So imagine my new Pakistani friend, Nadir Shar, floundering around in my backyard pool in Brisbane and the laughs it provides while I try to teach him to tread water? He did learn to at least not sink, and he was very proud of that, but the style was floundering at best.

Nadir was my third Peace Fellow mate, who Karen and I supported in his 18 month Masters of Peace and Conflict resolution at the ROTARY PEACE CENTRE at the University of Queensland. 

Each of the three Peace Fellows I counselled had a unique story to tell and a huge amount to give back to the world. As a Rotary counsellor and supporter you meet and greet your Peace Fellow, help them establish homes, bank accounts, phone and internet provision, introduce them to Aussie life, show them around occasionally and introduce them to what Rotary really is, as they are not Rotarians and yet Rotary is paying their scholarship. 

I am passionate about Rotary Foundation, and here is another quality program delivered through OUR Charity.

I want to introduce you to my Peace Fellow experiences and the value of this Rotary project, because since coming north I recognise that you don’t see these folks as much as our lucky Brisbane counterparts. One of Rotary seven avenues of service is Peace and Conflict Resolution, and let’s face it, the world needs more “harmony building not war mongering". Remember those lyrics “What the world needs now is love , sweet love… No not just for some, but for everyone”? Dione Warwick had it right and the Rotary Foundation has made this a priority to build future world leaders with a capacity to resolve conflict and promote peace.

Let me briefly introduce the Peace Scholars Karen and I have supported.

1. Diego Casagrande. Class 10 . Diego is Brazilian and his wife Claire is from England. Diego was especially insisted in Emergency Disaster response plans and processes. He was inventive, innovative and a super nice guy. Karen loves him! He and Claire have become lifelong friends who we visited in Dorset in 2019. Diego is currently running a Peace Moratorium every summer in Switzerland.

2. Saila Huusko . Class 13. What can I say? A Finn...yay, obviously an all round intelligent human being. All joking aside, she was one of the most intelligent and inquisitive humans I have ever meet. She is a documentary film maker who concentrated on portraying stories on how conflict, stress and disaster affect communities at a personal level. She is currently the CEO and curator of a brand new, state of the Art, interactive Peace and War museum in Finland. A job she feels privileged to have gained. Link- Muisti

3. Nadir Shar. Class 15. Nadir is a Professor of Literature and Culture at Peshawar University and he lives near the Khyber Pass. His three little boys and his wife remained in Pakistan with the extended family while Nadir studied. Pakistan is one of the two remaining countries to still have wild polio, there are still huge gender inequalities and wide-spread corruption, and yet it is a country of amazing history, culture and education. Nadir wants to change the world through education and the wisdom of the classic literatures of all nations. In the end, he says, they all say the same thing that we safety, family, respect, responsibilities and to serve to change lives.

So this is timely, why? See the email from PDG Terry Daley below:

Good evening

The Rotary Peace Scholar Applications are now open for the year 2021-2022. Please, in the first instance, email me PDG Terry Daley at tddaley@bigpond.com if you have a suitable applicant or if you have any questions as to the process required. More information can be found with this link

https://clubrunner.blob.core.windows.net/00000050172/en-au/files/sitepage/rotary-foundation-information/rotary-peace-centers-guide-for-rotarians/Rotary-Peace-Centers--Guide---for-Rotarians.pdf

Please consider finding suitable applicants. There is no cost to the Club for this program