NZ291 e-Mag July 2020 - Inner Wheel New Zealand inc
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
NZ291
e-Mag
July 2020
International Inner Wheel President
Phyllis Charter and her theme
“Together we can”,
adapted during Covid-19
1
District Chairman
Brenda Paschke
“Together we can” has been a wonderful International Inner Wheel President's theme
for the 2019-2020 Inner Wheel year. I am so proud to have been District Chairman for
NZ291 during this time of growth and turmoil, witnessing just how strong we are
together.
My year began with a focus on introducing the National Strategy, Project Revive, and
seeing many Clubs embrace the essence of change; develop new ideas to trial and
strengthen their Clubs. When visiting Clubs, I witnessed changes being implemented
as Clubs challenged themselves by moving outside their comfort zones. My visits to
Clubs were an absolute honour and a real highlight of my year. Meeting members, getting to know Club Presidents
and their committees, and getting a real feel for how each club “works”. My biggest regret is having to cancel my
visit to IWC Auckland East due to ill health, so I was honoured to be invited to their Christmas function where they
presented one of two Margarette Golding Awards for the year.
The Covid-19 pandemic and resulting “Lockdown” showed just how strong our District and Clubs are. I was
incredibly proud to see the immediate response made by Clubs to support their members. Newsletters designed to
raise spirits and keep our members connected were inspiring. Many Clubs turned to Zoom, Meet, Skype, WhatsApp
and other online communication tools to “see” each other, while others (re)turned to the tried and tested
telephone tree to ensure members were supported. What an amazing group of supportive women, demonstrating
our commitment to supporting and empowering each other.
I am sorry to see the closure of two Clubs, IWC Counties and IWC East Coast Albany Bays, both of which have given
so much to their members and communities, our District and Inner Wheel NZ. It has been wonderful to work with
Vera Farmilo, District Chairman NZ293, to begin welcoming the Inner Wheel Clubs of Fairfield, Matamata, Opotiki
and Tauranga Central, joining us in the new Inner Wheel year.
Thank you to all those who took part in their Club committees this year, along with those who will step up on 1 July
2020 and in the future. This is a voluntary organisation so each one of us is giving our time freely in support of our
organisation. Your efforts do not go unrecognised and I thank you. A voluntary organisation is only as robust as our
members, and each Club, District and even National Committee is founded on members stepping up to support the
continuance of our wonderful organisation. Thank you for all your hard work in supporting your members to be so
successful in providing the high level of community support, friendship and fun seen throughout the year.
While I do not feel I achieved all that I had planned at the beginning of the year due to my own health issues and
Covid-19, I am so proud of what we have achieved together as a District. I have enjoyed being able to support Clubs
when necessary, being part of the National Governing Body, and working with the many dedicated women
throughout the District.
Thank you to my District Executive Committee for their efforts and for their personal support in helping me through
this challenging year. My best wishes to our Incoming District Chairman, Rina Maxwell-Hesp, and her District
Executive Committee. I look forward to continuing to support our District as District Membership Chairman, working
with other women passionate about sharing our wonderful organisation, strengthening membership and
empowering women throughout the new look District NZ291.
2
Vice District Chairman
Rina Maxwell-Hesp
What a 2019-202 year we just had, who would have predicted this. I was excited to
start the new Inner Wheel Year last July, asking myself “ what would this bring?”
while getting ready to learn and grabbing the invites of support and training from
various past District members and Chairmen. By being in the NZ291 Editor’s role,
I feel I know most of the members through the Club’s newsletters and will
strengthen my friendship during my visits to the clubs.
It was a pity we were unable to hold the ROSE Day as I see this day as an
excellent opportunity to assist incoming Committee members transition into
their new roles, and providing some helpful hints and tips. We are so lucky with
the District Committee we have, who worked on an on-line version which is easy
to understand, updated automatically with the latest Club Resource Manual
version from National. All info at your fingertips, press the appropriate button
which will take you there - click here to access the ROSE Day toolkit.
During Covid-19, we saw how strong our organistaion is, we kept in contact, tried new methods of
communication and kept the friendship going. We looked after our members within our clubs. It is
daunting to learn new skills; I am impressed with our members who took on this challenge to run Zoom
meetings, operated the chatrooms, instigated Meet calls and talked via Skype. Words which are now part of
our day to day conversation, who would have predicted this. Together you proved that we could.
