In the beginning…

Wendy Barker stood in today for Sue.  The flag salute was led by Catherine Lee

The Inspirational Moment was  given by Leslie Bouche.

Visitors:

    Karen Banfield, Marilyn Miller, Susan Weaver, Peggy LaCarra, Kitty Winn and Dorjee Tsa Wang.

Thank you to all the folks who helped put today’s meeting together:

     Bill, Catherine, Diedre, Fern, Ren, Tessa, Randy, Dave and Jayne.

Announcements:

     1. Betsy Watson: Sign up for our annual Al West Arbor Day program. This year we are going back to the Mira Monte kindergarten, April 24th. Meet at 11:30.

         Lunch will be at 12:00 from Gustos for $18.00. Please sign up in the back. Bring a shovel and a rake and wear your Rotary shirt.

          Al has been in the hospital but is now at home.  He's happy to accept visitors and phone calls.

     2. Barry Varga is back with us today after a thyroidectomy.  His voice has been impacted but he hopes to be all well before his upcoming boat trip at the end of this month.

     3. Bret Bradigan  reminded us about the upcoming Living Treasures. There have been only 5 nominations so far and Bret encouraged us to nominate some of the amazing people that make our community so special and  should get a nod of appreciation.

     4. Bruce said that next week the speaker will be Dr. Ryan Jackson who will talk about hope and purpose after natural and man-made disasters.  The following week, we will have Charlie Kimble who is an accomplished race car driver.  He will be talking aboutbeing a motivational speaker and inspiring people to do impossible things.

     5. Next Thursday is our outing to The Bistro at Oxnard Culinary School.  Sign up now thru e-mail and pay thru e-mail.

Confessions:

     1. Bob Davis said that his visitor today is from Afghanistan/Pakistan who has received from Rotary 11/million Polio Vaccines.  He encouraged us to donate and rid the entire             world of Polio. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will triple all donations.

     2. Kathy Yee said that she and her brother had childhood polio and encouraged all people who have been impacted by polio to donate.

     3. Mr and Mrs. Beckett are celebrating their 67th anniversary.

     4. Barry said it was  nice to be here today rather than in the hospital.

     There was only one fining question today: Who is it in our club who has been here the

     longest? It is Bob Davis (53years) and Tony Thatcher (54 years).

Museum Moment:

     Wendy Barker gave us a bit of Ojai history with the construction dates and pictures of the first Nordhoff

     Highschools and Matilija Jr. High.

Marilyn Mosley introduced today’s speaker Nargis Zagreb.

Program:  

Our speaker today was Nagris Zagreb introduced by Marilyn Mosley:  Ms. Zagreb is from Afganistan. During the war which lasted from 1978 thru 2001, Ms. Zagreb's family    had escaped to Pakistan.   Upon her return in 2009, she began the process of rebuilding programs  for the education of women and girls.  Some of these programs were supported by USAID, The World Bank and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.      Eventually, after resettling in Virginia, Ms. Zagreb met Marilyn Mosley and together they established     Educate Girls Now. EGN transforms lives and builds stronger communities in Afghanistan by educating Afghan girls and women. Since 2014, EGN has provided stipends and educational support to mothers who commit to keeping their daughters in school rather than forcing early marriage or child labor. They currently support 174 Afghan girls and their families at just $100/family/month.  We can sponsor a girls education for $50 a month.  When the Taliban banned girls from 7th-12th grade in 2021, EGN pivoted immediately to online

 classes, home tutoring and  local mentors.  In 2024, they launched  "School on a Phone" using WhatsApp to connect girls directly with Afghan teachers.  A UNESCO    grant enabled them to train 11 teachers who taught 109 girls. Funding limitations forced them to  pause in 2024.  They are actively seeking support to reopen and serve a combined 273 students.

 EGN recently launched Pathways School International, offering girls a full accredited  diploma thru Oak Meadow, a U.S. accredited program - preparing them for university admission or meaningful participation  in the global economy.   

 Ojai Rotary International is now sponsoring their vocational training projects.  Their university   collaborations now include AESOP (Princeton), The University of Wisconsin ESL program, The Afghan Girls Financial Assistance Fund and OMID Foundation (trauma-informed mental health  training). Their creative programs include a journaling project with Der Spiegel,  and collaborative  poetry with Laurel Springs School.  EGN is a member of the Alliance for the Education in Afghanistan  and partners with Right to Learn Afghanistan.

     Ms. Zagreb finished her talk by answering many questions and agreed to stay to answer more.

     The meeting was adjourned by Wendy with a quote from Michele Obama. "When women are educated , their countries become stronger and more prosperous".

You are invited to visit us at an upcoming meeting.