Business, Visitors, John Berks and a Rotary Peace Fellow in Bogota

Last Week

It was a Business Meeting and as President Lyn was away PP Jean Bernardo ran the meeting.  It was a good start to the Rotary Year with a number of interesting projects in the pipe line.

We had two visitors, Christine Kasebe-Sata from the Rotary Club of Lusaka Central.  Here Jean Bernardo is swopping banners. .....it's nice to see that she had the same lack of height problem that I had as President when it comes to presenting something!

Thandi Madsonela also visited us basically to see what we get up to and it was great pleasure to have our honorary member, Past District Governor Peter Margolius present.

This Week

Our guest speaker is John Berks of Radio 702 fame.  Robin Binckes has just written a biography of him called "What a Boykie!"  I am not sure whether Robin will be with us. 

A story of determination and guts of a boy 'born with a wooden spoon' in his mouth, who managed through perseverance and sheer will power to turn that into one of silver. Born the third child of hardworking, honest Jewish parents in Krugersdorp in 1941, a nervy, hypochondriac who broke into a nervous rash whenever he felt uncomfortable or stressed, the boy was a total disaster, academically promoted to higher classes only because of his age. From an early age John would listen to the radio at any opportunity that presented itself, spending hours perfecting the mimicking of great commentators, holding a tablespoon up to his mouth as he spoke, setting his mind on a career in radio. Through a series of coincidences his lucky break finally came and he was employed by the fledgling commercial station LM Radio in Lourenco Marques (Maputo). From a stammering, stuttering insecure young announcer, he quickly blossomed and began to make his mark on the station. Sent to Australia by the legendary David Davies to study commercial radio John brought back the secret and pattern of success of commercial radio in Australia, which became the blueprint for broadcasting in South Africa. His radio career spanned 40 years, included working on LM Radio, SABC, Springbok Radio, Radio 5, Capitol Radio, Swazi Music Radio and 702 is legendary. Pioneering modern radio in South Africa, he broke new ground in radio broadcasting through his hilarious parodies of situations, phone calls to unsuspecting victims, his 'characters' such as 'Jan Sweetpak' and others, his humour and development of talk shows and techniques used by many today. He developed 'Theatre of the mind' and took it to new heights, with a vision to push for talk radio at a time others said it would fail and changed the face of broadcasting in South Africa. 

Rotary peace fellow applies lessons to life in Bogotá

As a child in Bogotá, Colombia, Lucas Peña was shocked to learn that violence between government forces and insurgent groups prevented his family from visiting relatives elsewhere in the country. 

Years later in college, he studied the conflict from what he calls an “academic, analytical point of view.” 

Only after graduating and joining the effort to demobilize ex-combatants did he really begin to understand the issues behind the violence that has plagued the nation for decades. (In February, members of the country’s largest insurgent group began surrendering their weapons as part of a peace deal with the government.)

Thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship, Peña earned his master’s degree in conflict, security, and development at the University of Bradford in Bradford, England, in 2015.

He now works for the World Wildlife Fund as a specialist in land governance. A member of the Bogotá Capital Rotary Club, Peña encourages other Colombians to become peace fellows. And it’s working: Five peace fellows were selected from Colombia for 2017.

Q: After college, you began working with the Organization of American States Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia, helping monitor the demobilization process of right-wing groups. What did that process entail, and what was your role in it?

A: At that time, the paramilitaries were laying down their guns, demobilizing their combatants, and participating in judicial processes. This was in exchange for spending only five to eight years in jail. As part of the demobilization process, the government had to issue identification to the ex-combatants, because without identification, they couldn’t re-integrate into society. The government provided them with health insurance and education, too. 

What I did was report on their security conditions and the re-integration process of the ex-combatants. I did that by talking to people – local government officials, military, police officers, victims.

Q: How does your current work at the World Wildlife Fund pertain to peace?

A: We are working toward a policy for the provision of land to peasants who live in natural parks in Colombia. The peasants’ lack of land is what made them go to the national parks and live there illegally. There’s plenty of land in Colombia, but the good stuff is already owned; less than 1 percent of the population owns more than half of Colombia’s best land.

We expect the public-policy response will include the provision of land, but it also has to ensure that the peasants will be given productive land, as well as the means of making that land productive. Solving this problem is part of the peace accord that the Colombian government has reached with FARC [the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia], the biggest guerrilla group. 

