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2019-20 Issue 22    Meeting No. 3205
28 November 2019
The news journal of the Barossa Valley Rotary Club
Club Information
Every Thursday at 6.00 PM for 6.30 Start
The Clubhouse
45 Macdonnell St
Tanunda, SA  5352
Australia
Phone:
0418 856 569
Email:
DistrictSiteIcon District Site
VenueMap Venue Map
 
Invocation:
Oh lord and giver of all good, we praise thee for our daily food.
May Rotary Friends and Rotary ways help us to serve thee all our days.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO ADVISE MARIE ROTHE OF APOLOGIES (MEMBERS) AND ATTENDANCES (FRIENDS/PARTNERS) EACH WEEK
(Ph:  8563-2156 Mob:  0411 524 156)
      
 
  Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association
 
             
Speaker Yung Nietschke (centre) with Rotarians Sue Graetz and     Robert Brookes.
 
'Dynamite comes in small packages,' observed one Rotarian after last night's presentation by Yung Nietschke who had come to address the club on her work with the Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association.
 
Yung started by telling Rotarians a bit about her background in Vietnam and her family's ultimate arrival in Australia.  It made for difficult listening at times, not a happy start to life for a little girl, but a compelling story nonetheless.  After Saigon fell to the Communist party, Yung's father was targeted as he was a naval officer who had fought with the Americans.  Whilst the family suffered the same problems as every citizen with rationed food, water and electricity and being constantly watched, he was taken to be 're-educated' in one of the camps where he suffered appalling conditions, including torture.
 
Once he was released in 1983 Yung's parents made a conscious choice to leave Vietnam, fleeing what would have been a lifetime of persecution and a bleak future.  The meticulously planned escape was done in the utmost secret, with no chance of goodbyes for fear of putting family members in danger.  After a terrifying journey by boat and a three-month stay in a refugee camp, the family finally arrived in Australia.  Yung observed that life was good in Australia, the family worked and studied hard but they found the Australian people very kind and were able to build a good life for themselves.
 
After graduating from university Yung travelled back to Vietnam to work with the Vietnamese government.  She worked with the United Nations Education Organisation to help the government develop a peace curriculum for primary schools.  It was here she met her husband, Brett, an Australian!  Perfectly aligned with Yung's wish to contribute to lasting peace and conflict resolution in the world was Rotary's Peace Fellowship and she applied for, and was awarded, a scholarship to study at the University of Carolina in America where she undertook a masters in Educational Policy.  Recognising the importance of education as a tool for creating pathways to peace, she obtained the skills needed to work in post-conflict situations and designed a curriculum for the reconstruction of the education system in Iraq for the World Band and later with AusAID in their Afghanistan program.
 
Yung said that the Rotary fellowship has created a network of over 1000 people all working towards peace and conflict resolution.  It is working in over 100 countries worldwide, in government and non-government agencies, UN agencies and academia. 
 
The Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association was established and work is in progress to incorporate it into Australia with an aim to increase networking opportunities among fellows and collaborate with Rotary clubs and districts to promote peace around the world.  Many Peace fellows are already working with Rotarians on peacebuilding projects with a third of the alumni reporting collaboration with a Rotary or Rotaract club on a project.
 
On a finishing note, Yung gave her thoughts on a recent trip to Timor Leste, where Rotary was the largest non-government contributor of aid.  She saw firsthand the desperation of the people and the help given by Rotary and said that is why she wished to continue to pursue her passion to work on international development to help lift people out of poverty by creating opportunities for them and their families, especially women and girls.
 
 
 
Christmas Dinner Meeting, Thursday 19th December

A list will be sent around at meetings on 7th and 14th November, to indicate whether you and your guest/s are coming to the Christmas Dinner Meeting AND your meal choices.

When:             6.00 for 6.30pm

                        Thursday 19th December

Where:            The Clubhouse

What:              PRE-ORDER REQUIRED

                        Choice of Roast Turkey OR Salmon OR Steak

                        Plum Pudding with Brandy Sauce

                        OR Panna Cotta

Cost:               $35 each

BYO Wine

Bring some change for the Gift Tree

 

 
 
Birthdays  
   
Hans Haan - 1 December      
(80 years old!)                     
Bob Sloane - 4 December      
    
Anniversaries
 
David Adams - 1 Dec 1991
(28 yrs)
Keith Adams - 1 Dec 1992
(27 yrs)
Graeme Lawrie - 1 Dec 1995
(24 yrs)
Terry Sachse - 3 Dec 2002
(17 yrs)
 
Attendance Report 3 November 2019
 
Total Club Members Attending    31
Total Friends Attending                0
Partners Attending                      1
Visiting Rotarians                        0
Guests Attending                        3
Apologies/Leave of absence       19
 
Duty Roster
  
      3206
5 December
Venue:  The Clubhouse 
 
 
      3207
12 December  
Venue: The Clubhouse
 
 
Invocation
Mark Graetz
Hans Haan
Loyal Toast
Robert Brookes Peter Canning
Sergeant
Bob Sloane Robert Brookes
Chairperson
Keith Millington Pru Maitland
Speaker
TEAM MEETING Natasha Rogers
Subject
TEAM LEADERS' CHOICE Audiologist
Rotary Info
Rick Kessner Peter Perkins
Bulletin
Roxane Canning
Roxane Canning
Setting Up
Roxane Canning
Graeme Lawrie
Cashiers
Marie Rothe & Bev Stephenson
Marie Rothe & Bev Stephenson
Clothing Bins   
Angaston
Nuriootpa
Tanunda
28 Nov - 12 Dec
R. Fiebiger
P. White
B. Klaebe
12 Dec - 26 Dec
P. Martin
B. Lilliecrapp
B. Simons
 
 
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"When someone does something good, applaud!  You will make two people happy."
Samuel Goldwyn
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