Sawadee ka/krap! It has been a long time coming, but this year (2018) all of Rotaract for Project Starfish's donations were finally designated and are now in the hands of our chosen non-profit organisations, these are: the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights, Child Helpline Cambodia, Hagar International, and Nvader (now LIFT). Thanks to you, our supporters, advocates, families, and fellow Rotarians, we have managed to support key programs for preventative, investigative, and restorative action. Together we have challenged ourselves and spread awareness of the people making REAL difference in REAL lives. Back in 2016... Whilst it may seem like a long time since our fundraising campaign back in 2016, we have been busy planning and reflecting on what we learnt. As Rotarians it was most important for us to take the time for due-diligence and making sure our fundraising and final donations were fully transparent. After our research in 2016 we decided to support projects that aligned with the most current best practice in anti-trafficking work as supported by the findings of international NGOs and the United Nations. During the team visit to North Thailand in 2016 we donated NZ$414 to the Rescue Mission for Children This went towards new storage equipment for specialist dental equipment and three ukuleles, one guitar, and an electric keyboard for the entertainment and skills learning for the 40 hilltribe children living at the Rescue Mission and going to local Thai schools. This complimented a dental program where our dentist treated all the children and voluntary staff at the center, our electrician provided electrical maintenance and electrical site mapping in the facility and the rest of the team planted a brand new guava orchard sponsored by the Rotary Club of Christchurch Sunrise, NZ. We have not concluded here all of the other donations and support directly from David Black of Project Starfish and the New Rotary Generation Club, Dunedin, NZ. 2017... saw us processing the information some of our team gathered in situ in Thailand and Cambodia about the direction that research and trends in eliminating human trafficking is going internationally. You can read about some of our findings here; we primarily identified a growing movement away from institutionalized child care and post-trauma rehabilitation, towards supporting communities to make themselves safer and stronger, such as being less reliant on cross border migration for work and better able to support healthy family life and education. This movement centers on individual wellbeing and targets NGO efforts towards sustainable changes to eliminate initial occurrences of human trafficking, rather than addressing the tragic aftermath. By the end of 2017 we had discussed options of specific directions for our funding to be used with the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights and Child Helpline Cambodia. This way your support and our work mean that our donations are going towards work that directly supports the areas that we identified as most important and most valuable to a long term goal of eliminating child trafficking. This year, 2018... we have focused on the surprisingly difficult task of sending money to Cambodia, involving several banks at first. We have also reached out to Rotary clubs in Cambodia to advertise for a much needed Financial Director for Child Helpline Cambodia. If you think you can assist this amazing group with your skills please contact us! So at the end of it all, with fond memories of the bright children we met in Thailand and the many energetic and admirable volunteers in New Zealand, America, and the United Kingdom we are proud to announce: We donated NZ$1,804 to the Cambodian Center for the Protection of Children's Rights CCPCR recently transitioned away from institutional care towards alternative care methods such as supporting communities through saving groups, cow banks, and opportunities for education and safe and sustainable employment. Acting Director Nget Thy helped us to decide on a donation of US$800 towards toilets in one of CCPCR's new kindergartens. This kindy allows 20 children between 3 - 5 years access to early education while their parents have safe and local work. The remaining US$600 was given to six different Savings Groups to assist communities with people vulnerable to or survivors of exploitation and trafficking. Savings Groups improve income generation by a sustainable process, with community ownership. CCPCR supplies the capital to start the Savings Group. Each group (some have up to 30 members) then independently decides on their policies for investing savings and supplying loans for starting small businesses. Once CCPCR phases the project out, the money remains in the community and continues generating income through the businesses it has helped to support; this is the meaning of sustainability. We also donated NZ$2,047.25 to Child Helpline Cambodia After many discussions with their Executive Director Sean Sok Phay we decided to sponsor one Self-Protection from Human Trafficking training workshop for 16 Youth/Helpline Ambassadors. CHC's Youth Ambassadors run awareness sessions on self protection and unsafe migration in villages in provinces affected by migration such as Battambang, Banteay, Meanchey, Koh Kong, Pailin, Preah Vihear, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, and Kampong Cham. Awareness sessions support these communities with a bottom-up approach so that their youth are fundamentally more aware of the risks and dangers of migrating for work and are aware of avenues for advice and support. Families are also more aware of the importance of positive parenting and school education. Educational and promotional materials about the Helpline are also spread to wider communities through these workshops, generating an exponential effect. We also gifted NZ$500 of your donations to Nvader When we met Nvader in Chiang Mai, Thailand, they were growing from a ‘raid and rescue’ model towards supporting legislative strength and support of sex slavery survivors. Now, they have furthered this transition with a rename of LIFT, focusing on strengthening judicial systems, supporting survivors, and prosecuting criminals. Lastly, we gifted NZ$250 to Hagar International, on top of donations made as part of the 2016 Hagar Run for Freedom at Angkor Wat. Hagar's focus is social empowerment and support and reintegration of survivors. Through this work they have heard many remarkable stories of recovery, belonging, and love; some of which our team heard first hand when we visited Hagar in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. You can see the direct impacts that our individual efforts, once combined in a likeminded network, have made for these organisations and the lives that their work affects. Collectively, we have achieved this, not just through donations but also through education and advocacy of what it really means to be defining, identifying, and confronting human trafficking in the modern world.
