This global activity is certainly not a 'fund raiser', but a service to Rotary clubs so they may, in turn, use a well researched item to attract youngsters and even adults into the fun of reading.

Basic education and literacy is directly linked to Supporting Education - one of Rotary’s seven areas of focus - that expands and creates opportunities for addressing other socioeconomic issues.  By improving available basic education and literacy rates in our communities, Rotarians are able to have a broader impact by helping to reduce poverty, improve health, encourage community and economic development, and promote peace. Rotarians are encouraged to be people of action and support activities and training to improve education for all children and literacy for children and adults.

Please download the information brochure in the files section of the Rotary Tasmania Family group on Facebook and contact PRID John Thorne [email protected] if you would like to take up this exciting project in your club or district. Postage of encyclopaedias is free if districts order at least 100 books.

==============================================
Thank you.

John.

(Past Director of RI)

Dr John G. Thorne AM FACEA JP 0409 817 898 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kofi Annan said, "Literacy is the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realise his or her full potential." Rotarians have the power to build that road.

​
​Rotarians Against Malaria: Our International Service to open doors into the hearts of Rotarians and non-Rotarians

Introduction

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. The parasites live to wreak havoc in their human / animal / bird hosts. While the parasites are relatively harmless to the mosquitoes, it can be deadly to humans. Both types of hosts are needed by the parasites to procreate and survive.

In contrast to COVD-19, there are far more malaria infections but fewer deaths each year. Globally, in 2018, an estimated 228 million people were infected with malaria and 405,000 deaths occurred, mainly in Africa. An estimated 1,109 deaths occurred each day. The most at risk for malarial deaths were children under five who made up 67% of the deaths in 2018. The social and economic burdens of malaria are phenomenal. The sick are unable to work and children are unable to go to school. The poor become poorer.

In the 1990s, Rotarians in Australia established a national group called Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM) to fight against the scourge of malaria in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. Since then, Rotarians have helped to reduce malaria in Vanuatu, PNG, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste. RAM is governed by Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) Ltd. In addition to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, our partners include Vanuatu and West Timor (NTT Province, Indonesia).

The primary focus of RAM is malaria control and elimination. We work closely with the Ministry of Health authorities in each country and complement the work of other malaria organisations, most notably the World Health Organisation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund). We assist countries in malaria vector control using insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying of insecticides. We also offer a PhD scholarship every five years. To sustain our international humanitarian service, we need sustained support from Rotarians across Australia.

Our success story:  Zero indigenous malaria in Timor Leste

Rotarians Against Malaria first commenced support for Timor Leste in 2006. In that year, Timor Leste was considered a 'post-conflict' fragile nation following independence in 2002 from Indonesia. In 2006,  malaria was wide-spread in Timor Leste with an estimated 223,002 malaria cases. By 2019, over a period of 15 years, malaria was reduced to zero with only nine (9) imported malaria cases. The great success story in malaria elimination was due to several factors, and one of which was the leadership of the National Malaria Program, and the continuing financial support from the Global Fund, World Health Organisation (WHO), and Rotarians Against Malaria. Rotarians' actions have averted many malaria cases with several illnesses and deaths. We have given Timorese a chance for a better life. The elimination of malaria was critical to the prosperity and peace in the country.

By 2019, Rotarians across Australia had donated a total of 112,000 bed nets to Timor Leste. Specific to District 9830 (Tasmania), the Rotary Club of North Hobart is also part of  Timor Leste's success story. In 2017, PP Dr. Jenny Kerrison, the Rotary Club of North Hobart, took a small team of RAM Volunteers to Timor Leste. Her trip highlighted the dedication and good work of the National Malaria Program and the WHO Consultant. Upon her return to Tasmania and with support from her club and help from PDG Peter Murfett D9830 The Rotary Foundation (TRF) Chair, and Rotarians Against Malaria Australia, Jenny applied for a Rotary Global Grant for Timor Leste. The Grant galvanised wide-spread support in Australia for Timor Leste. A total of 15 of 21 Rotary districts donated their District Designated Funds to the project. In addition, 13 Rotary clubs in D9800 and two Rotary clubs from across Australia donated towards the Grant. The final result was a total of USD251,334 matched Grant from TRF was raised.

