Program for April 3, 2007, reported by David Philip
(Photo of David by Jack Petrie)

President Tav opened the meeting with remarks on the weather, then asked Tom Lidkea to tickle the ivories followed by grace to be said by Vicki Pitt, who recited a thoughtful invocation.

Visiting Rotarians & Guests, introduced by Barry Mutter: Paul Doherty, Harbourside, Mortgages; Bill Le Sourd, Calgary S., Oil & Gas Exploration; Chuck Newmarch, Calgary Downtown, S/A; John Heraghty, Harbourside, Construction Finance; Jim Porter, Calgary S., S/A; Doug Downs, Harbourside, Construction; Brad Rotto, Royal Oak, Construction. Liz Rodiles was guest of the Club, as were our two speakers, Natalie Wood (pictured) and Allan Lingwood.

Sergeant-at-Armss Ben Andersen fined those who had not scraped frost from their windshields this morning; Jack Petrie, the usual sitting duck, for consorting with the rebels? Ted Chambers for having a new dog of Scottish origin with a name that was totally unpronounceable by the Sassanachs. Lynne for having lost her name tag. Will Carter for the publicity surrounding his wife’s uplifting expertise. Angelle for her new alignment in real estate with Pemberton Holmes. Will Carter was serenaded in the celebration of his birthday and Leslie Warnock was in denial, about another year having gone by, but accepted her birthday card anyway.

Happy dollars resulted from two doubtful jokes told by David Philip and Tom Lidkea. President Tav was happy that he had sold his boat. The draw, worth $17.50, was won by a visitor from Harbourside club, Doug Downs.

Announcements

John Heraghty from the Harbourside Club announced that the Harbourside Club was having the Harbourside Hoot -- a dinner and auction fundraiser to be held at the Union Club. The proceeds are going to causes deemed worthy by the Harbourside Club. The tickets are $115 each. Lynne Murray felt that we should support this cause because 12 members of the Harbourside Club had supported our golf tournament.

Lorna Curtis announced that there were two events up coming -- -- on April 21 there will be a “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” opportunity for members to get to know one another a little better. The format will be as follows -- -- there will be hosts who do not know who their guests are to be and the guests will be kept in the dark, about who their hosts are to be, until the last minute. It is hoped that in future those who are guests will take on the role of hosts. The match ups will take place on the day of the event. The guests will bring either an appetizer or dessert and everyone will bring wine.

Lorna also mentioned that on Saturday, May 12 there will be a Wine Tour to be held, for members of the club and guests, to visit wineries up island. Five different wineries are to be visited and there will be a gourmet three-course lunch included for the cost of a $90 per person.

Leslie Warnock, on behalf of Mark Bedford, announced the Saturday, April 14 Palm Tree Sale.

Tav announced that Stephen Lewis will be speaking at Sidney on Wednesday April 11. He will be sending an e-mail to remind members. He strongly recommends that everyone, who can, should attend. Lewis is an inspiring speaker and his knowledge of HIV in the African subcontinent is worth listening to. Tav also mentioned that a donation of the cost of one dinner towards Polio Plus is something that all members should continue to consider.

Guest Speakers, introduced by Barry Mutter.

We have been well served by having outstanding speakers at the club none more so than Natalie Wood and Allan Lingwood

Natalie Wood is currently completing her fourth year in Human Geography at the University of Victoria. She spent most of 2006 in Uganda to complete the research for her honors thesis in which he was testing the nutritional quality of soil in relation to the incidence of HIV. She also worked on a parallel HIV treatment project at Mengo Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. She has started a small organization called Partnerships for Opportunity.

Allan Lingwood is a University of Royal Roads commerce graduate student. He also spent much of 2006 in Uganda where he focused on data based administration to assist the HIV research unit at Mengo Hospital.
Natalie started by pointing out that there is a major discrepancy between the rich and poor in Uganda. Natalie was assisted by her friend, Peter Hunt, while in Uganda. While there she met Alan at the Mengo hospital. A local Victoria physician, Dr. Sparling, a Rotarian, is spearheading the development of clinical programs at Mengo Hospital. The hospital has 312 beds and is not-for-profit. Natalie and her friend Peter made great strides in outreach to schools in Uganda. She pointed out that the children were very poor; they arranged to have textbooks and school supplies sent from Canada. They sought out impoverished schools and they have encouraged Canadian children to sponsor schools in Uganda, to help Ugandan students with their education, by supplying them with the basic tools, such as books and school supplies. Natalie and Peter set up sustainable projects, for example, beehives, which could be harvested to provide honey that was sold and the profits from the sale of the honey would go to impoverished families and the balance to schools. They introduced to the Bivera community a goat project, which consisted of providing poor families with a female goat which could provide milk; if kids (goats) were born they could be sold to provide income. This successful project is to be made into a documentary film to inform the world about it.

The Mengo Bakuli Youth Brigade was formed from street children most of whom had HIV. They have formed a brass marching band and they play at various functions to raise funds for education. They also put on gymnastic displays. Natalie said they were a very active group and quite entrepreneurial. The children are orphans whose parents have died from HIV and the guidance comes from older students. Their uniforms have been donated by the children of the Willows elementary school in Oak Bay. The talk was well illustrated by excellent slides.

Natalie and Allen were thanked by Margaret Patrick who commented about the inspirational nature of their talk.

Ron - looking cool!   (All today's Photos by Jack Petrie)

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