People of Action Newsletter of the Rotary Club of Becton & District

March 2019

Editor– Larry Anthony PHF, [email protected]

Welcome to March 2019; February 23rd saw the 114th Anniversary of the formation of Rotary. We have come a long way since Paul Har- ris gathered some like minded colleagues around him and formed what was to become this wonderful organisation that we all support.

However although we now have an organisation of over a million In Your members in 200 countries there Newsletter is still much to be done to con- tinue our good work in support of This Month. our local, national and international communities; to meet this demand the world needs more

Editorial. Rotarians.

RI Certificate of Incor- Returning to local affairs our fledgling poration. Club continues to grow new flight feathers and we have firm arrange- Alternative Ascot. ments in place to build our first Eco- Greenhouse in New Milton, see Mary King Humpty Dumpty Pye’s report. Our social media pres- ence is improving with our website Timothy Pruss Memo- development gathering pace and our rial School. accounts on Facebook and Twitter

Eco Greenhouse Pro- are active. ject. We are privileged to have a first hand Virus Hunter. account of life aboard the Mercy Ship, Africa Mercy. Rotary Clubs and the Rotary Foundation have sup- Mercy Ships ported the ship but demands on their resources are seemingly unlimited at times. Laughter Lines. Our Virus Hunter report provides a link to an RI News item on the Club Diary. work of Dr Ujala Nayyar of the World Health Organisation in support of the fight against Polio. Chinese Year of the Pig. On the fun side we have the start of another Chinese New Year, the Year of the Pig. Our last page contains a guide to the attributes of life for those born in previous years of the pig. Remember, as with all horoscopes they are meant to be a bit of fun.....Larry.

Becton & District Rotary Club; part of Rotary Wessex D1110 It’s Official: Not that we were in any doubt about our bona-fide but pictured right is our Cer- tificate of Incorporation is- sued by Rotary Interna- tional, Evanston, Illinois.

Well done to everyone who has worked so hard to get to this point and also a huge thank you to those who con- tinue to strive as we move forward with our plans to support our local, national and International communities.

Alternative Ascot– Fun Night For All: This was a fun evening attended by Becton Rotarians . Some ‘fillies and stallions’ did dress to im- press Ascot style. The idea was if you bought a ‘horse’ you rode a hobby horse around the track on the throw of a dice; with bets being placed on a successful win. We cheered on Adrian Stopps and Terry Smith – however both were losers! (Even though we had one horse called Becton Bunny!)

Money raised, circa £1,350, went to the Jubilee Committee to raise funds to support the New Mil- ton Pedal Car Grand Prix on the 13th and 14th July.

Report and Images courtesy of Mary Pye. Below: Forget about the ‘Three Little Maids From School’ the gentlemen below are the ‘Three Book- ies from Alternative Ascot’ aka l to r Alan Watson, Robin Ede & Derek Warner.

Right: One of the races in progress. King Humpty Dumpty

Report & Image courtesy of Debbie Nottage.

On 2nd February an intrepid group braved the snow and ice (well most of the snow had cleared) and found their way to Burley Village Hall to in- dulge in a pantomime put on by The Burley Players.

This production was a twist on the Humpty Dumpty rhyme with Humpty Dumpty having been put in an egg by the good fairy to protect the world from a very evil Humpty Dumpty. The inevitable happened and Humpty was released to terrorise a village. There was a lot of behind you, hissing at the nasty fairy and cheering on the pantomime horse! The pantomime culminated with some of our members being invited up to the stage to sing with other members of the audience, pulled from the comfort and anonymity of their chairs, the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty (the words were on a saddle cloth worn by the horse!).

This was great fun and thanks go to Mary Turner who was a co-Director and certainly did a mag- Timothy Pruss Memorial School: Rtn. Dr Tony Pruss and his wife Mary lost their son Timo- thy due to a tragic accident when he was in his teens. They have since set up a school in Tamil Nadu, India as a memorial to Timothy. Pictured below are Tony and Mary outside one of the school buildings. Project Update– Eco Greenhouse: Report courtesy of Mary Pye.

