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2008-09 Rotary International theme puts emphases on Polio eradication,
reducing the rate of child mortality, health, hunger, clean water and literacy
Rotary celebrates 103rd anniversary and the birth of two new clubs
 Pattaya
Mail Reporters
On a cold and windy day in February 103 years ago, four friends,
Paul Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Hiram Shorey, and Silvester Schiele met to
talk about their personal experiences, to further better understanding
and bond friendships with each other. Little did they know that February
23, 1905 would be considered the first Rotary club meeting and
celebrated as Rotary’s birthday.
This was the simple beginning of the world’s first service club, the
Rotary Club of Chicago. It was created because of Harris’ wish to
capture in a professional club the same friendly spirit he had felt in
the small towns of his youth. The Rotary name derived from the early
practice of rotating meetings among members’ offices.
Rotary has grown from its humble beginnings to a family of more than 1.2
million members in more than 32,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and
geographical areas.
Rotary is a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders
that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in
all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world.
Rotary Club membership represents a cross-section of the communities’
business and professional men and women. The world’s Rotary Clubs meet
weekly and are non-political, nonreligious, and open to all cultures,
races, and creeds.
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great
graciously agreed to be the Honorary Patron of Thai Rotarians
Another date of significance to the kingdom of Thailand and to Thai
Rotarians in particular is September 17, 1930. It marked the day in
history when Rotary International officially entered this country, and
it also represents a milestone in Thailand’s integration into the world
at large.
 Rotary
International President Elect Dong Kurn Lee and Young Ja.
In 1955, on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Bangkok Rotary
Club, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great graciously agreed to
be the Honorary Patron of Thai Rotarians.
This act of beneficence by His Majesty represents the highest imaginable
favour for Thailand’s Rotarians. Even after placing the Rotary Clubs
under His Royal Patronage, His Majesty has continued to take an active
and positive interest in the clubs’ activities, based on his deep
understanding of the principles of Rotary.
In Thailand today there are 289 clubs, which are grouped into 4 regions
called Rotary districts. Members are from a diverse selection of
nationalities, cultures and languages. Rotary meetings are conducted in
Thai, English, Japanese, Chinese, French and German languages.
Each district is under the leadership of a district governor whose term
in office is from July 1 of the current year until June 30 of the
following year.
Our district number is 3340, which covers the whole of the northeast of
Thailand and the eastern region. 61 Rotary clubs belong to this
district.
It is customary that every year before the district governor takes
office, he or she must attend rigorous training seminars to prepare the
district governor elect for his role as an effective leader. One seminar
is held in this region, whilst the ‘final exams’ are held in San Diego,
USA.
 District
Governor
Dr. Arnon Chirajavala opens the seminar.
The district governors-elect bring back Rotary knowledge and convey this
to district leaders and committees and more importantly to the incoming
club presidents and committees.
Various seminars are held before he takes office, one of which is the
District Team Training Seminar, designed especially for assistant
governors and district committees.
This year the seminar was held at the Golden City Hotel in Rayong
province on the significant date of February 23.
In his opening presentation at the seminar, District Governor Elect
Pratheep ‘Peter’ Malhotra introduced President Elect of Rotary
International Dong Kurn Lee and his charming wife Young Ja.
He said, “It is customary for every president of Rotary International to
present his theme for his year in office. The theme reflects his vision
and emphases on what he is determined to accomplish to alleviate the
sufferings and need of the poor and underprivileged in the world, during
his year in office.”
DGE Peter quoted from RI President Elect D.K. Lee’s speech delivered at
the International Assembly in San Diego.
Often, we are drawn toward needs that our hearts will
not allow us to ignore
“There is so much that each of us can do as Rotarians. All of
us have been in Rotary long enough to know and understand Rotary’s
power.
 District
Governor Elect Pratheep Malhotra (left) thanks PDG Premprecha Dibbayawan
for an exceptional job organising the training seminar.
Alone, we might be able to help individuals here and there, to make
small changes, to help in small ways. Together, our abilities are
stronger. Together, we really can make a lasting difference on a global
scale. Together, there is no limit to what we can accomplish.
