Kitchener Rotary

e-Newsletter

January 31, 2022

Meeting Recording

A recording of Today’s Meeting can be found here.
 

President's Comments

President Adrian welcomed everyone to the meeting.  He reminded all that January 29 was a National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia and that on this, the fifth anniversary of this tragedy, we also marked the first National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque Attack.
 
“January 29 was another anniversary of the Quebec Mosque shooting massacre, it is time to reflect and collectively remember the lives lost. It is also a time to renew our commitment to act against Islamophobia.  January 29 is the National Day of Remembrance of the Quebec City Mosque and Action Against Islamophobia.  On this day in 2017, a shooter barged into a mosque, and massacred six Muslims as they prayed.  The shooting left 17 children fatherless, six women widowed, and six victims severely injured, including one paralyzed for life.  We also lost a first responder due the trauma of the attack
 
The killer was consumed by an unspeakable amount of hate for Muslims.  The horrific attack in London last year was a grisly reminder that Islamophobia is not a “thing of the past,” but very much alive and present in our communities even today.”
 
A moment of silence reflection was help to remember and honour those killed or wounded in these terrible events.
 

Visiting Rotarians

Irene Sage, RC of Kitchener Conestoga, RAWEF member
Jim Beingessner, RC of Kitchener Conestoga, RAWEF member

Guests

Chepkorir Langat Sharon, presenter
Evaline Adhiambo Oluoch, presenter
Sister Joan Mukhwana, School Sisters of Notre Dame, presenter
Diane Jones, guest of Martin Jones
Cathie DeCoo, guest of Adrian DeCoo
Sue Parker, Guest of Gary Parker
 

Happy Jar

Kelly Miller was very happy that at a recent company convention she received an award as “Rookie of the Year” which includes a trip to Sandals vacation resort.
 
Louise Gardiner is happy to be off skiing with family and friends for the next couple of days in Blue Mountain.

Club Announcements

Catch The Ace
Week 11 of Catch the Ace saw Micheline C. as our lucky winner.  She picked card #43, revealing the 2 of Diamonds and won the weekly prize of $265.  Micheline C. was another winner from the Ottawa area, telling us that we have people following us from across Ontario.
 
Still no Ace of Spades so there is still time to get your tickets for the next weekly draw on Thursday February 3rd.  
 
 
Coldest Night of the Year
Saturday, February 26th - Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser for Ray of Hope
The Coldest Night of the Year is a winterrific family-friendly walk to raise money for local charities serving people experiencing hurt, hunger, and homelessness.  This is an opportunity for us to step outside the warmth and comfort of home and shine a light of welcome and compassion in our community.
 
The official walk is on Saturday, February 26th for your choice of 2 or 5 km at the official walk but you can walk any day in February and for any distance on your own or with friends.  Past President Paul will be walking at Victoria Park on Friday 4th at 2 pm - meet him at the children's playground parking lot if you wish to join him. Past President Louise will be walking on Saturday, February 26th at 1 pm at the Huron Natural Trails - She invites you to join her with your children, grandchildren and/or dogs! - If you are registering to walk in your neighbourhood or with Paul or Louise please register as "Virtual"
Don't like the cold?  Please support us by donating. A receipt is provided for a donation of $20 or more.
 
Let's GOOOO Rotary Road Scholars!  Click our Team link to JOIN or DONATE:
 
Thank you Kitchener Rotary - our most vulnerable need us now more than ever!
Coldest Night Chair - Kelly Miller
 
Membership Proposal
A membership proposal has been received from Robert Shipley, 208-3 Father Bauer Drive, Waterloo, as a regular member, proposed by Ross Newkirk and has been approved by the Board.  Robert is a retired professor from U of W in Urban Planning.  His classification will be Heritage Planner and Analyst.  Any member who opposes this membership proposal must indicate so in writing, indicating the reasons for the objection, to club Secretary, Bill Proctor, no later than Tuesday, February 10.
 

Program Highlights

Our program today was a presentation by two of the young ladies in East Africa that we have sponsored through our RAWEF program.
 
To begin, Martin Jones gave a brief overview of the project.  RAWEF stands for Rotary African Women’s’ Education Fund.  It provides bursaries to young ladies in East Africa to attend university and covers all expenses, tuition, lodging, transportation, books, etc.  The program came about through the wishes of a past Rotarian, Audrey Wipper who believed strongly that a critical factor in the improvement of live in Africa will be through the education of young women.  She made an initial donation of $500,000 to fund the program and left an additional one million dollars to it in her will.
 
