Paul Harris Fellowship Presentation

Mary has a long history of fund raising in the Belford and Alnwick area, in particular for the Alnwick Stroke Club. Mary also raised funds and provided gifts,such as crayons, note pads etc. for children who have been helped by the Rotary project in Sri Lanka.

Joy Palmer-Cooper gave us a history, and brought us up to date, on the work in Sri Lanka. Working with the Rotary Club of Kandy, projects have involved providing school and community buildings but then moved on to improving sanitation and water supplies. More recently a campaign has been started to raise awareness, diagnosis and treatment of oral cancers - caused by the traditional habit of chewing Betel leaf. The Betel leaf, together with other nuts and slaked lime are rolled into 'quids' which are often held in the mouth for long periods, even overnight. Although Betel is a mild stimulant, it and the other components of the 'quids' are highly carcinogenic. Oral and digestive tracts cancers are a major cause of death in Sri Lanka. Rotary have funded much needed paediatric medical equipment and are now looking at setting up palliative care clinics.