Parkes Phoenix Editor

Earlier this year, Chris Finkel and a group of Rotary friends climbed Mount Kenya, quite a surprising accomplishment for a man in his 70s. “Three years ago John Glassford, who is a member of Rotary Club of Cootamundra, decided to organise a team to climb Mount Kenya,” said Chris, a member of the Rotary Club of Forbes.

John’s aim was to go back and help some of the less fortunate people living in Africa by getting together a group of 12 people who would raise $5000 each by climbing Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa. The goal of $60,000 would help educate the Maasai People, a hunter-gatherer tribe in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. Some of the funds raised will go towards building a school and training teachers to give children a better education.

The money will also be used to build an AIDS clinic, with some going towards the Australian charity Legacy. “So far we’ve raised around $40,000 and donations will be open until the end of 2015,” Chris said. The following is an excerpt from Chris’ journal where he wrote about his experiences and his Tanzanian guide, tackling the peak on
ANZAC Day. “After the first few minutes of climbing, I began to experience serious breathlessness. Moses dropped back from the main group to stay with me and slowly we made progress towards the last flat ridge below Point Lenana.”

“Moses and I reached the 4700 metre ridge to cheers and snow ball attacks from the rest of the team. I had climbed 4700 metres with a 10kg pack of gear and water on my back.” Chris was at the gym for 2-3 months before the challenge and would walk 8kms a day with a backpack and 6 litres of water to prepare. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” says Chris, “but we did it. It was a great challenge.”

Some members of the group also visited the Oloimugi Maasai Village, the site of a new school to be built using the funds raised by the Mt Kenya climb; quite a fascinating story in itself. “A village gate had been erected in our honour
and we were greeted by Maasai songs from the village ladies. We were guided through the gateway under an array of walking sticks held up by the very tall Maasai elders. I was singled out by a white bearded older Maasai tribesman and presented with his walking stick.”

The Rotary Club of Forbes will be hosting a Sponsor’s Night at the Vanderberg Hotel in September to celebrate the achievements of climbers and sponsors with food and a presentation of the adventure.

Six prominent Shorthorn Studs, namely Coonardoo, Moombi, Polldale, Ronelle Park, Southern Cross and Trojon are the vendors for the Shorthorn Central Bull Sale. They decided to create this opportunity after seeing a need for Shorthorn Bull sales in the Central West.

A team of 40 bulls will be on offer and since the vendors wanted “all things equal”, they have all been housed at one property for the past 90 days on grazing oats in the lead up to the sale. This way all bulls can be compared to each other as if it were a farm bull sale. The bulls will be weighed and scanned on the 9 August and their figures will be available on sale day or by emailing rjj60@bigpond.com

All bulls have been semen tested and vaccinated with vendors giving a 6 month guarantee. “We are looking forward to the sale, presenting our bulls to you and talking to everyone that comes along,” Janelle said.

The annual Forbes Reading Day is upon us and across town kids of all ages are preparing for their day to celebrate reading and to raise awareness about the importance of reading to children from birth. Forbes Birth to Kinder Committee has prepared some fun activities for Forbes Reading Day which will be held on Friday 14 August.

All locations for this event will be marked with red balloons. Jess Kittkowske, President of Forbes Birth to Kinder says that Forbes Reading Day is not only an opportunity to celebrate reading but also to talk about the importance of reading to children. “We are asking parents, teachers, schools, businesses and the general public to support
and encourage our families to read to children right from birth so that every child may have a better start to a life of learning,” Jess said.

Families with young children are invited to get out to the Youth and Community Centre in Battye Street at 9:30am for some fun activities and music time, and then head over to the Forbes Town Library for Story Time with “Freeda the Reader” from Central West Libraries. Those who would like to know more or would like a copy of the program are encouraged to contact Marree at Forbes SaCC on 6852 3008 or Jessica Kittkowske at Forbes Community Health on 6850 2233.

Yoorana Gunya Family Healing Centre Aboriginal Corporation in Forbes will receive almost $1.6 million as a part of the Australian Government’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS). The grant is given to eligible organisations and groups to improve the developmental outcomes for Indigenous children in Forbes and surrounding areas. Yoorana Gunya will receive over $468,000 in funding for the next two and a half years, allowing them to provide various services to improve the social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous families in Forbes, as well as helping families prepare their children for school. $1.1 million will also be utilised in the Binaal Billa Family Violence Prevention Legal Service offering support to victims of family violence or sexual assault, aiming to reach
towns within the Forbes, Parkes and Lachlan Shires.

“The project to be delivered by Yoorana Gunya will make a real difference to local Indigenous children,” Federal Member for Calare John Cobb said. “The additional support for Binaal Billa will ensure they can continue their great work so highly regarded by all the communities it services. “ “I’ve worked with many Indigenous communities
when my electorate was larger and extended into the far west so I understand their needs and this project will be of great value.” Nigel Scullion, Minister for Indigenous Affairs aid the Government’s investment through the IAS grant round had increased from $860 million to $1 billion and 996 organisations will receive funding over 1,350
projects across Australia.

“The increased investment through the grant round is the result of the Government honouring its commitment to provide longer funding agreements for important frontline services and ensure that any gaps that emerged as part of the round were filled as quickly as possible,” Minister Scullion said.