An international affair at Tameside Rotary

On 11th August at Ashton under Lyne Golf Club at their monthly meeting, Tameside Rotary welcomed back their very good friend, President Volodymyr Bulba of Kharkiv Independence Rotary Club

Volodymyr gave an impassioned talk about his project in Ukraine to rehabilitate injured veterans, helping them get off the sofa and into sport. He showed photographs and videos of amputee veterans training, with some eventually winning and rejoicing at a boxing match! 

As a speaker, Volodymyr will also receive a donation from the club (the amount yet to be decided) for his excellent presentation for his club’s project. They also raised £110 in the raffle (which included Champagne) on the night, for Volodymyr’s project. 

Volodymyr says, 'We are strengthening friendly cooperation with British Rotarians. On August 11, 2026, at the Rotary Tameside meeting, a presentation on the project to restore the mental health of veterans and their family members in Ukraine took place. During the event, a Memorandum of Friendship and Cooperation between the British (Tameside Rotary Club) and the Ukrainian (RC Kharkiv Independence) Rotary Clubs was signed. The British side signed the Memorandum, represented by the President of Tameside Rotary Club, Amanda Reed-Raja, and the Ukrainian side by Volodymyr Bulba. This important event was made possible by the initiative of Angela Robbins, Peter Holden, Костянтин Башкіров, Людмила Тарасенко, Vladimir Bulba, and others. The Governor of District 1285 (Northern England and the Isle of Man), Ian Cochrane, was also present at the ceremony and delivered a speech. The involvement of Rotary Tameside in establishing international cooperation adds to the drive.’ 

An added bonus to the evening was a visit from Brazilian Rotarian Wanderson Barbosa, who briefly told the group about his mosquito-repellent project, repelente day-1, in Brazil. It is based on educating the public about cleanliness, including keeping homes clean, washing away leftover food from plates, and applying mosquito repellent daily. Wanderson made his point strongly by saying, 'One mosquito can cause one human death.’ 

Tameside Rotary International Chair Angela Robbins said she was very proud that Tameside Rotary hosted such a warm, welcoming and truly international Rotary meeting. 

Angela said, ‘Everyone was in good spirits. Having Wanderson arrive and then sit between Volodymyr and I with everyone chatting away was wonderful. It never takes long for connections to be made at Rotary meetings! The sun was shining, we had a view of the Ashton under Lyne golf course, and there was friendly fellowship throughout the room. Past President Manhar Taylor kindly gave us all a Tameside Rotary baseball cap. He hadn’t allowed for guests, so I gave my cap to Volodymyr, and Past President Mike Glover donated his cap to Wanderson. It all just added to the kindness and generosity of the evening. As with his usual generosity, Volodymyr Bulba gave a number of us Kharkiv Independence Rotary Club T-shirts and also a box of Ukrainian chocolates to me. Volodymyr’s daughter explained that the chocolates were still being manufactured despite being in an area that has been frequently attacked. District Governor Ian Cochrane then gave a special district enamel badge to our International visitors, Volodymyr and Wanderson, and to our President Amanda. Santa had nothing on us that evening!! Our guests were thrilled with their gifts and Wanderson had already asked me about the process of obtaining items with a Tameside Rotary logo. I have no doubt we will be seeing them both again.’ 

Another visitor to the meeting was Andy Moss, a committee member of Tameside Pulmonary Fibrosis Support Group. Andy has attended quite a few of the meetings now and is keen to help and get involved. 

District Governor for the North West of England and the Isle of Man, Ian Cochrane, is photographed with Tameside Rotarians, District Membership Su Greaves and District Assistant Secretary Peter Holden. 

A very poignant moment of the evening was when President Amanda Reed-Raja signed a Memorandum of Friendship with President Volodymyr Bulba. 

President Amanda Reed-Raja welcomes anyone interested in Rotary to join in at the next meeting at Ashton under Lyne Golf Club on Tuesday 8th September at 7pm.