Dr. Ruth Mathieson, Co-Chair of the Club's International Service Committee introduced Gordon Graham. Gordon was born and raised in Marathon, an isolated town on the north shore of lake Superior. He attended Marathon High School, followed by a post secondary education at Algonquin College in Tool and Dye Making, and later at Ryerson Technical Institute, taking Control System Automation. Gordon used his engineering skills and worked in many different places across Canada, including Montreal, Toronto, Sault Ste Marie, Thunder Bay, the Oil Sands of Alberta, and even two years in Indonesia. Three years in one place was considered a long time! Gordon married his high school sweetheart, Joyce and together they have two children and a grand daughter. Joyce accompanied Gordon on all his assignments. Twelve years ago, Gordon retired and since then, he and Joyce has lived in their RV called "Lucky", wintering in Arizona. In 2018, they decided to support the International Peace School in Rwanda and had the opportunity to visit the school in 2019.
Gordon thanked Dr. Ruth for arranging today's presentation to the Rotary Club of Belleville and noted that Rotarians solve problems, locally as well as internationally. He also thanked the Club for their donation to the Peace International School in Rwanda in 2020. Following their visit to the International Peace School in Rwanda, both Gordon and Joyce felt as though that was their personal focus, an opportunity to expand Rotary's humanitarian reach. Their purposeful mission is to ensure education, restore peace and complete the high school. It has been difficult during COVID and things have been at a standstill since 2019. The delays have weighed heavily on Gordon and Joyce's minds and in August 2020, their appeal for funding was re-activated with work starting in 2021. The goal is to have Grades 7 and 8 open as of September 2022. Following is a video of the work that has been done as well as some photos of the current school that houses Nursery to Grade 6. Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so online at pisemmchtransfer@gmail.com or contact Gordon directly by email at piscompletionfund@gmail.com
https://www.emmanuel-community-church.com/missions
Rotarian and Past President Ken Dickson thanked Gordon and Joyce for the work they have done on this project. Countries have recovered thanks to initiatives such as this.