Newsletter #30, June 2023

 A VISIT FROM MEMBERS OF ROTARY CLUB OF MALOTI

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Recently we were privileged to meet 4 members of the Rotary Club of Maloti who visited Adelaide after attending a Rotary Convention in Melbourne.  We enjoyed meeting them, being entertained by them, and learning from them about the relevance and value of the books to Lesotho schools and communities. We are all inspired to continue the project! They are an inspiring bunch of people!

Above are 2 images of the visitors with those volunteers who were able to add a special morning at The Barn of sorting and packing plus morning tea and lots of talk and noise to show how we do it. Later in the day some of us were able to share a meal with the visitors. During the visit we introduced them to Adelaide including Cleland Wildlife Park. We reluctantly left them all at the airport. Next morning, Maud sent me a message from the Qantas plane they had boarded in Sydney ready to fly to Johannesburg, saying they were all safely there (there had been some dramas on the way), and thanking us for the times we shared.

TIME RUSHES ON

It’s now tax time (for those who have to deal with the ATO), so here is the reminder to make a donation on/before 30 June to help us close the gap in the budget:Donated to date in 2022/23 year – $15,500 (approx.)   Budget for 2022/23 was $22,939.  Expenses for the year are about $21,500 (this amount includes a awaited big bill for last shipment!); makes a shortfall of about $6,000

GOOD NEWS 

A shipment of 4 pallets left The Barn for the Rotary Club of Maloti several weeks ago, and recently arrived 

in Maseru.

The most recent shipment was to the Rotary Club of Mantsopa which left The Barn 14 June 2023.

The total number of books sent to Lesotho to date is 278,284

A BIG THANK YOU

To Prechem Pty Ltd in Melbourne for freighting books from Epping Primary School in Melbourne (there may be some from the Secondary School, but we have not sorted them all yet!). We have had lots of books from Epping schools, but not for a while; thank you!

Preschem also provided us with 125 new cartons – sufficient for all shipments in the 2023-24 year.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the project during 2022-23.

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David Linn

Chairman, Books for Lesotho Inc