Ojai Rotary Reminder Newsletter
November 5th, 2021

Carl Gross, Editor
 
November is Rotary Foundation Month
Are you an established professional who wants to make positive changes in your community and the world? Our club members are dedicated people who share a passion for community service and friendship. 
Our 1.2 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
 
In the beginning…
 
Ojai Rotarians and guests assembled on this warm Fall Day full of fun, fellowship, and felicity.  (Alliteration quota satisfied).  President Betsy Watson gaveled the throng to some semblance of order.  “I’ve been away!”  Betsy and her fellow travelers were returning from Turkey.  She thanked Bob Davis for his wizardry in travel planning.  Mike and Suzanne are still there to return shortly.  Betsy also thanked Kathy Yee, Cindy Frings, Sue Gilbreth, Fern Barishman, Larry Wilde, and Deirdre Daly for the Fifth Friday Social on October 29th.  After libations and friendly chatter at the Majestic Oaks Winery the group were entertained at the Ojai Storytelling Festival.
 
Ren Adam led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
 
Tony Thacher gave a heartfelt Invocation:
 
November is Rotary Foundation Month, a good chance to remember that our Ojai club is a small but mighty cog in Rotary’s worldwide symbolic wheel.  We gather to serve—our fellow men and women, our children, our world.  I think of you as my family and am grateful for your fellowship, friendship and support.  I’ve missed you these past couple of years.  Zoom is not enough for me.  I still miss those of you who have yet to venture forth. Please come back here when you feel you can so we can continue our fellowship and our service together.
 
Here’s a poem by Marge Percy that expresses my thoughts about why I think of you as family, why I enjoy your company and why I support The Rotary Foundation along with the other million plus Rotarians around the globe doing Service Above Self.
 
“To be of use”
 
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half-submerged balls.
 
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
 
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
 
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
 
 
Marge Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, into a working-class family that had been hard-hit by the Depression. Piercy was the first member of her family to attend college, winning a scholarship to attend the University of Michigan. She earned an MA from Northwestern University. During the 1960s, Piercy was an organizer in political movements like the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the movement against the war in Vietnam, an engagement which has shaped her work in myriad ways. Perhaps most importantly, though, has been Piercy’s sustained involvement with feminism, Marxism, and environmental thought.
 
Betsy thanked the following for making our meetings so special:
 
Bill Prather and Andy Gilman for room setup, audio, and Zoom broadcast.
 
Deirdre Daly for Desk Duty.
 
Ren Adam for leading the Pledge.
 
Tony Thacher for the Invocation.
 
Janet Campbell for roving mic.
 
Bret Bradigan for fining and confessions.
 
Carl Gross for the pictures and Reminder Newsletter.
 
and Jayne for the great chow!
 
Visitors
 
There were no Visiting Rotarians but we had a plethora of guests. Welcome to:
 
Sean McDermott, guest of Marty Babayco
Fabian Padro, guest of Ren Adam
Rebecca Ryiz, guest of Deirdre Daly
 
This Day in History: Guy Fawkes Day (Night)
 
Guy Fawkes Day originates from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a failed conspiracy by a group of provincial English Catholics to assassinate the Protestant King James I of England and family and replace him with a Catholic head of state. Celebrated ever since as Guy Fawkes Day, his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, accompanied by fireworks which represent the explosives which were unused in the failed insurrection.
 
Announcements
 
Turkey TrotBetsy had a fabulous trip to Turkey and may be persuaded to present a future program on the trip, after Suzanne and Michael return.  Two things she shared with us:  Bob Davis is a travel planning genius, and she always sees the world around her differently when she travels.  She is very happy to be back with us
 
Upcoming Programs
 
Andy Gilman gave us the lineup of future great programs:
 
November 12th-- Nov 12, 2021 Sheriff Bill Ayub
Ojai and Ventura County Priorities, COVID, and plans for the future
 
November 19th-- Matt LaVere - Ventura County District 1 Supervisor
Priorities of the County, Ventura County Strategic Plan, COVID
 
November 26thDark.  Thanksgiving
 
December 3rd-- Chris Land - OVDF President
President of the Ojai Valley Defense Fund
 
December 10th-- Bryant Baker - Los Padres Forest Watch
The state of the Los Padres National Forest, challenges, and future plans.
 