The new IW year allows taking on a different direction for our District to incorporates these new skills; a
Media Team will drive the transition, teaching us what we need to know about the use of the Google Suite.
These are all aids to strengthen our communication and our friendship.
By becoming your District Chairman I have to step further outside my comfort zone, I felt the need to step
up and discovered that I could help others by offering my friendship, lend a helping hand, support and
share what I know. I will use the skills I have developed throughout my life and utilise these in my position
of District Chairman. So, what will I do, what will I be? I will BE a continuing supporter for the right of
women and girls and happiness worldwide by supporting and working together to create a robust, modern
and global Inner Wheel with you all. I will call upon you to walk this journey with me, this new chapter in
my life and not stay on the side-line, BE actively involved.
I look forward to my club visits and in the meantime, BE positive and strengthen what the organisation is
about, the service to women and girls, the opportunities we provide, how we empower women and you will
see changes happening around you, and most of all BE a Friend.
3
District Membership—Past District Chairman
Sylvia Millard
At the beginning of 2019-20-year clubs were
enthusiastic about increasing their membership,
especially with the extra help put forward at
National Conference workshops in May 2019. The
majority of clubs have seen an increase in
membership. It is good to see an increase in clubs
using social media as this is a way forward in
conjunction with traditional ways. I am very proud
of the clubs because you have all worked to profile
Inner Wheel with your work and encourage new
members.
Our meetings came to a halt in March with
Covid-19. Clubs have looked after their members
through this time. The use of social media has been a challenge but you have kept
in touch by email, Zoom, YouTube, Skype, and phone trees.
The New Year was to have been a time to look at how we can make decisions on how
to go forward with the Counties club. It has now closed. There is still a need to build
clubs in South Auckland and West Auckland where there is a need for women to
share friendship through service.
Unfortunately, the new club at Hobsonville, which my team and I have been
working on, will not progress at this time. With Covid-19 coming at a very bad time
we were unable to confirm enough ladies to join our organisation. In December we
held a Pre-loved Fashion Sale and the money raised for New Horizons for Women
Trust for a Second Chance Education Study Award. This will now be presented to
the successful applicant by our District. This successful event gave Inner Wheel a
profile in the area of West Auckland.
We must look after and nurture each existing and all new or potential members as
friendship and personal service is so important at this time.
“Together We Can”
4
District ISO
Tam Garlick
What an enlightening job!! Why, because you get to know what every club in the district
is doing, learn about new local charities and projects, the hours spent doing service, how
funds are raised and from the photos see the pleasure on the faces of those who give and
those who receive. What all clubs continue to achieve is truly outstanding.
In September clubs voted to discontinue with a District Project. However, there has
been continued support for Project Uplift, and congratulations to Kate Hargraves the
founder for being presented with a Margarete Golding award in December. Wine caps
and more recently bread tags are also collected for charity.
6 members from 3 clubs entered and gained sponsorship for the Pink Ribbon Walk late November. Not good
timing, but still a concept to do something similar in the community again maybe at an earlier time next
year.
The “hardest “ part of this job is nominating which club will receive the ISO Susan Auer Challenge Award.
There are specific criteria to be met around the international theme and service project of helping women
and girls. We have quite a wide range of approaches from the French flair of Noumea Plaisance to Aotea
who is always thinking outside the square. The last 3 months of this IW year have been a challenge for
everyone. All the best plans and preparations for finishing with a flourish have been turned upside down.
Some clubs managed 2 club meetings, others only 1 since the Xmas break and C19 lockdown. Worrying
about giving an award is minor to what we all are going to face. Keeping members connected as a service
organisation is paramount so that we can pick up just as strong again. Bulletins and zoom meetings etc. have
been great, showing ”together we can “ survive a crisis and look forward soon to doing what we do best
“service with friendship”.
District Editor
Rina Maxwell-Hesp
Looking back at my third year of being a District Editors, I have seen an increase in
communication, especially during the Covid-19 period. Interesting snippets, being posted,
quirky Memes, recipes shared and stories about your lockdown experience. The main focus
during that time was to keep communicating with all members, keep the friendships
flowing and with the Together we Can theme this year, we all did!
I loved being the editor, I felt I was involved with the clubs, learned about their activities and was
able to see the hard work you all put in to assist in the community and deliver a so needed service.
