Courtesy of Karin Feltman.
Above, Karin Feltman, a Lawrence Memorial Hospital nurse, performs an eye exam on a boy while serving in Haiti on a 10-day mission trip, one year after a devastating earthquake rocked the country.

Lawrence native Karin Feltman  told Rotarians at Lawrence Central Rotary on May 22 that she has a “heart for service.”  Feltman, a nurse, has been on 15 medical mission trips between 2005 and 2011.  Now she’s raising funds and making preparations for a medical mission in Nepal that she believes will last five years.

“I’ve been  to Kenya, Malawi, Honduras, Haiti,” Feltman said. Every trip has  begun because she was listening to her “little voice” that gave her a sense of what she needed to be doing to find meaning in her life.  Now the trip to Nepal will be longer lasting because, she said, that while help with emergencies is good, there is a need for sustainable service that involves truly living in a place. “I want to work with wellness, teaching, and to improve family life there. “

Feltman will work through  Evangelical Alliance Mission TEAM  at Dadeldhura hospital in the Himalayan foothills.  TEAM is an organization that has pioneered medical work in Nepal since the 1960s. It has grown out of a mission movement begun in the United States in  1890 by a Swedish immigrant, and has sent out thousands of workers.

Fund raising is important as she will need to support herself, which costs approximately $3600 per month. Several fund raisers have already been held in Lawrence and she said donations are welcome.

Feltman, (whose first name is pronounced Car-in; her mother was Belgian, she said, and pronounced it that way) is studying to  learn the Nepalese language. “It’s difficult and very different from the romance languages  common in this country. I  do my best to adapt to the customs, the language  and the food wherever I am,” she said, although she admitted to having a hard time on some of her trips with the native wildlife, primarily spiders.

She plans to leave for Nepal in January 2014.

“I walk by faith and not by sight,” she said.

District 9200 comprises the six East African countries Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The geographical variation ranges from beautiful coastal beaches (both in Kenya and Tanzania), to Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and Lake Victoria, the largest fresh water lake in Africa. The Big Five – lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo – still roam our vast savannahs and bush land. The equator passes through Kenya and Uganda. The total population of all five countries is about 130 million in an area of 3,139,000 sq kms.

These programs are always very informative so if you have time please make it to the Wednesday Meeting!

The first award is the 2012-2013 Peace Through Service Presidential Citation.  The Presidential Citation recognizes Rotary clubs for achieving an array of accomplishments that help them become stronger, deliver more effective service, and enhance their public image. By qualifying for the Presidential Citation, clubs contribute to Rotary’s organizational goals and multiply the impact of their good work through the collective focus of 34,000 Rotary clubs worldwide.

In order to qualify Clubs were asked to assess their accomplishments this Rotary year. In order to qualify for a citation, clubs must meet the Presidential Challenge and complete one required activity, along with at least three additional activities, in each of the three categories listed. All activities had to be undertaken and completed between 1 July and 31 March of the 2012-13 Rotary year.

We’re proud to say we accomplished these tasks and we are a better club for it!

The second award Lawrence Central was for being a District 5710 Eastern Kansas Rotary Star Club for 2012-2013.  District 5710 recognizes as a STAR CLUB every club whose annual contribution to the Annual Program Fund averages $100 or more per member.
(Per capita calculation based on APF giving.)

In order for a club to receive STAR CLUB designation, and be recognized at the District Conference, the club MUST turn in its Annual Fund contributions by March 31 each year. This will allow enough time to determine which clubs will be recognized at the annual District Conference.

Lawrence Central is proud to continue our designation as one of the District 5710 Star Clubs that achieved this annual level of support for our Rotary Foundation.

Just Food’s mission is to serve as the central food distribution facility in Douglas County and to directly provide food assistance for those in need and to coordinate with and support efforts of partner agencies that maintain community food pantries.

Their vision is to be an innovative leader in alleviating the problem of hunger.  In collaboration with our partner agencies, as well as government and community leaders, we work together to build the public will to ensure that no one in Douglas County, Kansas goes hungry.

They envision a day when everyone in our community has access to nutritious food through an efficient and sustainable acquisition and distribution network.

If you’d like to know more about Just Food or Lawrence Central stop by the Eldridge for lunch with us from Noon to 1pm!