We had a good rollup for the meeting including a number of guests. Patricia provided the toast to the Rotary Clubs of the Ukraine in support of their role in a very uncertain environment.
The Sundowners welcomed Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM) District 9705 lead Bill Wattam as our guest speaker. Bill spoke to the club about the history of RAM and it’s current efforts in leading the fight against Malaria, particularly in our pacific region. The primary focus of RAM has been the distribution of insecticide-treated nets to vulnerable populations in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and more recently, Timor Leste.
RAM has raised more than $1.6 million to eliminate malaria since 2003. RAM works in conjunction with the Ministry of Health authorities in each country and complements the work of other malaria organisations, most notably the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Bill was able to bring along one the insecticide-treated nets and explained the difficulties getting people to sleep under the nets and not having open pools of water near homes and villages.
It was a fantastic presentation and many members of our club have worked with Rotary and other organisations in the pacific were able to give further insights. Watch this space for our club to get further involved.