New Milton Infant School Eco Friendly Greenhouse: Following a very productive meeting with the Headteacher, the school were very enthused to take on the Eco-friendly greenhouse project. The children will collect empty 2 litre plastic bottles and these will be then, with the help of Rotarians, be recycled to provide a greenhouse Left: A typical Eco Greenhouse made from recycled 2ltr plastic bottles. A typical 8ft x 6ft Greenhouse will re- quire approximately 1,200 bottles to be assembled on a wooden frame.

Similar projects have been completed in other areas of the country and we look forward to working with NM Infants to introduce the project to New Milton.

Gardening Club: On further discussion with the school, they really want to make this project sustainable. For some time, the teaching staff have been trying to establish a ‘Gardening Club’ for the children at lunchtime but with little response from volunteers or parents. This experi- ence would enable the children to discover the joy of growing flowers and vegetables espe- cially within the new greenhouse and school environment. If you could spare an hour a week (from 12- 1pm ) to help get this initiative going, you will have made a massive impact, not only on the school’s outdoor learning environment but in nurturing and helping individual children to discover the joy in watching and understanding how nature develops.

If you know anyone who would be interested in making a difference for these children (many of whom do not have access to gardens etc); please do contact Mary Pye on 07803129521 /01425639131. Email: [email protected].

VIRUS HUNTER: Précis from an article in Rotary International News & Features by Ryan Hyland. For complete article see www.rotary.org/en/polio-surveillance-officer-virus-pakistan

Dr. Ujala Nayyar dreams about a world that is free from polio. Nayyar, the World Health Organization's surveillance officer in Pakistan’s Punjab province, says she of- ten imagines the outcome of her work in her sleep. In her waking life, she leads a team of health workers who crisscross Punjab to hunt down every potential incidence of poliovirus, testing sewage and investigating any re- ports of paralysis that might be polio. There are two types of surveillance systems. One is surveillance of cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP), and the second is environmental surveillance. The surveillance process continues after eradication. If your curiosity is tweaked by this introduction please do read the full article in the news section of Rotary Interna- tional. In the article Dr Nayyar makes specific mention of the assistance she receives from Rotary. Right: Dr Nayyar—Image courtesy of Rotary International. Helping to Eradicate Diseases of Poverty Source—Mercy Ships .org

Right: The MV Africa Mercy is a 152.00 m. 16,572 tonne GT Hospital Ship belonging to the humanitarian organisation Mercy Ships. Converted from the rail ferry MS Dron- ning Ingrid in 2007, she is the worlds largest non - governmental floating hospital

The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery estimates that more than 17 million people die each year from a lack of safe surgery, three times more than the annual number of people who die from HIV, Malaria and TB combined. Among the countries served by Mercy Ships which lie on the lower third of World Health Organisations Human Development Index, access to safe, affordable and timely surgery is extremely limited. As a result countless people suffer from and die from ‘Diseases of Poverty’ that can easily be cured. Mercy Ships is currently focussed on Sub Saharan Africa, currently Guinea.

In August 2018 the MV Africa Mercy arrived in the post of Conakry, Guinea at the start of a 10 month deployment until June 2019. During this period it was estimated the volunteer medical staff would perform the following staggering list of surgical procedures -

 73 Orthopaedic Surgeries  380 General Surgeries

 388 Maxillofacial Surgeries  914 Ophthalmic Surgeries

 134 Reconstructive Plastic  59 Women's Health Surgeries. Surgeries.

In addition to 18,000 dental procedures and the training / mentoring of local healthcare professionals.

Since its start in 1978 Mercy Ships have helped 2.5 million people in 55 countries and trained 4000 Healthcare Professionals.

The Rotary Foundation has supported Mercy Ships.

To complement this brief overview we are privileged to have a first hand account by Dr Michelle White of life aboard the Africa Mercy.

We are deeply indebted to Dr White for this article printed on the following pages.

A further connection with Dr White is that she is a relative of Fran Perks who some of us will know from her service as a Rotarian at Lymington and now as a Past Rotarian. Mercy Ships: Written by Dr Michelle White Dr White had the privilege of volunteering on the ship for 5 years. She served as Chief of Anaes- thesia , Medical Capacity Building Director and Chief Medical Officer. She now works at Great Ormond Street as a Consultant Anaesthetist and continues to serve short term for Mercy Ships.

