Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Community.
Heroes of Hope, a podcast wherewe shine a light on the
remarkable individuals andprojects in Rotary District 5330
that bring hope and change toour local and global communities
.
I am Judy Zelfikar, yourco-host and the current District
Governor of Rotary District5330.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And I'm Niren McLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect, and I'm NirenMcLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect.
Together, we're diving deepinto the heart of the community
service, showcasing the impactof dedication and collaboration
in addressing some of the mostpressing challenges our
communities face.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Each episode, we'll tell stories of incredible
people making a difference,innovating solutions and
inspiring others to take action.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
We'll also be giving you a behind-the-scenes look at
the projects that aretransforming their lives, and
we'll discuss how you, too, canget involved, contribute and be
part of the positive change.
Whether you're a seasonedRotarian or just looking to give
back, this podcast is for you.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So join us as we explore the journeys, challenges
and successes of people likeyou who have stepped up to make
a difference.
Let's celebrate the spirit ofcommunity and the power of hope
together.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Don't forget to subscribe to the Community
Heroes of Hope on your favoritepodcast platform.
Stay with us on this journey ofinspiration and let's spread
the message of hope further thanever.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Thank you for tuning in.
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, good afternoon.
We are excited to have themembers of the most recent
vocational training team thatwent to Brazil with us today for
our next podcast of ourcommunity Heroes of Hope.
So I'd like to introduce ourcurrent district governor, judy
Zolfakar.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
And one of the VTT team members.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
And one of the VTT team members.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I know I'm very excited, so we've got quite a
crew here.
We're going to start us off andhave our organizer and
coordinator, past districtgovernor Ricardo Loretta, start
us off with an introduction andtell us a little bit about what
is VTT.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Thank you very much, judy.
Vtt, which stands forVocational Training Team, is
fundamentally an exchange ofservice ideas in one of the
seven areas of focus that Rotaryhas.
So a team of usually five toseven members from one district
(02:35):
will travel to another districtinternationally meaning across
an international border toexchange ideas in one of these
seven areas of focus, and it canbe reciprocal.
In other words, a districtwhich sends a team, for example,
(02:57):
to Brazil, can expect,hopefully, to have a team from
Brazil come back and visit themat a subsequent date.
The mission of these VTT teamsis to discover and learn
information in the topic that'son the table which might be
(03:20):
beneficial to the Rotary Clubsback in the home district, and
there is an interview process toselect the VTT team which is
fairly detailed and rigorous.
So we get the best of the best.
Now history we've had three VTTsthat have gone to Brazil in the
(03:44):
last 10 years and many othershave gone to other places in the
last 10 to 15 years.
But with respect to Brazil,we've been very lucky to have
three of these vocationaltraining teams in the last 10
years 2015, 2019, and then thisyear, 2024, visit District 4630.
(04:12):
And the value of doing that isthat 4630 in Brazil knows what
they're doing.
We know that they are a safeplace to visit.
They are populated with greatRotarians to stay with, work
with and bond with, and they getit.
(04:32):
They know why we're doing thisin the first place.
So on to, is it Jennifer?
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yes, let's talk about and to our co-captain, jennifer
Loretta and you have to comeoff mute, jennifer, there you go
.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Okay, now I can speak Along with the presentations
that we took to Brazil and wewent down there on a mental
health VTT.
In other words, we were goingdown to discover and learn what
they do in the district inBrazil and to bring along a
(05:23):
presentation, a resilienceprogram that we work on or
working on instituting in theschools in our district.
And we're focused on thisbecause the training that we
were presenting about involveseducating students on how they
can be resilient and what skillsare required to be resilient in
(05:49):
group activities that they canunderstand and learn from.
So we went down with a seriesof exercises, so to speak, that
we then tested on some of thestudents and staff people that
we met at the universities.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So we're going to get into the details of exactly
what we did, but can you goahead and introduce yourself?
Tell us what club you're in,what you do in your profession
and why it was important for youto go on to the vocational
training team, what it meant toyou what it meant to you.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Sure, I'm Jennifer Loretta.
I'm in Palm Desert Rotary.
My day job is as a director ofdevelopment for Habitat for
Humanity, so I'm very involvedin the nonprofit area.
Why was I very interested?
Because I think that mentalhealth strong mental health is
so important.
It's an initiative that we areworking on here in our district
(06:59):
and even have a global grantfocused on that, so I was very
interested in it.
Plus, having lived in Brazil,so I was very interested in it.
Plus, having lived in Brazil, Iwas very excited to go back and
spend some time there andutilize my Portuguese to help
the team.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Which was a wonderful help because, boy, we needed
those translations as we wentthrough it.
I'm also co-captain withJennifer.
It was such a pleasure workingwith every single one of these
individuals on our team.
We have everyone here todayexcept for Glenn Brock.
Glenn Brock is a police officerin the Hemet area.
He's out of the Hemet Club andhe wasn't able to join us today
(07:42):
because there's some other stuffgoing on in the world and he is
doing what he does best, whichis keep our area safe.
So everybody kind of knows meon this podcast.
I'm going to kick it to Carissa.
Carissa, can you tell us whatclub you're from, what you do in
your professional life and whyyou decided to come on to the
VTT team?
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Thank you for having me.
My name is Carissa and I'm withthe Rotary Club of Old Town,
temecula.
I'm Ms Carissa and I'm with theRotary Club of Old Town,
temecula.
I had the privilege of servingas the secretary for this VTT.
Professionally, I am a directorof marketing and business
development for a national lawfirm, and the reason why I was
(08:22):
drawn to this particular VTT ismental health, and
destigmatizing mental health isa cause that's near and dear to
me specifically with youth.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Excellent, thank you, carissa.
How about Dan?
Dan, can you introduce yourselfand tell?
Speaker 6 (08:40):
us a little bit about it.
Sure Well, good afternoon.
