Recently the Rotorua Justice of Peace Association held a luncheon at the New Zealand Supreme Gourmet Restaurant inviting our organisation as well as the Rotorua Chinese Association and the Rotorua Chinese Language Association.
The purpose was to enable the JP Association to inform us about the responsibilities of JP’s and how one was able to become a JP. They wanted to encourage us to possibly nominate someone within the Rotorua Chinese community to become a JP. They were mindful that like all volunteer groups age was becoming a concern for their organisation. They were now seeking better representation of the numerous ethnic communities which now exists in Rotorua. It was emphasised that it was not a duty to be taken lightly and did require training sessions on a continued basis. They encouraged each organisation to think seriously about this issue.
Each organisation in attendance was asked to speak. Jan Burbidge spoke on our behalf as past president of the Rotorua Friendship Society. She spoke about this year being our 60th Anniversary and that Rewi Alley’s work in China was the cornerstone of the forming of the Society.
It was a very interesting function and the foresight of the convenor, Thomas George, who made sure everyone mixed. It gave everyone a chance to network with the various organisations. It is something that we should probably nurture.
Rotorua was pleased to welcome and host Eric and Judy Livingstone this month. Eric gave an interesting and detailed presentation about the history and present day of Tibet at our Sunday afternoon meeting. That evening the committee and a few members entertained them at the Chimney Indian Restaurant. Everyone had an enjoyable time visiting in a relaxing atmosphere.
The next morning before leaving for Hamilton Eric and Judy along with hosts Brenda and Cliff Lee visited Kaitiao Intermediate School to observe one of their Chinese language classes. We were greeted by Laytee George who escorted us to Waiki Edward’s classroom. They preceded through their lesson and then invited Eric to speak about China. After he finished Laytee asked the students questions about what he had told them to see if they were listening.
We were then taken to the staffroom for a cup of tea and a chat about the language programme in the Rotorua schools. It was an interesting and informative experience which was much appreciated by Eric and his wife.
