We have a new website!

Hi everyone,

Our website is now located at http://rotaractswb.org.au. Please bookmark this new URL.

New Year - 2009/2010 - The Future of Rotary is in our Hands

It is the new year, and with the new year, brings new challenges and excitement.

To kick the year off, we are going to have a new slogan to promote our club. Over the past 6 weeks we have received many nominations and slogan entries to assist our campaign.

Thank you to everyone who sent in a slogan. We received many entries, and it was difficult to narrow the list down to enable everyone to vote. With much ado, we can present the 6 nominations. They are:

Make A Difference, Make It Fun

Rotaract – Our Chance To Give Back

Get On The Right Track, Join Rotaract

Rotaract Empowering You To Embrace Your Aspirations

Rotaract, The Youth Of Today, The Rotarians Of Tomorrow

Dare To Challenge Your World

The owners of the slogans are: Jenna Besley, George Deen, Mark Reed and District Governor Nick Curry. So as to not lean the vote in anyones favour; we will not reveal the people who nominated each individual entry.

Voting will close at 7pm on Thursday 9th July. So hurry, don't let your vote go to waste. The winner will be announced at our Changeover Dinner on Friday 10th July.

Whoops

It's been awhile, hasn't it? Well, everything is going well at SWB. It's going awesome in fact. Last week we had a lot of fun speed dating each other; it was great getting to know each other on a somewhat more personal level (so to speak) particularly some of our newer members.

Remember that our Slogan Competiton is now open. Add your entry via Facebook or email the winning entry receives a $50 bottleo voucher and the glory of having their slogan as our official club motto. See Facebook (Rotaract Club of South West Brisbane) for details.

Don't forget that Changeover is Friday 10th July at The Jindalee. It's "Out of Africa" and promises to be a whole lot of fun. This is a dress up party with a prize for the best costume. The cost of $50 pp covers a two course meal and a first drink.

Rotaract-Milpera calendars now only a GOLD COIN DONATION

Great news... own one of the wonderfully vibrant Rotaract-Milpera calendars for only a...
GOLD COIN DONATION.

All proceeds from the calendar project will be donated to the HEAL (Home of Expressive Arts in Learning) program at Milpera State High School - a program that uses art and music to help Milpera's refugee students, many of whom are from war-torn countries and have lost one or both of their parents, to deal with their trauma and grief so that they can improve their English and continue their education in mainstream schools.

To order a calendar, download the order form here, or email rotaractswb@hotmail.com.

For more information or to preview the artworks go to http://www.rotaract-milpera.blogspot.com/.

Welcome to 2009

Hi everyone and welcome to 2009!

The Board has met for the first time in this second half of the Rotary year, we are very excited about some proposed changes to the running of the club. All will be revealed at tomorrow night's Aussie Day BBQ meeting!

We're meeting at 7pm at Suz's house (please send an email to rotaractswb@hotmail.com or contact a club member via email/Facebook/mobile if you don't have the address) to plan the next six months and perhaps play a few board games.

Sharyn has done a fantastic job of putting up date claimers on the right hand side of the blog. These show some of the different events and speakers that are upcoming, please have a look and book these into your diary now. Our first guest speaker will be from "Over the Moon" - you might remember that we used our Sargeant's Fines to buy and donate Christmas presents for people staying at their women's refuge shelter.

Other speakers we're hoping will visit us include The Greyhound Adoption Program and Anna Keenan from the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (Anna has previously spoken to us about climate change), . We're also hoping to have a few "vocational tours" including to the XXXX Brewery, to a fire station and to a coal mine!

See you tomorrow night! XD

Rotaract-Milpera Calendar Project

For the past few months the Rotaract Club of South-West Brisbane has been working with Milpera State High School and local artists to create a unique 2009 calendar to raise money for the HEAL (Home of Expressive Arts in Learning) program at Milpera.

Many Milpera students are from war-torn countries and have lost one or both of their parents. This program uses art and music to help these students deal with their trauma and grief so that they can improve their English and continue their education in mainstream schools.

For $10 you can own this unique calendar featuring the artworks of talented local artists.