About 10 to 15 students are funded each year and to date 97 students have received the bursary, 41 of whom are still in university.  We work closely with two organisations in Africa who assist with the selection of the students and the administration of the funds.  One of which is the Sisters of Notre Dame and Sister Joan Mukhwana was also in attendance at our meeting today.
 
Chepkorir Langat Sharon
 
My name is Chepkorir Langat Sharon. I am a student at Moi University Kenya, pursuing a course in Bachelor of Education science currently in my third year, first semester.
  • Education science is a four year course which enable to become a professional high school teacher.
  • After graduating I would like to impart my knowledge to others and change the perceptions that people have towards sciences and mathematics.
 
Moi University
  • Moi University is a home away from home. It is located in Uasin Gishu County, approximately an hour from Eldoret town.
  • It was established in mid- 1984 but was officially inaugurated on December 6th 1985.
  • Moi University offers various faculties such as education, engineering, agriculture, information science, among others.
  • Its structures are modernized, it has a digital library {Margaret Thatcher Library} and also well-equipped laboratories for scientific research.
  • Moi according to me is the best university and offers the best courses in our country and beyond.
 
Distance Between Home and University
  • My home is located in Kericho County which is 86.992 miles from my school.
  • Kericho County is one of the best counties in Kenya and is famously known for its large scale tea production.
  • Its climate favors various farming activities such as tea growing, livestock keeping among others.
 
What I Like About My School
  • It offers quality courses and also offers a variety of courses one can choose from
  • Moi University has a modern library and well equipped laboratories and its environment is very calm hence it offers a conducive environment for studying.
  • Its natural environment such as waterfall, planted forest and also Kesses Dam which offers recreational activities such as boat riding, is very captivating.
 
What It Means to be in School For Me
  • Being a student doing education science consisting of 8 units per semester my schedule always vary during the academic week.
  • On my normal academic day I wake up at 5. 00 am and do my personal studies for an hour before preparing myself for classes.
  • Mostly my classes starts from 7.00 am and ends at 5.00 pm, and each class having a duration of 2hours. I attend a total number of 24 classes in a week with a minimum of 2 classes per day.
  • I normally attend church service on Saturdays. During Sundays I engage in some leisure activities such as nature walks, bike riding, watching movies and strolling around the school farm and dam, playing lawn tennis.
 
Challenges
  • Unpredictability of the term length due to student unrest caused by various challenges they face in school such as sudden increase in the amount of school fees to be paid.  And lecturers boycotting their work due to failure of the school administration to pay them in time.
  • Failure to upload marks in time, making it difficult to know how you have performed in the previous year or semester. Also graduating in time will be difficult since you will be dealing with missing marks.
  • Accommodation is also a challenge since we have to rent hostels outside the school premises hence we are forced to cook for ourselves and also not all rentals are secured. .
 
The Extra Curriculum Activity
  • Being in school doesn’t only mean attending classes and performing academically it also means discovering oneself, learning various cultures of different ethnic groups and also socialization.
  • Most extra curriculum activities I participate in are church activities. Currently I am the chairperson in our youth ministry.my duty is to assist my peers to grow spiritually, mentally and physically.
 
Appreciation
  • I would like to thank RAWEF for their great love for African women and supporting us in our educational journey.
  • May God bless you.
 
Evaline Adhiambo Oluoch
University and Program
  • Name;  Evaline Adhiambo Oluoch
  • University; I am a student at Technical University of Kenya, located in Nairobi, Kenya.
  • Program; Undertaking a course in Bachelor of Commerce-Accounting option and currently am in my 4th year.
 
My Home and Family
  • My family is composed of eight people. I am a second born amongst six children in our family. I have three sisters namely Yvone who is in Form four, Phenny who is in form one and Rose who is in class four. I also have two brothers namely Fabish who is in polytechnic, and Felix who is in form three.
  • My parents’ home is in Homa Bay County (a rural area) in Kenya.
  • Our house is a two bedroom mud house. I live with my parents and siblings.
  • The distance from our home to the University is 404.4KM. The fare cost a minimum amount of $12 for a single trip.
 
