Guests: Terri Lynn and Elizabeth Muthoni Wanjau from Kenya.
Correspondence:
1. We have been asked to BBQ for Canada Day in Brighton.
2. From Mayor Brian Ostrander - I'm working with a number of agencies (OPP, Northumberland Hills Hosp, Health Unit, School Board, Library etc.) to bring a Mental Health and Wellness initiative to Brighton (all started as a result of conversations during the pandemic). We've started conversations about a speaker and, of course, none of the groups (inc. municipality) has a budget for said purpose. I'll be reaching out to others but wonder if Rotary would be able to help sponsor such a project?
3. From Amarok Society - We would like to thank you and your Rotary Club of Brighton for your generous support of our initiatives in the developing world. We're so pleased that your club has decided to continue supporting our organization. Through your donation, you are bringing opportunity to the lives of children who want to learn, and women who want to make a difference in their communities. You have opened doors for them to a brighter, self-directed future. Please pass along to your club our deep gratitude, and that of all the families whose lives you are transforming. Warmly, Grace 4. You are invited to the Tuesday Talks - Human Trafficking. You can also book family and friends. Event: Tuesday Talks - Human Trafficking Date: Apr 12, 2022 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
5. Dear Friends Rotarians, I am writing to you as a member of Rotary Chopin Club in Warsaw (District 2213) acting in accordance with authorities of my club and as Canadian citizen. Over the last 26 days since Russian invasion of Ukraine over 2.2 million refugees from Ukraine have come to Poland, only women, children, elderly, and disabled people, to flee from bombing and war. Russia is waging a total war and therefore an influx of up to 4-5 million people is expected. It is the largest exodus of population in such a short time since the Second World War. Tens of thousands of Polish volunteers organize help for refugees with great dedication. Thanks to the fact that people provide their houses and flats, there was no need to create refugee camps, which is unique in the history of the world for such rapid self-organization of civilians in providing help. However, we expect that in the coming days there will be a shortage of places in private homes and apartments, so the state and various charities and foundations must start organizing various types of shelters for stressed out refugees. We Rotarians are also trying to organize help for these refugees: women, children, orphan children. We really appreciate your quick help. Every day, tens of thousands of new refugees cross the border by trains, cars and on foot. The situation becomes dramatic. These people need accommodation, beds, furniture, food, an organized transport, and funds are especially needed. For this reason, we would be very grateful for your help. We have published our appeal to our Rotarian brothers at the link below. The link below shows our fundraiser, but if you would like to help, please contact us or use WhatsApp at +48 787 000 541. http://rotaryfryderykchopin.org.pl/support-ukraine/ Yours faithfully, Adam Bierzniewski Member adam.bierzniewski@seda.pl ob./WhatsApp: +48 787 000 541 Adam Bierzniewski RC Warszawa Fryderyk Chopin District 2231 Poland Tel.: +48 787 000 541
6.
Smile:
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Lloyd and Fran are flying to Australia for a two-week vacation to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Suddenly over the public address system the Captain announces, 'Ladies and Gentleman, I am afraid I have some very bad news, our engines have ceased to function and we will attempt an emergency landing. Luckily, I see an uncharted island below us and we should be able to land on the beach. However, the odds are that we maynever be rescued and will have to live on the island for the rest of our lives.' Thanks to the skill of the flight crew, the plane lands saftely on the island.
An hour later, Lloyd turns to his wife and asks, 'Fran, did we pay our Visa and Mastercard bill yet?'
'No sweatheard' she responds.
Lloyd, still shaken from the crash landing asks, ' Fran, did we pay our American Express card yet?'
'Oh, no, I'm sorry, I forgot to send that cheque out too.'
'One last thing Fran. Did you remember to send the installments cheque for Revenue Canada this month?'
'Oh forgive me, Lloyd, I didn't send that one either.'
Lloyd grabs her and gives her the biggest kiss in 40 years.