For more information please visit www.rotaract-milpera.blogspot.com

Click here to download an order form.

September/October update

It's been awhile since the blog has been updated!

Club

• A big thank you to Merril who has taken over the treasurer position!
• Tonight (Wed Oct 29) we are having a movie night in the auditorium - the featured movie is The Black Balloon
• Our club turns one year old on Sunday, November 9th so we will have a birthday party at the Sherwood Aboretum to celebrate - starting from 1pm
• The club Chrissy party will be dinner and drinks at The Ox (Oxley pub) on Friday, 5th December - this replaces the meeting on Wednesday, 3rd Dec.

Community

• We recently had Jen West from the Zonta Club of Brisbane as a guest speaker - Jen talked about some of the projects that her club has undertaken both large and small
• Anti-graffiti has been continuing - we have one more session on the last Sunday in Nov (30th) before wrapping up for the year - please think about joining our squad of anti-graffiti heroes, even if you only come once every 3 months it will make a big difference!
• The Sherwood Street Festival is on Friday, 28th November - we will be selling bubbles again as well as cleaning up in order to raise funds for a community charity
• The next day (Saturday, 29th Nov) we are meeting at 10 at the Level 2 foyer of the Mater Children's Hospital so that we can decorate the Seven South ward for Christmas

Calendar project

• Emily's idea of producing a calendar featuring the work of local artists is gathering momentum - we are now at the stage of sourcing sponsorship and artwork
• The money raised from this calendar will go towards the HEAL (Home of Expressive Arts in Learning) program at Milpera State High School - this program uses art and music to help these students deal with their trauma and grief
• We will sell these calendars for $10 each at the Sherwood Street Festival, in local art galleries and through our own personal and professional networks
• Local businesses can buy advertising space in the calendar for a cost of $200

International

• Our new members Valmor and Marcelo have spoken to the club about their idea for a joint district/club project to buildan English education and training school in Brazil - we will be discussing this idea further and will present it to the district as a possible district international project
• Amanda had an idea to organise a ‘walk-a-thon’ to raise awareness for the plight
  of refugees who have to walk considerable distances to find safety from violence and
  persecution - the club has tentatively booked this in for April/May next year

Professional Development

• Michelle McDowall of TickTax gave a presentation to the club on individual tax returns
• Our system of a rotating chair, introduced in July, appears to be working well and it allows all members to experience how to lead and run a meeting

Looking Forward

We had an enjoyable meeting on Wednesday night although due to a few apologies (it's assignment crunch time!) we decided not to have club committees but instead talk about projects as a group.

Community Service

* Amanda has to confirm but we have set a tentative date of Nov 22nd to decorate the Children's Surgical Ward for Christmas. It will only take us a few hours at the moment but it will definitely make a different for the children who have to spend time there in the leadup to and over Chrissy.

* The Sherwood Christmas Festival is the week after on Friday 28 November! This is one of our major fundraisers so it'd be great to have all hands on deck! The money this year will probably go to Brisbane Youth Service which works with homeless young people and young families. The festival is a lot of fun and may or may not include a tub of ice-cream and several spoons ;)

* Emily has floated the idea of developing a calendar to raise money for the local community. At this stage members have suggested donating raised funds to the Milpera art and music therapeutic program for refugee students.

* Jen West from Zonta is coming on October 15 to talk to us about their club's work with the Murri Sisters's Safety House.

* Anti-Graffiti will be cancelled in November and December due to other projects in November and the silly season in December! So please consider coming to the ones on the last Sundays of September and October as they will be our last anti-graffiti mornings this year.


International Service
* Jenna finished her bike ride from Bundaberg to Brisbane and she and her two friends raised well over $750 for Polio Plus! Look out for a blog post soon about the ride. Well done Jenna! You're a star :D

* Richard told us that he actually grew up in Malawi in central Africa and he has connections to an orphanage there. He raised the idea of the club fundraising for the orphange there which we all thought was a fantastic idea. We even floated the idea of putting together a trip to visit and do some hands-on work!

