Niles Rotary Club of Fremont

Official website of the Niles Rotary Club of Fremont, California

President’s Message – May 2017

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April was a busy Niles month for service in the community. The month began at Cabrillo Elementary School in the rain, where a group of intrepid Niles Rotarians braved the elements to beautify a student garden and install a work bench. At this event, I discovered two talents in the club. The first came as no surprise: Steve Landon can build a work bench out of wood. I have no idea how he did it. I helped get the roughed-out piece off his truck, and then Steve set up a makeshift outdoor workshop in which he finished the piece off.   Before you knew it, people were sanding the work bench and it was nailed to the side of a building at the school, ready for duty. Not being a handy person, I have never built anything larger than a chicken pot pie. So this work bench was truly a wonder to me. I take my hat off to Steve and the handymen and handywomen of Niles Rotary

The second talent I discovered was the love of tan bark that resides in the club. Niles Rotarians love to shovel tan bark, transport it a wheel barrow, spread it around, make patterns in it, and argue about whether it is distributed perfectly in all areas. Again, I had no idea. By the end of the day, tan bark was exactly two-a-half inches deep throughout the school garden, and the sense of satisfaction was palpable. It was a great morning of work and cheerfulness, sustained by breakfast sandwiches from the Depot Café. Thank you everyone who joined the work party, and especially Paul Andrus, the Service Chair of the club, for coordinating everything and keeping us fed.

At the end of April, on Arbor Day, our second service outing of the month, again organized by Paul Andrus, took place at Rancho Arroyo Park in Niles and at the Stone Garden, a community garden owned by Local Ecology and Agriculture in Fremont (LEAF). After lashings of breakfast sandwiches, this time from Joe’s Corner (thank you, Melissa!), one group took off to the Stone Garden to build planter boxes, maintain the community garden and erect a fence. At the Rancho Arroyo Park . . . yup, you guessed it . . . we spread tan bark. Given all the practice we had earlier this month, it turned out we got pretty fast at distributing tan bark around the base of the mature trees in the park. But the main thrust of our project at the park was the planting of several trees, which occurred under the watchful eye of a couple of employees from the City of Fremont Parks and Recreation Department. Again, I want to express my appreciation to everyone in the club who spent a glorious spring morning improving a local park for our friends and neighbors. And thank you, Rich Godfrey, for involving LEAF in the project too.

Even though it rained on the Cabrillo School project and the sun shone brightly at the Arbor Day project, the two events shared one special feature – a ton of laughter. As I looked up from my little pile of tan bark, all I could see was Rotarians having fun, working together and enjoying each other’s company. As much as I like to think my shenanigans at the podium each Thursday define our club this year, it is really the generous spirit and camaraderie of community service that makes the Niles Rotary Club so unique. With the contributions of time, talent and treasure offered by the hundred members of Niles Rotary, there is nothing we can’t do together. Especially when it comes to tan bark.

Pinion May 2017

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2017 05 Pinion

In This Issue

  • Hot!Hot!Hot! Chili Pepper Challenge checks presented to 8 community organizations & projects
  • Community Service Projects in April at Cabrillo School, Rancho Arroyo Park in Niles, and LEAF Stone Garden
  • Polio Eradication Update: 5 cases to date in 2017 (3 in Afghanistan, 2 in Pakistan) – down from 10 at this date in 2016
  • Club Meetings – photos

President’s Message – April

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President’s Column for April Pinion

First, I would like to begin with a word of thanks to Niles Rotary. Last fall, Barbara Orth, the First Lady of Rotary District 5170, announced that the Governor’s Partner’s Project would be a fundraiser called “Read Me a Picture,” which aimed to buy books promoting visual literacy for elementary-school students throughout the District. With the help of all our generous club members and the cooperation of Fremont Unified School District, the members of Niles Rotary Club contributed $4,100 to buy books for second-grade students in FUSD. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all for your generosity. I am particularly grateful to Sam Forbes, the champion of this project, who steered the ship safely into the fund-raising harbor after I dithered and procrastinated for several months. Thank you, Sam!

While I am on the subject of thanking people, I would like to take my hat off to President Elect Rose and the entire Reverse Raffle Committee for pulling off a fabulous event in March. What an evening to remember. The banquet room looked beautiful; I felt right at home in all that tartan and heather. The dinner was delicious. The wait staff was attentive and friendly.

