Upcoming Events
Email Bulletins
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays:
  • Hayden Smith
    December 14
Join Date:
  • Cody Bettanin
    November 8, 2016
    9 years
  • Lesley McCarthy
    December 1, 1994
    31 years
  • Karolina Sevcikova
    December 3, 2020
    5 years
  • Christine Richardson
    December 23, 2003
    22 years
  • Beate McManus
    December 30, 1993
    32 years
Home Page Download Files
Photo Albums
Club Awards
2025 National Tree Day
Peter Cribb in Manila and Bali
Jo Walker Sputnik 2025
Peace Poles
2025 Changeover
2024-20-November-Induction Hayden
Stroke Beds Sri Lanka
L2P Car for MVCC
Djerring Hub opening
2022-Club President's Changeover
Lorrys Farewell
RORP Kensington YMCA
Rotary 100 Tree Planting and Habitat Development Project
Rotary Overseas Recycled Playgrounds
2021 Art Show
2019 Art Show Winner
Ascot Vale West PS Garden
Debney Meadows Garden Renewal
2019 Club Changeover
Supporting our local Community
One Good Ride
Sputnik Girls School and Orphanage
People of Action
District Awards and Recognitions
Why Rotary?
Youth Projects
Festival of Arts and Ideas
Container 1
RORP Map Sri Lanka
RORP Celebration Feb 2
International Projects
Rotary Overseas Recycled Playgrounds
Art Show
Rotary In Action
30th Anniversary
Enter your email address and the message you want to send.
fields are required
Home Page News
Food and Friends #1
What an outstanding success this was!    
Our first event delivered 160 meals to members of the community.
 
In the presence of Mayor Rose Iser, Cr Fran Cosgrove, Djerring Hub and MVCC staff, Rotarians and community members we provided a tasty and nutritious meal free of charge.
 
Sincere thanks to Life Church for the donation of food items, to the talented Laura who ran the kitchen, and to the many who chopped, cooked and served. Particular thanks to Dennis and Peter from Rotary West Footscray who manned the dishwasher and sink; Stuart and his team from Williamstown, Karolina, Alex and the wonderful women from the community who cooked and served.
 
 
        
Read more...
Launch of Food and Friends
You're invited to the inaugural dinner for the Food and Friends project.
 
Wednesday 12th November at Djerring Hub, 25 Mount alexander Road Flemington.
Dinner 5-7pm.    Come for a meal and a chat.  All welcome.
 
 
Annual General Meeting
The AGM is done with another fabulous Annual Report showcasing the great work we have done in the 2024-2025 year.
FINAL-ANNUAL-REPORT2024-25.pdf
 
Congratulations Melina Caccetta who has been selected as President for the 2026-2027year - giving her a second year i the role, and following in the footsteps of Shraddha and Lesley who have both done 2 year stints.
Secretary: Lesley, Treasurer: Peter.
Board members as is - Jean Turnbull to assist as admin/planning and with RORP.  Chris Richardson to take on Club Service.
Lenka's Blog October
Hip hip hurray for the holidays!
 
(I'm writing this after the holidays and I need those two weeks again.)
The first Monday of the holidays was my guest brother Max's birthday, so to celebrate we went climbing in the morning and then to the Hijinx hotel and the arcade in the evening. The climbing was fun, even though my hands hurt afterwards - since I don't have gym at school here, I exercise even less than in the Czech Republic, if that's even possible.
 
Happy 17th Birthday Lenka!!!
Read more...
Rotary Global Scholars
Our club is pleased to support Rotary Global Grant Scholars: a wonderful opportunity to encourage and assist young people to obtain higLegal Aid for Migrants | Rotary Club of Glenferrieher education in fields which reflect Rotary's 7 Areas of Focus.
 
Currently, we are part of a group supporting Jazmine Elmolla who is studying for a Master of Science in International Human Rights Law at Oxford University via an online course. Jazmine is a lawyer working for Legal Aid on migrant law.
Other clubs contributing are Albert Park, Balwyn, Bendigo, Carlton, Eaglehawk, Keilor East, North Balwyn, Woodend and District 9800.
 
Jazmine recently reported to the Rotary Club of Albert Park on her first semester.   
https://youtu.be/uX76UHocj70?si=ArtarI2XryMDfA7D
Djerring Hub Sports Day sausage sizzle
Thanks to Len, Karolina, Mel and Lesley for helping with the sausage sizzle for the Djerring Hub childrens sports, games and soccer day.
Great to catch up with community members, friends and the fabulous Djerring Hub staff.
Shadia, Hadia, Karolina, Len and Mel.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
Read more...
Donations in Kind supporting our community
Donations in Kind has again supported our local community activities with supplies of drink bottles,
sports bags and fiction books.   Donations in Kind supports club with local community projects as well as international projects. 
   
3 cartons of picture story and junior fiction were contributed to the children's free library at Djerring Hub last week.
  
 
Mel delivered a carton of brand new orange metal drink bottles to the breakfast program at Dianella Community Centre for Life Church last week.
Lesley delivered a carton of drink bottles and 2 boxes of sports bags to Djerring Hub for their children's holiday sports, games and soccer program.
 
 
Lenka's Blog - September
Thursday was the start of the two-week break between term 3 and term 4, or rather, for most students it didn’t start until the weekend, but my school had Parent-Teacher interviews on Thursday and Friday, so we went there for half an hour on Thursday evening (me and my host mum; apparently it’s expected and ordered here that students go to parent-teacher interviews, and it’s very individual) and then I had the day off.
The teachers praised me a lot, which is perhaps a sign that I should get a life.
 
On Friday 21st, the whole family went to Glenrowan to visit my host mum’s parents and we stayed there for the weekend. I find it interesting that the creaky floors in my grandparents’ house are apparently universal.
 
One local historical figure in Glenrowan is Ned Kelly; think Robin Hood, but with a rifle and thick iron house armour that can stop a bullet. He was arrested and hanged right near Glenrowan, mainly because someone finally managed to shoot him in the leg. They have a statue of him there and a few attractions about him.

 
 
Read more...
Ryda
The first Ryda session for this year was held on 9 September at the Melbourne Greyhound Racing
centre in Broadmeadows.   We hosted students from Buckley Park College and Rotarians Drew, Fran,
Hayden and Jess, John, Karolina and Lesley assisted.
 
Over the 6 sessions, the students heard about the numbers of young people killed and injured in road accidents; their role as a friend and peer support; the effects of fatigue, inattention, phones and music and road conditions.  They experienced role play and group discussions to embed the learning and watched on as a speed and braking test challenged their understanding of braking distances.
 
Thanks to Anton and the team of presenters from RSE.   Thank you also to Moonee Valley Council for the grant to support bus costs.
RI  Club Excellence Award 2024-25
We were delighted to welcome PDG Michael Lapina and Alex Lapina to our breakfast meeting on 6 August. 
Michael presented PP Lesley and President Melina with the 2024-2025 Club Excellence Award for achieving our goals.  Michael also presented Lesley with an Avenues of Service pin and crystal.
 
We also welcomed prospective members John Farmery and Jean Turnbull and friend of Rotary Kamrun Jhol.
 
Lenka August report
Lenka has now been in Melbourne for 2 months and has begun to settle into school and family life.  Our sincere thanks to Carla and Scott Tatulaschwili and their boys for welcoming her into their lives.
 
Despite only being at MAC since July 21st, she has already completed SACs and multiple assignments.  Her marks have been outstanding!!
 
As well as attending multiple Rotary meetings, she has helped at BBQs, tree planting, at the VU Open Day, saw MAC Mamma Mia production, went to Healesville Sanctuary, 10 pin bowling and multiple football games thanks to her host brothers passion.
       
Read more...
Haruka Graduates
  Haruka formally graduated from University of Melbourne on 13th August.  
Lesley attended and met Haruka's mother and enjoyed the celebration with her.

            
Read more...
Haruka goes to the snow
Thanks to Stan and Vicki Teschke from Rotary Albert Park who facilitated Haruka to go to Mt Buller.
They negotiated with friends who live in Mansfield - whose wife is Japanese. Stan arranged & paid for Haruka to take the bus from Melbourne to Mansfield & return, as well as for her lift pass. She stayed with Johnno and his wife Yuki.  Many thanks Stan, Vicki, Johnno and Yuki.
 
     
Jo Walker visits Sputnik Orphanage
I spent three days at the Sputnik Girls Home in Kurunegala, in late June, at the end of a week’s holiday in Sri Lanka with my cousin.
Our driver/guide for the week was Kit Tennakoon, who had been the guide for Peter and Bev Cribb on their own visit to SL and thus came well recommended.  Kit has a Diploma in Archaeology and Cultural Tourism so his indepth knowledge was most appreciated during our visit to several UNESCO cultural sites.   Besides being an active freelance licensed tour guide, he is the Co-Chairman of the Girls’ Home as well as in charge of the Volunteer Program. He will also be accompanying our Club’s delegation in Sri Lanka at the end of September and he has been liaising with Peter to set up the itinerary.