But when we truly understand the power that we have through Rotary, we
must also understand that with this kind of potential comes tremendous
responsibility. In each of our clubs, every year, we Rotarians decide
how best to use the resources that we have: our time, our skills, and
our funds. These decisions are not always easy or obvious. They are not
simple questions of right or wrong. They are complicated questions of
who needs our help the most and whom we can help the best. We want to
use our resources efficiently, to maximize the good that we can do.
Often, we are drawn toward needs that our hearts will not allow us to
ignore. We aim always to strike a balance, to find the projects that
will give the maximum benefit for our Rotary investment. We know that if
we make our decisions well - if we do our research and understand the
needs and are wise and careful with our resources - we will do the most
good with everything that we have.
That is our responsibility as Rotary leaders: to do the most good we can
and to inspire other Rotarians to do the same. In the end, the
responsibility for successful service projects lies with each individual
club. But it is the job of the district governors and senior leaders to
guide, to motivate, and to encourage our clubs to focus their efforts
wisely.”
Water, literacy, health and hunger - these are the
categories of Rotary service that have endured now for several years
“It is my responsibility as president-elect to choose the
year’s theme and service emphases, which help to channel and define the
work of the year ahead.
Like the project decisions of individual clubs, a president-elect’s
choice of emphases is a very serious matter. It is one that I spent many
months considering. I thought carefully about the emphases of past
presidents and looked at some of the many projects that these emphases
had inspired.
Water, literacy, health and hunger - these are the categories of Rotary
service that have endured now for several years and with good reason.
These are the areas in which local Rotary Clubs, working individually
and in cooperation with other clubs, can do the most good. They are
areas in which we now have many years experience and expertise. They are
areas of wise Rotary investment. They are areas that let us do the most
good with everything that we have.
I knew with my mind that these were the emphases we should continue.”
30,000 children under the age of five die every day
from preventable causes
“And yet, my heart was pulled in another direction. Because,
in the midst of my research on possible emphases, I came across a
number. That number was 30,000 - the number of children under the age of
five who die every day from preventable causes. At first, I thought that
it had to be a mistake. Perhaps there was an extra zero in that number,
if not two. Perhaps the number was per month or per year. It was
impossible, unthinkable, in the 21st century, that 30,000 of our most
precious children could die, needlessly, every day. But there was no
mistake. I asked, how can it be possible?
The answers were as heartbreaking as the number. Children die needlessly
of pneumonia, measles, and malaria - for the lack of basic medicines,
vaccines, and mosquito nets. They die of diarrheal illnesses - for the
lack of a packet of rehydration salts that costs 10 cents. They die in
the thousands, every day, because they have only dirty water to wash in
and to drink. They are killed by illnesses that become deadly in
combination with poor sanitation and malnutrition. They die because
their families are trapped in a cycle of extreme poverty, a cycle that
is not interrupted because there is no access to education. They die
because their needs are not met in the areas of water, health and
hunger, and literacy.”
Make Dreams Real
“Once I understood this, and I understood the issues behind
that terrible number, I knew what I needed to do. In 2008-09, Rotary
will keep the service emphases we have had in so many of our past years,
the emphases that are solidly grounded in our knowledge and experience:
water, health and hunger, and literacy. But this year, I will ask you to
focus your efforts in each of these areas on children, and on reducing
the terrible rate of child mortality in our world. In 2008-09, I will
ask you all to Make Dreams Real for the world’s children. This
will be our theme, and my challenge to all of you.
We will Make Dreams Real by giving children hope and a chance at
a future. We will Make Dreams Real by bringing clean water to
their communities, and by this I mean not only providing safe water to
drink but creating the sanitation projects that keep children healthy.
We will be as proud of building public toilets as we are of supplying
drinking water, because by improving sanitation, we prevent water from
becoming contaminated, and we avoid so many needless deaths.
We will Make Dreams Real by giving children the chance at health
through improving their environments and their access to care. So much
can be done to keep children healthy, with so little: mosquito nets,
rehydration salts, vitamins, and vaccines. And so much can be done with
just a little bit more: a trained birth attendant, a simple clinic, a
school feeding program, a visiting nurse. These are simple and direct
ways to save children’s lives.
