Last week's meeting was well promoted as really pointing out what an interesting story our guest speaker, Stephanie Woollard had to give and she certainly didn't disappoint.
Those that attended heard her amazing story of how she began the whole Seven Women organization when she was trekking in Nepal. at that time she changed the life of seven disabled women confined in a shed to give them skills, a business, and ultimately dignity. This has grown to a big enterprise over the years but Covid has taken a big toll as they relied so much on tourism.
Stephanie wrote a book that a number of us have which is a great read and it was a bit of a surprise to see one of our North Melbourne residents (Xuan Wang) that were viewing went to her bookshelf and produced it not knowing what it was. She had bought it a while ago from a stall and had not read it yet. I think she will now.
To help with fund-raising they are trying a few alternative methods. One is that I know they are hoping our club will give them a donation after Stephanie's talk and I am confident our members will be happy to do that. Another is they have issued invitations to view a 45 min documentary coming up.
It is called A Spirited Journey: The Seven Women Documentary coming and it will be available to view on these three alternative evenings 20, 21, and 22 October.
This is the uplifting and inspiring story of a visionary social enterprise that has changed the lives of thousands of previously marginalised women in Nepal, as it follows a group of open-minded and open-hearted participants from all around the world on their 10-day Seven Women cultural immersion experience in Nepal.
This documentary will inspire you, move you and show you that sustainable social change is possible, and also truly amazing in the scale of its positive impact. This is the story of a group of remarkable Nepalese women who, as a result of our sustainable social enterprise model, have been empowered to change their lives - from being marginalised and cast aside to now being strong and proud, self-sufficient, and beaming with joy and happiness.
Filmed in 2019, the documentary follows a group of Seven Women supporters from across the globe who travelled to Nepal with the Seven Women and Hands-On Development Founder Stephanie Woollard, OAM. The film vividly captures the life-changing impact of their experiences, when they meet and directly work with the Nepalese women whose lives have been empowered through education, skills training, and income generation.
This is a stirring story of courage, resilience, and strength as these women seek to create a better life for themselves, their families, and other women in Nepal.
Please book here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/788460
With the three alternative dates available, the ticket cost is just $25, with proceeds going towards our vitally important future development work through Seven Women.
I strongly recommend you watch this short 2-minute preview of this amazing and uplifting film go to: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QRpIFGrzCYM If you do, I challenge you not to want to see the whole documentary so please book in to see it. It will be a real win-win.
RIMERN (Rotary Inner Melbourne Emergency Relief Network)
Last week I mentioned that our club has committed to assist with 4 volunteers on a fortnightly basis every second Saturday afternoon (1.00 pm to 4.00 pm) from the 16th October onwards.
So if we can get 8 people to be on our volunteer team then we would only have to volunteer once every 4 weeks. We now have Judy, Sainab, Ted, Herbson, and Larry so if anyone else would like to get on our roster then please contact Judy Page on 0425 741 624 or email on judypage3@gmail.com.
Our next shift is this Saturday afternoon and we have Ted, Herbson, Larry, Judy, and I
Please note Volunteers do not need to be Rotarians. Whilst we are in lockdown all volunteers will be provided with a Covid Safe Worker's Permit.
Hopefully, we won't have to worry about the permits for much longer as we should achieve the 70% double vaxed in 7 days from today.
Our club has supported this organization for a few years now and just today I got a text advising that our usual contact we have with them Giorgio Migliaccio is no longer with them and that he has been replaced by Catlin.
Destiny Rescue is primarily set up to rescue children from sexual slavery. Their work is primarily in Asian countries.
Catlin texted me today to say that she wanted to celebrate the amazing news that just last week they had their BIGGEST rescue week EVER with 207 lives freed from slavery and exploitation! One of these precious lives was a one-year-old child crossing the border with their mum. A further 196 were children who have now found their Path to Freedom! She thanked us for continuing to partner with them so their Rescue Agents can continue this powerful work! We will try and get Catlin to our club in the next couple of months to update us and so we can meet her as the new contact person.
Register to walk now and donate at www.rotarywalkwithus.org
This site has information on the event and the Global program to eradicate Polio.
You can support a local Rotarian (or team) by donating to (Name of walker/club team) via (insert Walkwithus personal/team link). Be a part of history and donate today. Your gift will get us closer to the finish line. Please just log on and either join the walk or donate to our team.
Note, you do not need to be a Rotarian to participate.
Please read an article about this program. I highly recommend it to new members.