A Typical Day at University for Me
  • Get up on average at 6am. I always get up one hour before my first class starts so that I have enough time to get ready and to have breakfast before I leave for classes. This is because live on campus hostels. I actually have a walk trip of about 20 minutes to the university.
  • Then I get to classes. I always have three-hour class for every session. In a single day I can have a maximum of three classes thus means I will have 9 hours attending to lectures. On a Friday is a free day for most students in the whole university. I usually enjoy recreational activities like swimming and playing football on Friday. On Saturday, I go to church where I serve as a usher.
  • Having lunch . The lunch hour is not the same every day because it depends on at what time I have free time for lunch. Sometimes we have classes at lunchtime so it’s hard to balance in between.
  • Come back home.  Once my classes are over at late hours I come back home but if they are over early I hang out with my friends.
 
What I Like About University
  • The program is designed to provide students with a wide range of managerial skills
  • Bachelor of Commerce at Technical University of Kenya prepare students for a career  in fields like accounting, finance, sales & marketing, insurance, human resource management, and logistics & procurement.
  • Students are recommended specialization in any of the above field depending on one’s understanding of the core units in a particular field at the beginning of their 3rd year.
 
What is Good About Being at University
  • Time management: I have learnt on how to weigh responsibilities and plan my schedules well.
  • Independence and responsibility:  Being at the university has helped me to make independent decisions and learn from benefits, or repercussions thus teaching me responsibility.
  • Budgeting and saving money: I have learnt to budget my money so I am better prepared when I will have a job, but more bills to pay.
  • Friends and relationship: I have develop unique and strong friends whom we are advancing together with.
 
What is Hard About Being at University
  • Heavy academic workload. Being in the university is difficult because I have to study more than I have been used in the past. I always handle this by having clear plans by implementing study sessions, taking proper breaks and taking better notes.
  • Handling relationship difficulties. Ensuring I have the time to spend with my friends to ensure I overcome social pressure is sometimes difficult. Having a painful break-up hearts too. The best way I deal with relationship problem is to talk with person I trust or consult with the university counselor.
 
Challenges I am Experiencing at University
  • Accommodation; Most Kenyan universities and colleges have found it difficult to meet the demand for on-campus student accommodation due high student enrolment figures while the rooms are limited. So those who have missed on-campus hostels and are unable to afford private hostels have to live in off-campus rented premises where security is not guaranteed because strangers have easy access to these rentals sometimes to harm students.
  • Examination results; Sometimes the University delays in releasing examination results. In other departments they wait academic year to end is when they release the results after starting new academic year. Students also struggle with missing marks especially in common units. They have to look after the lecturers so that their marks be posted in the portals. Sometimes the University end up guessing marks to students if the lecturers refuse to release the results. Lecturers always held the result in case they were working on contract basis but their wages have not been cleared by the University,
 
What I Hope to do After I Graduate
  • Gain some work experience through hunting for internship opportunities. However, securing a job is not easy and can be particularly hard if you do not have required work experience.  That is where internships come in handy, giving you that experience employers are looking.
  • Start a business. The kind of business I hope to start will depend with amount of capital at hand by the moment. The business ideas I have in mind are food sales, mobile money transfer, and hardware store.
  • Study a post graduate course. I am hoping that I will further my studies in Master’s in Business Administration.  
 
Appreciation
  • I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude for Kitchener Rotary Club’s help in financing our studies. May you keep on continuing to help great individuals like me in your life. God bless you!!
 
 
In conclusion Sister Joan spoke about how important the program is to these young ladies who, without it, would not be able to attend university. 
 

Closing Remarks & Reminders

President Adrian reminded the group that the next meeting will be on Tuesday Feb. 8 at 7:45 AM. This will be a Breakfast Zoom - Joint meeting with Kitchener Grand River to celebrate Kathi Smith as the first Women Rotarian in Ontario on February 1, 1989 - Guest Speaker Valarie Wafer - RI Director and Chair RI Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force.
 
Speakers
Feb 08, 2022 7:45 AM
ZOOM BREAKFAST - Celebrating Women in Rotary
Feb 14, 2022 12:00 PM
ZOOM NOON - Youth & Club Exchange History
Feb 21, 2022
Committee Meetings to be Scheduled by Committee Chairs
Feb 28, 2022 7:00 PM
ZOOM NOON - Speaker Series - Lessons from Indigenous political activism in the 20th century
View entire list
Birthdays & Membership Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Neil Swayze
February 1
 
Lew Ford
February 5
 
JB Moore
February 8
 
Ailton Dias Santana
February 14
 
Cameron Yule
February 19
 
Josh Bedard
February 23
 
Wayne Boehler
February 28
 
Join Date
Lew Ford
February 1, 1991
31 years
 
Laura Mae Lindo
February 10, 2020
2 years
 
Sponsors