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Achievements

Cheque Presentations to Local Charities Supported by Rotary Club of Elland in 2008

President Ingrid presents Andrea Brearley with a cheque for- Happy Hands	President Ingrid presents Nicky De Whytell with a cheque for Yorkshire Air Ambulance	President Ingrid presents Jackie McGuire with a cheque for RNIB	President Ingrid presents Paul Blakey with a cheque for Calderdale Street Angels
President Ingrid presents Martin Charlesworth with a cheque for RNLI	President Ingrid presents Tony Eckersall with a cheque for DebRA	President Ingrid presents Karen Dineen with a cheque for Forget-me-not-Trust	President Ingrid presents Karen Parrish with a cheque for Glenholme Respite Centre

Christmas Sleigh 2007

Santa and his Sleigh - - a huge success with the children of Elland

raising £4,900 for Rotary Charities - Thank You

Bag Packing raised £1,040 - Thank You

Providing shelter: international chairman of Elland Rotary club, Hazel Metcalfe, with children at St Patrick’s school, Elland, who have raised money for Rotary shelter boxes (from the left), Liam Nichol, Niamh Lyne, Hazel Metcalfe, Millie Jagger and Sam Butterworth

Mock Interviews at Brooksbank School

A series of Mock interviews was held at Brooksbank school helping advise teenagers what to look out for when applying for a job. The Rotary members advised on how to 'sell' themselves and how to behave under interrogation.

Elland Rotary Club Sleigh

The Rotary Club of Elland has repeated and exceeded last year's very successful Christmas fund raising campaign, with its Santa Sleigh again touring the streets of Elland and District, and making full day visits to 5 Supermarkets in Halifax and Brighouse. The illuminated Sleigh featured a Santa Claus plus Christmas Carols and other seasonal music. Many local children were able to pass on their Christmas present wish list to Santa!

The first campaign, over Christmas 2005, helped raise £ 5000 for Yorkshire Cancer Research.

The completed 2006 campaign raised an even more spectacular £ 6212, with all proceeds to be donated to the Elland Overgate Hospice.

The Rotary Club of Elland would like to record its sincere and heartfelt thanks to the people of Elland, Halifax and Brighouse for their continued generosity and support.

Thinking in the box

A LONG walk has helped provide shelter boxes for the Third World.

The children of St Patrick's Catholic Primary School, Elland, have been working with the Rotary Club in Elland to raise money to buy shelter boxes for disaster-stricken countries.

The boxes will provide immediate care for around 10 people and they contain tents, water purification tablets, pots, pans, blankets, water bottles as well as books, pens, pencils and a multi-fuel stove.

Hazel Metcalfe, international chairwoman of Elland Rotary Club, said: "Very often we are the first people to provide first aid because we are able to get through the red tape."

The school has managed to raise £985.30 by taking part in a long walk. Money raised will go towards providing two boxes to the countries.

They cost £490 each and it means the children will be helping 20 people for at least six months for food and water and basic amenities.

Ms Metcalfe said: "To think this is the amount raised by just 100 children is magnificent.

"What the children have raised is overwhelming, I am delighted and give full credit to the school.

"This will be helping people that have lost virtually everything."

Last Updated: 19 December 2006

By Rehana Zeria

Providing shelter:

international chairman of Elland Rotary club, Hazel Metcalfe, with children at St Patrick’s school, Elland, who have raised money for Rotary shelter boxes (from the left), Liam Nichol, Niamh Lyne, Hazel Metcalfe, Millie Jagger and Sam Butterworth

President John Leslie receives a cheque for £150 from the pupils of West Vale School

in aid of Rotary Shelter Boxes

A joint effort between Elland and Halifax Rotary Clubs filled this truck with warm clothes and bedding for the victims of the recent Eathquake.

Many thanks to Asda and Tescos who allowed the collection of Clothes and Bedding in Halifax and Brighouse.

President Tony Chadwick visited Bowling Green School to collect the money they had raised for the rebuilding of 'The Yorkshire School' in Sri Lanka.

Many Thanks to the pupils of Bowling Green.

President Elect John Leslie collected a Bronze Award Certificate on behalf of the club which was presented by Rotary International District 1040 for raising over £3,000 for 'The Yorkshire School' in Sri Lanka.

Our Christmas Sleigh raised £5,000 over the Christmas Period.

