J Brooks Spector, Attendance & Rotary at the UN

This Week
Our Speaker is J Brooks Spector, Associate Editor of The Daily Maverick and a member of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg.
He settled in Johannesburg after a career as a US diplomat in Africa and East Asia. 
He has taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, been a consultant for an international NGO, run a theatre, and been a commentator for South African and international print/broadcast/online media, in addition to writing for The Daily Maverick from day one. 
He says he learned everything he needs to know about politics from ‘Casablanca.’ 
Maybe he's cynical about some things, but a late Beethoven string quartet, John Coltrane’s music and a dish of Pad Thai will bring him close to tears.

Last Week
It was a Business Meeting and I wasn't there so I cannot comment.

Attendance
Please note that a make-up is only valid for a period of 14 days.  This means that if you take part in a Club event outside the normal meeting or attend another Rotary Club and do not attend one of our ordinary Club Meetings within 14 days that make-up falls away.  So if you help at the Arts Festival for 4 sessions it will only count as one or two make-ups, depending on how they are spaced, as long as you attend a meeting of our Club within 14 days of each.
This is very important because if you have less than 40% attendance you are technically no longer a member unless you have been granted Leave of Absence by the Board.

ROTARY DAY AT THE UNITED NATIONS HIGHLIGHTS THE STRENGTH OF PARTNERSHIPS

Participants attended panel discussions about water and peace, youth and peace, economic development, women’s health, and human trafficking.

Photo Credit: Rotary International/Monika Lozinska

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To strengthen their 69-year-old partnership, leaders from Rotary and the United Nations met in November, 2014  in New York City for Rotary Day at the United Nations. The two organizations began working together with the aim of maintaining peace after World War II. Today, the relationship has evolved to include humanitarian work in areas like gender equality, child and maternal health, and disease treatment and prevention.

While the UN's Millennium Development Goals are set to expire in 2015, its leaders are preparing for an even more ambitious humanitarian agenda of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030, said Amina J. Mohammed, special adviser of the UN secretary-general on post-2015 development planning, speaking at the event.

The UN considers those living on less than $1.25 per day to be in extreme poverty. Around the world, 1.2 billion people fall into this category.

"We have the resources in the world to deal with the issues we have today," said Mohammed. "We need to find a way to unlock that." She added that building strong partnerships with organizations that share a similar vision will be crucial to solving the global issues that are related to extreme poverty. As proof of the power of partnerships, Mohammed cited the polio eradication work of Rotary and its global partners.

Describing that work, Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair John Kenny, in his address to the meeting, said, "we persist, we overcome challenges, we make progress -- and we do not yield."

Nina Schwalbe, principal health adviser for UNICEF, noted that the skills honed in fighting polio -- such as identifying the people an infected person has come into contact with, known as "contact tracing" -- can be used "as a model to make advances in other global health issues," such as Ebola.

Nigeria's government stopped its recent Ebola outbreak largely by employing the strong health care systems it had put in place to tackle polio, said Schwalbe. Extreme poverty can be eliminated, insisted Mohammed, but infrastructure must be improved, and not merely through ad hoc projects scattered around the world. Eliminating extreme poverty, she said, requires making sure girls have access to education and addressing other forms of gender inequality.

"Women and children are the world's greatest untapped resources. Helping them is the quickest way to end poverty," said Nana Taona Kuo, senior manager for Every Woman Every Child, an initiative of the UN secretary-general. "When women and children are healthy and strong, entire economies grow."

By reaching decision makers, Rotary can play a critical role in civil society, said Kuo.

Business, Gordon Froud, the Zoo, the Youth Leadership Course and Fiji.

This Week
It's a Business Meeting.

Last Week
Gordon Froud spoke about curating the South African collection for the Beijing Biennial.  It was a fascinating talk because he not only discussed the artworks but also the restrictions that the Chinese insisted on as well as many entertaining personal anecdotes.

He was able to visit other parts of Beijing as well and gave us interesting insights into China's capital.






He'll be back in the New Year to talk to us about the conference on Alice in Wonderland that he attended in Cambridge.  He has about 3 000 photos of that and he has promised not to show us all of them!




Cancellation of the DG's Regional Dinner 
This was scheduled for the 20th November with all 12 clubs in the region.  DG David Grant has sensibly decided that this is too large an event to have any meaningful contact with club members and instead he will be attending a number of lunches including one of our normal Friday meetings at which we will also host the e-Club.  Whether they will be present personally or virtually, I'm not sure.  The date is Friday 27th November and more details will follow in due course.  Fortunately the e-Club will only require a virtual lunch.

The Joburg Zoo at Night, 5th November

Lori Bramwell-Jones, who is organising this, has been without a landline or ADSL line for the last three weeks so she has been unable to receive emails.
The only way you can contact her is on her cell phone....see the Club Directory.





