Complimentary beer and wine, Angel Flight, Sofitel Chef, Swim reaches 6,000 hits

Complimentary beer, wine, finger food, and interesting speakers

So its finally  here, and we are hoping to welcome sponsors, friends of Rotary, Rotoractors, Mums, Dads and community minded citizens to the Alex SLSC on Wednesday night to hear from Australian of the Year about what drives him, and from our Rotarians, Fiona Simpson and Amy Fris on the impact of the Youth Exchange Program on their development. We hope you all can make it. 
 
 

Bunnings BBQ capers

 
On Friday at the Bunnings BBQ we were joined by Matt who (in hos non-volunteer life) just happens to be a chef at Noosa Solfitel ! Below is a picture of Matt in action, and he really showed us how to do it. Thank you Sabine for putting Matt forward, he was just brilliant!
 
...and this is some of Matt's work here...Notice how clean and orderly it is, and if you look closely ....A THERMOMETER IN THE SAUSAGES....This is a REVELATION as I usually (through my own lack of ability)  create a mix of onions and sausages in various stages of pink to rusty black snags and crusty caramelised to raw onions, and stick the thermometer in the ice box.
 
Trivia question...what is the optimum temperature for sausages? (Freddy Frog to first correct answer) 
 
 
 
Also we welcomed Linda Ross, (Chloe's mum) and Pat and Rosemary White from Sunshine Coast Central as well as Lachlan from USC Rotoract.
 
So betweeen the Alex Volunteers and our fantastic helpers we managed to raise just over $1,000 on a very quiet Friday at Bunnings. Well done everyone, the funds raised will go to a great community cause...and for more information on great community causes please see the article on Fridays speaker from Angel Flight below...
 
 
 
This photo captures the great work by Linda and Matt.
 
(Not entirely sure what the chap in the foreground is doing (?) but I'm sure he was on top of his roleblush. )

Angel Flight - who knew?

Graeme continues to find these amazing speakers and on Friday we were treated to the insights of Morne Terblanche who by career is an anaesthetist and by volunteer, is a pilot for Angel Flight.
 
 
And what amazing stories and experienses Morne has had since he moved to Queensland from Johannesburg. Morne, and other Angel Flight volunteers donate their time and small planes, and expenses to take sick residents in outback Queensland to get specialist treatment.
 
This service is provided by Angel Flight volunteers (including drivers on arrival) out of their own funds, with no government assistance. 
The travel service is a godsend to those who otherwise would either not be able to afford treatment, or whose family circumstance would cause great difficulty (financial and emotional) in travelling for days away from their families to attend the CBD for treatment. 
 
Morne told us of  his experience with two beneficieries of Angel Flight -  an elderly man (+75yrs) who had never been far form his home town in his life, never mind a trip to Brisbane, and a child who suffered terribly with a balance affliction each time they atttended specialist help by car. Here's some statistics from Morne's brilliant talk...
 
•30% of Australians live in rural areas
•Angel Flight Australia established April 2003
•3333 pilots and 4691 and ground volunteers (Earth Angels)
•85% of revenue spend on service delivery
•45 926 flights
•3761 patients, carers and family members
•Up to 20 flight per day
 
...and here is his picture gallery of some of the folk that he has helped "make a difference"
 

Solstice Swim getting closer

 
The swim preparations are proceeding, so please leave the morning of Sunday 7th July free, as we'll need you to help with registrations, people shepherding competitors etc, for a few hours while we get the various swim legs underway.
 
We're aiming for 300 swimmers brave enough to face the rigours? of winter on the Sunshine Coast and have a swim in aid of the White Ribbon organisation.
 
Here's the latest flyer with all the information you need. For more details, have a look at our website. www.alexandrarotary.com or ask Mike or Tanya while JM is away. 
 
 
 
 
 

Garden beds in the mud

 On Wednesday Peter E, Errol and John M were at the Landsborough crisis care home, assembling the raised garden beds that Buderim mens shed made for us, in preparation for placing on the gravel beds (once the garden dries out).
 
It was a lovely wet morning in the garden, with lots of glorious mud, and biting ants between the logs. A hot bath never felt so good. 
 
Here's a photo of JM just so happy that they've all been finished and doesn't the footwear look attractive?
 
 
 

A Rotary Inspiration 

 
The great thing about being in a club like Rotary is that you can draw on inspirations of like minded citizens and take hear that there are good people around who truly " make a difference" to the community. And you also hear of similar smaller groups like Angel Flight who provide such a great community service. 
 
Here's another short story of a club just down the road at Caloundra Rotary and what Bernie Strong and her team "made a difference" to that Indian Community just last year......Well done Caloundra Rotary Club.
 