Assisted by the host partner Rotary Club of Dili Lafaek in Timor Leste D9550, the Rotary Club of North Hobart in D9830 commenced the Grant project in 2018. Rotarians should be proud of the Grant's outputs. The project has donated a total of 40,000 long lasting insecticidal nets to pregnant women throughout Timor Leste. In addition, we trained 107 Community Health Volunteers, and strengthened Timor Leste's indoor residual spraying (IRS) program through a donation 80 sprayer machines. Rotarians have contributed to maintaining zero malaria in Timor Leste.

The enormous support from Rotarians for Timor Leste reflected our mindset that 'Rotarians can and will make a difference' in our International Service. Rotarians Against Malaria has provided opportunities for Rotarians to meet their international service obligations and in doing so, RAM has opened doors into the hearts of Rotarians and non-Rotarians.

Malaria on Timor Island (West and East Timor)

Our work continues on Timor Island. In February 2020, Dr. Jenny Kerrison, RC North Hobart, led a small team of RAM Volunteers to conduct a Community Needs Assessment at two border districts in West Timor. The emphasis is to eliminate malaria from the whole of Timor Island. West Timor shares the Timor Island with Timor Leste (East Timor). While malaria is eliminated from Timor Leste, the disease remains endemic in West Timor (Indonesia). Funding for the Community Needs Assessment was from Rotary District 9830 District Grant and Rotarians Against Malaria. Since our visit, D9830 has pledged District Designated Funds towards a Rotary Global Grant application for West Timor. If successful, Rotarians in D9830 will contribute to malaria elimination in West Timor and eventually, the whole of Timor Island.

Call to Action

To continue our work to end malaria in our partner countries, we need help from Rotarians. Please donate to the Rotarians Against Malaria via this link https://ram.rawcs.com.au/

Alternatively, you may wish to volunteer your time with us, in the following positions: Deputy National Manager, Newsletter Editor, Speaker, Fund-raising volunteer.

 
 
—————————--
Jenny KERRISON PhD, DEd, RN, RM
Rotary Club of North Hobart & RAM Project Manager, Rotary Global Grant for malaria elimination in Timor Leste 2018-2020
National Manager for Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM) Australia - ram.rawcs.com.au

Past President Jenny Kerrison, National Manager for Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM) Australia, pictured with Past President Howie Oh, National Treasurer for RAM.  Howie is the current Director of International Service at the Rotary Club of North Hobart.

More photos of the RAM projects in Timor-Leste and Indonesia are available on the PROJECTS page of our website.  

On Tuesday 30 June, the Rotary Club of North Hobart was able to celebrate Changeover with a face to face meeting.  We held the event at the Black Buffalo and 39 members and guests were in attendance.  Thank you to Tanya Dargaville who acted as MC for the evening.

Official guests were District Governor Michael Cooke and his wife Corrina, Immediate Past District Governor Ross Carlyle. Past District Governor Peter Murfett and incoming Assistant Governor Paul Fernyhough.   

The first excitement was when Effie Flaskas was inducted as a new member.  A warm welcome to Effie! 

The District Governor presented the club one of three Significant Service certificates which he awarded at District Changeover.

The award was presented to all members of the Public Image committee, Peter O'Brien, Jenny Kerrison and Roslyn Teirney.  We were able to announce that incoming President Brian has invited us to organise a similar event next year, once again at Turnbull Funerals.

Several individual Rotarians received Avenues of Service awards.  

It was an honour for us to host the last event at which DG Michael and his wife Corrina were official guests in his year of leading the district.  Thank you Michael for representing RI President Mark Daniel Maloney and bringing his message of Rotary connecting the world in the spirit of peace and service.  Throughout the evening, guests were uplifted by speeches by a number of our members, some about Rotary and some about our members.  

PRID John Thorne proposed the toast to Rotary.

PAG Paul Fernyhough, of the Rotary Club of Claremont, read the acnowledgement of the original custodians of the land on which we met.  It was Paul who edited the DG News in 2019-20.

PAG Jill Savell became a Paul Harris Fellow.  Thank you to Jill for her wonderful service.  Jill, always a wonderful public speaker, responded warmly with inspirational stories of Rotary service and travel.

