Discon, the Induction Dinner and a Rotary Refugee Initiative in Wales

Discon
It was a really enjoyable conference this year probably because it was smaller, all the regulars were there so it was easier to spot them and it just seemed more relaxed.  Congratulations to the organising committee.

At the International Evening on the Friday Night

I am not going to put lots of pictures of Discon on The Ramble because you will see hundreds of them on the District Website and also in the DG's Newsletter but you will see us!

Patrick Ache won a prize for Best Dressed Man.  I don't know what is in the parcel!  It must have taken him hours to do all that embroidery!












Kevin Wolhuter danced the night away at the Gala Banquet on the Saturday evening.

The rest of us just looked smart.

This Week
It's Lyn Collocott's Induction as President on Friday evening so obviously there is no Friday lunchtime meeting.  There was a request for 'vegetables' to go with the dishes.  It was decided at Discon that we would bring our own just in case and we also decided which ones we would each bring.  I opted for potatoes and for health reasons all our vegetables will be raw.

Sadly my first Rotary Club in Johannesburg, the Rotary Club of Parktown Excalibur, is closing down on Friday night with what they are calling 'The Last Supper' at the same venue as our Induction Dinner but obviously not in the same room.  Don't be confused on the night!

When I have a chance I am going to pop in and say hello....maybe a couple of them may join us.


Statistics
As we are coming up to the end of the Rotary Year I thought you might be interested in the statistics for The Ramble this month bearing in mind that we have a week to go and there was no Ramble last week.

Here are the number of pageviews per country:

Entry Pageviews

South Africa             455

United States            120
Germany                     29
Chile                          19
United Kingdom        18
France                         12
Ukraine                       11
Ireland                         10
Russia                           9
Poland                           6

There have been a total of 57 522 pageviews in all.

Rotary Club of Cardiff Bay, Wales

Alison Sutherland

If I report a crime, can the police officer deport me? When I get a cold, should I go to the hospital? Is it all right to spit in the street? For many refugees in a new country, the answers to those and many other questions aren’t obvious.

Abbie Tr

That’s why Alison Sutherland has been helping asylum seekers learn the customs of their new nation. “We want to set them up for integration rather than isolation,” Sutherland says. 

Wales is home to several thousand displaced people from Eritrea, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Uganda, and other countries. Upon seeking asylum, they must wait as long as a year for a hearing to determine if they qualify for official refugee status. 

Life during that time is extremely frustrating for them, Sutherland says: “They’re not allowed to work. Meanwhile, of course, they are very afraid. Their journeys have been horrendous.” 

Sutherland, assisted by two members of the City of Cardiff Rotaract Club, regularly meets with asylum seekers to discuss topics such as the role of women in Welsh society, the justice system, and local customs.

 “Some of them have started volunteering with Rotary and Rotaract also,” she says. “They’ve helped us with street cleaning, blood pressure events, face painting, tree planting. They say that we’ve given them welcome and respect.”