Rotary International's monthly theme for July is Maternal and Child Health!
Every day mothers risk their lives giving birth and millions of children die each year from treatable, preventable causes. At least 7 million children under the age of five die each year due to malnutrition, poor health care, and inadequate sanitation. To help reduce this rate, Rotary provides immunizations and antibiotics to babies, improves access to essential medical services, and supports trained health care providers for mothers and their children. Rotary’s projects ensure sustainability by empowering the local community to take ownership of health care training programs.
Maternal and Child Health Care is also recognized as one of Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
I hope that those of you who attended last week's lunch enjoyed the energy and fellowship in the room as much as I did.
I remember when the awarding of a Travel Prize for an outstanding PhD student from the Doherty Institute was first discussed at a Board meeting. I wasn't madly in favour of providing travel funds to a young person, and I did question the proposal.
I have no doubt now. Having met Hisham Shakir, our inaugural awardee, I can see the merit in giving a committed, hardworking student the opportunity to broaden his horizons — to gain experience, confidence, and learning from meeting and working with research academics from around the world.
Rotary Hawthorn has changed the path and opened up the world for this inspirational young man.
It also gave me great pleasure to acknowledge our own inspirational and highly respected Gordon Cheyne, for 37 years of service above self to Rotary Hawthorn.
And it was wonderful to see PP Ian present our newest and very worthy member, Min Bell, with Rotary Hawthorn's Recognition for Service as a new Rotarian.
There is a commonality between Hisham, Gordon and Min: they are all giving of themselves to the benefit of others. Cheers, Dorothy
NEXT MEETING 21 July 2026 at Kooyong
Professor Dr David Szmulewicz
Device Mediated Solutions For Falls Prevention, Bionics Institute, At Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club
'David is a Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the Bionics Institute.
He is the founding head of the Balance Disorders & Ataxia Service (BDAS) at the Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital and the Fragile X-Associated Tremor Ataxia (FXTAS) Clinic. He consults in the Monash Health Friedreich Ataxia clinic and the Machado-Joseph Disease Foundation Ataxia Clinic (Northern Territory), an honorary neurologist at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne and a lecturer at Melbourne University.
David regularly travels to remote regions in Australia to provide clinical care for First Nations people with balance disorders, many of whom are much more prone to developing disorders due to genetics.
UPCOMING CALENDAR
21 July: Prof. David Szmulewicz, Device Mediated Solutions for Falls Prevention.
28 July:Dr Chris Kavelin, “The Secret Aussie Plant That Saved D-Day' -“Chris says, I can keep it short. 'I don't mind a longer discussion period". Ideally, I'd love to hear from those with connections to WW11, whether themselves or if they have connections to loved ones who were'
4 August: Towards Respectful Relationships Report from Sophia Mundi Steiner School, Abbotsford students and teacher. Plus Sebastian Flynn and Mattia Gaspardo, Exchange Students.
PICS FROM LAST WEEK'S MEETING
RCH Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Travel Prize Awardee Hisham Shakir (second from left) with Dr Nicholas Gherardin, Hisham’s PhD supervisor;
Emeritus Prof. Martin Comte OAM, Board Member of Hisham’s College at Melbourne University; and Prof. Dick Strugnell AO – guest of Ian Bentley with President D.
Min Bell receiving the Rotary Hawthorn New Member Recognition Award from PP Ian Bentley.
CLUB NEWS
ROTARY HAWTHORN BUSINESS BREAKFAST
The Membership Committee has arranged this event to attract new members to join the club, and our Guest Speaker, Microsoft’s Anshul Chopra, will focus on the use of Artificial Intelligence for businesses.
The Breakfast will be held at Kooyong on Friday, 21 August, from 7:30 am to 9:00 am, and prior registration is essential.
Editor received the following email from Darren Howard, a work colleague of Mark Christoffelsz.
Mark very generously stepped up last week when President Dorothy was asking for a replacement for John Perry at Thursday’s monthly Donations in Kind packing day.
No doubt many of you have experienced the simple joy of walking along a pristine beach, listening to the rhythmic crash of the surf and the mournful cries of seabirds as they glide effortlessly on the ocean breeze. In our own holiday home community, residents take great pride in protecting this beautiful environment. Volunteers regularly collect rubbish left behind by visitors and participate in programs designed to safeguard our fragile coastal birdlife. Their efforts are commendable, yet these unsung heroes rarely receive the recognition they deserve. When we step back and consider the global picture, however, the challenge becomes overwhelming.
We met last week in Drury Lane (not quite the Theatre Royal, but near enough) to discuss "Breakfast at Tiffany’s" by Truman Capote.
Most of our discussion centred around the central character, Holly Golightly. Born Lulamae Barnes, she was a country girl who turned herself into a New York cafe society girl. She made her living in two ways: $50 from her gentlemen escorts whenever she needed powder-room money, and $100 for each weekly trip to Sing Sing Prison, where she visited Sally Tomato, an ex-mobster. Capote later claimed Golightly was not a prostitute, but an "American geisha”.
Email or message David Pisterman (pisterman41@gmail.com with your answer to this month’s Quiz. A bottle of the best is waiting for the winner at our lunch meeting on 21 July, donated by the last prize winner. Be afraid! Do not incur the wrath of DP!
DID YOU KNOW?
Much endorsement and respect for young people and international students have been embedded in Hawthorn’s early days and have continued for the past 70 years.
Here we are in 2023, with one of Rotary’s key focus areas being Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and we commenced being diverse, and inclusive 70 years ago. Equity happened when the Club allowed female members in 1993.
The following are just a few examples of Rotary Hawthorn’s respect and support for young people and diversity:
• 1955-56, six students from Asian countries provided their thoughts of life in Australia.
These talks were recorded and the tapes sent to a Malaysian Rotary club, which forwarded them to other Asian clubs, and these were received with a pleasing response.
Email or message David Pisterman (pisterman41@gmail.com with your answer to this month’s Quiz. A bottle of the best is waiting for the winner at our lunch meeting on 21 July, donated by the last prize winner. 
