The meeting opened with Darl Andersen offering the invocation and Bob Zarling leading the Pledge of Allegiance.Three visiting Rotarians were present: one from Mesa East, one from Gilbert, and one from Alaska. Our Rotary Youth Exchange Student, Caiu, was also in attendance.
Don LaBarge reminded everyone that the Veterans Day Parade would be held on Monday, November 12. Happy bucks were contributed by Lucinda General, Penny May, Don LaBarge, Kurt Klingenberg, and Dick Myren for Rod Daniels.
Members were reminded the club would be dark on November 15. They were also reminded of the Chile Cookoff to be held November 16 at Pam Cohen's home.
Don LaBarge reminded members that it is again time to start scheduling shifts for ringing the Salvataion Army bell at their donation kettle located in front of Bass Pro. Members are encouraged to include family and friends to help them with their bell ringing commitment. It is more fun to team up to engage people and have fun with them while encouraging their generosity.
Program
John Pennypacker introduced Colton Cagle as our speaker. November 5-11, 2018 is World Interact Week, Colton is a past president of the Westwood High School Interact Club. He is also currently serving as District Governor of Rotary District 5495 Interact. This past summer, Colton traveled to Kenya as an Arizona Interact Ambassador for the Interact District's Crutches for Africa deliver project.
Colton informed members that David Talbot from Colorado and a polio survivor from Kenya started Crutches for Africa to use excess mobility devices, which could be donated to take to Africa. Interact saw Crutches 4 Africa as an important addition to raising money to eradicate polio - helping those who had suffered and been permanently harmed by that crippling disease.
Colton had only flown one time before his Ambassadorial experience. It was a long trip from LA to Nairobi Kenya. After a 1:00 AM arrival, the wake-up call was at 7:00 AM to start the day. The first village where they delivered devices was very impoverished. The Kids were sweet and took photos. They visited homes and delivered devices. The recipients were identified by community leaders. Rotaract provided young adult helpers. There was a device storage site at a local high school. They would determine what was needed for the day, and load on bus to go on the distributions.
There was great joy shown when receiving the devices. It is a very difficult job being a caretaker to kids. Many polio victims were randomly given devices. The team made school visitations, some where the students were disabled. They were very interested in the Helping Hands School. It was better equipped to enable the disabled students. They teach the disabled students' moms entrepreneurial skills enabling them to make and sell quality goods so they can better care for their families' financial needs. The school exemplifies the common philosophy of the area: UBUNTU - I am/you are; we are connected to and dependent on each other.
In Kenya, people with disabilities often have social stigmas. Factory and cafe articles are sold to raise money for the Naivasha Girls School, a boarding school focused on academics and developing a strong work ethic. The Interact ambassadors learned that kids are kids wherever they are - more similar than different. The ambassadors are currently working with their new friends in Kenya on joint projects.
Colton had the opportunity to participate in building an additional bedroom and toilet onto a mud hut which was the home of an elderly woman. He said it "was a blast" learning how to utilize what was commonly available and literally get his hands dirty to help build the addition successfully.
Colton said his trip was spectacular in so many ways. Everyone ultimately had realizations about their own situations.. Hakuna Matada! Be more grateful and humble. He said it felt much like home. So much kindness had come together to make a difference with the contents of their full 20' shipping container of Crutches for Africa.
The ambassadors were home hosted everywhere they stayed on the trip. They met a young man who had studied at Prescott Community College there. They stayed in tents at Maasai Mara. Colton tried to stay tuned to historical background so he could better understand the current culture. The team's experiences were widely varied. One day, they visited a medical center where they donated devices. On another day, on a long drive, they had the pleasure of seeing a variety of animal species which were freely living in a natural environment.
Colton said the trip was spectacular. It was life changing to be directly involved in making a real difference. They all became more grateful and humble. They were aware of the fact that many lives had come together to help them change lives. They knew there was a story behind each of the devices collected with the Interact District's 2017-18 Crutches for Africa project. The "excess" devices collected filled a 20' shipping container.