2020-21

PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIP AWARD

At our virtual meeting by Zoom on 25th February 2021, President Tony presented our President - Elect, Rotarian Martyn Philips, with a well deserved Paul Harris Fellowship. This award is in recognition of Martyn's contribution to Rotary over many years. The announcement was met by a round of applause and many a 'well done' by the members in attendance.

Martyn transferred to the Leeds Elmete Club in 2010 from the Leeds Cross Gates Club, (which was about to close). Martyn became a Rotarian with Cross Gates in November 1994, and was their President in 2003-04. He was our President in 2013/14, and is about to have a 'second-go' in the Chair starting in the new Rotary Year this coming July.

He is a stalwart member of the Club, and is currently responsible for our largest Charitable income stream since he runs the Club's very successful '100 Club'. A now partially retired Solicitor, he can always be relied upon for an 'expert, considered opinion', and is a thoughly nice bloke! Very well done Martyn - you deserve this award. The picture below shows a proud Martyn with his certificate, which had been delivered to his home by President Tony (who happens to be his brother-in-law!).

Paul Harris Fellowship awarded to Immediate Past President Ken Garrett

At our Zoom Virtual Club Meeting on Thursday 27th August 2020, President Tony had a delightful surprise in store for our Immediate Past - President, Rotarian Ken Garrett, in the form of the award of Rotary's highest honour - a Paul Harris Fellowship. Ken was shocked but delighted at this recognition of his Service to the Club and to Rotary. Below is  photograph taken at Ken's home on the following day when President Tony was able to present the Certificate and the PHF lapel badge to Ken in person.

  

Ken, a retired General Medical Practitioner, joined Rotary in 1986, and has been our Club President 3 times (1993-94, 200-10, and 2019-20). He has been a loyal servant to Rotary over the years, being involved in all the Club's activities, but of special note, the acheivement of a global matching grant in 1997 for a children's AIDS hospice in South Africa. Well done Ken, you thoroughly deserve this award.

Moparru Orphanage, Andhra Pradesh, Southern India.

Recently the club donated £725 to the Moparru Orphanage, following a presentation in February 2020 from the Waller family (Past President Ken Garrett’s sister Maggie, and her family – husband and two grown up children) who have volunteered at the orphanage for up to a month several times. They were able to give us a real insight into the lives of the children and of Raju Pallikonda and his wife Lavanya, who run the orphanage.  

Maggie Waller writes: Moparru is a tiny, poor, rural village of 500 people. The land for the orphanage was donated by an elderly, local Hindu lady and opened in 2012 with a handful of children. 70 children are now well cared for as part of one big family. Lavanya and her grandma do most of the cooking outside on an open fire. The children eat well: mainly vegetables and rice, with chicken as a very occasional treat. The accommodation is basic, with bucket showering for the children, but there is clean water, one large room for the girls and a similar one for the boys. The children attend the village primary school and then go on to high school and to college. Education is valued highly by the children and their daily routine starts around 5.30 am with prayers and finishing homework. Many children at Moparru are orphans, others may have one parent who is sick and the family cannot look after them. Local pastors also find children living in dreadful conditions on the streets and bring them to Moparru.Through previous donations, work began to build additional accommodation to provide some more rooms and a kitchen, as well as a large space for eating and worship. The outer structure, flooring, window grilles and concrete shelving for storage are almost finished.  The donation from Rotary will now allow Raju to finish the doors and windows so that the building will be weatherproof. There is more to do to put in electrics and equip the kitchen, but this donation is a huge step forward. It has been a difficult year for the orphanage. Some of the people who support children through a regular monthly sponsorship of £15 were unable to continue because of pressures of Covid 19. Sponsors are desperately needed as this is the only regular income Raju receives to provide for the children. If this is something Club members, or others, may be interested in, please contact Maggie Waller: maggieeducation@aol.com

We received a heartfelt thank you from the Waller family and Raju, and are delighted that our donation will make a positive difference to the lives of the children whose smiles say it all! 

Our President for 2020-21 is Rotarian Anthony (Tony) Vincent, PHF. 

Tony is a retired Dentist who, when working, had a dental practice in Castleford, West Yorkshire. He joined the Rotary Club of Castleford in early 1989, becoming their President in 1996-97. He transferred to the Leeds Elmete Club in February 2008. Tony has enjoyed many avenues of service to Rotary and the Club over the years, including service on the District International Committee. He has been highly involved with many international projects. This will be his second term as our Club President. 

Tony is having a great Year, despite the difficulties currently being experienced by all of us.

AREK & JEAN HERSH AWARDED PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIPS 

Rotarian Arek Hersh, MBE, (pictured above in the sunshine at his home in Harewood, Leeds on Thursday 28th May 2020) and his wife Jean have been awarded Rotary's highest honour - a Paul Harris Fellowship - by our Club. 

This picture shows Arek and Jean in the grounds of their home proudly displaying their Award Cetificates, clearly very pleased. They were both delightfully surprised and shocked when their daughter Michelle presented the Awards on our behalf on 28th May. We had managed to get the PHF lapel badges and certificates to her during the Covid-19 'lockdown', and Jean is quoted as saying "I think it is very kind of them, and both my husband and I are highly honoured. We have been at home for the last 3 months, like people of our age, and the presentation has made our morning a joyful occasion".

Arek joined the Club 20 years ago and is a very active member. Arek (91), a Holocaust survivor, has given tremendous service to the education of people about the Holocaust not only in the the UK but further afield, thus making a significant contribution to building a "better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world". Jean has been given the award for the support, prompting and care she affords Arek. President Ken says 'Jean is Arek's right arm and contributes a huge amount to his work as a constant companion and prompter'.

Arek was born in Poland but came to England in 1945 as a child Holocaust survivor rescued by the Central British Fund for German Jewry. His wartime experience is recorded in his book: "A Detail of History": The harrowing experience of a boy who survived the Nazi Holocaust. (ISBN-13:978-1910167779). The story of his first few months in England was told in the BBC drama 'The Windermere Children' earlier this year. He has a significant entry in Wikipedia.

Both Arek and Jean personify the Motto of Rotary: "Service above Self". President Ken's final words in a letter to Arek and Jean were: 'On behalf of all your Fellow Rotarians, thank you for the work you both do'.

(We are grateful to Arek's daughter, Michelle Tamam, for making this surprise presentation on our behalf and for providing the photographs).

To read the entry in Yorkshire Post newspapers of 29th May, Click this link:   https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/leeds-couple-arek-and-jean-hersh-handed-highest-rotary-honour-surprise-visit-2867880