The Girls’ Home has been operating since 2007 and is currently home for 20 destitute, abandoned and orphaned girls.  It provides more than just shelter; their comprehensive approach includes education, emotional support and skill development to help young girls overcome challenges and take a place in society.  I stayed in the Volunteers’ Guesthouse along with three Danish women who had been volunteers for 3-4 weeks. 
Read more...
Jay in Denmark
Jay is having a wonderful exchange and has made lots of friends. 
His first host mum, Tabita says Jay has settled in very well. He is just a gem of a student, embracing every opportunity and the Danish culture.
So proud of him, and happy that he is settling in well with the exchange program.
Tabita's daughter Madeleine exchanged to Rotary Portland in 2018.
He writes:
Thank you very much for sponsoring me, I am having the best time of my life.
I have friends from all over the world - Argentina, Spain, USA, Canada, Brazil and Mexico. 
They have all returned home now but I will be keeping touch with them. It has been a busy time with lots of goodbye parties.
I was able to travel to the parties by train and would then spend the night. Train travel is very expensive here and the trains finish early around 10:30pm .
We had around 25 exchange students but now we’re down to 4. The new group of students will arrive in August just before school starts again.
 
At the moment the sun goes down around 12:00pm and the comes up again at 3:00am. For me it’s very hard to sleep and I often get up at t 3:00am. 
Food in Denmark is good but very expensive.   A burger here costs 3 times what you would pay at home.
Alcohol is cheaper than it is at home - go figure.
My favourite Danish food is a Tarteletter - it’s like a chicken tart, puff pastry in a muffin form.
 
We’ve been on Eurotour and that was some of the best times in my life. We got to explore Europe basically on our own. It was amazing.  When we were in a city we were dropped off and told to be back before 10:30pm before it was dark.
Thanks for sponsoring me, I’m having the best time. I miss my friends and family but I like meeting new people.
Read more...
District Awards
At the District Governor Changeover luncheon n 5 July, our club was honoured to receive 3 awards for our work.
 
International Award for the Stroke Project in Sri Lanka, Youth Award for Ryda and Public Image Award.
    
 
President's Changeover
Our President's Changeover was a lovely evening where we were able to showcase and celebrate the year of Magic in Rotary.
We had the pleasure of welcoming some special guests:
District Governor Elect Peter Shepheard and his father Neil, David Dippie, Community Group Leader.
Other Rotarians in attendance were Larry and Susan Robb North Melbourne, Elizabeth Drozd Footscray, Debra Sloggett Keilor East and Denis O'Brien West Footscray.
Mr Nirajan Gauli, Consul General for Nepal and his wife, Mr Danny Pearson MP, Mr Nihal De Run and Mr Sathanantha Kirupanantha from the Sri Lanka BEAP Foundation, David Fisher and Dr Aedre Grant from FlemKen News,
Ilona Hamiton and Yen Dao from Djerring Hub, Chng Chan and Simeon Baker from MAC,
Ms Soreeyo Mohamed and her daughter representing the Puntland Somali community,
and Barbara Ryuan and Nahla Khadhir from the Op Shop.

District Governor Elect Peter Shepheard assisted with the induction of new member Frances Stratford.
Peter then assisted in the President Changeover ceremony with the handover of the chain of office to Melina Caccetta.   
                                            PHOTO ALBUM        PRESENTATION SLIDESHOW
Read more...
Rotary International President
The Rotary International Board, in accordance with our bylaws, has met to ensure continuity of leadership. 
The Board considered candidates from the pool considered by the nominating committee in 2023.
 
Francesco Arezzo of the Rotary Club of Ragusa, Italy has accepted the nomination to serve as Rotary International President for 2025–26.  The theme "Unite For Good" will remain.   

Francesco Arezzo has been a member of Rotary for more than 30 years and is a Benefactor of The Rotary Foundation.  He is an orthodontist with a practice in Sicily and is married with 2 children.
 
VALE Bob Allardice PHF

A champion in every sense and an exponent of Service Above Self: RORP leader extraordinaire. Member of the Rotary Club of Nunawading. Bob lost his battle with cancer overnight with his widow Coral beside him.  
 
Bob was the engine behind RORP in District 9815 and led District 9800 as well. His energy and belief in the program led to a huge growth in collections and shipping, resulting in thousands more children experiencing the joy of play.
Our sympathies to his widow Coral, family and members of the Rotary community.
Eid Al Adha at Djerring Hub
Despite the weather, 100's of people gathered at the Djerring Hub to celebrate Eid Al Adja.
A decision was made to move most activities indoors due to the cold and wet conditions - a slight hiccup to the BBQ, but as the weather cleared, we moved to the outdoor facility and cooked away.
 
Many thanks to John Sklenar, Karolina Sevcikova, Jo Walker and her 2 granddaughters Ava and Tilda who did most of the cooking.  We had some lovely young people assist with serving and had run out by 230pm.
It was a warm and joyous occasion where we were able to reconnect with so many friends.
         
Read more...
VALE Brian MacDougall
  It is with sadness that we record the passing of Brian MacDougall, partner of member Josie Magri.
Brian was a Past President of the Rotary Club of Pascoe Vale and a regular attendee at our events with Josie until poor health stopped this.
 
Brian had requested that there not be a funeral.
Neighbourhood Spirit Awards
Flemington Kensington Rotary was nominated for a MVCC Neighbourhood Spirit Award.
On 23 March, Lesley, Jo, Peter and Bev joined a large crowd at the Mediterranean Fiesta in Keilor East where the council awards were announced.
 
     
 
Among several other deserving nominees, we were recognised for our community work over the last 37 years.  Mayor Ava and councillors Samantha, Paula, Phil, John were on hand to make the presentations and speak to us.
 
Read more...
Cultural Diversity Week
We were delighted to be invited to take part in MVCC's Cultural Diversity Week celebrations at the Djerring Hub on 21 March.
Carolina, Chris, Jo, Lesley, Peter and Bev and Nahla were able to reconnect with many friends and colleagues including Hadia, Shadia and Dilek from the Hub; Ilona, Antoniette, Jacqui and Emma from Council as well as councillors Paula, Phil and Hamish.
 
            
Read more...
Container arrives at Jarriban
I am delighted to report that Peter Cribb, Abdi Hassan and I attended the formal welcoming ceremony of the container opening at Jarriban University in Somalia today.  online!!
There were several dignitaries in attendance including the Mayor, the Rector of the University, The Doctor in charge of the hospital, Dr Sayid Abdulle who has been so very helpful in sorting out issues, the Chief of Police, the community leaders and the women who worked with Soraya to advance the project.  The local TV station was filming too.  
 
Each speaker was profuse in their thanks to us, Donations in Kind, the Rotary Foundation and the Somali community in Australia who had helped raise funds.   When the doors were finally opened - after a struggle - we found that some of the contents had been misplaced, and boxes squashed - the journey must have been rough!.  But there was great excitement.    The container left Melbourne on 21 August and had a difficult and challenging journey via Dubai, then onto Bosasso, and then by truck to Jarriban.
                
 
 
Our sincere thanks to Richard Blakeman and the District 9800 Foundation committee for supporting us, to Donations in Kind and the team of Laurie, Frank, Colleen, Andy, Jim, Mark, Norm and Maurice who helped with booking dates, organising equipment and loading the container.  And most of all to Abdi, Mohammed, Soraya and Yasir who helped to raise a large amount of money towards the shipping costs from the community.
 
Quality photos and a report will be sent in coming weeks.
Read more...
Rotary Overseas Relocated Playground - Aberfeldie Park
Today was step #3 in the harvesting of this playground donated by Moonee Valley Council from Aberfeldie Park, Corio Street.
PP Peter Cribb took photos some weeks ago, and the plan was annotated and numbered.
 
This was a 2 part task:
  On Saturday, PP Shraddha Sharma and crew undertook the numbering and color coding to ensure accurate reassembly in the destination country.

This is a simple task where every individual element is numbered and color spotted but vital to allow for easy fabrication  - just like a Lego or Meccano set.  
Assisted by Nicole Marshall, Anwar Alishek,  Samira and Community Group leader David Dippie from Keilor East, they completed the job in less than 3 hours - good job in the heat team.
Then on the Monday, assisted by the contractors, Peter together with Drew Sheehan and John Sklenar loaded the individual items into the DiK truck for the trip to the storage facility in Rowville.
 
  Peter expressed his gratitude to Drew and John, and to the contractors from Activity Playgrounds who were invaluable.
Read more...
Sri Lanka Stroke Project Nagoda Teaching Hospital
The Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington in District 9800 partnered with the Rotary Club of Colombo District 3220,
the Australian Sri Lankan Association in Adelaide, RARE SA and Rotary Donations in Kind to deliver equipment
to outfit stroke units in 9 hospitals.
 
The first allocations went to the Teaching Hospital in Nagoda, in the Southern Province which received 20 hospital beds, 10 wheelchairs, 5 commode chairs, 2 syringe pumps, 2 transfer trolleys, 5 cupboards and 3 tables.
 
Dr Harsha Gunasekara reported that the hospital staff were delighted with these items, which have already made such a difference to patient care.
 
This project shows the strength in Rotary connections; the tentacles of reach which come together to have such impact, and our engagement with the broader community.
Read more...
Ramadan Eve BBQ Djerring Hub
We were asked to provide a BBQ for the after-school program at the Hub to acknowledge Ramadan.
Ilona the Team Leader for families organised sausages and supplies, there are 4 community barbecues
and so it was a simple task.
 