Best of all, the auctions generated tremendous activity to support non-profits in our community. The fund-a-need auction resulted in more than $10,000 for SAVE’s Community Oriented Prevention Services program, which trains advocates to help domestic-violence victims at the Fremont Police Department and establish longer-term relationships with clients. Conservatively, I am going to say that from ticket sales and auction income we will provide the Gifting Committee more than $90,000 to distribute among the charities that submit grant applications this spring. This contribution is really at the heart of all the hard work that club members contribute to the event. Rotarians get the ball rolling by serving on the committee. Rotarians drive attendance by selling tickets. Rotarians make the silent and live auctions attractive by donating unique items and experiences. And Rotarians generate income for the event by bidding on those items throughout the evening. I couldn’t be prouder of all that Niles Rotary contributes to the community than I was on the evening of the Reverse Raffle.

Did you notice, by the way, that everyone had a great evening? There was so much laughter in the audience, that I could barely hear the auctioneer at times. As Past President Chuck always points out, the first rule of Rotary is “Have Fun.” And who has more fun than Bruce Prescott, the winner of the Elimination Raffle $5,000 prize? In true Karmic fashion, Bruce’s boat finally came in. All he had to do was lead the charge with ticket sales for more than five years and dress up as Cher. Bruce, you earned every penny of that prize money. Thank you for all your hard work and for your generous donation of a portion of the winnings. Keep it up.

Now we are into the final quarter of my presidency. Soon President Elect Rose will be ringing the bell and helping the club thrive. Before then, though, we have two service projects, a District Assembly and Conference, a Day at the A’s, and the event whose name must not be spoken. I look forward to seeing you at the club each Thursday and at many of these co-curricular events. Thank you, everyone, for making our club such a success.

In Rotary,

President Angus

Niles Rotary’s “Sight Now” Project in India

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Niles Rotary Sight Now Project Video

According to National Institute of Health and a National Geographic Survey in September 2016, 285 million people suffer from blindness worldwide. Out of those, ninety percent of the cases are in developing countries. Forty-three percent is completely and easily preventable. Preventable blindness consists of refractive errors and cataracts in the eye. Visual impairment due to preventable blindness is a life changing event for a child and/or elderly person that are not covered by government or personal insurance. They simply do not have the means to pay for these simple procedures. Niles Rotary club and its lead volunteer, Geeta Kadambi, conducted a pilot project for Niles Rotary in Chennai, India in conjunction with the South Madras Rotary club in January of 2017. Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital was chosen to provide the treatment and eye care for the international project. Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital is a premier facility providing treatments such as eye check-ups, glasses and cataract surgery while using their mobile van to reach those in rural areas. The mobile eye clinic vans are equipped with lens grinding and glass making equipment for refractive error correction on the spot. Patient’s eyes are first checked for vision impairment and if correctable by providing prescription glasses, lenses are made the same day. If the checkup suggests the presence of cataract in the eye, then the patient is taken to the surgery clinic at the main hospital in Chennai. Shuttled to Chennai by bus, all their costs are covered. This includes their boarding, lodging, and post-operative care. The level of trust a villager must have is substantial considering the cost covered is only for the individual. No family members accompany them on the medical trip. They go it alone.

Geeta Kadambi, of Niles Rotary, first found interest in doing this project when she did her graduate work at the University of Madras (1989) and collaborated with Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital as she researched on preventing cataracts. At that time, she was not involved with Rotary. But this had remained in the back of her mind for all these years even as she completed her post doctoral work at the University of Minnesota (1992) also doing research on preventing cataracts. Fast forward some time, Geeta joined Niles Rotary of Fremont in 2015 and her passion for helping others found a new path involving others in the good work of helping these people in India. Previously, she had been involved for many years. Her family was familiar with receiving phone calls annually and being asked to make some donations to support this worthy cause. Now, with more public and community exposure through Rotary, her plans are becoming bigger and this is just the beginning. This was her pilot project for what she hopes to turn into something much larger, perhaps on a Rotary District Level or even something Rotary can take on as an organization in whole. Even as the as a fledgling first project, it was very successful. Audrey Kearns, Niles Rotary’s International Chair, supported Geeta from the get go by helping organize fundraisers and being supportive in helping Niles Rotary get behind this wonderful project. Niles Rotarians got behind Geeta and what she was planning to do.

