Posted by Editor: FDBobko
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The FOGHORN 
ROTARY CLUB OF HALF MOON BAY
July 15, 2021 
  
Rotary Vietnam Project
Rotarian Sue McKinney and Dublin High School Interactor Katherine Lim
 
 
Article by Mary Rogren
Photos by Dianne Bobko
 
What a delight and an amazing opportunity to welcome Rotarian Sue McKinney and Dublin High School Interactor Katherine Lim to our meeting on Thursday, July 15!
 
Sue McKinney is co-founder of the Rotary Vietnam Project sponsored by our neighboring District 5170. Sue works with Rotary, Interact, and Rotaract volunteers to prevent human trafficking of rural young girls (children!) in Vietnam by sponsoring education, professional skills training and vocational development.  Sue is a two-time Past President of the Oakland Uptown Rotary Club. She has lived in Vietnam (and done business in Vietnam for 27 years!) where she’s been a force in the business community holding board positions in the American Chamber of Commerce, Operation Smile and the private sector. 
 
Sue’s co-presenter was Katherine Lim, an amazing senior in high school and an Interact member who has clearly embraced the human trafficking cause and demonstrated how Interact, Rotoract, and Rotary members can truly make a difference in the world of human trafficking. Katherine shared her presentation and explained that in 2015 the project started when 5 Rotarians (under Sue’s leadership), 4 Interactors and 4 Rotaractors embarked to Vietnam to run the first educational camp for at risk young girls and boys from impoverished rural communities. Education brings hope and promise to these children who could otherwise end up in a human trafficking situation as they have no alternatives except to work in the fields or to be sold off into slavery. 
 
Annually since 2015, except during COVID, the D5170 Rotary Vietnam Project has brought a contingent of high school Interact students, Rotaract and Rotary members to Vietnam to conduct these educational camps. Katherine shared a picture from 2019 when over 720 young women convened in a camp with a team of Rotary, Interact, and Rotaract members who served as the instructors. 
 
The D5170 Interact, Rotaract and Rotary Clubs have raised over $225K to conduct these in-person two-week camps and other in-country programs. Interact fundraising events have included movie night, food and festival booths, and arts& crafts events. Separately, the Interact, Rotaract and Rotary members raise their own funds to cover the $2500 expense to travel to Vietnam to teach in the camps. Recently, D5170 was awarded (2) Global Grants for the project. Participating International clubs in the Global Grants include a Singapore Club and a Sri Lanka Club who are supporting the Rotary Vietnam Project to stop human trafficking.
 
The result? Education has proven to be the answer to human trafficking! The statistics from the program so far show that 90%+ of the poor Vietnamese youth who participated in the summer camps go on to graduate from high school and to find stable, respectable work. And, nearly 40% go on to college! 
 
English language camps, career training and virtual camps have continued during COVID. Katherine and many of her Interact friends have regularly conducted zoom English language training sessions with students in Vietnam over this past year.
 
A sobering question was asked by Kevin O’Brien – Why is Vietnam such a hotbed for human trafficking?
Sue replied – These children are trafficked primarily on the Chinese borders. Given the past Chinese policy of one child per family, many Chinese families only considered having a male child. Now there is an “excess” of 35 million young men who cannot find brides. Vietnamese women are trafficked to be the brides of Chinese men in order to provide an heir to the Chinese famiiy. Once a child is born, the Vietnamese woman is often sold to another Chinese family in order to produce an heir for that family. In her life, the trafficked Vietnamese woman could be sold multiple times – never seeing the children that she bore again.
 
Emma Tobin from Half Moon Bay, and our District 5150’s Rotary Global Scholar (studying at Oxford) asked another important question.  How does Rotary choose a particular community in Vietnam to focus on and to “choose” students to participate in the program? (Note that Emma is doing her thesis on human trafficking at Oxford.)
 
Sue noted that the Rotary program is conducted in cooperation with a Vietnamese non-profit, Pacific Links Foundation that is located in Vietnam.  Pacific Links works with school administrators across Vietnam and particularly in the rural communities in order to identify poor and at-risk teens who could benefit from attending a camp.  
 
 
    
 
 
Club Meeting - July 15 , 2021
 
Pres. Joe B. called the meeting to order.
 
   
 
Pledge of Allegiance -  Dave Dickson
                       
 
Inspirational Thought -  Dianne offered her thoughts on what a difference music makes in life and what joy music can bring! She shared her times of being stressed at the end of a workday, but when directing a rehearsal for one of the groups she led or even just listening to music anytime, the tiredness and stresses of life simply disappeared.
 
Guests - Emma Tobin, our Rotary Global Scholar – is home from Oxford for 2 weeks!!! You may run in to her “around town”
 
Happy/Crappy News yescrying

EJ recently performed at the Menlo Park Rotary Club KIKO (Kick In Kick Out) debunking.

Announcements

             

A smaller version of Pumpkin Festival is on, and Pres. Joe is trying to secure a spot for our Chowder Booth. The food booths will be allocated by lottery, so we will have the final decision by August 5 on whether or not our Rotary Club can participate.
 
Liz Schuck met with Eric Debode at Abundant Grace regarding the sandwich delivery program to determine if the need is still there. Liz explained that Abundant Grace relies on our lunch deliveries for feeding 30+ workers and homeless multiple meals during the week. After much discussion, club members discussed the need for more participation in the deliveries. Liz is taking over sign-ups from Ginger, so please let Liz know if you are willing to participate. If most club members would participate – the commitment would be every 3 months.
 
The Coastal Cleanup event is coming up quickly (in early September) and Rose Serdy is looking for a volunteer to run the ½ day Saturday event. Let’s clean up our beaches!
 
The Small Donations team recommended that $500 be allocated out of the small donations fund for the Backpack Drive annually run by Holy Family Episcopal Church.  The Club agreed!
 
Liz Schuck announced that we have two possible locations for Little Libraries placement. The City of HMB staff have recommended Oak Park and Frenchman’s Creek Park for Little Libraries. Liz, Rose, Mary and Joe plan to attend the July 28th Parks and Rec. Board meeting to discuss.
 
Pres. Joe's US States Quiz
 
Pres. Joe ended with his quiz on this week’s state of West Virginia. (He has started at the end of the alphabet.)
  1. What state was West Virginia originally a part of?
  2. What is West Virginia’s primary industry?
  3. What is the symbol on West Virginia’s version of the quarter?
Ask Joe if you did not attend.
 
Marble Draw  sad surprise Too bad Dianne - Green!
                                            
 
 
PHOTO GALLERY