From Jean Bernardo
The Youth committee held another successful Senior Youth Leadership Course
from the 09 - 11th October 2015 for 62 participants from a diverse group of
schools in Johannesburg.

The participants meet at Bryanston High School where they are asked to sit
in a circle and introduce the person next to them. (This helps to break the
ice)
Richard then tells them about Rotary, the course and the 4-way test and Ann
then proceeds to divide the participants into 6 teams.

When they hear the good news " that they each receive R40 for the weekend"
to provide for all their meals they are stunned! This does mean that a team
has between R400 to R440 per team for food for the weekend as most teams
have 10 members per group.
They are even more shocked when we inform them that they have to provide for
2 breakfasts, 1 lunch, and 2 dinners with the Saturday evening dinner being
a banquet which comprises of a starter, main and dessert!
They are also required to cater for specific dietary needs a team member may
have.  We provided them with the basics such as tea, coffee, milk, sugar, oil, salt & pepper and juice for the weekend.

The teams then choose a team name and war cry if they wish and they
introduce their team to the rest of the course participants. They decide on
their menu for the weekend and after a snack and juice we take them across
the road to Checkers at the Bryanston Shopping Centre to do their shopping.

They get lunch prepared by the Anns and leave for Magalies Retreat by bus.
Tyron Sharnock is our course presenter and he as usual did a great job.

On the Sunday, the Rotarians go out to the venue and prepare a braai with
chicken, boerewors, rolls, potato salad and a green salad.
The bus then returns to Bryanston High School on the Sunday afternoon.

I wish to thank President Neville who goes out for the weekend as our
resident doctor to attend to any injuries.
Thank you Ann for sending out invitations, indemnities and making sure we
can have a successful course, Les for arranging Bryanston HS and Richard and
Noleen for being the chaperones for the weekend
.
On behalf of the committee I wish to thank the following members of the club
for their assistance on Friday and at the braai on Sunday:
Rotary Anns Margie Austin, Jean Colombo, June Virtue and Liz Short
Rotarians Jerry, Nicole, Merle, Pam and Jack, and John Hope-Bailie.
My committee - you are stars! Thank you.

LAUNCH PADS

In Fiji, students use tablets to explore the world.

On the third-largest island in Fiji, 17-year-old Asenaca Sepa dreams of becoming a nurse. Her classmate, Laisenia Kidia, wants to study marine biology. The teens are students at Bucalevu Secondary School on Taveuni Island. Its rich soil and abundant flora have earned it the nickname "the garden island." Waterfalls and breathtaking sunsets make Taveuni a travel destination, yet besides encounters with tourists, the islanders live in relative isolation. The government is the main employer; most other jobs involve unskilled agricultural labor. Only about 30 percent of students graduate from high school. About 10 percent go to university. Poverty and poor infrastructure limit access to advanced technology.

This lack of technology in schools worried members of the Rotary Club of Taveuni Island, who want to ensure students find employment or go on to college, says club member Geoffrey Amos. "We want them to go into the market with computer skills."

Working with Auckland University of Technology and the Rotary clubs of Newmarket, Botany East Tamaki, and Ellerslie Sunrise, New Zealand, Taveuni Island Rotarians launched a project to provide 70 computer tablets to Bucalevu Secondary School and nearby Niusawa Methodist High School. They received matching funds from districts 9920 and 9970, and partial funding from a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant. (Matching Grants have since been phased out; learn more about Foundation grants.

Rotary scholar alumna Kelsi Cox, a Canadian who studied in New Zealand, led a team that trained teachers and students how to use the tablets. "These small things hold a world of information, and can take these young people to places far beyond the classroom," she says.

The teens took to the devices immediately. "It's like having 100 textbooks," Sepa says. During the training, the group used a science app to study cell structure. "After looking at the pictures today, and at all the cells and definitions, I get a clear picture of what a cell really is," she notes. Kidia adds that what he's learning on the tablet will help prepare him for university.

The devices are preloaded with an array of educational apps, as well as tools for students to record songs and take videos, allowing them to document their lives and culture outside the classroom.

"It's what they need to empower their community so they can create positive changes for the future," Cox says. Those changes are already occurring: Amos reports that on 2014 achievement tests, students had higher pass rates than before. They also showed improved computer skills, which will help them continue their education or find jobs.

A Quiz, Rotary Family Health Days, Youth Leadership Course & Gordon Froud.

