is a native of Finland and is married to Karen. He is a mining engineer, and has been a member of Rotary for over 20 years. Martti is retired and enjoys woodworking, tennis and swimming. We all wish him the best as he embarks on the journey as District Governor. 12

13 News From Around the District 13

14 Rotaract Club of Biloela The Rotaract club of Biloela is sponsored by the Rotary club of Biloela and had its charter night on 22 February. Fourteen young men and women make up the new club. The Rotaract club is community-based club and this makes them true "partners in service" and key members of the family of Rotary. The charter night was well attended with over 50 Rotarians and guests. Special guests were the Biloela Rotaract club from 1972 who came to the dinner from all parts of Queensland to witness the charter. A special thanks to the Biloela Rotary club for all its help and organisation. Below is the Rotaract club along with the class of Fifty Years In Rotary John Lamb from the Rotary club of Mackay North celebrated 50 years in Rotary in February. John has served as District Governor in A celebration dinner was held in Mackay with approximately 80 people attending, the MC Mark Lean presented John with a letter from RI President Barry Rassin and a photo!! Of a plaque from DG Rod Medew who was unable to attend due to family commitments. Congratulations John and Clair. 14

15 RYLA 2019 RYLA is a six-night residential course which was held at the Capricorn Caves in Rockhampton this year. The aim of RYLA is to improve the leadership skills of young people. This year there was 24 participants. Through a series of challenging, practical and theoretical exercises, the RYLA course provides opportunities to improve leadership and communication skills, and selfconfidence. Activities include a ropes course, caving, climbing, abseiling and other physical and mental challenges. The programme is carefully structured so that exercises are backed by theory to develop leadership and team skills. It was a pleasure to open the RYLA camp on the Saturday and observe a very enthusiastic group of young adults. The facilitators were equally enthusiastic. On Wednesday night I attended the Great Debate which was well attended and lots of fellowship and enthusiasm. Another successful week for RYLA. Part of the crowd on Wednesday for the Great Debate 15

16 The Role of Peers in Preventing Mental Illness in Youth ( From Rockhampton Fitzroy) Australian Rotary Health is funding the development and testing of the first online peer intervention to prevent mental health and substance use problems in adolescents. Postdoctoral Fellowship recipient Dr Louise Birrell from the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use (University of Sydney) will develop a mobile app called Mind your Mate, so that young people can support their peers who may be struggling with their mental health. Peers play an important role in identifying and facilitating access to support for their friends, Louise said. Yet existing prevention programs are typically delivered to young people by external experts or teachers, rather than utilising the profound influence of peers. who may be struggling with mental health or substance use problems. In the second phase, Louise will then test the effectiveness of the newly developed app. If effective, the intervention is easily scalable, low cost and links to the existing high school syllabus, making it easy to implement and roll out. By 2030 the global health care costs associated with mental health and substance use problems are predicted to total more than the pooled costs attribute to cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases. This is one of the greatest health challenges of our time and effective prevention is critical if we are to stem this tide, Louise said. During the first phase of her research, Louise will conduct a social network analysis to uncover how substance use and mental health behaviours diffuse through peer networks. This knowledge will be used to inform the development of a mobile application for young people to support their peers By providing young people with critical skills and knowledge around mental health in an engaging way, I hope to improve the lives of adolescents, setting them on the right trajectory for a healthy life. We wish Louise all the best with her research. 16

17 Trachoma Update Thanks for all those stamps that will be sold to collectors and the money will go to helping making Australia a Trachoma free country. Ross Peddlesden (District Youth Protection Officer) agreed to take the stamps to Melbourne where the Trachoma coordinators will organise the selling of the stamps. I encourage all of you to continue to donate the stamps to Trachoma. Rod Medew Cathy and Ross organising those stamps! 17

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19 Passport Club Launched in Our District On 23 February the first passport club in the District and the region was chartered. Like any Rotary club, the passport club consists of members who want to make a difference in their community in a way that fits within their time, talent and finances, as well as with their family, work and life commitments. D9560 Passport Rotary are members with the same privileges and rights as Rotarians in traditional clubs. It allows members a great deal of flexibility, for example to work with other clubs. Each member must do 30 hours of community service each year. The charter night was relaxed, well attended with each member receiving their dinner badge and a passport! 19

20 Facts about Water Source : 83 million people do not have access to clean and safe water worldwide 319 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are without access to improved reliable drinking water sources 1 in 9 people world wide do not have access to safe and clean drinking water 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases In developing countries, as much as 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions 1 in 3 people, or 2.4 billion, are without improved sanitation facilities 695 million of a global 2.4 billion people living without improved sanitation facilities live in Sub-Saharan Africa Half of the world's hospital beds are filled with people suffering from a water-related disease 84% of the people who don't have access to improved water, live in rural areas, where they live principally through subsistence agriculture Nearly 1 out of every 5 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease Globally we use 70% of our water sources for agriculture and irrigation, and only 10% on domestic uses 20

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23 Clue Detective - Online Puzzles Clue Detective Puzzle Agency has teamed up with Australian Rotary Health, and you can now support them to raise funds for vital mental health research by purchasing a puzzle membership! Solving a puzzle provides you with an opportunity to take time-out from your busy, and perhaps stressful day, which can be beneficial for your mental health as well! #LiftTheLid on Mental Illness. Learn more: Please click on the link and explore how you and your club can both benefit. 23

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26 Published by District 9570 Central Queensland Please submit all articles for consideration to the District Editor 26