Thanks to Andy and his crew for the timely and informative presentations we have had.
 
Cemetery Cleanup
 
Led by Sue Gilbreth, and Kathy Yee, our Club participated in the annual joint project to clean up the historic Nordhoff Cemetery this past weekend.  Here are a few pictures with thanks to Stephen Adams, Ojai West:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Operation Snowflake
 
Operation Snowflake is a free event for Military, Veterans and their families struggling financially. This event creates a day of joy with gifts for the children, entertainment, Santa, food, lots of fun and introduces key support agencies that aid the families throughout the year.  Operation Snowflake is hosted by the Ventura County Military Collaborative, a 501c3 Nonprofit and our many community partners. Link to website. Please bring a gift to our next meeting:
 
.Toys (new and unwrapped)
• Gift Baskets (any kind)
• Gift Cards ($25+ for groceries, gas, restaurant, Target, Walmart, iTunes, Amazon)
• Cash Donations (for toys, gift cards, and financial assistance
 
Mike Weaver invited the Club members to the next Educational Foundation Board Meeting, Wednesday, November 10th at 8 AM in the Library Room right across from our meeting room.
 
Kathy Yee reminded us of the Meadows Project to help the OVLC clean-up of the Meadow Preserve on 11/13/21.  Bring your gloves.  Tools will be provided.
 
For our help this past year, the Ojai Film Festival gave the club two full-access passes to the upcoming event.  They were auctioned off with Catherine Lee and Bret Bradigan having the winning bids. The money will be donated to the Educational Foundation.
 
 
 
 
 
Confessions and Fining—Bret Bradigan
 
Larry Wilde admitted he had toothpaste on his shirt.
 
Renee Halbrook, Marty Babayco, Mike Weaver, Jack Jacobs, David Watson, Don Reed, and Leslie Bouche were grilled on famous people who were Rotarians.:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Program:  The Rotary Foundation
 
This being Rotary Foundation month, Tony Thacher (TRF Chair) introduced the Club members who spoke of their projects and the role of The Rotary Foundation in making this possible.
 
For 100 years, The Rotary Foundation has been turning project ideas into reality. Our clubs receive funding to support humanitarian projects, scholarships, and international exchanges.  Donated funds are kept for 3 years and 100% of that money is then made available for use on projects in our District. 
 
Tony highlighted where the funds for TRF go:
 
Polio Plus, promotion of peace through fellowships, fighting disease, provision of clean water, growing local economies, protecting the environment, and saving mothers and their children are just a few of the
programs supported by TRF.
 
 
 
Kay Bliss reported on the Street Girls Program in Accra, Ghana.  It started with a polio immunization visit to Ghana, where Kay learned there were many young women on the streets of Accra without education, pregnant, and had no where to go.  Through the power of matching grants, our Club has been able to provide interim housing, training in employable skills, and support of these women.  Through the power of matching grants (Kay is the wizard of grants), $166, 000 was grown from our donation of $26,000.  There was not a dry eye when she was done. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mike Weaver gave a personal account of TRF:
 
How do we decide on where and what projects that our club undertakes?
 
The one answer is: Member Interests in the World
 
I will give you two examples:
 
In the mid-nineties I was working for a large corporation that assigned me to be the project manager of a new 250-mile water line in Botswana, Africa. It was a great adventure for me and my family. Because I was a Rotarian, I decided to join the Rotary Club of Gaborone in Botswana.
 
After the tour of duty ended, we moved to Ojai. I kept in touch with some of the people I met in Botswana. Shortly after joining Ojai Rotary, I asked our club join with the Las Vegas Rotary Club to purchase an ambulance for the town of Maun, Botswana.
 
Last year, I saw an appeal from a US Peace Corps representative in Botswana that a young doctor needed help to pay for her advanced training to become a certified surgeon. I contacted Bill McLellan, the President of the Gaborone Rotary, to get more information and he told me that currently there were only 10 certified surgeons in the entire country and 6 of them were in private practice. That left 4 to service 1.8 million people who relied on government health care. He also introduced me to Mike Dillard of the Bend, OR Rotary Club who was working with his club on a global grant to bring school books to a village in the west of the country.
 
