5 members of the Rotary Club of Bromsgrove enjoyed the Worcestershire Evening on 20 April at the Cricket Ground in Worcester. The evening was successful and was hosted by the Rotary Club of Worcester Severn. (Pictured left to right: Tony Docherty; John Teece; Deborah Roberts; Amal Rampal; Bryan Eley).

At our Fellowship Meeting on 28 March we were very pleased to welcome our Speaker Alaa Khattab from the University of Birmingham, who spoke to us about the great work of Street Child in urban and rural environments in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Nepal. Children are helped back into school, and parents are supported to help them understand the importance of education for the future. The Charity is emphasising the importance of their interventions with sustainability in mind.

We are delighted to see that the crocuses planted in Sanders Park in 2016 are now flowering, and encourage us as a Club to redouble our efforts towards the eradication of polio.

The Rotary Club of Bromsgrove is delighted to be supporting the Guildford Rotary Eye Project (also known as Global Sight Solutions) with a donation of £500. The Project provides free cataract operations to patients in India and Africa, who are too poor to afford the cost of treatment themselves. Money raised also goes to provide eye hospitals and training for eye surgeons in these countries.

We are delighted to be supporting the purchase of equipment by 6th Bromsgrove Scouts with a donation of £500, which will allow the Scouts to access additional badge qualifications to further their learning and development.

The Basement Project is a charity which the Rotary Club of Bromsgrove has chosen to support during the current Rotary year. As a result of a recent donation by the Club, the Basement Project was able to finance activities for its young parents and their children. These activities included a visit to Hatton Country Park by coach with a visit to see Father Christmas, and a trip to the pantomime in Bromsgrove. The activities were appreciated greatly by service users of the Project, and this was evidenced by superb feedback from parents and children, who would not have been able to participate without the financial support provided.

The Worcestershire Evening this year is to be hosted by the Rotary Club of Worcester Severn on 20 April 2017 at Worcestershire County Cricket Ground, where the guest speaker will be cricketer and umpire John Holder. Tickets are available at £25 per head.

At our next Fellowship Meeting on 28 February, we shall be delighted to welcome Chris Gregory as our guest to speak about the Rotary ‘Gift of Sight.’

Nine members of the Rotary Club of Bromsgrove at the Michael Holt Debate on 31 January (left to right: John Teece; Ron Pearce; Karen Bowe; Amal Rampal; Deborah Roberts; Audrey Allen; Bryan Eley; Tony Docherty; Mike Marshall )

The Michael Holt Debate took place between teams from North and South Bromsgrove High Schools (pictured left with teachers) on 31 January at Droitwich Golf Club, watched attentively by an audience of Rotarians from the Rotary Clubs of Bromsgrove and North Worcestershire. The motion for debate was: ‘This House believes that the principle of democratic government has become less popular around the world, and is being replaced by unelected bodies.’  The team from South Bromsgrove ( pictured right with a member of teaching staff) was judged as the winning team, taking the trophy from North Bromsgrove this year. Both teams gave a very convincing and professional performance, which contributed to a most enjoyable evening.