* And our friends Valmor and Marcelo from Brazil told us that their club in Brazil is interested in putting together some sort of joint project and everyone at the meeting was very excited about this possibility!

* Emily has been in touch with Ailsa Hay who works in RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service) to talk about opportunities for Rotaractors to join in overseas volunteer work (like my trip to Daru, PNG last year) - people should talk to Emily if interested.

* Meryll let us know that the Rotaract Club of South Brisbane is co-ordinating a collection for the Uplift Project which co-ordinates the collection and donation of second-hand bras for women in Fiji, PNG and the Cook Islands. Second-hand bras don't attract import duty and give women access to a necessary and expensive item. Women often suffer from a fungal infection due to the tropical climate and lack of support. Bring along any second-hand bras you can collect to Meryll who will pass them on to South Brisbane.


Professional Development

* Michelle McDowall of TickTax Australia will be presenting a mini-seminar at the next club meeting (Wed 1 Oct) on tax preparation and services. Michelle is a CPA Accountant and Past President of the Rotary Club of Sumner Park. If you have any specific questions you'd like answered on tax please email Cat at catherinemcdowall [at] hotmail [dot] com who will forward your questions on to Michelle.

* Our recruiting stand at the Engineers expo at UQ was a great success so Anthony and Sharon will co-ordinate setting up similar stands at a UQ market day. Thanks guys!

Club Service

* It's just under two months until our first birthday - everyone's keen to have a barbeque and drinks to celebrate!

* On the last Wednesday in October we will have a club movie night in the auditorium.

* Our Chrissy party will be on Friday 5 December, replacing the meeting on Wednesday 3 December. We will probably be going out to the Steak House at the Regatta for dinner and drinks.

Until next time!

A Day in the Life of an Anti-Graffiti-ist

You've thought about joining the anti-graffiti league but you're not quite sure if it's for you? Well, let us present Our Guide to A Day in the Life of an Anti-Graffiti-ist! If after reading this guide you decide you want to join in (and we would welcome you with open arms!) then please email the club at rotaractswb@hotmail.com :)

Warning: This guide is potentially not applicable for those anti-graffiti heroes who live a little further away and may incite jealousy!

7am: Alarm goes off, hit snooze. 7:10 am: Hit snooze again.
7:20 am: Hit snooze for the third time.

7:30 am: Wake up and get dressed in various old clothes and falling apart runners. It is important to look the part although you will be supplied with a stylish visbility vest! You may wish to add your own protective gear - old lab coats work perfectly!

[Lisa (L) and Amanda (R) model Anti-Graffiti gear]

7:45 am: Head for John's workshop aka Anti-Graffiti Central (right near Darra train station).
8:10 am: Everyone's here? The ute's geared up? Let's go!
8:30 am: That's a lot of graffiti....

But hand out a few paintbrushes....

[Adam's hard at work]

And before you know it you're almost done! Many hands really do make for light work :)

[Some of the team: Sharyn, Tim, Lisa, Amanda, Yu-Min, Karl and Adam]

10 am: We're done! Breakfast!

Anti-graffiti is generally held on the last Sunday of each month. The next anti-graffiti morning is on Sunday 31 August starting at 8am. Please email rotaractswb@hotmail.com if you want to come!

One Punch Can Kill

The One Punch Can Kill campaign is such a startling reminder that people's lives can be ruined, or even lost, in an instant, simply by one bad decision. I felt this was a really important and positive message to support and to reaffirm the fact that any kind of violence is absolutely not ok. -- Kendal Nagorcka aka Picasso from The Shak.

At the BETS day earlier this year, several of our members were privileged enough to hear Jonty Bush talk. She shared her story as a victim of homicide and challenged us to fight back against violence in our society.

Jonty is the current CEO of the Queensland Homicide Victims' Support Group, an organisation that provides support to victims of homicide, raises awareness about their needs, and aims to promote education and reform .

As part of this education and reform, Jonty, the QHVSG, the Queensland Government and concerned people throughout the state have supported the One Punch Can Kill program. "Every year far too many young Queenslanders are assaulted at parties, in bars and out on the streets. We exist for one purpose: to reverse this. All too often young people are getting hurt or even killed when they are out just trying to have a good time."

