Rotary Club No. 17632, District 9510.  Chartered 24th April 1954

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Mondays at 6:30 PM
Nixon's Function Centre
Nixon Tce
Gawler, SA 5118
Australia
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Welcome to our weekly bulletin! Find out who our upcoming speakers are, what we covered during the last weekly meeting and other stories as they become available.

Current Club Meetings Planner

May 2025 Youth Service Month
#3248 5th Erfan Abidi Educating Girls in Afghanistan
#3249 12th Peter Jervis -Shelter Box
#3250 20th note-TUESDAY Combined meeting with Gawler Light-NIXONS
#3251 26th Committees Board
Diary Dates
Monday 19th May
No Meeting
Tuesday May 20th
Combined meeting with RCGL
Monday June 30th
Changeover dinner
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Barry Stewart
July 3
 
John Dawkins
July 3
 
Tom Kelly
July 14
 
Mark Forgie
July 15
 
Klaus Retelsdorf
July 20
 
Ron Lloyd
July 21
 
Kathy Heinrich
July 22
 
Spouse Birthdays
Mike Johnson
July 4
 
Helen Guthberlet
July 10
 
Julie Smeaton
July 29
 
Join Date
Bob Hinderwell
July 1, 1990
35 years
 
Patricia Johnson
July 2, 2000
25 years
 
Deb Williams
July 12, 2019
6 years
 
Lance Hatcher
July 16, 1962
63 years
 
Karen Redman
July 27, 2015
10 years
 
 
Meeting Report  3248 May 5th
Formalities
 
Chair
Toast
Grace
3248
PE Kyle
PP Dr Bruce
Grace B
Meeting 3248 was opened by PE Kyle;
Apologies were received from Stan Roulston, Kim Potger, Nathan Pengelley, Mark Forgie, John Lyons
Julie Ann Tekell Rebecca Pratt, Leanne Clinch
Kathy welcomed guests and made a special mention of the members of Rotary Club of Murray Bridge
Guests and visiting Rotarians Erfan Abidi – Guest speaker,
Christine Vine, Jenny Alexander-Walters, Lyn Sickerdick, Roxanne Rowland, Sally Richardson, Simon Sickerdick, Susanne (Sue) Foster, Grace Barilla, Sandy Dalton, Brian Burt, Carol Stewart.
 
Notes from members and directors:
Almoner PP Mike Williams,
  • Mike shared the sad news of Tony Fotheringham’s passing for those who hadn’t heard. He then paid tribute to Tony saying how he had been a very valuable member who lived with the Rotary Spirit and always put his hand up to help. When Tony ceased being a member he became an honorary member and was present at most changeover and Christmas functions. Besides Rotary Tony was heavily involved with the CFS, Apex and the Gawler Show Society.
The family invited the club to have a representative speak at his funeral on Friday. Members were invited to pass their anecdotes of Tony to Kathy who will collate them for Anthony. The club has also been asked to be a part of the Guard of Honour and to please wear your Paul Harris Fellow medals.
 
Everyone enjoyed some fellowship over dinner before PE Kyle asked RC Murray Bridge President, Jenny Alexander-Walters to share some information about their club.
  • They have 38 members including 4 new members inducted last week.
  • They have many ongoing projects including
  • Music for Dementia- for people in our community who are affected by the onset of dementia. Recipients receive the specially designed headsets with an inbuilt selection of music
  • Bags for Blokes- toiletries and clothes for men, there are many organisations who support homeless women but very few specifically for men.
  • Assisting at Monarto Safari Park-this has been a long-term project
  • Providing a $1000.00 music bursary for a student in year 11 or 12
  • Rotary Youth Programs- One and All -usually have 1 or 2 students on each voyage.
  • Supporting the small primary schools camp
  • The Rotary Art show with Mobilong RC
  • Recycling- another project with Mobilong to promote better recycling in the area.
  • Annual Swap Meet held in Feb each year.
  • An annual calendar. This calendar has a theme each year and this year was pubs in the area. Each calendar sold comes with the opportunity to win a prize each week. The prizes are supplied by the sponsors and this attracts sales.
  • . PE Kyle thanked Jenny for the impromptu presentation and said it gave us lots of ideas. He then welcomed PP Barry for his sergeant’s session.
Wheel winners this week were Deb W (who graciously donated the $25 to the fines session- Thank You), Pres Anthony and PP Mark S
PP Barry highlighted Kyles piece in the Bunyip promoting tonight. Barry loved having all the extra guests and appreciated the extra laughs he got from the Facebook funnies!
 
