The Rotary Club of Dearborn is inviting guests to attend a special luncheon program on Thursday, April 30, 2009, at Park Place, 23400 Park in Dearborn.
Juan Kunchikuy, a native of the Ecuadorian Amazon, who has spoken internationally about the need to save the rain forest, will be the Club’s featured speaker. His efforts have also been published in the New York Times.
Kunchikuy, who is fluent in English and several other languages, was raised in a remote area of the Amazon, where villagers speak an obscure tribal language and have hunted with darts tipped with home-made curare poison.
“We are delighted to have such a distinguished speaker present to our Club,” said Valerie Murphy-Goodrich, president of the Rotary Club of Dearborn. “Mr. Kunchiky’s story is one that we believe will fascinate many, so we are extending an invitation to others in the local community to join us at our regularly scheduled Club luncheon meeting.”
Murphy-Goodrich also extended her appreciation to Wendy Sample, art resource teacher for the Dearborn Public Schools and daughter of Dearborn Rotarian David Sample, for helping to make possible Mr. Kunchikuy’s presentation to the Club.
Sample met Juan Kunchikuy during her visit last summer to study Ecuador’s culture. Sample’s travels came about as the result of a Fulbright Scholarship she received from the International Studies Program at Michigan State University.
Kunchikuy was the tour guide for Sample’s study group that traveled to the Amazon’s Yachana Lodge, recognized by National Geographic and others for its ecotourism.
Kunchikuy is in the United States during the month of April to speak to a number of educational groups. Prior to visiting Michigan, he will speak at New York’s Cornell University in celebration of Earth Day. He has also been scheduled to speak to several schools within the Dearborn Public School District and to various groups at Michigan State University where he will have the opportunity to reunite with the group he guided and educated last summer.
The cost to attend the April 30t program is $25 each for non-members and includes a buffet luncheon which begins at 11:30 a.m. followed by the speaker’s presentation which is scheduled to conclude at 12:45 p.m.
The Dearborn Rotary Club will donate funds contributed over the cost of lunch to the Yachina Foundation, www.yachina.org , to further its environmental and educational efforts.
Because seating is limited, reservations for the luncheon program are requested by Tuesday, April 30, 2009 by calling 313-278-7233 or by emailing Dearborn Rotarian Amy Bazzy at ajbazzy@comcast.net .
Dearborn Rotary meets weekly at Park Place in Dearborn. For additional information about the Dearborn Rotary, visit www.dearbornrotary.org or call 313-278-7233.
