Libby Madden (Australia): Joining Rose Vietnam Board !

Libby Madden at Be Tho Orphanage

Rose Charities Vietnam is delighted to welcome Libby Madden to our Board.   Libby and her husband James live in Brisbane, Australia.  They work in the aged care sector to which Libby brings her considerable skills, including degrees in Nutrition and Gerontology.  

Libby went to Vietnam for the first time in 2003 and "fell in love with the country and the people".  She has been back seven times, visiting Rose VN projects in Ho Chi Minh City on a number of those occasions.  Libby has given Rose VN a great deal of support over the years.   

In 2010 Rose Vietnam shifted its focus to Hue, where we now have a number of projects including building houses for the poor, education support, a school for blind adults and income generation. Libby plans to visit Hue in 2012,  (and is currently learning Vietnamese!)   While there she will evaluate a new community development project in Thanh Thien village. 

Libby joins current board members  Mr. Phuoc Chi Nguyen, Louis Lap Nguyen, Hanh-Thuc Nguyen and Jan Johnston.

The wonderful Canadian board of Stand Tall Education, Uganda (Rose Charities Member Project)

Stand Tall Education Uganda, is a fantastic project helping deprived Ugandan kids with education and other skills . Please see their dedicated website for more details (click).  Rose Charities Canada is proud to be associated with Stand Tall Education as one of its finest member projects.

	NICOLE SCHOUELA, President Nicole enjoys learning and new challenges. She has extensive small business experience, both as past owner of two café/restaurants and present owner of Esscurve Fitness. She also has a passion for the arts both as viewer and maker and has completed her Bachelor and Masters degrees in Fine Art. She has volunteered in schools teaching dance and art to children, and in 2008 spent five months in Uganda working with youth. She believes that a good education is a right that has a profound effect on the individual, as well as her community and country. Nicole is the President of STEN and acts as coordinator between the Vancouver and Ugandan teams. She lives in Vancouver and travels to Uganda regularly.
	LORISA SCHOUELA, Secretary/Treasurer Lorisa brings to the team a passion for travel, an interest in foreign cultures and a life-long commitment to serve. Along with her experience in hospice work she is an activist, philanthropist, meditator and humanitarian. She is dedicated to making a difference in this world. She stands by her belief that ultimately what you do determines who you are.
	CHLOE BECK, Vice President Chloe is currently a secondary school counsellor with the Vancouver School Board. She has a teaching degree and a Masters in counselling psychology and has experience teaching and counselling both elementary and secondary school students
	MELISSA JURCEVIC Melissa is a small business entrepreneur and co-owner of a women’s fashion boutique in Vancouver. Over the years, she has been involved in charities such as The Mustard Seed, Amnesty International, and Habitat For Humanity. She believes that creating educational opportunities in impoverished areas is the cornerstone for improving lives and communities around the world.
	HONEY HALPERN Honey Halpern has worked as a literacy consultant throughout BC and internationally.  She teaches in the Language and Literacy department of the Faculty of Education at UBC and has also taught in elementary and secondary schools in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. She spent the month of October 2010 as a volunteer at Stand Tall Training Center, teaching  child-centered classroom programs and creating a handbook describing her classroom strategies to guide both the regular teachers and future volunteers. One day soon, she hopes to return to the school and continue her work with the teachers and children.
	KAREEN HUDSON Kareen has 22 years experience as a social worker in community-based social services, child welfare and in the Vancouver school system. Kareen managed the Children Affected by Family Violence Program at Family Services of Greater Vancouver for the past 14 years and most recently has been involved in creating the RSVP program, an early intervention and targeted violence prevention program for at-risk children and youth that is now widely implemented in Vancouver schools. Currently, Kareen is responsible for overseeing the effective development and sustainability of counselling and outreach programs at Family Services of Greater Vancouver’s Kingsway office. Her education and training includes receiving her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work and Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of British Columbia.
	SUSAN COMAY Susan Comay is a family doctor in Vancouver. She is the medical manager at the Pine Clinic treating adolescents as well as adults with no medical insurance such as new immigrants and other marginalized patients. She works with the BC Women’s Hospital on-call service for sexually assaulted patients. Born in South Africa her deep connection to the continent has taken her back there frequently both to travel and work. She has worked as a doctor in Tanzania and more recently as a medical volunteer in Ghana.
	CLAUDIE AZOULAI Claudie is a teacher in the Vancouver public school system, as well as a fibre artist. She has taught for the past 25 years and has brought her art experience to children of all ages as well as to adults. She has also had the opportunity to have several years involvement as an integral member of the Education Department at Or Shalom Synagogue, a Jewish religious institution in Vancouver, BC.

Wonderful wedding for a Rose Charities Australia founder.

On October 8th, at beautiful 'Bird in Hand' Winery, in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Sarah Miller wed Gareth Wilson. Sarah was one of the founders of Rose Charities Australia and spent 2 years in Cambodia both mainly with the FDCC Organization but also assisting where she could with Rose Cambodia education and physial rehab projects. She is a trustee of Rose Charities Australia.

Everyone in Rose Charities wishes our couple a lifetime of happiness..

Video - Sarah's father Wayne, accompanies Sarah to meet Gareth.