I'm Dan Huddick.
I happen to be president of theYucaipa Rotary in Yucaipa,
california, and I'm assuming thesame question why was it that I
was interested in VTT?
Fortunately, like LorettaJennifer, I was able to spend
(09:02):
some time in Brazil, so I have abit of experience as an
exchange student many years ago.
And so when I heard of theopportunity of a team heading to
Brazil, coupled with the focusof that opportunity being mental
health, that piqued my interest.
And I also happen to be aminister working with youth and
(09:27):
working with young adults thatdeal with issues and are
challenged, and so I thoughtthat this would be a great
opportunity to enhance myabilities to provide for those
in the ministry field.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Awesome.
Thank you, Mary Alice.
Can you introduce yourself andtell us why you decided to be on
the VTT team?
Speaker 7 (09:50):
Sure, I'm Mary Alice Alvergoings.
I'm with the Palm Desert RotaryClub along with Jennifer, and I
applied to go because myexperience is in public
education and over the last 15years I've worked with my
teaching staffs and we wentthrough trauma, informed
practices and we looked for manydifferent ways to help our
(10:14):
students because we could see anincreased need for mental
health support.
And now that I'm retired, I'mstill working with school
districts all over RiversideCounty.
So I wanted to learn more aboutthis and what we're using and
how we can incorporate this inour district, and then what they
were doing down in Brazil andwhat they're facing down there
(10:36):
with their youth.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Well, that's kind of interesting.
As you know, in my day job aswell, we're dealing with at-risk
youth, at-risk teenagers inparticular, at-risk youth,
at-risk teenagers in particular.
So I'm really curious to see,to hear more about what did you,
what are they doing in Brazilthat may be different than what
(11:00):
we're doing here, and what didyou bring down to them to help
their teenagers deal with thechallenges facing them?
I don't know who want to takethat.
Speaker 7 (11:10):
I don't know who want to take that.
Well, what we took is pastpresident Jamie Zinn is
introducing and trying to pilotthis resilience program and it's
very specific in the 10 skillsthat can really be taught to
students so that they canpractice them over time and
build their own resiliencelevels.
(11:31):
So that's what we took down toBrazil is this program and what
it could look like and whatwe're trying to implement in our
schools.
But, dan, I always like yourexplanation of the health system
in Brazil, so I think thatmight help answer some of
(11:52):
Niren's question.
Speaker 6 (11:53):
Yeah, from my understanding work, especially
since I have a host brother inBrazil who is a neurologist, and
so I've got some insights andsome information from him on how
medicine is delivered in Brazil.
In the 60s, brazil made a veryfocused effort to educate their
(12:20):
people, realizing that this wasthe main road to prosperity, and
so for many, many years they'vebeen focusing on education.
Their higher education in thefederal systems are of no charge
, as long as you can pass a test, your college or your
(12:41):
university charges are zero, andthis was all in an effort to
encourage and to assist theirpeople in arising from the third
world status.
However, they've also now havebeen inundated education to
(13:16):
students where maybe they're notable to get into the
universities because there's nospace, and so private
universities have also joined inprivately providing information
, providing education for theprofessionals that are
desperately needed in Brazil,and so there's while it's a bit
(13:37):
different structure than werecognize here in the States, it
is a public right for aBrazilian to seek medical care.
The question then becomes howdoes that care get delivered and
in what fashion?
And we were exposed to a lot ofinformation from the
universities, both private andpublic, on how they see their
(14:01):
role in delivering care to thepopulation.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Very good.
Thank you, dan Carissa.
Can you walk us through kind ofwhat the overall things that we
were doing throughout the day,the different the schedule that
we had as we went through theweek?
Speaker 5 (14:27):
And so our days were a mixture of meeting with, you
know, leaders in the communityin the education space, in
mental health, in medicine space, visiting universities and also
presenting on the program thatwe are piloting here in our
district on resilience so wetalked a lot about that with
(14:50):
different rotary clubs, withdifferent university groups.
Primarily we were meeting withpsychology departments and then
we concluded our trip meetingwith city officials, with the
Chamber of Commerce, there inMaringa.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And this was interesting because it was a
very these trainings that we didwere very interactive training.
So say, taking basically whatwould have been done in a full
day of training and condensingit into three hours and then
doing it in a different language, If you can imagine Some
challenges.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Yeah, was demonstrating the program and
getting the adults to beinvolved in the program that we
would have the students beworking with here in the state
so they could get a flavor forthe teachings, the experience
and be better equipped to speakon that topic and further
develop it there in Brazil.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
And it was just really sorry.
Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
This is the beauty of Rotary.
We were working with a group ofpeople in District 4630 who
understood what the overallpurpose was, and so they kept
the group focused, and yet wedidn't necessarily have a
(16:12):
palette or a model that had beentime tested over years.
In fact, we put together apresentation in both English and
Portuguese weeks before theteam left and it actually worked
.
But it worked because we wereworking with Rotarians who get
(16:33):
it, who were helpful in tryingto, you know, make any of the
speed bumps passable, etc.
Isn't that true?
You had great support from ourfellow Rotarians who were
hosting you, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
We did and, Jennifer, I'd love you to start off
talking about what was yourexperience with the host
families.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Well, that was a lot of fun.
I was with a host family thatdid not speak any English, and
so the communication was funny,because even though I speak
Portuguese, I couldn't alwaystrack on exactly what they were
saying.
But they were so hospitableevery minute, to the point where
(17:20):
every day they would drop meoff where I needed to be be
right there to pick me up.
At the end of whatever ourschedule was for the day.
I'd have dinner, if it wasnecessary, breakfast, every
morning.
I had a wonderful experience,and it was just a couple, and
(17:42):
they're two dogs, so I didn'thave any kids to bond with like
Carissa did, but it was a lot offun.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Carissa, tell us about your your experience with
your host family.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Oh my gosh, I had the best experience.