Thanks to Tesco's, Sainsbury's, and Asda for helping

President Michael Whitworth presents a cheque to teachers to help with school trips

January 2005

Rtn. Patrick Beeson receives a certificate and a banner from District Governor for his work in organising matching grants for Adult Literacy in KwaZula

Last Years Pres. Chris Metcalfe receives a Certificate of thanks from the Royal Br. Legion for the help given them by Elland Rotarians.

Rotarian Dr. Bruce Bain had a busy morning checking Blood Pressure on 'Stroke Awareness Day' in Elland

What Rotary is All About

Report from Rtn. Dr. Eilidh Gunson

My church (Bethesda Methodist) in Elland has a link with Temple Emmanuel Church in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Last year, three of us from Bethesda visited Temple Emmanuel, and there I found out about a medical clinic in the city.

The clinic is in the grounds of a Christian Mission, and it now serves the wider community within Ouagadougou. It is self-funding (non-profit making), charging for consultations, investigations and medications. However, in cases of extreme poverty, the clinic manager - Marie Claire Traore - will waive the charges completely.

I went out there in November 2002 for four weeks to work alongside the doctors in the clinic. I saw large numbers of people with malaria, typhoid, dysentery, and salmonella. These conditions are rarely seen over here.

One little girl, aged 4, had been hit by a car and had hurt her leg. Her parents had splinted the leg up and rested her at home for three weeks in the hope that the leg would get better. Only when the little girl could still not walk after the three weeks and was still crying in pain did they bring her along for an X-ray which confirmed that the leg was broken. A lady with a similar story actually WALKED into the clinic with her broken leg!

There are two main languages in Ouaga: French and Moore (an African language). No-one in the clinic spoke English, so I had to communicate solely in French.

Me with one of the orphans, Bridget.

I spent a day at the Mission's orphanage, which was caring for 64 children at the time I was there. Some of the children's parents can't afford keep them, some have died from AIDS - or other illnesses - and some of the children themselves have AIDS.

I visited a village about 20km from Ouaga. In the village, we found a lady, Salamata, with her severely malnourished son, Souleymane. We managed to persuade Salamata and her husband to allow us to take her and Souleymane to the clinic for help.

On arrival, the child was weighed - he is 11 months old and weighs only 7lb 2oz (about the same size as a newborn baby). Before I left, he had gained a little weight and the staff were optimistic that he would survive . But there are children who aren't so lucky and who will unfortunately die due to lack of food.

Weekdays were spent at the clinic, but at the weekends, I did get to see something of Ouaga and its surroundings.

A particular memory is the visit to see the crocodiles (picture 3) - there were no safety fences so you really could get VERY close!

Rotary also featured in the trip: I met a group of English opticians who were travelling to Ouagadougou as part of the Vision Aid project. They examined and provided spectacles and/or medication to over 2000 people in the 2 weeks they were there. On the night they left, I was invited to join them for a meal, where we all met the president of the Rotary Club of Ouagadougou - the sponsors of the Vision Aid trip.

The Polio Plus campaign was very big there as well - throughout the city were huge signs declaring "We must vaccinate our children". At the top of each sign was the emblem of the World Health Organisation and a Rotary Wheel. Both these experiences are proof of Rotary's work in real practice.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the whole trip was the attitude of the Burkinabe people. They are very generous and welcoming and, instead of bemoaning their poverty and plight, they say "This is how it is ........ how are we going to deal with it?" A humbling and thought-provoking experience.

Love from Eilidh.

Donations to 'little' E.R.I.C. in Kwazulu .................£800.00

Repainting Cartwheel Club in Elland .....................£1821.25

W/Y Scouts ...................................................£ 500.00

WaterAid.......................................................£ 500.00

Yorkshire Lupus....................................£ 3,500.00

Members volunteered for Elland Hospice Flag Day

Members volunteered for Ravenscliffe School Swimming Gala.

Members volunteered for Elland Round Table Bonfire Night

Providing two Shelter Boxes for disaster areas

534 pairs of spectacles collected for Visionaid

Donation to Wateraid for repair work in Dodoma.......£500.00

Polio Plus ... our target.... £2000.00

Kids Out ... Wine Tasting at Trinity House ... £340.00

350 Shoe Boxes filled for International Aid Trust