Welcome to the final bulletin report for 2014-15.
We welcomed our guest speakers today – Heather Ridge and Barry Secombe from the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee.
I want to thank all the members for their support throughout the year. Also thanks to John Langley for ensuring I was appropriately attired in the Presidential regalia at each meeting!
At times it has been a challenging year but I have really appreciated the support and guidance that has been available to me from some wonderful members. It has also been an enjoyable year with lots of fellowship and fun.
Also, the opportunity to see our club in the bigger picture of our cluster and the District has been enlightening and a great experience.
Heather and Barry commenced their talk by providing some background to the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee (BMFC)
BMFC came into existence in late 2006. It operates under the auspices of the City of Greater Bendigo and the association with Rotary stems from the beginning.
Barry reflected on all the good work that has been achieved with the help of Rotarians from many clubs. The committee is obliged to adhere to a protocol developed with the Victorian State Government and the East Timor Government. The key message from this protocol is that there can be no work undertaken without consultation with the local community regarding what they see as their needs.
Recently a consultative community meeting was held that identified the current needs of the community. The issue that rated the highest priority was access to education. Barry summarised the plans that came out of that meeting.
Heather then spoke about the access to education issue that the community identified. Literacy rates for 15-24 year olds is about 50%. This is a real issue for a country that is trying to establish itself. Of the adults, 40% have little or no education behind them. Children and adults in the rural area have very limited access to educational opportunities.
The Maubisse community is very keen to build the capacity of their community to keep the education of their children in their country. To meet this, the BMFC has committed to a 7 year project that will provide scholarships to selected children to attend school and go through university in Dili. The scholarship will be administered by the Alola Foundation Scholarship fund and they will provide reports back to the BMFC on the progress of the selected students. During the community meeting, strict criteria were developed by the community members on the selection of appropriate students for the scholarships.
The BMFC are looking for financial support to help them meet the commitment they have made to the local community.
Thanks Heather and Barry for a very informative talk and I am sure the incoming Board will consider your request.
To finish off, I wish Paul and his incoming Board all the best for their year.
See you all (those of you that are still in the state) at Changeover. Cathie
It is so go to see such co-operation I had to show it again.........
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