Jo was our chairperson for this evening’s club meeting at Cilantro which was a cocktail party with fine and delicious savoury and sweet finger food prepared by the kitchen team and students in the kitchens of Cilantro. The meeting was well attended with club members, partners and guests.
GUEST SPEAKER – Wadzi Nenzou
Wadzi is a neighbour and good friend of Jo – invited to talk about finance, scams and tips on how to prevent being scammed. We heard Wadzi was born in Zimbabwe where she grew up in a family of parents, a brother and two sisters. One observation she made as she was growing up was the inequality and imbalance of opportunities for men and women, with women having less choices in their lives and being reliant on others for financial security. She enjoyed a middle class upbringing where education was highly valued and recognizing the power of education for providing opportunities and financial security. Wadzi did very well at school. Whilst many of her contemporaries travelled to the USA and UK as more popular choices for their tertiary studies, Wadzi decided to come to Australia where she had offers for positions at Adelaide, Perth and Deakin Universities eventually choosing Deakin – adding exposure to Australia came via Australian TV programs that were very popular in South Africa. She was 18 years old at the time and whilst young and eager to spread her wings, she wasn’t prepared for the culture shock she experienced with exposure to the wide variety of nationalities living in Melbourne. She obtained her Masters of Accounting and went on to work in different areas within the Financial Services sector over the following years, including trying to start-up businesses of her own with differing results. She commenced writing articles on finance for women in 2015 and posted them on her Facebook page which received moderate interest. It was during a personally challenging year in 2016, when she recalled her “childhood observations” for the need for women to manage their own finances and financial security. She ran an event for women in 2017 in Southbank covering topics on finance, superannuation and investment, that generated a lot of feedback from women seeking more information and further events were held. When Covid lockdowns commenced, sessions were held via Zoom. Topics covered basic finance, through to investing on the share market. Of particular interest is the increase in online scams and how to avoid being scammed through emails, phone calls and SMS. Education is key to help identify scams which are becoming more sophisticated. To help combat the ever increasing levels in scamming, the ACCC is working on a united front incorporating the banks, telcos etc., however, individuals need to be vigilant. Wadzi encourages everyone to share their knowledge with family and friends etc. Further information is available on the Scam Watch Website, and Money Smart Government Website. Thank you Wadzi for your very informative presentation – it was well received by all.
CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
PRESIDENT GLENDA
- Glenda attended the Vocational Awards night at Holmesglen College last night
- Another session of Bayspeak was held last night
- President Elect of South Davao will be our special guest at next week’s club meeting – Wed 24/5
- The RI Convention club hosting dinner at the Brighton Yacht Club on Monday 29/5 will replace Wednesday’s morning club meeting – Wed 31/5. 88 people are expected to attend with 52 international guests.
- A reminder 24/6 is our Club Changeover night (invitations have been distributed to club members), and 1/7 is the District Changeover (need to respond via Try booking to attend).
DGE IAN
- Ian announced and welcomed Linda O’Brien and Helen Nodrum as Assistant Governors for next year. Linda has covered this role many times in the past, however, this is a new role for Helen. Congratulations to you both.
