Presidential Ponderings
President Gerry (P1) welcomed everyone on this beautiful morning as the days get shorter. It has been an impressive week following on from the success of the District Conference last weekend and the great support from the Club.
This day in history saw two amazing events:
- 1969 John (Lennon) married Yoko (Ono)
- 1974 the tragic story of Patty Hearst who was kidnapped by the brainwashed and the Symbionese Liberation Army which resulted in her participation in a bank robbery. She was later captured in 1975, convicted and sentenced to 7 years, her sentence was commuted by President Carter in 1979.
- It was a draw for celebrations - Birthdays and Anniversaries nil - Angus nil!
Directors' Reports and Member Announcements
DG Veronica : Thanked all members of the Club for their support and attendance at the District Conference and special thanks to Gerry, Brian and Alison for their amazing teamwork! Many accolades for the 'Best Conference - EVER!' and all down to you, the Rotarians, sponsors (Garrick and Diana) and team who made it happen.
Ian K : Croquet is on again 6.30pm, 27 March. $20 pp for food, and BYO drinks. Membership committee meeting after breakfast
Angus F : Fundraising committee meeting after breakfast.
Garrick McC : Gave an update on Makinlay, our RYE student in France. Inundated with photos and videos of her recent trips, Makinlay has now moved to second host family, near her school so no more long bus trips to and from.
Rick S : Pankind BBQ a great success raising $350. Rick thanked all supporters and especially Mandy who organised it all.
Gorby : Historical walk on 10 April in the City - scroll down to Events for more details. Gorby looking for suggestions for dinner/drinks afterwards. THE PINES dinner 12 May 6.15pm. Trybooking link will soon be open, only 50 seats so book early!
David R : Seeking interested members to chair the meeting each week from 1 July. Mentors supplied so lots of support given.
Ian K : Auctioned off a bottle of Jamieson Irish Whisky, kindly donated by ex-member Ross Stewart. Shaun O'Brien outbid everyone and was the lucky bidder - well done Shaun!
Guest Speakers - Dr James Savundra and Dr Mark Strahan, Interplast Surgeons.
James’s first Interplast Trip was in 2001 to Tonga. Since then, he has done several Interplast trips to countries in the Pacific, Asia and Africa.
Dr Mark Strahan, Plastic Surgeon
Mark’s first Interplast Trip was 2014 when he joined James in Laos. Since then, he has been on several trips to Papua New Guinea, Laos and most recently Kiribati.
Interplast is a small charitable organisation started by Rotary in 1983 through a
partnership with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
Interplast sends fully qualified Australian and New Zealand volunteer plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied health professionals to the Asia Pacific region to provide free surgical treatment for patients who would otherwise not be able to afford access to such services.
The surgeons do their job of fixing the devastating deformities such as cleft palates which cause huge social issues for the patients as they are generally outcasts at school and in their own community being unable to speak understandably.
Today, we were privileged to have not one but two Plastic Surgeons give their valuable time to tell us about their work with Interplast.
Mark and James discussed the history of Interplast, a collaboration between surgeons, Rotary and the College of Surgeons. This partnership is crucial, as surgeons are skilled in surgery but not in logistics and organization. Rotary provides the necessary funds and logistical support to make the overseas organization functional.
Volunteers’ time is given freely, while Interplast covers airfares and accommodation. Teams are required to be self-sufficient, especially in smaller locations, carrying about 200 kilograms of equipment.
A typical team consists of six members: two doctors (surgeons), two nurses, and two anaesthetists. The team travels for approximately two weeks at a time.
Surgeons face challenging conditions, such as operating in cramped theaters, sometimes with two tables in one room. Resources are often basic, exemplified by a “high-tech scrub sink” and power outages requiring generators.
Personal challenges include surgeons getting sick but still needing to perform difficult operations.
Training local surgeons and medical personnel is a high priority, especially in larger centers like Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The goal is to build local capacity so that surgeries can be performed year-round, which is more effective than relying solely on visiting teams. Interplast has been involved in training the last 3-4 plastic surgeons in PNG. Trainees may also be brought to Australia for parts of their training.
An example of successful training is Kurtmy in Laos, who was taught by Harold McCombe and went on to train the next generation of Laotian plastic surgeons.
It is worthy to note, our own member Ken Pittman accompanied an Interplast team over twenty years ago as their official photographer.
Also joining us at our meeting was Steve Weychan from Canning River Rotary Club. Steve has been involved with their fundraising a total of $1.2 million for Interplast over the years.
millpointrotaryclub.org.au>members only (password)> this link>Guest Speaker Presentations>SAVUNDRA James- Interplast
It's a nice Fine(s) kind of day!
Madame Lash aka Joy Burnett informed us all that as it was International Day of Happiness she'd play nice with her fines...
- Gorby - Indian Pacific fiasco.
- ALL non attendees at District Conference (you missed an amazing conference!)
- Lydia W - for suggesting group photo of Mill Point Rotarians and partners at the Conference and then went MIA! Now looking for Photoshop expert to 'photoshop' her in!
- Geoff L - bachelorhood isn't what it's cracked up to be, his bed-making/sheet-washing abilities were questioned!
Attendance - 39 attendees in all, including guest speakers Dr James Savundra and Dr Mark Strahan, visiting Rotarian Steve Weychan (Canning River) and guests Stewart Harrison and Estelle Hayler.
