The Kiwanis Club of Roto Whenua Inc. (Rotorua, New Zealand)
"Serving the children of the World"
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The Kiwanis Club of Roto Whenua Inc. is part of an
international service organisation which began in America in 1915. We have been
operating in New Zealand since 1967, and the Roto Whenua Club has been serving
the Rotorua community since 1977.
Kiwanis is a global organisation of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time.
Our community involvement over the years has included
Science Fairs, the Christmas Parade, Special Needs Children's Day out, the Rotorua Marathon,
the World
Mountainbike Championships and Riding for the Disabled.
In addition we have raised funds for
numerous kindergarten projects, the Life Education Trust, and the Plunket Society. We
run a Teddy Bears Picnic in February each year in Kuirau Park. This is for
children of all ages, and includes games, story telling, train rides, a bouncy
castle, etc.
Kiwanis International has a global campaign (ELIMINATE) in conjuction with
UNICEF which aims to wipe out maternal and neonatal tetanus in a band of
equatorial countries. Tetanus spores are present in the soil and may enter the
body as a result of unhygenic birth practices. The spores cause the release of a
nerve toxin which results in extreme muscle spasms and death. Vaccination to
prevent this costs just NZ$2.20 for each woman and child.
As a Division 9 project we help the Whakatane Club
run the Kiwanis Lake Rotoma Swim on Waitangi Day (February 6) each year. Each
August we organise and run the NIWA BOP Schools & Technology Fair. This is a
regional competition which enables the best students to be eligible to attend
the national competition and compete to become the Prime Ministers Young
Scientist of the Year.
Club membership is open to any adult with a desire to work in their community. Our current membership has a mixture of men and women from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and occupations. Club meetings are quite informal, and include a dinner, often with a guest speaker invited to speak on a topic of general interest. This is followed by a short business session. A good time is had by all. From time to time we also pay a visit to other clubs in the region to socialise.
We meet at the Rotorua Club Inc, Robertson St (behind Rydges Hotel), Rotorua at 6.00 p.m. every 3rd Wednesday of the month and welcome new and prospective members. On the first Tuesday of the month we have a social dinner at one of the many local cafes. Please contact Mark Franken (ph 07-348-9213), who will be pleased to answer any enquiries.
The Kiwanis Club of Roto Whenua is twinned with the Kiwanis Club of Brighton, South Australia, and the Kiwanis Club of Dzumac Dumbea, New Caledonia.
Photos of some of our projects can be found on the club facebook page: Kiwanis Club of Roto Whenua. The NZ/South Pacific District website is at http://kiwanisnzsp.org/
Page last updated 10 October 2019.