March is Rotary Water and Sanitation month. How timely is that with COVID - 19 on our minds. Access to clean water for everyone and good sanitation is essential for a healthy life. Best advice right now is to follow the guidance of our Ministry of Health.
What else makes me think about good guidance for our Rotary clubs. I’ve now visited nearly all our clubs and I am astounded by how many of our clubs Charitable Trusts have amassed significant sums from community projects and have failed to give most of those funds back to meet the needs of their communities. Rotary Trusts should not be sitting on big piles of money for long periods of time. Of course some is needed for the next Rotary year and some as a contingency but review your situation, reduce your reserves and give more back to the people you serve at the local, District, Zone or international level. Need help – call me!
SPPETS report Gillian JonesSouth Pacific President Elect Training (SPPETS) at Waipuna Lodge in Auckland at the end of February was another wonderful opportunity for our upcoming Rotary leaders to learn about the wider world of Rotary, share ideas and experiences and have fun!
In the end we had a really strong turnout and I believe all will agree that they experienced a great weekend which really set the basis for their year a President and Assistant Governor. As incoming District Governor, I am delighted with the energy, openness, camaraderie and innovative thinking of our District leaders. It bodes well for a great year.
You can now register for the 15-17 May 2020 District Conference #TātouTātouE #TogetherWeConnect. The process is online, through the conference website here or paste this URL in your browser: https://rotary9940.org/page/conference2020.
Here’s a taster of the wealth of talented, challenging and inspiring speakers we have lined up for you for conference this year. Don’t forget that those who register by 20 March not only pay the cheaper Earlybird registration fee of $295, but also go into the draw for a bottle of French Champagne.
Read more about:
Stephanie Woolard; Meng Foon and The International Panel
***STOP PRESS: Martin Bosley has just been confirmed as a speaker on Sunday morning ***
Before we all start dancing to the Airforce Jazz Band after our District Conference dinner, there will be a competition to see which clubs can dress-to-impress based on the theme: Ko wai tatou/Who are we? Get your thinking caps on and decide what represents you as a club - something about your location? your origins? your aspirations? Prizes for the best dressed! #RotaryD9940Connects#TatouTatouE#RotaryC2020Hutt
Holger Knaack, RI President-elect “We believe that our acts of service, big and small, create opportunities for people who need our help,” Knaack said. He added that Rotary creates leadership opportunities and gives members the chance to travel the world to put their service ideas into action and make lifelong connections. “Everything we do opens another opportunity for someone, somewhere,” said Knaack.
The Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) has facilitated many hundreds of projects – helping clubs find partners, ensuring sustainability, stressing the importance of a needs-driven approach, and developing best practices. WASRAG links water and sanitation to improved hygiene, better health, and empowerment of the community – especially women, irrigation and agriculture, education and literacy and, ultimately, child mortality.
Rotarians from around the world are able to join WASRAG and engage in the battle to provide safe water, sanitation and hygiene for all. In addition, Rotary clubs are encouraged to contact WASRAG to explore opportunities for practical support of their projects or how they can support the projects of others.
20 clubs from the New Zealand-based Districts pledged the cost of providing a toilet each to villages in the interior of Vanua Levu where children, women and men currently struggle with life without this basic means of sanitation.
Will your club be willing to email John Prasad (pictured) on skulleredge@gmail.com and also pledge the $500 cost of one toilet?
20 toilets are not enough for the several villages needing these. Let's make sure no-one is without sanitation.
NZ is a preferred destination for Overseas RYE students (INBOUNDS) and each December/January the District 9940 Committee comes under intense pressure to have overseas students. It is a tricky juggle as we not only have to match our inbound/outbound numbers, but also try to honour the commitments we have with our exchange partners in other countries. It is equally important that we have NZ students wanting to participate in an exchange so that we can balance our numbers and are able to offer overseas students the fantastic NZ Rotary Exchange experience. This year we are starting the ball rolling early to enable more efficient management of our numbers and to become proactive rather than reactive.
A Rotary Youth Exchange changes lives and creates cultural diversity, world understanding, enhanced maturity, confident decision making and friends forever worldwide.
Applications are now open for 15 - 18 year old NZ students that would depart in January 2021.
The exchange is for 12 months and countries that we exchange with include:
· Germany· Finland
· France· Italy
· Switzerland Austria
· USA· Canada
· Taiwan· Spain
· Chile· Argentina
You can help to make a difference by talking to a young person about the Rotary Exchange Programme and if they think it is for them - contact the RYE committee.
100 years of Rotary in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands is being celebrated next year, 2021. Projects include: Rotary Give Every Child a Future vaccination programme; Trees, Trees, Trees planting project; a centennial history book; and more. In 1971, we even had our own Rotary stamp - available on TradeMe if you are quick. https://www.trademe.co.nz/antiques-collectables/stamps/new-zealand/mint-decimal/listing-2559260898.htm
At least 30 of our District 9940 Clubs have provided information for consideration by our Centennial history author Dr Stephen Clarke – a professional historian.
