News Archives - 2024 2nd.Quarter

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Borderland Rotary present prestigious award to member

Justin Soper & Andy Boroughs

Borderland Rotary are immensely proud to announce that Justin Soper, a hard-working member of the club, has been granted the Paul Harris Fellowship Award for his continued contribution to the club and for demonstrating the Rotary moto, “Service above self”.

Justin has tirelessly developed the club’s Environment, Youth and Rotakids groups introducing Operation Pollination to the club as well as helping set up Rotakids Clubs at ten local schools including The Marches and Oswestry School. Operation Pollination is an international project which aims to boost awareness of the vital part bees and other pollinating insects play in our ecosystem and create and protect their habitats and better understand how we must interact with our little friends while Rotakids is a junior version of the Rotary Club that introduces young people to the concept of community engagement and voluntary work.

Justin said, “I was stunned when it was announced that I was to receive this award, but I am so proud that I’ve been able to serve the Rotary project in general and Borderland Rotary Club in particular. I must thank my wife Sherie – without her, none of this would have been possible”. 

Sherie Soper was made a member of the Paul Harris Fellowship some years ago.

Borderland Rotary welcome medic from Mercy Ships

Suzanne Perkins, an anaesthetist, who was sponsored by Borderland Rotary to spend three months on a Mercy Ship off the coast of Sierra Leone, came to give a talk about her experiences. 

Suzanne explained that Mercy Ships is a faith-based international development organisation that deploys hospital ships to some of the poorest countries in the world, delivering vital, free healthcare to people in desperate need. The medical team treat such ailments as cleft palates, benign yet troublesome tumours, orthopaedic malformations and many infant, soft tissue complaints. In sub-Saharan Africa, up to 69% of people live on less than £2 a day and healthcare in these countries either doesn’t exist or is unaffordable to the majority of the population.

Suzanne said, “I was one of the many volunteers, often sponsored by organisations such as Rotary, and to give you an idea of how international the crew is, a patient had an unexpected bleed during surgery and needed seven units of blood (one unit of blood is roughly equivalent to one pint) so a call went out for doners and we took blood from people from fifteen nationalities – I think that’s pretty multinational, don’t you think? Because of this diversity, it sometimes takes some time to assimilate but once I was in the swing of it, I found it so rewarding. I’d like to thank you all for making this wonderful, though sometimes trying, experience, a reality”.

Borderland have been involved with Mercy Ships since one of its members, the late, Linda Barker, a nurse at the Orthopaedic hospital, volunteered way back in 2012 and have sponsored people as often as possible ever since.

Suzanne Perkins

Borderland Mountain Bike Challenge another great success

Over one hundred intrepid riders and Marshals from Borderland Rotary, the organisers, were blessed with wonderful weather for this year’s event as they set out on the 22-mile challenge through the ups and downs of the foothills of the beautiful Berwyn Mountains. You’d think that the E-bikes, which have been welcomed for some years now, would be way out front, but far from it. Naturally powered bikes ridden by staff and friends of one of the sponsors, Mule Cycles beat their previous times – maybe due to the weather as well as their obvious fitness. 

Tim Gray, whose father Brian Gray, started the ride some thirty years ago, said, “It’s great that it’s still going - and seems even stronger than ever. The last two years I’ve been tail end Charlie and helped or mopping-up any stragglers, and it’s been a pleasure and a not to my father”.

Jonathan Jones, who organises the event on behalf of the Club said, “We have been so lucky with the weather this year, it makes so much difference and I noticed that we seem to be attracting riders from further afield these days with entries from Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and the Welsh coast – word must be spreading. I’d like to thank all the landowners for allowing us across their land, all the volunteer marshals, Linda with the coffee van, the Village Hall, Grum the photographer and last, but by no means least, all those that took part and donated. Thank you all”.

Borderland Rotary raising spirits as well the bar at The Soma Space

Borderland were happy to help The Soma Space acquire weightlifting equipment for their "movement for mental health" facility at the Memorial Hall in Red Square, Oswestry. Borderland has a history of helping local enterprises and with this donation they are helping the founders, personal trainer Jo Hazell-Watkins and psychotherapist Kevin Braddock, help local people with their mental and physical health issues. The Soma Space concept is to work with patients in a holistic way by addressing their physical and mental issues together so that body and mind can recover and heal in unison.

The Soma has also recently received support from the national body British Weightlifting to work with groups of clients to help develop their strength and thus improve mental resilience.  

 “It’s great that Borderland recognise and support the work we do. They have taken an interest in the project from the beginning, and we welcome their support which will enable us to reach more people with our initiative."

 Next weekend  (Saturday 11th May) is the Borderland Mountain Bike Challenge

Next Saturday, many intrepid riders will set off from Rhiwlas Village Hall on the Borderland Mountain Bike Challenge and you could be with them as there are still some places left.

A team from the Water Treatment Works in Broomhall Lane, Oswestry, will be shedding their Hi-Viz clothing and donning more suitable cycling gear to get out onto the hills and valleys of the beautiful Berwyn Mountains.

We see the Air Ambulance flying over daily and you could look up with pride as by riding the Borderland, you’ll be helping keep those helicopters in the air and have lots of fun at the same time - so just go online and sign up – it’s that simple. Borderland Rotary, the organisers, have supported the Air Ambulance for over twenty years and it would be nice to think that the club have helped save a few lives in that time.

www.borderland-mtb-challenge.org

Ian Stewart in training

Borderland Rotary learn CPR from Midlands Air Ambulance

Borderland Rotary has supported Air Ambulance for many years with its annual Borderland Mountain Bike Challenge, which this year will be held on Saturday 11th May starting at 10am. (Places still available) So it was natural that Maria Jones and John Sharron from Cosford Air Ambulance, should come and give instructions on emergency CPR and the use of Defibrillators to members of the club.

“It’s so nice to welcome Midlands Air Ambulance to help us be more self-sufficient in future”, said Andy Boroughs, Borderland President, “As our history with the service goes back so far with the mountain bike event having been staged for the last twenty years”.  

Maria gave a talk after the training and said, “We are very grateful for the work that Borderland have done for us and it’s good to be able to come and give some basic first aid and Defib training that may, one day, help someone, before our helicopter arrives”. She went on to explain that the Air Ambulance service started in 1991 and has been serving the West Midland and eastern Wales ever since with each mission costing in the region of £3,000 and they fly, on average, seven a day.

Maria continued, “Not so long ago, a young man from Oswestry was gravely injured and things did not look very good but swift treatment and a flight to hospital helped him make a full recovery and we were thrilled when he came to visit us at Cosford and met the crew that treated him. Those moments mean a lot to all of us in the service”. 

If you’d like to help Air Ambulance, why not enter the Borderland Mountain Bike Challenge or just go to the website and donate. www.borderland-mtb-challenge.org

Borderland Rotary take Young Carers to Laser Tag session.

Young Carers, the organisation that supports youngsters who find themselves as caring for others, and Borderland Rotary arranged a visit to Black Hawk Laser Games as a day out the for the carers and it was a great success. Black Hawk is based on the Mile Oak Industrial Estate, just off Maesbury Road and the group played one of their most popular games, Laser Tag.

Sherie Soper, from Borderland said, “They all seemed have so much fun and really got into the games and I must thank Black Hawk for being so supportive and for providing the food – it was a great, adventurous day out and I’m sure we’ll be back there again soon”.