Medway Rotary Supporting Sri Lankan Community

Following the Indian Ocean Tsunami last December, Members of the Rotary Club of Medway responded by making a public appeal for clothing and donations to aid the thousands affected by the disaster. As a result of those appeals £15,000 has been donated by the public.

In April this year two Rotarians visited Sri Lanka, at their own expense, to identify worthwhile projects. Now a team from the club are planning to travel to Sri Lanka on 6th September and use some of the funds to renovate Ahungalla New Model School that has 120 tsunami affected pupils. The first phase will provide a well, water tank, and toilet block, and also decorate the buildings both inside and outside.

The group also propose to take with them exercise books, pens and pencils sufficient for each child. Among members of the team are Rotarians Dai Liyanage, David Hatcher, Terry Spice and Andrew Harwood. In addition to the school project the club have purchased two new boats at a cost of £4500 to be presented to fishermen living in a village near Galle. The provision of the new boats will make a tremendous difference to the lives of at least eight families.

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Site Meeting at Ahungalla School April 2005

Fishing Boats

New Fishing Boats

Construction Works

Rotarians Dai Liyanage, Terry Spice and Andrew Harwood pictured during construction works at the Ahungalla New Model School in September 2005, where the team carried out renovation works as well as installing a water supply.

An Evening onboard the "Grand Turk"

On the 12th July one hundred and twenty people enjoyed a glorious summers evening onboard the 'Grand Turk', which was moored in Chatham Maritime.

The ship is an accurate replica of a 1780's three-masted, 6th rate Royal Naval frigate. Built only seven years ago and perhaps best known for its starring role as Capt. Horatio Hornblower's flagship in the popular TV series "Hornblower", she has also appeared in many other feature films and TV dramas. Most recently, on 28th June 2005 she stood in for "HMS Victory", Nelson's flagship at the International Fleet Review off Portsmouth, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.

She is 46.3 m long and has a beam of 10.4m, her mainmast reaches 35.66 m high and her draught is 3.1 m. She has a permanent crew of sixteen. As well as the sails, she is powered by 2 powerful 450 hp (340 kW) diesel engines.

The generosity of those attending the evening helped to raise in excess of £1,200 for the 'Mercy Ships' charity.