Our Weekly Meeting

“Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”

We meet every Friday from 1:00 to 2:00pm at Wanderers Club, Illovo, Johannesburg. You can also join us on Zoom - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86496040522.

Monday 24 April 2017

Gambling, Blanket Drive & Modern Day Slavery

Last Week




It was a fascinating talk by Dr Stephen Louw of Wits and it covered a whole range of aspects of gambling in South Africa....even a potted history.  It was particularly interesting that the British were much tougher than their predecessors, the Dutch.
Like everything that is legalised, gambling is well controlled and, of course, taxed.  The major problem is the fact that internet gambling is illegal, widespread and uncontrolled and the police have little interest in applying the law.  This means that there is no recourse for someone who is scammed by internet gambling so it is in the interests of everybody that it should be controlled.



We had visiting Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Bareilly South, India,  Trilok Arora and his wife Madhur.  It was a pleasure to have them visit us and we exchanged banners.

Blanket Drive
This took place from Friday to Sunday outside Pick 'n Pay Nicolway Centre.  I must admit that I am not very good at this and hate doing it. Others don't like doing it and are very good at it and some of our Rotarians obviously enjoy it and are brilliant!

David Bradshaw organised it so here he is with Christine Bradshaw and our German Rotarian friend Ralf Meyer from Frankfort....notice the boerewors rolls on the side.  I don't know the final results but they look promising.


This Week
It's yet another long weekend with Thursday and Monday as public holidays so our Fellowship Meeting will just be an informal meeting in the bar and choosing from the menu.

Education breaks the Circle of Slavery
While many people would like to think that slavery was a tragedy of the past, the truth is that it still exists today, with up to 46 million people enslaved worldwide.
The Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS) has a strategy for fighting this horrible problem, working at the local level. 
“It’s this Rotarian attitude – you give them a problem and instead of throwing their hands up in dismay, they start chipping away at it piece by piece,” says Carol Hart Metzker, a member of the action group. “Maybe slavery won’t be solved in my lifetime, but in two more years, we’re going to have a whole hamlet free.”
In a village in northeastern India, the action group is tackling the problem of debt bondage. With the help of 13 clubs, a district grant through the Rotary Club of Binghamton, New York, USA, and other sources, the action group is providing $36,000 toward the work of Schools4Freedom, a project of the organization Voices4Freedom. Schools4Freedom works with local partner organization Manav Sansadhan Evam Mahila Vikas Sansthan (MSEMVS) to battle debt bondage. 
The RAGAS project will support the efforts in one of those villages for three years. The name of the village, which is in the Uttar Pradesh state, is kept secret to protect the villagers and aid workers.
Poverty, illiteracy, innumeracy, and natural disasters that destroy crops or homes can leave villagers vulnerable to debt bondage in rural villages. 
“When people don’t have enough to eat, and they barely have the ability to keep a roof over their head and their family quite literally alive, they will often turn to whatever means are possible for survival,” Metzker says. 
Families may seek an arrangement with a business owner, who asks them to sign a contract that they can’t read and therefore can’t understand, and they inadvertently trade their freedom for survival, she says.
“The slaveholder creates a scheme such that the interest is more than the family ever makes, so no money really changes hands, and the family gets further and further into debt,” Metzker says. “That contract is never paid off.”
Of the village’s 400 residents, 132 are living in debt bondage, enslaved in the slaveholder’s brick kilns, farm, or construction projects, she says. “The others are at risk because they, too, are in abject poverty.”
Hundreds of thousands of people in Uttar Pradesh and the neighboring state of Bihar are working in forced labor in industries including agriculture, domestic servitude, commercial sex, stone quarries, or brick kilns, says Bhanuja Sharan Lal, director of MSEMVS. 
The problem is exacerbated by inaction on anti-slavery laws, caste discrimination, discrimination and violence against women, lack of effective protection for children, lack of training of front-line officials, and corruption, Lal says.
The Schools4Freedom project establishes a school, including funding for two teachers. Children receive school supplies and three years of hot lunches. The village gets a computer to document the project. A solar light is installed in the village to help protect children from snakebites and help prevent sexual assault against women. Women are trained in a trade.
“What’s so amazing about Schools4Freedom is that one removes all of these vulnerabilities,” Metzker says. “You strengthen the people and then you teach them that they have basic rights so that they can go and, in a sense, demand that freedom themselves.” 
Funds also pay for a simple school structure of brick pillars with a corrugated tin roof. It keeps the extreme heat and rain at bay, “but it’s not such an amazing building that someone can take it over,” she says. “It’s not so valuable that a slaveholder would burn it down to stop the process.”
Most important, the project pays for two front-line workers who are local and highly specialized in educating the villagers. The workers teach them that they have basic human rights such as freedom and access to government services – and all of this is done quietly at first, Metzker says.
“You have to know how to do it, when to do it, the safe way to do it so that the front-line workers themselves and the villagers don’t take the brunt of a slaveholder’s anger,” she says. “We can’t, as Rotarians, do that job.”
The school structure is usually the first sign to the slaveholders that something may be happening, and they may ridicule the children for getting an education, trying to convince them that it’s pointless.
“Does the slaveholder think about where that’s going in two or three years? The writing is on the wall,” Metzker says.
Sometimes slaveholders, not wanting to lose the labor, will create employment arrangements with the villagers. Other times, slaveholders become violent and the situation requires legal action, she says.
The three-year process ensures time for the entire village to see that it is in a position of strength. 
Additionally, liberated villages are connected to a network of other freed villages, to continue supporting one another, says Peggy Callahan, co-founder of Voices4Freedom.
The problem of debt bondage is insidious because it can entrap multiple generations. But with the project efforts, “not only will these people be free and educated and able to build a life of dignity, but their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be born in freedom,” Callahan says.
Metzker, who is a member of the Rotary E-Club of One World D5240, became involved in anti-slavery efforts after a National Immunization Day trip to India in 2004, during which she visited a center for children who had been freed from slavery. She went on to write the book Facing the Monster: How One Person Can Fight Child Slavery and now works as a consultant to the Salvation Army’s New Day to Stop Trafficking program. She received Rotary’s Service Above Self Award in 2009-10.
“Someday, there is going to be such a huge difference because we realized there really is something you can do,” she says. “And we did it.”