 
 
The doctor, Dr. Weludo Ngwisanyi, had been self-funding her training for the past 3 years in South Africa. She needed $30,000 to complete her 5-year program. I suggested that the three clubs combine to write a global scholarship grant. The 3 clubs raised $10,000 in cash, got the 3 Rotary Districts to match with $10,000 DDF and submitted the grant. TRF approved and contributed the remaining $10,000. Weludo is now in her fourth year of training and working in three hospitals during the Covid crisis in South Africa.
 
A second example involved a Rick Steves’ tour of Eastern Europe by Marty and Kay. Their guide was from a small city in southern Bosnia. He told them about a women’s nonprofit that was doing remarkable things to bring the women from the three ethnic/religious cultures together to heal the emotional wounds of the 1990’s civil war that practically destroyed his home town. Although the war officially ended 25 years ago, tensions among the Croatians, Serbs and Muslim groups still persist. Unemployment in the city was 65%, and many women have difficulty finding work or don’t have the skills to support their families. Kay and Marty decided to make a side trip to meet Minva Hasic and the members of Association Orhideja Stolac.
 
When Kay returned from her trip, she told the members of our club’s International Service Committee about what she learned. The club decided to do something to assist the women in Stolac improve the economic conditions and at the same time do what we could to end this centuries old dispute. A $71,000 global grant was written to assist the women’s nonprofit organization start a business to produce sun-dried tomato products. The Rotary Club of Mostar agreed to be the host club and cash was raised from several clubs in our district to be combined with DDF and TRF funds.
 
The grant hired university agricultural experts to train the women on the best farming techniques, how to raise, dry and process the tomatoes, purchased supplies, seedings, drying racks, packaging process and a truck to transport to and from the home gardens of 11 family groups to the nonprofit processing location. We also provided coaching on production accounting, marketing and sales for the nonprofit staff by Skype calls.
 
Five Ojai Rotarians visited our new friends in Bosnia four years ago to assess the progress of the grant. We were impressed with their organization and products, but I was most impressed with how these representatives from different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds were united by their participation in this project. In following years, we had district grants to provided packaging and labeling equipment. In total $112,000 has been sent to Bosnia from 2015-19 of which our club provided 28% of the funds. The rest came from other partner clubs and the most from TRF.
 
If you have a strong interest in somewhere in the world and want to do something to help the people you met there, join the International Service Committee and we will help you make it happen with the help of The Rotary Foundation.
 
Leslie Bouche reported on the Prashanti School in Puri, India:
 
 
 
Prashanti International School (PIS) is a non-profit day school for Kindergarten through 8th grade in a poor village area outside the city of Puri, India. PIS provides a quality, values-based education for a current enrollment of 270 students at a very low tuition accessible by poor families. Enrollment is growing each year. The program also includes a residential children’s home for 40 of the students from the most impoverished backgrounds that provides housing, food, clothing, medical care, education and daily tutoring for them on full scholarship.
 

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Rotary Club of Ojai created and successfully completed five District and Club grants to benefit the children of Prashanti International School. These grants provided drinking water purification units, laptop computers and related items, water storage tanks, washrooms tiling and fixtures, and a septic tank and sanitation system for the school. The grants ranged in value from $1032 to $10,937. Additionally, RC Ojai granted $1000 to PIS to provide emergency food items to local families who were unable to get basic foods at the beginning of the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown in Puri. The projects totaled over $20,000, and they were very successful and completed on time and to budget.
In January, 2018, four Rotarians from Ojai traveled to India to see the grant projects in person and to participate in the inauguration of a new classroom building for Prashanti International School. It was so exciting to see the program in action and to observe the fine quality of work that had been accomplished by our Rotary grants. Most wonderful, though, was meeting and interacting with the children of PIS. The children were so bright, communicative and sweet. We fell in love!
 
We had meetings with the staff of PIS and had the opportunity to meet with members of the local Rotary Club of Srikshetra Puri. Together, we decided to embark on a Global Grant that would enable Prashanti International School to achieve their dream of adding grades 9 and 10 and becoming an accredited English-immersion high school. This would provide Prashanti students the preparation necessary to take the rigorous exams and to be admitted to university or high skills vocational programs that would dramatically change their life trajectory.
 