Q: What did you learn from your time as a Rotary Peace Fellow?

A: Peacebuilding is not only a matter of local communities, not only a matter of national government, and not only a matter of the international community; it’s a mix of all those levels. Another thing I learned is that the world itself is getting safer, in that the number of people killed in conflicts has decreased proportionate to the population. It’s a very long and slow process, but the world is becoming more secure.  

Annette Jahnel, Ties, a Business Meeting, Anns' Appeal and the Sad Death of RI President Elect.

Last Week

Annette Jahnel spoke to us about here travels and the books she writes to keep her travelling.  I think the main purpose of her visit was to try and sell books.
We were subjected to a bit of pseudoscience about DNA changing which it does all the time by mutating as it's a living organism but if it really changed to the degree we were led to believe it wouldn't be much use in criminal prosecutions.  I couldn't quite come to grips with what she was talking about maybe because I am always dubious of  'unique revelations' and 'research' that consists of chatting to odd people.








President Lyn presented Cuthbert Gumbochuma with a tie.

I'm not sure why.  We have a lot of these semi-obsolete articles of male attire in stock and he certainly won't be wearing it with this shirt!  Well, I hope not!








This Week
It's a Business Meeting.  We are reverting to the old format.

Appeal from the Anns

The Rotary Anns have been making up “comfort bags for victims of abuse and rape and donating them to NGOs that deal with such matters.  We include among other things a small towel and a face cloth. We try to keep the cost as low as possible in this on going project and this is an appeal to the Rotarians to give towels and face cloths that are getting old to the Anns for the comfort bags project. 

We also plan a book sale later this year and a jumble sale – so please, if you have anything to donate, you can hand it over to Les Short at a meeting. 

The Rotary flags in front of Rotary International World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and Rotary offices around the world fly at half-staff this week as friends and colleagues mourn President-elect Sam F. Owori, who died on 13 July from complications after surgery. 

With an engaging smile and a calming voice, Sam put everyone he talked to at ease, says Hilda Tadria , a member of the Rotary Club of Gaba, Uganda, and a close friend of Sam and his wife, Norah. 

“I call it the ‘Sam Smile,’” says Tadria. “It made him very approachable and easy to talk to. I think his smile is one of the things Rotary and his friends will miss most.”

Sam, who had been elected to serve as president of Rotary International in 2018-19, would have been the second African Rotary member, and the first Ugandan, to hold that office. He joined Rotary in 1978 and was a member of the Rotary Club of Kampala, Uganda.

“No matter the situation, Sam was always upbeat, always joking around and putting everyone else in a good mood,” says Tadria.

One of the admirable things about Sam, Tadria says, was his love and devotion to his wife. They met in primary school in Tororo, Uganda. Sam described Norah Owori as beautiful, well-educated, and full of character. 

“He adored Norah and always put her first.” Tadria says. “They were best friends and partners for life. It was very sweet to see them together. They never left each other’s side.”

Sam was highly respected in Uganda, Tadria says, for his high integrity and consistent ethical standards. Those qualities, she says, are important in a Rotary president. “He was a man everyone could trust.” 

She adds, “He preferred listening to speaking. It’s one reason he was so well-liked.” 

The road to president-elect

Like many members, Sam was invited to Rotary by a persistent friend. “I did not want to go,” he cheerfully acknowledged years later. “I had no interest. But I had respect for my friend, so I went. And when I got there, I was in shock. The room was full of people I knew.” 

The more Sam saw of Rotary’s good work, the more enthusiastic he became. He is largely credited with the tremendous increase in clubs in Uganda: from nine in 1988, when he was district governor, to 89 today. His friends called his enthusiasm “the Owori madness” — to which he mildly replied, “If it is madness, I would be glad if more people would catch it.”

Sam described himself as “an incorrigible optimist” who chose to see the best side of everyone and the bright side of any situation. Gentle in manner, unfailingly modest, and quick to smile, Sam is remembered as “Smiling Sam,” says RI President Ian Riseley. 

John Smarge, who was selected by Sam to be his presidential aide, called Sam a “rock star” among Rotary members. “In just the two weeks he was president-elect, you could see how much he was loved,” Smarge says. “The Rotarians in Uganda view him as a national treasure.”

Smarge adds, “He spoke with quiet confidence and simple complexity.” 