Tuesday 18 April 2017

Phila Sonke Wellness Institute, Gambling Addiction & Brian Leech's Play Pump Inspection.

Phila Sonke
Professor Hellen Myezwa invited me to visit Phila Sonke at Dobsonville Stadium, the Home of Moroka Swallows.  As Dr James Moroka was a famous person and came from Thaba Nchu I naturally accepted.

Phila Sonke is an organization based in Dobsonville, Soweto and is the brainchild of Dr Thabiso Mmoledi who has practised in Soweto for many years.  

It consists of a team of therapists passionate about providing rehabilitation to people with severe disabilities.
Every day hundreds of South Africans are left with life changing disabilities due to strokes, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. The 85% of our population who are unable to afford private health care, will never receive adequate rehabilitation, leaving them severely disabled and placing a huge burden on their families and communities.
The great disparity in access to quality healthcare in South Africa is of great concern and Phila Sonke aims to rectify this by providing rehabilitation services to the people and communities who need it most.

Phila Sonke is a joint venture between MH & P who are a team of various types of therapists, Wits Health and Revolife, a gym and fitness centre.  The City Council allows them to use the facilities at the stadium during the week and what has been achieved in a very short period of time is amazing.  We walked into an exercise class and people were so proud of the amount of weight they had lost and, how much happier they were and how they now ate healthily.  I can see that some of our Rotary OAP's will be going there as they charge R90 a month for the gym and exercise classes.  There are a large number of disabled people who they assist free of charge.  It was real privilege to be there and to meet people and to hear of their hopes for the future.
Wits had organised a planning session the next day to which I was invited but I couldn't spare the time.  I am waiting to have the report of that meeting and then I will see if we are able to assist in any way.