Time for Change

At tonight's meeting Anna Keenan came to speak to us. Anna is a Community Outreach Officer with the Australian Conservation Foundation and an impressive and passionate speaker.

In November 2006 Anna Keenan was the youngest (aged 21) of 85 Australians to be personally trained by Al Gore as part of 'The Climate Project – Australia' to present an Australian version of his now-famous slideshow 'An Inconvenient Truth'.

She is currently the Chair of Queensland's Youth Environment Council and International Coordinator with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. Anna actually attended the UN negotiations in Bali for the next phase of the international climate protocols and watched as Kevin Rudd ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Out of her message, one of hte most memorable stories for me was an anecdote about Bali when the US was blocking proceedings. The representative for PNG, Kevin Conrad, spoke:

"And there's an old saying 'if you're not ready than get out of the way'. And I would ask the United States, we ask for your leadership, we seek your leadership, but if for some reason you're not ready to lead, leave it to the rest of us: please get out of the way." [Shorter YouTube video][Longer YouTube video]

Personally I think there's a message in that for all of us. :)

The take home message that I, well, took home, was that while big, bad things will happen with climate change, we're not yet at the point of no return. We're all in this together and we can all make a change together.

Hopefully we can have Anna come back later during the Rotaract year, possibly to talk about what we can do on an individual and local level if that interests club members. She also explained that Rotaract SWB can become a member of the Australian Youth Climate Coalition so we can also look further into that if members wish.

On a related environmental note, the Community Service committee is trying to organise a guest speaker from the Oxley Creek Catchment Association some time later this year.

Finally, it was nice to see some new faces (and returning new faces) at the meeting, we hope you enjoyed yourself and that we'll see you again soon. :)

Update on Darfur

"The International Criminal Court's (ICC) prosecutor has charged Sudan's President with genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur in a move Khartoum warns could set fire to the region.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court for an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan Al Bashir, the first sitting head of state to be indicted by an international court since Liberia's Charles Taylor and before that Yugoslavia's Slobodan Milosevic.

"Moreno-Ocampo has presented evidence today showing that... Bashir committed the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur," the prosecutor said in a statement...

International experts say at least 200,000 people have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have been displaced since a rebellion erupted in 2003. Khartoum says 10,000 people have been killed." ABC News.

BBC's Q&A: Sudan's Darfur conflict has been updated to reflect the changing situation in Sudan.

Come and learn more about the conflict in Darfur.

The Rotaract Club of South-West Brisbane will be screening the award winning documentary The Devil Came on Horseback on Friday 15 August at 7pm at St Aidan's. For more information please email the club at rotaractswb@hotmail.com or click here to view the invitation.

The Devil Came on Horseback - Trailer



Interview with a Refugee from Darfur

Changeover; PNG Update; What's New; Date-Claimers

Changeover
Well I (Cat) had a post ready to go about Changeover when I noticed a report and photos are already up! Great minds hey. So instead congratulations to the new board and thank you to the old board, especially Emily, for getting us up-and-running and creating a club with such a fun and friendly atmosphere. Thank you also to Lionel, Chris, John and the other members of Jindalee and other local Rotary clubs for all your support this year. We look forward to working with you this year. :)

Update from PNG
Here, it is as busy as ever. I am now into surgery: I am just coming back from Daru where we had 167 cataracts and pterygium surgeries in 4 days. It has been so great to see the joy of all the old and not so old people who could see. I am planning to bring the surgeon to Kiunga the first week of August to do the same, I am really struggling with the hospital administration to have the theatre fixed for that date. It is nearly a desperate situation at Kiunga hospital. They only need 2 operation tables, a sterilizer, they bring all their equipment with them. Even that is hard to get, the hospital is no more than a clinic, no doctor since 5 years. Dr Darman the opthalmologist is using a new method for cataract, no stitches, it takes about 7 minutes per surgery, the next day the patients see very clearly straight away, it is really wonderful.

