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THE ROTOR


 
This Rotor can also be found on the FRONT PAGE OF OUR WEBSITE,
on the right side (where it used to be).
ANNOUNCEMENTS
  • March is Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Month in Rotary;
  • April 4 - Regular Eastview ZOOM meeting - Guest Presenters will be from Dog PAAWS (Pet Assistance and Walking Services), a registered non-profit organization, that matches intergenerational community volunteers and dog owner seniors / others who require assistance;
  • April 8 - Joint in-person and hybrid meeting at the Delta hosted by Rotary Club of Regina;
  • April 12 to 14 District Leadership Seminar - if you are, or would like to be on Regina Eastview's Leadership Team for 2024-2025 or in the future, you should check out this in-person or on ZOOM leadership, opportunity with President Al;
  • April 18 - Joint in-person and hybrid meeting at the Delta hosted by Regina Eastview, where Trevir Herriot is our Guest Speaker
  • April 19 - 2024 RC of Estevan 100th Anniversary - Eastview will be there;
  • April 25 - Regular Eastview ZOOM meeting
  • May 10 and 11 - 2024 Rotary District 5550 Conference in Moose Jaw - current registrations exceed last year's attendance please - please visit this link to register:
    http://tinyurl.com/5550-Conference

AMAROK SOCIETY WITH DR. TANYSS MUNRO!

