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Meri Freedom Bags Training Tour PNG

Rotarian & Meri Freedom Bag Founder Gay Muller

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED: Gay Muller aiming to empower.

Rotarian Gay Muller is off to conduct training course in PNG this week. Rotary Club of Ipswich wishes Gay a great trip with much success in training, the sewing and promoting the Health Booklet. Ipswich Rotary is very proud of her courage and determination in improving the health and mental well-being of young girls in PNG.

Article as it appeared in Local Ipswich News

by Rowan Anderson

IPSWICH local Gay Muller is making a profound impact on the lives of women and girls in Papua New Guinea through her initiative, Meri Freedom Bags.

Since founding the project in 2019, Ms Muller and her dedicated team of 80 volunteers have created and distributed more than 6000 reusable menstrual hygiene kits, aiming to break taboos and provide essential education on menstrual health.

Supported by the Rotary Club of Ipswich, the initiative is addressing a critical issue for women in PNG, where access to sanitary products is limited.

Preparing for her eighth trip to the region, Ms Muller is determined to expand the program’s reach and impact.

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The initiative carefully assembles each Meri Freedom Bag to ensure girls have the supplies they need.

“Each bag contains a large drawstring pouch labelled ‘Meri’s Freedom’,” Ms Muller said. “That was requested because many girls are very shy and sensitive about the contents.”

With “meri” meaning “girl” in Pidgin, and “freedom” meaning the release of oneself from something, Ms Muller hopes her initiative will continue to provide long-term solutions to menstrual health challenges in PNG.

Inside the bags are essential hygiene products, including a washer, five reusable pads that clip onto underwear, two pairs of underwear, soap, two educational cards, and small pouches for storing used pads.

The initiative recently delivered 650 hygiene bags to six primary schools in PNG, accompanied by a week-long educational program teaching students about menstrual health and the benefits of reusable products.

“Menstruation is seen as very shameful because blood is taboo in their culture,” Ms Muller said.

Ms Muller’s work has attracted the support of Dame Carol Kidu, a former member of PNG’s National Parliament, who will join her on the upcoming trip.

Dame Kidu has requested an expansion of the initiative to include support for men’s health needs as well.

North Qld Flood Appeal RAWCS

RAWCS - Rotary Australia World Community Service

North Queensland is facing devastating floods, leaving families and communities in urgent need of assistance. The RAWCS Flood Disaster Appeal Fund is raising vital funds to support those affected.

Your donation will help provide emergency relief, essential supplies, and long-term recovery efforts for those who have lost so much. Every dollar makes a difference!

Donate now to help rebuild lives: https://directory.rawcs.com.au/33-2023-24

Share this post to spread the word!

Together, we can make a real impact. Thank you for your generosity and support!

Summary:	To raise funds to support humanitarian relief projects for those impacted by flood disasters within Australia.
Sponsored by:	RAWCS National

Other details

Project number:	33 of 2023-24
Manager:	PDG Merv Williams (M) 0439 534 791 Email: national.projects@rawcs.org.au
Deputy manager:	PDG Heather Chong (M) 0408 604 509 Email: deputy.chairman@rawcs.org.au

Adventure Trailer Raffle 2024

Rotary supporting Zonta - Birthing Kit Workshop

On Saturday 11th May, in the lead up to Mother's Day, we paid it forward to Mother's to be.

Zonta Ipswich held our first community birthing kits assembly day. The Rotary Club of Ipswich were very pleased to part of this project providing the volunteers and lunch on the day. There were also volunteers from Meri Freedom and Queensland Police Service and the broader Ipswich community.

Meri Freedom is a project supported by Rotary Club of Ipswich and has we have received District grants for this project. Meri Freedom was founded and is lead by Rotarian Gay Muller. This project also supports women in PNG, providing personal hygiene products to allow young women to return to education and normal household duties.

On the day the group packed 600 kits for the Birthing Kit Foundation Australia. These kits help women have a safer birth and help prevent infection in mothers and babies by supply Clean Birth Kits to pregnant women living in rural communities and low-resource settings around the world. Kits are given to mothers through community outreach programs, supplied to health facilities for use by doctors, midwives and nurses or distributed to traditional birthing attendants. They are designed to support hygienic practices and environments during childbirth in under-resourced settings.

Zonta Ipswich stated that the packing was completed in record time and they could not have done it without the support and volunteers from the Rotary Club of Ipswich, Meri Freedom, Queensland Police Service, Hon Charis Mullen MP, Mayor Teresa Harding and Councillor Marnie Doyle.

This event was made possible by generous donations from June Frank from Walkers Real Estate, Jennifer Howard MP Member for Ipswich and members of Zonta Ipswich.

It was the first of the community kit assembly days but it won't be the last. Next year's target 1,000.