This Week
Our speaker is Dr Stephen Louw on Gambling Addiction...it's an illness not a financial issue though it does obviously cause financial problems.
Dr Stephen Louw is a Senior Lecturer in Politics. Currently, his primary research interest is the social, economic and regulatory impact of gambling on societies. He was a member of the Gambling Review Commission set up by the Minister for Trade and Industry in 2010 to review the impact of gambling in South Africa and to make recommendations for the on-going regulation of the gambling sector. Currently he is researching the impact of fahfee on Gauteng households. His secondary research and teaching interests include the study of why some societies develop and others stagnate – and the role that culture, institutions, economics and class play in underpinning development – as well as the history and peculiar political form of totalitarian and religious fundamentalist movements. He has published papers in such journals as Economy & Society and The Philosophy of the Social Sciences. He is a former editor of Politikon.

Brian Leech's Play Pump Report
Unfortunately  I was unable to copy his photographs onto The Ramble.
REPORT ON VIST TO KURUMAN on 22 MARCH 2017 TO INSPECT PLAYPUMPS ERECTED AT PRIMARY SCHOOLS
KONING & KEATLHOLELA

  1. KONING PS
The Koning PS is situated approximately 22 km from and NE of Kuruman on the D 328. The School principal is Mr Vincent Molema, with 11 educators and 200 learners. 
The PlayPump was erected in October 2016, and according to Mr Molema is used by the learners before classes start in the morning and at breaks. Apparently in times of severe drought when the Local Authority is unable to supply water to the community the children take water home in containers. 
It was pleasing to see that a vegetable garden had been started and that carrots were much in evidence, being a root crop better able to withstand the heat. Mr Molema has plans of starting a chicken coup so that in time each child can take an egg home but it really is a case of a chicken or the egg as parents, living mainly on the social grant, can’t support the project financially so until funds are available to purchase a few chickens and the feed he cannot get it off the ground.  
Of concern is the area immediately around the PlayPump which is about 300 mm below the plinth level with large lumps of what looks like broken concrete blocks but is more likely to be calcrete which is just as hard. If a child falls off the PlayPump onto those lumps they will certainly hurt themselves. The whole school ground is covered in these lumps as can be seen in the photographs.’ The plinth screed is also showing signs of wear properly because the children were allowed to play on the PlayPump before it had set sufficiently. 
By coincidence, in talking to the manager, Richard Kasuffman, of The Red Sand Lodge over a beer, it turned out that he was familiar with Koning PS and knew Mr Molema. Apparently he was responsible for persuading an English benefactor to pay for the school borehole. Having visited Koning PS and over another beer, the manager was persuaded to revisit Koning PS with some of his labourers and a truck load of sand, remove the lumps of calcrete and replace the sand. It is not expected that the sand will last any longer but at least the calcrete lumps will have been removed. He was also requested to repair the screeding to the plinth.


2.    KEATLHOLELA PS

Keatlholela is a primary school 45 km east of Kuruman. There are 187 learners and 7 educators. Water used to be accessed from a borehole at the school but the pump hasn’t worked for several years so water was obtained from the community borehole one day a week. The school had to send a donkey cart to fetch the water. The school also relies on rain water which currently is non est. Result, children become dehydrated in the hot weather and the school has to close early and send them all home.  
We were met at the school by the Principal, Mrs Seloa, who gave us a warm welcome. 
Having previously phoned for specific directions to the school it was obvious that we were expected as the plinth had been washed free of any dust and gravel.

Beyond the green tank a vegetable garden had been started and among other things growing was  a grape vine. In the far distance fruit trees were also being irrigated.  To the left of the PlayPump around the base and in the shade of the tree visible in picture 5, the school had planted onions. All in all the Play Pump is being well used and the school is very grateful to have it. 
As we were about to leave the school the bell rang for break and we were nearly killed in the rush by the hordes of learners running for their place on the Play Pump from which we received a thousand cheerful waves.

