Clean water and sanitation is a human right. When people, especially children, have access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, they lead healthier and more successful lives. We don’t just build wells and walk away. Rotary members integrate water, sanitation, and hygiene into education projects. When children learn about disease transmission and practise good hygiene, they miss less school. And they can take those lessons home to their families, expanding our impact.
President Paul Adams
Secretary
Shirley Stratton
Treasurer
Graham Evans
Hosted by President Paul
Guests: Speakers David Anderson, Mark Anderson, Nick Hurley; Christine Hurley, Janet Milne
Dorothy Matheson
Opening thought:
Inspired by writing about her childhood, and how the men of her family would gather at the farmhouse, sing songs of Glasgow and drink a wee dram o' whisky:
The Selkirk Grace:
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it,
But we hae meat and we can eat,
Sae let the Lord be Thankit!
Parting thought:
In light of the wars raging and the absence of international law:
"But what experience and history teach is this, - that peoples and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it."
GHF Hegel - Philosophy of History
Raffle winner: Linda
Dinner menu:
Minestrone soup followed by creamy pork casserole, medley of roast veges and mixed green salad
Eddie
Tim
Ken
David
Mark
President Paul with our esteemed guest speakers
President Paul welcomed our guests: a couple of Aussies he found at conference, speaker Nick, his wife Christine, plus the lovely Janet.
Notices
President Paul
The Rotary Oceania Summit held in Napier last weekend was an excellent event. It was announced that the new region will span Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The current proposal for New Zealand is 2 districts: North Island down to roughly the Manawatu, and the rest of the country. There will be debate about this.
Thanks to the Members who signed up for the Club's WhatsApp as this makes arranging duty swaps etc far easier.
Ken Milne
Ken reported back on Ian's progress with his treatment; he has 3 more sessions of radiotherapy to go and is in good heart.
Ken talked about the distribution of emergency response kits. When he and Janet visited Japan not long after the country was affected by a tsunami, people were most grateful for the kits that had been made available to families affected by the disaster. Kits were sent from all over the Asia-Pacific region which astonished local people.
Ken also mentioned the value of leaving bequests to endowment funds (as a very generous philanthropist recently did to Massey University). The Rotary Foundation has a bequests programme:
Ian will be running another round of Lucky Lotto. Please come along after Easter, prepared to buy the numbers so the draws can start promptly. All proceeds go to End Polio.
Doug
Wood for Good
The next Wood for Good working bee will be held at the Kāpiti Golf Club on Saturday, 11th April 2026, morning (9.00 am to 12.00 noon) and afternoon (12.30 pm to 3.30 pm) shifts as usual.
There will be 3 splitters working as well as there are a few paid orders for delivery. Please fill in the form on Clubrunner, or give Doug a call on 0274545754 if you are available.
If a Club Member is wishing to register as a volunteer, please go to the Home page on Clubrunner on your phone, Click on All Events, find and click on Date of Event, (e.g. 11th April) Click on Wood for Good working bee, and under 'Volunteer Signup' click on either Afternoon Shift or Morning Shift and follow the prompts.
If NOT a Club Member but wishing to register as a volunteer, please go to the Kāpiti Rotary Website, open up Events, then Calendar, then Date (e.g. 14th February), the Wood for Good Working Bee, then Shift, Then Task and enter your name etc.
For anyone who is prepared to be a driver to do deliveries, please note the new option on Clubrunner.
Any questions, please give me a call.
Yours in Rotary,
Doug Hooper Smith,
0274545754
Tim
Tim also enjoyed the conference in Napier. There are brochures available explaining the various programmes and projects of the Rotary Foundation.
Eddie
Golf For Good
Please sign up for kiosk shifts throughout April, by going on ClubRunner or contacting Eddie: 027 543 1643. We need to keep supporting this great venture, which is making us good money and delighting the district. The Lions are filling their roster, and we need to as well. It is not taxing labour and is an opportunity to interact with the public and watch people having a lot of fun. Experienced people can show newbies the ropes and there is a comprehensive manual.
Steph
Steph is having a second knee replaced so will be away from Easter for the rest of April. Help will be required to take meeting notes and photos in her absence. There is a template for notes with guidance for photos - it's in Documents on ClubRunner or Steph can email it to you. The notes need to be typed up but don't have to be fancy; Steph will do the magic. The notes and photos are required by lunchtime Sunday so Steph can pull the Bulletin together on Sunday afternoon. Please sign up on ClubRunner to help out.
