BCC Supports Solar Buddies Program
Brisbane City Council supports Kenmore Rotary providing study lights to students in Papua New Guinea communities that don't have electricity
Stories
|
|
Solar Buddy Program at local schools in 2022 |
Solar BuddiesSolar Buddy is a registered international charity based in Brisbane and they contact service organisations like Rotary to connect local schools with other children and families throughout the world who live in energy poverty. This is their Buddy2Buddy program which starts with one small light given from one child here to another living without electricity, and our schools have chosen PNG students to receive their lights. This program teaches students about solar technology, how the solar cells interact with the rechargeable batteries and the LED lights through the PCB circuits, and how such lights can change lives where homes do not have mains electricity. Only 20% of the whole PNG population has access to regular electricity, mostly in larger towns, but in rural areas, it is only 6%. These small remote communities would only have smoky kerosene or expensive disposable battery lighting at night, so health, cost & safety issues limit children being able to read or do homework at night Project leaders Ross Thomas and Brian Becconsall of Kenmore Rotary are keen to support local students in their understanding of sustainable development and to develop international linkages with neighboring countries. This fits in to Rotary’s motto “Service above Self” and their 4th Object- “Advancement of International Understanding, Goodwill and Peace “. |
Solar Buddy Report 20/22Solar Buddy Report for 21/22
|
Rotary’s Response to the 1918 Flu Pandemic
This is how Rotary responded to the influenza pandemic that began in 1918 and came in three waves, lasting more than a year. The Rotary Club of Berkeley, California, USA, meets in John Hinkel Park during the 1918 flu pandemic. |
Rotary at the Start of the United Nations
During World War II, Rotary informed and educated members about the formation of the United Nations and the importance of planning for peace. Materials such as the booklet “From Here On!” and articles in The Rotarian helped members understand the UN before it was formally established and follow its work after its charter. Many countries were fighting the war when the term “United Nations” was first used officially in the 1942 “Declaration by United Nations.” The 26 nations that signed it pledged to uphold the ideals expressed by the United States and the United Kingdom the previous year of the common principles “on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”
|
History of Women in RotaryWomen are active participants in Rotary, serving their communities in increasing numbers and serving in leadership positions in Rotary. The 1989 Council on Legislation vote to admit women into Rotary clubs worldwide remains a watershed moment in the history of Rotary. “My fellow delegates, I would like to remind you that the world of 1989 is very different to the world of 1905. I sincerely believe that Rotary has to adapt itself to a changing world,” said Frank J. Devlyn, who would go on to become RI president in 2000-01. The vote followed the decades-long efforts of men and women from all over the Rotary world to allow the admission of women into Rotary clubs, and several close votes at previous Council meetings.
|
Young Inventor Eco-Friendly Bricks Come Full Circle
|
First Club in Philippines Opens Door to Rotary in Asia
The club would be the only one in the country for more than 12 years. Eventually, Manila club members organized Rotary clubs in the Philippine cities of Cebu (1932) and Iloilo (1933). Iloilo club members then started a club in Bacolod (1937), and Rotary continued to expand across the country. |
An estimated 500 million people worldwide became infected. Many cities closed theaters and cinemas, and placed restrictions on public gatherings. Rotary clubs adjusted their activities while also helping the sick.
Rotary and the United Nations have a shared history of working toward peace and addressing humanitarian issues around the world.
Every hero has an origin story. “I was 10 years old when the entire journey started,” explains Binish Desai. It began with a cartoon called Captain Planet, an animated TV series from the 1990s about an environmentalist with superpowers. Desai can still recite the show’s refrain: Captain Planet, he’s our hero / Gonna take pollution down to zero! “That tagline stuck in my mind,” he says. “I wanted to do something to help Captain Planet.”
In early 1919, Rotarian Roger Pinneo of Seattle, Washington, USA, traveled to the Philippines to try to organize a Rotary club in Manila. Leon J. Lambert, a Manila business leader helped Pinneo establish the club. Several months later, on 1 June 1919, the Rotary Club of Manila was chartered and became the first Rotary club in Asia.