Story as published in the Scene 3 September 2019
When Richard Metcalfe suggested Merv King was worthy of celebration due to his half century of service to Matamata Rotary, Merv matter of factly said it’s easy. “All you have to do is stay alive” he laughed! “Rotary has rewarded all our lives beyond all measure and being part of such an organisation has been an honour and a privilege. Anyway, I can’t stop now, my wife Janet has got out of the habit of cooking on a Tuesday night so what would I do for dinner?!”
One such matched couple are year 10 Matamata College student Ruby Deare, and Abigail Martin from South Australia. Ruby applied for the exchange through Rotary Matamata and on being accepted was one of a team of six students who in July departed for Australia. Ruby and Abigail first met in April when the Australian students arrived in New Zealand. Students live for 12 weeks with their matched twin’s family. Ruby is an only child and her mother Miranda Thomson pointed out that learning to share was something Ruby had to learn very quickly. “And Abigail learned what it was like to live with a family very different from her own”. Both the girls have gained confidence during the exchange. Just this week Ruby has given a presentation to Abigail’s local Rotary club about her life here in Matamata and Abigail commented that she did things in New Zealand that took her out her comfort zone and that she would never have attempted before she joined this exchange.