President Adam Whitbread and Rtn Gay Muller

Youth Speak Poster 2024

Nomination Form

Meri Freedom Bags

MERI FREEDOM BAGS

Valuing the women of Papua New Guinea. Founded by Gay Muller, Meri Freedom Bags is group of volunteers, based in Ipswich, Australia, providing reusable sanitary products for women in Papua New Guinea.

It has been a busy few weeks. PP Sandra Logue and I attended the District Conference at Sea World. and Meri Freedom Bags once again had the opportunity for exposure on a booth at the Annual Rotary District Conference. As our district includes Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Nauru the project is well received. It was wonderful for Sandra and I to meet other delegates and for me to once again connect with Mr John Onga, Principal of Mt Hagen High School. We look forward to receiving photos from him soon showing the distribution of 400 sanitary bags that were sent to the school for the start of this year.

Currently a consignment is clearing in Port Moresby Customs destined for distribution to girls and women in the settlement areas of Port Moresby. This is a new distribution area where poverty prevents girls and women from having what they require to manage their menstruation.

Gay Muller at the Meri Freedom booth at Dist 9620 Conference

John, Osivo (Goroko) Gay Muller and Aggie from Mt Hagen

Meeting delegates from Bouganville Island

Spreading the word about Meri Freedom to other delegates from the District

Volunteers Meeting was well attended on 17th March at Booval Scout Hall. Thanks to President Adam and his wife Deb for making the effort to attend.

Yours in Rotary Service

Gay Muller - (Rotary Club of Ipswich)

Founder

Meri Freedom Bags

EULOGY for PAUL HUNTER

EULOGY for PAUL HUNTER

8th February 2024

Paul was a Rotarian for over 40years.

Rotary is a world-wide, non political, non sectarian Service Organisation and our motto is ‘Service above Self’.

I think that throughout his membership Paul’s dedication to that ideal reached a very high standard.

Paul joined Rotary in High Wycombe whilst he was still a serving Police Officer.

He Joined Ferndown Club, as it was called then, in 2001, having just retired to Dorset.

In 2004/5 he was elected President and the following year he took the Chair of our Membership Committee, a position he held almost permanently thereafter.

Indeed Paul’s outstanding legacy for the Club has been his enthusiasm for Recruitment and his ability to mentor and nurture new members in their early months.

There have been two separate periods when almost single-handedly he found new members when the Club was at a low ebb.

Paul was also a keen advocate of our Twinning activities and travelled several times when we visited our twin club, Dublin North.

In 2015 Paul brought together all his professional and Rotary contacts to mastermind ‘The Dorset Rotary Police Community Awards’ competition

The idea was for Rotary Clubs to canvass local communities, in partnership with their local constabulary to find the most successful policeman, not for their number of arrests, but who were deemed to have been most influential in improving harmony in troublesome areas.

Paul persuaded Sarah Farmer at BBC TV to M.C. at the Finals in April 2015. This was a notable coup and it has proved a valuable contact which has continued to thrive after Sarah agreed to become an Hon Member of our club.

Following the success of the venture, Paul was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship, a prestigious Rotary award for outstanding Service.

With family in Australia , Jean & Paul have been able to spend time there during our Winter months, and, as a true Rotarian, Paul was not idle but attended the Ipswich Rotary Club and was soon made an Honorary Member for his services in their Barbecue Team at fund – raising events!

In a message received from them, Rtn.Don Barney said the Aussies had known him since 2002 and called him ‘Pommy Paul’! They too referred to his passion for Membership among their members.

They also paid tribute to the generosity and help he and Jean had offered when they visited England, and when the ANZAC committee travelled to visit cemeteries in Belgium & France Paul personally drove them round.

Since being diagnosed Paul has displayed admirable courage and bravery. He has hardly missed a meeting and was tin-rattling at our pre – Xmas collections as usual. He could be relied on to volunteer whatever the event, always loyally and cheerfully supported by Jean.

In Jean’s own words ‘ he loved every minute of Rotary and was always thinking how he could help to spread its influence.’

Above all, Paul was a man of Faith and I believe that in Rotary he was able to fulfil a life of service in the community that enabled him to obey the higher Commandment that we ‘Love our Neighbour’ .

Paul was a Good Man and he was a splendid Rotarian.

At Ferndown & Parley Club his presence and influence will be sorely missed.

Shelter Box

https://www.shelterboxaustralia.org.au/

It has been another busy for ShelterBox around the globe, with disasters and conflict forcing more people from their homes. Responses are never straightforward, but increasingly, complexity is factor.

Take Syria as an example. Whilst we have seen the conflict dynamics in Syria show a general trend towards stabilisation, there have been periodic regional escalations which serve as a reminder that the potential for the situation to descend into active conflict remains.

