Narrabri’s Inner Wheel Club held a delicious Yum Cha luncheon at the On Lee restaurant on Sunday, June 20.
Attendees were treated to a fascinating talk from local beekeeper Dan Mapstone.
Dan talked about his hobby which has grown into a major production site of 80 beehives.
His passion started from simply noticing a shortage of bee population in the district.
Ever since, he has been taking steps to improve our local ecosystems and pollination patterns.
The talk was well received by all who attended.
Many questions ensued from the audience and Dan answered with enthusiasm.
He stressed how important it is to spread awareness about how significant bee populations are to a healthy environment.
The Yum Cha luncheon was held to raise money for Dr Ray Hodgson, a specialist gynaecologist based at Coffs Harbour.
Dr Ray (as he is known by all) is proposing to assist an enormous undertaking and raise $500,000 needed to build a three-storey mothers and babies hospital project in East Nepal.
In 2019 Dr Ray was named Humanitarian of the Year for Rotary International in Australia and New Zealand.
For over 10 years, Dr Ray has travelled to and from Nepal with a team of volunteers in the hope that he can make some impact on the lives of impoverished women.
After finding very little in the way of women’s specialist health in remote Nepal, in 2010 he founded the charity organisation, Australians for Women’s Health (A4WH).
The current focus is the construction of the hospital, and Dr Ray has written a book aptly named Heartbreak in the Himalayas, which was launched on International Women’s Day 2019.
Heartbreak in the Himalayas details the realities of life for an ill-equipped medical team which often has worked in tents under torchlight with team members even giving their own blood in order to save their dying patients.
Inner Wheel president Kath Hamilton addressed the audience and outlined the importance and merit of this outstanding humanitarian project.
The club was thrilled with the community response to the sell-out event.
Mrs Hamilton thanked everyone for their generous contributions to the fundraiser.
“A huge thank you is due from the Inner Wheel Club to the community for supporting us by attending the luncheon, and to our donors who contributed so much to the event”.
