At their Monday 23rd October meeting, the Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill were visited by ebullient Mexican lady who was keen to tell the members of the club a little bit about her life and the role that Rotary had played in it.
Catarina Pucci first became aware of the club through Rotarian Tony Jay who had encountered Catarina during his trip to the Majestic Wine store in Southend when he went to replenish his wine cellar. Catarina, who manages the store, when helping Tony load his copious haul of wine in his car, noticed his Rotary sticker and indicated that she would be happy to visit the club and tell the members about her life.
Catarina was born and brought up in Santa Barbara, Brazil, where both her parents were members of the Rotary Club.
The club played a major part in their community both in promoting the polio eradication programme and also setting up schools. Catarina was closely involved in many of the Rotary Club’s projects, and it was through the club that she took her first initial steps in a foreign country .......... a Rotary Student Exchange to Mexico. The exchange opened up a brand-new world to Catarina. A new language, Spanish, to complement her native Portuguese and a life-long love of travel.
From that first foray abroad, Catarina has visited a plethora of other countries including the United States, Spain, Italy, Cuba, and England where she came to take a master’s degree and has settled with her English husband. She initially taught Spanish but now speaks Portuguese, Spanish, French, English and is learning German.
Catarina has welcomed into her home a boy who comes from one of the more deprived and violent towns in Mexico. He had very few prospects but, due to Catarina and her husband’s help he will, possibly, find the same kind of enthusiasm that they show for life and international travel.
In Catarina’s question and answer session at the end of her talk she was asked what her favourite country was. She opted for Mexico and said that, away from the tourist areas, Mexico is a very poor country, but it has a vibrant life with its many festivals and celebrations. She gave an illustration of it’s attraction by quoting a colleague who, when questioned about her nationality said she was Mexican. Another colleague pointed out that she had been born in Colombia, but she replied, “Mexicans can choose any country in the world where they are born!”
Catarina concluded her talk by quoting a Portuguese poem, in Portuguese, that tells of the moon, the sun and the stars and how immense the universe is and that human beings are like a single grain of sand on a huge beach.
Catarina has huge zest for life and an obviously a love of language. She says that language opened up the world for her and she has made it her quest to visit as much of that beach as she can.
All this has stemmed from those first initial steps, made possible for her by Rotary and its Student Exchange Scheme.more On a hot and sunny 16th August, the Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill held its 14th Annual Charity Golf Day. The main beneficiary was Essex and Herts Air Ambulance.
more The Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill rolls up to enjoy all the fun of Rayleigh Trinity Fair
more Thursday 30th November saw Rayleigh High Street packed with thousands of the people of Rayleigh, there to enjoy the much-anticipated Christmas Lights Switch-on Ceremony.
more The members of the Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill were on hand on Saturday 25th of November when Hockley Parish Council staged their rejuvenated Christmas Lights Switch-on Ceremony with a stall submerged in children’s Christmas toys
more The Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill pays tribute to those who have given their lives in combat
more The Nautical Expeditionary Branch of the Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill conducts a recce patrol to Osea Island on the Thames Barge “Hydrogen”
more In October last year the Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill planted 4,000 crocus corms in the area to mark World Polio Day
more Since 1979 when a Rotarian, with the backing of Rotary International, started a multi-year project to immunize 6 million children in the Philippines, Rotarians all over the world have been involved in the End Polio Now campaign to totally eliminate polio.
more The Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill held its popular annual Charity Golf Tournament on Monday 15th August at the Rochford Hundred Golf Club
more Together with local schools, we are planting purple crocuses to raise awareness of the campaign to eradicate polio from the world.
more The Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill responds to the #BillionSeedChallenge by donating spring bulbs to Kingsdown School
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