We were joined this evening by Steve Evans a member of the Rotary Club of Ironbridge. Steve has long been involved with the development of Rotary's international programme but had come to talk to the Club about the work of the Village Water charity in advance of World Water Day on the 22nd March.
Billions of people lack access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. Village Water provides hygiene education and sustainable water for rural villages in western Zambia. The charity installs protected shallow wells with manual water pumps that allow the people to draw uncontaminated water from underground.
Diarrhoea is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in Zambia and a major contributor to malnutrition. Village Water will only install pumps in villages where the community agrees to implement measures to provide for the safe disposal of human waste, and to adopt basic hygiene practices such as hand washing with soap in order to break the cycle of disease transmission for diarrhoea, particularly amongst children under five.
To date, Village Water has succeeded in helping over 75,000 people in 326 villages, each with either a new or rehabilitated well and with around 20 pit latrines for toilets, with hand washing, refuse pits and plate and vegetable racks to keep the food off the ground - and this has had a dramatic impact upon the health of the people. All the sanitation work is undertaken by the people themselves with Village Water providing cement and other materials.
Our thanks to Steve for his work in promoting the work of this very worthwhile charity and rest assured that we shall be supporting its work over the coming year.
Monday, 14 March 2011
Monday, 14 February 2011
Czech and Mate - Fred Austin
It was fitting on Valentines Day to be joined by Fred Austin and his wife Margaret and to hear their real life love story which is now the subject of a book - Czech and Mate.
Born into a Jewish family in pre war Czechoslovakia Fred was fortunate with the help of a distant cousin in Austria to secure passage to England under the protection of an English school teacher. It was the last that he was to see of this mother and sisters who were all to become victims of Nazi extermination.
Overcoming hardship whilst under the care of his rescuer Fred went on to attend Leicester University where he was to meet Margaret, his future wife. Fred was to qualify as a teacher and eventually to become Head of Dudley Grammar School. On his retirement from the Grammar School Fred became chief officer for Age Concern in Dudley. It is testament to Fred's character that there is no hint of bitterness as he recounts his past life and as a longstanding member of the Rotary Club of Dudley he has devoted himself to the service of others.
Born into a Jewish family in pre war Czechoslovakia Fred was fortunate with the help of a distant cousin in Austria to secure passage to England under the protection of an English school teacher. It was the last that he was to see of this mother and sisters who were all to become victims of Nazi extermination.
Overcoming hardship whilst under the care of his rescuer Fred went on to attend Leicester University where he was to meet Margaret, his future wife. Fred was to qualify as a teacher and eventually to become Head of Dudley Grammar School. On his retirement from the Grammar School Fred became chief officer for Age Concern in Dudley. It is testament to Fred's character that there is no hint of bitterness as he recounts his past life and as a longstanding member of the Rotary Club of Dudley he has devoted himself to the service of others.
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Club Meeting - Ashley Gray
We welcomed this evening Ashley Gray - a member of the Walsall Saddlers Rotary Club - as our speaker. Ashley is a Rotary Assistant District Governor with responsibility for our own Club and the other Rotary Clubs within our zone.
As part of his role Ashley helps to keep us up to date with whats happening within our Rotary District and the wider Rotary family as well as taking feedback from us on these developments. Mixing these duties with running his own business cannot be easy and it became apparent from talking to Ashley just how much of his spare time is devoted to helping the Rotary movement grow and prosper.
Ashley's work is greatly appreciated by the Club and we look forward to working with him for the remainder of this Rotary year.
Ashley's work is greatly appreciated by the Club and we look forward to working with him for the remainder of this Rotary year.
Monday, 17 January 2011
Club Meeting - Martyn Long
It was a great pleasure to welcome Martyn Long – the recently appointed Headmaster of Tettenhall College - to our meeting this evening. With a history dating back to 1863 the College attracts children from around the world and has a reputation for providing a sound academic education based on traditional standards of excellence within a stimulating and caring environment.
After a brief tour through his own school and university days Martyn updated us on developments within the College in the six months since his arrival.
This is Martyn's second stint at Tettenhall having previously headed the physics department before leaving to take up an appointment as a deputy head 10 years ago. His affection for the school and its nurturing environment is obvious and we are fortunate to have such a gifted educator to lead the staff and pupils and to secure the College's future.
After a brief tour through his own school and university days Martyn updated us on developments within the College in the six months since his arrival.
This is Martyn's second stint at Tettenhall having previously headed the physics department before leaving to take up an appointment as a deputy head 10 years ago. His affection for the school and its nurturing environment is obvious and we are fortunate to have such a gifted educator to lead the staff and pupils and to secure the College's future.
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