Many thanks to Drew and Jeff for their cooking expertise - assisted by Yen and Hadia we served over 350 sausages in just over 1 hour.  There was also a veggie option, lots of onions and of course sauces!!    
Smiles all around!                    
Read more...
Books to Kismayo Somalia
Following the very successful Books to the Maldives project, Abdi requested assistance for a similar project to be coordinated by his friend Abdihakim Kediye Ali.  Abdi2 as we refer to him is a graduate of VU with a Masters Degree in Environmental Science working with the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in Kismayo, Somalia.

These books will establish libraries in schools in Kismayo.
A container has been organised and is in place in St Albans where a large quantity of books were delivered by Peter Cribb, Abdi and friends 2 weeks ago.  These were collected from our connection Robert Akeroyd, who supplied the books for the Maldives.
Books have also been organised through Donations in Kind, and from the op Shop.
Our contibution is in people, books and school stationary and a small financial contribution towards shipping.  Thanks to Peter and Abdiwahid for their work.
Read more...
Rotary Leadership Institute - RLI
Congratulations to Abdi, Karolina and Nicole who participated in the Rotary Leadership Insttute {RLI} program at Djerring Hub last Sunday.  They joined 22 other Rotarians for a day of learning, sharing and networking to extend their Rotary knowledge.  Thanks to DGE Peter Shepheard for presenting certificates.
      
Moonee Valley Festival
Moonee Valley Festival day was hot!  Thankfully, our location, and marquee was under the shade of some good trees close to Mount Alexander Road.
We had a great team in action for the day:  Anwar and Lesley arrived early to bump in and set up the barbecue trailer, tables and displays.
Thanks to our Rotary Community Group leader David Dippie, we had a great display of club, community group adN Rotary posters and 3 handouts for those interested.

By 10am, the first  of the sausages were ready and so were the customers.  Business was steady all day with the usual lunchtime rush. Our drinks were very popular.
Ching Chan from MAC brought 3 of her year12 girls, Quinn, Regina and Levia along and they were a great help. These girls assisted at our Harmony Day BBQ at Djerring Hub last year, so knew what to do.
Thank you to John Sklenar, Deb Ryan, Chris Richardson, Karlina Sevcikova, Nicole Marshall, Peter Cribb, Abdi Hassan, Haruka Tanaka, Kidane and Lesley.
Fundraising on the day was shared with EAHA for the schools in the Kissala refugee camp.
READ MORE
Read more...
NATIONAL YOUTH SCIENCE FORUM
It was a fabulous endorsement of NYSF as our 2 students Charlotte and Simeon reported on their experiences at
Brisbane and Canberra. respectively   They were effusive in their comments, and delighted to have met so many likeminded young people.

Hosted by the Australian National University and assisted by Rotary Australia, the NYSF is a Nationwide program dedicated to inspiring the interests of Year 12 students in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Simeon attends Mount Alexander College in Flemington and he went to Canberra.
Charlotte attends Penleigh and Essendon Grammar and she chose to go to Brisbane.
Charlotte and Simeon were both inspired by their experience and have heard of so many STEM options for university of which they were unaware.
 
Our new member Chris Richardson, a member of the District NYSF team, was delighted to hear from them and see their obvious pleasure at attending NYSF.
Read more...
Op Shop support for the homeless
The Op Shop is pleased to assist Rotary Central Melbourne and their work with Youth Projects
for the homeless.  
Today Peter Duras visited and went away a very happy Rotarian with 3 huge bags filled with clothing and shoes.
This is a regular visit where the shop is able to donate excess clothing, and Peter is able to transport to another Rotary project.
 
The Magic of Rotary is connection, sharing and working together.
Books to Male - Australian High Commission
David Jessup, the Australian High Commissioner to the Maldives has sent through this report from DFAT’s Public Diplomacy update.
He says that they are really pleased at the reception the project has received both in Maldives and within DFAT.   I wanted to share this with you as the significant contribution from the Rotary Club of Flemington/Kensington to the project has been recognised here.
 
The donation of thousands of books to 29 schools and public libraries across 15 atolls in the Maldives will reap goodwill for Australia in Maldivian communities for years to come. Maldives has 187 inhabited islands, the majority of which have their own local schools with great unmet demand for books and teaching resources – by providing the books to schools and libraries, Australia responded to this need.
 
The books and school resources were collected by the Rotary Club of Flemington/Kensington in Melbourne, sourced from Rotary Donations in Kind, individual donations and a partnership with a former South Melbourne Market bookseller, Robert.
 
Post then leveraged its Maldivian connections to handle, sort, and distribute the books.
An Australia Awards alumna, Asima Abdul Gadir, led a team of volunteers that vetted, stamped, and organised the distribution of all the books to different communities.
Read more...
Rotary Youth Exchange Story #1
We farewelled Jay Tatulaschwili at Tullamarine Airport on Saturday evening January 18th.
His parents Carla and Scott, and his 2 younger brothers Tom and Max were there to say goodbye - a sad time for the boys.
District Governor Michael Lapina and DGE Peter Shepheard joined the group to wish them well.   See Michael's Magical Minute here.
 
Jay was accompanied on the first leg of his flight to Doha by a counsellor and 3 other outbound District 9800 students. 
The plane was full with a large contingent of students from the other Victorian Districts too: a busy plane!  
From Doha, Jay flew direct to Billund in Denmark.  Youth Exchange travel is managed by "Anywhere Travel:. a corporate travel group in NSW who have managed the travel program since 2016.
 
He was met at the airport by his Youth Counsellor from the Rotary Club of Odder, Tabita Ottesen.  Tabita's daughter Madeline was an inbound Youth Exchange student to Portland, Victoria in 2018-19.  Jay was delighted to meet their dog who has already adopted him.
 
Note the blazer - Jay already has a number of badges and pins and on return his blazer will be adorned from those he collects during the year.  You may remember seeing Hayden's blazer at his induction - covered with badges, pins, flags and mementoes.
 
Read more...
Empower Refugee Students Through Education: Support the EAHA Mission
 

Imagine a classroom filled with refugee students, eager to learn but uncertain of their future; and teachers who are also refugees, relying solely on tuition fees for their livelihood. When fees can’t be paid, education stops, and both students and teachers face hardship.  This is the situation at the refugee camp in Kassala, South Sudan.  UN Media

Your donation can change this. By contributing, you provide a lifeline for teachers to continue their work without interruption, and for students to receive the education they deserve. This program ensures stability and hope for all involved, creating a brighter future where learning never stops.  Together, we can break the cycle of uncertainty and empower a generation of refugees with knowledge and opportunity. Join us in making a lasting impact today.

Rotary is supporting fundraising with BBQ at Moonee Valley Festival on 22 February where all proceeds will go towards this project.

Read more...
Share the Dignity
Each year, our members support this program donating bags filled with toiletries, sanitary supplies and personal items.  The bags support women in need: those escaping domestic violence, experiencing homelessness or doing it tough.
Last week, Mel, Alex, Muna, Chris and Lesley packed bags with donations from our members, the club and from Donations in Kind.
30 filled bags were then dropped off to Jenni at Danny Pearson's office, our local agent.  Frank and Jono were happy to help carry them in.
    
RYE Blazer Presentation
Today was Blazer presentation for Jay Tatulaschwili, our outward-bound Youth Exchange student off to Denmark in January. 
It was an amazing afternoon where I heard from the current inbounds and the outbounds on their experiences.  Jay spoke in Danish giving his presentation - awesome, I didn't understand one word!
 
Lovely also to meet Jay's parents Carla and Scott.  Maria Silber from Rotary Footscray is Country Coordinator for Jay.  
Students fly out of Melbourne on 18 January 2025.
 
Read more...
Donations in Kind facilitates Lego for Christmas
Delivering Joy to children at Christmas!
Facilitated by Colleen at Donations in Kind, we were able to access a pallet load of new Lego which was donated to our many children's organisations.  DiK received 20 pallets which were bought for the cost of freight by 18 clubs across Victoria.
Our 2 cars with the boot, back seat and front seat full of boxes were collected on 28/11.
 
Peter and Lesley delivered toys and Lego to:                     
Ascot Vale Heights school
Bendigo Bank Christmas Toy Appeal
Flemington Hub Childrens programs
Kensington Community HS
The Venny
West Welcome Wagon
Wingate Avenue Maternal and Child Health Nurses
Read more...
Paul Harris Society lunch
Haruka and Lesley attended the Paul Harris Society lunch on Saturday.
Guest speakers were Global Scholars Lucienne Heyworth and Hyuga Nishimura. 

Lucienne was a Global Peace Scholar who completed a Masters degree at Uppsala in Sweden in 2014 and has since worked in some of the most difficult war-torn countries in the Middle East including Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon.
Hyuga is completing a PhD in Physical education and sport at VU focusing on migrant community engagement in sport. 
 
Also attending was Laura Coburn who has just been accepted as a Global Peace Scholar to Uppsala in 2025.
Past District Governors Julie Mason, Grant Hocking and Murray Verso spoke on the society, the Foundation, and Polio.
 