Monday 10 April 2017

Bullying, No Meeting on Good Friday & Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland

Last Week
Gail Dore spoke to us about bullying in schools.  I have to admit that I was pretty sceptical about the subject but it proved to be very interesting. I was surprised when she said the traditional image of the thick thug in the playground is not the typical bully because I am sure many of us have experienced something similar.  I suppose that bullying, like everything else, has become more sophisticated.  You can bully someone in the comfort of your own home through cyberspace.

Two things from her talk really resonated.  Bullying is endemic to the human condition so that it can never be eradicated totally and that very often the bullying is orchestrated humiliation by the popular child with influence.  I immediately thought of the boy, or girl, in the class who nobody likes.......and obviously bullying is not restricted to school children.


The artists who visited us last week were Dalila De Matos and David Roux.

It's so important that they meet us as a club and see what we get up to at our meetings and contrariwise, we meet them and see examples of their work that will be available at the Arts Festival.

We started doing this last year and it really has been a great success.





A Rotarian doing his duty


No Meeting this Week.
It's Good Friday so I will add a photo of a Good Rotarian...




















Rotary in Great Britain & Ireland
CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF ROTARY YOUNG CITIZEN AWARDS

This year, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Rotary Young Citizen Awards, past winners from each year have been invited back to tell their story at the Conference in Manchester. 

The awards celebrate the positive citizenship and responsibilities that are shown by many young people. Rotary clubs nominated the winners, all of whom are youngsters who have gone to great lengths to help others, often overcoming adversity themselves.
There will also be a new set of winners for 2017 joining winners from the last decade.
You can watch the Awards live from the Rotary Conference in Manchester on the BBC News Channel on Saturday 8th April at 10:30 am. There will also be repeats on the same channel at 8:30 pm on Saturday 8th April and 4:30 pm on Sunday 9th April.

Vicky Neary, 28, and Danielle Jordan, 27

Back in 2007 when the Rotary Young Citizen Award started, the Interact Club of Ramsbottom was nominated for an award by their local Rotary Club to recognise the great community projects they were involved in both locally and globally. This included working with the Rotary Shoebox scheme to improve the lives of young people in Ukraine.



Grace O’Malley, 19

Music has played a key role in the life of Grace O’Malley. She won her Young Citizen’s Award in 2013 after being nominated by the Rotary Club of Padiham after raising tens of thousands of pounds for the Royal British Legion, a local hospice and cancer charities – and she’s got big ambitions for the future.

Harvey Parry, 11

Harvey is just 11 years old – but he’s already a successful athlete and campaigner. He won a Young Citizens Award in 2014 after being nominated by the Rotary Club of Edmonton when he was just eight. Harvey, who had to have both legs amputated after contracting meningitis as a small child, raises awareness of the illness.

Bella Field, 11

Losing her beloved sister Molly was very difficult for Bella Field – but she has dedicated herself to raising money for the children’s hospice that supported her family in honour of her sister’s memory. The Rotary Club of Redbridge nominated her for a Young Citizens Award in 2015 to recognise all her good work.

Owen Thurston, 18

Owen has epilepsy and won a Young Citizen Award last year after being nominated by the Oxted and Limpsfield Rotary Club. He’s been speaking out to raise awareness of epilepsy and improve the lives of people with the condition. He continues to campaign and take part in research.

Tuesday 4 April 2017

The Bophelo Project,Bullying & Rotary and the EU.

Last Week
Dr Mpho Ratshikana-Moloko gave us an excellent summary of Palliative Care at Baragwanath Hospital.  She gave us the historical background initiated by Wits Health, how our Bophelo Project had impacted the Renal Unit and what this meant in the long-term.
The talk was extremely valuable because, though we get reports on progress and the problems the actual affect of the Bophelo on the community was not really understood by most of us and Mpho put everything into perspective.
Richard Moloney
Ralf Meyer
We had two visiting Rotarians, Ralf Meyer from Frankfort and Richard Moloney from Parktown Excalibur.

