The Rotary Club of Wylde Green welcomed friends from the Caribbean who were visiting as part of a Group Study Exchange team.
The cultural and vocational exchange scheme gives young business men and women, aged between 25 and 40, an opportunity to develop professional and leadership skills. These skills can be used to address the needs of their communities in today’s increasingly global workplace.
During their time with Rotary District 1060 in the heart of England, the group met representatives of companies and organisations relevant to their particular vocation as well as undertaking a programme of cultural and fellowship events organised by Rotarians.
The team was led by Ann Marie Rogers, a Rotarian who lives in Point Fortin and works in the corporate reporting finance division at a petroleum company. The team members comprised Lavorne Verdant, a youth worker from St Lucia; Gillian Baksh, an operations manager at a construction company from Trinidad and Tobago; Marc Forst, an animal production specialist from Suriname and Akilah Thorington, a business development associate from Barbados.
Wylde Green Rotarian Carolyn McLaughlin, who led the GSE team that went to New Zealand in 2010, said: "By sending and receiving these teams all across the world and sharing the educational experience they bring, we are not only contributing towards the professional development of these young people, we are also enhancing Rotary’s worldwide service. The Group Study Exchange really is a once in a lifetime experience and sponsored by Rotary Foundation, the organisation’s charitable arm."
The GSE team also squeezed in a visit to RIBI in Alcester where they met staff, heard about the history of the organisation and were introduced to the current marketing campaign, We’re for Communities. Upon returning to their sponsoring Rotary district in the Caribbean, the team members will have a programme of speaking engagements over the coming months to their local Rotary clubs, to share the experiences of their trip.