(From Caloundra Rotary article..)

A new project to provide Bio Toilets in India

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Odisha.  It is the largest city in Odisha and is a centre of economic and religious importance in Eastern India.  Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a "Temple City of India".
 
But ..... there are 338 unauthorised slums in Bhubaneswar  - many households do not have toilets and a few who have sanitary toilets have no drainage, water and maintenance facilities!!
In May last year, now Past President Anna wanted to assist women in remote parts of India with better access to toilets, providing them with dignity and safety.  That enquiry has led to a global Rotary project (GG1757749) to provide safe, clean and local Bio toilets for women:
The Project aims in providing safe and clean toilets for women.  20 Urban slum areas have been identified for the said project.  Each slum would be provided with 2 bio toilets each.  The beneficiaries would be the women residing in these slums and are devoid of a safe and hygienic environment to attend to nature's call.

 

Providing safe, clean and local Bio toilets for women in Bhubaneswar, India

The project aims to help deal with the chronic, acute shame, embarrassment and fear that Indian women and girls must deal with at least once a day, every day.
 
Hari Menon, Deputy Director of Indian programmes for the Gates Foundation says "Among women, toilets figure in the top three needs for their own security and health“.
 
"There will be a huge change in our lives.  Now men would not follow us, men will not wait for us to sit in the field and watch.  Once we have these toilets we don't need to step out, and we will feel better.  Our dignity which is an ornament for us - is now safe.“

Why Bio Toilets?

Individual pour and flush toilets are needed but this is not a feasible option due to the unavailability of required space.  Most importantly, a water facility for the toilets is also necessary.  Since a  bio-toilet is an innovative technology for disposal of solid human waste in an eco-friendly, economical and hygienic manner, this type of toilet is preferred over other types of toilets considering the local context particularly in urban slums.
 
A 'Biological Toilet' is a next generation eco-friendly waste management solution, which digests and converts solid human waste into neutral water and traces amount of gas, with the help of special bacterial inoculums.
 
The Bio-Toilet provides a better, hygienic sanitation alternative for the people of the society:
 
  • The Bio Digester tank is a multi-chambered tank
  • The wastes are transferred from the toilet pan to the Bio digester tank by a P- Trap which requires very less water.
  • The wastes flow from one chamber to another by a special patented process.  The multi-strain bacteria convert human waste to water through biological process.
  • The Bio digester tank contains multi strain aerobic bacteria that starts the digestion of the wastes in 3 hours and completes the digestion totally within 24 hours.
  • The Biological toilet converts the human wastes into water and traces of carbon dioxide.
  • It prevents spread of diseases and epidemics caused by harmful E coli spread by dumping of unprocessed human wastes.
 
When the evening light fades, She balances little one on one hip and with her older daughters head single-file towards the fields.
 
To the chirrup of bullfrogs and crickets and the occasional cry of a peacock, they march past the last dwelling in the slum to a fallow field.
 
Shrouded in darkness, the girls spread out, pulling down their saris or shalwars.  They're frightened, uncomfortable and trying to hurry up as a tractors shudders past about 20 metres away, driven by men.
 
As they wash and walk back to the village, other girls and women appear in pairs and small groups from the gloom.  Since1990, the Indian government has introduced nationwide campaigns to improve sanitation facilities across the country—first under the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), and most recently under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).  However, the lack of improved sanitation remains a major public health concern.
In 1990, the Indian government introduced nationwide campaigns to improve sanitation facilities across the country - first under the Total Sanitation Campaign, and most recently under the Swachh Bharat Mission.  However, the lack of improved sanitation remains a major public health concern.
 
  • Open defecation has been reduced by 31 percent since 90’s.
  • About 300 million women and girls in India still have no other choice.
  • Try to squat in a sari, while holding a cup of water to cleanse yourself and keeping an eye out for rapists.
  • No woman has said she liked squatting in darkness knowing that men are watching her

The Status of the Project

The anticipated cost of the project to provide 40 Bio Toilets to 20 slums is USD38,000 funded as follows:
 
  • Rotary Clubs - a total of USD14,333 from:
    • Bhubaneswar New Horizon USD5,000
    • Caloundra USD5,000
    • E-Club of District 3262 USD3,333
    • The Hills-Kellyville USD1,000
  • Rotary District 3262 - USD7,500
  • Rotary District 9685 - USD750
  • The Rotary Foundation World Fund - Global Grant USD15,417*
* Currently, the Global Grant has yet to be approved.  A number of questions have been raised by The Rotary Foundation to which answers have been supplied.  It is anticipated that the responses will be sufficient to gain approval.