Youth Committee: RYDA volunteers required
8.30am - 2.30pm 29 April
Southwards
RYDA is Rotary Youth Driver Awareness. This youth road safety programme run by Rotary is being supported by our Club. Rangatahi do not drive on the day: instructors and first responders teach the teens about road safety and making good choices.
It has taken a couple of years to pull this together and now Kāpiti College has come on board. We have sponsored the costs for 2 workshops, on29 April and in September.
We require 6 - 8 volunteers for a half day, 8.30am - 2.30pm at Southwards. Volunteers are required to read and sign up to a code of conduct in order to work on the event. Duties are simple: helping with set up and marshalling, guiding groups from one activity to the next, supporting the instructors and teachers. Smoko and lunch are provided. You need to be able to stand/walk for the half day. Information about the course and volunteer duties are available from Steph and are uploaded to ClubRunner in Documents.
Please sign up in duties on ClubRunner or contact Steph: 027 2803 444 or dyhrbergsa@gmail.com
Christine updated us on the progress of Give Every Child a Future
Nick gave us an excellent run down on the work of Rotary NZ World Community Service
President Paul thanked Nick for his extensive public service
Australian Rotary Foundation speakers
David Anderson
David is the Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator (RRFC) for Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands. David has an extensive career in his Rotary District, and also regionally and nationally. His work with the Foundation involves helping the District Foundation Chair to build the fund and run the grants programme.
David's passion for Rotary is enduring, fuelled by his appreciation for the opportunities Rotary has given him, especially the gift of meeting his wife. David is grateful for the happiness this has brought to his life, and for the chance to build a better world.
Mark Anderson
Mark has a long and distinguished career in Rotary and the commercial world, and is currently employed as the Major Gifts Officer with the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. He facilitates gifts of US$10,000 and above. The Foundation provides a framework to help Rotarians deliver projects to meet community needs.
The mission: The Rotary Foundation helps Rotary members to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace by improving health, providing quality education, improving the environment, and alleviating poverty.
Mark gave a speedy but thought-provoking presentation about the philosophy and practice of the Foundation. The Foundation is focussed on delivering philanthropy in ways that have impact and contribute to the growth of the Rotary brand. Mark discussed the difference between charity and philanthropy: it is vital that Clubs are not just fundraising organisations that give money to good causes. Rotary Clubs need to assess community needs - the community informs us of the needs - and engage in projects that meet the needs and build the Rotary brand. This stimulates the vitality and growth of Clubs.
Paul has a copy of Mark's excellent PowerPoint presentation.
Guest speaker: Nick Hurley
Rotary World Community Service
Introduced by President Paul, Nick retired from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade after more than forty years of service. He represented New Zealand in the Pacific, Australia, Asia and Europe. He was Acting New Zealand High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Samoa (2018-2019) and Tonga (2017-2018), NZ High Commissioner in the Cook Islands, Samoa and Solomon Islands, and Consul-General in Brisbane, Australia. Other postings have been to Paris, Rome and Fiji. Nick is an active member of Rotary, currently belonging to the Rotary Club of Wellington.
Nick is the District Director of Rotary World Community Service. Its work is predominantly focussed outside New Zealand. NZ Aid pushed for the establishment of one body to work with Rotary in funding aid projects, particularly in the Pacific region.
When our Pacific neighbours require immediate assistance following a cyclone, tsunami or earthquake, RWCS distribute Emergency Response Kits. Once the initial response has passed, they help local people rebuild their lives. This might involve repairing homes, schools and hospitals, restoring infrastructure including water supplies and sanitation. 2nd hand equipment of all kinds is collected and shipped to where it is needed.
Other projects include supporting a climate-resistant seed project, repurposing donated equipment, fitting out and shipping ambulances to the Pacific and Ukraine, and projects in Africa, including providing clean water supplies. Our own Gary Lawrence's Taveuni dental project has been supported by district grants.
Christine has a background in public service policy and NGO management. She is a life member of the Institute of Public Administration and an active member of the Rotary Club of Wellington. Christine has served as Chief Executive of Interpreting New Zealand. Christine was involved in overseas diplomatic postings including Tehran, Geneva and Brussels and later with Nick in Samoa and Rarotonga. Christine is also a distinguished Rotarian.
Christine is the local representative on the Committee driving the Give Every Child a Future programme, vaccinating 100,000 children in the Pacific, in conjunction with UNICEF:
Total funds raised for the programme are US$3.9 million. This involved Clubs and individuals across Australia and New Zealand, and the Australian Government raising half, with 23 global grants matching the sum raised. Vaccinations are well advanced, and most recently, HPV vaccines have been delivered in Kiribati. For the latest newsletter see:
