CEO Message - Lasallian Foundation

AUTUMN 2015 #18
PO BOX 668, Malvern VIC 3144 Australia T: 03 9508 2700 F: 03 9509 7247 E: info@lasallianfoundation.org www.lasallianfoundation.org
Settlement children in Port Moresby, PNG
CEO Message
No act of kindness, no matter how small,
is ever wasted. (Aesop)
2015 is a special year. Not only is it the
Year of the Sheep but we celebrate our
10th birthday. The year of the Sheep
is considered auspicious and generally
heralds a year of promise and prosperity,
calm and peace. We hope that this
positive spirit will help continue to move
the Lasallian mission of educational
service with the poor forward during the
coming year, and that this optimism is
shared and propagated globally.
In this issue of Starfish we showcase
the incredible efforts of our Lasallian
volunteers (schools and Board members)
and the impact of donations in kind.
These are all expressions of “no act of
kindness, no matter how small, is ever
wasted”. (Aesop)
We are very fortunate to be able to
facilitate opportunities for Australian
Lasallian students to participate in
immersion trips in places like India,
Thailand, Sri Lanka, Philippines,
Cambodia and PNG. Each group is
unique and contributes different work
and activities dependent on the needs
of the program in-country, including
building houses as seen with St Bede’s
in India, teaching English, or teaching
children to brush their teeth and wash
their hands. Each group fundraises
enough to cover travel and project costs
and also collects learning resources and
equipment. There are now six schools
volunteering annually – some in up to
three countries.
I have met with a number of the student
and teacher volunteers post-visit and
the impact of these immersion visits
for many is quite profound. A common
reflection is that the students felt they
received more than what they gave. They
return grateful and more appreciative
of the life they have here in Australia
– safety, shelter, food, education,
clean water, freedom and choice. I
also regularly hear “when can we go
back?” Suffice to say, this program is
an incredibly valuable experience in
each students’ Lasallian education and
an opportunity to live out the Lasallian
values of faith, service and community.
I’d also like to thank our Board
member, the formidable Paul Guest
for his Herculean effort in smashing
the world ergo rowing record, whilst
raising awareness and funds for
the construction of a school for
the Montagnard children of Central
Vietnam. His decision to race was only
made in December 2014 and Paul has
had an intense training regime over
recent months. We’d like to thank his
friends and family, and our Lasallian
donors for their generous support in
this endeavour.
A special 10 year newsletter will be
available later this year which will
highlight some of our achievements
both big and small. All of these things
we could not have accomplished
without the incredible generosity of our
donors and supporters. A thousand
thank you’s cannot adequately describe
our appreciation and gratitude.
Miranda Chow,
CEO Lasallian Foundation
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Paul Guest – Smashed the Crash
On March 1, former Olympic rower and
Lasallian Foundation Board member,
Paul Guest ‘Smashed the Crash’ and
broke the 2,000m ergo indoor rowing
world record (for 75 plus age group) by
over six seconds at the Crash-B’s in
Boston, USA.
Just under $60,000 has been raised
to go toward funding a multi-purpose
community hall, part of a new coeducational Lasallian secondary
school in DakMil, located in Dak Nong
Province, Vietnam.
After the race Paul said, “I have
returned from the Arena to my hotel in
Boston with an overwhelming feeling
of relief. I knew that the Italian entry (a
multiple International representative in
my time) would be tough, but I crossed
the line first, six seconds ahead. I thank
all the supporters who contributed
to the task of assisting the wonderful
Montagnard children of the Central
Highlands in Vietnam!”
What an amazing effort by Paul
and everyone who supported his
courageous campaign!
Paul Guest (right) celebrates his win with
Italian rival Francesco Madotta
St Bede’s College Reaching the Unreached
Last December, ten Year 12 students and
four staff members from St. Bede’s College
took part in a two and a half week working
mission in Tamil Nadu, Southern India.
One of the four brick houses with toilet and
electricity built by the students and staff at St
Bede’s College
While away we stayed at Reaching the
Unreached (RTU), a community established
by Br James Kimpton in 1975 caring for poor,
orphaned and HIV/AIDS affected children.