I have been adopted by myBrazilian family.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
She's now literally part of their family.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
My husband too.
They actually facetimed us onchristmas.
So we've got a wonderful.
So, um, my family was a marriedcouple with labio and melissa
and my, my host brother andsister, um, and they have two
boys, pedro and tiago.
And tiago took to meimmediately, like the second.
I stepped onto the tarmac,essentially he was just glued to
(18:33):
my side.
So we, as I mentioned, we had avery busy program while we were
down there, but we did getquite a bit of time with our
host families and I had thehonor of taking Chiago to school
almost every weekday that I wasthere.
So I actually got to visit hisclass, his first grade class
Maybe he's in second grade, Ishould know that, but I got to
(18:56):
visit on the day they werehaving their English lesson.
So it was really awesome.
We had some game nights, reallygreat meals together, but, as
Jennifer said, just such ahospitable people Dan what was
your experience like?
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Fortunately for me, both Glenn and I stayed with our
family.
The lady's name was Verigiana,which is very Diana, which I
thought was a beautiful name,verigiana and Fausto.
They have two children One, thedaughter, was Maria Luisa, and
she was in the universityworking on her dentistry degree.
(19:37):
Of course, both her parents aredentists as well, so it was
right in line.
And then the son, pedro, alsoJean Pedro.
He was also in school fordentistry also.
Both he and his sister spokegreat English.
Fausto and Veridiana spoke alittle bit of English, but it
(20:02):
was so welcoming.
The house was absolutelygorgeous.
It happened to be on a leveljust above their dentistry
practice and a school that theyhave set up in the same building
.
So it was wonderful.
The family even took both Glennand I over to a local street
(20:24):
fair and fiesta that was takingplace as they were celebrating
the time before Christmas and itwas very popular in Brazil the
pre-Christmas season.
So just a great, delightfulfamily and, as Carissa said,
just very hospitable Couldn't doenough for us.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Mary Alice.
Last but not least, tell usabout your experience.
Speaker 7 (20:51):
I was very lucky and got to stay with a retired
professor from one of theuniversities who is also a
Rotarian and just very wellknown in the area.
Her history is that her family,her great grandparents, helped
to build Maringa, and so she waswonderful and I met her family,
(21:13):
her children and grandchildren,and we just hit it off really,
really well and, yes, we arestill in touch every few days.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I will tell you, it's like every single person got
placed with the absolute perfectfamily.
Myself, I was actually with Biaand her brother.
The parents weren't even home.
Bia's 20.
She's a rotaractor and she wasso perfect.
She spoke English beautifully,which helped, because I have no
Portuguese in me, did not learnand did not have time to learn,
(21:45):
but she took excellent care ofme.
And then, you know, going outand visiting Rotaractors in
action on a service project wasone of the highlights of my
visit there as well, in additionto all the wonderful work we
were doing as the VTT team.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
They have a lot of energy, rotaractors, and they're
the future, so that's awesome.
That's awesome.
I do have a question for thegroup, and that is were you able
to test out or I shouldn't saytest out, that's probably not
the right word but were you ableto utilize the program that you
(22:21):
brought down there on highschool students and to gauge
their reaction to the resiliency, the 10 resiliency points that
were listed?
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Dan, why don't you go ahead and answer that?
Speaker 6 (22:37):
Certainly yes, we had a great time kind of sharing
some of the core aspects of theresiliency training.
The resiliency training wasintended for an audience from
7th to 11th grade.
We were working with universitystudents and that was our kind
of test personnel that we wereable to work with At two
(23:02):
different universities.
We had a population of about100, and for one group and about
50 at the next group.
And in our activities again,this is done through a
translator the materials wereall in Portuguese for them to
understand.
But especially sitting back andjust watching and not knowing
(23:25):
the language, you could just seehow they were getting the
concepts and they were gettingthe ideas and they were.
You could see the learning, thelight coming on and again, the
material, while developed for ayounger population, was very
appropriate for the universitystudents as well.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
And Mary Alice, I'm sorry go ahead.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
I was going to say one of the advantages of this
particular program is that it isscalable and adaptable to any
age group.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Okay, Absolutely, okay, absolutely.
And what we learned down therewas that there are not any
programs that are like thiscurrently and that it's very
needed.
So that's what we heard backfrom our Brazilian team was that
this is very much a need.
They're very interested inhaving this resilience program,
(24:17):
learning more about it andimplementing it with their
schools.
Mary Alice, do you want to talkabout one of the results of us
being down?
Speaker 7 (24:29):
there what that initiated One of the
universities has already jumpedon.
One of the things we noticed ingoing to the university is like
we have mission statements herewith our schools and businesses
.
They had mission statements ontheir walls and many of these
words were incorporated intotheir mission statement, but
(24:49):
they hadn't really visited thator taught that to their students
.
So as we were teaching them the10 skills of resiliency,
they're like wait a minute, wehave that.
That is important and one ofthe universities has already
reached out to talk, to workwith their president, to start
(25:12):
incorporating building a programlike this for their psychology
students.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Awesome.
So what are?
What are?
Maybe some funny things thathappened, or final thoughts as
we wrap up this and maybe, maybesprinkle in what maybe somebody
can talk about what how youwould encourage somebody else,
another Rotarian, to apply for afuture VTT, because you have a
couple that you're planning,right, nairon?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
So let's start with Carissa.
Speaker 5 (25:41):
Okay, well, you know what my story is going to be.
So, again, the focal point ofour training is resiliency, and
that's a skill I learned hardand fast on my travels down to
Brazil.
I got stuck in the Sao Pauloairport.
It's a long story, I'll savefor another day, but I was up
there for 12 hours, so I missedout on a lot of the activities
(26:04):
that were planned for us for ourfirst day.