Last Week
Steve Anastopoulos entertained us with a challenging "Mind Trap Quiz"last week.  It was great fun and we all laughed a lot but the accountants definitely had the mathematical advantage.  There were only two tables of Rotarians present because of the Rotary Family Health Days and the Club's Youth Leadership Course being held in the Magaliesberg over the weekend but it didn't matter.  Expert scoring ensured that the result was a draw.  Many thanks, Steve for providing such good entertainment and it was a pleasure meeting your wife, Vicky.

Rotary Family Health Days a Short Report from David Bradshaw

Our Club helped Kyalami and Morningside Rotary Clubs at their venues.

Kyalami was based at Ivory Park and the venue was far from ideal, 144 people were seen on the Wednesday, 324 on the Thursday and 269 on the Friday, giving them a total of 737.The Dept of Health had their yellow gazebo's with staff offering various services.  

I assisted on the Wednesday and Mark Franklin on the Thursday. They will certainly discuss with the Dept of Health an alternative venue for 2016.

Morningside held their's at the Diepsloot Methodist Church Hall which was packed with providers and offered a wide range of services including a large eye testing unit with over 40 people assisting, and with the opportunity to purchase new modern framed spectacles for R200. 

There was a mobile clinic outside the hall, private HIV testing and counselling, etc etc.

On the Wednesday they assisted 220 people and Rosebank members, Ken and Melodene Stonestreet, Jos Tsosa, Lyn Collocott, John Symons and myself assisted on the Thursday when 409 were seen.

Friday was their busiest day when 617 people were seen, giving them a grand total of 1246.

Arnold Bell of Morningside, the Club Champion for the Health Days did a wonderful job with his team in putting this all together.

There will be a full report from District going into more detail.

Youth Leadership Course

This took place over the weekend.....see President Neville's comments.  We'll put the pictures on next week.

Rotary Leadership Institute Course
There is a course on Saturday 24th October at the Rotary Centre.  If you are interested, please let me know. peter@pjsfood.co.za  I have an application form.

This Week

Our speaker is Gordon Froud, Senior Lecturer in the Dept of Visual Art at the University of Johannesburg.  he has been actively involved in the South African and international art world for more than 30 years as an artist, educator and curator.  He regularly shows on more than 20 exhibitions a year and he has just returned from Beijing where he curated an exhibition of South African work for the Beijing Biennial.  That will be the subject of his talk to us.

DG's Regional Dinner Thursday 19th November

When we have more details I will send round a circular for those who would like to go.  

We will have our normal lunchtime meeting on the following day.  

Please diarise the 19th as it is important to show our support for our Club at this event and also our support for DG David Grant.

Kristen Bell is the newest face to join Rotary's 'This Close' public awareness campaign for polio eradication. 

Bell joins Rotary's fight against polio as the service organization and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative enter the final push to eliminate the vaccine-preventable disease. With the historic removal of Nigeria from the list of polio-endemic countries last month, just two continue to report polio cases: Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"I am overjoyed to work with Rotary at such an important moment in history," Bell said. "To help create awareness about this horrible disease is exhilarating."

Bell is best known for her roles as the quick-witted, sassy title character in the hit series Veronica Mars, razor-sharp Jeannie van der Hooven of House of Lies, and the voice of Princess Anna of Arendelle in Disney's third highest-grossing film Frozen. She became interested in the importance of vaccines after the birth of her two daughters, Lincoln (age two) and Delta (age one).

"As the mother of two young girls, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to make sure every child is safe," she said. "Polio can be prevented with just 60 cents worth of vaccine - there's absolutely no reason any child should suffer from it. Hopefully by lending my voice to send this message, I can help rid the world of polio forever."

As part of the 'This Close' campaign, Bell will be featured in ads raising her thumb and forefinger in the 'this close' gesture with the tagline 'we're this close to ending polio.' Since the initiative launched in 1988, the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent, from about 350,000 cases a year to less than 400 confirmed in 2014. Kristen Bell is the newest face to join Rotary's 'This Close' public awareness campaign for polio eradication. A paralyzing and life altering disease, polio is on the verge of becoming the second human disease ever to be eliminated worldwide after smallpox.

The actress joins other public figures and celebrities participating in Rotary's public awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;  Supermodel Isabeli Fontana;  Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu; action movie star Jackie Chan; boxing great Manny Pacquiao; pop star Psy; golf legend Jack Nicklaus; conservationist Jane Goodall; premier violinist Itzhak Perlman; Grammy Award winners A.R. Rahman; Angelique Kidjo and Ziggy Marley and peace advocate Queen Noor of Jordan.

Bell's ad will debut during Rotary's World Polio Day livestream event, taking place on Friday, 23 October at 6:30 p.m. EST at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City. Click here to view the streaming event.