Kyle  thanked Barry and introduced tonights guest speak Erfanullah Abidi
 
Erfan delivered another deeply moving and educational presentation, this time focusing on the tragic journey from progress to oppression for women in Afghanistan.
Erfan began by describing the progressive era of the 1970s, when Afghan women were treated as equals. Remarkably, during that time, gender distinctions such as "he" or "she" were seldom used. However, the tides began to turn in 1979, and by the 1980s, the erosion of gender equality had begun in earnest. The outbreak of civil war in 1992 marked a devastating turning point, with more lives lost than during the Soviet invasion.
For the next two decades, education was largely limited to boys over the age of 12, and even then, it was steeped in extremist ideology. Erfan shared a telling contrast: while children at home might learn “H is for Humanity,” schools taught “H is for Holy War.”
Between 2001 and 2021, Afghans continued to persevere through both peace and conflict. But in August 2021, with the withdrawal of Western forces and the Taliban's return to power, Kabul fell once again. The consequences were immediate and severe—millions tried to flee, and women were forced back into hiding, now subject to more than 50 oppressive restrictions, including mandatory black, full-body coverings.
Having fled to Adelaide with his family, Erfan could not forget those left behind. Determined to make a difference, he helped establish underground education programs for young women—now known through the hashtag #LetAfghanGirlsLearn. These secret "centres" began with just 10 students, with Erfan himself writing the curriculum. Due to the high risk, no identifying details are shared, and all media discussions focus solely on what the centres do—not where they are.
If a centre’s location is compromised, it is immediately shut down. Despite the challenges, professionals such as doctors and lawyers volunteer their time to teach. Today, thanks to support from UNICEF, there are now over 15,000 of these learning centres in operation.
Erfan concluded his presentation with an emotional music video that left a lasting impression. Though the meeting ran overtime, the room remained silent and attentive throughout. It was a powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit—and the importance of education in the face of adversity.
 
After a Q& A from the floor, PE Kyle thanked Erfan for once again speaking to the club and presented him with a certificate of appreciation before asking Pres Anthony to close the meeting
    
He also expressed his thanks to Erfan and then thanked the gusts for coming and invited then to return,  Nixon’s staff and Barry for their efforts tonight then closed the meeting with the four way test.
 
 
 
sections of the audience all listening intently to Erfan
Beginning the Presentation
with Pres Anthony and PE Kyle
Just a selection of Ban on women
 
Type caption here

 

From the latest Interplast newsletter Rotarians go the extra mile for Interplast

Interplast has been incredibly fortunate to have been chosen as the Partner Project of the inspirational and dynamic Carol O’Connell. Travelling thousands of kilometres with her partner, District 9790 Governor Stephen O’Connell, Carol has mobilised the sprawling and diverse Rotary District, which stretches from the north of Melbourne to southern New South Wales. This year, she has shared the Interplast story with hundreds of Rotarians and raised over $24,000 for Interplast programs!

Carol was able to meet Interplast volunteer surgeon, David Morgan, at the District conference in Albury earlier this month. There, David delivered a powerful keynote speech and joined Carol on one of the final objectives of her project — to walk 979kms over the year.

The passion and commitment of Carol, David and the Rotarians of District 9790 have been inspirational, and the results have wildly exceeded even Carol’s expectations.

 
 
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Bulletin Editor
Angela Moore
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