David Abbey and Elijah Sarigari : Royce and Jean Abbey Vocational Scholarship

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1 Volume 77 Issue 2 Tuesday 12 July 2011 This week s speaker David Abbey and Elijah Sarigari : Royce and Jean Abbey Vocational Scholarship Today we had the privilege of hearing from a beneficiary of a program started by a stalwart of our Club over twenty years ago. Elijah Sarigari from Papua New Guinea spoke to us about his experiences as a recipient of a Royce & Jean Abbey Vocational Scholarship, having almost completed a three month course sponsored by RC of Geelong in the sustainable use of timber and general business training. He is the 14 th scholarship recipient and was introduced by Royce and Jean's son, David Abbey, Past President of the Rotary Club of Shepparton Central. David, Chair of the Royce & Jean Abbey Vocational Scholarship Committee has worked for a number of years with Shirley Kukk, Rob Thomas, Roger Leask and several other D9800 representatives sourcing candidates for this highly valued agricultural scholarship from Asia/Pacific. The scholarships are now funded by the Royce Abbey Awards, cementing them as an integral part of our Club s international efforts. To date, approximately $160,000 has been raised. RC of Geelong members, Donald Johnston, David Barkley Incoming President and Anton Van Doornik were guests at our meeting and we heard that the RC of Geelong s support in PNG has extended well beyond sponsoring Elijah. We heard that among the support they have provided has been a tractor, a portable saw mill, a hands on project to install a reliable water supply and extensive support through their district DIK program.

2 This week s speaker David Abbey and Elijah Sarigari : Royce and Jean Abbey Vocational Scholarship Elijah thanked all involved in providing the Scholarship and told us of his vision for a model village in his home land. Frustrated at seeing his village regularly damaged by cyclones/wet seasons and without any real infrastructure support from the PNG government (there has not been an elementary school in district for over 10 years some youths in the district have never been to school), Elijah has embarked upon a journey to do something about it. He has shifted the village to higher ground, built roads, sustainably harvested timber, arranged sponsorship for a school and most importantly instilled a sense of pride amongst the villagers. He has positioned his village as a model for other villages to follow and is hopeful that a more sustainable future for PNG villages will result. Royce closed the presentation stating his satisfaction with the Scholarship program and congratulated Elijah.

3 The Rotary Club of Essendon P.O Box 161 Essendon, VIC 3040 Club President: Steve Roe Club Secretary: Rob Thomas From President Steve: Members are the lifeblood of clubs and nothing can be achieved without them. However, it s not a matter of pure numbers. We could have a membership base of 150 and be no better off if the extra 75 members were not active and committed. We do need more members who are both dedicated and enthusiastic to share the load and to enable us to achieve even greater things in the future. Since 2005 Australian Rotary membership has fallen 6% and this trend is reflected in other volunteer organisations both in Australia and overseas. The interesting thing is that the major decline is led by men, while the level of volunteering by women is slowly increasing. As our lady members comprise only 17% of our national total, and only 13% of the membership of our own Club, and with an ever-increasing number of women achieving leading roles in business and in the community, there is an extremely large pool of potential members just waiting for us to invite them along. Hire of Club trailer Do you need a mobile BBQ for your next function? Then consider our club trailer. See Sam Morello for details. Today s Attendance 35 members plus 9 guest FOR SALE: package deal consisting RCE Peak cap, 75 th anniversary lapel badge and 75 th Anniversary Club photo. $20. Contact Maurice Mollica. HELP URGENTY NEEDED: To gain the full potential of your membership within Rotary why don t you take up a few weeks of editing Contact? You will be amazed at how it enhances your knowledge of what is going on and how the Club operates. Contact Roger Leask. Thank You: Thanks Michael Cariss for compiling and printing our club directory. Thanks also to directory sponsors: O Sullivan s Sibeen and Kosnar s Framing. Please see Michael if you have not yet got your copies. MISSING: Does anyone know the whereabouts of the folder of member s partner s name badges. Last seen Charter Night. Contact Rob Thomas please. Don t Forget: Gala Auction Night. July 29 (less than 3 weeks away!!) Great items with something for everyone including helicopter flight, share in race horse, coffee machine, handbag, whiskey, jewelry, Footy Show tickets, men s suit, set of car tyres, restaurant vouchers etc. Contact Sam Tartaglia for bookings.

4 For the diary Weekly Raffle: Congrats to Lino for winning the weekly draw. But the jackpot is still alive as he failed to pick the Joker. Jackpot approx $300. Proposed new members: Debbie Phelan Classification: Legal Practice Management Connie Maina Classification: International Aid Administration DATE EVENT VENUE Tues 19/7/11, 1pm Mon 25/7/11, 7.30pm Tues 26/7/11, 1pm Friday 29/7/11, 7pm for 7.30pm Meeting Guest Speaker: Member behind the badge John Gorman Board Mtg Assistant Governor Mark Schirmer Visit Gala Auction Tues 20/9/11, 1pm DG Visit Tues 1/11/11 Tues 29/11/11, 1pm AGM Tues 13/12/11 evening Tues 20/12/11 breakfast Tues 27/12/11, Tues 3/1/12, Tues 10/1/12 Tues 17/1/12 late afternoon/evening No meeting Melb Cup Xmas Function (no lunch time mtg) Breakfast mtg instead of lunch No meeting Xmas Meeting and BBQ at DIK Home of Steve and Kerry Ascot House Receptions, TBA DIK 9/3/12 12/3/12 80 th D9800 Conference Melbourne Convention Centre Tues 22/5/12 Charter Night (no lunch time mtg) TBA Tues 3/7/12, 1pm President Changeover Welcome back: Ian Thomas from short stint in hospital and Anne Rogers from Mont Blanc. Subs now due: $295. If not already paid, please do so promptly. Please also consider Every Rotarian Every Year tax deductible contributions to Foundation.

5 Thank you to our 2010/11 CONTACT and web site sponsors. Some sponsorship vacancies exist for 2011/12. $250 including listing in CONTACT every week and on RCE website. Please see Maurice Mollica.