Rotary launched its polio immunization program PolioPlus in 1985 and in 1988 became a spearheading partner in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative with the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more recently the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Rotary's roles within the initiative are fundraising, advocacy, raising awareness and mobilizing volunteers. To date, Rotary has contributed more than $1.4 billion and countless volunteer hours to fight polio. Through 2018, every dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication will be matched two-to-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation up to $35 million a year. To date, more than 2.5 billion children have been immunized against the paralyzing and sometimes deadly polio virus.

Dubai, Julie Felix and Syrian Refugees.....amongst other things.

Last Week

Where is Dubai?  You may well ask!  The amazing thing was how many members of the club had been there...okay, many of them only in transit.  Wendie White, the MD of Lloyd Orr Communications, gave us an entertaining talk on the pleasures of Dubai  but understandably, as Dubai Tourism & Marketing is one of her clients, none of the less savoury aspects of the political side of Dubai.  Nevertheless you have to admire the economic and business acumen that transformed the one Gulf state with negligible oil into a Consumer Mecca.  Many thanks, Wendie, for an interesting talk.

A Night at the Zoo - 5th November
Lori Bramwell-Jones has organised a night experience at the Johannesburg Zoo on the 5th November.  You don't have to spend the night there but some of us will need to be careful about not being kept behind in error.  I suggest that you have your ID with you just in case.

And here's Julie Felix singing that Tom Paxton song all about it in the '60's.  She's practically forgotten today but I remember her coming to our Folk Club and thinking how exotic she was and maybe when I grew up......  Paul Simon also came but that is another story!

DG's Regional Dinner, 19th November
This is an important event as it replaces the DG's Visit to the Club.  There aren't any details as yet about cost etc but please put it in your diaries. Partners are also welcome and it gives us the opportunity to socialise with Rotarians from other clubs.  We must be well represented so let's not just leave it to those who are obliged to go....especially as David Grant sent us this nice email!

Rotary Global Grant GG1531461: Application approved

Dear President Neville, James and Mark

Congratulations to you and the Rotary Club of Rosebank on being awarded the Rotary Global Grant GG1531461 for such a worthy and exemplary project. It is a great achievement and one to be admired by all the clubs in our District.

We look forward to hearing of the project’s progress in due course.

Kind regards

David

District Governor

Rotary District 9400

This Week
Steven Anastopoulos is presenting a "Mind Trap Quiz".  I don't know what that is but it sounds extremely dangerous.  Is the Wanderers lunch bait, do you think?
I have just had my mind X-Rayed and this is what mine looks like inside....not a pretty sight.  If Steve is attempting to purify our minds with this quiz and I lose my not very attractive lodger I would be grateful.

ROTARY AND SHELTERBOX SUPPORT SYRIAN REFUGEES

A refugee family from Syria seeks shelter in cramped conditions on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Photo Credit: Rachel Harvey/ShelterBox

In Syria, where a civil war has been raging since 2011, more than 6,000 people flee the country every day. As of September, more than 4.1 million people have become refugees, and 7.6 million more have been internally displaced.

“The plight of Syria’s refugees is a litmus test for the world's compassion,” says Rotary International General Secretary John Hewko. “Rotary members worldwide are profoundly disheartened by the refugee crisis now unfolding in Syria and other parts of the world,” which the United Nations has described as the worst in decades.

“Rotary is following the situation closely,” Hewko says. “We know our members have an inherent desire to act, to relieve the suffering and uncertainty that displaced individuals and families are facing. We call on you to respond as Rotarians have for more than 100 years: to use your professional skills and acumen, leverage your connections to other leaders, and mobilize your local communities to provide the necessary resources and funding to address the humanitarian crisis.”

Rotary members can donate to the disaster relief efforts of our project partner ShelterBox. The organization has supported the Syrian relief effort for close to four years and is working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to distribute relief materials. ShelterBox is also working with communities in Greece and parts of Turkey to provide transitional housing and supplies to displaced people passing through these regions in an effort to reach other countries in Europe.

Rachel Harvey, a member of a ShelterBox response team that recently returned from Greece, says Syrian refugees are making dangerous crossings to the shores of Greece.

As many as 2,000 people arrive daily on Lesbos’ northern beaches, says Harvey, referring to a Greek island in the Aegean Sea off the Turkish coast. The trip from Turkey to Greece usually takes about an hour and a half. “The flimsy rubber dinghies are invariably overcrowded, and the majority of passengers can’t swim,” she says.

Harvey adds: "The experience is terrifying. Another trauma added to the layers that many of the displaced have accumulated through war in Syria or South Sudan, insecurity in Afghanistan or Pakistan. One man told me: 'It was a nightmare. I don’t know how we got through that trip,' ” she says.

Says Hewko: “We appreciate our clubs and members for their support, helping the millions of displaced people find shelter and rebuild their lives and communities. Every refugee is in our hearts and minds.”

Learn more about ShelterBox