Last week I brought 3 children to Tabubil for cleft palate surgery, this week I am bringing 4 more and next week 3 others, it will be great, I have been waiting for a plastic surgeon to come for such a long time, it is so hard to get them here, there are only 2 in the country. I am glad it will be done, next will be our 17 children with club feet in Daru!

There are also building going on, 2 classrooms for the deaf, one in Daru and one in Kiunga. I gave it to a contractor. It is nearly finished in Kiunga. Daru will start soon.

-- Sr Pierrette

What's New This Year
Change of meeting time: The new meeting time is 6:45 for 7:00pm.

Rotating Chairperson: Each week we will have a new member acting as Chairperson to help develop leadership and presentation skills.

New roster system: Please check the bulletin for the new roster up until year end. Members will rotate through Chairman, Duty Officer and Fellowship Officer.

These changes will be explained in more depth at tomorrow night's meeting. We will also discuss the possibility of changing the meeting night from Thursday to a Wednesday.

Date Claimers
27 July - Sunday - 8am - Anti-Graffiti
31 July - Thursday - 6:45pm - Trivia Night with Rotaract of South Brisbane
15 August - Friday - The Devil Came on Horseback screening
31 August - Sunday - 8am - Anti-Graffiti

Celebrating 2007-08 and getting ready for 2008-09

At our changeover dinner on Friday 4 July 2008 we celebrated what has been a fantastic first year for our club and installed the new board for 2008-09. It was a great night and we were so happy to share the special occassion with so many of our fellow Rotaractors, Rotarians, friends and family.

In addition to reflecting on and celebrating our club achievements, we recognised the achievements of our members. In particular we presented the following awards to some of our members and sponsor Rotarians.

Members' Member Cat McDowall
Artist in residence Karl Goulding
Blue card bandit Lisa Cansdale
Biggest blogger Cat McDowall
Achieving the impossible (getting Lionel to stop talking) Lisa Cansdale
Biggest offender Lionel Cansdale
All hands on deck Adam Busteed

Congratulations to the entire club on a fantastic year.

Year-Ahead Planning

The Board Elect attended BETS yesterday, a Board Elect Training Seminar. Kylie from South Brisbane did an amazing job of organising the day, the event was very well attended with Rotaractors from three different districts.

If you can please try to attend this Thursday's meeting as we will break into committees and start to organise ourselves for the upcoming year. If you aren't yet in a committee then you can choose one or change to a new one if you wish. The plan at the moment is that as well as discussing organisational details, each committee with develop a shortlist of projects and ideas that will be compiled into a survey for all members of the club so that everyone has a chance to add their say.

We will also be voting for Member of the Year/Most Oustanding Member (not quite sure what it's called, you get the idea) at this meeting so if you won't be there you could perhaps email the club address or organise for someone else to take your vote in.

And please don't forget to RSVP for the Changeover Dinner if you haven't done so already!

Changeover Dinner - Friday 4 July 2008

With the end of the Rotary year approaching, we are getting ready to host our inaugural changeover dinner. At the dinner we will report on our activities throughout the year, present our plans for the future and recognise the efforts of our members.

WHERE - McLeod Country Golf Club, Gertrude McLeod Crescent, Mount Ommaney
WHEN - 6:30 for 7:00pm, Friday 4 July 2008
COST - $40 per person (two course meal + drinks)
DRESS - Lounge Suit/Cocktail Dress (jacket and tie for gentlemen)
RSVP - Friday 20 June 2008 to rotaractswb@hotmail.com

We hope to see you there.

Board Members for 08/09

At our meeting last night we elected our board for 08/09. Congratulations to the new board.

President - Suzanna Muchow
Vice-President - Cat McDowall
Secretary - Liz Criddle
Treasurer - Ben Dighton
Director of Community Service - Cat McDowall & Liz Criddle
Director of International Service - Amanda Wood
Director of Club Service - Lisa Cansdale
Director of Professional Development - Sharyn Schooth (08) & Lucy Clifford/Merril Gillman (09)
Sergeant at Arms - Adam Busteed & Karl Goulding
Bulletin Editor - Emily Wood

Photos

Don't forget to scroll down to the end of the page [or just hit End on your keyboard] to check out different Rotaract photos. At the moment we have piccies from the Charter Celebration and Anti-Graffiti.

