In Gear | Rotary in Southern New Zealand Issue 2 | Page 65

Exchanges through the years
Group Study Exchange experiences spanning back to
the late 60s, right through to this year, were shared
as part of an entertaining and enlightening Alumni
Reconnect Week get-together hosted by the Rotary
Club of Timaru.
District Alumni chair Gilly Oppenheim said, in South
Canterbury, the call for southerners who had been
involved in Rotary’s Group Study Exchanges (GSEs) was
answered by 10 people, who came together during
October’s Alumni Reconnect Week.
Wynne Raymond, who participated in one of the first
GSEs in 1969, recounted his trip to the Wisconsin, in the
United States, as did Tony Henderson, who travelled to
New Jersey in 1978.
Tony Shaw, who travelled to upstate New York in 1989,
recalled a full programme with 50 club visits in 35 days
and significant opportunities for the Kiwi contingent to
check out vocational interests.
In 1995, John Abraham led a team to Seattle for what
was an intense GSE, taking in speaking engagements at
48 clubs in 35 days, together with a full programme of
visits, which included Boeing and Microsoft, as well as a
trip to St Helen’s volcano.
Marty Jensen spoke of his experiences leading a GSE
trip to Finland in 2001, while Rotary Club of Waimate’s
Ryan Luckman talked of the

amazing cultural experience his Group Study Exchange
to India offered, and that the strongest impression he
had come away with was just what a difference Rotary
can make.
Innes McMillian, who led a Group Study Exchange
to Ireland in 2013, explained how his team gained a
strong appreciation of Rotary as an international family
– especially when an Irish Rotarian gave some of the
team the security code to his home and left them for
several days. He said, because they were Rotarians
staying, he had every confidence things would be fine.
Rebecca Aitcheson, who joined Innes on the Ireland
trip, also spoke of her experiences, and how she was
particularly touched by the strength of friendships
forged during the exchange.
Dylan Murray was one of five Rotarians from District
9980 to take part in a poignant Group Study Exchange
to Gallipoli, Turkey, in 2015. Despite the travel risk in
Turkey being rated high at the time, it didn’t stop it
being a very valuable journey.
Group Study Exchanges have since been replaced by a
totally new concept, Vocational Training Teams. (VTTs
are groups of professionals in a particular field who
travel abroad to learn about their own field and to help
with vocational training. Funded by Rotary global and
district grants, VTTs increase the capacity of the host
community to solve problems and improve quality of
life.)
Gary Dennison and Julie Dockrill shared their
experiences with a maternal health project, which saw
District 9980-sponsored VTT teams travel to Mongolia
to deliver professional development and training last
year and, again, this year. Their work is already credited
with saving hundreds of mums’ and babies’ lives. New
Zealand has also hosted a Mongolian maternal health
worker as part of the programme. The Vocational
Training Team is planning a final trip to Mongolia in
2018.

Back: Dylan Murray (Gallipoli, 2015), John Abraham (Seattle,1995), Tony Shaw (New York State, 1989),
Tony Henderson (New Jersey, 1978), Ryan Luckman (India, 2011), Gary Dennison (Mongolia VTT, 2013-2016),
and Martyn Jensen (Finland, 2001)
Front: Innes McMillan (Ireland, 2013), Rebecca Aitchison (Ireland, 2013), and Wynne Raymond (Wisconsin, 1969)

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