Haruka, Laura and Hyuga.                                                                                  Laura, Lucienne, Hyuga and Haruka.                                            PDG Julie Mason, PDG Grant Hocking, Laura, Lucienne, Hyuga, Haruka and PDG Murray Verso
        
 
Paul Harris Society members contribute $US1000 annually to the Foundation, usually in monthly instalments. 
These funds are a major component of our education and humanitarian aid programs. 

Please consider this contribution to our own charity, the Rotary Foundation which has just been recognised as one of Charity Navigator's top charities for the 16th year in a row. 
LEGO, LEGO everywhere!!
Rotary Donations in Kind was offered 20 pallets of Lego through GOOD360in Sydney. 
DiK Inc member clubs {of which we are one} were offered this for the cost of freight from Sydney. 
We took up the offer with the large number of organizations and children's groups we support across our area.
 
Last week, Peter Cribb and Lesley McCarthy collected a pallet worth of boxes, that was 2 cars full:
the boot, backseat and some in the front. 
The Lego was delivered to our recipients:
Bendigo Bank and the West Welcome Wagon Christmas Appeal,
The Venny,
Flemington Hub Childrens Program,
Kensington Community High School,
Ascot Vale Heights Special School,
Maternal and Child Health Nurses at Wingate Avenue.
Read more...
MAC Awards evening
Monday 25th November was the Awards celebration at the Clocktower for this year's Mount Alexander College students.  It was a fabulous evening run but the student leaders who showed off their skills in force.  What wonderful leaders in the community they are.  Thanks to Chris Richardson for coming along to share the joy with me.
 
I presented the club awards for this year to:
Del King Scholarship to a Year 10 student covering school expenses for the 2 years of VCE:  Ayah Omah
Ted Frank Award for a year 12 student excelling in mathematics/legal studies/economics and planning to study this area at university: Toby Pederson
Current Del King scholars Nasteho Salaat and Sarah Alman were also recognised with awards.
 
Rotary Leadership Institute
It was a very hot day at the Moonee Valley Council's Djerring Hub in Flemington where the Rotary Leadership Institute program ran Face to Face for the first time since before COVID. 
In the meantime, we have offered the program online over 3 days but have now brought it down to a full day.
 
RLI covers the history and back story of Rotary with some interesting timeline events. There are focussed sessions on club service,  the Areas of Focus, planning and funding projects; the Rotary Foundation, Leadership, and publicity and marketing; and with a snapshot of My Rotary and the Service Project Centre {formerly Rotary Showcase}.

A detailed workbook supports the materials presented and allows participants to include their own reflections and notes for future reference.

President Elect Melina was one of the 32 very excited Rotarians attended and participated in discussions, networking and Rotary learning facilitated by PDG Julie Mason and our President Lesley McCarthy.
 
Congratulations Melina on graduating!   We will be running another session in February 2025.
 
Read more...
Welcome Hayden Smith
What a joyful evening meeting we had at Riverside on 20 November.

We welcomed Hayden Smith as a member:  Hayden is a former Rotary Youth Exchange participant who went to Belgium sponsored by the Rotary Club of Mt Warning, District 9640 in 2012.
 
Also attending, Ms Ching Chan from MAC along with NYSF student Simeon; RYE 2025 Jay who is off to Denmark, RCG leader David Dippie who gave an amazing toast to Rotary as well as Chris Richardson, Frances Stratford and Adam Vaid.
 
A feature of the evening was the opportunity for members to contribute their Rotary Moments,
What Rotary Means to You and Club Projects which inspire.  We heard from several attendees who all had inspirational stories to share, thank you all.
 
Peter Cribb updated us on Books to the Maldives, Abdi and Mohammed shared the latest on the container to Puntland, Shraddha and Jo reported on RYDA and Lesley reminded us all of coming events.
 
Zone Conference in Queenstown NZ
I was delighted to be in a position to attend the Rotary Zone 8 conference in Queenstown 1-3 November.  It was a pleasure to rub shoulders with fellow Kiwis and other Rotarians from the South Pacific.  I enjoyed catching up with DG Michael Lapina, DGE Peter Shepheard and PDG Murray Verso. 
 
RI President Elect 2025-26, Mário CĂ©sar Martins de Camargo from RC Santo AndrĂ©, SĂŁo Paulo, delivered the opening address outlining his goals for the coming year and emphasising that membership growth was his number one priority!   His concern is that many countries show declining membership such as USA, Canada, UK and Australia, the latter by 36%!   Countries that have remained stagnant are Brazil, Mexico and Italy, and those that have grown are Taiwan (127%), India, Philippines and Korea.  
This was followed by the extraordinary speaker Jason Browne whom I had seen in Houston at the RI International Convention 2022 when he was MC.  He is also a Rotarian (Past President of the Downtown Rotary Club of State College PA, USA).   Jason has presented to Rotarians around the world at various District Conferences, membership conferences, Presidents-Elect Training Seminars, Rotary International Conventions and online conferences. 
His presentation focused on regionalisation and he encouraged everyone to take advantage of the opportunities that this will bring.
Read more...
Rotary Youth Driver Awareness
Held at the Melbourne Greyhound Racing Arena in Broadmeadows, this was an invaluable and informative experience for all of us whether young or older.

Our thanks to Transurban for the grant to cover bus costs.
 
 
Presented by Anton, Karen and the team, students from MAC moved through 6 fast paced and challenging sessions where they learnt about personal responsibility, knowing themselves as drivers, speed, braking and distances, crashes and investigating the reasons, how fatigue and state of mind impacts on your driving, phones and distractions, car safety features and risk awareness.
 
Students were engaged, cooperative and participated in a number of role plays and group activities throughout the day.  The speed, braking and crash demonstrations were excellent: speed, mass, distance =??

Thanks to the teachers for their work.  Shraddha, John, Jo, Drew, Jess and Lesley assisted with supervision and student care.  PHOTO ALBUM
Peter Cribb Victorian Seniors Awards
Thursday 24 October saw PP Peter Cribb accompanied by wife Bev, children Gavin and Meredith
and friends join with our members at the Victoria Seniors Awards at Government House.  Peter was nominated and recognised for his many years of volunteer service and his inspiring leadership of so many Rotary programs and activities.
 
President Lesley, Past President Shraddha, Beate, Anway and Sadya were thrilled to be there to witness this momentous event.  Peter sat next to another recipient, 94 year old Jack Cooper from Rotary Mordialloc and we also met Keith from Boronia Rotary with his wife.
 
The awards were presented by Lieutenant-Governor of Victoria, His Excellency the Honourable Professor James Angus AO alongside the Victorian Minister for Ageing, the Honourable Ingrid Stitt and the Honourable Jacinta Allan, Premier of Victoria.
Read more...
2024 RYPEN
The District 9790 and 9800 RYPEN Camp took place this weekend at Camp Getaway at Axedale.  
20 participants enjoyed team building, initiative and social/ emotional activities over the weekend with beautiful weather in a lovely location.
Many thanks to the District youth team stalwarts Bronwyn Fanning, Suzanne Zammit, Sally Armstrong and others for their efforts.
We sponsored Cosmo Pitts and Chloe from MAC.
Other clubs sponsoring were the Rotary Clubs of Broadmeadows, Euroa and Kinglake from 9790 and Bacchus Marsh, Bendigo, Brighton, Eaglehawk, Eynesbury, North Melbourne and Port Phillip from 9800 ho gave participants the opportunity to take part.
Read more...
Peter Cribb Forklift driver superb
Peter has joined with 6 other volunteers at Donations in Kind in achieving his forklift driver licence.

The atmosphere buzzed with excitement and anticipation as they learned the ins and outs of operating these powerful machines.After two days of hands-on training and teamwork, the moment of truth arrived: all six volunteers passed the course with flying colours! Their hard work and determination paid off, and the sense of accomplishment was palpable.

Well done Peter and the other dedicated volunteers - this will ensure that the load doesn't just fall on one or two.

The DIK team couldn’t have been prouder. Thanks to the newfound skills of these volunteers, the warehouse now had enhanced capacity, allowing for more efficient movement of the vast array of goods. With their collective efforts, the team was poised to make an even greater impact in the community.Run by a WorkSafe expert trainer, the training was thorough and included OH&S, basics of safety using a forklft and checks prior to and postuse.

Breakfast meeting  2 October
Mama Bear was again the venue for a positive and enjoyable meeting as we welcomed some new members.  
 
This was Deborah Ryan's first meeting as a new member after her induction on 18 September and she was joined by fellow Op Shop volunteer Fran Stratford.  Hayden Smith also joined us along with partner Jess.  Hayden has applied for membership after experiencing such a warm welcome during the DG visit.  A former youth exchange student, Hayden and Jess were able to meet several members who had not been able to attend.
Also joining us today, Adam Vaid, a friend of Shraddha's who is interested in Rotary,
         
 
It was good to welcome back Josie who has been unwell and Haruka who has been very busy with her studies.
Lesley congratulated John and Anna Sklenar on the birth of their 5th grandchild, a boy Luka born on 27/9 , 3rd child for daughter Ann and husband Ante.  Luka joins Nicholas and Maja.  John's son John and his wife Melissa have 2 girls; Emma 3 and Ava 2 months.    
 
