Newsletter for the Rotary Club of Western Endeavour - Issue No.: 1117 Issue Date: 28 Apr, 2024

While many of you were still lying in bed reading the paper and enjoying a cup of tea last Sunday morning, Margaret, Jane, Rebecca and Judy attended the annual multi district Rotary Foundation seminar hosted by District 9460.

There were a number of interesting speakers including Heather Yeager who gave an overview of the Rotary Foundation and how through the Foundation we can make a difference...we can change lives. By the work it does, the Rotary Foundation is changing the world.

Claus Borg, a member of the Rotary Club of Seminyak and a director of the Sumba Foundation gave a presentation on the work being done by the Foundation to eliminate malaria in Sumba. Those of you who attended the meeting where Mark Savage made his presentation will have seen the DVD shown by Claus however it was interesting to hear of his experiences in Sumba and of the great work being undertaken. Claus reminded us that Sumba is only 700 kilometres from Australia so the threat of malaria, a disease that kills more people a year than HIV/AIDS is on our doorstep.

The Sumba Foundation's main aims are to offer diagnosis to all residents, make treatment for all strains of malaria available free of charge, undertake mass screenings for the disease on an on-going basis and reduce transmission of the disease. The Rotary Club of Western Endeavour is helping to make this happen with our recent donation and plans to become more involved with the Rotary Club of Seminyak.

After a delicious morning tea (not good for the diet) provide by Inner Wheel, participants were asked to break into groups where more in depth discussion was held on:

• Matching grants
  
• District simplified grants
  
• Volunteering
  
• Peace scholars

After a very informative morning, we came away with a better understanding of what the Rotary Foundation has to offer and how to go about utilising the programs available to clubs.