ROTARY OF PERTH PRESIDENT UPDATE - 18TH SEPTEMBER 2018
Welcome back Alta and congratulations for your newest grandchild. It was great to see George back on his feet. We are also hoping Nigel is back on his foot soon and we are awaiting updates. It was reassuring to hear from Jill that Maree has been discharged from hospital and is now recovering at home. Welcome back Rebecca and thanks for making Perth known to the rest of the world. Welcome back also to Emma and Jacques from their site-visit of various Cambodia Family Support projects. It is indeed a privilege to be a member of a Rotary Club that sees so much action not only locally in Perth but around the world as well
Welcome back Alta and congratulations for your newest grandchild. It was great to see George back on his feet. We are also hoping Nigel is back on his foot soon and we are awaiting updates. It was reassuring to hear from Jill that Maree has been discharged from hospital and is now recovering at home. Welcome back Rebecca and thanks for making Perth known to the rest of the world. Welcome back also to Emma and Jacques from their site-visit of various Cambodia Family Support projects. It is indeed a privilege to be a member of a Rotary Club that sees so much action not only locally in Perth but around the world as well
What a pleasant surprise it was for many on Friday who expected a presentation with “happiness” in its title to be rather wishy-washy in nature. Nkandu (with a silent ‘N’) was inspirational in her “can-do” attitude to life. From early in life, she had not taken things for granted and was prepared to do what it takes to make a difference; from taking a stand on being told how girls should dress to whether girls should be allowed to go to school, she never accepted the status quo if she deemed it unfair. As part of the pleasant surprise, after hearing from Emma about the various humanitarian projects handled by Cambodia Family Support, Nkandu offered to donate the entire proceeds of her book sales that day to CFS. Thank you Nkandu, not only for your presentation on Friday but also for your generosity.It was inspiring to hear of Nkandu’s early experiences and how her father’s attitude and words help shape her life. Two important words I learnt from Nkandu on Friday:- Botho: Integrity and ethical conduct at all times
- Ubuntu: “I am, because we are”
Botho is easy to understand. The philosophy is not too different from a Rotarian’s 4-Way Test of things we say and do.
Ubuntu can mean different things to different people… “I can only be happy if I live amongst happy people” or perhaps “I am only truly wealthy if the rest of my community are also wealthy”. The picture that jumps into my head is that of being the richest man living in a slump with no clean water and poor sanitation. Perhaps that is why Rotarians put so much effort into building peace around the world and a better life for all.
Ubuntu can mean different things to different people… “I can only be happy if I live amongst happy people” or perhaps “I am only truly wealthy if the rest of my community are also wealthy”. The picture that jumps into my head is that of being the richest man living in a slump with no clean water and poor sanitation. Perhaps that is why Rotarians put so much effort into building peace around the world and a better life for all.
It was great to hear how Nkandu had been working with and inspiring young people from when she was old enough to go to school. It is even better to see that she continues to do so today in her adopted country, Australia. She conducts herself and her business as Rotarians would encourage each other to do. We need more people like Nkandu to join us in our effort to build a better world. Nkandu is a Rotarian who doesn’t yet wear our collarpin! (Membership Team... please attend to that!)
Yours in Rotary,
Wesley Sim- President - Rotary of Perth 2018/2019