1. 2009-2010 District No. 7910
ROTARY CLUB OF NEWTON Club No. 6580
719 WASHINGTON STREET BOX MS295
NEWTONVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS 02460
MEETS TUESDAYS; 12:15 P.M. BRAE BURN COUNTRY CLUB, 326 FULLER STREET, NEWTON, MA
President Vice President Treasurer Sergeant-at-Arms Director Director
Marie Presti Laurisa Neuwirth Peter Mahler Bill Garr Dick Bowen Justin Sallaway
617-620-6948 617-291-0572 617-630-5289 617-969-5906 x116 617-969-9134 617-244-0065
President-Elect Past President Recording Secretary Newsletter Editor Director Director
Jeff Tucker Marc Epstein John Hurney Scott Lewis Jeff Chin Tony Bibbo
617-340-1263 617-244-1212 617-332-7412 617-293-6371 617-965-1988 781-237-1144
THE SERVICE GEAR
Volume LXXXVI No. 33 March 9, 2010
F amilia! announced President Marie Presti,
over the cacaphony of lively conversation, MEETING GREETERS NEXT MEETING:
comparing our Rotary gathering to an extended March 17th: Tom Keery & Bill Lowery
Italian clan. For the first time ever, we met at
Vecchia Roma Restaurante on Watertown Street.
President Marie called the meeting to order
with the Pledge of Allegiance. Dennis
Prefontaine offered a “One-glass-of-wine
invocation,” Susanne McInerney led us in a
chorus of “It’s Amore,” using her cell phone for
orchestral accompaniment.
SERGEANT AT ARMS
Bill Garr made no formal announcements,
but we note the following guests attending Italian
Night at Vecchia Roma with us: Timothy and Letter from Uganda - Our Ambassadorial Scholar in
Uganda, Jay Miller, has been posting his thoughts on his
Connie Braceland, visiting from Waltham; Bob blog. See exerpts and photos starting on Page 5
Kelley of NewTV; past member Donnie Cohen;
Paul Kerrissey’s daughter Michaela; and several
members’ spouses. CONTENTS Page
MEETING NOTES 1
Susanne McInerney SERGEANT-at-ARMS 1
holds up her Ipod for ANNOUNCEMENTS 4
musical THIS WEEK’S SONG 2
accompaniment while ITALIAN NIGHT 2010 3
singing along with
It’s Amore! (Lyrics
AMBASSADORIAL BLOG 5-7
Page 2) HAPPY DOLLARS 8
RAFFLE 4
c 2010 Rotary Club of Newton Page 1

2. “That’s Amore”
Songwriters: Harry Warren & Jack Brooks
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie - That’s amore!
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine - That’s amore!
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing “Vita bella”
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fagiole - That’s amore!
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet - You’re in love!
When you walk down in a dream but you know you’re not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That’s amore!
When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie - That’s amore!
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine - That’s amore!
Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling
And you’ll sing “Vita bella”
Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay
Like a gay tarantella
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fagiole - That’s amore!
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet - You’re in love!
When you walk down in a dream but you know you’re not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That’s amore!
Lucky fella
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fagiole - That’s amore!
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet - You’re in love!
When you walk down in a dream but you know you’re not
Dreaming signore
Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli
That’s amore!, (amore)
That’s amore!
c 2010 Rotary Club of Newton Page 2

3. Italian Night 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
at Vecchia Roma Restaurante
c 2010 Rotary Club of Newton Page 3

4. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Senior Safety Day
The next planning committee meeting will
be Thursday, March 18, 8 AM at the Senior
Center.
RAFFLE
With over $750 on the line, Marie Presti
had the winning raffle ticket, but came up with
only the King of Hearts from the diminishing
deck, now down to 23 cards going into next
week. St. Patrick’s Day has proved lucky in the
past. So don’t miss corned beef and cabbage at
Lasell Village on March 17th - you might go
home with some extra green!
PAUL M. KERRISSEY PAULA KIRRANE
Attorney at Law
Uniquely Designed Cakes
230 Adams Street
277 Auburn Street Newton, MA 02458
Suite B Tel.: (617) 969-1830
Auburndale, MA 02466 fax: (617) 969-5852
Office: (617) 964-5800
Fax: (617) 969-9850
c 2010 Rotary Club of Newton Page 4