Richard talked to us briefly about a Cervical Cancer Project that he is interested in promoting to all Rotary Clubs.







This Week
Our guest speaker is Gail Dore.
  
Gail Dore, a life skills trainer and family counsellor, has over a decade of experience in bullying amongst children of school-going age. A former drama teacher, who used stage work as a means of promoting children’s self-confi dence and communication skills, Gail became aware that some of the children in her drama classes were affected by incidents of bullying at school. She began an in-depth study of the phenomenon, which culminated in the development of an anti-bullying campaign aimed at the whole school, not just individual children. A pilot programme at five Gauteng schools proved to be a resounding success and Gail continues to advocate for her antibullying campaign to be adopted throughout the country.

She is the author of 'Bully Proof'
.  
Every day, thousands of South African children go to school filled with terror because they know they’re going to be bullied. Children who are targeted by bullies are at enormous risk, yet many parents don’t know why it is happening to their child, or what to do about it. Bully-proof looks at every aspect of bullying, from name-calling, taunting and rumour-mongering to physical assault, and examines why and how bullies behave the way they do, and what can be done to help them  and their victims. The more we understand bullying behaviour, the better we can address the underlying causes and put effective controls in place.

Studies have shown that the ‘whole school’ approach, involving pupils, teachers and parents, is by far the most effective method of reducing incidents of bullying, as well as limiting the potential for future incidents. Implementing an effective anti-bullying campaign is not just  about changing the behaviour of a few maladjusted children; it is about changing the philosophy of the entire school. Using a step-by-step approach, this book provides educators, parents, counsellors and children with the tools they need to develop a successful anti-bullying programme.
More than 240 Rotary members and other guests gathered in Brussels, Belgium, on 8 March for Rotary at the European Union, a special event that explored how Rotary and the European Union can work together to achieve peace.

The meeting was the first of its kind at the European Union (EU) and was modeled on the tradition of Rotary Day at the United Nations. Rotary members, EU officials, and business leaders at the two-hour event asked how business and civil society organizations like Rotary can work with the EU to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and build more peaceful and stable societies.
Françoise Tulkens, a professor and former vice president of the European Court of Human Rights, moderated the meeting, which included presentations from Karmenu Vella, European commissioner for environment, maritime affairs, and fisheries; Jean de leu de Cecil, general secretary of the board of Colruyt Group; Rene Branders, president of the Belgian Federation of Chambers of Commerce; and John Hewko, Rotary general secretary.

Vella emphasized the importance of working with business and civil society to achieve the development goals. He also recognized the important role Rotary can play in this global effort. 
You have a massive asset, your vast network, and you can use it to bring community stakeholders together in order to turn the SDGs into reality. Rotary International is uniquely placed to create transformational alliances between business and civil society, pushing forward the implementation of our common agenda,” said Vella.
Hewko highlighted Rotary’s efforts to address the ongoing migration crisis and foster inclusive economic development.
Rotary General Secretary John Hewko and Belgium District 2170 Governor Nathalie Huyghebaert at the European Union in Brussels.
"At Rotary, we believe that we can only respond by forming smart partnerships in which the EU, governments, civil society, the private sector, and other organizations all play an important role. This is why the growing relationship between Rotary and the European Union is a cause for optimism,” said Hewko.
Because the EU supports the global polio eradication effort, organizers of Rotary at the European Union are confident that there are other opportunities for collaboration between the organizations.
The event was coordinated with the European Commission and organized by Michel Coomans and Hugo-Maria Schally, RI representatives to the EU, with the support of Kathleen Van Rysseghem, Philippe Vanstalle, and Nathalie Huyghebaert, the governors of the Rotary districts in Belgium and Luxembourg.