Dr. Kawser Ahmed will discuss the Rotary grant for the project to help educate Rohingyas in Bangladesh during the Sept. 15 Zoom meeting.

WEST MAUI – At 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset will feature Dr. Kawser Ahmed, International chair of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg, Canada as the virtual speaker.

The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted ethno-religious groups in the world. The latest persecution took place on Aug. 25, 2017, when the Tatmadaw unleashed its “Clearance Operation” that resulted in a mass exodus of nearly 750,000 Rohingyas to Bangladesh in a span of weeks.

Nearly half of the sheltered Rohingyas in 34 camps in Bangladesh are children. Although younger children are given some sort of education, the adolescents are left out of any opportunities for education.

Considering this, the Collaborative Refugee and Rights Information Center partnered with the Rotary Club of Winnipeg in 2018 to provide meaningful education to the most vulnerable and neglected adolescent females in the camps (children ranging from age 13-16).

The primary aim is to train a group of trainers among the female Rohingyas as well as educating 100 females and males in the camps in one year.

Dr. Ahmed will outline the Rotary International Global Grant for this project.

Club members will receive an automatic invitation to this Zoom Meeting. If a guest would like to join this virtual meeting of the Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset, contact Past President Mariko Higashi at marikoinmaui@gmail.com to be included on the invite list.

In related news, the community is invited to a Virtual Candidate’s Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 6, starting at 5:30 p.m. and featuring incumbent Tamara Paltin and challenger Rick Nava, who are both running for the West Maui seat on the County Council.

The Rotary Club of Lahaina Sunset is hosting the forum that will include five minutes of introductory remarks by each candidate and questions from the audience.

Some of the challenges the candidates will be asked about include COVID-19, turning vacation rentals into long-term rentals, workforce housing and budget concerns.

“This forum offers our local residents the opportunity to hear from each candidate on issues important to Maui, particularly West Maui,” said Sunset Rotary Club President Vanessa Moreno. “Our club hosted a similar forum two years ago, and more than 80 people attended. We can now accommodate up to 100 participants on Zoom,” she said.

Community members can sign up to join the Zoom meeting by sending an e-mail to marikoinmaui@gmail.com on or before Monday, Oct. 5. Sunset Rotary members will receive the link automatically.

Most questions will be handled during the meeting via the chat room feature. Those attending can enter their questions during the meeting, which is scheduled to run until 6:30 or 7 p.m.