Together, through our networks, through our passion, and through our kindness we can take down human traffickers' networks and means. To continue building a network that disrupts criminals and feeds FREEDOM, please partner with us and partner with our partners; together we can see the end of the world’s biggest injustice within our lifetimes. Kob khun ka/krap, thank you, rom the Rotaract for Project Starfish Team
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Over the weekend we hosted a food stall at the Vogel Street Party. We were selling deep fried bananas for $1 as well as selling leftover lollies from the Dunedin Lego Brick Show for NRG. The bananas were an absolute hit and tasted delicious, with many customers coming back for seconds (and even thirds...) hard not too when they only cost $1 🙊. Despite the wind, we had a great day and were able to spread the word of Project Starfish to the general public. The Vogel Street Party organisers did an absolutely wonderful job and should be proud of what they achieved because the day was a great success!! We were fortunate enough to be across the street from one of the stages meaning we had constant entertainment throughout the day which was great! Thanks to everyone who came along to help throughout the day, and thank you to those who bought a banana fritter from us!!! Your support is truly appreciated :) We'd also like to thank you Lauren for putting in so much time and ensuring this day was such a success; as well as all those who came along to help or met us on the day and supported our team! For news about some more exciting upcoming events come and join us at:
https://www.facebook.com/rotaractforprojectstarfish/ This week we want you to meet Lauren Hay, our future commerce superstar, wearer of an infectious smile and owner of the biggest heart. What do you study?
I study a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Management and Accounting Why did you join R4PS? I joined the Project Starfish team after hearing David speak to our club because I was really moved by his talk and wanted to do as much as I could to help out those that need it the most. Where do you want to see R4PS in the next year? I believe that the impact the Thailand trip will have on each of us as an individual, is going to spark the desired ‘ripple’ effect and we will be passionate about Project Starfish even more so when we return as we will know first hand what needs to be done. The next big task is finishing the school and I really hope to be involved in making that happen. How has R4PS influenced your life so far? It has made me think twice about how fortunate we are to live in New Zealand and to not take things for granted. It has helped open my eyes to see that there are people living on the other side of the world that are in need of our support, and I want to help them. Do you have any top tips for balancing study with your volunteer work? As James said last week, it is important to know your limits of how much you can actually take on. It is also important to get involved in things that you are passionate about as it makes it fun and you are more willing to get the job done. What are you most looking forward to during the Thailand trip? I am looking forward to spending time with the children and getting to know them, just to be able to play games with them and teach them things. I’m also really excited for the Hagar Run for Freedom because I think that this would be such an amazing once in a lifetime experience. Lauren is the brains behind our twitter and instagram accounts, make sure you pop over to these pages and give her a big hello! On the 17th September, the Otago Daily Times featured our story and two of our lovely R4PS members on page 17. Margot Taylor interviewed Georgia and James who were both so thankful to be given the opportunity to share their passion with the local Dunedin community.
To G and James, the rest of the R4PS family want to thank you for articulating the way we all feel so beautifully. To David, well, you're nothing short of amazing, thank you for the constant guidance and support. To Dunedin, hello!! Let's keep this momentum going, let's see the end of child trafficking in our lifetime. This week we want you to meet James Heath, our budding lawyer, wonderful friend and selfless game changer. What do you study?