Fran asks, 'What was that for?'
Llyod answers, 'We'll be okay, Revenue Canada will find us.'
Announcements:
Next board meeting will be held at R Steve B's home on April 19th. at 6:30pm. (101 Raglan Street)
Diners and Duffers books selling well, already received payment for 107 books. We ordered an additional 20 books from printer.
R Chris is getting BBQ ready for summer, it will need a cleaning crew. Kevin Davidson has agreed to inspect for free.
The Hoselton Rotary Friendship Tree will sell for suggested retail price of $39.95. Trees are now available for sale. R Liesje advised that the Environmental Committee Chair has reached out to her about this program.
Spring 'on-line' auction. Go get donations!! R Liesje has distributed electronically draft letters requesting support, poster and donation receipt.
R Daniel will have another concert at the Smokehouse April 2. Again proceeds to be split between Rotary and the Beacon Youth Centre
We had a wet bottle drive and filled the trailer Saturday raising about $618
R Liesje is organizing with ENSS Environmental Club a tree planting event tentative date May 17 at 11am.
We are planning Street Dance July 30, Interclub BBQ August 15 and asking support of other clubs, and President's BBQ shared by P Joyce and PE Emily at 135 Bayshore Road June 25th.
District Conference Friday events include golf or a free tour of Parkwood Estates. Step back in time and experience the home of the late R.S.McLaughlin, Canadian auto baron and founder of General Motors
of Canada. Inspired by early century Beaux-Arts design, this 15,000 square foot, 55 room mansion was built between 1915-1917.
The art, architecture, gardens, landscaping and original furnishings are all faithfully preserved in this National Historic Site.
Cost: Complimentary!
The Rotary Club of Toronto Bay-Bloor with the Rotary Club of Nicosia Aspelia, the Rotary Club of Paphos Aphrodite, and the Pollinator and Environmental Protection Task Force of Rotary Cyprus present the Massey Dialogues: Conflict Prevention, Climate Change, and Economic Development. The Massey Dialogues of April 7, will explain how data collected using GIS (Geographical Information System) contribute to conflict prevention, supporting the environment, and growing local economies which are three Rotary International's areas of focus.
Since my last email to you on March 17, things are proceeding and hopefully we will reach our goal of 117,000 meals packed with Jennifer Jones at our side on July 5th. The one thing I did not do, as they say in all sales courses was , ASK FOR THE ORDER Packing these 117,000 meals cannot happen without your support to buy the meals The other 3 districts and packing 15,000 each leaving 72,000 for our district to pack There are 2 clubs that have signed up to date Ajax and Scarborough, at 2,000.00 each to fund a line, packing shift of 2 hour and 7 to 14 club members , wearing all their Rotary wear and HAVING FUN If your club cannot fund a line, and want to contribute to the event and BE THERE to see Jennifer packing meals for those in need around the world you can just pay for the meals you can afford. Pay for 500 meals or $ 250.00 or 1000 meals at $ 500.00 or 2,000 meals at $ 1,000.00. WE have 72,000 meals to pay for so PLEASE let me know as soon as you can what you can afford and the number of volunteers that want to come to the event. We will need 308 volunteers, and need to order the food Thank you.
You are invited to the District 7070 New Members Zoom - Session 3. You can also book family and friends. On Thursday April 7, 2022 from 7 to 8 pm we are excited to connect! The Rotary District 7070 Membership Committee is hosting a third New Member Zoom get-together. There is lots of interesting info about our Rotary organization and often there is not enough time in a regular meeting to ensure that new members get to hear about it. So join us as we share more Rotary basics and not-so-basics. Bring any questions you might have. The session will be of particular interest to members who have joined Rotary in the past two years. Potential members welcome as well, although they will need to be registered as a guest by a Rotarian.