Dr Clarke has now drafted the first four chapters. He is nearing completion of Chapter 5 (Getting Stuck In 1997–2021) and will then move on to Chapter 6 (Looking Around, Looking Forward), with the aim of completing a draft manuscript by the end of July.
DG John Mohi asks the question - What do we two have in common as well as being Rotarians? We both have names that honour family members who gave their lives in WW1. Both our namesakes died in France. My middle name is Heremia after my great uncle Heremia Delamere. Ernest France Skeet is named after his uncle who died at the Somme in France.
A privilege to meet this 94 year old South Wairarapa Rotarian at Cobblestones last night - 12/02/2020
7 Lower Hutt schools were very pleased to receive our Rotary Dictionaries: They were Tui Glen School, Tawhai School, Koraunui School, Rata Street School, Kelson School, St Bernadettes School and Arakura School.
High praise was given to participating Rotarians. " Not only does our local Rotary Club organise our wonderful yearly Christmas Parades, they are also responsible for doing tireless, good work for our Community and a wonderful example of this is their annual generous gift of dictionaries to the Year 4 students of the several local primary schools, Tawhai School being one of them. Hutt River Valley Rotary members, our very own Ross McKinnon, Constable Stu Blake and Alan Thorburn visited Tawhai School this morning, in order to present all our Year 4 students with their very own dictionaries.
A very big THANK YOU to Rotary from us all at Tawhai School! President Raj Prasad and Leole Malama-Prasad were also presented with a beautiful gift from the students! R
Rotarians loved being out and about delivering the dictionaries. "Thank you Rātā Street School. for having us this morning. We loved giving out dictionaries to your Year 4 students and look forward to coming back next year! — at Rātā Street School."Had an awesome time handing out dictionaries to year 4 students at Kelson School this morning. "Had an awesome time handing out dictionaries to year 4 students at Kelson School this morning."
Unfortunately not everyone has a safe secure and happy family life. In the Hutt Valley of New Zealand, police family units respond to between 5 and 10 incidents per day. This can be worse at Christmas time when there are many stresses on families.To soften the experience for the children involved in family incidents and for the front line police officers who have to manage these difficult situations, David Mulligan from the Rotary Club of Upper Hutt arranged for gifts of assorted gender and age groups to be delivered to the Lower Hutt police station.
Food Plant Solutions Rotarian Action Group is a dynamic project, based out of Tasmania, that focuses on addressing malnutrition, hunger and food security around the world by providing educational materials, so people can grow and use readily available local and nutritious food plants.
You may wish to join this Rotarian Action Group, particularly if you have an interest in agronomy, agricultural science, botany or similar. More information is available at https://foodplantsolutions.org/
Food Plant Solutions currently has an urgent need for funds for educational materials. You can read about and consider these needs here [link].
3 Whanganui clubs began the major district wide fund raising initiative last week. 9940 District Governor John Mohi has sent 9940 clubs, tickets and promotional material.
With tickets selling well, Marton and Carterton clubs have already sold their allocation and asking for more. Well done!
We understand that selling raffle tickets is not everyone cup of tea but this is a great cause and the tickets are easy to sell.
Just remember the three key prompts when approaching a perspective purchaser:
Our RFE committee has been busy in February! We welcomed in District 7850 in Northern New England, covering New Hampshire, Vermont and Quebec-Canada, from 3 - 17 February 2020 for a shared Rotary International Friendship Exchange Programme, not only sharing friendships on either side of the water, but also sharing District 7850 with our most Southern Rotary District of the South Island, one week in our District and one week in theirs. I understand that the visiting Rotarians has a wonderful experience in both our Districts.
Photos from the New Orleans RFE
Then from 17 February – 1 March 2020 a group of our Rotarians went on an "OUTWARD bound visit to New Orleans" for two weeks, visiting for Fat Tuesday and other Mardi Gras parades and festivities and enjoying live Jazz, Creole and Cajun experiences among a few to mention. Many fb messages among our Rotarians, was similar to this quote I enclose:"Sorry you couldn't join us, fab time, c u tomorrow x"
This year sees two more scheduled events for our RFE Committee:
Have you considered being on a District Committee?
We’re keen to identify enthusiastic Rotarians who would like to have an involvement beyond their Club level. You may be an experienced Rotarian, a relative newcomer wanting to be further involved or a Rotaractor keen to develop your leadership potential.
You are likely to have a special interest / expertise in a particular field, be it Communications, International service, Membership, Youth programmes, Club Development, Foundation – the list goes on.
Check out the Directory for our range of District committees and contact me if you’d like to know more.
Our Rotary District 9940 is launching a new Facebook page for a public audience within the next fortnight and will be changing the existing Facebook group to a closed group for interaction between Rotarians.
A NEW version of Rotary's Voice and Visual Identity Guidelines is now available for Download from the Brand Center (under Guidelines) - login needed.
This condenses into one document the important branding information every Rotarian needs. It is recommended you Download to your computer for easy access.
Unfortunately not everyone has a safe secure and happy family life. 
April is: