At the beginning of December last year, Rotarian Manojit Lodh drew the attention of Wallasey Club Members to an appeal he had received from the Inner Wheel Club of South West Calcutta.
The club in Calcutta was trying to help villagers from Gurguria. The village has no street lighting which, due to its location, meant it was under the threat of nigh time predators – specifically tigers.
Wallasey President-Elect, Annette Wyllie felt that this appeal should not go unanswered. Together with husband Bill, they asked their club members to reach out to personal and business contacts to find a sponsor for each of the 20 individual lights needed.
The village has no street lighting, which due to its location meant it was under the threat of nigh time predators
Within three weeks of the appeal, the club has raised Ā£3000 which was sufficient to cover the cost of the lights. Funds came from the Rotary clubs as well as personal and business contacts.
Christina Spencer, Wallasey Club president has spoken highly of her club and the support that was received.
She said āI am proud of the way in which our members and their contacts responded so quickly to the needs of a distant community who will now be able to live their lives more safely.
This is what we in Rotary are truly about.ā
Consett Rotary has also been busy. Along with some of their family members, they have been busy helping to plant trees as part of a project in their local area.
The project is designed to create a fully inclusive to everyone, back to nature farm experience.
In the first visit the Club added around 50 hours of work to the project with many more to come.
The plans include a fully accessible farm area with space for one-to-one contact with the animals as well as animal therapy sessions.Ā There will also be an accessible pet corner and areas to view larger animals along with a cafĆ©, sensory rooms and changing places.
The outdoor area will also have an outdoor classroom and a bushcraft area, a nature trail and a rustic play area (all with wide, level and accessible paths). In addition, plans are in place to build an accessible holiday park, with fully accessible lodges.
With lots of work to be done and much more required, 21 Consett Rotary members and friends spent a few hours planting trees. With a total of around 800 trees to be planted the Consett Rotary Club will be involved to ensure that the project is successful.
On the first visit, the club added around 50 hours of work to the project with many more to come.
To commemorate their first 100 years Norfolk Rotary has initiated a long-lasting project ā āCuppa Careā – that focuses upon āpreventing and reducing social isolation and loneliness in Norfolkā whether caused by poverty, disability, age, gender, lack of accessible local support and information services, geographical remoteness or poor transport, or other needs.
The plan was to purchase a vehicle which will be converted into a purpose-built mobile facility, the āCuppa Careā bus, equipped with a range of information and facilities for making refreshments, from which members of staff and volunteers can engage
with the local communities, provide appropriate support, information, advice and, above all, companionship (over a friendly cuppa) ā all aimed at reducing loneliness and isolation.
Whilst the project was initiated by the club in Norwich, the plan from the outset was to take the āCuppa Careā bus to various locations across Norfolk, therefore making the service accessible and available to our urban and rural communities.
The Rotary club has successfully piloted the āCuppa Careā service with funding from a local grant-making organisation and contributions in kind from the project partners ā using a borrowed bus from Hear for Norfolk, the Lead partner in this project ā to both confirm the operating model, validate venues and confirm the need in the community.
The project cost had two elements: capital costs and operational costs. Capital costs include the purchase, conversion and installation of necessary equipment, estimated at Ā£51,000. The annual direct operational costs were projected to be Ā£55,721.
The Cuppa Care bus together with volunteers.
As the Project Lead, as well as the Club President during this very special year, Aliona Derrett devoted much of her time to writing and submitting funding applications to Trusts and Foundations and appealing to individuals and local businesses for support.
As a result, we have raised the required capital funds for the project at the end of 2021 and the club is currently waiting for the vehicle to be delivered before it can go for conversion. They have also raised Ā£29,344 towards the target in revenue funds, and are appealing to the Rotary Club in Norfolk and the general public for financial support to help achieve revenue targets and get the service fully operational on the road.
Norfolk Rotary is also looking for people who would be interested in volunteering on the Cuppa Care bus. Training and support will be provided.
