We had in my humble opinion one of the most interesting and at the same time most sensitive and compassionate talks at the Forbes Men’s Probus Club June meeting.
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It was given by Senior Constable Daniel Greef, Crime Prevention Officer for the Lachlan Area Command.
But Daniel, who is stationed at Parkes, did not talk about policing but a part of his life that one sensed is very very important to him.
Daniel goes to Zambia in South Central Africa to help young people get a start in life that might be denied them but for Daniel and other likeminded internationals who travel to that country and work on a building program that supports boys and girls in an orphanage.
The youngsters taken in are the results of parents who passed away due to endemic HIV that effects 10% of a country with a population of 14 million. Apart from HIV, Daniel said that Malaria is a big issue in that country also.
Daniel said that in Ndola, capital of Zambia, there a lot of shanty towns with no electricity, no running water….”So we take over what we can in the way of clothes, beds and of course tools to help in the building program.
On his most recent trip the team worked on a special needs dormitory and refurbished a house in town.
It became clear though listening to Daniel that he has a mission to mentor young boys into becoming responsible adults and a bonus for we in the Central West is that Seeds of Hope, a new organisation in Australia which is now being very active in the area Daniel has been working in, will help bring a choir to Australia and hopefully they will come to Forbes as well as Parkes.
And when you are eating your breakfast, lunch or dinner today or tomorrow with the mix that goes with those meals, think of the kids in Zambia who virtually exist on Polenta, day in, day out.
Our guest speaker on Friday is Richard Taubman, a farmer and an author.
Tours director, Alan Toole mentioned at the meeting that there would be a one-day mystery tour in November and next year it is planned to have a four-day trip to Canberra and surrounds, possibly in May.
Ladies Probus
Wilma opened the recent Ladies Probus meeting.
At the June meeting Shane Wode was the guest speaker. Shane talked about naming of our streets and who they were named after. This was very interesting and we thanked Shane for his talk.
We had a minute’s silence for Jean Mackintosh and we would like to extend our sympathy to the family as Jean was involved with Probus and served on committee. She will be missed.
If you are in hospital or not feeling well we wish you a speedy recovery.
The two ladies to welcome the guest for July will be Joan and Robyn Wilson.
Guest speaker will be Richard Taubman from Murringo. Richard is an author of a book titled "One of the last” about a man called Syd Bayliss.
Richard has been a whip maker for 40 years. This should be very interesting.
Lyn Simmonds