She also put out a call for help at 3  upcoming events:
Bunnings BBQ Saturday 9 November  9-4
RYDA Tuesday 12 November in Broadmeadows 9.30-2.30
MVCC Carols in Queens Park Saturday 7 December 4-8
Read more...
District Governor's Club visit
Wednesday 18 September we gathered at the Riverside Golf Club in Ascot Vale for the traditional
District Governor's visit.  Accompanied by DGE Peter Shepheard and Alex Lapina, President of Rotary Activate, Michael was warm and friendly, inspiring us with his speech on The Magic of Rotary and how to make Rotary and clubs irresistible.  
 
There were many highlights on this special   night:
1.  President Lesley announcing that Peter Cribb has been shortlisted for a Victorian Senior of the Year Award.
2.  Presentation of a RI Presidents citation to PP Shraddha.
3.  Welcome to new member Deborah Ryan and her induction bythe DG.
4.  Welcome to prospective member Hayden Smith, a former Exchange student.
5.  4 youth participants attending - Simeon Butler and Charlotte Marshall Pearson who will attend NYSF in January, Ava {Jo's granddaughter} who is off to RYPEN in October and Sarah Alman, our Del King Scholar.
6.  Duncan Hillier from MAC, Maria Silber Rotary Footscray, Chris Richardson Rotary Essendon North and Susan Robb Rotary North Melbourne.
 
Drew Sheehan was MC for the evening and managed a late and delayed agenda as everyone was having so much enjoyment chatting and catching up on the news.  Thanks to Nicole Marshall for the Acknowledgement of Country - always reliable, it rolls off her tongue with no hesitation.
 
Geoff and Dulcie, Peter and Bev, Beate and Karolina had lots to discuss although we were sad to miss Len who is recovering from pneumonia.  
Melina hosted an Op Shop table as we welcomed Frances Stratford, another volunteer, and Deborah's husband Kevin to share the celebrations.
Jeff hosted the youth table with Nicole and Charlotte, Duncan and Simeon and Chris.
Susan Robb provided several moments of delight as she spoke on The Big Serve, and Alex Lapina and Drew showed off their skills with te big racquets.
 
Ava helped Drew with the raffle - won by Chris Richardson, Deborah Ryna, Jeff Weitzel and Drew.  These funds will go to our End Polio event.
 
Welcome Deborah Ryan
Deborah Ryan, a long time volunteer at the Op Shop has been inducted as a
member of Flemington Kensington Rotary.
 
During his annual District Governor club visit, Michael Lapina read the full
 induction speech and welcome dDeborah to the family of Rotary.
 
Watching on, her proud husband Kevin, Op Shop Manager and Deborah's sponsor Melina Caccetta, and several Op Shop volunteers as well as members, family and friends.
 
Deborah is a Bayswater Road Kensington resident and has volunteered at several charitable organisations over the years. 
Books have arrived in the Maldives
 Peter Cribb received the welcome news that the 10 pallets of books and stationery have arrived in Male.  They have now been transported to storage and await dispersal.
 
David Jessup, High Commissioner for the Maldives who initiated this project with Peter and funded shipping sent through this photo.
 
Thanks to Robert Akeroyd for his substantial donation.
Stroke hospital support Sri Lanka
Dr Harsha has advised of dispersal of the 2 containers filled with hospital beds and assorted
medical equipment and consumables.
Goods will be sent to 9 different hospitals.
 
The hospitals receiving beds and assorted items are:                         
Hambantota                                                                                             
pura
Embilipi
Jaffna 
Kandy
Polonnaruwa
Ragama 
Nagoda
Sri Jayewardene
Read more...
2024 - Djerring Hub 1st birthday
One year after the amazing opening the Djerring Hub turns 1.  What a celebration and acknowledgement of the importance of such a place in our community.  MVCC CEO Helen Sui addressed the large attendance and welcomed all with a Welcome to Country to indigenous elder Tony.
 
Nicole Marshall, Lesley McCarthy, Jo Walker and Karolina Sevcikova attended and renewed acquaintance with many local community members including Hadia, Shadia and Edem as well as Chris Richardson {Essendon North}. Cathy Connop, Boyd Maplestone, Frank Di Noto and others.
 
 
 
 
  Happy
    Birthday
      Hub!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As well as speeches by Mayor Pierce Tyson and Cr Rose Iser, we heard from some of the amazing women who graduated from the Womens Leadership Program. 
Read more...
Youth Fest with EAHA
We were blessed with great weather for this year's Youth Fest run by Moonee Valley Council at Queens Park. 
Collaborating with EAHA {the Eritrean Australian Humanitarian Association} to raise funds for the school in the Kassala refugee camp in Sudan, members took the opportunity for some fun and fellowship along with sausages!
 
Anwar and John Sklenar were organised early and were soon joined by Nicole Marshall, Jeff Weitzel and Lesley McCarthy.  Then along came Peter Cribb and Jo Walker with her granddaughter Ava. 
We were delighted to renew acquaintance with Louise Olliff. Sadya and Nohla from EAHA too.
 
Drew Sheehan brought Haruka Tanaka along and soon Shraddha Sharma joined us too.
Later in the afternoon we were fortunate to be joined by District Governor Michael Lapina with DGE Peter Shepheard and Alex Lapina who all had a turn at the BBQ.
 
Although the day was quieter than expected, we had lots of conversations, sold lots of food {all options catered for - Halal, vegetarian, gluten free} and shared Rotary.
 
Funds raised cover the costs of teacher's salaries at the school.                                           PHOTO ALBUM
$10 for 1 day, $50 for a week.
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month
Literacy is at the heart of basic education for all, and is essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.    Literacy is a significant and specific goal for Rotary.   It is so important that it is one of the 7 areas of focus for The Rotary Foundation and has the month of September dedicated to it.
Everyone has the right to learn to read, write and enjoy the power, pleasures and independence of being literate. For some the journey will be easy, for others it will take much hard work and unfortunately for approximately 18 percent of today’s world population, it will never happen.
 
Consider these facts; 
* More than 775 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate. That’s 17 percent of the world’s adult population. 
*  If all women completed primary education there would be 66% fewer maternal deaths,
*  A child born to a mother who can read is more likely to survive after the age of five,
*  If all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills,
171 million people would be lifted out of poverty, which would be an equivalent to a 12% cut in world poverty 
 
    Read more...
    Report on NGO Visits to Siraha and Udayapur: Back to School Program NEPAL
     
    The visit to Siraha and Udayapur was an eye-opening experience, revealing the stark realities
    faced by marginalized communities in accessing education. The resilience and dedication of local NGOs like Dalit JanaKalyan Yuba Club and the Social Transformation Network are commendable. Despite limited resources, their commitment to improving educational outcomes for Dalit and marginalized children is inspiring.
     
    The Siraha District is bordered with Saptari district in the east, Udayapur districting the north, Bihar state of India in the south and Dhanusa district in the west. Majority of the population here is Kushwaha(Mahato/Singh), Yadav, Tharus, Sahs(sahukar), Muslims and ethnic minorities.
     
    It is evident that a multi-faceted approach is required to address the barriers to education in these regions. Infrastructure improvements, teacher support, and community engagement are critical components of a successful Back to School program. Collaboration with local stakeholders and continuous advocacy will be essential to create a lasting impact.
     
    As we move forward, it is crucial to maintain the momentum and support the local NGOs in their efforts. By working together, we can ensure that every child, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to receive a quality education and build a better future.
    Read more...
    Maribyrnong Valley Community Group combine for National Tree Day
    National Tree Day was the perfect opportunity for the clubs of the new Maribyrnong Valley Community Group to come together. 
    Partnering with Moonee Valley Council on the habitat and wildlife corridor development along the Maribyrnong River at Ascot Vale, Rotarians and friends joined with other community groups to plant 6,000 seedlings today. 
    These will provide habitat and food for the native birds, small animals and insects which call this corridor home.  Leading from north of Melbourne Airport through to Royal Park and the Yarra River, the corridor provides a route for birds and insects to roam and supports the health of the river and those creatures which live there.
     
    A display of posters developed by RCG leader David Dippie showcased the projects of Rotary focussing on the environment, youth and local club projects.  
    Members from Footscray and Keilor East Rotary provided the BBQ and fed the hungry planters after their work was done.
     
    Presidents from Brunswick Tullamarine, Flemington Kensington, Keilor East and North Melbourne were joined by District Governor Michael Lapina and Alex and DGE Peter Shepheard in discussions on the day and future connections.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    District Governor Changeover
    Sunday 30th June was a magical event at Ultima in Keilor when District Governor Ron Payne
    handed over to incoming Governor Michael Lapina.
     
    Members of Rotary Wyndham had done an amazing job decorating the grand ballroom with all things magical including Hogwarts hats on each table, playing cards, magic tricks and streamers.
    We were treated to amazing music courtesy of Eleanor Blythman and Raphael Wong - with the addition of Michael AND his family.
     
    Flemington Kensington Rotary was awarded a District Recognition - Youth for the L2P program.  
     
    A large number of awards were made which will be listed in the next edition of Networker.
    Highlights were the presence of Past RI President Iain Riseley and Juliet, and former Zone 8 Director Jessie Harman and Andrew who presented Major Donor recognitions - including to Lesley.
     
     
     
     
    Club Presidents Changeover
    Friday 21st June was a wonderful celebration of our club's year and the impact we have had in communities both local and international.
     
