David Abbey will be our guest on Monday March 4 and will speak to us about the Royce and Jean Abbey Scholarships. The scholarships provide for practical training and experience in Australia in at least one area consistent with the Rotary Foundation.
The Rotary Club of Torquay is leading an extensive program of work to assist in the education of children in the village of Lese Oalai in PNG. As part of this program Ms Mary Pao, Head Mistress of the Lese Oalai Village School, has applied for a Royce and Jean Abbey Scholarship and has notionally been offered a ‘visiting scholars’ position with Deakin University.
Rotarian John Oswald and I recently met via zoom with the Professor Damian Blake, Head of the School of Education, and Associate Professor Wanty Widjaja, Associate Head of School International Partnerships, to discuss the possibility and the logistics of offering a three-month Continual Professional Development (CPD) Program to Mary Pao.
It was a very positive and productive discussion. Both Damian and Wanty were very enthusiastic to work with us to provide this opportunity to Mary and to develop an ongoing partnership with Rotary and the Lese Oalai Village School. Damian has a strong association with the Gulf Province in PNG and is cognisant of the issues facing the villagers and the paucity of education there. Damian’s parents and uncle were missionaries in the Gulf Province for many years.
The Rotary Clubs of Torquay and Bayside Geelong are co-hosts for this initiative. However, in order to progress this, we need to consider what is required to fully support Mary. Issues such as accommodation, transport, and the like need to be provided by Rotarians. The professional development component will be supported and provisioned by Deakin University.
I look forward to working with you all and members of Bayside Geelong to further develop this opportunity for Mary and the children of Lese Oalai.
Robyn O’Loughlin
Director International Service