Club Affairs - Tanzania Update

The weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Kirkcaldy was held at the Dean Park Hotel on 18^th November. Senior Vice President John Kilgour welcomed 25 members of the club, and one guest- Margaret Dumbreck.

John welcomed President Brian Munro and fellow Club member Ken Stahly, who had just returned from Tanzania oto visit Club projects there.

President Brian noted how pleased he was to eb eating something for luch that he hadn't already been introduced to!

Club membersw were reminded of a number of upcoming events. This Friday at the Dean Park the  Wine Tasting would be a fund raiser for the Club and tickets were selling well. On Friday 28^th the Kinghorn Singers were giving a concert on behalf of Roatry as a Scottish evening with all funds going to Cancer Research andother local charities. Tickets are still available at St Bryce Kirk on the night. In between those two events,the Rotary Young Musician competition at Balwearie HS will be held on Monday 24^th November at 7.00pm, involving Kirkcaldy, Kirkcaldy raith and Leven Clubs.

Ken Stahly then gave Club members a short but very full account of the amazing trip he and President Brian had just returned from in Tanzania. In just a week they had experienced what they described, more than once, as a very humbling experience.  Over that time they saw  projects involving visually impaired children and adults, partnered by Kirkcaldy's Club, as well as Water projects involving a New Zealand Club.They had seen the Teaching College at Patandi, and experienced the training given to teachers and the links made with local hospitals to improve the screening and treatment of people with visual impauirments now and in the future. They had visited the Orphan home at Upendo enjoying a picnic with them and taking gifts from sponsors, as well as meeting some incredibly resilient street children aged from 4 to 16 in another project. Altogether it was an unforgttable experience. In all the places they visited, it was also clear that our much missed Rotary colleague Alan Suttie was held in extremely high esteem and it was heartening to know that so many of the projects he was instrumental in, were  continuing so vigorously.

Senior Vice President John Kilgour thanked Ken for his account and both Ken and Brian for all they had put into this trip. The efforts they had made were a great credit to them and we all looked forward to hearing about it in full at a later meeting.