Thousands of children have benefited from
the work of Br James over the years, and it
was amazing to see some of those happy
faces waving us off as we headed to work
in the morning and then again when we
returned in the afternoon.
The purpose of this trip was to build four
houses for local villagers. Seeing the
conditions in which these people lived was
confronting, to say the least.
The fundraising initiatives carried out during
the school year, including Mission Action Day,
meant this enlightening trip could take place.
The work was physically demanding, and at
times, exhausting, but the desire to see the
projects finished was enough
to keep the students on track.
Article provided by Enzo
DiToro, Andrew Beaumont
and Astrid Dux – Teachers at
St Bede’s College.
PNG Communities Welcome
Donations
Since 2012 we have shipped donated
items to PNG via sea freight. Across the
country schools are under resourced
and many students we work with come
from remote areas, are very poor and
do not own much at all so anything they
receive will be well utilised and very much
appreciated.
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At the beginning of this year another three
full shipping containers departed Australia.
We would like to extend a huge thank you
to everyone who was involved, from
those who donated, to the Melbourne
volunteers who helped pack the container
and to Rotary (Boroko and Surrey Hills),
Supreme Industries, DP World, Maritime
Union, Secon & Brendon Consodine and
ANL Lines for assisting with the shipping
and transport.
We have been overwhelmed by community
support. So many useful household items
and educational supplies have been
donated and we are still receiving goods
which will be shipped later this year.
We would like to give a special mention to
the De La Salle Trustees and De La Salle
Schools (Sydney and Melbourne), Mona
Pereira, Mick Willis, DLS Brothers Malvern,
Mick Brosnan, Lumen Christie College
and their network of Canberra schools,
Mackenzie Aged Care Group, Trident
computers and Donvale Primary School
who all donated generously to this project.
And one huge thank you to five young
boys from Year 3 at Gandel Besen
House at Mount Scopus College (Jayden
Donner, Jack Lindell, Toby Smorgon,
Sam Greenberg and Zac Goldman) who
Packed to the brim thanks to the team at
Secon
collected donations of toys and clothing
for the children in PNG. After learning
about needs and wants in class the boys
decided to reach out and help children less
fortunate. Thank you to Viv Parry from the
Jewish Holocaust Museum for facilitating
this connection.
Eureka Star – No Child Left Behind
Our Eureka event last October was a
huge success. Thank you to everyone who
attended or contributed to the evening by
way of auction and raffle items. The event
raised an incredible $104,360 for the
Bamboo School in Thailand
that addresses the needs of refugee
Burmese children.
Kevin Bartlett and Dr Turf
We would like to extend our thanks to
Eureka 89 and the O’Brien family
for sponsoring the event at their
spectacular venue.
Thank you to MC, AFL legend Kevin
Bartlett, who along with Dr Turf, and
auctioneer Tom Lockwood ensured
everyone had an entertaining evening. The
Silk Production Thai dancers added heart
and a touch of Thai culture to the night.
Bamboo School Grows in Leaps & Bounds
The funds from the Eureka event have
been directed specifically toward
building a multi-purpose hall which
will be used by students and the
local community at Parmenie. The
multi-purpose hall is now complete,
creating a much needed extension to
the original Bamboo School facilities. It
has already been used for the first time
for a gathering of 200 students.
Thank you to Michael Daniels for his
magnanimous donation of $8,000 to
dig a bore well, arranged through his
daughter Julie Heatley who was part
of the St Bede’s volunteers group who
recently visited The Bamboo School.
We’re incredibly grateful to Michael,
Julie and their friends for helping
to provide a solution to the current
drought conditions at the Bamboo
School. Great work!
View of the multi-purpose hall from the east
Karen girls from the Bamboo School
dressed in traditional dress
Inside the new multi-purpose hall
Hope for Mannar
2014’s Christmas Appeal raised
$28,640.00 for children at Lasallian
Schools in Mannar, northern
Sri Lanka, an area highly affected
during the civil war. These children
come from extremely poor
backgrounds and receiving an
education will dramatically change
their opportunities in life.
On behalf of the children in Mannar
thank you to everyone who
generously contributed.
Children enjoying hands on learning at Br Hilary Nursery
Yes! I would like to help create Positive Change
to the poorest communities in the Asia Pacific Region.
