President Paul presided today.  Paul M did the invocation and Chris A gave us the 4-way test

 

We had 23 members present, no visiting Rotarians and 4 guests; Cayley Wood, Sylvia Morrison (our speaker for today), Cathy Gosse, and someone else whose name I unfortunately did not catch.

 

John is back from the dead.  The doctor told him he died twice during his knee operation (ask him about it).

Florence - bought a truck for a dog.

Jim J - received a cheque for his building on Bishop Street.

Matt - went to Florida, only to discover that his golf game is failing.

Linda - Golf tourney at GCC is on May 15, $175 per golfer.  Sponsorships going OK at the mid level, but we need more top level sponsorships and more players. Let Linda know if you are for sure going to get a foursome together...better yet just sign up online to reserve your spot.
Matt - Contact Cayley for curling at our annual club bonspiel on May 20, or sign up on our website.  Talk to Matt if you have prizes for the prize table.

Pres Paul - April 12 is a fireside meeting for new members at the wrinkle walk clubhouse.
Pres Paul - April 9 meeting is at Kidsability in Waterloo.

Pres-Elect Jim introduced Sylvia Morrison, who is a prolific human rights advocate and organizer.

 

Sylvia spoke to us today about her organization, Links Across Borders, that is building libraries in Ghana.  She shared her inspiring personal journey, from childhood to the formation of Links Across Borders in 2003 and where the organization is today, building and stocking one library each year in a Ghanaian village.  She was really describing how one determined person can improve many lives, inspire others to share the passion, and get personal satisfaction at the same time.

 

Each May, Sylvia takes a group of students and community members to Ghana for a month, where they will work on a construction site either repurposing an existing building or doing finishing work on a new structure.  Preparation for the trip begins a year ahead of time.

What can you do? Currently they need help completing some school latrines, a project that got picked up along the way.  You could go to Ghana yourself.  Or you could donate books or money.  The website is http://linksacrossborders.org/ where you'll find a lot more detail on what Sylvia is doing.

 

Something Sylvia did not mention to the audience is that Cayley Rodd is helping Links Across Borders with their registered charity status.  Well done Cayley!