A busy month to be followed by another: Prath will be travelling to Far North Queensland to visit clubs.

Dear Rotarians, Rotaractors and Friends,

This month I visited four of the five clubs in Darwin. Next month I will be visiting several Queensland clubs and will be in Cairns, Townsville and Mackay for three weeks from 20 August. I am looking forward to meeting many Rotarians and getting their feedback.

All the District Governors in Australia have agreed to run a national campaign against Domestic Violence. The latter part of November and early part of December is the activism period, and we are calling on all the clubs in our districts to do an activity such as a walk, a ride, a dinner or whatever you think is appropriate. (See article from Sunday Telegraph 13 August, which provides some background to this campaign).  Please reach out to me if you need any assistance. I am also spending some time with the Conference committee to finalise details such as speakers, sponsorship etc. When I am interstate, I won’t have much time to focus on it and committee will do the work.

The planning for the conference in Darwin next May is well ahead and I urge all of you to consider coming.

At the Longreach conference Professor Ajay, involved with the project Flourishing Women, made a comment that men don’t worry too much about problems women have with some public spaces. In crowded functions, for example, the women stand in long queues for the toilet and Ajay questioned why can’t they build more toilets for women. Obviously it is more costly for developers and it is all about money. As an engineer, I started to think about it to find a solution. I have started a dialogue with relevant personnel such as architects, plumbers and other relevant bodies in search of a solution. More on it later as things develop. Guess what? The first ever Rotary project in the world was to build public toilets in Chicago. Back to the beginning. 😊

This month I have been involved in some of the community-based activities such as a survey of bicycle riders, making sandwiches for hungry school kids and Rotary fundraising activities at the Darwin Show. I have been reading and hearing about lots of good deeds and projects the different clubs are doing to keep the spirit of Rotary and service above self. Please keep up the good work.

There is also some sad news such as passing of great Rotarians, some not in good health and some others having difficult times. The wellbeing of Rotarians is a matter that belongs to all of us. We are a Rotary family and should care for each other. Wherever you can please extend a hand, console and be there for them.

Rotary is a noble organisation. It feels good to belong.