  President Al Hoeft, all the way from Williams Lake, BC, called our ZOOM meeting to order minutes after 12 noon in Treaty 4 Territory. This feat is possible and is now achievable because of "the technology". Following his warm welcome to the members, guests, and visiting Rotarians, which numbered 21, thanks to Clarence Krause who rang the "break 20",bell, the President shared our Land Acknowledgement Statement. He then invited Gail Bradley to share a Rotary Foundation Moment. Tania Woroby, Co-ordinator of the Clubs Amarok Society involvement was invited to Dr. Tanyss Munro, Founder of the Society.
    From Tania we learned Dr. Tanyss Munro, working alongside her husband Gem, has devoted her life to radically improving educational opportunities for disadvantaged people across Canada and abroad. In Canada, her focus was on improving First Nations education. She began as a special-ed teacher, before becoming Principal of the flagship school in the Northwest Territories, as well as several other schools struggling with high rates of drug and alcohol use, dropouts, and absenteeism. As a principal, and then as a Director of Education, all of that changed.
    At the heart of her approach was an unwavering belief in students. Within her schools, they were leaders; she put them in charge of bush and community radio programmes, hot breakfast and lunch programmes, and student discipline tribunals. Student companies would run restaurants, host movie nights, and organize community events.
    Tanyss then turned her sights to international development. Directing the Good Governance area of the Commonwealth of Learning, she worked with governments, universities, and NGOs around the world to create transparent and accountable governance. Tanyss' belief in education as a human right has taken her from remote Arctic hamlets to the slums of South Asia. In recognition of her work, she received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.
    Using power point slides Tanyss took us on a journey which helped get a better standing of the impactfulness this program has on the children and families living in the slums of Bangladesh cities. Tanyss indicated the organization is working on changing their name to We Start With Mothers. As a general overview the program is centered mostly in Bangladesh, they have one school in India and hope to return to Pakistan. They had an earlier presence in Nigeria but are no longer there. Until Amarok's initiative, education was never seen as something they needed. Because they never had the opportunity it was just not something they even considered. They currently have 27 schools for Mothers in Bangladesh, in most instances these classes are held in a rented room in the slum which the Mothers proudly decorate, then sit on floor rugs to learn.
    Each Mother is then responsible to teach her child and 4 neighbourhood children in her own home. This becomes the "Micro school" which for one hour each day, supporting the Society's commitment to gender equity, boys and girls learn together  through songs, stories and games. The children graduate from the micro school to the community school which is usually only a short distance away. Boys and girls grow together under the guidance of a woman and the Dads are rather out of the picture. While that appears to be an initial issue it does not take fathers long to realize the positive aspects of child education and the expanding role of Mothers in improving conditions in their community.
    There is now a pathway from the micro school, to the community school, to high school and then on to college. Education is an achievable outcome. Tanyss shared the story of three students who have graduated to the Community school and beyond have contributed to their fathers choosing to learn to read and write. Women and girls have become leaders and are successful as change initiators in their communities. They have come from victims of circumstance to being leaders improving the social and political circumstances in their communities. Education is more than reading and writing for the women are no longer at the whim of exploitive employers.
    From Tanyss' presentation one gets the clear impression Mothers/Women have grown to be seen as persons who take care of the things which need to be taken care of, so you better step aside.
    Thank you Tanyss Munro for your presentation but more specifically for investing time and energy to change the world for good.
Dr. Tanyss Munro
Sathi
Regina Eastview's Adopted Mother Teacher
The Family of Rotary
  •  On March 26, 1953, Dr. Jonas Salk announced he had tested a #polio vaccine. The rest, as they say, is history;
  • ;On the topic of "Polio", today’s Rotary Foundation Minute, Gail Bradley introduced us to Paul Alexander, and a story which makes Dr. Salk's discovery ever the more miraculous.
    Paul Alexander contracted polio during a major U.S. outbreak of the disease in the late 1950s when he was six years old.  He almost died in the hospital before a doctor noticed he wasn't breathing and rushed him into an iron lung, an airtight metal tank that encloses all of the body except the head and uses regulated changes in air pressure to force the lungs to inhale and exhale. Alexander was among a small number of people in the world today still using an iron lung to assist his paralytic polio. The need for the 800-pound machines declined dramatically after the polio vaccine became widely available in the early 1960s.
    For 10 years, Alexander never left the device or his house. But then he had a breakthrough, teaching himself to breathe on his own by forcing air into his lungs. That allowed him to get around in a wheelchair for up to eight hours.
    He earned a law degree, passed the bar exam, and practiced law in Dallas for a time.
    He had a computer keyboard and a touchtone phone by his head which he manipulated with a plastic stick held in his mouth.  The iron lung was shipped ahead to his destination when he went on longer trips.
    Paul’s father had been a Rotarian but he did not remember that. In 2015 he learned that Rotary fights to eradicate the very disease that left him almost completely paralyzed.  That year he became a member of the Rotary E-Club of District 5810.
    "It means so much to me to belong to this organization," Alexander said "I'm having a great time and staying awake at night thinking of ideas. So many people have come into my life. I never knew there were so many caring people out there."
Paul died on March 11.
For additional information Google "Paul Alexander"
Paul Alexander
FELLOWSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
  • A big thank you to Jeanne Alexander, Ann Grahame and Allen Hillsden for being Rotary Ambassadors at last Saturday’s Health and Wellness Information/ Gathering at the Regina Public Library, Main Branch;
  • Armed with banners and little else these Eastviewians welcomed attendees to the Rotary table sharing with them the health and wellness aspects of Rotary involvement - a place to share the story and impact of Rotary;
  • In response to President Al’s call for Happy Dollars, Peter Peters  told us how he and Margaret had their first ever "Grandchild Scam" experience - it played out exactly as advertised on radio and television - on the money saved by being "alert" the Peters will surely go out for dinner;
  • Jeff Barber had happy dollars and apologized for missing last week's meeting but had attended the Chamber of Commerce Luncheon where he dined with the Peters' son; 
  • But as important as the latter might appear, his larger joy was that their daughter's teaching contract has been extended to the end of the school year;
  • Regina Club President George Carson, shared it was for the sole purpose of his focus on professional development that he is flying to Australia so he can board a cruise ship for a 16 day educational experience;
  • The dedication and commitment of health care professionals to the role they play in society is difficult, if even possible, to match;
  • Have a wonderful weekend with family and friends.
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Philosopher's Corner

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything gets done."                                 Lao Tzu

Today's guests

We were delighted to welcome Guest Speaker Tannyss Munro to our meeting. We also appreciated the attendance of Visiting Rotarians Bob Durston (Neepawa), George Carson (Regina) and Sephina Pindar (Nigeria). Thank you all for making this a great Rotary gathering.

Next Meeting Responsibilities

HOST: Hans Gaastra
MODERATOR: President Al Hoeft
 
UPCOMING SPEAKERS
Mar 28, 2024 12:00 PM
Amarok Society
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