5. Notes from Around the World:
Ambassadorial Scholar Jay Miller in Uganda
Ambassadorial Scholar
Jay Miller taking time
away from his current
duties in Uganda to
tackle Mt. Sabinyo. He’s
shown straddling three
countries: Uganda,
Rwanda, and Congo
Jay Miller, blogging on February 13: up by complex phrasing or difficult terminology.
VHW Incentives, etc. We’re also moving toward a “pay for perfor-
mance” incentive system, rather than the current
Last week and this week I’ve been working system of paying for each home visit they do. The
a bunch on revising the payment system and the current system incentivizes quantity at the ex-
record-keeping system that the village health pense of quality, and gives less motivation for
workers (VHW’s) use. We’ve realized that their them to visit faraway homes.
records are somewhat haphazard, partly because A good number of VHW’s do an excellent
all of the paperwork is currently in English, partly job already, but even for them, I think, the new
because there’s simply too much paperwork, and incentive system will be helpful because they will
partly because the forms they use and the current (hopefully) perceive it as fairer. Under the current
payment system do not necessarily guide them system, VHW’s who do cursory visits, and thus
toward visiting the most high-risk homes or spend much less time on their work, often get
addressing the most important educational and paid the same amount as those who work harder.
clinical issues. The new payment system is not exactly a
As a result, I am trying to revamp the pay- “pay for performance” system in the way that the
ment system and the paperwork in a number of term is used in the US healthcare debate. In the
ways. First, I want to make every form dual US, “pay for performance” usually means paying
language (English and Rufumbira) and simplify healthcare providers based on the health out-
the language as much as possible. Some of the comes of their patients.
VHW’s have only a 5th or 7th grade education, ...Jay Miller, continued Page 6
so while all of them are literate, they get tripped
c 2010 Rotary Club of Newton Page 5

6. Jay Miller in Uganda
...continued from Page 5
The system we have devised here instead
rewards the VHW’s for visiting high-risk homes,
for health problems identified, and for interven-
tions delivered or facilitated.
High-risk homes include those with a
malnourished child, very poor sanitation, a recent
death, child-headed families, families with 3 or
more children under 5, etc. The VHW’s also
receive a compensation for identifying someone
with hypertension, another chronic disease, a
disabled child, a malnourished child, a pregnant
Conoeing on Lake Mutanda
woman, a home with very poor sanitation, etc.
Finally, they will be paid for health inter-
This past weekend, I also took a long bike
ventions delivered/facilitated, such as family
ride to visit my friend Mark, a Peace Corps
planning and cervical cancer referrals, commu-
volunteer who lives in Chahafi, a village right on
nity talks delivered, and, in the future, monitor-
the Rwandan border.
ing and delivery of medications to chronic
One of Mark’s main projects involves
disease patients.
setting up disability groups, which function as
Pregnancy should perhaps be placed in the
both support groups and livelihood cooperatives.
last category of “health interventions” rather than
This area has a large number of people with
as a “health problem,” since the goal of identify-
physical disabilities because Rwandan refugees
ing pregnant women is to encourage them to
fled there during the Rwandan genocide and land
receive antenatal care, delivered in a health
mined their tracks in an effort to escape their
center or hospital, and come back for postnatal
pursuers. After the genocide, the mines continued
care and vaccinations for the baby. Though
to take their toll, before the area was de-mined a
because of the very high birth rate around here,
few years ago.
some of the folks at the hospital like to joke that
Kisoro is an in interesting location, in that
pregnancy is a “sexually transmitted disease,
we are so close to both Rwanda and Congo. I
often chronic in nature,” or something to that
find it quite disheartening that the lessons of the
effect.
Rwandan genocide seem to have faded so
The new record system is designed to mesh
quickly, both here and in the West. It is hard not
with the new incentive system, so that the VHWs
to wonder at the juxtaposition of past horror and
do not have to fill out paperwork regularly on
present horror, separated by only an arbitrary set
low-risk homes but instead focus their efforts on
of hills.
high-risk homes and on identifying clinical
In a way, being so close to Congo feels
issues.
surreal, because I feel a world away from what is
I am hopeful that these changes will in turn
going on in the Congo. Mark said that last year
increase the impact of the VHW program on
he could hear the explosions in Congo from his
health outcomes, though I am sure that there will
house in Chahafi, but now that the fighting has
be plenty of kinks to iron out over the next few
moved north of us. There are no outward signs of
months. But after spending hours and hours in
war, except for a few Congolese patients who
front of the computer designing the new record
manage to sneak into Uganda and come to the
system, I am excited to see it in action.
hospital for medical care.
c 2010 Rotary Club of Newton Page 6