Youth Homelessness

Homelessness seems to be a 'hot topic' in the media at the moment with today's release of the National Youth Commission's Inquiry into Youth Homelessness. In last week's edition of The Satellite Merrin Jagtman's cover story talked about an increasing number of people who are homeless in Brisbane's south-west suburbs. (Merrin is the same journalist who wrote an article about our club in celebration of Rotaract's 40th anniversary.)

The Sunday Mail reported that "more than 100 000 Australians live on the street, a third are under 25, a quarter live in Queensland." [April 9, 2008, p26). The article contained several quotes from Angela Barnes, executive manager of Brisbane Youth Services. She emphasised the importance of meeting basic physical and emotional needs before beginning employment training and job seeking.

The ABC reported a fortnight ago: "As mortgage stress rises across the country, more and more Australian families are reaching crunch point and having their homes repossessed. The aspirational suburbs of Sydney are among the hardest hit.

In the city's south-west, there are reports that working people are moving into homeless shelters because they have failed to meet their loan repayments. Home repossessions for 2008 are already at record highs and are expected to increase further through the year.

Phil Hancock from Brisbane Youth Service will be visiting our club on Thursday May 1 to discuss youth homelessness with us. BYS have been operating for more than 20 years and run a range of services including street outreach, a drop in centre and a health clinic as well as a parenting program for yong parents or parents-to-be who are homeless or at the risk of homelessness. As always, feel free to bring a friend with you. It should be a good night as we learn about youth homelessness and perhaps start thinking how we might be able to do our little bit to help.

Meeting Update

On Thursday we had our first 'proper' meeting in some while after having our Sudanese information evenings the meeting before and banner painting the meeting before that.

Em, Suzanna and Lucy gave a report on District Conference. They all enjoyed themselves and had fun meeting Rotaractors from Toowoomba (not yet chartered) and hanging out with South Brisbane Rotaractors as well. They definitely encourage everyone to go next year (13-15 March 09 at Twin Waters (I think)).

Anti-graffiti had a small turnout which was unfortunate as the guy who started the group was down from the Sunshine Coast and it would have been nice for him to have a bigger turnout. So thank you Jenna, Adam and Emily for helping out. Afterwards they met up with some members from the Rotaract Club of Strathpine.

We talked about changing the date for next month's Anti-Graffiti as it will fall on the long weekend as it currently stands. We also talked about giving RSVPs at least one week prior to anti-graffiti.

Emily also reported on the interest meeting for a Rotaract club in Logan. There's a small band of very keen and enthusiastic girls so hopefully they can gain enough momentum to start a club.

Amanda also reported on the Sudanese information evening and there was some discussion about upcoming events. The general consensus was that the next event in the campaign - showing a documentary about the Darfur genocide - will be held in the new Rotaract year (starting 1 July) so that our club has enough time to plan and publicise the event.

During Member Behind the Badge spot Laura spoke about one of her passions, Close the Gap, an Oxfam campaign to close the health outcomes and life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It's disheartening to think that non-Indigenous Australians live 17 years longer on average than Indigenous people but hopefully campagins like Close the Gap will encourage us as a country to change this.

It looks like we are slowly heading in that direction. Just tonight "Kevin Rudd has announced he will report to parliament on the Government's efforts to improve the living conditions of Aboriginal people. The Opposition Leader has welcomed a Federal Government plan to annually discuss the progress being made on improving the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians. During a speech in London, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced he will report to parliament on the first sitting day of every year on the Government's efforts to improve the living conditions, health and education of Aboriginal people." [Source: ABC News]

The second half of the meeting was taken up with discussing nominations and voting for the new board. After nominations we were able to decide a new board via consensus however it won't be officially announced until next meeting. This was anyone who wasn't present at the meeting still has the opportunity to nominate themselves and those who were nominated but not present have the chance to turn down the nomination (or 'appointment').