Introduction 5 Billion people (two thirds of the world’s ) lack access to safe affordable surgical care when they need it. Behind this statistic are real people, like Sambany. Sambany was a patient of mine in Madagascar and his story explains why Mercy Ships exists.

Left: Sambany before his treatment showing the extent of the growth.

Right: Sambany after treatment.

Around 36 years ago a tumour began to consume Sambany’s life. The tumour became a mon- strous burden weighing 7.5Kgs (16Lbs)- equivalent to two extra heads and causing Sambany un- relenting discomfort.. Hopelessness defined his life. It wasn't as though Sambany hadn’t tried to seek help. He had travelled hundreds of kilometres, visited 10 hospitals (only 3 of which has sur- geons) and a witch doctor with no success. Sambany’s poverty blocked other options such as travelling abroad for treatment. He felt a burden to his family while they laboured in the rice fields while he wasted away. They were poor and money spent trying to help him was money unavail- able for food. His world shrank to the size of his house, his only place of safety and peace. His main companion was the radio which was how he heard about Mercy Ships. However the closest road was several days away and the ship was hundreds of kilometres away. He sold a rice field to pay for the journey. Five people took turns carrying him on their backs for two days. Then a days taxi ride to reach the ship.

On board we assessed Sambany and consulted with other experts around the world. The surgery was complicated and risky. Sambany was warned of the dangers and told of the very real risk that he may not survive the surgery. He responded with “I’m already a dead man”.

The surgery took 14 hours. Sambany needed 14 pints of blood but the surgery was successful. Sambany spent several months recovering from his surgery and when a Mercy Ships team took him home they bumped into Sambany’s wife on the way! She didn’t recognise him when she saw him, she thought he had died!. They are now reunited and living happily with their children.

The Africa Mercy Since 1978 Mercy Ships has been bringing hope and healing to the world’s poor, visiting 592 ports, and offering 89,000 life changing surgeries; services estimated at worth more than £1billion. The Africa Mercy is the world’s largest civilian hospital ship with a crew of 400-450 people, 5 operating rooms, 82 beds, pharmacy, laboratory and even a CT Scanner. The Africa Mercy visits countries at the invitation of the Head of State and the ship spends 10 months docked in the port. Crew serve from as little as two weeks to 2 years or many more and only half are medical. What- ever their role, from Engineer to Doctor, nurse to sailor, cook to cleaner, everyone works together to make the ship run and keep the hospital going.

An overview of Mercy Ships role Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Mercy Ships uses hospital ships to transform individuals and serve nations one a a time.

There are 3 key areas of service-

 Free surgical and dental care for those in need.  Free training (known as Medical Capacity Building) to Doctors, Dentists, Nurses and other health professionals to help strengthen the healthcare system and leave behind a lasting legacy.  Advocacy wit the President and Ministry of Health to raise awareness of the need for better access to safe, affordable surgical care. Improving surgical access not oly improves the health f a nation but also the wealth. Economic loss from untreated surgical conditions cn reduce annual GDP by up to 2%

Cameroon Mercy Ships services are based on 3 guiding principles 2017—2018. The medical staff and volun-  Following the 2000 year old model of Jesus to teers aboard Africa Mercy bring hope and healing. achieved the following proce-  Evidence based medicine with continuing re- dures / training search, monitoring and evaluation of Mercy Ships  2,746 surgeries work. Since 2016 we have published 23 papers in  20,886 dental procedures peer-reviewed medical journals showcasing our  706 participants in train- work. ing courses.  Transformational development theories and frame-  67 participants in mentor- works. ing programs. Surgical Services. The range of surgeries include maxillofacial, plastic reconstructive, orthopaedic, general, ophthalmic, obstetric, fistula, dental and palliative care. The process of finding patients begins even before the ship arrives in the country. Working with other charities, community leaders and government agencies Mercy Ships advertises the conditions we are able to treat and communicate that everything is free. When the ship arrives a dedicated team of experienced nurses screen the thousands of patients waiting to select suitable patients for surgery.

Above: Patients waiting to be assessed for surgery. Below: Operating rooms in Madagascar before and after renovation. Patients with surgically treatable conditions are given appointments to return to the ship to see a surgeon on a specific date. Patient’s transport fro their hoe village is paid for meaning that even the poorest can access Mercy Ship services.

