ROTARY COLUMN:Rotarians hear of mum and son's escape from Ukraine nightmare

By Kathy Uglow

Paignton Rotary club were very privileged to;have Anne and Peter Dolby attend a recent club meeting to give a highly emotional presentation on the journey of two Ukrainian refugees who fled the fighting in their home town of Harkiv to arrive in Torbay several weeks later.

Julia and her nine-year-old son Yarrick started their journey with a 1,400-mile drive to Slovakia and weeks of negotiation;for visas in Paris, before they finally managed to arrive safely in Torbay and were welcomed into the home of Anne and Peter in Churston.

Paignton Rotary are pleased to have;provided a laptop and printer;for Yarrick and a bicycle for Julia to enable her to cycle to work.

Last month, Paignton Rotary Club also held a family barbecue and fun day in aid of Shelterbox, many of which have already been dispatched to Ukraine. The event was held at Alston Farm in Churston Ferrers and included an array of activities such as Boules, Croquet and table tennis.

Press officer of Paignton Rotary Club, Niki Bowman, said: “It was a lovely sunny day, enjoyed by all. We raised just over £1,000 for ShelterBox.”

Donation boosts coastal experiences

The Rotary Club of Brixham welcomed guests from the community mental health group HealthScape to talk about their work along the coastline.

HealthScape provides social support and opportunities to enhance people’s mental health and wellbeing in our local community. Their team aim to offer a variety of experiences using natural surroundings on and around the coast. They are a small, informal group of individuals who have discovered the benefits from the sea and outdoors. This invigorating opportunity can be experienced from Brixham Breakwater Beach on Sundays at 10am.

Club members decided to support their efforts by presenting them with a cheque to purchase the equipment needed to improve their services.

Chris Bryson, the new president of Brixham Rotary, said: “It has given me great pleasure to give some assistance to this very worthy group, especially as they approach their 1,000th;group outing into the sea at Breakwater Beach.”