Penelope Spencer-Mackay will be taking up this position, thanks Penelope for stepping up, I am
sure you will enjoy your new role and you are a great asset to the District Team.
Thanks to all the club editors for their support and keep those newsletters coming.
5
Honoured Active Members Club Awards
Mary Bingham Pam Ninnes
IW Club Shore City IW Club East Coast
Albany Bays IW Club East IW Club Howick IW Club Howick
Coast Albany Certificate of Ethel Abercrombe Award
Bays President Appreciation Cathy Burn (R)
Lynda Schuller
Pam, presenting Joan Swift with Past This is an award to a
IW Club Orewa
the Club’s Rose President Adrienne member who has gone
and
Whangaparaoa Award to Judi beyond the call of duty
Astrop. for the club.
Kate Hargraves
Recipient of Margarette Golding Award
At the IW Auckland East Christmas dinner, IWNZ President, Carol Haskett
presented a Margarette Golding Award to Kate Hargraves. Kate was
nominated for the award by IW Auckland East and the club committee was
delighted to be advised that their nomination was accepted.
Kate does everything with great enthusiasm and on an industrial scale. As Co
-ordinator for Operation Uplift she sent 20,000 bras to the Pacific Islands last
year. She is very involved in the City Mission, Breast Cancer Foundation, Middlemore Hospital Foundation, St Johns, and
others. Through her network she helps distribute Days for Girls, recycled glasses, and children’s clothes and books to the
islands.
From left to right in the photo are, IW NZ President Carol Haskett, IW Auckland East President Diana Maher, Kate
Hargraves, IW Auckland East Immediate Past President Juliet Allen, IWNZ 291 District Chair Brenda Paschke.
Welcome to our new Members
Margaret Dimple Betty Gillianders & Dale Heather Moore & Vanessa Neeson Marlene Marsden & Christl Kirstein
Wyllie Aotea Auckland Auckland East Orewa & Whangaparaoa Howick
Mt Roskill
IW Club of
Nouméa
Plaisance
inducted 2
new
members
Mary Sandra Cathcart, Julie Smith , Judy Allen, Ann Gurnsey & Shirley Jeffrey Prue and Lynette
Shore City Parahaki of Whangarei East Coast Albany Bays 6
AOTEA Auckland
President 2019-2020 Penelope Spencer
Our Club vision for 2019/20 “Together We Can” - to focus on growing our numbers and promote
Inner Wheel. COVID-19 challenged us as a Club to having meetings through Zoom, WhatsApp,
emails, txts and or the simple phone call to keep connection with each other.
Growth in the club has seen us welcome three new members, increasing
membership from 11 to 14 members. Dimple earlier in the year and, Ruth and
Elisabeth. As our numbers grow, we have secured a venue to hold
our meetings at Headway House.
Our club was delighted to support Brenda Paschke, charted member of Aotea
Club Auckland, as District Chairperson for IW NZ291 2019/2020. Her confidence
in Inner wheel showed as she shared knowledge on projects, delivered
outstanding presentations on Project Revive.
We held a fundraising movie night showing “Downton Abbey” to raise
funds for Headway House-Brain Injury Auckland, selling 112 tickets and
holding a raffle. We also sold reusable
vegetable bags at the Parnell and
Hobsonville markets, raising funds for
Headway House as well to promote
IWNZ within the community.
Eight dedicated ladies (and two husbands!) organised
catering, setup, serving and clean up for the Christmas
Function of 110 people for Headway House. We will
continue this as an annual event. IW Aotea Auckland
members also did the Pink Star Walk raising funds for
breast cancer research.
Our Club's 12th was celebrated in Cornwall Park with a
shared picnic on 1 March, seeing Summer’s end and the
freshness of Autumn arrive. We celebrated 10 years of
service by Linda, our dedicated Club Treasurer. Little
did we know that this would be the last gettogether
before the COVID-19 Lockdown.
Our last meeting for the year was a “Watch Party” party at Michelle’s
home for the 20th June District Meeting/AGM/Changeover followed
by a shared Club lunch and celebration of a very successful IW year.