7. Jay Miller standing by a
Rotary International
Polio Plus billboard in
Fort Portal, Uganda.
Some have pretty horrible stories to tell—in ignored in the Western world, overshadowed by
one case the physician was having a hard time our failing banks, spats about healthcare reform,
figuring out whether the patient had suffered a and such.
psychotic break or whether he was telling the Ironically, and quite tragically, Rwanda (and
truth. The story seemed pretty crazy, but in to a lesser extent Uganda and a number of other
Congo it seems almost anything is possible. African countries) in fact bear significant respon-
Each time something like this occurs, the sibility for the current conflict. Rwanda’s involve-
Western world says “never again”—after the ment has been justified as a pursuit of those
Holocaust, after the Rwandan genocide, etc. And responsible for the 1994 genocide, but most
each time, there is an “again.” reliable sources seem to conclude that the real
Granted, the violence in Congo cannot motivation is pillage.
really be termed a genocide, since the main Congo has enormous natural resources, so it
motivating factors for violence seem to be the appears that much of the war is essentially a
usual combination of greed and power. But, in struggle to control those resources, with a number
terms of lives lost, the war in Congo has been far of countries funding proxy militias. Fortunately,
more destructive than the Rwandan genocide—a the West is finally starting to face up to these
recent report estimated that over 6 million realities and put pressure on Rwanda to curb its
people, mostly civilians, have died. involvement in the violence in Congo, though it
However, the conflict has been largely remains to be seen how much impact this will
have.
c 2010 Rotary Club of Newton Page 7

8. HAPPY DOLLARS
Paul Stone was happy to be back at 2 grandsons’ accomplishments in Tae Kwan
Rotary! Laurisa Neuwirth missed being with Doe: Zack’s green belt, and his brother’s
us previously, but was happy to hear from son yellow belt.
Ben’s math teacher that Ben has a “good Bob Kelly was happy to be with us, and
[Rotarian] sense of ethics.” happy to dine with two past Directors of
Peter Mahler was happy to see Paul NCSC, Tony Bibbo and Bill Garr. Susanne
Stone back. Connie Braceland was happy to McInerney was glad we did Italian Night.
join Donny Cohen as Tim Braceland’s date (?). John Hurney was happy not to be dining in
Donnie Cohen was happy to “trade up” and be the quiet room adjacent to our raucous Italian
Peter Mahler’s date, though invited by Tim. Night.
Marie Presti was happy to be Laurisa’s date, Bert Martinson was happy to be with
and to see Paul Stone. Rotarians, and to see Michaela Kerrissey. Scott
Paul Kerrissey was hapy to be his Lewis was happy to win boxing gloves as a
daughter’s date. Michaela Kerrissey was raffle door prize. Bill Garr was happy to win
happy to bump into Bert Martinson and his some Italian coffee.
date, Ellie, both tonight and at the MFA previ- Connie Braceland was happy to see Bob
ously. Kelly.
$2 Bill Lowery was happy to report about
SCOTT LEWIS HOME DESIGN
ADDITIONS
RENOVATIONS
NEW HOMES
HISTORIC RESTORATION
12 Bencliffe Circle
Auburndale, MA 02466
(617) 293-6371
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