Rotary Club of Parramatta City Newsletter for Monday 23 January 2012

1. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
COMMUNITY NETWORKER
ROTARY CLUB OF PARRAMATTA CITY
ROTARY
PRESIDENT MESSAGE OCEANIA
MEDICAL AID
This weekend marks the end of a week long course by two RYLA
participants selected by our Club. This leadership program is
FOR CHILDREN
challenges each participant to develop and make better leaders to (ROMAC)
face the world in what-ever vocation they choose in life.
On Monday we are bringing together our RYLA and RYPENS
participants to Northcott at North Parramatta. For members who are
un-aware Northcott (formally NSW Crippled Children’s Association was ROMAC began, like many other
worthwhile humanitarian activities, as
originally formed by Rotary Club of Sydney in 1920’s following a survey the idea of one person, a Rotarian
by members of polio victims in Sydney) The building at North from Bendigo in Victoria. In 1985, as
part of an outreach team of volunteer
Parramatta was built with large donations from our club and other surgeons and backup staff which
went to Fiji to treat local children with
Rotary Clubs. The final connection in tomorrow’s meeting is thanks to cleft lips or palates, he found that
there were many seriously ill children
our member Tony Warner who was able to co-ordinate two of who were simply too sick to be
Northcott’s student to attend the RYPEN camp a few months back. treated by their own or visiting
surgeons. It soon became apparent
On January 19th marks another first for our club, Mark Hancock has that this was a problem throughout
the developing countries of SE Asia
become involved with ROMAC (see program profile right column). and the South Pacific. These
Mark and Karen have volunteered to take into their care from China ‘forgotten children’ had life-
threatening conditions, or were so
Mother & daughter Hua Jian (Jenny). Jenny is sixteen years old and is severely disfigured by accident or
congenital disorders that they were
having surgery at the Westmead Childrens Hosptial on Monday 23rd. often kept hidden from society.
ROMAC, a significant Rotary
When Jenny was one she fell into an open fire. ROMAC has brought her
program, was born when Rotary
to Westmead to have further surgery after her first treatment when she Clubs in Victoria began sponsoring
some of these children to be brought
came here at the age of ten. As you can understand it is important for to Australia for treatment by some of
our most eminent surgeons who
Mother and daughter to be together and close to the hospital (neither generously volunteered their skills to
speak any English and they come from a remote area of China, so the transform these young lives.
The idea grew so that by 2001, up to
City and another country must be very different for them. Thank you 25 children were being treated each
year in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane,
again Mark & Karen. Adelaide and Perth. Every Rotary
Australia Day is happening this week and John Ching has called for District in Australia agreed to ROMAC
being recognised by Rotary
volunteers, this is a very large public exposure for our club and we need International as a ‘multi-District
program’. Shortly thereafter the
all who can attend. New Zealand Rotarians joined in, so
now all 29 Rotary districts throughout
I am also calling for interest in attending Bangkok Convention in Australia and New Zealand are
May, so Mark & Karen, Keith, Megan & myself are going I would like to involved in the program. Now
recognised throughout the region as
have a few more from out club attend this wonderful event. Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for
Children, ROMAC uses the skills of
Also next week I will be starting my “want List” numerous (volunteer) surgeons in
Cheers many fields of activity to transform,
and often save, the lives of up to 50
Barry Antees children each year in all the major
cities of Australia and New Zealand.
Well over 300 children from more
than 20 countries have benefited from
treatment they couldn’t otherwise
have received, all due to the
generosity of Rotarians who give of

2. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
January
14-21 RYLA Camp-Blue Gum Lodge
23 Transfer meeting-Northcott- RYPEN & RYLA Students
30 Maria Padisetti- Mirco Loans & Aaron Cantor- Ambassadorial Scholar
February
6 Lord Mayor-Lorraine Wearne
11 Rotary Club of Parramatta –Valentine Party
13 Debra Carr- Parramatta Mission
17 Rotary Club of Holroyd-Trivia Night St Pats School-Guilford
23 Rotary Day (Transfer meeting)
March
2 ARH- Golf Day at Riverside
3 Multi-District PETS- Campbelltown
5 Pride of Workmanship Evening
19 Michael Crosslands- Ignite the fire within
23-25 District Conference- Penrith
April
2 John Watters
29 District Assembly
30 Police Officer of the Year
May
6-9 International Convention-Bangkok
14 Australian Rotary Health- PHD Scholars night
DAVID’S PEARLS
Challenges
You cannot control what happens; you can only respond to what happens.
- Brian Tracy
The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.
- Arnold Palmer
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
- George S Patton
New roads; new ruts.
-Gilbert K. Chesterton

3. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Over the past week I have been at the International Assembly in San Diego where District Governor Elect
training occurs for all DGE’s from all over the world representing 204 countries. I was there with Rotary Down
Under to attend a meeting with DGE”S from Australia and New Zealand, but while I was there I wanted to
have a photograph taken with DGE from District 3810. His
name is Ismael “Maeng” Mercado and next July he will
be the governor on our sister club, The Rotary Club of
Ramon Magsaysay. I passed our best wishes to him from
our club and asked him to remember us to our sister club.
I was also able to make contact with Marion “Bing”
Gusman who resides in the US, Bing was the inaugural
President of Ramon Magsaysay back in 2004.
FACEBOOK
We have now available for the club a new facebook page the shortcut is
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Parramatta-City/108769975845097
Please visit, make comments, open discussions and for your initial visit please hit the “like button”. The
reason is the more members who like the page, we receive additional features. The Facebook page is not a
substitute for our website, but more of an additional way to reach our audience.