Next we had another celebration of Rotary service, this time when PDG Peter Murfett, District Director of The Rotary Foundation, announced that PRID John and Shirley Thorne had reached the milestone of Major Donors for their financial gifts to The Rotary Foundation over the years.  The mementos from Rotary International were presented by DG Michael Cooke and both Shirley and John reminisced about their Rotary journeys and what motivated them to give so much to Rotary and make Rotary their charity of choice.

Thank you both for your distinguished service. What a team you've made indeed.

As always at Changeover, there were moments to reflect on the year as a whole, a challenging and probably unforgettable year, but nevertheless one in which we achieved many goals.  The Public Image committee was very proud to have the District Governor present at the launch of our "Rotary Connects the World" two minute video clip.  This featured four spokespeople from the club, listing a number of our international projects from the past year.  The clip is available to view on our club's Facebook page.

We also presented our Annual Report, which will be used as a Public Image resource in the year ahead, as well as a record for members.  The report was designed and printed by our Pride of Workmanship awardees, A and J Printers.  Thanks to Margaret and Peter, who went above and beyond.  

Rotary Club of North Hobart members came into the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent need for social isolation and strategic physical distancing as a close group of volunteers bonded by a common purpose to serve as Rotarians and many long personal friendships and shared professional experiences and family connections.  We are located in a dynamic and cosmopolitan part of the city but most of us are of a certain age so we have much more to unite us than to divide us as a group, despite our vigorous sparring during tradition Rotary fine sessions.

These strong bonds of Rotary fellowship and shared service experience have enabled us to still feel connected as a community even though our weekly meetings had to go into temporary recess.  One of the expressions of unity for our members has been the "normal" posts on Facebook, showing how we are People of Action and promoting our club and its service activities on social media to keep everyone informed of who we are, what we stand for and what we do as Rotarians.

The Facebook page is managed by the Public Image team.  Two volunteers from the public image committee post to the page on behalf of the club and deal with the incoming communications.  

Rotary Facebook pages must strictly comply with the Rotary International Voice and Visual Guidelines.  There are particular colours, fonts, logos, images that are encouraged and others which are outright banned.

Rotary hates pictures of people lined up and loves action shots.  The success of a club's Facebook page is very much a function of the quality of the photographs that tell a story local North Hobart people can relate to, but in our club we do not have anyone with a love of photography keen to volunteer and able to offer skill and experience in the service of the club, so we are very thankful to talented supporters from outside our club who have come to support us and provide a photographic record of our key events. 

The posts on our club's Facebook page expand our Rotary community beyond the members.  Through our Facebook page there is an opportunity for us to:

*  celebrate our achievements
*  build awareness of Rotary
*  inspire paertnerships
*  increase visibility
and increasingly to *  engage a supportive audience of informed readers.

Why do we think our supporters engage with our posts?
*  We post about events and opportunities that connect with their passions.
*  We give people ideas and inspiration.  Many of our followers are from interstate.
*  We help all sorts of people achieve their own goals.
​*  We also take the time for a bit of light hearted entertainment and whimsy occasionally.

You do not need to be handsome and good looking to be seen on our Rotary Club of North Hobart page.  We let our audience meet our members because they are
*  smart
*  compassionate
*  persevering and
*  inspiring people.
A past page editor used the phrase "We are ordinary people doing extraordinary things" - yes!  That's the power of Rotary.

Visit out Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/rotaryclubnorthhobart/

Tell us what you like by LIKING and SHARING posts and if there is something you are looking for but can't find please send a private message so we can do our best to assist.

Our club Rotary page is not all about us.  We try to educate our audience about the six areas of focus for Thee Rotary Foundation (do you know what these are without looking them up?) and acknowledge our sponsors and collaborators.  We also give credit to other groups that align with the Rotary values (I'll tell you those - service, friendship, diversity, integrity, leadership).

Thank you for bringing our club to life on Facebook by including it in your social media experience day to day.  

SOME ROTARY CLUB OF NORTH HOBART STATISTICS

*  80% response rate, 2 hours rsponse time
*  330 followers as at 1 May 2020
*  107 post reach this week
*  1 video view this week
*  306 people like our page

Please invite your friends to like our page too.  Can we reach 500 followers by 30 June? 

The Rotary Club of North Hobart has this year strengthened our relationship with one of our local schools, Campbell Street Primary.  Our Youth Director, David Clinch, attended the school and his mother was on the Parents and Friends Association there for many years.   When Mrs Clinch passed away his family gave a Literacy award in her honour, but when the money ran out, David's Rotary committee were keen to keep sponsoring the award.

