May 2019 Meeting

Denny’s Diner, San Diego; May 14, 2019; 6:30pm

Present: Amy Vegter, Amy Schrift, Claudia Torres, Carmen Diaz, Natalia Diaz, Maxie Gluckman, Janet Mikelson, Rosa, Benjamin Kettor, Marian Pavlovich Sargeant, Scot Sargeant, Felipe Razo, Maurilio Melendez, Emma Aguirre, Maureen Duncan

Meeting began with introductions and a special focus on our guests. Benjamin Kettor, a former member of Rotary Club of New York, and native of Liberia, moved from New York to San Diego and works with the county office on public and mental health issues. His struggles and challenges as a former refugee, have motivated him to become a rotarian with a strong passion for serving others. Rosa, a native of Valencia, Spain, and Spanish teacher, indicated her interest in studying computer science and serving others in the community.

Subsequently, our very own RECSDG Rotarian and RI Cadre Advisor, Maureen Duncan, led a special presentation regarding her most recent cadre visit to Santa Lucia Milpas, Guatemala. She described the different focuses of Rotary: Education, Water, Peace, Disease Prevention and Economic Development. Her visit was focused on Education & Literacy and also Water & Sanitation. The evaluation included 17 schools. One high school, particularly, stood out. The school helps prepare young adolescents for careers in science, entrepreneurship and accounting. However, a serious problem that young women face is when they have their menstruation. Many end up dropping out of school, because they are embarrassed and there are no latrines for them to use. As a result, Maureen helped connect a cohort of students to another organization named Days for Girls that helps them develop and use menstrual pads that are reusable. A grant is on its way to help these girls develop a sustainable business in which they make pads along with other items for sale.

For her full presentation please copy and paste this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1niytztSFTEn3WX1rWsOgGaKXCTnF4kSK/view?ts=5ce1d998