Dear 2022-23 club officers: Are you getting ready to engage your members and bring more people into your club in the coming Rotary year? In the Rotary Learning Center’s Club Leadership catalog https://msgfocus.rotary.org/c/13ZD9jCCVOEw7eGv31Cg7sM2GFtN, you’ll find courses that outline what you’ll need to know to succeed in club roles. These learning plans are designed to be completed before you participate in the district training assembly, which is held in May. You’ll need a My Rotary account to enroll. If you don’t yet have an account, this step-by-step guide https://msgfocus.rotary.org/c/13ZD9l0gR3JnBMu86EjiVdaBWnD6 will help you to create one.
Upcoming Rotary Events:
Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup
Please mark your calendar for Saturday April 23, for our 2nd Annual 'Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup' Event. This is our day to show 'Rotary in Action' on a massive scale, and promote 'Environmental Sustainability' within our communities.
D7070 Conference to be May 13-15, 2022 at the Courtyard by Mariott in Oshawa Ontario. Registration is $249 before September 1 and limited rooms for $129 per night. 'Be a Driver for Change.' This promises to be a super Conference and it will be awesome to be able to get together for some great Rotary fellowship. Attached you will find the brochure for the Conference for your reading pleasure. Register for the Conference by copying the link into your browser. Any questions, please get in touch!
Rotary International Convention 2022 in Houston Texas June 4-8, 2022. Registration is now open. The Rotary fun doesn’t have to stop with our virtual convention! Join us next year at the 2022 Rotary International Convention in Houston https://msgfocus.rotary.org/c/13QLrxbUdypOUGM1yIBNlbCMCCJs, Texas, from 4-8 June 2022. No matter who you are or where you’re from, you’re bound to find inspirational moments throughout the convention. 16 June is the last day to take advantage of the special registration rate of $425. So, register and pay today to get the best rate.
Jennifer Jones- Imagine Canada Tour- As I've communicated in the past weeks, we have soon to be RI President, Jennifer Jones coming to the Toronto area on Tuesday, July 5th, 2022. The Multi District Planning team have decided to coordinate a 3 part day: Starting with a Watershed clean up in the morning, Kids against Hunger food packing in the afternoon with a Fab TRF Fundraising dinner in the evening. So to make this happen we need committee members and chairs for each of the events. We also need committee members to manage the day: Transportation, Marketing & Promotion, Budget, Finance & Legal, Technology, Outreach Broadcasting and Sponsorships. If you would like to work on or co-chair these committees please contact Michele Guy, mguy@couttscrane.com or DG Ron Dick, ron@rrdfsi.ca. We need your responses by Tuesday, Feb 1st (yes I know that's tomorrow) for the multi district Committee to draft the committees. This event will showcased in the April edition of the Canada Rotary magazine. Let's do District 7070 proud!
Rotary District 7070 is excited to announce the 2022 Rotary Youth Leadership Symposium, May 26-29, 2022 taking place at the beautiful Ganaraska Forest Centre, an environmentally sensitive, overnight outdoor education facility located in the heart of the majestic Ganaraska Forest just north of Port Hope! The 3 night experience is geared toward youth between the ages of 17-23 and will offer an inspiring program: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Indigenous Culture, Hands-on Activities, Group Dynamics, Toastmasters/Public Speaking, Outdoor Survival and GPS Geocache adventures along with camp fires, friendship and tonnes of fun and learning!!! All this for only $299 per participant which covers all programs, accommodation, and meals. Rotary Clubs are encouraged to find and sponsor eligible participants within their community, as well as members of the Rotaract and Interact Clubs that they host. There are only 30 spots available so act fast! For inquiries and to receive a registration form, please contact PDG Mark Chipman at chipburt@hotmail.com.
Go to District web site for more information on any of these events.
Check out the District Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and Youtube channels to see what is happening in the District. Past Tuesday Talks available for viewing.
Song: Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Sharing Pot: $21 won by R Rudy who is donating to the Ukraine and R Rudy put another $50 with it.
