Around
the districts
Peter Sinclair, putting his dental skills to good use – District 1140
Members of the Rotary Club of Handsworth were honoured to welcome the President of Rotary International in Great Britain and Ireland to the club at the Holte at Aston Villa Football Club – District 1060
Rotary Service.” he said. Rotary Club of Handsworth was set
up in 1956 and received its charter in February 1957. At that time, a number of men in Handsworth met and talked about helping other town dwellers to have happier and more joyful life. So the Rotary Club of Handsworth was formed. It came about, in due time, that when there was a great earthquake in India, money and equipment to give shelter and water and food were sent immediately. When polio was in every part of the globe, both rich and poor died or were crippled. Rotary worldwide collected money, vaccines and medical help to work on ridding the whole world of this disease. Here in Handsworth, our help has gone
from giving boots to the boy who wanted to go with his school to a course in the country, to assisting in setting up the very first hospice in Africa, starting a stroke victims club in Handsworth and donating towards a helicopter air ambulance. Nothing we take on is too big or small. The Rotary Club of Handsworth has a
proud record of service locally, nationally and internationally. Some of the projects and activities supported in the past: n Handsworth Carnival and Christmas lights in the main Handsworth shopping area.
n Active part in Handsworth festivals. n Ambulances for St John’s Ambulance Brigade.
n Stroke club in Handsworth area. n Eye Camps in India for eight years. n Pregnancy scanners for hospitals in Punjab, India.
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www.ribi.org | October 2011
n Hospice in Kenya, Africa. n Geoff Rees’s St Basils Charity for Homeless. n Past President Bruce Gilbert’s cycling for charity from Lands End to Wicks.
n Building orphanage in Romania. n Dictionaries and books for schools. n Aquaboxes to provide basic items for the very poor in Africa and other poor countries. There are further projects planned to
benefit the community in the Rotary year 2011/12. n
District 1140
to help tribal children in the Mekong Highlands of Thailand. Peter Sinclair, Past President of the
A
Teddington & The Hamptons Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow, was a member of the Rotary Club of Dunedin Central in New Zealand. While he was “down under” he heard an appeal by David Stephenson, director of a charity called Rescue Mission for Children. Peter and his wife Sarah were so moved by David’s impassioned plea for help for the children that the couple decided to do what they could to tackle the problems. Peter has now returned from Thailand where he has helped to set up a permanent dental surgery to address the unique problems of these disadvantaged
member of a London Rotary club has put his own money and effort into a project
children in that country. Peter is a qualified dental surgeon and
although he has now retired from his Teddington practice, he still carries out dental-legal work for the British Courts. “There were about 400 children who needed help, Their ages range from 4 to 19 and they have been denied education, medical and dental treatment because they are a minority group. Children who had been at the mission for several years had better dental health as they came under the influence of a caring, health-minded organisation. Many have been rescued from lives of child prostitution, or as beggars. In many cases, they come from poor families who cannot afford to feed them. These children had never had dental care and were suffering a lot of pain.” Seeing the scale of the task ahead of
them, Peter and Sarah set about involving professional colleagues, companies and Rotary clubs in tackling the project. Peter said: “I decided to make this a joint project between the dental profession and several Rotary clubs. We received very generous donations from members of the profession and from Rotarians in both countries, which enabled us to buy essential items, including a portable dental unit and a very essential surgical light. We decided that due to the magnitude of the task and the available time of 19 days, we would set our goals to be: relief of pain, preservation of the permanent teeth and the setting up a permanent dental surgery so that dental colleagues and hygienists who follow would
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