I study Law and a Bachelor of Arts down here in Otago. Why did you join R4PS? Because I want to see real genuine change. Instead of sitting around and identifying the issue I want to be out there myself doing all I can on the ground level, working with the children themselves. Even if it’s the smallest difference it is a difference none the less. Where do you want to see R4PS in the next year? Where Project Starfish goes in the coming years is in many ways more exciting than the Thailand trip itself. This trip marks the start of a long journey and will be a catalyst for future events and fundraisers. In the next year I want to see it grow and move on to tackling its next mission; building a school. I believe it is incredibly important to see this trip as the start of something big. How has R4PS influenced your life so far? On a basic level my work with R4PS has pushed my organizational and professional skillset to a greater degree. It has however also widened my perspective of the world. These days we live in an incredibly connected world but yet so much goes unheard of, the things we don’t want to know about are sometimes pushed under the rug and drowned out. Do you have any top tips for balancing study with your volunteer work? It’s important to know your limits and, though sometimes it is frustrating, you need to learn when to say “no.” This is something I personally struggle with as I like to be out there as much as possible, but there is a line which I need to appreciate. What are you most looking forward to during the Thailand trip? I’m looking forward to seeing the children and spending time with them. The trip itself will be amazing, Thailand being such a beautiful country, but in the end of the day we are there for them and not the place. I personally, as stupid as it sounds, want to just sit and play music with them and, if we can secure funding for some instruments, teach them how to play the ukulele. For all those in Otago, NZ, here's an amazing quiz night for you! There will be subsidised drinks, lots of hot chips and friendly chat! We have received some amazing prizes that will be up for raffle throughout the night! Send us an email or call us to book a team:
During the University of Otago's RE-O week 2016, approximately 10 Rotaract Dunedin members came together and held two sausage sizzles. The money raised will help to send our team over to the Akha Academy in Thailand. On the first night, we set up around 9.30pm and finished at 2am! Otago weather was on our side and we stayed dry throughout the night. Many students did not disappoint us in supporting this cause. We had looked forward to feeding them and they weren't hesitant in giving back. Many donations and sausage jokes later, we finished the night with a generous amount. The second night, we started early and looked forward to providing sausages for people after a rugby game. It was a slow start but people were generous in their donations. Through the rain and cold wind, hungry people still lined up for sausages near the end of the night. 500 sausages and bread, 3 bottles of ketchup and 8 bags of onions later, we are incredibly happy with the turn out and proud of the Dunedin community for backing our cause. We plan to have another sausage sizzle in September near Otago University so if you're in Dunedin come and get involved or grab yourself some soul satisfying dinner! We have an exciting event to share with you today! Recently the Bar Harbor Rotary Club in conjunction with Mount Desert Island High School Interact Club and the Red Empress Foundation held a screening of the movie SOLD. This movie is based on the true narrative of a young Nepalese woman's experience in an Indian brothel. Based on a best selling novel by Patricia McCormick, SOLD shares the very real horrors of child trafficking and will hopefully help to gain international momentum against this prevalent issue. Through the sharing of this story with a large movie audience the Bar Harbor event not only educated a group of people about a little known issue through a panel discussion after the film but also raised a significant sum that has been donated to Project Starfish! We will take this with us to the Akha Academy in Mae Sai in November to improve its infrastructure and also for equipment for a pop up dental clinic. This will make a massive difference to the children staying at the center now and in the future! Well done and a big thank you to this team for their achievement and sharing their success with us. It is clear that no matter where you are in the world, America or New Zealand, we can team together and make a difference to the number of children caught into trafficking throughout the world. We hopefully will be hosting our own screening of SOLD in Dunedin in the coming months so keep posted and in the meantime we have more late night sausage sizzles booked in for the University of Otago's re-orientation next week, check them out on our calendar! Here's the fantastic team at their event:
This conference gave us a fantastic opportunity to talk to over 300 Rotarians from across our district about Project Starfish and allowed us to get the ball rolling by spiking the interest of many clubs in the area. We have the Rotary clubs of St Kilda, Dunedin, and Dunedin South to thank for the funding for this trip, we couldn’t have made it without you! The conference itself ran with the crucial presences of the District Governor Karen Purdue, the trademark character of Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt, John Prendergast, and the Rotary International President’s Representative Bryn Styles. In between their addresses and wonderful local entertainment we experience five outstanding key note speakers: Marcus Akuhata-Brown, Amanda Wirtz, Daniel Walker, Scott Gilmour, and Julie Chapman. We also heard about the various activities of our Rotary community. Each of these displayed the commitment and quality of Rotarians, a family we here at Rotaract are proud to call ourselves part of, as well as setting a fantastic precedent for the upcoming Rotary year. A particular incentive to our presence this year was the opportunity to meet Daniel Walker, who founded Nvader, an agency working towards liberating sex slaves. He presented us with a courageous and powerful message on the horrors of child sex trafficking and his emotional journey throughout his travels. Daniel talked on his times going undercover in brothels across Asia and, to a shudder and gasp of the audience, the horrors of children, as young as five or six, being brought into the room. The brothel was later raided by armed police but not all the children could be saved, some running back into the village and returning to the only life they knew. This is why we are embarking on this journey. To put an end to such atrocities and prevent the lives of thousands of children like them from falling into darkness. Daniel went on to speak about the massive emotional stress such work puts on him and the lives those around him. He was personal, profound and above all courageous, reaching every member in the audience, and particularly giving us greater passion with which to continue this project! Then came our opportunity to speak. Firstly, Lark Hare, the outgoing President of our Rotaract club, spoke first on the outstanding work we have achieved over the year. Georgia and I were up next and, leading on nicely from Daniel’s talk, challenged the Rotarians to help us tackle this issue. They were all appalled at what was happening to young children in Thailand but now was their chance to do something about it. We were both happy with how our short speeches had gone and the reception that they had received by the Rotary family. Thanks again to the Rotary clubs of St Kilda, Dunedin, and Dunedin South for getting us there and Karen Purdue and her team for organizing such a great weekend. We are looking forward to speaking again in the future and helping to spread the word of Project Starfish!
On the 25th and 27th February, in particular being the Thursday and Saturday nights of the University of Otago's "O Week" , members of Rotary Club of Dunedin Central, Dunedin Rotaract and Dunedin New Rotary Generation ran a fundraiser BBQ on George Street, Dunedin. The object was to raise funds towards the cost of sending a volunteer team to Thailand mid-November to help with a kitchen refurbishment at the Rescue Mission for Children centre in Mae Suai. Our target consumer demographic were the hungry students who had recently returned to Dunedin, and were all out on Saturday night, as part of “O Week” celebrations. We set up around 10:30 p.m and our food supplies were completely exhausted by 2:42 a.m on Sunday morning. Some of us were really pleased to get to bed just before 4a.m!! During the night we spoke to hundreds of students about “Project Starfish” and the work we are doing to help children in SE Asia who are at risk of abduction into child slavery, and the relationship we have with Rescue Mission for Children, who are one of the organisations we support. There was a lot of interest, and many people thanked us for our work to help the children who have no voice in the world. This was such a success that we're planning on holding more bbqs down George St during the upcoming "Re-Ori Week", 11th-16th July, so if you're in the area pop on down for a good feed and even better chat.
Overall it was an amazing example of what we can do when our Rotary “family” all pull together, well done guys! So the exciting news is that we actually started fundraising before we even set up this blog! Shows how eager and proactive we are right?! So I will quickly update you on our activities so far and they have been a lot of fun. Our first wee project was carried out as a fun end of year catch up where we held a Rotaract pot luck dinner. We each made a donation on entry, had a great feast and played coin bowls (where we roll coins at a target (wine of course) and the closest one wins the prize and the rest of the coins are collected as donations). As a goal of Rotaract Dunedin we held a Summer Challenge to keep us active in service to different causes over our university summer break. It's all part of living the lifestyle of Rotary with the volunteering of time, energy or funds as part of our everyday selves, we just can't get enough! The two summer challengers that put their raised money towards Rotaract for Project Starfish were Michael and Georgia. Michael sold some video games from his collection and Georgia held a raffle for Trade Aid and Lush prize packs (thanks to Lush for their sponsorship!). Our next event was a market stall at the University of Otago market day where there was lots of food and live music! All of the clothes, shoes and bags were donated by NRG Dunedin as left overs from their Pop-Up Op Shop event. This was great fun for several new members and a cool way to engage with students and let them know what we are doing. So far it's looking really good and we're just gearing up for the rest of the year. I hope you've enjoyed reading about these activities, we certainly enjoyed doing them, and keep an eye out on our calendar as there are many more to come!
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AuthorRotaract for Project Starfish, Dunedin, New Zealand. Archives
July 2018
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