Paul was our chairperson for today’s meeting at Cilantro opening the meeting with an Acknowledgement to Country. Tony performed Invocation, and Faye performed the Loyal Toast. Charles, Helen, Marg, Glenda and Karin joined the meeting via Zoom.
CLUB INTERNATIONAL TOAST – President Robert Agius and members of the Rotary Club of Port Vila in Vanuatu. The Republic of Vanuatu was formerly known as the New Hebrides and is located within the region of Melanesia. Nearby major island groups are New Caledonia, Fiji and the Solomon Islands. The archipelago consists of 83 islands, of which 65 are inhabited, with the most northern and southern islands being approximately 1,100km apart. There are several islands with active volcanoes. The largest island is Espiritu Santo – with Port Vila being the capital and largest city on the island of Efate. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to see the islands naming them Austrialia del Espiritu Santo in 1606 (the Southern Land of the Holy Spirit), before the French arrived in 1768, and renamed them the Great Cyclades, to be followed by Captain Cook in 1774 who named them the New Hebrides. In 1878 Britain and France declared the New Hebrides to be neutral territory, administered by a joint Anglo-French Naval Commission, and in 1906 France and the United Kingdom agreed to administer the islands jointly. A campaign for independence commenced after WWII and in 1980 the Republic of Vanuatu was formed. Sandalwood was discovered on the island of Erromango in 1825, and cotton plantations were established by British settlers, but when prices collapsed, trade switched to coffee, cocoa, bananas, and coconuts. The Rotary Club of Port Vila was chartered on 14 June 1972 and has 29 members. Club projects include ANZAC Day “Grudge Match” cricket match as a fundraiser, supply of books and stationery to local schools and kindergarten, and the Tassiriki Water Catchment Project providing water tanks to Tassiriki School – the only school on Moso Island – as water is scarce in Vanuatu and safe drinking water is not available to many school children. Thank you Grant for another very informative session.
PRESIDENT REPORT – President Ron
Ron invited club members to complete and hand in their club survey if yet to do so.
Venue for club meetings – 20/9 and 27/9 Meetings
- Wed 20/9 – will be an evening meeting being held at 50 Acres at Cheltenham RSL
- Wed 27/9 – will be held at The Deck in Brighton
- Wed 20/9 – will be an evening meeting being held at 50 Acres at Cheltenham RSL
- Wed 27/9 – will be held at The Deck in Brighton
A board meeting will be held on Monday 11/9
GUEST SPEAKER –Leon Landau, CEO of Community First Responders Australia – “The First Four Minutes”
Leon and his assistant presented on the importance of taking action immediately when someone has collapsed with a suspected heart attack or cardiac arrest. Action within the first four minutes is crucial for restoring circulation and oxygen to the brain, heart, and lungs. Leon outlined the chain of survival commencing with recognition of symptoms, dialling 000 for an ambulance, commencing CPR, and use of a defibrillator if available, before an ambulance arrives to transport the patient to hospital for medical treatment and hopefully recovery. It is critical to identify and communicate the patient’s symptoms when dialling 000 for a correct and immediate response. Leon cautioned however, bystanders should always check for any immediate dangers and respond appropriately before checking the patient and calling 000. Leon demonstrated three different defibrillators that are currently available advising defibrillators are either fully automatic or semi automatic – all come with instructions and are easy to use. A more recent defibrillator on the market is CellAED which has the added bonus of being light, small and portable, and is priced as a more affordable option for domestic and home use. Ambulance Victoria introduced the GoodSAM program in 2018, and which is being rolled out to the general public for interested people to register as a Responder. It requires Responders to install the GoodSAM App on their mobile, and in the event of a call to 000, an alert will transmit to registered Responders when someone nearby is in cardiac arrest. The Responder is directed to the location of the patient to provide immediate CPR, and apply an AED if one is available. Leon finished with answering questions from club members. Thank you Leon for your very interesting and informative presentation.
ROSTERS – for market and next week’s club meeting were announced
MEETING CLOSE – President Ron thanked our guest speakers and announced James Grant is our guest speaker for next week before ending the meeting with “Create Hope in the World”.
