By Etelka Lehoczky
As a newcomer to Rotary navigating the 2023 Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia, I feel a special affinity for other first-time attendees. I was excited to see that there would be a whole session just for first-timers the day before the convention kicked off. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but I got quite a surprise when I entered the huge auditorium where the session was held. The place was packed! I was surrounded by hundreds of fellow newbies.
After the session, I talked to a few of the attendees about their countries, their clubs, and why they’ve decided to make Melbourne their first-ever Rotary convention.
Biren Shukla
Rotary Club of Corona, California
“I’m president-elect of my club, so I wanted to learn a little bit about different projects and what Rotary International is doing globally. We’re lacking international projects at the moment, but we’ve raised lots of funds. We do a large lobster fest every year at the city hall – it’s our 13th one – and we raise a lot of funds for 30+ charities in town. That’s my fundraising tip: You can never go wrong with unlimited steak and lobster.”
Aloysie Benite
E-Club of Southern Africa D9400
“The first time I attended a Rotary club was in Sydney in 2004, but the first club I officially joined was in London in 2011. I have always wanted to come to a convention. Why this one? I wanted to come back home. I’m an Australian originally from Rwanda. This is the country which gave me opportunity, life. Even if it’s at the end of the world, I would go anyway. I’m excited about the energy of Rotarians, about meeting great people with great ideas, a passion for humanity, and love for other people.
“I live in Kyoto, in a place called Fushimi. I became a member of the E-Club of Southern Africa because people speak English and I can be a member anywhere in the world.”
Bryce Ian McNair
Rotary Club of Albury Wodonga Sunrise, Australia
“I’m here to find new projects. There are so many good causes in our community and internationally, it’s hard to find one and run with it. We’ve got a pot of funds because we sell sausages. That’s the Australian way of raising money. At the hardware store on the weekend, Rotarians will be selling sausages for AU$3 and we’ll make AU$1,000-1,500 for six people doing it for three hours each.
“Our club has raised money for Rotarians Against Malaria in Australia and New Zealand. We’re focused on the South Pacific – Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. I love the international aspect of Rotary.”
Rayya Laxmi Baidar, Sanu Amatya, Deepak Khadka, and Sarmila K. C.
Rotary Club of Kirtipur, Nepal
Sanu Amatya: “This is a great experience. Lots of people from all over Nepal are here. I’ve been in Rotary three years. We’re the ones who chartered our club three years ago.”
Sarmila K.C.: “I’m excited to meet friends and learn about new issues. Mainly, I want to collaborate with people all around the globe. Right now in Nepal there is only one hospital [for burn victims]. Our one big project is to support it and help people who can’t afford care there. It’s beyond our capacity, but why not? If all the Rotarians can meet, we can start to [do this] for the Nepali people.”
Deepak Khadka: “I’m most excited to exchange ideas with other clubs and see what we can collaborate on. We’re looking for partners to work on the burn [hospital] project.”
Rayya Laxmi Baidar: “We’re most excited to meet people in other countries, because we’re searching for a partner for our global grant. We just want to learn more things here.”
Follow all the coverage of the convention
https://blog.rotary.org/2023/05/28/first-time-convention-goers-share-their-excitement/