Together we have achieved so much – Together We Can…
7
AUCKLAND EAST
President 2019-2020 Diana Maher
Despite the challenges this last year has presented to our club and to many of our
individual members, Auckland East has not only kept running but, I believe, thrived in so
many different ways. Members have continued the important, well-founded historical ways
of our traditions. Yet they have also looked beyond these to further enhance our
fundraising, our means of keeping in touch with one another, and new ways and ideas of
providing interesting activities. In the fast paced life we had until March 2020, so many
members wore multiple hats as they sought to improve the lot of our club, our members,
and those in the community
Mention should be made of those members who spent so much of their time determining
interest and the possibility of a West Auckland club. The Days for Girls sewing group
produced extraordinary numbers of packs. These and other activities are examples of what I
believe we need to keep doing to ensure our future as an organization, while supporting the
young and disadvantaged in our own neighbourhoods. Children and young women are our
future; we must ensure that they have the best possible opportunity to thrive or we risk
slowly fading into an enjoyable but perhaps self-serving group of ladies.
A wonderful example of a committed, humble, but extremely hardworking
Inner Wheel member has been our former president Fay Burke. Fay has been
an ideal role model for us all and we shall miss her greatly.
Despite the limitations of lockdown but thanks to the
generosity of members and some pre-lockdown
fundraising work done, we have been able to give
generous amounts to our nominated charities. The Glen
Innes Food Bank were astounded and grateful to receive
the largest cheque they had ever received (funds largely donated by
members in lieu of our thirtieth birthday cocktail party,) and our
nominated charities have all been supported to continue their work
in the community.
My committee have provided much appreciated support to me over the last year. I include
committee in my grateful thanks, but especially Dianne Cole Baker as an able treasurer and
discrete prompt for the president who still considers herself a newbie member.
To the incoming president Sue Beattie I extend my welcome to the role. It
is a job like no other, but has been such a worthwhile year.
To all the members, I say Happy Birthday in this our thirtieth year. You are
the people who will provide the club the with energy, drive, creativity and
commitment to go forward over the next year and in the decades beyond.
8
EAST COAST AND ALBANY BAYS
President 2019-2020 Pam Metcalfe
We have almost completed the 2019/20 year at our new venue, although, due to Covid-19
shutdown, some events have had to be cancelled or postponed.
Speakers welcomed have been, Jill Reid (Drama), Jean Goldschmidt (tramper & author) Emma,
representing GEE Nepal, Mi Ray Han (Refine Jewellery, Young Enterprise Scheme), Brenda
Paschke (District Chair), and a Powerpoint presentation by Hagar International. Look Good, Feel
Better received the substantial proceeds of the well-attended High Tea in August and Foster Hope
received a good donation & pile of new pyjamas.
Our 31st birthday in November was marked
with a special Morning Tea & birthday
cake, along with a successful Sales Table.
International Day saw us enjoying lunch
together at Northcote Tavern.
Our Christmas function, in a country setting, raised money for 96 packets of
sanitary protection for students in need & we welcomed two new members.
We also opened a Travel Fund to assist with expenses in sending
representatives to Conferences out of Auckland.
48 well-stocked Baby Bags were delivered to
Waitakere Hospital for distribution to very
grateful new Mums in need.
Much of the knitting for these is done by kind
ladies in Retirement Villages, who also contribute to our many
collections of recyclables & bra’s.
Twiddlemuffs are being gratefully received by a Dementia Ward in an Albany Resthome.
9
NOUMÉA PLAISANCE
President 2019-20202 Agnés Jezequel
Our club is going to have two new members who
will be inducted before our change over (blocked
because of confinement). Chantal has set up an
IW Noumea group on WhatsApp to conduct the
meetings this way. Also, contact with members
during Cocid-19 has been maintained by email
with various and useful information, for instance,
patterns to make as a pie bag, masks, cleaning
products ....... and we have a baby Terence (from
Alexandra Petolat) who was born in April 2020.
During these challenging times, the homes of the
elderly of N'gea was visited because the director was
alone. The solidarity association has delivered food to
them several times, and each time we made approx. 60
bags. We would then called the elderly so that they
come to collect their bag and without touching each
other. It was a pleasure to see them receiving their
parcels and especially knowing they will have some food
now and not worrying about grocery shopping.
IW Club Nouméa Plaisance bought a gas
stove for a disabled man; aid requests
begin to pour in now with the end of con-
finement.
We will have meetings again, and it is a
pure joy to meet the members and share
social time with them.
Making of beeswax wraps and bags for food
10HOWICK
President 2019-2020 Jillian Moran
Together We Can – what an appropriate theme for the year.