As prize sponsors, our club was invited to the Grade 6 Leavers' Assembly last year.  David is pictured above with the Literacy prize winner and the student who presented the award.

The occasion was well attended by parents and community leaders.  

One of the people that has made it possible for us to re-establish our link with Campbell Street i Mrs Rhonda Walker, a teacher, who happens to be a Rotarian too.  Rhonda is the President of the Rotary Club of Glenorchy.  

After the Assembly, Rhonda showed us where the school has decided to establish the Food Plant Solutions Garden that our club wants to help with.

Following the summer holidays, we visited Campbell Street again to meet the new principal, Jo Waldron.  President Roslyn Teirney is pictured below presenting two sets of STEM textbooks, on Science and Mathematics topics, featuring girl heroes.  Our member Dr John Thorne recommended these to us and the board immediately gave its support.

To finish this Rotary year, we are excited to provide resources to Campbell Street for a Gardening Workshop for migrant families.  More on this later.  

The collaboration with Campbell Street Primary School has been extremely rewarding and we look forward to developing the link and getting to know more members of the teaching staff.

Ann Harvey, Group Account Manager for Tasmania, Lifeblood, Australian Red Cross. ​

Ann Harvey, Regional Partnerships Group Account Manager, is a popular speaker at Rtary clubs around Tasmania, including our own.  Here is a brief account of her presentation to our club.
 
Now is the time to give the gift of life
 
Every week Australian Red Cross Lifeblood needs 31,000 donations nationally to support Australia’s blood supply so we want members of Rotary in Tasmania to join in and make a difference to Australian patients in need.
 
Between 14th December and 10th January Lifeblood Donor Centres in Burnie, Devonport, Hobart and Launceston have around 1300 appointments to fill.
 
75% of those bookings are for plasma donation – plasma can be made into 18 different life changing products which can be used to treat cancer patients and those with auto-immune diseases. Even if you are a new donor, you can make plasma your first donation which will also allow you to donate more frequently.
 
The perfect Christmas gift that doesn’t cost a thing
 
As wonderfully uplifting as the season of giving is, it comes with a certain pressure to put a special gift (and unique and meaningful and personal) under the tree. In short, wrapping up socks can leave some of us feeling like we’ve under-delivered.
 
So, Lifeblood has come up with something wonderful to get you through the season ­— it’s called the Gift of Life.
 
Give the Gift of Life this Christmas
 
Anyone who donates in December will receive a festive card to give to someone special this Christmas saying you gave blood on their behalf. So, that’s one special, unique, meaningful and personal Christmas gift ticked off the list. So long, socks!
 
Book your life-changing gift
 
To check your eligibility and make an appointment to donate download the DonateBlood APP, book via lifeblood.com.au or call 131495.
 

• Join our Lifeblood team - Make sure you join our Rotary Australia District 9830 team when you donate by asking at reception or you can update your team preferences via the DonatebLood APP or online at Join Your Team

 
Want to make a small group booking for your team? Just call 1300886524. Remember whether you donate as a small group or as individuals your donation will count towards our Rotary District 9830 team tally.
 

 

For the first time, our Rotary club celebrate International Women's Day, as the Rotary Club of Tamar Sunrise has done in the north of the state for some years.  We considered making it a celebration of Women in Rotary, but decided as 2020 was the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we would take that as our theme and offer any proceeds to the Mothers and Babies Malaria Eradication project being managed by PP Jenny Kerrison. Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Kate Warner AC launched the event and Her Excellency's husband Mr Richard Warner accompanied her.  We invited the Hon. Ruth Forrest MLC to be our keynote speaker and several other Rotary and community dignitaries graced us with their presence and gave inspirational messages.  Music performances were from the Tasmanian Medical Orchestra's string quartet and singer Avalon Teirney, accompanied by Iestyn Parry.  

We were very proud of the promotional poster for the event, featuring many women members f Rotary from the south of the state, as well as our keynote speaker, The Hon Ruth Forrest, who is an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Wynyard.  Thank you to Focal Printing in North Hobart for their sponsorship of the posters and to all the businesses and organisations which displayed one for us.

