Rotarians and friends of Rotary

Hasn't it been a fantastic few weeks for women's sport, and soccer in particular! The whole country has got behind the Matildas, enthusiasm rising to fever pitch with the team's success and continuing even as their amazing journey at the World Cup has come to an emotional conclusion. Such has been the news coverage that the Matildas are now individual household names with even their private lives now a matter of public interest, for better or worse. Even our Club recognised the spirit of the occasion last week, cancelling our meeting in the realisation that the programme clash would only leave one winner. The Women's Soccer World Cup has also generated similar levels of enthusiasm in other countries certainly including England and, one imagines, Spain. What this goes to show is that women's sport has come a long way in a short time - the action has been of the highest quality and, most importantly, has shown itself as entertaining as the men's game. Hopefully, this momentum will be maintained.

Last Friday I was treated to a different but no less impressive display of empowerment of young women. I represented the Club as a guest of Strathfield Girls High School at their Multicultural Day event. Bearing in mind that the School boasts girls from no less than 57 different cultural groupings - including the Indian, Chinese, Korean, Lebanese, Turkish, Nepalese, Italian and Greek communities to mention just a few, you can imagine how colourful was the variety of national dress and how spectacular and moving were the musical and dance performances shared by its talented young women. This reflects the diversity which we are privileged to have in our local area.

Staying with young people, last week I also joined Rod McDougall at a meeting of the Homebush Boys High School Interact Club at which Dimitry Chugg-Palmer shared his guidance for young people who will shortly be facing the challenges of the early stage of their careers. Dimitry is always impressive - his interesting background and constant encouragement to get involved, get connected and get experience never fails to inspire young people. His example, and the interest his story generates, raises the question as to whether there is more members of the Club can do, with their experience in different careers and with their diverse backgrounds, to play a role in mentoring, encouraging and guiding young people. I would like to give this more thought.

All these events have reinforced my views that this year we need to take the opportunity to reach out to the local community, including the local schools, to see how Rotary can get involved and generally to raise our profile. When you look at the success stories of Homebush Boys and Meriden Interact Clubs, the RYPEN and RYLA programmes, Youth Awards and NYSF sponsorship, as well as the other opportunities that are accessible through Rotary you can get an appreciation of what practically we might be able to contribute.

With that in mind, this week Ying Ho and I will be meeting with Mechel Pikoulas, the Principal of Strathfield Girls, and Nella Hall and I will be sitting down with Karen Pensabene, Mayor of Strathfield, to explain more about Rotary and see how we might develop our relationship, and work more closely, with the School and Council respectively. From discussions I have had with Mechel and Karen, I believe we have an opportunity for greater involvement. We will keep you informed.

This Wednesday evening, we will be having a social evening at Quatre Cafe, Cave Road, Strathfield. Quatre Cafe is owned by a local family and has already established a name for itself as great place to meet for coffee and lunch. It is opening in the evening especially for us and we look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.

 

Nick Hamilton-Kane
President
21 August 2023