To find out more about our current fundraising appeal for the Bamboo School visit:
lasallianfoundation.org/bambooschool
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Additional Newsletters (Qty
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Lasallian Foundation Endowment Program
ABN 74 113 234 889
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An Essential Remedial Program
Here is the translation of a letter from one very content
young Tamil student who has already benefitted greatly from
participating in the program:
The recent 30 year civil war disrupted
education in the north of Sri Lanka.
Due to the closure of schools and a
shortage of qualified teachers particularly
in maths, science and language,
many students have fallen behind.
In response to this, a Lasallian remedial
program across five schools was
started in 2013 to plug the gaps in
the broken education many children
in Sri Lanka have received.
This program has been extremely
successful in supporting students to
improve their grades and build their
confidence, and hopes to benefit many
more students in coming years.
BOARD DIRECTORS
Ms Sally Nicholes
Mr Sean Conlan
Mr John W Mann
Hon Paul Guest OAM QC
Dr Manjula Waniganayake
Mr Steve Molloy
Mr Nick Newton
Br John Pill
The Lasallian Foundation is a signatory
to the Australia Council for International
Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct.
www.acfid.asn.au
Social Media
You can keep up to date with what we
are up to and where your generous
donations are helping in real time. So
please join us on our various Social
Media networks.
facebook.com/lasallianfoundation
twitter.com/@lasallian
pinterest.com/lasallianfoundation
linkedin.com/lasallianfoundation
LinkedIn Alumni group: linkedin.com/
Lasallian (De La Salle) Alumni ANZ
Hello, my name is Chandrika*, I am a Grade 7
Student. I scored very poor marks in Maths, 20, in
the 1st Term Examination in 2014. Then I joined
the slow learner’s class for Maths, funded by the
Lasallian Foundation in Australia. I benefitted a lot
after joining the class. I can now easily understand
which encourages me to pay more interest in
learning. I got rid of the fear which kept me behind
always. Also the personal attention helped me to
overcome the fear of the subject. I am happy to
state that I could score 40 marks in the 2nd term
and 75 marks in the 3rd semester. Now I am
promoted to Grade 7 where I learn very happily.
I would like to thank sincerely to the Lasallian
Foundation and the donors. My sincere thanks
go to the teachers involved and to my Principal
through whom I am able to obtain these facilities.
Thanking you, Chandrika
*Name changed for privacy reasons
GET INVOLVED BY:
WE CAN HELP!
Please call the Lasallian
Foundation on (03) 9508 2700
or email
info@lasallianfoundation.org
onating much needed funds
D
Organising your own fundraising event – donating
the proceeds to the Lasallian Foundation
Making a gift in lieu (Birthday, Christmas, In
Memoriam etc) to Lasallian Foundation
Asking your employer to start a Workplace Giving
Program, nominating the Lasallian Foundation as
a recipient
Leaving a Bequest in your Will to the
Lasallian Foundation
2/1328 High St, Malvern Vic 3144
PO Box 668, Malvern Vic 3144
Phone: 03 9508 2700
Fax: 03 9509 7247
Email: info@lasallianfoundation.org
Web: lasallianfoundation.org
Facebook: Lasallian Foundation
We are registered with the Australian Charities
and Not For Profits Commission (ACNC)
www.acnc.gov.au
Twitter: @lasallian
ABN: 74 113 234 889
Board Update
Over the past six months we have had
several changes to our Board.
We would like to introduce the inspiring
Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC as Patron.
Alastair was the Chief Justice of the Family
Court of Australia from 1988 until 2004 and
one of the inaugural Lasallian Foundation
Board Members since 2005. We are
excited to have him accept this new role.
A belated welcome to St Bede’s Old Boy
Sean Conlan, who joined us in June 2014.
His understanding of the Lasallian values
and strong fund management experience
will add immense value to our Board. He
is joined by Br John Pill an experienced
school principal working most recently
as an educational consultant on Lasallian
Projects throughout Asia and the Pacific.
And last but not least thank you to
Patricia Hurlstone and Br Pat McCarthy
for their tremendous contribution to the
Foundation over the past four and five
years respectively. We wish you well in
all your future endeavours and hope you
stay a close part of the Lasallian family.
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