Martine Udahemuka

 
On Tuesday 19th June our speaker was Martine Udahemuka, who 20 years ago arrived in New Zealand as a refugee, having been uprooted from Rwanda as a young girl.    Martine provided a moving talk about her experiences on a fateful Wednesday evening on 6 April 1994, when her life and that of millions other Rwandans was turned upside down.    One day she had a home, the next she was stateless.   Martine shared with us where she came from, how she got here, and the lessons she learnt in between.
 

Martine’s brush with death at a tender age keeps her awake at night, but more importantly keeps her grounded in the personal and professional choices she makes.   She is an active member of the African and refugee communities in New Zealand and currently sits on the Board of the Multicultural Learning and Support Services (MCLaSS) organisation.   Education has been important to Martine, and she now lives in Wellington working in a think tank, The New Zealand Initiative, figuring out how to make New Zealand’s education system truly world-class.

 

Also in attendance was Jordon Mumby, our outgoing international Rotary Youth Exchange student for 2019.  Jordon hopes to travel to Canada.   Also pictured are Lyn Carman as Jordan's mentor, and Gaylene Lines, our Club and District RYE co-ordinator. 

 

Bruce Phillips provided the sergeant session based on a quiz on the Solomon Islands where he shortly expects to be destined for a two year contract.

 

New World Tawa Raffle - was won by Richard Herbert