For many years Howick Club has supported the Middlemore Foundation. The
knitters in the club have spent many hours in lock down producing baby
garments for the ”The Wool Program”.
Before Christmas we delivered bundles for baby clothes. We have a team
producing dolls cots from shoe boxes, complete with mattress, pillow, and
quilt. These are valued by the children in Kidz First.
Christmas Lunch at a member’s home was extra special
with visitors Rosario & Richard from
Kota Kinabalu Sabah and Zarine from India as guests. It
was great to hear of the work, and get ideas, from
offshore clubs.
The Rotary Club of Pakuranga run a Community Carnival
in February. This year our cake stall was very successful.
We continue to support STAND Children's camp
with birthday cakes for children attending and
have donated Dressing Gowns and PJ’s. We
have also supported their need for board
games, they encourage children to play the
board games with parents to enhance families
playing together.
Howick Salvation Army was also supported with money for their food bank which has been
heavily used with the Covid-19 pandemic.
11MT ROSKILL
President 2019-2020 Fay Marie
The Covid-19 Lockdown severely curtailed our activities this year, and it was a sad day when we
had to cancel our major fundraiser in support of LGFB and several local charities - an Auckland
Harbour cruise onboard the ‘Pacific Mermaid’. The day would have been perfect – the weather
turned out to be one of glorious sunshine and a calm and sparkling sea. However, it was not to be
and so plans have been put in place to reschedule the event.
We learnt a lot during the Lockdown: how to hold Zoom meetings;
how to commemorate Anzac Day from home; working from home;
teddies in windows; knitting; gardening; jigsaw puzzles; cooking
projects and a lot more, and members contributed their stories to
our monthly newsletters. Members continued to knit and collect
goods for Middlemore Foundation and items for Lynfield
Kindergarten and our gift bags for Women’s Refuge.
We have supported many organisations this year, but one of our favourites is
Wesley Intermediate School, a Decile 1 school with about 160 pupils, many of
whom are from refugee families. The Principal and staff of the school work
so hard and we continue to be amazed at what they can achieve. This year
we have been able to donate several school bags for children who don’t have
them and sufficient funds for the school to purchase four Chrome Books for
their students. We were also gifted two guitars by the family of one of our
members which we had re-tuned and refurbished before presenting them to
the Principal and Music Teacher. They were thrilled. We are not sure who
will get the most enjoyment out of them – the teachers or their students!
Several of our speakers this year have shed light on projects that we had never heard of before. Our speaker from the
WISE project (Women Inspired Strong Empowered & Enterprising), told us of the fantastic job her organisation does
with supporting refugee women to develop knowledge, skills and confidence. Tayla Nasmith spoke about how, when
she was still a young teenager, she set up the ‘Mummys in Need’ organisation, which assists young mums, particularly
teenage mums. In May she was awarded an ASB ‘Good as Gold’ Award for her work.
In July ‘19 we were delighted to be able to wish our oldest member, Verna Richards, a
very happy 100th birthday. Verna was one of our Charter members, one of the first
recipients in NZ to be awarded the Margarette Goulding award and was a very active
member of our club. Sadly, she passed away in March during Lockdown. Other
members we have lost this year are retired members Enid Hislop, Dorothy Trehearne
and Charter member Cath Dunbar, all of whom gave so much of their time and energy
to the Mt Roskill Club. They will all be sadly missed.
Project Revive saw us participating in the Onehunga Community Day with a
display table of IW information plus hand-made cards and Christmas
decorations to sell. Our IW advertising was increased through local
newspapers and posters, and we held a ‘Bring A Friend’ night at one of our
meetings. We have inducted one new member, another will join us soon,
and two other ladies have shown interest.
We have continued to enjoy special IW days, District and club social events
and visits from overseas IW members. Our activities have shown that
‘Together We Can’ and our club goes into the IW new year in good heart.
12OREWA & WHANGAPARAOA
President 2019-2020 Lynda Jenkinson
Highlights:
Celebrated 25th anniversary of our club's charter. Four charter members were present at the
celebrations.
Social Activities
These were many and varied-
Twice visited Centre stage for local theatre productions
Shared summer BBQ with local Rotary and Lions clubs
IIW Day morning tea at a member's new home
Christmas dinner and party which was deemed the best yet.
Collected rubbish along Snells Beach.
Morning tea at local cafes.
