12.07.2022 Breakfast meeting notes

 

Guest speakers today are:  Lisa Mure and Susan Mathison

 

We enjoyed another round of Tony’s NH Trivia.

 

Raffles:  50/50 won by Nancy Dyer

 

Braden  was drawn for a chance to win at the Card Game, but alas the Ace of spades is still in deck the jackpot rolls into next meeting. 

 

Mark your calendar for this Friday, 12/9/22 at 4:30 to join the Pemi Youth Center kids and their Holiday party.  It is our custom to sing Christmas Carols to the kids at their party.  Every year our club has donated $1,000 to pay for new hats, gloves, coats, etc for the kids at PYC.  This is a fun time and bring your best voice!  Fa la la la la la la la laaaaaa!

 

Sharon reminded everyone that at our 12/28/22 breakfast meeting we will be joined by the Scholarship Recipients in person and some on Zoom.  These are the students that are awarded a $1,000 scholarship at the end of their first semester.  It’s always inspiring to hear their stories and dreams.  Don’t miss it.

 

Mike Carrier conducted the Plymouth Rotary office and board elections this morning.  Results appear to be Co-Presidents will be Mike Carrier and Beth Dever, Vice President – Alicia LaDouceur, Secretary Lora Miller, Club Treasurer is Ken Evans, Foundation Treasurer is Steve Rand. The 5 board members are Nancy Dyer, Sharon Thorne, Peggy Smith, Renee Brusseau and Russ Nagle

 

Today’s speakers, Susan Mathison and Lisa Mure brought a presentation on their October trip to Poland and Ukraine.  They are returning to Poland next week.

 

Susan began by thanking our members and Rotary for their generosity and help.  She says we literally have saved lives by providing funding to purchase food, shelter, and clothing for children and adult refugees from Ukraine due to the war in that country.  Alex Ray wanted to do humanitarian work to help the refugees from Ukraine. Steve Rand reached out to the Rotary District Governor in Poland and from there it began.  Alex also agreed to match donations up to $1,000,000 and reached out to his network for assistance.  The partners in this effort are the Common Man, WMUR, I Heart Media, Plymouth Rotary Foundation and Granite United Way as the fiscal agent.

 

Alex and Susan went to Poland last May and this past October they were joined by their partners Lisa Mure and Steve Rand.  They met with a Rotary group in Warsaw Poland and was welcomed as special guests.  They brought many items, including food.  Also a group of knitting doctors from Portsmouth knitted hats and scarves, and an anonymous donor from Ashland donated knitted dolls for the children.

 

The first priority is food, but the second was trauma counseling for children, and met with “Michael” who had set up a Trauma Counseling Center for Children in Poland.  He spoke excellent English because he was a Rotary Youth Exchange Student, and he spent a school year in Santa Monica CA when he was a teen.  They met the kids and handed out the knitted items.

 

The Polish men of the Rotary “Walrus” club asked Steve and Alex to join them in their daily swim in 30-degree temperatures.  Alex and Steve were very invigorated!

 

With the help from Rotary Clubs (RC) in Poland and Ukraine the group traveled a few hours and went into Ukraine.  They traveled to a few cities and met with more Rotarians along the way.  They went to a couple refugee centers, mostly adults live there and a few children.  Many of the adults had left Ukraine but later returned but did not have a home to go to.  There are also orphanages for children.  The refugee and orphanage centers are mostly older military baracks and dormitories. They were abandoned buildings with a new use, but still not great conditions.  Many rooms have mold, peeling paint, etc, but it is a shelter.

 

The border crossings were uneventful, but there were a variety of barricade material on the side of the crossing ready to be used and close off the border if needed. While traveling in the van in Ukraine they got lost a few times.  The road signs were removed or moved to a different location to purposely confuse potential enemy travelers.

 

Some cities are still being bombed and some buildings are fortified with sand bags etc. for protection.  Then on the streets there is still an open market for locals and tourist to purchase goods.  Susan mentioned how strange it feels to be in that situation.

 

During their travel there were 3 languages spoken with translators and interpreters. Very few people spoke English, and the Polish and Ukraine languages are equally difficult to learn.  This is one of the many reasons adult refugees who fled to Poland returned to Ukraine.

 

During their travels the group were constantly asking what do you need?  In one orphanage the kitchen needed an electric hand mixer.  Alex pursued this wish and found one to give to them.  Such a simple kitchen item, and they were delighted.

 

Other needs included coats, boots, power banks, batteries, sleeping bags, etc.

 

Socialization was missing in a couple of the refugee centers.  No central meeting roof, so most people stayed in their rooms, with 5 or 6 other people.

 

The overall feeling from the Ukrainians is this is their fight to win and they will win.  They will beat Putin.  They never said, “poor us.” 

 

The food sent over is stored in large warehouses.  They food gets delivered around the country but also locals can come to get their “groceries.”

 

They are returning to Poland and Ukraine next week and will be vistiting 26 Orphanages with 1,300 children.

 

Granite United Way’s commitment to be the fiscal agent for Ukraine Relief ends at the end of this month.  The Plymouth Rotary Foundation will be accepting donations in its place.  Contact Alex Ray or Steve Rand if you want to support their efforts.  Or you can visit www.plymouthrotaryfoundation.org to donate.