And you know, when I wascollecting myself, I recognized
we're here to teach aboutresiliency.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
So I need to be resilient, we actually Mary
Atlas and I.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
In the portion of the program that we moderated, we
brought in some real-lifeexamples to demonstrate what the
skill looks like in action andhow it may arise.
So we circled back to travelwoes quite a bit, but I would
certainly encourage anyone whois interested in learning about
(26:39):
a different culture evenlearning more about yourself to
pursue being on a VTT.
It was a great way to get toknow different Rotarians, to get
to know people in a differentcountry, and I just personally
feel very enriched by this wholeexperience.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Excellent.
Mary Alice how about you?
Speaker 7 (27:13):
I have to agree with that.
Excellent, mary Alice.
How about you health?
And especially within ourschools, because I still work
with all of our schools here inRiverside County, so the chance
to go down there and learn moreabout our program and their
programs was too good to pass up.
So I did apply and it wasamazing.
(27:33):
It's just an amazing countrywith wonderful, wonderful people
, and it would have been a realshame to not go.
So I think if you, if you havea passion for something, don't
be worried about the countryyou're going to, because they'll
make it a great experience foryou awesome Dan well.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
as I'm hearing the other two responses, I'm just
kind of nodding my head.
I think one who has an interestin adventure would do very well
applying for a VTT experiencetrip.
(28:25):
Especially if there is a hobbyor if there's an interest.
That would enhance the reasonwhy one should put their name in
the hat, so to speak.
The experience was justphenomenal.
It's difficult to explain howit impacts us, how it impacted
me, but I think that to,especially now that we're back
from our journey and we're kindof unraveling and maybe sharing
(28:52):
information about our journeysand about those who have
impacted us, we realize howwe've impacted others as well,
and so it's a great way torecognize that we too have a
great impact.
All we need to do is makeourselves available for that.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Awesome.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
And last but not least, jennifer, you know I
would recommend this to anybodywho is willing to travel and
willing to stay flexible.
You have to be flexible andadaptable and kind of go without
(29:34):
any preconceived expectations.
You know, I lived in Brazil soI might have thought I know
something about Brazil, and I dohave thought I know something
about Brazil and I do.
But I learned so much more andit was just a wonderful
experience.
I think primarily the people,the people I traveled with, the
people I met, and this is goingto continue as we do our
(29:57):
presentations throughout thedistrict, presentations
throughout the district.
That's so much fun to visit theclubs and talk to them, so I
would recommend it to anybodythat thinks they would like to
do that.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I have a kind of a wrap-up question, governor Judy.
I'd like to ask each of you doyou think that this trip and
your experience has made you abetter Rotarian?
Let's start with Carissa.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
Oh, hands down.
I was so inspired to see whatRotarians are doing at the
international level.
That's something I've notreally been able to experience
before and it just renewed mypassion for Rotary and I feel
like I came back even moreengaged than I was previously
and I've been in Rotary foralmost eight years now but it
(30:51):
definitely sparked somethinganew in me.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Excellent Jennifer.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
It's kind of that aha thing.
That, yeah, it's kind of thataha thing, but I came back more
enthusiastic.
You know you get into a routinewith your own club and you may
do some wonderful things, butthis is an eye opener sort of an
aha on a international basisthat allows you to see the big
(31:20):
picture.
That's all.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Excellent Mary.
Speaker 7 (31:24):
Alice.
It was really wonderful tolearn about the projects that
they're working on and wherethey could use help and be able
to support.
We supported an interact groupthat was working on a music
project.
It's a thank you for all thetranslation the young men did.
But their Hope Farm.
(31:46):
Learning that they hadestablished that so many years
ago and how successful it is,you learn a lot about what
Rotary is doing in the world.
Yes, in the world.
Speaker 6 (32:01):
And Dan, yes, you know what's interesting.
When one has been in Rotary aslong as I have, you wonder what
keeps us going.
Right, I've been now.
I think that's my 29th year inRotary and as president this
year, one of my main focuses isto remind the club of all of the
(32:23):
things that we do and itsimpact that it has on the
community.
And of course, I echo thatthrough the theme.
And that's the magic of Rotary.
And I think that this was awonderful opportunity to see how
the magic of Rotary not onlytakes place here in the United
(32:44):
States but is alive and well andthriving in a third world
country, and they have the samedesires for helping their people
and helping each other.
And it kind of challenged me tolive out one of the slogans
that I saw on the backs of theT-shirt that many Rotarians were
(33:05):
wearing, and that was people ofaction, people of action.
So I came back to Yucaipa withsome different ideas and tried
to live out that same motto,being people of action.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
That's a great segue into understanding really there
are so many programs withinRotary.
It's sometimes hard to explainto people that are not Rotarians
, and even Rotarians, all thedifferent opportunities.
You know this is aRotary-sponsored opportunity, so
actually the travel not anyextracurricular activities, but
the travel is covered by Rotary.
(33:41):
We have this internationalopportunity there's, you know
you can go to a RotaryInternational Convention, you
can be on a friendship exchange,you can do a humanitarian
project.
There's so many things both inour communities and around the
world that we can be involved inand really appreciate all of
you coming to share and thatyou're sharing the things that
(34:04):
we learned on the VTT trip withall of our Rotarians in our
district and around the world.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Thank you for all coming today and to share your
excitement and share yourpassion and I love the fact that
you said that you are now evenbetter Rotarians, because that
is the name of the game and toshare, being a community, heroes
of Hope.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
So that wraps up this episode of Heroes of Hope.
We are so happy that we have anaudience out there listening.
We want you to subscribe, shareand tell your friends about the
Rotary community Heroes of Hope, because that's how we get the
word out about the impact we'rehaving in this world.
Hello and welcome to the Community.
Heroes of Hope, a podcast wherewe shine a light on the
remarkable individuals andprojects in Rotary District 5330
that bring hope and change toour local and global communities
.