    Drew Sheehan chaired the evening where President Shraddha Sharma celebrated our work in the presence of a number of distinguished guests including District Governor Ron Payne and Deb, Assistant Governer Tony Laycock, Danny Pearson MP, Consul General for Sri Lanka, Mr. Sandith Samarasinghe, Mr Nihal De Run and Mr Sathanantha Kirupanantha from the BEAP Foundation, Laure Fisher and Sondra, Cr Katrina Hodgson, Moonee Valley Council. 

    Also joining us were our ARH scholar Catherine Johnson, Yasin Farah, Puntland/Somali Association, Cathy Connop from Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Danni von der Borch - The Venny, Katie Hester, Live for Lily and Dr Francis Aquah MHFA.
    We were delighted to welcome Rotarians David Jones and Kevin Walsh from Balwyn, David Dipppie and Deb Sloggett from Keilor East, Larry and Susan Robb from North Melbourne and Peter Boudville from Brunswick Tullamarine.
     
    PHOTO ALBUM                              PRESENTATION                          
     
    Read more...
    Books to the Maldives
     We are very grateful to Robert Akeroyd for his generous donations of hundreds of books for this project.   
    Pictured here with Peter Cribb and John Sklenar who presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation.
     
    The High Commissioner to the Maldives, David Jessup and his wife spoke to Peter and Bev on their recent visit and made a request for books for schools in the remote atolls.  Peter grasped the opportunity and has used all his contacts to source materials.
     
    Peter, John, Shradd, Jo, Abdi and Lesley have spent many hours collecting, sorting and repacking books.  The 4 pallets are now shrink wrapped and will join 4pallets of children's books donated by Bronwyn and team in the education aisle, and a pallet of school and student stationery items.
     
    Read more...
    Establishing Stroke Units in Sri Lanka
    Sri Lanka has a very high incidence of people suffering a stroke yet just 74 dedicated stroke beds across 9 hospitals in the whole country.  Access to a stroke unit is possible for about 14% of sufferers - in high income countries it is 91%. See report.
     
    Dr Harsha Gunasekara, President of the National Stroke Association of Sri Lanka reached out to his contacts at the Rotary Club of Columbo, PDG Senake Ameresinghe and PDG Pubudu De Goysa who spoke with our own PP Peter Cribb for help.
    Our club then adopted this as a project and Peter set about establishing just what was needed and what could be supplied.
     
    The results part 1:
    Last Saturday a team of 20 members of the Australian Sri Lanka Association of SA loaded hospital beds and a range of other equipment and consumables for shipment.  Funds for shipping came from ASLA and their donors {plus a donation from Jim and Liz Alvery who supported the first playground to Sputnik.    Photo gallery
     
    Part 2:
    The container was loaded at Donations in Kind, funded by our club.  Shipping mid June.
     
    Read more...
    Trivia Night success
    There was nothing trivial about the trivia event organised by Secretary Mel Caccetta.
    Held at Flem Ken Bowling Club, over 260 participants vied for the amazing prizes on offer, thanks to our very generous sponsors.
    With participants from Keilor East Rotary, Rotaract, Farnham Street Neighourhood Learning Centre, Kensington Neighbourhood House, the Abbey Solo Foundation , Kensington City Soccer Club and local community, this was a truly widespread community gathering.
    Congratulations to the winners: "Some Mothers Do Have Them" led by Nicole Marshall.  They are serious trivia nerds.
    in second place were Kensington Community and 
    Third was the team from the Abby Solo Foundation.
     
    This event would not have been possible without the generous support of Drew at Flem Ken Bowling Club, Liliana at Bunnings Maribyrnong, Grant at Cheaper Buy Miles, Jim at BoxCar Barbers, Leanne at Pin Oak Berr & Wine Bar, Shraddha Sharma and friends.  Many thanks also to Phil - our quiz master, and our helpers on the night: Alex De Bortoli, Sarah Alman, Muna Ahmed, Sarah Briggs and Rebecca.
    Read more...
    MHFA for cultural backgrounds
    We're thrilled to wrap up an empowering 4-day, 2-week Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Training open to our community! The energy and engagement from our cohort were truly remarkable, and we couldn't have done it without each participant's invaluable contribution.
    A special shoutout and heartfelt thanks go to our dedicated members #district9800 #Rotary #rotaryflemington for their unwavering support throughout the training.
     
    Big gratitude also goes to #SugarbeatCafe on Langs road for their delicious catering, keeping us fueled and focused, and, of course, to Dr. Francis from the #PostiveWellnessCommunityCentre for his exceptional facilitation, guiding us through essential insights and practices.
    Below, we're thrilled to share individual snapshots of the participants receiving their well-deserved Certificates of Completion.
    Each one represents a commitment to creating a more mentally healthy and supportive community.
     
    Thanks to Mohammed for assisting with presentations.   
    Read more...
    Peter Cribb opens playgrounds in Sri Lanka
    Since 2018 Rotary Colombo has partnered with us and several clubs in Victoria Australia to receive and install playground equipment to deserving schools around Sri Lanka.
    On a recent trip to Sri Lanka, PP Peter Crib and Beverly attended and assisted at the opening ceremonies at two schools in Anuradhapura and Nikeweratiyq.

    PDG Senaka has been instrumental in coordinating this project on behalf of Rotary Colombo and over the last 6 years playground equipment has been installed at around 50 schools and enjoyed by 1000s of children!  Playground equipment has been currently procured to carry out the same at 10 more schools in coming months.
    Read more...
    Banner exchange from Rotary Male'
    PP Peter Cribb has just returned from a trip to Sri Lanka and took the opportunity to attend the Rotary Club of Male' in the Maldives.
     

    He presented this club banner to our representative Alex on his return.

    The President of the Rotary Club of Male' Aimon Jameel has asked for our assistance sending books to schools in the remote northern atolls.
     
     
    Congratulations John Sklenar



     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Past President 2000-2001, Paul Harris Fellow, Jim Hosie Award recipient,    
    BBQ champion, DiK helper, playground removalist.
    DiK Supports Bellarine Farmers Group
    PP Alan Bruno sent through a request for assistance for the Bellarine Agricultural Society, a group he is now working with.  They needed chairs for their clubrooms and events.  So off to Donations in Kind we go.
    Thanks to Frank and Anyd, the chairs were ready to collect today so John Sklenar and I joined Alan. 
    Len Seddon also turned up to meet and it was good to catch up with Paul Perrottet again.
    Another feel good story where DiK can support local community service groups.
     
         
    Read more...
    International Womens Day at MVCC
    Friday 8th May was Moonee Valley Council's International Women's Day breakfast at the Clocktower.
    Our club sponsored 6 students and 2 staff members from Mount Alexander College.  They were Principal Dani Angelico, teacher Sarah Radford and students - our Del King scholar Sarah, with Olivia, Justine, Kari, Elicia and Talia.

    The panel speakers were excellent and discussed " Count her in"  Invest in Women, Accelerate progress" and this resonated deeply with everyone in attendance.  The panelists, representing a diverse range of women from various backgrounds and stages of their career and entrepreneurship journeys, truly embodied the theme.
       
     
    With Karolina, Nicole and Charlotte, Shraddha and Nina, Haruka.
    Read more...
    Harmony Day at Djerring Hub
    Moonee Valley Council celebrated Harmony Day on Friday 1 March with a magnificent community event at the Djerring Hub.
    With entertainment, food, coffee, community stalls and a celebratory atmosphere this was a fabulous evening.
    Congratulations Sarah Ferdowski for all your effort and for gathering such a great team.
     
    We were delighted to welcome Ms Ching Chan and 11 international students from Mount Alexander College to share our BBQ.
    The students were just amazing, Jeff and I had little to do except organise!
    Thanks to Marvin, Alvin, Sinhhout, Danyal, Quinn, Kitty, Tru, Regina , Levia, Aaron and James for your participation.
     
       
     
    Read more...
    Moonee Valley Festival
    We had a great day at the Moonee Valley Festival last week partnering with our friends at the Eritrean Australian Humanitarian Association -EAHA.  They are raising funds for the school in the refugee camp at Kassala, South Sudan.
    Gorgeous sunshine a clear space and a fabulous crowd made this a wonderful day.
     
    Daga and John were champion cooks and had the hotplate sizzling early. 
    Soon it was the turn of Anwar and Abdi to take over with help from Peter.  Karolina and Nicole were stuck with the onions - but no tears, this was for a very good cause. 
     
    Shraddha came to the rescue with Pay ID for electronic payments, and then Mel brought along the eftpos machine - phew that was $1200 we wouldn't have had otherwise.
     
    We were delighted to welcome Haruka Tanaka, our Global scholar and Viv from the e-Rotaract club who came along to help out.
      We were also treated to delicious Eritrean food thanks to Sarah and Sophia.
     
    Fellowship, Service, collaboration and fun - that's Rotary!
     
         
    Read more...
    Lorry Rowe on Philippines Trip
    Lorry Rowe, former manager of our Werribee Op Shop is again in the Philippines with her son Shane. 
    She is visiting several Rotary Clubs and participating in a number of activities to support True Manila and the street kids.  Our club has again contributed to the back to school and food programs, dental health.
    Lorry has so far attended several Rotary meetings and events and has donated to True Manila programs, Rotary Club of Mactan, Rotary Cabanatuan City and The Inner Wheel Cabanatuan City Club.
     
