Rotary Club of Parramatta City Newsletter April 30th 2012

1. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
COMMUNITY NETWORKER
ROTARY CLUB OF PARRAMATTA CITY
VILLAGE AIDE
PRESIDENT MESSAGE PROGRAM
I recently went to a Trade Fair in Hong Kong and while there I went to
seminar of business leaders who are regarded as visionaires with trade with
the Chinese market. The first speaker was an American Mike Bellamy, his
introduction was long and lengthy. After he came to the stage, his first
For those looking for a broadly based,
words were “I came to China as a result of a Rotary Scholarship to Japan”. multifaceted project, the Village
How many times do we hear this and it is all of a result of the Rotary Aide Program may be just the thing. This
Philippines located program
Foundation, I am asking members who have not sent in their Centurion looks to the welfare, educational, health
and resources of needy communities
contribution to do so before the June 30th and see how many more aiming to provide support through
scholarships or polio vaccines we can produce with your $100. practical, hands on commitments by
visiting volunteer teams.
Keith Henning, Mark & Karen Hancock, Megan and myself are Volunteers, professional, trades people,
and those with enthusiasm but
heading off to the Bangkok this weekend to attend the International perhaps less skills are also welcome.
There is work for medical
Convention. We will meet 35,000 other Rotarians gathered and I extend my professionals, construction teams,
welcome to each and everyone on behalf of the rest of the members of administrators and just “gophers”,
often all coming together to provide much
our club. needed local services. Teams usually
spend two weeks on a project and can
John Ching will step into the chair of the Monday meetings while I be of male and/or female members.
am away and I am sure John will reminding members of the Red Shield To date projects undertaken include the
provision of meals to drought and flood
Appeal day on Sunday 20th May at Bob Rosengreen’s, central assembly victims along with a well established
breakfast program for school children;
area. The more people attending will mean we can finish by 12.00, if we medical missions for both major
and minor surgery; design and
can assemble at 8.00am. Rotary has had a long association with the construction of schools and water
Salvation Army and their appeal day, let’s not let them, so bring along systems; dispensing spectacles
to sight impaired and medicines to the
friends and family to assist you on the day. sick ; provision of low cost housing and
rebuilding of dilapidated public amenities.
The PHD Scholars night at Oatlands is gathering momentum with The VAP is looking for teachers, doctors,
acceptances from other clubs transferring their meetings to attend. Bring nurses, builders, administrators,
accountants and anyone
your families and work collegues to the highlight of the year to hear five who has time to spare. Financial support
is also most welcome. This is a project
PHD’s scholars and their remarkable results on many of the subjects that conducted under RAWCS guidelines with
the associated support mechanisms.
you as members have chosen. Contact:.
A majority of John Ching’s Board attended the District Assembly PDG Bill Little (Chairman)
Ph:02 9728 1679 • Email:
today, to learn what their duties and roles will be in 2012-2013, so if you litlebil@bigpond.net.au
More information is available on
have not been asked to join one of their committees already, you soon will www.vap.ph
be. Thanks to everyone who attended, to donate a Sunday away from
your families is very much appreciated.
Finally Michael Sheldrick who brought forward his plans is flying from
Perth to speak at our club meeting this Monday April 30th. Bring your
business clients to this one and be amazed. But remember to tell Joy before
10.30am…………………Barry Antees

2. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
April
30 Michael Sheldrick
May
7 Club Meeting-Lunch
6-9 International Convention-Bangkok
14 Australian Rotary Health- PHD Scholars night
15 BBQ NSW Law Society-Parramatta,
20 Redshied Appeal-Bob Rosengreen’s place
21 Club Meeting-Lunch
28 Club Meeting-Lunch
July
6 Club Changeover
GUEST SPEAKER –MICHAEL SHELDRICK
Michael has a background in advocacy,
campaigning and policy. Michael was previously
employed by the Department of Premier and
Cabinet (WA) as a research officer for two and a half
years and has also volunteered extensively with the
Oaktree Foundation, where he first led the
campaigns team in WA before becoming Assistant
National Campaigns Director. During his time at Oaktree, Michael worked on numerous high
impact campaigns, including the 2010 Make Poverty History Roadtrip and End Child Slavery
campaigns. In particular, Michael secured the passage of a motion through both houses of
Parliament with bipartisan support, which re-committed both major parties to the fulfilment
of Australia’s international obligations under the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
In March 2011, Michael took up employment as Campaign Manager with the Global
Poverty Project, a media, education, communications, policy and campaigning
organisation focused on ensuring real action is taken by both public and private sectors in
OECD nations to contribute to the end of extreme poverty within a generation.
Throughout 2011, Michael oversaw Global Poverty Project’s The End of Polio, a public
awareness campaign (run in partnership with Rotary and other partners) that culminated in
a concert on the eve of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in
Perth. Partly in response to the campaign, at CHOGM the Prime Minister announced $50
million in funding to support global polio eradication efforts. Following the success of this

3. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
campaign, Michael has been asked to lead Global Poverty Project’s work on polio on a
global level and now works with groups all over the world including in Pakistan where he
visited in February 2012.
Michael has also taught in Political Science and International Relations at the University of
Western Australia and has been nominated by his students for a Teaching in Excellence
Award. Michael has travelled extensively. In 2008, he spent three weeks in India and
Bangladesh establishing a global network amongst young people to raise awareness about
the UN Millennium Development Goals. In January 2012, Michael spent three weeks studying
international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Through his work, Michael has met world leaders including Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, David
Cameron, Goodluck Jonathon of Nigeria, and Stephen Harper of Canada. Michael is also a
regular blogger, writer and public speaker. Michael was recently recognised by The Sunday
Times as being amongst Western Australia’s 50 Best and Brightest. He is currently a finalist in
the WA Youth Awards.
Michael has achieved significant academic success while at UWA. In addition to winning
numerous prizes and awards, Michael’s honours thesis received the top mark in the year
group. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and is currently finishing off a Bachelor of
Laws while working at the Global Poverty Project.
Michael was given a youth scholarship by the Rotary Club of Crawley in April 2011,
continues to be a member of the club and will serve on the club’s board from July 2012. He is
also on the board of his former high school, Mindarie Senior College.
DAVID’S PEARLS
Inspiration
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
- Norman Vincent Peale
Believe you can and you're halfway there.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.
- Robert Louis Stevenson
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset
sky.
- Rabindranath Tagore

4. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
ANTI-POVERTY CRUSADER HUGH EVANS TO JOIN ROTARIANS IN
BANGKOK
Stephen Yafa
Hugh Evans regularly delivers the Global Poverty Project's "1.4 Billion Reasons"
presentation. Evans will be a keynote speaker at the 2012 RI Convention in
Bangkok, Thailand, 6-9 May.
B y the age of 12, Hugh Evans had figured out what his life’s work would
be: ending global poverty.
Two years later, seeking an experience that would help him empathize with
the 1.4 billion people who live on US$1.25 or less a day, he participated in
a World Vision trip to the Philippines, financed in part by Rotarians in his
hometown of Baldwin, Australia. He shared a tent in Manila with a family
living in a slum built on a garbage dump.
Now 28, Evans oversees a team of activists around the world as CEO of the
Global Poverty Project. He was named Young Australian of the Year in
2004, and two years later engineered a campaign that brought Bono to Melbourne to perform in a concert to
raise awareness about poverty.
The publicity surrounding that event led to a commitment by the Australian government to increase its foreign
aid budget, resulting in an additional A$4.3 billion annually for the world’s poorest. This past October, a day
after the Global Poverty Project staged a concert in Perth as part of its End of Polio campaign, Australia
committed A$50 million to the polio eradication effort.
Evans will be a keynote speaker at the 2012 RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand, 6-9 May. Register online by
1 March for early pricing.
THE ROTARIAN: Your Global Poverty Project has gotten involved in eradicating polio. How did that come
about?
EVANS: Based on their Rotary connections, many of my staff are passionate about polio eradication. We
thought, how can we bring our resources to bear on this? We created The End of Polio, our grassroots
campaign. Our goal was to raise $50 million from Australia and other governments. We managed to raise $110
million.
TR: You’ve been very successful. What motivates you?
EVANS: I’ve never forgotten a young man named Sonny Boy, who took me under his wing in that Manila
slum. I believe it is pure chance that I was born where I was, and he, just as smart, was growing up in extreme
poverty. We can’t boast of our successes without being thankful for our luck.
TR: What’s the core philosophy of the Global Poverty Project?
EVANS: We believe businesses need to have clear, transparent, and fair supply chains; that governments need
to give their share as a proportion of their gross national product; and that governments in developing countries
need to ensure that corruption does not flourish.

5. Rotary Club of Parramatta City
TR: You’ve enlisted the help of entertainers such as Hugh Jackman and Bono. How effective is that?
EVANS: Both of those guys are in a category of their own. We work with people who care about what they’re
doing, and those two are dedicated to ending extreme poverty. Folks respond only to authentic messages, I
think, not to celebrity-driven messages. The general public is savvier than that.
TR: What’s the reason behind your move last year to New York City?
EVANS: The United States is crucial in the campaign to end extreme poverty. It’s the largest donor in the
world, but as a proportion of gross national product, its contribution is one of the smallest. According to a recent
study, the American public assumes that 25 percent of the federal budget goes toward foreign aid. When they’re
told that the actual figure is 0.2 percent, they can’t believe it. In the Global Poverty Project, we see our job, in
part, as informing the public that it’s a minuscule amount, and that cutting it further is ludicrous.
TR: Does the flat economy make your work even harder?
EVANS: In some ways, it sparks a sense of compassion. People say, if we’re having it this tough in America,
imagine how tough it must be in Africa.
TR: Is there still a role for Rotary in the growth of the Global Poverty Project?
EVANS: Rotarians were my initial supporters when I was young. I couldn’t have gone to Manila, then to India
for a year at 15, without them. I continue to speak to Rotary clubs. In South Africa, we toured with a choir of
Zulu warriors with the help of Rotary. The power of Rotary, as I’ve experienced it, is in its decentralization and
how well it permeates the community.
TR: Part of Rotary’s mission is to advance world understanding and peace. How does your work contribute to
that?
EVANS: Researchers have come up with a way of understanding the link between poverty and conflict through
a tool called the Failed States Index. The index assigns a score based on 12 factors that indicate how well a
country is functioning. The higher the score, the more challenged the country. It turns out that poor countries
tend to score a lot worse. It seems obvious that there is a strong relationship between economic hardship and
conflict, so efforts to alleviate poverty go hand in hand with efforts to promote peace.
FACEBOOK
We have now available for the club a new facebook page the shortcut is
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Please visit, make comments, open discussions and for your initial visit please hit the “like button”. The reason is the
more members who like the page, we receive additional features. The Facebook page is not a substitute for our
website, but more of an additional way to reach our audience.