I am Judy Zelfikar, yourco-host and the current District
Governor of Rotary District5330.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
And I'm Niren McLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect, and I'm NirenMcLean, the Rotary District
Governor-Elect.
Together, we're diving deepinto the heart of the community
service, showcasing the impactof dedication and collaboration
in addressing some of the mostpressing challenges our
communities face.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Each episode, we'll tell stories of incredible
people making a difference,innovating solutions and
inspiring others to take action.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
We'll also be giving you a behind-the-scenes look at
the projects that aretransforming their lives, and
we'll discuss how you, too, canget involved, contribute and be
part of the positive change.
Whether you're a seasonedRotarian or just looking to give
back, this podcast is for you.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
So join us as we explore the journeys, challenges
and successes of people likeyou who have stepped up to make
a difference.
Let's celebrate the spirit ofcommunity and the power of hope
together.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Don't forget to subscribe to the Community
Heroes of Hope on your favoritepodcast platform.
Stay with us on this journey ofinspiration and let's spread
the message of hope further thanever.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Thank you for tuning in.
Let's get started.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Well, good afternoon.
We are excited to have themembers of the most recent
vocational training team thatwent to Brazil with us today for
our next podcast of ourcommunity Heroes of Hope.
So I'd like to introduce ourcurrent district governor, judy
Zolfakar.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
And one of the VTT team members.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
And one of the VTT team members.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I know I'm very excited, so we've got quite a
crew here.
We're going to start us off andhave our organizer and
coordinator, past districtgovernor Ricardo Loretta, start
us off with an introduction andtell us a little bit about what
is VTT.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Thank you very much, judy.
Vtt, which stands forVocational Training Team, is
fundamentally an exchange ofservice ideas in one of the
seven areas of focus that Rotaryhas.
So a team of usually five toseven members from one district
(02:35):
will travel to another districtinternationally meaning across
an international border toexchange ideas in one of these
seven areas of focus, and it canbe reciprocal.
In other words, a districtwhich sends a team, for example,
(02:57):
to Brazil, can expect,hopefully, to have a team from
Brazil come back and visit themat a subsequent date.
The mission of these VTT teamsis to discover and learn
information in the topic that'son the table which might be
(03:20):
beneficial to the Rotary Clubsback in the home district, and
there is an interview process toselect the VTT team which is
fairly detailed and rigorous.
So we get the best of the best.
Now history we've had three VTTsthat have gone to Brazil in the
(03:44):
last 10 years and many othershave gone to other places in the
last 10 to 15 years.
But with respect to Brazil,we've been very lucky to have
three of these vocationaltraining teams in the last 10
years 2015, 2019, and then thisyear, 2024, visit District 4630.
(04:12):
And the value of doing that isthat 4630 in Brazil knows what
they're doing.
We know that they are a safeplace to visit.
They are populated with greatRotarians to stay with, work
with and bond with, and they getit.
(04:32):
They know why we're doing thisin the first place.
So on to, is it Jennifer?
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yes, let's talk about and to our co-captain, jennifer
Loretta and you have to comeoff mute, jennifer, there you go
.
Speaker 4 (04:59):
Okay, now I can speak Along with the presentations
that we took to Brazil and wewent down there on a mental
health VTT.
In other words, we were goingdown to discover and learn what
they do in the district inBrazil and to bring along a
(05:23):
presentation, a resilienceprogram that we work on or
working on instituting in theschools in our district.
And we're focused on thisbecause the training that we
were presenting about involveseducating students on how they
can be resilient and what skillsare required to be resilient in
(05:49):
group activities that they canunderstand and learn from.
So we went down with a seriesof exercises, so to speak, that
we then tested on some of thestudents and staff people that
we met at the universities.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So we're going to get into the details of exactly
what we did, but can you goahead and introduce yourself?
Tell us what club you're in,what you do in your profession
and why it was important for youto go on to the vocational
training team, what it meant toyou what it meant to you.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
Sure, I'm Jennifer Loretta.
I'm in Palm Desert Rotary.
My day job is as a director ofdevelopment for Habitat for
Humanity, so I'm very involvedin the nonprofit area.
Why was I very interested?
Because I think that mentalhealth strong mental health is
so important.
It's an initiative that we areworking on here in our district
(06:59):
and even have a global grantfocused on that, so I was very
interested in it.
Plus, having lived in Brazil,so I was very interested in it.
Plus, having lived in Brazil, Iwas very excited to go back and
spend some time there andutilize my Portuguese to help
the team.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
Which was a wonderful help because, boy, we needed
those translations as we wentthrough it.
I'm also co-captain withJennifer.
It was such a pleasure workingwith every single one of these
individuals on our team.
We have everyone here todayexcept for Glenn Brock.
Glenn Brock is a police officerin the Hemet area.
He's out of the Hemet Club andhe wasn't able to join us today
(07:42):
because there's some other stuffgoing on in the world and he is
doing what he does best, whichis keep our area safe.
So everybody kind of knows meon this podcast.
I'm going to kick it to Carissa.
Carissa, can you tell us whatclub you're from, what you do in
your professional life and whyyou decided to come on to the
VTT team?
Speaker 5 (08:02):
Thank you for having me.
My name is Carissa and I'm withthe Rotary Club of Old Town,
temecula.
I'm Ms Carissa and I'm with theRotary Club of Old Town,
temecula.
I had the privilege of servingas the secretary for this VTT.
Professionally, I am a directorof marketing and business
development for a national lawfirm, and the reason why I was
(08:22):
drawn to this particular VTT ismental health, and
destigmatizing mental health isa cause that's near and dear to
me specifically with youth.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Excellent, thank you, carissa.
How about Dan?
Dan, can you introduce yourselfand tell?
Speaker 6 (08:40):
us a little bit about it.
Sure Well, good afternoon.
I'm Dan Huddick.