    At 80 years young, Lorry climbed the Mount Pinatubo Trail.  See the video https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=743111081118602
    and participated in a fundraising FunRun.    She epitomises service above self.
    Read more...
    Container to Puntland Somalia
    The Jarriban Hospital in Puntland is in desperate need of hospital equipment and medical supplies.
    Members Abdi Hassan and Mohammed Abbas Oar are leading this project to send a container to Jarriban.
    Our request is in the queue at Donations in Kind with an ETD of March 2024.
     
    The club previously sent a container in 2014 which was gratefully received and has made a huge difference to the community. However, war, famine and drought have continued to challenge people here and the need is great.
     
    Shipping is expensive so funding is sought from donors - Jama Farah from Rotary Footscray has successfully raised funds for 3 containers using this crowdfunding site.  Please share.
     
     
    District Governor's visit to the club
    Wednesday 15th November saw District Governor Ron Payne and Deb visit the Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington.
    Also joining us on this evening were our 3 RYPEN students from Mount Alexander College, Claude, Emily and Tara with Claude's father Nicholas and Tara's mother Christine.
    We were also joined by Honorary Member Dulcie Heard, our Global Grant scholar Haruka Tanaka and prospective member Herve Carlos who attended our changeover.   Anne Heyes brought along Cathy Connop from the Farnham Street Neighourhood Learning Centre: Cathy has been a regular visitor and Anne recently completed a workplace placement there.  Op Shop Manager Melina brought a volunteer Deb who has also visited in the past.
     
    Ron spoke to members about Create Hope in the World and the four Rotary priorities: 
    increasing our impact, expanding our reach, enhancing participant engagement, and increasing our ability to adapt.  He also encouraged us to thinks about flexibility in membership opportunities.
     
    He then presented President Shraddha with the Rotary International President's Citation for 2022-2023 and our Foundation Donor banner.
     
    May be an image of 2 people and text  May be an image of 2 people and text  
    Read more...
    Paul Harris Foundation breakfast
    Lesley McCarthy accompanied Global Grant Scholar Haruka Tanaka to the Rotary Club of Central Melbourne Foundation breakfast at the Savoy Hotel on 21 November.
    Also at our table, Globa Grant Scholars Hikaru Sato hosted by Rotary Glenferrie, Ayase Ishizuka  hosted byRotary Alberty Park and PhD scholar Guillaume Gersdorff hosted by Central Melbourne.  Ayose has just finished the same course that Haruka is sudying and Hikaru is studing for a Masters in Public Health.
     
    Guest Speaker Peter Hitchener OAM, spoke of his time at Channel 9, his work with Sir Eric Pearce and Brian Naylor, and the old Bendigo Street Richmond site.  Peter is a regular visitor to Japan and greeted the scholars in very good Japanese, chatting t them for some time.
     
    With PDG Grant Hocking and DG Ron Payne.
     
    Royce Abbey Dinner
    Lesley McCarthy, Royce Abbey Award no. 417 was delighted to attend this year's dinner where the 500th Royce Abey Award was presented.
    Held at Windy Hill, the room was filled with recipients, club and district representatives and member of Essendon Rotary including the very first Royce Abbey awardee Michael Moloney.
    David Abbey gave a heartfelt tribute to his mother Jean who was a staunch supporter of Royce and the program.
     
    The guest speaker PDG Murray Verso gave a Polio update which the good news that cases are again low and mainly restricted to Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Sadly he also reported on continued outbreaks of the Vaccine derived virus in a number of African countries.
     
     
    The surprise of the night was the presentation of not 1, but 2 editions of badge number 500: 500A and 500B to .....
     
    PDG Murray Verso and PDG Dennis Shore, a trustee of the Rotary Foundation.
    Two very deserving recipients.
     
     
     
     
    Member Behind the Badge - Peter Cribb
    Peter Theodore Cribb was inducted as a member on 5 April 2006nominated by PP Allan Bruno. 
    He was Club President in 2009-2010 following on from Mark Ingram.
     
    Peter has been recognized for his efforts with Paul Harris awards in 2010, 2012, 2019, and a PHF with 3 sapphires in 2021.  He has contributed to the Rotary Foundation annually since 2009 and is EREY  banner eligible.
     
    During his years as a member, he has introduced 5 new members: Anwar Alishek, Anne McMahon, Barbara Champion, Abdi Hassan and Mohammed Abbas Omar.
     
    Peter is honoured for his efforts in the Flemington Neighbourhood Renewal Project, as a Board Member of the local Bendigo Bank and for his efforts in establishing the Op Shop, the RoadStart driving Program and the Rotary Overseas Recycled Playgrounds project amongst other activity.
     
        
     
    Read more...
    Paul Harris Society lunch
    Haruka and Lesley attended the Paul Harris Society lunch last weekend.
    The Paul Harris Society comprises Rotarians who donate $US 1000 annually to the Rotary Foundation for as long as they are able.
    Members gather several times each year to hear from those who have benefitted from the Foundation through a Peace or Global Grant scholarship, a grant or through a Vocational project. 
    This was a wonderful opportunity for Haruka to be introduced to the Foundation and our district representatives who supported her application.
     
    This meeting's speaker was Hannah Gandy who has recently returned from studying a masters degree in law at University College London.  Hannah studi8ed her undergraduate degree in law at LaTrobe University and is now working at the Centre for Multicultural Youth.  She is focussing on social justice. She shared with us the difficult and traumatic childhood she experienced and how she overcame disadvantage to reach this goal.
     
    Past District Governor Grant Hocking, Foundation Chair, spoke about the work of the Foundation in our district and the scholars we have sponsored. 
     
    PDG Murray Verso then gave an update on End Polio and the vital role Rotary has played in eradication through vaccines, delivery, volunteers, the partnership with the Bill Gates Foundation and financial support through the Foundation.
     
     
    Read more...
    Haruka goes to the Royal Melbourne Show
    On the public holiday, I took Haruka along to the show.  She had a wonderful experience 
    and it was hard to identify what were going to be the best areas to introduce her to.
     
    We started with the animals - she loved this, and was very keen to try to pick up a hen.   The roller coaster looked too scary for her - it was much bigger than those she had seen in Japan, with lots more hills and twists so we went gentle.  She loved the dodgem cars, tried her hand at shooting and throwing games - and won a monkey.
     
    You cannot go to the show without show bags so we did look at those and she decided on 2.
    Unfortunately, she isn't yet used to our weather, and did get sunburnt but now knows to wear a hat and sunscreen.
     
    This was a great day out and another experience to add to her list.

                
    Launch of the L2P car
    Moonee Valley Council's Youth Fest Day was the perfect opportunity to launch the new L2P car sponsored by Flemington Kensington Rotary.
     
     District Governor Ron Payne and Deb joined with members, MVCC L2P Coordinator Emma Phillips, Mayor Pierce Tyson, Cr Rose Iser and community to cut the ribbon and free the wheels. 
     
     
     
     
     
             
     
     
    This project has been almost 2 years in the planning and result, impacted by COVID and legalities but is now ready to hit the ground and provide access for young people to obtain the necessary 120 hours of supervised driving practice.  Additional mentors are needed to provide the supervision and all members are encouraged to spread the word.
     
    This opportunity follows on from our club's successful RoadStart initiative led by PP Peter Cribb in 2013 and launched at Debney Park with then Minister for Transport, Terry Mulder.   At that time, the program was to assist migrants, particularly women, obtain a license.
    Read more...
    Opening of the Djerring Flemington Community Hub
    The day was brilliant and had a spectacular turnout. In attendance were esteemed guests, including Maribyrnong MP Bill Shorten, Member for Essendon Danny Pearson, Sheena Watt, MLA, Moonee Valley Council Mayor Pierce Tyson, Councilors Rose Iser, Katrina Hodgson & John Sipek. 
     
    The opening of the Djerring Flemington Hub was marked by a heartwarming smoking ceremony, and heartfelt notes from Mayor Pierce Tyson, and Ministers Danny Pearson and Bill Shorten fit for such a momentous occasion. 
     
    During the inauguration, it was deeply moving to hear the reflections on the pivotal role played by our own member and former councilor, Nicole Marshall, and our supporter the late Jim Cusack, in securing funding for this remarkable hub.

    In recognition of the unwavering dedication of the late Jim Cusack to our community, the foyer of the hub has been named in his honor—a fitting tribute to a true community champion.
     
    Our team was out in full force to contribute to the festivities. Melina, Juan, Alex, Jeff, Karolina, Haruka, and Shraddha took charge of the BBQ. With the incredible turnout at the opening, we managed to serve a whopping 600 sausages to our delighted guests. 
     
            
    We extend our thanks to Justine, Pania, and John from the Djerring Hub team for the opportunity to serve our community. We are eagerly looking forward to leveraging this brilliant space to carry out numerous community initiatives. 
    National Tree Day 30 July
    Rosehill Park Wetlands weas the location for this year's National Tree Day event where 3000 seedlings and 3 mature trees were planted.
     