Here Geeta, second from the left, poses with local Rotarians standing outside the Mobile Eye Clinic Bus in Kayyar Village

Typically, these Eye Bus clinics travel up to 125 kilometers per day to reach rural villagers. Without this service, these villagers who work in the fields or fishermen on the water daily, would never receive eye care of any sort. And with a simple free exam, glasses and surgery if necessary, someone who is dependent on the family can return to being a productive member of the family and society. It’s simply life changing. This leads to a life where the person served contributes economically, feels better about themselves individually by being able to contribute. This brings a sense of dignity at any age. Everyone understands how important it is to have some measure of independence. But, its not just the elderly that are served in these clinics. The ages vary across the board from small children to the aged. The following photo is one where a small three year old child had been injured while “climbing on things” and injured his eye and the left side of his face. His eye was bleeding but he had not yet lost sight when he arrived. The eye ball was fully ruptured. Even as he came to the clinic, he was happy and smiling. If he had not been seen quickly, he would have permanently lost sight in this eye for the rest of his life. Take a moment to imagine the change just this one surgery is going to have on this child. Look at his photo. How many years and life experiences just changed for the better from this one day’s events?

Little Boy Krishna arrives in Chennai for Emergency Eye Surgery – Geeta enjoyed playing with him during his wait time for surgery – he found a new Auntie!

For each international project a US Rotary Club selects, they need to have a relationship with a local Rotary club in the country where the international project is being conducted. There are multiple reasons why. Rotarians pay their own airfare, lodging and travel expenses so that all the funds raised goes directly toward the project. The reason Rotary International has a policy where you must coordinate with a local Rotary clubs is to make sure the funds are spent properly and wisely in the given country. They are the locals, they have good contacts and are wise as to costs, business customs and local culture. The club hosting the US club is also responsible for contributing money themselves and being involved in the actual work project itself. The South Madras Rotary Club contributed $2,000 toward the project bringing the total between the two clubs to $7,700 USD. Rotarians make new relationships with each other in the process and accomplish some of Rotary Internationals goals – world peace, better friendships and serving humanity.

Here Geeta Kadambi presents President Asha Marina of the South Madras Rotary Club with Niles Rotary’s Club flag during their weekly dinner meeting

In rural eye camps, people will line up for hours on end and patiently wait to be seen. People will travel from miles around when they know this organization is visiting their village. This eye hospital has been in existence for over thirty-eight years, so one of the most important considerations is that the local villagers trust this organization and what they do. In fact, local village elders will print flyers and walk home to home to advise their community members that the eye clinic is coming.

Here villagers from Kayyar village line up for their registration, examinations, and to learn if they may need cataract surgery or not

Below, you can see that the hospital must deal with situations where performing eye exams can be difficult due to the lack of adequate facilities. The staffs are well trained and have a positive attitude. They set up “camp” within about 20 minutes and start seeing patients all day long. This usually varies from 100 to 200 patients per day from 9am to 4pm. Imagine that many people coming through your eye doctor’s office in one day.

This building with no windows, doors and dirt floors became the eye camp clinic for the day that people in the humble village of Agaram came to be examined

One distinctive quality of the villagers in Agaram is that they are positive people and very gentle in nature. These hard working people work in the elements every day and have substantial sun exposure to their eyes and bodies. It’s so different from the pushy crowds of the big cities. They have no sense of entitlement and patiently wait their turn, knowing they will be taken care of before the days end. Working with the villagers in Agaram was a joy and this is type of people that benefit from projects such as these.

Here you can see a traditional village home of a family in Agaram Village. Their main source of employment is fishing and agriculture. There is a beauty about these people.

During this specific trip, the contributions of Niles Rotary and the South Madras Rotary Club of $7,700 allowed Geeta and the Sankara Nethralaya Eye Hospital to serve 338 patients overall and of those patients, 93 received cataract surgeries where they were transported to Chennai for a three day visit. The cost for each individual eye exam only runs at $5/person. This includes staff costs, transportation of the clinic, examination fees and production of glasses when needed. For the cataract surgery, the cost is $65/person which includes transportation to and from the hospital, surgery costs, recovery, boarding and lodging and any post operative medical care needed.