Sam brought an unyielding sense of right and wrong to his work as chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda, to his previous work with the African Development Bank and other institutions, and to his work with Rotary. 

Sam, who was one of 15 children, attributed his deep ethical sense to his upbringing, and particularly his father, who had been a school principal and then a county chief in Uganda. “He was a very strict disciplinarian,” Sam remembered, “and when he became chief, he ran that county like a big school — with a ruler. He insisted that everything was done the right way.” 

Sam’s Rotary career spanned some of Uganda’s most difficult years, including the dictatorship of Idi Amin, who was deeply suspicious of Rotary and often sent agents to spy on Rotary meetings. “Sometimes people came as guests, and you wouldn’t know exactly where they were coming from or who invited them,” Sam said later. “We always welcomed them. We had nothing to hide.”

Prominent Ugandan Rotary members, including Sam’s own manager at the bank where he worked, were picked off the streets by Amin’s forces and killed. Many Rotary clubs closed and most members withdrew: from a high of 220 members, Rotary membership dropped to around 20. 

One day, Sam recalled, a member was taken right in front of Sam’s club. “We had just finished our meeting and were standing in front of the entrance of the hotel. He got picked up right there in front of us. Two guys threw him in the truck of a car and we never saw him again.”

Undeterred, Sam was back at his meeting the next week.  

An avid learner, Sam held a graduate degree in labor law from the University of Leicester, England; a business management degree from California Coast University; and a management graduate degree from Harvard Business School. 

He served Rotary in many capacities, including RI director, trustee of The Rotary Foundation, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, regional RI membership coordinator, and RI representative to the United Nations Environment Program and UN-Habitat. He was a member or chair of several committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee, the Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and the Audit Committee. 

Sam and Norah became Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors, and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.  

Sam is survived by his wife, Norah; three sons, Adrin Stephen, Bonny Patrick, and Daniel Timothy; and grandchildren Kaitlyn, Sam, and Adam.

Major Tom.....oops Tim, Annette Jahnel & the best comments I have read on Rotary Projects for a long time.

Last Week
I had .....and still have...flu so I was unable to attend the meeting.  One advantage is that I can write the Ramble in bed.  This has made me think about the future of Rotary and the eClub, at least, could have an in bed meeting. It's a thought.

Tim Truluck flanked by James Croswell & Obakeng Moloko

Many thanks to Lyn who sent me a report plus pics of last Friday's meeting.  Here is what she had to say:

Tim Truluck, the current Councillor for  Rosebank gave an interesting and informative talk to the Club last Friday.

He told of some of the challenges  of an almost overnight transition from opposition to being the majority in the Council.

He advised members on how to log water and electricity faults with the Council.

He also suggested that people log on to Twitter, as this is one of the  the best ways of communicating with the Council re faults.

 

Mike Lamb presented a banner from the Rotary Club of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.

He entertained us with some of the background to the banner.

This Week

Our speaker is another motivational speaker, Annette Jahnel.  I doubt whether flu will allow me not to be motivated again  The puffing below will show you what I mean.  A quick dip into Plato's Republic would be a good antidote. 

Annette is a new age nomad, a pusher of boundaries, a catalyst, a destroyer of boxes, a peaceful anarchist and a questioner of every thing. Annette would like live in a world where borders and boundaries were only figments of the imagination, language was a universal think tank and shiny small things were exciting only to magpies. Annette would like to live in a world where the mind advanced faster than the computer and the only thing that governed us was our own self-control. Annette does not care for fashion or shoes she does not know the latest fancy restaurants or hip words, although she knows a lot of words and uses them in a variety of interesting and exciting ways. Annette doesn’t believe that all is right with the world. Or that technology is the answer to everything. Annette thinks bunny huggers are as dangerous as dolphin hunters and that the only way forward is to evolve and the only way to evolve is to pay as much attention to our brains as we do to our biceps. She believes human evolution can only take place in the human mind and that humans should pay more attention to thinking than shopping. Annette thinks, a good think is a great way to pass the time and that having a truly original thought is as good as it gets. When she leaves people happier and more inspired than when she found them she believes she has done well. Annette sees rainbows in dews drops and value in a carpenters hand made chair but none in a banker’s lair. She knows to step lightly in deserts and other people’s lives and beliefs. She knows she knows nothing and is quite happy to admit it, having discovered that it is the best way to learn something new everyday. And despite not having many pairs of shoes or in fact much stuff at all she doesn’t feel in the least deprived as she believes the pursuit of wisdom is far more exciting than the pursuit of stuff. Join her on a little trip around the planet and experience the world through her eyes because above all, Annette sees thing differently.