The current Syrian crisis is compounded by a series of factors and events that interlink to create significant suffering to the resident population including the ongoing threat of hostilities, including sporadic artillery and air strikes; the regional economic crisis which has seen the dominant currency in Idlib (the Turkish Lira) depreciate significantly; the effects of Covid-19; and environmental factors such as drought, seasonal flooding and wildfires. With the occurrence of the recent earthquakes, complexity takes on a whole new meaning.

In a complex world, we need to remain flexible and adaptable to meet ever-changing needs. Over the next few months, you will read how our aid, and how we source and deliver it, is changing.

This month's quote comes from Alan Perlis, "Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.

Thanks for being part of the team. Stay safe.

Mike Greenslade
CEO ShelterBox Australia

The ReliefAid teams are distributing warm winter jackets to community centres in the camps in northern Syria

Syria - Earthquake/Conflict

In northern Syria, with our existing partner, Bahar, Project 1 aims to support 992 earthquake affected households in the Aleppo area. The aid package consists of tents, blankets and mattresses, solar lights, water carriers, the construction of tent bases, and cash assistance.

A second ‘lighter’ project with our existing partner, ReliefAid, is now complete. We have provided 6,000 blankets and mattresses (4 of each to each family) to support new arrivals into displacement camps in Idlib. Beyond the emergency phase of this response, we will be scoping additional opportunities to support families with more durable shelter options over the coming months.

Rotary volunteers erect a tent in Hatay, Turkiye

Türkiye - Earthquake

In Turkiye, Rotary is supporting the Government led response, coordinated through AFAD and supported by the Turkish Red Crescent. Rotary is working closely with, and have permission from, AFAD to operate in some of the affected areas. Rotary’s connections with AFAD, search and rescue organisations, supply chain and logistics businesses and municipalities has been critical in enabling ShelterBox to respond and get aid on the move in a dynamic and complex emergency.

Rotary and Rotaract members have been instrumental in this response from the very beginning, providing ShelterBox with critical introductions to local authorities, valuable translation services, assistance with travel and logistics across the country and supporting with distributions on the ground.

In collaboration with Rotary, Project 1 in Türkiye will support 2,000 families affected by the earthquakes in Hatay, Antep Maras, Malatya and Andiyaman. It aims to contribute to people’s immediate safety by providing access to emergency shelter and basic household items. Distributions have been ongoing throughout March, and we expect these to be completed by mid-April.

In-country team attending a logistics cluster meeting in Krakow, Poland.

Distributions for Project 11 are underway in Cameroon

Cameroon - Conflict

For Project 11, we are working with a new partner, Public Concern, a national NGO based in Maroua in the Far North of Cameroon. They have extensive experience working in this region, including the founding and management of Minawao Camp itself.

This project aims to support approximately 9,800 households in the Far North (refugees, Internally Displaced Persons, returnees and vulnerable populations) with a range of emergency, transitional and durable shelters. Project 11 builds on the learning of our previous projects and will utilise our new partner’s ability to carry out local procurement, delivering a larger range and more specific set of aid packages to affected people in Cameroon.

On-camp assessments are now complete, and distributions are underway, with over 1,500 shelter packages already distributed. A ShelterBox team visited our partner in Cameroon in March to gather content, carry out site visits and work on plans for project 12 which will aim to start later this year.

Trailer Raffle 2022

Mary Banks winner of 2022 Ipswich Rotary Trailer Raffle - ONE VERY HAPPY CAMPER.

PP Anita Dwyer delivered the trailer to Mary with the support partner Barney Dwyer - Barney has assisted throughout the trailer raffle and the club could not have managed with the support of the all the Rotarian and their partners.

Some of the proceeds of the trailer have already been allocated to local organisations

Rotary Foundation

Supercharge your Rotary Project

Rotary Foundation Australia was established to direct funding to local Rotary projects and offer Australian tax deductibility. We’re connecting generous local corporates and philanthropies with Rotary projects that are a social and geographic match.

By targeting Australia’s 1,700 private ancillary funds (private foundations for wealthy benefactors and companies, totalling A$7.3 billion in assets), Rotary Foundation Australia is pitching Rotary projects for the A$600 million these funds donate to registered charities each year.

Your Rotary project could be a match. How would your Rotary club use A$50,000+ to supercharge its project?

To find out more, register your Rotary project today.

https://www.rotaryfoundationaustralia.org.au/resources/#supercharge

Rotary Mud Army 2022

FLOOD CLEAN UP 2022

Rotary Clubs of Ipswich Greater Springfield and Goodna in action leading Ipswich's own mud army

on Sunday 6th March 2022.

Ipswich Rotary bookends - Michael Byrne and Richard Horne.....

Sergeant what is PP Richard holding in his hand and PP Michael not a Rotary badge or hat to be seen.

Great job Richard and Michael for answering the call.

What is Rotary

Posted by Fargo-Moorhead Rotary Clubs

Funny Rotary Video