TAMESIDE Rotary Club has been given a first-hand description of life in war torn Ukraine in a special visit.
At its August monthly meeting at Ashton under Lyne Golf Club, members heard from President Volodymyr Bulba of Kharkiv Independence Rotary Club.
There, he gave an impassioned talk about his project in his homeland to rehabilitate injured veterans, helping them get off the sofa and into sport.
He showed photographs and videos of amputee veterans training, with some eventually winning and rejoicing at a boxing match!
As a speaker, he will also receive a donation for his excellent presentation for his club’s project to go alongside the £110 raised in a raffle.
Mr Bulba attended with his daughter and translator Olga and his granddaughter, Polina, who is studying architecture in the north of England – skills that will be invaluable once the reconstruction of Ukraine begins.
And he said: “We are strengthening friendly co-operation with British Rotarians.
“During the event, a Memorandum of Friendship and Co-operation between the British (Tameside Rotary Club) and the Ukrainian (RC Kharkiv Independence) Rotary Clubs was signed.
“The British side signed the Memorandum, represented by the President of Tameside Rotary Club, Amanda Reed-Raja, and the Ukrainian side by Volodymyr Bulba.
“This important event was made possible by the initiative of several people.
“The Governor of District 1285 (Northern England and the Isle of Man), Ian Cochrane, was also present and delivered a speech.
“The involvement of Rotary Tameside in establishing international cooperation adds to the drive.”
Tameside Rotary Club also heard from Brazilian Wanderson Barbosa about his mosquito-repellent project.
It is based on educating the public about cleanliness, including keeping homes clean, washing away leftover food from plates and applying mosquito repellent daily.
Wanderson made his point strongly by saying: “One mosquito can cause one human death.”
Tameside Rotary’s International Chair Angela Robbins said: “Everyone was in good spirits. Having Wanderson arrive and then sit between Volodymyr and I with everyone chatting away was wonderful.
“It never takes long for connections to be made at Rotary meetings!
“As with his usual generosity, Volodymyr Bulba gave a number of us Kharkiv Independence Rotary Club T-shirts and also a box of Ukrainian chocolates to me.
“Volodymyr’s daughter explained that the chocolates were still being manufactured despite being in an area that has been frequently attacked.
“District Governor Ian Cochrane then gave a special district enamel badge to our international visitors, Volodymyr and Wanderson, and to our President Amanda. Santa had nothing on us that evening!!
“Our guests were thrilled with their gifts and Wanderson had already asked me about the process of obtaining items with a Tameside Rotary logo.
“I have no doubt we will be seeing them both again.”
President Amanda Reed-Raja welcomes anyone interested in Rotary to join us at our next meeting is at Ashton under Lyne Golf Club on Tuesday, September 8 at 7pm.