NEWS
Friday March 05, 2021
Cairns Local News
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blind Locals step up the fight against polio Aaron’s ambition pays off TANYA MURPHY
THE Rotary Club of Cairns West raised more than $1000 for polio eradication when they met at Barron’s Bistro, Freshwater Station on Saturday, February 27. Around 50 people from around the region attended the sold-out afternoon tea, with some travelling from Mossman and Mareeba. The event was part of the ‘World’s Greatest Meal,’ a now-global Rotary event founded by local Palm Cove resident Susanne Rea, which raises money to eradicate polio, a disease which still exists in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The event also celebrated the centenary since the first Rotary clubs were started in Australia and New Zealand in 1921, and the 116th anniversary of the founding of Rotary in Chicago on Feb-
Global polio-eradication ambassador Susanne Rea (centre) with Rotary Club members Nauman, Makoto, Jeff, David and Angela. ruary 23, 1905. A childhood polio survivor, Ms Rea founded the WGM in 2014 to encourage Rotary members to host meals in exchange for donations. Since then it has grown enormously, and with the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation donating $2 for every $1 raised by Rotary, WGM has raised more than $7 million to date. To keep the momentum alive, Rea reverse-mortgaged her house and embarked on
a world tour, speaking, vaccinating, and motivating across 32 countries. She pays her own way, and local Rotary members host her whenever possible. “We raise awareness as well as funds,” she said. “I spend a lot of time explaining what goes on in Pakistan with the training of the polio workers.” Ms Rea said her motivation was to make an impact during her retirement. She thanked the organisers of the event and the major sponsors, Joe Vella Insurance Brokers and Mark Dodge Motoring as well as raffle donors. For more information on Rotary in Cairns, hosting a World’s Greatest Meal, fundraiser event or to get involved more with Rotary in Cairns, contact: Jeff Haynes on 0417 756 849 or email secretarycwst@d9550rotary.org.au
Breastscreening mobile service Atherton BREASTSCREEN Queensland (BSQ) is urging local women to take advantage of their free mobile service available at Atherton Showgrounds until mid-March. BSQ Health Promotion Officer Sandra Peut said the Atherton Mobile Service offered the same state-of-the-art digital technology that is available at their clinic in Cairns. “We are fortunate to offer this advanced technology across the
region with our Mobile Service,” she said. “This ensures the same quality care and access for all women, no matter where they live.” Ms Peut said there were almost 80 unfilled appointments over the next couple of weeks that needed to be filled. “We want to give local women who may not know about our free service the opportunity to take advantage of it while it’s in their community and remind
those that might have forgotten to jump in and book their appointment,” she said. She said that as the mobile breast screening service operated on a two-yearly cycle, in line with recommendations around mammographic screening, it would return to Atherton at the end of 2022. A breast screen takes a picture of what is happening inside the breast tissue and can pick up changes in the breast, often be-
fore they can be seen or felt by a woman or her doctor. Women aged 50-74 are strongly recommended to screen every two years, as this is the age group that benefits most from screening. Women in their forties and those aged over 75 are also eligible for this free service, and no doctor’s referral is required. For more information or to book your appointment call 13 20 50 or visit www.breastscreen.qld.gov.au.
VISION impairment has been no barrier for Cairns local Aaron Lee to fulfil his dream of writing a play, thanks to a collaboration between Tropical Arts and ARC Disability Services. The 26-year-old first-time playwright has harnessed his creativity and poured his “heart and soul” into his play, ‘True Friends,’ a comedy about two young women who become friends and flourish. Tropical Arts runs an all-inclusive theatre workshop called ‘Inclusive Explorers’ every Monday evening at ARC Community Hub, with their annual ‘Shakespeare at the Tanks’ productions proving a big hit with the community. Mr Lee, who has lived with a vision impairment called retanoprophy since birth, has been involved as an actor for many years but recently moved into scriptwriting and penned his first original play with the assistance of writing software WriteADuet. Borrowing from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and transforming it with his own unique spin, Mr Lee’s play takes the audience into a quirky and fresh but relatable world with a touch of wit, singing, and dancing. “I put a lot of hard work, effort and passion into this play,” said Mr Lee. The Inclusive Explorers group has spent the past six weeks developing and work-
shopping the script with Mr Lee in the hope that it will one day be performed as a full production. To assist with the artistic process of developing the play, three selected scenes will be read and performed to the public on Monday, March 8 from 6:15pm at ARC Community Hub, 52 Macnamara Street. The event is open to all community members, and may be particularly interesting for those who are interested in script writing, script development and the process involved. “A live script-reading and workshop like this is great for a first-time writer to get feedback so we can then go back and develop it further,” said Tropical Arts Assistant Coordinator Claire Tierney. New members are welcome to the ‘Inclusive Explorers’ program. Ensemble training is also held at the ARC Hub on Sunday afternoons. Tropical Arts is also gearing up for its 13th annual Shakespeare at the Tanks production, ‘Hamlet and the Climate Emergency.’ Anyone interested in joining in as an actor, creative, backstage, technician, or volunteer is encouraged to join. To attend the ‘True Friends’ reading, or to sign up for any Tropic Arts programs, booking is essential. Enquire via www. tropicalarts.org
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