Rotary Club Vancouver Yaletown
Meeting – Thursday, July 23, 2009 – 5:30-6:30 pm
Location: Fairleigh Dickinson University, 842 Cambie Street
Member Present:
x / Carlos Esquivel / x / Brian HutchinsonRomina Romano / x / Norma Reina
x / Alfredo Cantu / Daniel Roehr
x / Mandy Lai / x / Carlos Tan
x / Neil Mort / x / Mariella Tardel
Janine Jones / Bartosz Bos
x / Laina Saccone / x / Sonia Sopena
x / Nancy Tan
Andrea Wilks / Guests
Deirdre De Grandmaison / x / Gil Mobley
Vinicio Esquivel / x / Akira Hasegawa
x / Ali Jamal
1. WELCOME
§ Mr. and Mrs. Hasegawa are from Kyoto-East Club in Japan. Mr. Hasegawa presents his club banner. He speaks briefly about his city Kyoto. He says that Tokyo means capital east and Kyoto mans capital city. Tokyo only became the Capital of Japan 150 years ago. He says to avoid the hot summer if going to Kyoto. Mr. Hasegawa said that he had been to an even smaller club than ours. It was a club on Crate Island in Greece and only the president was present when he visited the club.
§ We also have a guest who is an English teacher from Neil’s university.
2. ANNOUNCEMENT
§ Neil thanked everyone who came to the Yaletown Movie Night on Sunday. Neil briefly explained what the movie night is about to our guests. We raised $550.00. Popcorn and bag cost around $200. Neil suggested that like last year the club donate the $200 worth of popcorn and bags and donate the whole $550 raised to Yaletown House. All members present approved.
§ Neil informed that Fred who is the president of the Rotaract club has to return to Brazil. He will meet with Rotaract to discussion the transition from Fred to a new president.
§ We thank Laina for putting together a new brochure for us. The new brochures were distributed on Sunday during the Yaletown Movie Night.
§ August 20 is planned as the membership information night.
§ Next Thursday is potluck at Janine’s place
§ Joyce Gomez has been approved of her application to the club and is accepted as our new member
3. DR. GIL MOBLEY AND THE SANTIAGO ATITLAN PROJECT
§ Sonia introduced our guest speaker: Sonia met Dr. Mobley at Jericho Beach during the Folk Festival, and discovered that Dr. Mobley, a Rotarian, is seeking help to bring water to the Santiago Atitlan Village in Guatemala.
§ Dr. Mobely is a diplomate of The American Board of Emergency Medicine and a Fellow in the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2001, he was voted Springfield Missouri’s “Best Doctor”. He founded a hospital in the Lake Atitlan area in Guatemala. Since 1998 he has led both medical and non-medical service trips to Guatemala under the auspices of Travel and International Medicine/Lake Atitlan Medical Project. Dr. Mobley is also a lifetime member of the Wilderness Medical Society.
§ Lake Atitlan is a high altitude lake in Guatemala surrounded by volcanoes and myans. It used to be occupied by militant groups. In the past, anyone who did any humanitarian work in the area was seen as communist and socialist and was murdered. The militant groups were kicked out of the village area in the 90s but still spread out in the wilderness area.
§ Santiago Atitlan Village has one of the highest mortality rate in the hemisphere
§ Dr. Mobely spoke about the hospital that he helped built in the village and how it was damaged during the mud slide. He spoke about the people at the village and the work that he had done. The work includes having nurses teaching the midwives how to properly deliver babies and nurture them and having doctors teaching the local doctors how to use more advanced equipments etc.
§ Lake Atitlan Regional Giardiasis Education Screening and Treatment: Dr. Mobely has a theory that people at the village are infected with parasites which impedes their mental and health development. After testing and screening, it proves that Dr. Mobely’s theory is correct. Now the question is how to clean up the water or provide clean water to the villagers.
§ Dr. Mobely made a very entertaining and moving presentation. He reminded us that charitable work involves hard work, tear sheds, and even danger.