    Drew, Haruka, Jo, Shraddha and Samira, Lesley, Anne, Janet and Alex joined members from Rotary Keilor East, the Friends of Steele Creek, guides, scouts and members of the local community in this MVCC organised event.
     
    Holes were pre dug and seedlings placed ready for planting by MVCC workers. There were a number of displays and supportive booths available including activities for children.
     
    Uncle Dave gave a wonderful Welcome to Country with a traditional smoke ceremony using local leaves.  He gave us a wealth of information about the basis for the welcome and what it actually means.
            
    Read more...
    Volunteer lunch
    In recognition of the amazing work of our Op Shop volunteers we held our annual Volunteer Week lunch at Mama Bear of 10 July.
     
    Manager Melina Caccetta and President Shraddha Sharma welcomed all and thanked our volunteers.
    Board members Lesley McCarthy, Edith Chen and Sandy Belcher also attended to acknowledge those present.
    We also welcomed Global Grant scholar Haruka Tanaka from Japan who enjoyed the social opportunity.
     
           
    Read more...
    Pillow cases for seed collection
    The Op Shop assists Bili Nursery by supplying excess/lower quality pillow cases for collecting native seed.  

    Bili Nursery is a part of Westgate Biodiversity - an organisation focussed on regenerating inner city vegetation and community education.
    We produce around 150,000 plants per year for our local council projects, as well as initiatives for 
    Koala habitat restoration, climate change actions and educating local community members and school groups on environmentally friendly approaches to boost the local ecosystem.
     
    We really appreciate the help that Rotary Flemington has offered over the past 9 months and look forward to the upcoming seed collection season of summer 2023-24 with added enthusiasm as we will be well-supplied to get out into the environment and get to work.
              
    Read more...
    Project BEAP
    Peter Cribb has initiated this club international project in conjunction with Rotary Club of Columbo.  It is led by Nihal De Run, a previous visitor with PDG Senake Ameresinghe from Rotary Colombo.  

    The CT scanner installed at Batticaloa requires a major software upgrade {US$35,000} and due to the economic disaster currently being experienced in Sri Lanka, funds are not available. 
    A lift is also needed to support disabled patients and goods to travel from the ground floor up.
     
     
    Read more...
    Club Changeover Dinner
    There was a palpable sense of fun, fellowship and exhilaration in the room as we gathered for the 2023 club changeover.   
    President Shraddha was delighted to welcome District Governor Amanda Wendt, Assistant Governor Tony Laycock and Rotarians from Keilor East and West Footscray.
    Additionally we were delighted to have Moonee Valley Councillors Katrina Hodgson and Rose Iser, and L2P Coordinator Emma Phillips as well as representatives from JobFind, The Wish Group, the Abbey Solo Foundation, PolyGlot Theatre, Unison Housing and Retro Entertainment.
     
    The following awards were presented:
    Pau Harris Sapphire to President Shraddha
    Vance Hilton Community Leadership Award to West Welcome Wagon's Fay Salem
    Jim Hosie Trophy to Yvonne Farquharson
    10 year Service Award to Edith Chen
    Rotary International Service Awards to Peter Cribb, Melina Caccetta and Yvonne Farquharson
    Certificates of Appreciation to Sandy Belcher, Job Find, Abbey Solo Foundation, Deb and Jereny from MHFA.
     
     
    Read more...
    RORP Nepal
    The first of the playgrounds sent to Nepal last year has been installed.  This project required significant organisation and logistical and geographical challenges.
    First the 20' container was shipped to Haldia then to Kolkata then overland to Kathmandu via the Bhairawa customs office.  Due to the terrain and geography, elements of the playgrounds were carried by manpower rather than on trucks.
     
    With many thanks to PP Santosh Sharma and the Rotary Club of Tripureswor, this installation was completed at the Gram Sudar School, Gokarneswor.
    Thank you to Bob Allardice, Rotary Nunawading and RORP Chair for his efforts in collecting and transporting the playgrounds.
    This project was funded by our club.
       
    Read more...
    VALE Jim Cusack
    Members of the Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington are saddened by the passing of long term Moonee Valley Councillor Jim Cusack after a long illness.   
     
    Jim was a great friend to our club and dedicated supported of the Flemington Community. 
    He was involved in all aspects of community from Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre to the Residents Association, Rotary and the traders as well as the local schools and community groups.  Our sympathies are extended to his family.
     
    The funeral will be held at St Brendan's Catholic Church Wellington Street Flemington on Friday 9 June at 11am.
    RICON Hospitality evening
    The Clocktower was filled with excited voices with accents and languages from everywhere as nearly 300 people came together for an evening of entertainment hosted by our club supported by Essendon, Footscray and Keilor East.  There were guests from the USA, Nepal, South Africa, Japan, India, France, New Zealand, the Philippines and the UK.
     
    Colin Scobie from Moreton Bay led a team of 22 from the Recreational Vehicle Fellowship Association and Rotarians from country Victoria came along too.
    Silvie Paladino was outstanding and well supported by Wendy Stapleton and the Australian Womens Choir.  Georgia Byrne was an energetic MC.
     
    Solid Rock and We are Australian were toe tapping items to get the audience ready and then Silvie burst into song.  There were tears in many eyes as her astounding voice presented Memories.
     
    This was a fun filled and joyful event enjoyed by all.  Many thanks to the event manager Sandy Belcher who pulled the musical and technical components together so well. 
     
    Thank you to all those who volunteered on the evening particularly the 6 Bus Chaperones: Paul, Deb, Peter, Helen, Nola who gave a potted history of Melbourne, Moonee Valley and the route as participants wound their way from MCEC to the event.
     
    Special thanks to local artists Parul, Ursula and Jax who contributed to the evening.
    Thank you also to the Marika and the Clocktower staff, Yvonne Osborn for photographs and the Rotary presidents for their support.
     
    Read more...
    Rotary International Convention
    This year's RICON held at the Melbourne Convention Centre and Rod Laver Arena was another bringing together of Rotarians from across the world. 
    Our members; President Shraddha Sharma, Peter Cribb, Abdi Hassan, Yvonne Farquharson and Lesley McCarthy were in attendance and assisting on the RORP, Caring for Kidneys and ESRAG booths as
    well as enjoying the plenary and breakout sessions, the House of Friendship and catching up with friends from near and far.
     
    It was a delight to meet up with our former Royce Abbey Scholar Jimmy Musiime from Uganda, Shraddha's parents Santosh and Kanchan Sharma from Nepal, Maduri and her team {Nepal} PDG Ajith and Madura from Negombo, PDG Pubudu De Zoysa and PDG Senake Ameresinghe and others.
    Read more...
    VALE Dr Theong Low, PHF
     Dr Theong Ho Low, PHF was a Charter member of the Rotary Club of Flemington in 1987.
    He was a long serving GP in Pin Oak Crescent Flemington and was renowned for his care and compassion, especially in assisting with medical aid to south east Asia.
     
    Theong was an early member of ROMAC - the Rotary Overseas Medical Aid program for children and he encouraged the club to support this work bringing children from Vietnam and the Philippines to Melbourne.
    In 1996 together with PP Allan Bruno and the club was instrumental in bringing the Boisin conjoined twins from Papua New Guinea to Melbourne for life saving surgery.The Bosin Twins | Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington (rotaryflemington.org.au)
     
    Theong is survived by his wife, childhood sweetheart Sue and our sympathies are extended to her and the family.
     
    The funeral will be held on Saturday 13thMay at 10am at Le Pine, Gen Waverley.
     
     
    Read more...
    VALE Peter Michael Donnellan LLB, PHF
    Peter Michael Donnellan, a resident of Ormond Street, Kensington and esteemed long term lawyer in Flemington has died after a long illness.  He is survived by his wife Kien and daughter Susan.
     
    Peter was a member of the Rotary Club of Flemington Kensington from 2008 until his retirement in 2021. During those years he held the positions of Secretary for 3 years and of Treasurer for 3 years.  He also provided significant financial, legal and administrative advice to the club and was valued for his strong sense of social justice.

    At Rotary, he could always be found at a BBQ or in the Op Shop, was a regular careers adviser at the MAC Careers Days and much enjoyed the social side of life including the dinners, Art Shows and gardening events.   Peter was recognised for his efforts with the Jim Hosie Trophy in 2014 and with a Paul Harris Fellow in 2019.
    Read more...
    Tour of Duty
    The many attendees were treated to an afternoon of fun, entertaining music followed by afternoon tea.  Hosted by Marbyrnong Park Bowling Club {thanks to Geoff and Dulcie} this was an afternoon to enjoy with good company, socialisation and foot tapping fun.As well as members from a number of Rotary clubs, Geoff and Dulcie brought along 20 members of PROBUS and many of Sandy's regular followers came too.
        
     
    Read more...
    About Our Club
    Welcome!
    Flemington Kensington

    Service Above Self

    We meet In Person
    Wednesdays at 7:45 a.m.
    Mama Bear Cafe
    528 Racecourse Road
    Flemington, VIC 3031
    Australia
    Phone:
    0417 532 259
    Email:
    info@rotaryflemington.org.au
    1st Wednesday of each month. 3rd Wednesday is a dinner meeting - venue varies month to month. Check website or newsletter for information.
    District Site
    Bulletins
    Venue Map