Rotary member and author Marilyn Fitzgerald stresses the importance of community involvement for sustainable service projects.

Rotary members, volunteers, and donors are usually excited to talk about successful projects. Marilyn Fitzgerald, a member of the Rotary Club of Traverse City, Michigan, USA, draws inspiration from a far less popular topic: failure.

A clinical psychologist and author, Fitzgerald has spent years studying economic development projects in poor countries, where well-intentioned efforts to improve lives sometimes backfire. Now she travels the world to consult on projects and speak to Rotary clubs about sustainability and lessons from her fieldwork. We caught up with her at One Rotary Center, where she had addressed Rotary staff.

Q: How did you come to focus on sustainability in projects?

A: Looking back on international projects I’ve been involved with, I realized that they often created a dependency on the Rotarians, outsiders coming into a community with money and good intentions. I asked myself why projects no longer existed, why the people we wanted to help weren’t carrying on like we planned. I started to realize that those people were not included in project planning, and that’s not sustainable.

What does it take for people to sustain a project themselves, and go on without our help? It’s about getting away from the charity model, where we give things away, and getting into the opportunity model, where we empower people to carve their own paths out of poverty.

Q: How does that work?

A: I work with microloan programs that provide entrepreneurs with capital to start or invest in a business, and the programs I work with always incorporate an educational component. People sometimes don’t know how to count or even the cost of the goods they’re selling. They can get themselves into terrible financial trouble.

It’s amazing to watch in the field: You teach financial literacy, and the people that will listen and learn are the youth and the mothers and grandmothers, the core of the community. In the past we’ve given loans mostly to men and learned when we give a loan to a man, he gets some money, develops a business, and often leaves his family. Women tend to take better care of the money and share their skills with the community.

Q: How do we define sustainability with respect to humanitarian work? 

A: There are two main areas of humanitarian aid. One is relief aid, and we don’t expect for that to be sustainable; we expect to take people out of dire straits and help them get back on their feet. Development aid has to do with people being able to do something for themselves, so they’re not dependent on us. It’s a simple litmus test: What will happen to these people if you walk away today?

I was involved in a scholarship program in Indonesia where I was raising $72,000 a year for 1,200 kids to go to school. I didn’t think too much about what would happen if I didn’t show up [with the money] one year, because I planned to keep showing up. You know who thought about it? 

The mothers and the children — every year they worried if I was going to be there or not. That wasn’t a sustainable source of income for tuition and we had to change our approach. Income from livestock eventually helped that community become more self-sufficient.

Q: What steps can Rotary clubs take to make their projects more sustainable?

A: The first step is to involve the community you want to help; talk to the people who live there about their priorities.

In Guatemala, I worked with women who lived and worked on a city dump. A group of Rotarians came in with the goal of providing shelter for these women and their children. But the houses they built were four miles from the dump, and it wasn’t practical for the women to stay there during the workweek.

One woman later told me she had never asked for a house, that she was used to living outside, and what she really wanted was an education for her children. Do you know how much cheaper that would have been than building houses?

As Westerners, we often think we know the answers, we know people need clean water. What we forget to ask is whether they think they need clean water. Does what you’re offering matter to them? If not, you have to go back to the drawing board and come up with something that will matter.

The DG's Visit, a Councillor calls, and Telemedicine in Rural Nigeria.

Last Week

Isn't it fantastic when the DG's visit comes so early in the Rotary Year and you can do a really good PR job on what the club intends doing and then he goes away and hasn't a clue whether you ever do anything at all.  DG Jankees Slicher was his usual jovial self and presented President Lyn Collocott with his banner for the year.

This Week

We have Cllr Tim Truluck talking about municipal things.  There's quite a difference between being in opposition and being in control of Johannesburg. It will be interesting to hear what he has to say.
He is President Lyn's councillor and I am sure she has a list of things she wants him to sort out.
If anyone else has complaints about their area now is the  time to air them.




