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Bhutan

A fascinating and informative talk from Kuenzang Tshering last Wednesday about Bhutan and the Bhutanese way of life. Kuenzang has been living in WA with his wife and two young daughters for 5 years, with the two girls attending Lake Monger PS. Kuenzang is an environmental hydrologist who has just completed his PhD at ECU. Bhutan is a kingdom in the Himalayas, 39sq kms in size (about the size of Switzerland) with a population of only 770,000. A constitutional monarchy since 2008. Bounded by China and India, with both seeking influence in the country, makes it a challenging existence. The main income is derived from tourism and the sale of hydropower energy to India. Less than 3% of the land is arable, although agriculture is the main employer. A Buddhist country, philosophy is a way of life. A gross national “happiness” register is maintained and a happiness star rating is attributed to each hotel. Chilli is the national dish. More than 30,000 Bhutanese live in Perth (the most in Australia) and they have the highest number of tertiary students by country at WA universities. Amazing stats. A terrific presentation

Humor in the Law

Those members present at last Wednesday’s meeting were treated to an hilarious presentation of anecdotes from our own member, John Gartlan, on the “lighter side of the law”. With 44 years as a solicitor in Melbourne John had plenty of experiences to draw upon and he had us all in stitches for the entire time. Humour spreads across all areas of legal practice and John had many examples from the various courts of law, wills, accident reports etc. A number were told against himself. A couple of lawyer jokes – “99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name” and “Why don’t sharks attack lawyers? Answer: Professional courtesy”. John could easily get a gig as a stand up comedian based on that presentation. Thanks John for a most enjoyable breakfast.

Karya Mulia School for Deaf Children

Kara Passi, a teacher of deaf children for more than 30 years was the guest speaker at our last meeting. Kara had recently returned from the Kara Mulia School for deaf children in Surabaya – her 5^th visit to the school over a number of years and the 2^nd visit on behalf of Rotary. Kara Mulia is the Club’s longest running international project, having been operating successfully now for 27 years. Kara mentors the teachers and this year there were 14 new teachers and 22 in total working there for less than 2 years. Kara undertook daily 2 hour presentations involving a number of teaching strategies followed by hands on interactive sessions. A parent workshop was also undertaken, with 40 parents attending. Kara stressed the need for collaboration between teachers and parents.

Kara attended a Rotary meeting at the Surabaya Club and gave them an overview of her activities at Kara Mulia. Kara mentioned the management of Kara Mulia may be taken over by the Indonesian Government in the future, but was unsure what changes would occur if the takeover eventuated.

Kara impressed as a thoroughly dedicated teacher and obviously has tremendous rapport and a close association with all the people she has met in Surabaya. An inspiring presentation – a great ambassador for Rotary and Australia.

The Club is making a 3-4 day visit to Kara Mulia commencing 11^th June 2025 where visitors will be given a tour of the facilities and more. If you are interested or like more info please contact Graham.