Medical Capacity Building Mercy Ships Medical Capacity Building (Training) programs aim to increase the capacity of each country to deliver healthcare to their own people. This is done through training and mentoring of Doctors, Nurses and other health professionals; providing medical tools and resources, building better medical facilities. Training goes hand in hand with providing new resources and equipment. One of the biggest projects Mercy Ships runs is to train hospitals in the use of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist. This simple tool can reduce deaths and complica- tions such as infections after surgery by up to 50%. It is used every day for surgeries in the NHS but despite being proven to be effective, in Africa its use is not widespread. Since 2014 Mercy Ships has been pioneering a new way of implementing the surgical safety checklist on a nation- wide scale in African Countries. We have done this successfully in Madagascar, Benin and Cam- eroon.

Above– Training for use of the World Health Organisation Surgical Safety Checklist. For further information on the checklist see- www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/checklist/en

Conclusion Nelson Mandela described Mercy Ships as “extraordinary group of people fro around the world who exemplify a unique expression of compassion...I applaud Mercy Ships..

More information can be found at https://www.mercyships.org.uk Short Videos: Sambany’s Story Part 1 https://vimeo.com123209406 Sambany’s Story Part 2 https://vimeo.com123209406

Lasting Impact https://vimeo.com/134839211

Dr Odry Agbessi https://vimeo.com/222856890 Laughter Lines: Life, but not as we know it:

Bill and Ben, two Hampshire handymen were hired to paint a flag pole and were going to be paid by the inch. As they were standing at the base of the flagpole looking up, trying as they may to figure how much to charge, a young woman walked by and asked what they were doing.

"We are supposed to find the height of this flag pole" said Bill, "But we don't have a ladder. The woman took a spanner from their toolbox, loosened a few bolts and laid the pole down. She then took a tape measure from her pocket, took a measure- ment and announced, "Eighteen feet, six inches" and walked away.

Ben shook his head and laughed, "Isn’t that just like a woman! We asked for the height and she gives us the length!!"

Bill and Ben are currently working for the government......

Spring Exercise Regime: Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax. Each day you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.

After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks. Then try 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level.)

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks.

Quick Humour (Well quick perhaps)

A dog limps into a western bar and says “I’m looking for the man who shot my paw”

A butcher backed into his meat slicer and found he got a little behind in his work.

I have just realised that Santa must live in Brazil as all my presents this year came from Amazon.

Definition of a will—A dead giveaway.

Have you heard about the latest design of broom; it’s sweeping the nation.

What do you call a sports car driven by scantily clad sheep– A Lamb– Bikini

I photo-shopped a terrorist with an old comedy duo, now they are called Laurel & Ji-Hardy.

Club Diary: Our next club meetings are on the following dates- 6th March- South Lawn Hotel (DG attending) 20th March - South Lawn Hotel 17th April - Forest Art Centre 15th May - Forest Art Centre Further meetings may be added at short notice to meet project requirements.

Other Events: 23rd March. New Milton Music Festival 21st July. Homestart Fundraiser, Open Air Thank you to the Managers of The Forest Shakespeare at Bucklers Hard.. Arts Centre and South Lawn Hotel for their 27th Nov. Friendly skittles match against Past generous provision of a venue for our meet- Rotarians ings.

Dates Around the District: Source D1110 Website.

 Sat 02/03/2019 - District Council Venue Mountbatten School, Romsey.  Sat 09/03/2019 - PEPS First Group President Elect Preparation Seminar First Group.  Wed 13/03/2019- Group 3 Meeting, Carpenters Arms, Bransgore. BH23 8BA  Sat 16/03/2019 - PEPS Second Group President Elect Preparation Seminar Second Group  Sat 18/05/2019- District Assembly— Venue TBA.  Sat 29/06/2019- District Assembly— Mountbatten School, Romsey

Welcome to the Chinese Year of the Pig:

Articles & Events for Future Editions: If you have an article that you wish to submit for inclusion in a future edition of this Newsletter or wish to publicise an event that might be of interest to our members then please feel free to e-mail them to the Editor, [email protected]