Won the threepeat of the annual pétanque tournament against Parahaki IW club
Visit to Bruce Mason Centre for the Armistice Day concert
Virtual morning tea to celebrate a charter member's birthday during Lockdown.
Fundraising
Environmental Manager Jonathon Green, who spoke and showed
spectacular videos of the new motorway from Puhoi to Warkworth. Many
of our members live at the end of this new motorway, so was well
patronised.
Stall at St Chads where members donated a wide variety of goods where
the stall was well attended. As a result, this will be an annual event.
Fundraising Recipients
* Tourettes New Zealand. * Youth In Transition
* Feeling Fab. * Riding For the Disabled
* Grandparents Parenting Grandchildren
Activities Helping Local Charities
All types of knitted items for North Shore babies through NS Hospital
Auxilary.
Making and filling 150 toilet bags for Rodney Women's Refuge, NS
Hospital, mothers arriving by emergency with their distressed child to
Starship Hospital.
Providing over 100 jars of homemade marmalade for RMD House families.
Donating Christmas presents, and anything on the wish list for RMD House.
Giving plastic takeaway containers, brown shopping bags, toiletries for LoveSoup.
Volunteering time to assist at LoveSoup's Sunday community dinner.
Fred Hollows Foundation by donating 10c pieces to the pig with glasses every meeting.
Entered a team in Rotary's annual Swimarathon.
Collected stamps, bread tags for other IW clubs to be passed on.
13PARAHAKI of WHANGAREI
President 2019-2020 Carmen Wynands
We held a very successful High Tea in
November 2019 with approx. 72 people
attending including our lovely Jean
Currie who came up from Wellington
for it. We had two husbands George
and Ian, were kitchen slaves and
needed medals for their hard work.
They served up the pots of water for the
selection of teas and then did all the Wind
dishes afterwards.
LGFB receiving the donation
We also organised a fashion parade in which members and daughters were models and raised
over $2000.00 for Look Good Feel Better. It was a great day lots of hard work, but it really bring
the club together, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
District Chairman Brenda Paschke paid us
visit and took us through her aims and the
National Strategy.
Our membership rose with five new
members, they had come along for the High
Tea, they enjoyed themselves and decided
to join which was very pleasing and has
given the club quite a lift.
(Photos on the new member’s page)
14SHORE CITY
President 2019-2020 Judith Cowie
2019-2020 has certainly been a year of two halves – pre Covid-19 and since. Shore City’s usual service activities –
assisting with appeals for MS, Pink Ribbon and the Hospice Christmas Tree of Remembrance, plus continuing catering
morning teas for both Look Good Feel Better and HIPPY (as well as instructing some of the mothers on knitting) – all
occurred between July and December.
To acknowledge IWNZ Day in September, we held our major fundraiser for the year – a hugely successful High Tea,
with all proceeds going to LGFB. With tickets soon sold, we enjoyed a fantastic Sunday afternoon. Our guest speaker
was Hazel Hunter, who spoke movingly about her own experience with LGFB.
At our September club meeting we welcomed District NZ291 Chairman Brenda
Paschke. This was our Club’s 18th Birthday combined with a soup and rolls lunch
fundraiser for Dementia NZ. In November we held our Sausage Sizzle fundraiser
outside Mitre 10, with welcome help from some husbands.
Speakers at our club meetings have been both interesting and inspirational –
including Stephanie Vaughan from Fred Hollows Foundation, Angela Anderson
from SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit NS Hospital), and Amanda Colares (North
Shore Co-ordinator for HIPPY).
We celebrated IIW Day in January with a coastal
walk/talk combined with refreshments afterwards at
Little and Friday Café, Belmont. 20 members and
husbands did the walk and in all 29 met at the café.
We welcomed four new members during the year,
Mary Hutchins, Carole Buckley, Hélène Miller and
Vera Burgess (because of lockdown Vera had to wait
four months for her induction).
Starting the year with a roar, did we end on a
whimper? Certainly not. Lockdown regulations have
engendered in our members a true feeling of caring
for each other, with phone calls boosting each others’
morale, and learning Zooming. We became individual
bubbles of industry, continuing making the silky
cushions for breast surgery patients, and busy with
knitting and crochet for SCBU and local rest homes.
Our total hours of knitting service for April and
of May far exceeded those of previous “normal”
months.
We kept in contact too, through extra
newsletters, full of member’s stories, memories,
poems, photos and quizzes.
