Rotary Round-up

With a very successful Christmas Tree Festival, a street collection (on Christmas Eve) for local charities, celebration lunch and several fascinating speakers behind them, Sudbury Rotary members are now looking forward to the New Year’s activities.

On 6 February, one of the international scholars sponsored by Rotary and studying this year at Cambridge University will be telling us more about work on his MPhil in Development Studies. Ben Corson, from the USA, is being hosted by the Saffron Walden Rotary Club and will be accompanied by Tim Boydon, who is an Assistant Governor for Rotary District 1080 this year. International scholars are always inspirational and we look forward to hearing how Ben’s studies will focus on societal change which will benefit many people.

News was received a few weeks’ ago about the two primary children in East Meru, Tanzania, whose schooling has been supported financially by Sudbury Rotary to ensure they have a good start to their education. Both children, Peter Prosper and Loveness are making excellent progress with their studies and each created a card with Christmas Greetings which was sent to us. Sudbury Rotary will continue to sponsor the school into the future, and is delighted to learn that they have been able to build a library, which is used not only by the children at East Meru Primary School but also by secondary school pupils, because it has electricity which means they can study into the evening, when the school day is over. Most homes do not have electricity!

The search now begins for this year’s Rotary Youth Leadership Awards candidate to be supported by the Sudbury Club. This is an opportunity for a young person to spend a week at Grafham Water in Cambridgeshire. The criteria for selection are that the candidate should be between 18 and 26 on 1 September 2023 and be willing to undertake activities out of their normal comfort zone, taking part in team-building, team-working and leadership activities, meeting challenges and gaining confidence as an individual. The course will take place between 26 August and 2 September 2023. If a local school or business would like to recommend a potential candidate, or a local company would be interested in sponsoring a young person to attend this course, please do contact David Taylor, Sudbury Rotary Club’s Secretary: secretary@sudburyrotary.com.

Meantime, Sudbury Rotary has agreed to sponsor two of the Hive Young Volunteer Awards, for which a ceremony is planned in March.

We are now looking forward to seeing the purple crocus in flower near the Croft. These bulbs were planted by Rotary members as a reminder of the ‘Purple for Polio’ international campaign to eradicate this crippling and often fatal disease across the whole world by helping to fund a vaccination programme. The disease is still classified as endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan but in most countries the disease has been eradicated. However, with the virus being identified in sewage works in London in 2022 (although no cases of the disease have been detected or confirmed) this demonstrates how essential it is that everyone continues to be vaccinated against polio to ensure it does not return to devastate lives anywhere in the world.

Rotary is open to people from all backgrounds and we would welcome more of you to join us. Unlike the image which you might have of your local Rotarians, we are not a group of serious, professional, older gentlemen in suits(!), but a mix of women and men of all ages and interests. The one thing which brings us together is our wish to support our community, here and through overseas projects, and to enjoy fun and friendship while doing so.

Sudbury Rotary meets at Newton Green Golf Club on the first three Mondays of each month - with an optional lunch, gives an opportunity for us to hear from speakers on topics of interest, follow up on matters concerned with our activities, and to enjoy each other’s company. Visitors are always welcome, but please do telephone 07341 290415 to let us know you will be coming along. Check out more information about the Club at www.sudburyrotary.com.