So, we created a Global Grant totaling $87,515 to help develop Prashanti International School. Ojai Rotary would be the International Club and Srikshetra Rotary would be the Host Club. Funding was accomplished by the generous financial participation by fourteen Rotary Clubs, with District Designated funds from three Rotary Districts, and matched funds from the Rotary World Fund.  The Global Grant application was approved by Rotary International on February 26, 2019.
 
This ambitious Global Grant provides funding to build:
  • Boundary wall around the entire 2-acre property
  • Fabricate and install 3 large school entrance gates 
  • Build an interior approach road and grade the school grounds to prevent flooding 
  • Install tiling and fixtures in several school restrooms 
  • Furnish several classrooms with desks and benches, locking metal cabinets, white boards, teachers desks and chairs 
  • 12 Laptop computers and projector screens plus printer for classrooms and computer lab
  •  Installation of fiber optic cable to the school, an internet router, and 12 month’s rent for internet access 
  • Teacher training programs in advanced English instruction, class management, training in Education in Human Values, and Inner Yoga for Teachers
  • Funding for the application fee to the Central Board of Secondary Education to enable PIS to add grades 9 and 10
In the two years since the grant was approved, an incredible amount of work has been completed. Despite the Category 5 Super Cyclone Fani that made a direct hit on Puri in May of 2019 and caused a huge amount of damage to the area, and then the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020 and ensuing lockdown creating disruption and delays, we are nearing completion of all that work. It is amazing what has been accomplished in just two years! Only the Teacher Training and CBSE Application remain to be completed. Both items were delayed because of the 2020 Pandemic. We are working to complete the entire Global Grant by the end of this Rotary year.
 
Thank you to the following clubs who contributed to this project – Cash totaling $31,100:

Bakersfield East
Montecito
Paso Robles Sunrise
Pismo Beach (Five Cities)
San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
Thousand Oaks
Ventura
Westlake Village Sunrise
Salinas Steinbeck
Escondido 
Cambria
E-Club of One World D5240
Host Club: Srikshetra Puri
International Club: Ojai
Partner Organization: World Family Foundation, Ojai 
 
District Designated funds of $20,500
From Districts 5240, 5230, 5340
 
World Fund Match: $35,005
 
Global Grant Total: $87,515
 
 
Leslie Clark took the podium with an account of her projects in Niger:
 
The Niger projects started like most Rotary projects—with one person’s passion
The magic of Rotary makes it possible to multiply one person’s passion into major impact. Every dollar a club spends is multiplied by matching from TRF and the support from other Rotary clubs. Our projects in Niger  have been supported by over 60 clubs.
 
It all started in 2005 when a catastrophic drought and famine in Niger got the world’s attention. Since then, we have done over 40 grants focusing on all Rotary’s list of important causes—plus some.
 
Fighting disease we built the first health clinic for nomads now operating for 12 years
 
Providing Water, sanitation and Hygiene  we have dug 36 wells to provide water for nomads, built latrines and distributed hand washing stations.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Saving mothers and children—a traditional birth attendant program with the help of local obstetrician, Dr. Robert Skankey,  started with 4 nomadic women.  Going strong for 10 years it now has 56 active matrones.  The last 16 of these were trained by local staff without our being there.
 
 
Supporting Education we have built, supplied or supported 11 schools
and provided desks for another 480 children.  Our support has helped educate thousands in Niger.
              
Growing local economies. We taught people new skills like how to build solar panels and install solar systems, how to repair motorcycles, how to build earthbag buildings from the soil of their land.
              
Protecting the environment—several grants have improved grasslands by creating dams or earth berms to retain water and regenerate pasture
 
              
Promoting Peace a microcredit loan program targeted this issue. Young nomads, vulnerable to recruitment by jihadists because of their knowledge of the desert received small loans so they were able to stay in Niger instead of going to Libya to seek opportunity and end up with terrorists.
              
Tuareg stability and prosperity is what has kept Niger free of terrorist bases and the Ojai club’s projects over seventeen years have made a major contribution.
 
Thank you all for a glimpse into the Rotary Foundation and all the dedication of Rotarians worldwide.
 
Final Thoughts…Words from Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta
 
 
“Rotary kindled the spark within me to look beyond myself and embrace humanity.  Service became a way of life for me and I, like many others, adopted the guiding philosophy that service is the rent I pay for the space I occupy on this earth, and I want to be a good tenant of this earth.”
 
 

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