I happen to be president of theYucaipa Rotary in Yucaipa,
california, and I'm assuming thesame question why was it that I
was interested in VTT?
Fortunately, like LorettaJennifer, I was able to spend
(09:02):
some time in Brazil, so I have abit of experience as an
exchange student many years ago.
And so when I heard of theopportunity of a team heading to
Brazil, coupled with the focusof that opportunity being mental
health, that piqued my interest.
And I also happen to be aminister working with youth and
(09:27):
working with young adults thatdeal with issues and are
challenged, and so I thoughtthat this would be a great
opportunity to enhance myabilities to provide for those
in the ministry field.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Awesome.
Thank you, Mary Alice.
Can you introduce yourself andtell us why you decided to be on
the VTT team?
Speaker 7 (09:50):
Sure, I'm Mary Alice Alvergoings.
I'm with the Palm Desert RotaryClub along with Jennifer, and I
applied to go because myexperience is in public
education and over the last 15years I've worked with my
teaching staffs and we wentthrough trauma, informed
practices and we looked for manydifferent ways to help our
(10:14):
students because we could see anincreased need for mental
health support.
And now that I'm retired, I'mstill working with school
districts all over RiversideCounty.
So I wanted to learn more aboutthis and what we're using and
how we can incorporate this inour district, and then what they
were doing down in Brazil andwhat they're facing down there
(10:36):
with their youth.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Well, that's kind of interesting.
As you know, in my day job aswell, we're dealing with at-risk
youth, at-risk teenagers inparticular, at-risk youth,
at-risk teenagers in particular.
So I'm really curious to see,to hear more about what did you,
what are they doing in Brazilthat may be different than what
(11:00):
we're doing here, and what didyou bring down to them to help
their teenagers deal with thechallenges facing them?
I don't know who want to takethat.
Speaker 7 (11:10):
I don't know who want to take that.
Well, what we took is pastpresident Jamie Zinn is
introducing and trying to pilotthis resilience program and it's
very specific in the 10 skillsthat can really be taught to
students so that they canpractice them over time and
build their own resiliencelevels.
(11:31):
So that's what we took down toBrazil is this program and what
it could look like and whatwe're trying to implement in our
schools.
But, dan, I always like yourexplanation of the health system
in Brazil, so I think thatmight help answer some of
(11:52):
Niren's question.
Speaker 6 (11:53):
Yeah, from my understanding work, especially
since I have a host brother inBrazil who is a neurologist, and
so I've got some insights andsome information from him on how
medicine is delivered in Brazil.
In the 60s, brazil made a veryfocused effort to educate their
(12:20):
people, realizing that this wasthe main road to prosperity, and
so for many, many years they'vebeen focusing on education.
Their higher education in thefederal systems are of no charge
, as long as you can pass a test, your college or your
(12:41):
university charges are zero, andthis was all in an effort to
encourage and to assist theirpeople in arising from the third
world status.
However, they've also now havebeen inundated education to
(13:16):
students where maybe they're notable to get into the
universities because there's nospace, and so private
universities have also joined inprivately providing information
, providing education for theprofessionals that are
desperately needed in Brazil,and so there's while it's a bit
(13:37):
different structure than werecognize here in the States, it
is a public right for aBrazilian to seek medical care.
The question then becomes howdoes that care get delivered and
in what fashion?
And we were exposed to a lot ofinformation from the
universities, both private andpublic, on how they see their
(14:01):
role in delivering care to thepopulation.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Very good.
Thank you, dan Carissa.
Can you walk us through kind ofwhat the overall things that we
were doing throughout the day,the different the schedule that
we had as we went through theweek?
Speaker 5 (14:27):
And so our days were a mixture of meeting with, you
know, leaders in the communityin the education space, in
mental health, in medicine space, visiting universities and also
presenting on the program thatwe are piloting here in our
district on resilience so wetalked a lot about that with
(14:50):
different rotary clubs, withdifferent university groups.
Primarily we were meeting withpsychology departments and then
we concluded our trip meetingwith city officials, with the
Chamber of Commerce, there inMaringa.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
And this was interesting because it was a
very these trainings that we didwere very interactive training.
So say, taking basically whatwould have been done in a full
day of training and condensingit into three hours and then
doing it in a different language, If you can imagine Some
challenges.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Yeah, was demonstrating the program and
getting the adults to beinvolved in the program that we
would have the students beworking with here in the state
so they could get a flavor forthe teachings, the experience
and be better equipped to speakon that topic and further
develop it there in Brazil.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
And it was just really sorry.
Go ahead.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
This is the beauty of Rotary.
We were working with a group ofpeople in District 4630 who
understood what the overallpurpose was, and so they kept
the group focused, and yet wedidn't necessarily have a
(16:12):
palette or a model that had beentime tested over years.
In fact, we put together apresentation in both English and
Portuguese weeks before theteam left and it actually worked
.
But it worked because we wereworking with Rotarians who get
(16:33):
it, who were helpful in tryingto, you know, make any of the
speed bumps passable, etc.
Isn't that true?
You had great support from ourfellow Rotarians who were
hosting you, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:48):
We did and, Jennifer, I'd love you to start off
talking about what was yourexperience with the host
families.
Speaker 4 (16:55):
Well, that was a lot of fun.
I was with a host family thatdid not speak any English, and
so the communication was funny,because even though I speak
Portuguese, I couldn't alwaystrack on exactly what they were
saying.
But they were so hospitableevery minute, to the point where
(17:20):
every day they would drop meoff where I needed to be be
right there to pick me up.
At the end of whatever ourschedule was for the day.
I'd have dinner, if it wasnecessary, breakfast, every
morning.
I had a wonderful experience,and it was just a couple, and
(17:42):
they're two dogs, so I didn'thave any kids to bond with like
Carissa did, but it was a lot offun.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Carissa, tell us about your your experience with
your host family.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
Oh my gosh, I had the best experience.