Happy Bucks: to be here, FUN night Saturday at The Smokehouse, good Wednesday morning, just happy, dance classes start tonight, visit family Saturday, Elizabeth's presentation, next Wednesday in Canada, impressed by Elizabeth, thanks to Clay for bringing Elizabeth to our attention, bottle drive volunteer for set up to tear down a true champion, sharing the love, double digit temperatures coming, spring.
Minute:
R Chris noted how many people thanked Rotary for the work we do in the community when they dropped off cans and bottles.
Elizabeth is from Kenya, currently in Tanzania as a refugee and seeking help to come to Canada.
Further to the presentation by Elizabeth, Amnesty International have just released a report on human rights abuses in Kenya that rates itamong the worst. Below is the link to the report.
Elizabeth shared her story via a power point presentation.
Elizabeth Muthoni Wanjau is a Kenyan citizen aged 37 years and a human rights defender. She came from Nyeri County, in a small, semi-urban sub-county called Nyeri Central Sub-county. She is a single mother of two children, a boy aged 12 years and a girl aged 7 years.
She is the first born in a family of four. Her father left when she was 9 years old and was brought up by her mother. Prior to the departure of her father, they lived in constant fear due to his violence and would often spend the night outside in the cold. Her mother relied on odd jobs to raise the family which took a toll on her physical health.
Elizabeth studied up to college but had to drop out to take care of her mother and younger siblings when her mother took ill. Elizabeth has aquired various skills and hopes that in the future, she will have an opportunity to complete college.
She has been a human rights defender for over 15 years. During this period, she has dealt with matters touching on
•Child abuse and neglect
•Sexual abuse of children and young women
•Matrimonial property disputes
•Women land rights
•Livelihood support for vulnerable families
•Educational support for children survivors of sexual violence
•Child support and maintenance
•Governance, rule of law and civic engagement
In public service she has served in these public positions both in government and in civil society
1.A coordinator with Nyeri Young Women Empowerment a community based organization I co-founded to help deal with issues of sexual and gender based violence against young women and children.
2.A member of Voice of Nyeri Initiative which is a lobby group that advocates for good governance and accountability from leaders and public servants.
3.I served for six years as a board member of the Nyeri Water and Sanitation Company representing special interest groups(women)2008 – 2015.
4.I served as a youth representative in the Municipal Council of Nyeri where I articulated youth issues having been nominated by my political party.(2008 – 2012)
5.I served in the Nyeri Town Constituency Development Fund Committee and advocated for women and youth involvement and inclusion in development.(2008-2012)
6.I served as chair of the Nyeri District Youth Development Forum, which lobbied for creation of the youth ministry and led to formulation of the National Youth Policy
7.I am currently the Chairperson of Solidarity Kenya, a community based organization that works in Laikipia, a neighboring county
8.I have continuously been engaged as a long term election observer by several organisations where I sensitize the community on the importance of voting and also free, fair and credible elections as well as observing the process on the material day
9.I am a member of the steering committee for Action for Orphans, a project that undertakes to sponsor orphans and vulnerable youth through vocational training
10.I belong to the Nyeri County Budget Coalition a lobby group that demands accountability and prudent use of public funds. We are involved in sensitizing members of the public on the budget process and helping them prioritize their development needs during the forums that are arranged at the county and national levels.
There is no law in Kenya that lays out the relationship between human rights defenders and the government or even a law that protects human rights defenders. This basically means that human rights defenders operate on their own with little or no goodwill from the community they operate in since in most cases they are viewed as outcasts and are highly marginalized.
However in the same breath, they are often called upon to help lobby for various community issues if and when they arise e.g. sexual and gender based violence, environmental issues, police brutality etc.
There is no support structure that exists to support human rights defenders and the organizations that work to protect the welfare of human rights defenders work with very constrained budgets since the government has established a law (Public Benefits Organizations Act,2013) that caps funding from international partners to the civil society and directs funding to be channeled through various ministries and departments.
