Lunch time meeting - ZOOM Meeting our speaker this week is John Calder Banff Rotary Club talking about Vocational Training Project in Ghana

On Thursday 10^th September 2020 President Geoff Sampson welcomed 13 Club Rotarians and guest speaker Rotarian John Calder and guests and prospective new members Beverley and David Cooper to this lunch time meeting held by ZOOM.

Three Rotarians apologised for non-attendance.

Our speaker armed with some slides this week was Rotarian John Calder from the Rotary Club of Banff who has been heavily involved in a project since having a holiday with his wife in Ghana in 2014. He along with Jim Slater (RC of Dunfermline Carnegie) visited Ghana where they worked with two Rotary Clubs in Kumasi and identified and interviewed 16 small businesses that could benefit from training and mentoring where they completed Phase 1 of a proposed Vocational Training Team for 2015. ICCES (Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills) is a vocational/technical school. There are 63 centres across Ghana.  (ICCES) is an agency under Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR) with policy objective to increase young person’s access to skills acquisition and empowerment for productive employment. Their primary objective of providing employable skills to the rural folk for the result of curbing rural-urban drift and its attendant social vices and reducing youth unemployment. Their mission to train the youth in demand-driven employable skills for self or paid employment in their chosen trades through micro and small-scale enterprises and contribute to the development of a sustainable labour force for employment in the Country. The Government pay the staff, but the local centres and communities are responsible for all other expenses. John spoke about the area he had seen where there were two school buildings one not habitable and the other 3 basic classrooms and an office with no water or toilets and here the project began. In March 2017, the construction of a 2-unit hostel block and 2-unit workshop commenced. Now they have 8 buildings all habitable and have facilities for football and volleyball plus they have a mechanised bore hole with storage facilities and one other building under construction. They now have Toilets and water with the facility previously able to take 47 children 32. Male and 15 females can now take 104 students, 60 male and 44 females. Drop out rates due to the poverty have declined albeit slowly. The project continues

The Rotary vote of thanks was given by Brian Johnson.

Our community champion Wilna Roger organised further entertainment for the Residents at Strathburn Abbotsford care home in Finglassie on Tuesday afternoon as singer George Aitken had the residents singing and clapping. Another enjoyable - worthwhile afternoon with Wilna and President Geoff in attendance.

President Geoff introduced David and Beverley Cooper to members present and advised them that they will be joining Rotary,

A scaled down version of the intended Great Britain Clean up will take place at Riverside Park on Saturday 19^th at 1pm weather permitting and following recent government guidelines for group activity.

This coming week Thursday 17th September 2020 at 1pm on ZOOM we will be given a talk by our own Wilna Roger on reminiscing of her River cruise D’Ouro

The Rotary vote of thanks will be given by Anne Sampson.

If you were interested in supporting the community and international projects get in touch by Private message on The Rotary Club of Glenrothes Facebook page. You will be made most welcome.