I have been adopted by myBrazilian family.
Speaker 1 (18:07):
She's now literally part of their family.
Speaker 5 (18:10):
My husband too.
They actually facetimed us onchristmas.
So we've got a wonderful.
So, um, my family was a marriedcouple with labio and melissa
and my, my host brother andsister, um, and they have two
boys, pedro and tiago.
And tiago took to meimmediately, like the second.
I stepped onto the tarmac,essentially he was just glued to
(18:33):
my side.
So we, as I mentioned, we had avery busy program while we were
down there, but we did getquite a bit of time with our
host families and I had thehonor of taking Chiago to school
almost every weekday that I wasthere.
So I actually got to visit hisclass, his first grade class
Maybe he's in second grade, Ishould know that, but I got to
(18:56):
visit on the day they werehaving their English lesson.
So it was really awesome.
We had some game nights, reallygreat meals together, but, as
Jennifer said, just such ahospitable people Dan what was
your experience like?
Speaker 6 (19:14):
Fortunately for me, both Glenn and I stayed with our
family.
The lady's name was Verigiana,which is very Diana, which I
thought was a beautiful name,verigiana and Fausto.
They have two children One, thedaughter, was Maria Luisa, and
she was in the universityworking on her dentistry degree.
(19:37):
Of course, both her parents aredentists as well, so it was
right in line.
And then the son, pedro, alsoJean Pedro.
He was also in school fordentistry also.
Both he and his sister spokegreat English.
Fausto and Veridiana spoke alittle bit of English, but it
(20:02):
was so welcoming.
The house was absolutelygorgeous.
It happened to be on a leveljust above their dentistry
practice and a school that theyhave set up in the same building
.
So it was wonderful.
The family even took both Glennand I over to a local street
(20:24):
fair and fiesta that was takingplace as they were celebrating
the time before Christmas and itwas very popular in Brazil the
pre-Christmas season.
So just a great, delightfulfamily and, as Carissa said,
just very hospitable Couldn't doenough for us.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Mary Alice.
Last but not least, tell usabout your experience.
Speaker 7 (20:51):
I was very lucky and got to stay with a retired
professor from one of theuniversities who is also a
Rotarian and just very wellknown in the area.
Her history is that her family,her great grandparents, helped
to build Maringa, and so she waswonderful and I met her family,
(21:13):
her children and grandchildren,and we just hit it off really,
really well and, yes, we arestill in touch every few days.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
I will tell you, it's like every single person got
placed with the absolute perfectfamily.
Myself, I was actually with Biaand her brother.
The parents weren't even home.
Bia's 20.
She's a rotaractor and she wasso perfect.
She spoke English beautifully,which helped, because I have no
Portuguese in me, did not learnand did not have time to learn,
(21:45):
but she took excellent care ofme.
And then, you know, going outand visiting Rotaractors in
action on a service project wasone of the highlights of my
visit there as well, in additionto all the wonderful work we
were doing as the VTT team.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
They have a lot of energy, rotaractors, and they're
the future, so that's awesome.
That's awesome.
I do have a question for thegroup, and that is were you able
to test out or I shouldn't saytest out, that's probably not
the right word but were you ableto utilize the program that you
(22:21):
brought down there on highschool students and to gauge
their reaction to the resiliency, the 10 resiliency points that
were listed?
Speaker 1 (22:35):
Dan, why don't you go ahead and answer that?
Speaker 6 (22:37):
Certainly yes, we had a great time kind of sharing
some of the core aspects of theresiliency training.
The resiliency training wasintended for an audience from
7th to 11th grade.
We were working with universitystudents and that was our kind
of test personnel that we wereable to work with At two
(23:02):
different universities.
We had a population of about100, and for one group and about
50 at the next group.
And in our activities again,this is done through a
translator the materials wereall in Portuguese for them to
understand.
But especially sitting back andjust watching and not knowing
(23:25):
the language, you could just seehow they were getting the
concepts and they were gettingthe ideas and they were.
You could see the learning, thelight coming on and again, the
material, while developed for ayounger population, was very
appropriate for the universitystudents as well.
Speaker 1 (23:46):
And Mary Alice, I'm sorry go ahead.
Speaker 4 (23:49):
I was going to say one of the advantages of this
particular program is that it isscalable and adaptable to any
age group.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Okay, Absolutely, okay, absolutely.
And what we learned down therewas that there are not any
programs that are like thiscurrently and that it's very
needed.
So that's what we heard backfrom our Brazilian team was that
this is very much a need.
They're very interested inhaving this resilience program,
(24:17):
learning more about it andimplementing it with their
schools.
Mary Alice, do you want to talkabout one of the results of us
being down?
Speaker 7 (24:29):
there what that initiated One of the
universities has already jumpedon.
One of the things we noticed ingoing to the university is like
we have mission statements herewith our schools and businesses
.
They had mission statements ontheir walls and many of these
words were incorporated intotheir mission statement, but
(24:49):
they hadn't really visited thator taught that to their students
.
So as we were teaching them the10 skills of resiliency,
they're like wait a minute, wehave that.
That is important and one ofthe universities has already
reached out to talk, to workwith their president, to start
(25:12):
incorporating building a programlike this for their psychology
students.
Speaker 1 (25:20):
Awesome.
So what are?
What are?
Maybe some funny things thathappened, or final thoughts as
we wrap up this and maybe, maybesprinkle in what maybe somebody
can talk about what how youwould encourage somebody else,
another Rotarian, to apply for afuture VTT, because you have a
couple that you're planning,right, nairon?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
So let's start with Carissa.
Speaker 5 (25:41):
Okay, well, you know what my story is going to be.
So, again, the focal point ofour training is resiliency, and
that's a skill I learned hardand fast on my travels down to
Brazil.
I got stuck in the Sao Pauloairport.