Human rights defenders majorly work on volunteer basis and their reprieve comes when larger organisations engage them as agents to undertake various assignments in their respective communities. This also means that they are mostly not economically empowered.
Some of the other challenges they face include; Murder and attempted murder, arbitrary arrests, threats ,judicial intimidation, harassment, defamation, disappearance, discrimination on employment and other economic activities, stigmatization, alienation by family members and the community, threats of female genital mutilation for women in a bid to “teach her a lesson”
Elizabeth's own situation is as follows:
Since October 2020, I have constantly felt threatened alongside my children and feared for my security. This has been due to the following incidences:
In October 2020, an unknown person showed up at my door, looking for me. I had just stepped out and he found my children. He asked for my whereabouts and when he learnt that I was not in, he left with a message that he would be back. He did not leave any contacts which made it very suspicious since at the same time I was involved in pursuing a case of sexual abuse of a minor amongst other cases relating to land. I reported to the police but no action was taken
On different occasions last year, I was tailgated as I drove home by unknown persons who were very careful to conceal their identity and also ensured that I was not able to get the number plates of their motor vehicles and motorbikes.
These people followed me all the way to a few metres to my home where I had been forced to relocate to after the 2020 incident. This made it very difficult to report to the police. This went on randomly despite me changing my time of getting home. These incidences made me fear for the safety of myself and my children
On 12th November an unknown person trailed me at one of the public hospitals in Nyeri as I was seeking treatment for some children I had rescued from sexual abuse by their father. This was around midnight.
On 31st December, 2021 and 2nd January 2022, I was stalked by an unknown person as I went about my business in Nyeri town. I also reported to the police but again no action was taken.
On various occasions between 2018 and 2021, I have faced threats from the police as I pressured them to finish investigations into various cases and also when I questioned the manner in which investigations into various cases were being conducted.
There have been killings of other human rights activists in Kenya and due to the threat to her own life, she left Kenya in January 2022.
Frontline Defenders in a statement dated 10th January 2022, after the killing of the woman human rights defender from Isiolo condemned the killings of human rights defenders and in their report stated,
“Elizabeth Ekuru’s murder highlights the pervasive nature of violence against women human rights defenders in Kenya. Her killing which allegedly took place while defending land rights, is a true testimony of the risks, challenges, and attacks that women human rights defenders continue to face in their line of work. Her death is also an example of the price that women human rights defenders pay for protecting human rights and advancing the social, economic, cultural and political rights enshrined in the Kenyan 2010 Constitution. Front Line Defenders is concerned by the escalating attacks on women and in particular women human rights defenders in Kenya.”
She is currently awaiting refugee status determination by UNHCR and the government which I was recently informed is a lengthy process in this country since the National Eligibility Committee last sat in 2020, yet I have been given asylum for a period of four months up to 23rd April 2022. This therefore means that I am unable to get a durable solution in this country, I also cannot enroll my children in school and the fate of their education hangs in the balance. Going back to my country is not an option owing to the threats I face as a result of my human rights work.
With an asylum permit, I cannot be given work in this country and our days are spent holed up in the house since as asylum seekers, there is a lot of hostility from the citizens of the country. We also live in fear of our security since it is only a matter of time before our whereabouts are established. This has taken a toll on our mental health.
Her dreams include sending her children to school, then:
As part of my human rights work and support for vulnerable girls back at home, I intend to work extra hours to enable me send money home to buy them sanitary towels to continue being in school and not suffer like I did.
I also plan to consolidate my journal and publish a book to serve as an inspiration to women in similar positions to keep fighting.
I will continue to undertake my role as a human rights defender to continue with the struggle and continue to lobby from a distance for human rights defenders to get police protection.
As I finish, I wish to wind up with the words of my mentor, the late Desmond Tutu a great human rights defender who said,
“I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t”
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