Our scheduled speaker was unwell and Carol Green, DG Elect for District 9940 stepped in at short notice. We were able to hear a little of Carol’s distinguished professional career. As Head of the Department Cytology at Valley Diagnostic Labs she was at the forefront of the breakthrough that identified that HPV was the cause of cervical cancer. She worked alongside the pathologist who wrote the textbook that provided the diagnostics training. Carol travelled to Chicago twice yearly to run his workshops for him, therefore no surprise that one of the projects she is spearheading as DG is looking at funding HPV vaccinations in the Pacific.
Ryan talked with us about his experience at the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) in January and thanked the club Port Nicholson Rotary for sponsoring his attendance. There were some big days exercising first thing and going all day doing leadership training until around midnight. Some of the RYLA participants are now joining Rotaract which is inspiring and he is helping to mentor some of them.
Spoiled for choice
This week we had three speakers. Two of them were Emilia Kostynchuk and Snehal Maram who were the two attendees which the Rotary Club of Port Nicholson sponsored for the National Science and Technology Forum in Auckland. Jaquie Harper the General Manager of the Innovative Young Minds programme was the third speaker.
The Rotary Club of Port Nicholson has been a long time supporter of Predator Free activity, particularly by managing a number of traps around Waitangi Park and Frank Kitts Park on the Wellington waterfront.
This certificate was presented by James Wilcocks, the Project Director of Predator Free Wellington, at the club’s meeting on 12th March 2025 in recognition of Port Nicholson’s commitment and support of predator free activity in Wellington city as the club has become it’s first Foundation Community Supporter.
These Goal Setter - Ki Te Ao Mārama Awards recognise tertiary students studying in the Wellington region who have shown outstanding achievement and leadership while overcoming significant barriers and adversity to accomplish their goals and education as a pathway to a better future.
Five worthy recipients each received their Award thanks to the generous sponsorship of: Kirk-Burnnand family; Mike and Sue Selvadurai; Nicole Barker and Mark Ratcliffe; Waterford Security (https://waterford.co.nz/); Darvill Mellors (https://www.darvillmellors.co.nz/); David McLay.
We also thank Bateson Publishing Limited and Lindsay Chitty.
Hon Minister Erica Stanford's address at our Goal Setters Awards Presentation was both encouraging and future focussed. She acknowledged the Award recipients for their efforts to overcome the adversities they faced, to find the fortitude to fight for themselves and advocate for others and to give back to their communities.
With Miramar now designated predator free, phase two of the project is well underway. There is lots of information on the Predator Free Wellington website and you can see the boundaries of this next phase on https://www.pfw.org.nz/sign-up-phase-2/. This next phase is benefiting from all the lessons learned during phase one, resulting in some new approaches.
Rita and Fred, our two speakers shared their time and showed the members just how experienced they are in the field of Mental Health during these challenging times.
They began by listing the following issues that currently impact Mental Health: Politics, Climate Change, Civil Conflict, Economic Security, Migration, Poverty, and Violence.
They began by listing the following issues that currently impact Mental Health: Politics, Climate Change, Civil Conflict, Economic Security, Migration, Poverty, and Violence.
We had heard some time ago from the Principal of Onslow College that they had
used funds from our Lifting the Lid Programme to support parents of students who
were self-harming. This week we heard just how critical this support is, and how our
programme can contribute to better outcomes for our young people.
used funds from our Lifting the Lid Programme to support parents of students who
were self-harming. This week we heard just how critical this support is, and how our
programme can contribute to better outcomes for our young people.