And in 2008-09, we will Make Dreams Real by making sure that more
children have a chance to go to school, because it will only be through
education that the deadly cycle of poverty can be broken.”
Children die not because nobody can help them but
because too often, nobody does
“Although it is true that child mortality is highest in
developing countries, there is not a single Rotary district where local
club projects cannot save lives. Every day, in every part of the world,
children die for the lack of a seatbelt or a smoke detector. Children
die because they have nowhere safe to play. Children die because their
parents cannot afford health care. Children die not because nobody can
help them but because too often, nobody does. But you and I, here in
this room, are Rotarians, and helping is what we do best. And so it is
our job to open our eyes to these needs, in our own communities and in
communities far away. Our job is to work together, one club with
another, to do what is needed. Our job is to Make Dreams Real. We
will turn those dreams of a safe and happy childhood - a childhood that
becomes a long and healthy life - into a reality, because all of the
world’s children are our children. And our job is a simple one. It is
saving lives with our hearts and our minds and our souls. And if, in
2008-09, every one of us does this job well, at the end of our year we
will all have achieved something wonderful.”
Helping is what Rotarians do best and we can make a
difference
More than100 leaders of district 3340 attended this one-day
seminar conducted by Past District Governor Premprecha Dibbayawan, the
District Training Committee Chair. Participants were trained on various
managerial subjects such as, roles and responsibilities, working with
clubs and the all-vital Public Relations.
Keeping the emphases of the Rotary theme of Make Dreams Real, DGE
Peter spoke with resolve of the daunting tasks that awaits Rotarians in
the coming years. “Although Rotarians have been working on these
projects for many years, I ask you to recommit yourselves to carry on
with these efforts. Don’t wait until the first of July when your year
begins to set in motion you plans and objectives, but assist and
encourage the current committees and presidents to accomplish their
projects with an added sense of vigour and determination.
“Protection against polio, the alarming rate of child mortality, need of
health care, hunger, lack of clean water, and illiteracy are real and
are in need of our immediate attention. Let’s keep our focus on these
areas and work into the next year or as long as it takes to bring
relief. Helping is what Rotarians do best and even if we save one life
it makes a difference. Lets Make Dreams Real for the world’s
children.
Assistant governors and
district leaders take in Rotary information.
Time for a coffee break.
District Governors past,
present and future celebrate Rotary’s 103rd birthday.
Bhichai Rattakul, Past
President of Rotary International presided over the presentation of club
charters to two clubs on February 24. Photos show DG Dr. Arnon
presenting the charters to Charter President Sirichai Niyomdee of the
Rotary Club of Banphe, Koh Samet Rayong (left) and symbolically to
Charter President Stephan Heynert of the German speaking Rotary Club
Phoenix Pattaya.
Pattaya Rotarians and
spouses join in birthday celebrations
not only for Rotary but also for Alvi Sinthuvanik (left).
A new lease of life for Jens Masphul
Mike Franklin
Jens Masphul, a regular visitor from Frankfurt Germany, was totally
paralyzed from the breast down (C.3 grade paralysis) in a serious road
accident in 2003. It occurred just six days after arriving in Thailand on
his first visit to the Kingdom. Still confined to a wheelchair, he
frequently visits and stays at the Diana Garden Resort where there are
handicap facilities and caring staff that understand his, and other
handicapped visitors’ needs.
 Jens
rented car parked at Diana Garden Resort.
Jens is always cheerful, keeps his upper body extremely fit, and is mentally
positive about the possibility of one day being able to move his legs, and
even walk again.
A short while ago I met Jens at the Diana Garden Resort and he seemed much
more cheerful than usual. I soon found out why - amazingly he had rented a
car and was driving it! He had researched and found equipment from a company
in the USA, apparently the only source in the world called the Hand Gas, it
converts the brake pedal and accelerator in an automatic car to a single bar
hand control system, enabling the handicapped driver to either brake or
accelerate but, fortunately, not do both at the same time. Weighing only 2
kilos and made of aluminum it is easily portable. So Pattaya, and its
surrounds, now has an entirely new perspective for him and he has found a
degree of freedom that has raised the bar towards recovery.
