When we return to normal
After 7 long weeks returning to normal including face to face Rotary meetings probably seems a little surreal. 
The day will however come and with it a possible issue for clubs to deal with. 
 
 
We are already seeing discussion, debate and conflict over the rights, responsibilities and obligations of people who are not vaccinated and the rights of people who are.  
 
 
In one extreme case a cafe is refusing to employ people who are vaccinated [you read that right] and vaccinated customers have to sit outside. There are even reports of families saying that if a family member is not vaccinated they wont be able to attend Christmas dinner. 
 
At this point District does not have a policy on how clubs should proceed post lockdown and given the current legislation is unlikely to in the near future. 
 
 
Now is probably a good time to start thinking about how Pakuranga Rotary might proceed once we are again permitted to meet face to face.
 
Calendar
International Day for Disaster Reduction
Oct 13, 2021
 
United Nations Day
Oct 24, 2021
 
World Polio Day
Oct 24, 2021
 
Labour Day
Oct 25, 2021
 
World Interact Week
Oct 25, 2021 - Oct 31, 2021
 
A month of Rockets and Fireworks
Nov 01, 2021 - Nov 30, 2021
 
Rotary Foundation Month
Nov 01, 2021 - Nov 30, 2021
 
Charity Golf Tournament
Whitford Park Golf Club
Nov 19, 2021
 
A month of Giving
Dec 01, 2021 - Dec 31, 2021
 
Rotary Disease Prevention and Treatment Month
Dec 01, 2021 - Dec 31, 2021
 
View entire list
Learning about the power of virtual platforms - virtually. 
 
At Monday night’s meeting held via Zoom it was very appropriate that our guest speaker Stephen Handisides guided us through the potential of virtual platforms, virtually. 
 
We are all becoming very used to the “talking head” type Zoom experience. Stephen was able to show that by using a platform his company, V-Unite has designed and sells around the world, the virtual experience can be very much more sophisticated and engaging. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
V-Unite allows clients to create virtual events such as trade shows and professional summits which can include, keynote addresses, breakout rooms, product stands, competitions, and gamification. This can be done in a virtual environment that the client chooses from over 100 templates or a more customized one. Fancy running your trade show in a winery, a cruise liner or in space then that can be done. 
 
As the platform has developed and expanded the potential uses also grow and clients are using the platform for marketing, on-boarding, training, sales, and education. 
 
In a post Covid world Stephen is confident that virtual eco system is here to stay with hybrid events, a mix of virtual and in-person,  becoming more popular. 
 
Ensuring that setting up an event is easy for customers, making sure that V-Unite integrates seamlessly with their existing platforms and is optimised for mobile phones as well, are part of the reason why V-Unite has experienced rapid business growth with a product that meets users needs now and which will also be important in a new post Covid normal.   
Snippets
Rotary Snippets
  • Despite the covid pandemic, Rotarians have still supported our Rotary Foundation. Total giving in 2019/2020 was US$ 408m including the US$100m from the Gates Foundation and in 2020/2021 was US$ 441m. The Gates contribution is included because Gates give us the money to spend at our discretion provided it goes to polio eradication. They are comfortable for us to make the decisions.
  • Mid-September, there were 5 Rotary Peace Fellows still in Afghanistan. They are likely to be working for international agencies and have visas.
  • The latest addition to our Foundation programmes is “Programmes of Scale”. The grant is for US$2m and must give a sustainable solution to a major issue. The first grant last Rotary year was to reduce the incidence of malaria in Zambia by 80%. Rotary has contributed US$2m, World Vision has put in US$2m and the Gates Foundation has put in US$2m. A committee is currently choosing this year’s project.
 
  • Our RI President, Shekhar Mehta, has described this project in India as the biggest single project he has seen in Rotary. The Rotarians of Erode built a state of the art 401 bed hospital in 45 days at a cost of US$ 2.694m.
 
The Government of Erode provided the land and the builder, a Rotarian, contributed the first US$ 200 000 to start the project on time. He used precast technology so that the building could be constructed promptly. The cost includes the medical equipment and it will convert to a general hospital when the covid demand drops. The motivation to build the hospital came when Rotarians offered to donate 75 covid beds but the existing teaching hospital had nowhere to put them. India has a legal requirement for companies to give a proportion of their profits to “corporate responsibility” and three companies contributed a quarter of the cost.
 
While the speed of the build is now recognised as a record, the motivation came from the need. Amazing!
Almoner
 
 
Now when we don't get to meet face to face on a regular basis is a good time to remind members that
Kelvin Davies and Geoff Shapland are our club almoners.