Latest News from the International, Vocation and Youth Committee
 

Read the latest from International Vocation and Youth Committee
 
Brian Hanlon Speech Awards
The finalists for the 4-Way Test Speech Awards have been selected following presentations at Howick College on 23rd October. The successful students, their families and College staff will be attending the Award event on the 12th November at the Howick Club. The judging will once again be carried out by the Toastmasters organization.
Rotary National Science Forum 2020
Following selection from Howick College David Owen submitted two names for the upcoming National Science Forum for senior College students that will be held in Auckland in January next year. We have just been advised that both candidates have been successful and Amelie Laing and Avina-Rosmita Naryan will be attending. Following the completion of the course they will both be invited to attend a club evening to share their experiences.
Howick College Scholarships
Progress on awarding 3 scholarship to students intending to attend Howick College next year is well underway and presentations will be made to the successful candidates by the end of November.
Interplast
Following the Board’s approval of the Committee’s proposal to support Interplast the club will be donating $1000 to this Pacific Island based Rotary programme. The following explains the project and where our money will go.
INTERPLAST Program – Kiribati May 2020
Changing Futures Together
 Kiribati is a sovereign state in Micronesia in the central Pacific Ocean.
  • Kiribati’s population of just over 114,000 is scattered over an area larger than Australia – with 32 low lying atolls, one volcanic island and 3.5 million square kilometres of ocean
  • Kiribati has limited surgical capacity and no local plastic surgeon which means that patients go without treatment or in some cases are referred overseas for treatment
  • In June 2019 Interplast’s first Allied Health Training Program was conducted at the Tungaru Central Hospital, Tarawa, Kiribati, alongside a surgical program which conducted 22 surgeries for birth defects, burns injuries and trauma injuries for children and adults.
  • These patients were provided with life-changing medical procedures they would otherwise not have been able to access, and at the same time allied health training and mentoring was delivered to local physiotherapists, physiotherapy assistants, prosthetics and orthotics staff
  • Allied health treatment can be key to the patient’s recovery and ability to gain the best possible functionality post-surgery.
A key feature of all Interplast programs is our commitment to building sustainable medical outcomes for the communities we serve, as well as the individuals we are able to help.
 With your support, during the 2020 program, volunteer physiotherapists/occupational therapists will work alongside the local physiotherapy team to build their skills, knowledge and confidence around providing rehabilitation treatment to patients including children, who have presented with burns injuries, lower and upper limb trauma and other surgical conditions related to reconstructive surgery.
 The generous funding provided by the District: 9920 clubs will cover ground transport, insurances, training equipment and supplies, together with incidental costs and program coordination, monitoring and evaluation costs.
District 9920 has been an invaluable contributor to the work that Interplast is able to do in the Asia-Pacific region – we cannot thank you enough.
Shefali Mehta QSM BEM JP
Rotary Club Auckland Harbourside President 2012-13
Rotary International District 9920
Interplast District Chair Interplast Australia & New Zealand