Elizabeth Louw, Artists, Infections and another Ambassador for Polio Plus in Nigeria.

Last Week

Elizabeth Louw, the Director of the College of Orientation & Mobility at SA Guide Dogs Association came to talk to us about the college.  We have donated a substantial amount to the college over a number of years and last year we were in a position to pay for a trainee for the whole year.  The trainees are sighted people who are trained to assist blind people,particularly in the  rural areas, with white cane training, home orientation to make their life easier and even simple things like recognising the different bank notes so that they ensure that they receive the whole of the social grant they are entitled to from the person who collects it on their behalf.
The depth and scope of the training was amazing even to the extent of taking trainees into shops and shopping centres with the assistance of shopkeepers.  Those of us who are sighted take so much for granted.
It was pleasing for us all to hear what good use is made of the money that we raise for the college.  Congratulations to you, Elizabeth and all your co-workers.
The big surprise was that Mpumalanga is the only province that pays for a number of trainees every year and at the same time employs trainers to assist blind people through-out the province which is quite shocking as it certainly is not a wealthy province.

Henry Jensen introduced this weeks Rotary artists.

Ronel Potgieter, Dini Condy, Henry Jensen, Hilary Bateman and Joan Sainsbury

This Week




Antoinette Moolman is going to talk to us about 'Infections'.  I am afraid I know little more than that!
Antoinette is an Associate Lecturer in the Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Unit at Wits and she is an Infection Control Specialist.

Nigerian singer/songwriter Tiwa Savage is the newest face to join Rotary’s ‘This Close’ public awareness campaign for polio eradication.

Savage, who has been described by CNN as Nigeria’s biggest pop star, will help Rotary achieve its goal of a polio-free world by raising awareness about the vaccine-preventable disease. Savage administered a vaccine to children in Lagos in late April. Nigeria regularly conducts mass immunization campaigns to vaccinate every child under the age of five in the country.The singer's participation in this program comes at a critical juncture. Last year, Nigeria experienced a polio outbreak that paralyzed four children after passing nearly two years without a case of the disease. Her involvement in the campaign will raise important awareness that will help ensure the outbreak is stopped. 

“This is a cause that hits close to home for me, not only as a mother of a small child, but as a proud Nigerian, whose country has been battling this disease for many years,” said Savage.

Savage’s musical career began when she was 16 years of age as a backup singer for George Michael. Before going out on her own, she worked with many other well-known musicians, such as Whitney Houston, Kelly Clarkson, Andrea Bocelli, Mary J Blige and many more. Tiwa Savage is also a successful songwriter. She was signed to Sony/ATV Music before establishing her own label 323 Entertainment which teamed up with Marvin Records in 2012. 

Last year, Savage signed with Roc Nation as a management client  Already a superstar in her home country, her social media has amassed to a staggering 2.9 million followers on Instagram, 1. 8 million on Facebook, and 1.7 million on Twitter. 

Savage announced her new partnership with Rotary last week in New York City at a World Immunization Week event. As part of the ‘This Close’ campaign, Savage 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 37 cases in 2016.

The Nigerian music star joins other public figures and celebrities participating in Rotary’s public awareness campaign, including Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation;  actress Kristen Bell; 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.

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 $1.6 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 polio, a paralyzing and sometimes deadly disease.