 The
Hand Gas converts the brake pedal and accelerator in an automatic car to a
single bar hand control system, enabling the handicapped driver to either
brake or accelerate.
Jens gets out of his wheelchair and levers himself onto the driver’s seat
unassisted, takes up the driving position with the legs pushed out of the
way, and off he goes. Obviously someone has to store the wheelchair, but in
Germany his car is adapted to even do that automatically.
 Thanks
to his new Bath Mover, Jens is now on the 4th Floor at the Diana Garden
Resort in a room with a lovely view of the tropical garden.
However, the story does not end there. Staying always on the ground floor at
the hotel where the handicap facility rooms are necessarily situated, he
found another piece of equipment that could lift him in and out of the bath.
This is the Bath Mover, weighs 20 kilos and was freighted in advance.
Result? Jens is now on the 4th Floor at the Diana Garden Resort in a room
with a lovely view of the tropical garden, changing the whole ambiance of
his stay and creating further enjoyment.
The moral here - never give up! He plays golf here and in Germany using a
Para-Golf cart and joins some of the local charity tournaments. He plays
wheelchair rugby in a specially designed chair and, if there was a way, he
would probably para-glide as well.
Tune in to PMTV ‘Meet & Greet’ on Saturday March 8 and see Jens Masphul back
in the driving seat, still disabled but much more able now.
To find out more contact Jens at www.duk-hilife.de
PILC unveils new face for 2008
The dining room was packed at Ocean Marina as 112 members
met for the Pattaya International Ladies Club 2008 Annual General Meeting
and the election of the new committee on February 5.
 PILC
President Marloes de Saegher
Rosanne Diamente, President, opened the formal proceedings and welcomed
everyone to the A.G.M. and committee members presented their reports for the
year.
A special award was given to Pat Burbridge, who 20 years ago founded the
PILC, a PILC life-time membership “Gold Card” in appreciation of all the
wonderful work she did in the early years. Arlette Cykman, who for many
years until recently organized all special events, was also awarded the
“Gold Card” in recognition of all her work and her continued support of PILC
charities.
After the formal business was completed, the 2007 committee members were
presented with flowers on behalf of the members, and then stepped down.
It was then time for the new 2008 committee to take their places. This year,
there are many new faces, and PILC is confident that the coming year will be
exciting and successful. PILC members would like to welcome and introduce
the new 2008 Committee.
2008 PILC
Committee
President Marloes de Saegher: Marloes comes from the Netherlands.
She has lived in Thailand for about a year and will stay here for another 2
years. She is married with two children, Valerie aged 13 and Joel aged 10.
She has a lot of experience in organizing and is looking forward to her new
challenging role.
In her own words, Marloes said, “I am very honoured to be the new President
of the PILC and I feel privileged to have an enthusiastic committee around
me. The PILC has increased enormously in the last year with 122 new members.
Almost 250 ladies attending luncheons and coffee mornings, volunteering in
the so important charity work and enjoying a large variety of activities. We
support international woman in developing friendships and help them to
settle into the community by providing activities on social and charity
basis. It will be a challenge for the coming year to raise the funds needed
for all the charity projects in which the PILC is involved. I trust that our
many sponsors will continue their support in 2008; without them we cannot be
successful in our charity work. I invite ladies from every country in the
world who are searching for new contacts or activities or who want to be
part of the Welfare team to join the PILC. You are more than welcome!
Vice President Rachel Hoag: Rachel is from San Francisco, U.S.A. She
is married with two children, Benjamin aged 6 and Caroline aged 3. Rachel
was previously a co-chair person for 2007 Special Events. Rachel likes
outdoor sports and says she is really happy to be involved with such a fun
group of ladies!
Treasurer Chitra Chandrasiri: The return of a lovely lady to the
committee, Chitra was Treasurer two years ago and has returned to the role.
Originally from Sri Lanka, Chitra moved to Australia where she worked in the
hospital industry. She moved to Thailand in 2000 with her husband, who is on
the management team of the Royal Cliff Beach Resort.
Secretary Karen Frost: British, Karen is married to a teacher and has
a young child. She used to service committee meetings for local government
in the UK and was Honorary Secretary for the International Ladies of Amman
when she lived in Jordon. All good experience for her new role as secretary.
