Our speaker is Gary Jackson of Jackson's Whole Food Market in Bryanston. Gary has had an interesting career in retailing after studying at UCT. He even has a Degree in Hamburgerology from McDonald's! He ran four McDonald's franchises at one stage and also owned a very successful Woolworth's franchise before they discontinued franchising.
It's quite a switch from McDonald's to Organic & Ethical Food Products. It will be interesting to hear if he had a Damascus Road Conversion or if it was a more gradual process.
He is also one of the founders of the Twice as nice 4 Kids Foundation that seeks to improve the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Johannesburg so he is on the same wavelength as ourselves.
Last Week
Johnathan Hollard talk to us about Abhu Dhabi as a tourist destination and showed us a number of videos.It's obvious that his job is to sell Abhu Dhabi but I was delighted that he was well aware of the controversies surrounding human rights and particularly the plight of foreign workers as he had seen how they are housed.
Swedish Friendship Exchange
They had just arrived on Friday morning and were, no doubt, feeling somewhat frazzled! Mike Lamb welcomed them as you can see top left and, bottom right, the tallest one is not a Swede, it's Mark Franklin standing in for President Neville! Don't be misled by "Danmark" on the banner, it's not the same place.
The idea was that they would attend our lunch but somehow or other we seem to have more involvement than that as we as we are hosting two couples and some of us will be attending the dinner in Benoni.
Mark Franklin organised little canapes before lunch which were very nice and a brilliant idea particularly as Wanderers produced the most bizarre lunch we have had for a long time. I'm sure that most of Sweden will soon believe that South Africans always eat ravioli with rice!
Quarterly Dinner
I brilliantly announced the wrong date for the dinner at the meeting on Friday! It's actually Thursday 26th November and will be Indian. I will organise a set price per person for the meal. More details will follow.
Sue Wilson wrote about this fascinating project which aimed to recruit new members for her club as well as raise awareness of what Rotary can do:
Our Club, the Rotary Club of Ormskirk Clocktower in West Lancashire has been working with Against Breast Cancer to recycle bras to raise much needed funds as well as supporting ladies' international communities.
Most men are entirely oblivious to the fact that these items of used clothing are very often not taken to charity shops because bras are classified as underwear and are not acceptable.Our Club has been strategically placing donation boxes and asking ladies to donate their bras to charity instead of just throwing them in the bin.
In the first instant the bras are weighed and Against Cancer gets 1 pound per kg for Cancer Research.
Secondly, the bras are then transported by a global textile company to under privileged countries and sold to women who would normally not be able to afford a bra.
These Bra Bins are located in offices, churches, slimming groups, golf clubs, libraries and many other places and each time a bra bin is sited there has to be a conversation about the project. Everytime non-Rotarians find out about Rotary and it refutes the image of elderly men having lunch in hotels and it shows that Rotary improves the lives of women across communities and countries.
Rotary needs to be seen to be involved in more female-related charity work as a way of opening up to more prospective members.
ROTARY HONOURS SIX ‘GLOBAL WOMEN OF ACTION’ AT THE UNITED NATIONS FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP AND HUMANITARIAN SERVICE
Rotary will honured six women – all members of Rotary clubs across the globe – at its "Rotary Day at the United Nations" event on Nov. 7. Rotary's 'Global Women of Action' will be recognized for donating their time, talents and expertise towards helping thousands of people in need throughout the world.
Since the volunteer service organization's founding more than 100 years ago, Rotary has harnessed the strength of professional and community leaders to tackle humanitarian challenges at home and abroad. Today, Rotary provides a platform for successful men and women of all ethnicities, faiths and cultures to make the world a better place through volunteer service.
"Every day at Rotary I see first-hand how our members work to change lives and make significant impact around the world," said Rotary International President K.R. Ravindran. "Through hard work, dedication and selflessness, Rotary's 'Global Woman of Action' embody Rotary's motto, 'Service Above Self', and I extend my warmest congratulations to them for their outstanding service to humanity."
Rotary's 'Global Women of Action' are:
Kerstin Jeska-Thorwart, Nuremberg, Germany: A member of the Rotary Club of Nurnberg-Sigena, Jeska-Thorwart is the creator of the "Baby Hospital Galle" project, which she launched after surviving the devastation of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka. With a budget of USD 1.8 million and the support of 200 Rotary clubs and 6,000 members, the project rebuilt and equipped the Mahamodara Teaching Hospital in Galle, Sri Lanka. In the 11 years since its inception, the project has helped more than 150,000 children and provided healthcare services to more than 2.2 million women.
Dr. Hashrat A. Begum, Dhaka, Bangladesh: A member of the Rotary Club of Dhaka North West, Begum has been at the forefront of the women's health in Bangladesh, implementing several large scale projects to deliver health care to underserved communities. She works to organize free weekend clinics for slum dwellers, providing vocational training to girls who have dropped out of school, empowering women to earn livelihoods as seamstresses, and working to raise awareness of social and health issues among young people. Begum also works to fund a clinic for the people of Washpur, a densely populated slum township outside of Dhaka with virtually no access to clean water or health facilities.
Dr. Deborah K. W. Walters, Troy, Maine, United States: A member of the Rotary Club of Unity, Walters, a neuroscientist, has served as the director and supporter of Safe Passage (Camino Seguro), a non-profit organization that helps to provide educational and social services to children and families who live in the Guatemala City garbage dump. Walters also led an initiative to improve water systems and build latrines for people living in and around the dump.
Razia Jan, Wellesley, Mass., United States: A member of the Rotary Club of Duxbury, Jan, an Afghan native living in the United States, has worked for decades to build connections between Afghans and Americans while improving the lives of young women and girls in Afghanistan. She is the Founder and Director or the Zabuli Education Center, a school that serves more than 430 girls in Deh'Subs, Afghanistan. The school teaches the girls mathematics, English, science, and technology, as well as providing practical skills, preparing them to succeed and achieve economic freedom within a challenging social environment. She was recognized as a CNN Hero in 2012.
Stella S. Dongo, Harare, Zimbabwe: A member of the Rotary Club of Highlands, Stella Dongo leads the Community Empowerment Project in Zimbabwe. The project provides basic business skills and computer training to more than 6,000 women and youth infected or affected by HIV in urban Harare. She is working to expand the project to serve an additional 600 participants in the region. She has served on the boards of World Vision Zimbabwe and Women's University Africa.
Lucy C. Hobgood–Brown, Hunters Hill, NSW, Australia: A member of the eClub of Greater Sydney, Hobgood–Brown is a communication and project management specialist and educator with more than 30 years of experience living and working in nine countries. She is the co-founder of HandUp Congo, a non-profit organization that strategically links existing and potential collaborators with grassroots community initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Working with Rotary clubs, she raised funds and led a team of experienced health care workers to support public health infrastructure for Ebola containment in the Congo.
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