Opening/Chair: Joanna McGowan was the chair today. She asked Garth to lead the group in the singing of O Canada. This was followed by a moment of personal reflection.
Visitors/Guests:
Amar Sandhu, one of the new owners of the Best Western Truro - Glengarry, was the guest of Judy Nicholson
Kyle Andrews was the guest of Jim Harman
Rotarian Lech Krzywonos was the speaker today. His daughter Olivia had planned to be with us but had an test at school. They had just returned from Guatemala where they had been part of a team building stoves for local people.
Speaker: Lech is the principal of the Truro Campus of NSCC and has been a Rotarian since 2014. He is currently Vice President of our club.
Lech provided some background on the trip he and Olivia had taken on March 15-23rd to Guatemala.
The was the 10th year of the Guatemala Outreach project
Over 1500 stoves installed in that time.
This year 300 stoves were installed
There were 28 travelers this year (all pay own expenses – every dollar raised goes to stoves)
The group also delivered medical supplies, library books, built the Joe Walsh medical clinic, installed 9 playgrounds and delivered water purification kits.
Rotary Club of Truro supported the project again this year as it had in past years.
There has been Rotarians go on the trip in the past including Keith Gillis and Mike Topley.
Lech explained that the villagers normally cook on open pit fires in houses and there is consequently high death rate attributed to smoke inhalation and lung disease. Over the 10 years that the group, lead by Leo Rovers has been active, a newer stove had been designed (called the "LEO" stove) and is being installed widely. It has been found to be more practical and efficient than previous stoves. The stoves are build locally by local people. All arrangements and decisions on who will get one of the new stoves are made by local people in Guatemala.
Through the use of slides and videos Lech outlined the activities during each day. As the villages are at high altitude (> 5000M) and it is hot, dry and dusty and the work was very hard. Despite that, everything was well organized and ran smoothly. There were celebrations with decorations, firecrackers, speeches and song. The people were very happy to have the help and certainly the new stoves and other supplies will be well used.
There had been opportunity to see a bit of the country during the trip and Lech described the various modes of transportation and scenery. They even cooked marshmallows over volcanic lava.
He listed a number of benefits of the project. In Guatemala the project created jobs for locals in building stoves and playgrounds. It improve health outcomes and assisted the most needy. It also created goodwill and friendships. For those that went on the trip it was a life changing experience for many. The young people who go are particularly affected. It re-calibrates and enriches a person's perspective on life. For participants it also creates friendships and community.
After several questions (we had to cut them off there were so many) Jim Harman thanked the speaker in the usual manner.
Member Health: No reports.
Announcements and Reports:
Barbara reported that the club would be cutting off sales of tickets for Charter Night this friday. Get yours by registering or contacting her. We are over 75 now and climbing. It's going to be a great time.
President's Report: President Ryan reported on Rotary Week that is happening this weekend and next week. He needs a few people to help at the Farmers market Community booth this Saturday. Check the story below.
There are sign-up sheet for those who want to serve at the food bank or help at the Rotary House tour.
Please send him an email advising what activities you will participate in.
Happy Mug: There were a number of Happy Rotarians today:
Joanna was happy for Les Mosher on his retirement. She was also happy for upcoming family visits and would be even happier still if she can find a massage therapist for a position she has.
Judy is happy for a great visit with her family in Florida as well as for the sale of the business.
Wayne is happy about the great trip he had to Panama.
Kyle is happy for the results he and Jim are having in catching squirrels as well as for recent interest from NSCC and DALAc in his experiences (and book) on PSTD.
Terry reported that the refugee committee is still looking for a long term rental for the family of 10 that is coming to our community. She'd be really happy of someone gave her a lead.
Lydia is happy to be home from he two months away. One month in Ethiopia on project work and the other with family in Ontario.
50/50: Ken MacDonald had the right ticket but could not find the joker, so the $11 pot builds.
Saturday April 06, Community booth at the Farmers market, 8am-1pm. Ideally we will have enough people to do 2-3 shifts.
Monday April 08, 11:30-1:30pm. Rotary Flag Raising: We meet at the Town buildings on Prince St. where Mayor Mills, Mayor Blair and President Ryan will raise the Rotary Flag at 11:30am. Then we will walk or drive back to the Best Western for a regular lunch meeting.
Tuesday April 09, 5:30-7:30pm, Informal supper at the Nook and Cranny. Bring friends or family and enjoy the company of your Rotary friends.
Wednesday April 10, Food Bank: Tour of the new facility starts at 11:30am. Preparation work is between 12-12:30pm and serving the clients is from 1-4pm. Please feel free to stop in for an hour or stay for the entire time.
Thursday April 11, 6-9pm 93nd Charter Night, This year's speaker will be Danny Graham, Chief Engagement Officer, Engage Nova Scotia who will be speaking on the Quality of Life Initiative. There will be awards presentations for Community Service, Rotarian of the Year, Avenues of Service and Paul Harris Fellowships. If you have not yet registered, please do so asap
Friday April 12, Tours of the Rotary House 1-3pm. This will be open to all Club members and the community. The CCW has put an ad on Radio inviting the public. We need Rotarian to greet people before the tours.
Saturday April 13, Training for Leaders of Clubs at the NSCC.
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Lech explained that the villagers normally cook on open pit fires in houses and there is consequently high death rate attributed to smoke inhalation and lung disease. Over the 10 years that the group, lead by Leo Rovers has been active, a newer stove had been designed (called the "LEO" stove) and is being installed widely. It has been found to be more practical and efficient than previous stoves. The stoves are build locally by local people. All arrangements and decisions on who will get one of the new stoves are made by local people in Guatemala. 
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