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The GSE's Recent Trip to Brazil

President Elect Jim Hinton, filled in during King Louis' brief absence.

Pledge:

In fact, it was a day of fill-ins as Mike Moore was so adept at filling in for Ray Schofield during the pledge, that nary a Rotarian noticed.

The Rotary Moment:

Gary Lucas was at a loss for words as he filed in late and stumbled over the "three haves" that we should all be thankful for. For further explanation, contact glucas@wehaveitall.com.

Members filled in for Marigo, raffle ticket sales, as he fell asleep early. Bob Harris handled camera duty, Dave McDonald set up, with bulletin duties being forfeited to the only person in the room with a pad of paper.

Visiting Rotarians:

The eight visiting Rotarians we introduced by...oh yeah, Bill Dodson and he did a memorable job. There were five from the Downtown Club (I'd say the old man's club, but as I glance around the room, I observe several among us with glassy eyes!), another two came from the Sebastopol Club.

President Elect, John Kirkwood, from The Rotary Club of Jinja, Uganda, came bearing gifts (banner & CDs). He gave us a brief presentation on Uganda, proffering The Rotary Club of Santa Rosa West a chance to support vocational education in his home land.

Rotarians bringing guests were: Peter Lamonica presented Terry Narvaro, Chris Parr introduced Scott Wise.

Gail Johnson brought her sister and her husband "THE Don," who was team leader for Rotary Group Study Exchange trip to Brazil last summer.

Sara Castelan, our Rotary Exchange Student from France, was in attendance with her friend, Steven Markett.

Dale Sipe was at the meeting today. Apparently he bought something that has changed him. Must be the tie J

Announcements: John Meislahn reminded us all to bring a $20 or less, gift, and your check for $30 per person to the Christmas Brunch at Josef's this Sunday at 11 a.m.

David McDonald and crew delivered dictionaries and Spanish/English translation books to third graders at 5 Santa Rosa elementary schools on 12/2. They were ably assisted by Michael Moore. Mike generously loaned his company vehicles and warehouse, to facilitate the logistical nuances of the transaction.

David also asked that we help him find the Salvation Army Bell Ringer sign up list sent around last week - since it most likely has found it's way into the bowels of the Los Robles. Please contact David and let him know the time you signed up for. Remember, someone knows who you are! Be good, not naughty...at least not that kind of naughty this time of year.

Mini program #1:

John Kirkwood, Director of Tofta Educational Trust, Rotarian and self-appointed ambassador passed on a few facts about Uganda, his home since 1987, and his club activities. Uganda's Lake Victoria is the source of the Nile river and is surrounded by Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, the latest incarnation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, & Sudan. While Africa has an AIDS epidemic, Uganda has been successful educating their population about the disease and is the only country in the world with a negative AIDS growth rate.

The Rotary Club of Jinga's Centennial project is to provide 100 water springs (wells) for Ugandan communities. Each water spring supports approximately 500 people. The school John directs offers primarily vocational, but also academic education to orphans who's parents died of AIDS. Uganda has no orphanages or for that matter elder care facilities. The school currently has 420 students aged 13 -19. The cost of room/board and education is $400 per student per year.

Mini program #2:

Brian Herndon gave a very brief program on how to apply for grant funding from SRWRC. In short, check out our website and click until you got it or get it, whichever may be the case.

President Elect Jim Hinton has his own format, so next he fined John Palmer the remaining $2 that he owed. $8 had been paid by the boys at the table next to the flag last week in John's absence.

We sang happy birthday to Phil Talamantes and John Meislahn couldn't find the black marble with only 12 of them in the bag. Somebody from the past president's table in the back of the room donated MM best wine to the Crab Feed.

The Major Program:

Don “The Real Don Johnson” Johnson introduced four of the five members of the Group Study Exchange team that spent 4 weeks in Brazil on expedition last summer. They visited the cities of Sao Paulo, Brasilia & Rio de Janeiro, where they were hosted by Rotarian families. Sao Paulo is so large, approx. 20 million residents, that there are 3 Rotary Districts within the city. The GSE teams met and worked with their occupational counterparts on the trip. Most Rotarian's are upper middle class in a country where 90% of the population earns less than $500 annually.

Rotary Club meetings are most frequently held in the evening, where an 8:30 p. m. meeting means things usually don't get going until 9:15 p.m.. No way that would work here - Marigo would have a whole table and probably half the club joining him in a group nap at that hour.

Power Point presentations were accompanied by a narrative from each of the team members:

Jeremy Nelson, a physical therapist, discussed the healthcare system in Brazil. 70% of the population uses the national plan that is free. The other 30% is primarily utilized by foreign residents, who can afford the $400/mo. cost of private healthcare. Healthcare is good there and some hospitals attract foreigners looking for experimental treatments for diseases that are unavailable in their own country.

Craig Brisgel (yes, son and grandson of past members Jerry and Eddy of Santa Rosa Shoes fame) was a member of the team. He visited many shoe stores and even got to tour a shoe factory, something he's never experienced. Who knew!?

Denise Prue, a Santa Rosa chiropractor, met with massage therapists and visited a university in Sao Paulo that is graduating its first class of chiropractors in August of next year. It's a new profession in Brazil, but has been active in the US for 100 years.

Lorenzo Duenas works with the Sonoma County Sheriff's department. He was with the helicopter unit, but now he works on the gang task force. He passed on some interesting statistics: Sao Paulo has 190,000 military police for its 20 million+ residents. I'm not sure what they do, but he says they're not as corrupt as the 75,000 members of the civil police force. Corruption is acknowledged by them, but shrugged off and justified by their low pay. The Federal Police are Brazil's equivalent of our FBI. They concentrate on kidnapping cases and bank fraud, etc. There are also 75,000 firefighters, but in Brazil you have to graduate the police academy first before becoming one. Brazil has a 24/100,000 population murder rate (considered high) and the prison cells measure 10'x20', hold 14 prisoners with no bath or beds. Guess it's a good thing the GSE team didn't get too wild down there, huh, gentlemen? If you're planning a trip to Brazil, mind your Ps & Qs.

That's it!

Your Bulletin Reporter, Chris Rosell		Your Bulletin Editor, Jim Valinoti

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Changes or comments?

Contact Jim Valinoti at valinoti@sonic.net or (707) 829-2300.

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