Special Events Adene Paykel: Adene is originally from Perth,
Australia and moved to Pattaya in November 2007 with her husband. She has a
20 month old daughter, Lucinda. Until recently she was a “career girl”. She
worked in television for ten years, and before that she was a radio
producer. She worked as a current affairs reporter with Channel 7 network in
Australian, reporting on a nightly programme.
Membership Marianne Busch Biel: Swiss, Marianne worked for 25 years
in Zurich as a teacher. She has lived in Pattaya for over 2 years and is
retired. With her husband, she is involved in several charity organizations
and the Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard.
Newsletter Fran Laurent: Australian, Fran has lived in Sydney most of
her life and is married to a French/Australian chef (lucky lady!). Fran
worked in the fitness industry for many years, and then in administration
and recruitment. She has two children who live in England. Fran and her
husband love to travel and have retired to Thailand. She says they will stay
here until they are not enjoying themselves anymore!
Hospitality Alvi Sinthuvanik: Thai, Alvi is a very familiar face in
Pattaya - she has lived here for over 30 years. An ex-president of the
Rotary Club Jomtien and Pattaya, Alvi runs the M.A. Language Centre in
Pattaya, providing Cultural Orientation and Thai language training to
businesses and individuals. She has two daughters who have now graduated
university.
Welfare Ingrid Cunliffe: Australian, Ingrid has been on the welfare
team for several years, and has agreed to carry on in the role for 2008.
Ingrid is married, with 2 children. It is great news that she is staying on!
Tours and Trips: Nonie Malhotra: Thai/Indian, Nonie works in the
travel industry and has vast experience in arranging trips. Members are
delighted that she has agreed to stay on the 2008 Committee to organize
overseas trips and local tours. Nonie lives and works in Pattaya and has one
daughter.
PILC 2008 Committee (back
row, left to right) Treasurer Chitra Chandrasiri, Newsletter Fran Laurent,
Vice President Rachel Hoag, Hospitality Alvi Sinthuvanik, (seated, left to
right) Membership Marianne Busch Biel, President Marloes de Saegher and
Secretary Karen Frost.
PCEC meeting looks to
solve white color crimes
PCEC board member Darrell
Vaught shares with members his very interesting life as one of Ronald
Reagan’s ‘junkyard dogs’ - i.e. special inspectors of the Office of the
Inspector General.
Stuart explains how, with
approx. 10 km of ‘open road’, the Pattaya Bypass would draw most through
traffic from heavily congested Sukhumvit Rd, also almost halving the time
and fuel consumption travelling from Jomtien to Ban Chang.
As usual, a full programme was presented at this week’s
meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club (PCEC) on Sunday February 24 at
Henry J. Bean’s restaurant.
The morning got underway with the week’s MC Roger Fox welcoming the
morning’s main speaker, Darrel Vaught. Darrel is a PCEC board member who,
incidentally, also compiles the PCEC weekly newsletter and stood in for Art
from Arts Outfitters who was to demonstrate the latest GPS units for both
vehicle and hand held use. It was suggested that Art had not been able to
find his way to Henry J. Beans but in actual fact he was ill with the flu!
The PCEC actively encourages speakers who can relate their own life
experiences and today was no exception. Darrel spoke about his interesting
career as both an auditor and audit supervisor for the Office of Inspector
General (OIG), United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD). He spoke about the sometimes strange mistakes and sometimes outright
corruption he and his team identified in the course of their audits, which
often led to investigations by OIG and FBI special agents. During the course
of his career he and his audit team were always on the lookout for instances
of fraud, embezzlement, or other misappropriation of HUD funds. On several
occasions, at the request of law enforcement agencies, he or his team
assisted in the investigation of these “white collar” crimes, with several
leading to the prosecution, conviction, and imprisonment of the wrongdoers.
Darrel outlined the structure of crime investigation in the US which was
particularly useful for non US nationals. He explained the difference
between the roles of Federal and State Courts in prosecuting criminal cases.