Here is a patient having a ‘Slit-Lamp Examination’ to evaluate their eye prescription. This is an examination taking place in Kayyar Village

Here you can see patients recovering from cataract surgery in a clean and comfortable environment. The care is of excellent quality

In summary, Geeta Kadambi was humbled and moved by the experience she had in involving Niles Rotary, the South Madras Rotary Club and the people that were served by this project. This is how it goes. Being a Rotarian means giving a little time, giving a little money, giving a little of yourself and on occasion taking on a project that alters the lives of those in different places around the world. You can see the pure joy on Geeta’s face here in the last photo as she is serving her friends and fellow human beings in India. This photo was captured on her last day at the eye camp. You see, as quoted by Richard D. King, being a Rotarian is an act of selfishness. Ask yourself who benefited most? Was the person being served from the village the one that gained the most? Were the members of the South Madras Rotary Club when they saw Rotarians from Fremont, California on the other side of the globe doing something selfless to help their fellow community members the ones who benefited most? Or was it Geeta, who took on a project that was quoted as saying “it changed who I am and how I view life”. Her perspective has been altered permanently. So who benefited most? Who knows. Does it matter? We do know all involved benefited greatly from this project.

Maybe you should be involved with one of our projects and see for yourself, what it means to be a Rotarian. Rotarians all agree that when returning from international projects that they didn’t really know what Rotary was all about, until they had completed in person an experience doing international service.

Geeta Kadambi enjoying her service to others in Agaram, a humble fishing village in southern India.

Article and Interview with Geeta Kadambi by Paul Andrus

Kids Against Hunger Community Service Project

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Niles Rotarians made a nice difference on Saturday, March 4th, 2017. They showed up to pack food for kids domestic and international. Each member paid $20 to help cover the costs of the food we packed and some contributed substantially more! Thank you – you know who you are.

Here you can see the Niles Rotary Crew at their food packing stations ready to get started!

Here is Sherry, our guide and the amazing woman behind it all. When she retired from banking, she wanted to make a difference and do something good, but never anticipated exactly how much impact she and this organization would end up having. The organization was started in 2010 and produced something around 130,000 meals. Below I will share a photo of their results in the last two years! It’s down right amazing!

The food that goes into these packages is really important because allergies, religion and nutritional value are important factors when considering international delivery. The organization is not a religious organization, but many of those heavily involved are faith driven folks, like Sherry.

The food we were packing today was going with a pastor from Castro Valley to the Philippines to be delivered by hand. There are many indigenous groups in Southeast Asia, that have always lived on the seas. In the Philippines as well as in other countries such as Thailand. These peoples, while not actually Thai or Filipino have lived along the coasts and survived by fishing alone. Eventually they began to build stilt houses along the beaches. This became problematic when the local governments began regulating and taxing these folks in the fishing industry. Even if they were not so much in the business of catching and selling their fish. In Thailand, these folks were banned from fishing areas they had been fishing for many generations when laws were passed to protect the seas and land near them as they became designated as national parks. This along with over fishing and the continuing contention in the South China Sea about fishing have forced these peoples to begin to migrate and become more permanent on land. They have become marginalized and now are the poorest of the poor. Our project today was to send food to these people in the Philippines.

Here Sherry Higgs, Director of Drivers for Survivors, is busy putting labels on the food packaging in preparation for our assignment today. Jeff Schinkel arrived early and was promptly put to work in effect serving two shifts. The Niles Rotary Crew was also complimented with a few other groups including a birthday party of tweens, a group from a high school in Danville and another church related group. All in all, we packed 13,500 meals between all of us. That’s pretty amazing, right? Think how many stomachs that will fill?

We felt great, had fun and then went out to enjoy the Pleasanton farmer’s market and broke bread at Nonni’s in old downtown Pleasanton. Good times, good people, good work! Make sure not to miss the next Niles Rotary Community Service Activity coming up in April. We can always use helping hands. As Sherry of Kids Against Hungers said so aptly as she taught the youth at the end of the project “Many Hands Makes Light Work”. Thank you Niles Rotarians!

Article Contributed by Paul Andrus, Community Service Chair