All members should be proud of how well we’ve
finished this IW year and how apt the theme
“Together we Can”. Together we DID.
15Tokalau Suva
President 2019-2020 Reena Maharaj
Being a small club, Tokalau Suva continue to work with their local Rotary Club to provide community support.
From the communications received this year we know that the Club has had a number of members overseas
during the year, making things more difficult to coordinate but they are keen to continue as part of Inner
Wheel New Zealand.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic Fiji enforced a curfew from 10pm to 5am, and the country had
reported five cases. The local community Lautoka was locked down in the last week of March with many
businesses closed, restaurants only open for takeaway and shortened work hours. Club President Reena
Maharaj sent us the club's best wishes to stay safe during this hard time.
Wind
By the end of April, post-Tropical Cyclone Harold, the following was received in response to an email enquiring
if assistance was required. Reena relayed that "all members are good and safe. Our lockdown finished last
week and every night we having curfew from 8pm to 5am. There has been damage on the Nausori, Labasa
and Tailevu side, and the Rotary Club received some help from overseas Rotary clubs." Reena went on to say
that the Club has been unable to gather due to Government not allowing social gatherings as 18 Covid-19
cases were active and there were Police check-points throughout the area. Reena agreed to let us know if
there is anything we can do to help once things begin to become more normal.
Based on emails between Club President Reena Maharaj & District Chairman Brenda Paschke
Bayly Trust
The JP Bayly Trust assists Children with their uniform,
bags, sandals, stationaries, exercise books and any small
requirements the children need to attend the classes.
Our Bayly collection will go towards the 2020 Back to
School programme. The Trust’s Manager Manorma
Chandra, says all donations make a difference to
families in need of helping hand. The Trust has been
lucky to also receive a large donation from Vodafone
this year.
Email: admin@baylytrust.org if you like to receive updates in your inbox 16DISTRICT SOCIAL
1st March 2020
This year’s District Social was held at the Nathan
Homestead in Manurewa. What a glorious day this was,
time for socialising, games on the lawn and enjoying the
afternoon tea prepared by the Inner Wheel Club of
Parahaki of Whangarei. It was wonderful to see so many
of our NZ291 members in attendance and to welcome
members of NZ293 including District Chairman Vera
Farmilo.
17Chairman Visits 2019-2020
Below: District Chairman
Brenda and club member of
IW Aotea Auckland welcoming
new member Dimple to the
club .
IW Shore City President Judith (l) welcoming
new member Mary, inducted by
District Chairman Brenda. .
Brenda’s visit to IW Orewa & President Fay Marie and
Whangaparaoa, with President Lynda Brenda.
Jenkinson
District NZ291 members attending conference
Brenda’s visit to Howick , pictured here with
President Jillian (l) and Sandra Geange, CEO of
the Middlemore Foundation. Brenda at Mt Roskill explaining Project Revive. It was extremely interesting
to have a clear and detailed explanation of the Project, its aims and the ways
planned to achieve these.
Brenda’s visit to Parahaki of Whangarei
Brenda’s visit to Nouméa Plaisance in December 2019, below with
President Agnés Jezequel, photo left with member Martine Hickson, who
assisted with the translations.
18Covid-19
We all kept busy during lockdown, and finding various ways to keep donating to our charities or delivering foodparcels. More
baking was done in these months, together with knitting, sewing and gardening. We were all grateful for the service workers
keeping us safe and doing a tremendous important job to keep the country going. Zoom meetings were popular for meetings
and communication, and facebook messages around the world to support each other.
19District Meeting-AGM & CHANGE OVER 2020
Treasurer Sue
Many members joining in via Zoom, including members from District NZ293
Parahaki of Whangarei
Sylvia lighting the candle of Friendship Adrienne lighting the candle of Remembrance Aotea Auckland
Our District Meeting and
AGM was an online event,
Penelope dimming the candle
due to Covid-19
restrictions . Members
enjoyed the meeting in the
comfort of their home or
had organised “watch
parties” with other
members of their Club.
Mary & Brenda
Part of the District Exec Committee, Tam, Adrienne, Mary, Brenda, Rina, Sylvia.
Tam & Brenda
Adrienne & Brenda
Penelope
embracing her
new role as
District Editor Rina & Brenda –changeover
Sylvia & Brenda Sue & Brenda 20You can also read