He also gave an overview of the Office of the Inspectors General within each
Executive Department of the United States Government, whose primary task is
the identification of fraud, waste and mismanagement within their respective
departments. He noted that each of these offices have two primary functions,
audits and criminal investigations. Darrel provided a number of often
amusing anecdotes of his work in this field.
Darrel said he concluded his career in an OIG Headquarters position. As
director of internal assessment, he said he led teams of supervisory
auditors and agents in performing periodic assessment of the quality of
operations of HUD OIG offices located throughout the United States.
Darrel also mentioned the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centre (FLETC),
where he spent two weeks receiving some basic training in investigative
techniques, located at Glynco, Georgia. He commented that FLETC provides
training for some 80 U.S. law enforcement agencies including agents of the
various Offices of Inspectors General. Further, he noted that FLETC also
oversees or supports training for several international law enforcement
academies. Although most of were not aware of it, he said that one of these
academies is located in Bangkok and provides training for officers from
China, Vietnam, Thailand, and other Asian countries.
Darrel concluded his talk on an unusually somber note by referring to the
bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building on 19th April 1993 when
amongst the fatalities were a number of HUD colleagues, including three
former OIG auditors that he had had the privilege of supervising.
Next to speak was another PCEC board member, Stuart Saunders, a graduate
city planner, and designer of the YangMingShan MRT Line, proposed for
Taipei. Stuart started his talk with a photo of a motorbike with seven
passengers! He remarked that this was 40% more than were allowed in a car in
Australia!
Stuart gave a brief overview of the status of the new highway coming to
Pattaya. In addition he presented what he considered to be an improved
routing of the current road, with a design for a Pattaya Bypass, which
should significantly reduce Sukhumvit traffic loadings. An additional
benefit would be travel from Jomtien to Ban Chang and Maptaput in half the
time, with a similar fuel saving.
Stuart also predicted that with a properly planned infrastructure, the bus
journey time to Bangkok might be reduced to one hour.
MC Roger Fox returned to provide an update regarding the mid week special
interest groups. An indication of hands showed that approximately 50% of the
attendees recently attended one of the many groups available.
The regular Open Forum was then underway led by Bob L’Etoile assisted by the
ever present Sig Sigworth who injected his own comedic moments. As always it
provided an opportunity for questions about living in Thailand with an
emphasis on Pattaya to be asked. The Open Forum again proved to be the usual
lively and entertaining session. For more information regarding, not only
PCEC Sunday meetings but also the varied mid week activities, please see the
Community Happenings section of Pattaya Mail or, for more details, visit the
Club’s website at pattayacityexpatsclub.com
Three birthdays celebrated in style
Elfi Seitz
Three birthdays were celebrated on February 15, first at Thai Garden
Resort and later at Moon River Pub. Heidi Clémeau, German member of the
Rotary Club Marina Pattaya, had invited Germany’s Gabriele Grenigloh, who
flew in from Spain, and Austria’s Andi Zimmermann, who visits Pattaya with
his wife for a few months every year.
 The
three wandering musicians from Thai Garden entertain the guests with their
serenades.
Together, the three celebrated their birthdays with the delicious buffet at
the Thai Garden pool. Hotel owner Gerrit Niehaus and general manager Rene
Pisters, who were accompanied by their wives, also stopped by to
congratulate them.
The Wandering Trio, talented Filipino musicians, entertained the guests at
the pool and at Lanna Coffee Shop. Then, as three cakes with lit candles
were brought in, all guests joined in singing “Happy Birthday”.
 The
three birthday kids cut their birthday cakes. (L to R) Gabriele Grenigloh,
Adi Zimmermann and Heidi Clémeau.
Felici Curschellas congratulated them, saying “Heidi, you bear a name that,
thanks to Johanna Spyri’s book, has made Switzerland as popular as its
cheese, its chocolate and its solid Franken.
“Like Switzerland, you foster relationships and lead your life so tactfully.
You seem to know that in good company, time stands still. You know how to
not only add years to your life but also life to your years. Everything you
do expresses your positive attitude to life. So, in the end, what counts is
not what we have but what we have made of it.”
The birthday evening continued at the Moon River Pub, where all guests
danced into the night.
Felici Curschellas (standing)
delivers his speech.
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