Thank you to all members of the club who assisted, all presenters, performers and guests.  "Connect Over Canapes" was certainly a night to remember and we are indebted to our generous sponsors, White Lady Funerals, and our MC Jodie Lowe, Rotary Tasmania's Membership Director.  More than $2000 was raised for Rotarians Against Malaria.

Rotary International's President Elect, Holger Knaack, today unveiled the theme for the upcoming Rotary year 2020-21 at the International Assembly.   In that speech, he shared his goals, excitement and the possibilities for his presidential year.

​He said "Rotary is not just a club that you join, it is an invitation to endless opportunities. Therefore, the theme for our year is -- Rotary Opens Opportunities."

* "Opportunities to eradicate polio, to mentor youth, to grow professionally, to get involved in great local and international projects, to improve the environment."
*  "We are people from different backgrounds, different generations languages and cultures. And that diversity makes us great."
*  "Over the next five years, Rotary's new Action Plan will increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt."
*  "We cannot stand still and be satisfied with everything we have done. We will capture this moment to grow Rotary, making it stronger, more adaptable and even more aligned with our core values."
*  "Every new member changes us a little bit. That person brings a new perspective, new experiences. We will grow stronger as we learn from new members.  We need more women in our clubs and more women in leadership positions."
*  "Rotary's founder Paul Harris reminded us that we have to be revolutionary from time to time. Now is the time to be revolutionary." One way that we will do this is by creating new club models and rethinking what it means to be in Rotary.
*  Holger Knaack stated "I will be proud to continue President Mark Maloney's strong commitment to growing. I want you to think about how we can organically and sustainably grow Rotary, keeping our current members and winning new members."

At the Rotary Club of North Hobart we have lost two members this year and gained two.  Both of our new members have already made big contributions to our club culture.  President Elect Holger would be pleased.  

If you would like to visit the Rotary Club of North Hobart, leave a message on the website and we can organise that.

Rotary calls upon its 35,000 clubs to inspire our members to achieve certain outcomes.  In addition to our unchanging reasons for being, fellowship and "service above self", we now have a vision for Rotary and each Rotary International sets a few priorities for their particular Rotary year.  In Ian Riseley's year we each planted a tree.

This year, President Mark Daniel Maloney has made 2019-20 a year to celebrate the family of Rotary and he asked District Governors and presidents right around the world to offer family-friendly events and to reduce cost and time barriers for members.

I think if Mark and Gay Maloney had walked into any of our meetings this year, they would have been pleased to see our connections to our own vibrant, diverse community and our connections to many communities around the world - most notably Timor L'Este, but also Thailand, Kenya, Bangladesh and Bhutan in terms of our support for major service providers and Germany, Scotland, Ireland, England, the USA, Taiwan, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands as examples of places where individual members of our club have been hosted by Rotary colleagues, either at meetings or at Rotary events.

In North Hobart, we got involved in the Hot August Jazz festival, the New Town Christmas Carols, the Toy and Book Drive for The Smith Family at the request of our neighbour Turnbulls Funerals and we will continue to support Estia, the Greek Festival and hopefully also the local park in North Hobart.  Bethlehem House and Caroline House both know that they can count on us.

We have forged personal links with staff members at local schools - Campbell Street Primary School, Sacred Heart College, Ogilvie High School, New Town High School as well as Springvale Hostel.  We thanked retiring Elizabeth College Head of Science, Dr Deborah Beswick, for her extraordinary leadership of Science and Technology throughout her education career.

The team we sponsored to Model United National Association just happened to make the national finals, giving us another reason to be proud of our support for youth activities.

Several key officers of Hobart City Council have come to meet us and will work with us, both locally and in our international endeavours.

As president, I've visited the Chinese Community Association of Tasmania, the North Hobart Football Clubrooms, the Bowls Club and two different Probus clubs.

We've done a lot of good work quietly and also have been able to fly the flag for Rotary with our banners, brochures and beautifully branded badges.

Our Headset for Dementia project was highlighted by ABC Radio during Dementia Awareness Week and our members who lead Rotarian Action Groups have both had articles published in Rotary Down Under.

Through what we do and who we are we tell the story of Rotary and because we are a worldwide organisation and we can introduce those who need us to trusted partners, we also connect leaders, connect families, connect professionals and connect communities.