It's a long story, I'll savefor another day, but I was up
there for 12 hours, so I missedout on a lot of the activities
(26:04):
that were planned for us for ourfirst day.
And you know, when I wascollecting myself, I recognized
we're here to teach aboutresiliency.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
So I need to be resilient, we actually Mary
Atlas and I.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
In the portion of the program that we moderated, we
brought in some real-lifeexamples to demonstrate what the
skill looks like in action andhow it may arise.
So we circled back to travelwoes quite a bit, but I would
certainly encourage anyone whois interested in learning about
(26:39):
a different culture evenlearning more about yourself to
pursue being on a VTT.
It was a great way to get toknow different Rotarians, to get
to know people in a differentcountry, and I just personally
feel very enriched by this wholeexperience.
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Excellent.
Mary Alice how about you?
Speaker 7 (27:13):
I have to agree with that.
Excellent, mary Alice.
How about you health?
And especially within ourschools, because I still work
with all of our schools here inRiverside County, so the chance
to go down there and learn moreabout our program and their
programs was too good to pass up.
So I did apply and it wasamazing.
(27:33):
It's just an amazing countrywith wonderful, wonderful people
, and it would have been a realshame to not go.
So I think if you, if you havea passion for something, don't
be worried about the countryyou're going to, because they'll
make it a great experience foryou awesome Dan well.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
as I'm hearing the other two responses, I'm just
kind of nodding my head.
I think one who has an interestin adventure would do very well
applying for a VTT experiencetrip.
(28:25):
Especially if there is a hobbyor if there's an interest.
That would enhance the reasonwhy one should put their name in
the hat, so to speak.
The experience was justphenomenal.
It's difficult to explain howit impacts us, how it impacted
me, but I think that to,especially now that we're back
from our journey and we're kindof unraveling and maybe sharing
(28:52):
information about our journeysand about those who have
impacted us, we realize howwe've impacted others as well,
and so it's a great way torecognize that we too have a
great impact.
All we need to do is makeourselves available for that.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
Awesome.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
And last but not least, jennifer, you know I
would recommend this to anybodywho is willing to travel and
willing to stay flexible.
You have to be flexible andadaptable and kind of go without
(29:34):
any preconceived expectations.
You know, I lived in Brazil soI might have thought I know
something about Brazil, and I dohave thought I know something
about Brazil and I do.
But I learned so much more andit was just a wonderful
experience.
I think primarily the people,the people I traveled with, the
people I met, and this is goingto continue as we do our
(29:57):
presentations throughout thedistrict, presentations
throughout the district.
That's so much fun to visit theclubs and talk to them, so I
would recommend it to anybodythat thinks they would like to
do that.
Speaker 2 (30:13):
I have a kind of a wrap-up question, governor Judy.
I'd like to ask each of you doyou think that this trip and
your experience has made you abetter Rotarian?
Let's start with Carissa.
Speaker 5 (30:27):
Oh, hands down.
I was so inspired to see whatRotarians are doing at the
international level.
That's something I've notreally been able to experience
before and it just renewed mypassion for Rotary and I feel
like I came back even moreengaged than I was previously
and I've been in Rotary foralmost eight years now but it
(30:51):
definitely sparked somethinganew in me.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
Excellent Jennifer.
Speaker 4 (30:58):
It's kind of that aha thing.
That, yeah, it's kind of thataha thing, but I came back more
enthusiastic.
You know you get into a routinewith your own club and you may
do some wonderful things, butthis is an eye opener sort of an
aha on a international basisthat allows you to see the big
(31:20):
picture.
That's all.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
Excellent Mary.
Speaker 7 (31:24):
Alice.
It was really wonderful tolearn about the projects that
they're working on and wherethey could use help and be able
to support.
We supported an interact groupthat was working on a music
project.
It's a thank you for all thetranslation the young men did.
But their Hope Farm.
(31:46):
Learning that they hadestablished that so many years
ago and how successful it is,you learn a lot about what
Rotary is doing in the world.
Yes, in the world.
Speaker 6 (32:01):
And Dan, yes, you know what's interesting.
When one has been in Rotary aslong as I have, you wonder what
keeps us going.
Right, I've been now.
I think that's my 29th year inRotary and as president this
year, one of my main focuses isto remind the club of all of the
(32:23):
things that we do and itsimpact that it has on the
community.
And of course, I echo thatthrough the theme.
And that's the magic of Rotary.
And I think that this was awonderful opportunity to see how
the magic of Rotary not onlytakes place here in the United
(32:44):
States but is alive and well andthriving in a third world
country, and they have the samedesires for helping their people
and helping each other.
And it kind of challenged me tolive out one of the slogans
that I saw on the backs of theT-shirt that many Rotarians were
(33:05):
wearing, and that was people ofaction, people of action.
So I came back to Yucaipa withsome different ideas and tried
to live out that same motto,being people of action.
Speaker 1 (33:19):
That's a great segue into understanding really there
are so many programs withinRotary.
It's sometimes hard to explainto people that are not Rotarians
, and even Rotarians, all thedifferent opportunities.
You know this is aRotary-sponsored opportunity, so
actually the travel not anyextracurricular activities, but
the travel is covered by Rotary.
(33:41):
We have this internationalopportunity there's, you know
you can go to a RotaryInternational Convention, you
can be on a friendship exchange,you can do a humanitarian
project.
There's so many things both inour communities and around the
world that we can be involved inand really appreciate all of
you coming to share and thatyou're sharing the things that
(34:04):
we learned on the VTT trip withall of our Rotarians in our
district and around the world.
Speaker 2 (34:09):
Thank you for all coming today and to share your
excitement and share yourpassion and I love the fact that
you said that you are now evenbetter Rotarians, because that
is the name of the game and toshare, being a community, heroes
of Hope.
Speaker 1 (34:26):
So that wraps up this episode of Heroes of Hope.
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