The Rotary Club of Edinburgh
Bulletin 2138 - 7th December 2006
REVIEW
Last Week’s Meeting – Thurs 30 November 2006.
Having reminded the company of the significance of the date, President Fred honoured our patron Saint with a Hebridean joke which, although not retold in the original Gaelic, was well received by 63 members, one guest and two visiting Rotarians.His warm greeting to Hamish Law on his return to Rotary attendance after successful surgery for a retinal detachment was cordially supported following which Grace was said by Andrew Anderson.
The visiting Rotarians were Gunther Hausen, one of our two guest speakers, and his wife Nicolle who brought greetings from the Rotary Club of Middletown, Rhode Island, U.S.A. They were heartily welcomed by President Fred. The President also welcomed Bob Aldrich, our other guest speaker, who, although not a Rotarian, had been honoured with a Paul Harris Fellowship in recognition of his valuable involvement in important Rotary projects.
The meeting was highly gratified to learn from the President that the final all-inclusive sum generated by the Antique Road Show and Charity Auction on 18 November amounted to £1,530.
A Spoon for a Grand-Child
The next best thing to being born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth is surely to be given in early infancy a Rotary commemorative spoon to hold in one’s hand. The spoon received from President Fred by Malcolm Wylie on behalf of his grand-daughter Rowan Isabella Wylie Macgugan born 7 October was accompanied by the felicitations and good wishes of the meeting.
Induction of a New Member
In presenting Prasad Bollina F.R.C.S.Ed. for admission to the Club, Mohindra Dhall spoke of the neophyte’s professional distinction as a urological surgeon with special reference to his outstanding researches on prostatic cancer and also commended him for the wide range of his extracurricular interests and his community spirit. In formally welcoming Prasad to the Club President Fred expressed admiration for his enthusiasm which would enable him to make a valuable contribution to its activities.
Gunther Hausen and Bob Aldrich
Both Gunther and Bob are from Rhode Island – the smallest of the
50 United States. Gunther, who was born and raised in Germany, is an engineer
trained in America and holding a Master’s degree form M.I.T. Bob
is American-born and has had a distinguished career in business management.
Gunther spoke about the Cambodia water purification and literacy projects
and illustrated his discourse with a vivid power-point presentation which
impressively complemented his description of the extreme poverty of Cambodia
and of the immensity of the tasks confronting the projects. Cambodia is
the sixth poorest country in the world and has enormous health problems
of which one of the worst is its very high infant mortality rate.
The main cause of this is malaria but infantile diarrhoea comes a close
second and its cause is water-borne infection. At present the conquest
of malaria remains a hope for the future but infantile diarrhoea can be
prevented by provision of a safe water-supply and this is the prime objective
of the Cambodia water purification project. This can be achieved by the
installation in villages in the deprived rural areas of Biosand Filters
(B.S.F.). The B.S.F. is of proven efficiency in the purification of heavily
contaminated water and it is essentially a simple device involving no
advanced technology. It can be constructed, operated and maintained by
uneducated personnel provided that they are appropriately trained and
the raw materials required are not expensive.
Training is organised by Village Health Teams and this activity runs parallel
with, and is complementary to, a literacy and numeracy project which will
do much to ensure continuing effectiveness.
The Cambodia Project has attracted financial support from many charitable
organisations world-wide and in particular the Rotary Clubs in S.E. Asia,
the USA and Europe. Our Club has been involved in it for the past three
years and the immediate target for our sponsorship is the installation
of 400 BSF.
The speaker left us in no doubt of the importance of the Cambodia Project
and convinced us of the expertise and efficiency of its management.
A vote of thanks was proposed by Fred Edwards, our Club’s foremost
protagonist of the Cambodia project, and his sincere personal tribute
to our guest speakers perfectly expressed the emotions of the meeting.
Club Burns Supper, Friday 26 January 2006
The Club’s Burns Supper will be held, jointly with the Edinburgh
Waverley Club, at the Royal Over-Seas League, at 6.30 for 7.30 p.m. on
Friday 26 January.
President Fred will be in the Chair, Colin Mackay will address the Haggis
and Jack Aitken will propose the Immortal Memory. Toasts to “Drouthy
Cronies” and to “the Lassies” will be proposed by Peter
Kormylo and Jim Haining, both from the Burns Howff Club of Dumfries. Olive
Geddes, President of the Edinburgh Waverley Club will reply for “the
Lassies”, George Holmes will propose the toast of “the Guests”
and your editor will recite Holy Willie’s Prayer in night shirt and
carrying a candle. Tickets are £30 including table wines and a nip
of whisky. Dress is dinner-jacket with tartan, or Highland evening dress.
An Invitation to the Ladies
The Inner Wheel Club of Edinburgh is keen to welcome new members. The club meets monthly and offers participation in a wide range of activities and interest groups as well as fund-raising for charities. For more information please contact Emma Law (phone: [removed], or email: [removed, provided on request]).
More greetings from Down-under
President Fred has received a message to say that the Rotary Club of Bathurst N.S.W. toasted the Edinburgh Club at a recent meeting on the occasion of the Australian Rugby team’s match in Edinburgh.