⛵ Rotary Youth Sailing Challenge One & All Tall Ship.
�� 2 Last-MinuteOpportunities We’ve had two late cancellations for the January 2026 Port Lincoln voyage offering a once-in-a-lifetime, fully sponsored opportunity for a couple of teenagers over 15 and under 18yo.
If you know of such a young person, persuade them to seize this moment — act immediately.
From 18–22 January 2026, the One & All will sail out of Port Lincoln on a RYSC voyage. This is a rare chance for two young people to jump aboard an unforgettable Rotary youth adventure.
�� Contact David on 0438 221 937 today. These final two spots will go quickly!
✨A Powerful Rotary Story You Need to Hear!
What drives someone to spend half of every year in a war-torn country, helping strangers rebuild their lives?
Coast FM 88.7 listeners recently heard the answer when Rotarian Rob McLennan interviewed Maurice O’Connell — and it’s one of the most inspiring Rotary moments you’ll come across.
In the interview, Maurice talks about his work with Rotary District 9510 and the seven dedicated Rotary Clubs — Adelaide, Campbelltown, Morialta, Mount Barker, Gawler, Gawler Light and Northern Yorke Peninsula — all supporting the New Dawn project, which is restoring hospitals, schools, and essential community facilities in Ukraine. His on-the-ground insights show exactly how Rotary ensures help reaches the people who need it most.
Maurice O’Connell, a South Australian and a retired British Army veteran, has turned his retirement into a mission of service. For the past four years he has spent six months each year in Ukraine, offering practical humanitarian support to communities impacted by the Russian invasion. Working mainly across eastern and southern Ukraine, he has become a trusted presence — coordinating supplies, assisting with rebuilding projects, and supporting local leaders and volunteers with steady, compassionate dedication.
For Maurice, this isn’t simply volunteering. It’s a continuation of a lifetime of service, helping communities rebuild their future with dignity, resilience, and hope.
About 830 women and 7,000 newborns, mainly in low- and middle-income countries, die each day because of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. These deaths are mostly preventable. Midwives are key to preventing them, so an initiative organized by Rotary members is supporting the essential work of midwives in Papua New Guinea and Australia.
The program is rooted in collaboration. Australian midwives are paired with midwives from Papua New Guinea for five-day leadership workshops. The process culminates in a yearlong community health project designed and led by the midwives in Papua New Guinea, with continued support from their Australian counterparts.
Project organizer Judith Brown, a retired midwife and past president of the Rotary Club of Morialta, South Australia, says the exchange between the midwives is reciprocal and prioritizes learning from one another’s strengths. The partnership enables midwives to learn about other cultures and develop their professional skills, Brown says, but the primary focus is “trying to help women just have a voice in both countries.”
A Walk for Respect United for a Safer, More Respectful Community
Recently hundreds came together in Adelaide for Rotary District 9510’s (South Australia, Alice Springs, Broken Hill & Sunraysia) Walk for Respect, taking a powerful public stand against domestic and family violence.
It was a morning filled with purpose, compassion, and community spirit — a visible show of unity for those who deserve safety, dignity, and respect.
This walk also shone a light on the remarkable organisations who work tirelessly every day to support individuals and families affected by domestic violence. Their dedication changes lives, builds hope, and strengthens our communities
“I am 10 years old and never set foot in a real classroom”
✨80Ukrainian Children Go Back to School – For the First Time in Nearly Four Years✨
Imagine being 10 years old and never stepping inside a real classroom. For the children of Sofiivs’ka, the epitome of our “forgotten villages”, this has been reality.
Sofiivs’ka is a small farming community of about 800 people, a 4-hour drive north-east of Odesa, with the nearest town 40 km away. Life here is simple: families tend chickens and small plots, the school is the heart of the village, and everyone knows everyone. The village was never occupied by Russian forces – but war still changed everything.
Since February 2022, the school has been closed. Not because of damage in the war, but because no school in Ukraine can reopen without a functioning bomb shelter. For over 3½ years, 80 children studied online, following straight on from months of COVID lockdowns. For many, their entire childhood learning has been through a screen, in isolation.
When the community asked for help, led by Rotary Northern Yorke Peninsula, Rotary members from seven clubs from Rotary District 9510(Adelaide, Campbelltown, Morialta, Mount Barker, Gawler and Gawler Light), and with many generous donations from Rotary Members, Rotary clubs and individuals right across our zone – joined with Rotary District 2232 (Ukraine) and our partner NGO New Dawn to Unite for Good.
The villagers had the skills to build a shelter, but not the means to buy materials. Over nine months, Rotarians funded supplies while local people built a 200m² bomb shelter to government standards. Rotary also supplied 100 school chairs with tablet arms for the shelter, ensuring that if air raid alarms sounded, classes could safely continue underground without disruption.
In September 2025, just in time for the new school year, the doors of the school finally reopened. Children returned to classrooms for the first time in nearly four years. Whenever the sirens sound, they now walk safely downstairs into the shelter.
To celebrate, Rotary’s partner New Dawn NGO hosted a kids’ fair inside the new shelter – complete with a clown– bringing back laughter and joy to a place where silence and waiting had become the norm.
Huge though this impact is on the schoolchildren, the positive ramifications go further. Before the war there were 120 children of school age. A number of families moved, in part because of the lack of proper schooling. Those departed families now have a strong incentive to return home. Rotary has not just helped to bring back schooling but is also instrumental in rebuilding the community.
For just US$12,000, Rotarians helped transform a “forgotten village” into a place of hope, where children can once again learn, play, and dream of a future beyond war.
💙💛 Rotary is about connection, compassion, and community. Share this story and help spread hope further than ever.