Rotary Leadership Institute
President Lyn mentioned last week that I was the regional representative for RLI in Region 2 and I have already been asked to speak to a couple of clubs in the region.  I became involved purely because you had asked me to be President Elect and I thought I needed to be up-to-date with what has happening in Rotary because it is so easy to rest on your laurels within the organisation.  I then just stuck with it as I felt it was a very valuable experience and the discussions were great.
We are working on a short version of the first programme which could be used within the Rotary Club as an introduction to Rotary at the 'Fireside/Poolside Chat'...whatever.

Bophelo Palliative Care Project
The final report is now on the page with the link at the top.  It was only completed this week and has pictures.  It has already appeared on Facebook.

Anns Visit to Ikageng
Just click on the Anns' Page


Technology allows Virtual Doctor Appointments in Rural Nigeria (something that could work here!)

On a visit to southern Nigeria last October, Dr. James K. Gude of Sebastopol, Calif., and Mikel Cook of the Rotary Club of Sebastopol Sunrise learned how hard it can be to bring medical care to rural areas.

“We drove 20 or 30 miles from the Federal Medical Centre of Yenagoa to a satellite hospital, and it took an hour,” recalls Gude, an honorary Rotarian who is medical director of Sebastopol-based telemedicine services company OffSiteCare. “Big chunks of the road were flooded, and there were people all over the place; we were going through villages and trying not to hit anybody.”

 That laborious journey illustrated the reason for their visit – to help make health care available to people in isolated areas. In rural portions of Nigeria, a country with only one physician for every 2,500 people, many Nigerians seeking health services have to make trips much more arduous than the drive Cook and Gude undertook. The result, of course, is that a great many people simply don’t receive care. While it would be ideal to get more doctors in remote regions, that would take years.

Gude and the Sebastopol Sunrise Rotarians are part of a larger effort to bring technology to bear on the problem, using telemedicine – the use of information technology to provide health care from a distance – to bring doctors to patients virtually. And thanks to a global grant from The Rotary Foundation, a team of health care professionals from Nigeria has been trained in telemedicine.

The team observes a demonstration of a telemedicine robot; Mikel Cook (from left), Hussain, Obikeze, Kemelagha, and Dr. James K. Gude.

Telemedicine has been around for many years, but only as internet speeds have gotten faster has it become practical. Telemedicine allows physicians to connect with patients remotely, as well as to consult with colleagues all over the world. At its simplest, it consists of a chat via online video, but it can also allow a physician to examine a patient remotely using a robot.

The Sebastopol Sunrise Rotarians have been involved with telemedicine since 2012, when then-President Gail Thomas (a former senior official in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) proposed it as a club priority. 

“We decided that we wanted to make a long-term commitment to telemedicine because it guides treatment and it saves lives,” says Cook, a computer consultant. “It counters the global tendency for physicians to concentrate in big cities, leaving the countryside without easy access.”

Since then, the club has worked with other Rotarians and with Gude to bring telemedicine technology and training to several hospitals around the world, including facilities in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe. 

Participating hospitals can use their telemedicine capabilities to consult with Gude and his medical colleagues on particularly difficult cases. For example, a patient in Congo avoided an unnecessary procedure to remove his spleen, thanks to his physician’s ability to tele-consult with Gude and his network.

Along the way, Thomas and Cook helped found a nonprofit, Global OffSite Care, devoted to bringing Rotarian resources together in support of telemedicine projects worldwide. Gude, whose company provides telemedicine services to several hospitals in Northern California, has been an enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteer. 

The Nigeria connection began in 2013, when Princess Frances Kemelagha, a psychiatrist at the Federal Medical Centre in Yenagoa and a member of the Rotary Club of Yenagoa, learned about Global OffSite Care at the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon and was instantly captivated. 

The medical professionals from Nigeria (clockwise from top left: Sheriff Hussain, Dr. Obioma Obikeze, Dr. Finomo Finomo, Dr. Dennis Allagoa, Princess Frances Kemelagha, and Adeolu Tella) visit Sebastopol, Calif., for telemedicine training.

So it was that in August and September 2015 – thanks to a global grant and the efforts of Rotarians from Sebastopol, Rancho Cotati, and Santa Rosa East, plus the Sonoma State University Rotaract Club and others – she and five colleagues flew to Northern California for 11 days of training under Gude in telemedicine best practices.

Since then, Kemelagha says, she has seen the training’s effects in better outcomes for both patients and doctors. Thanks to telemedicine, a 75-year-old patient from a remote village was found in need of a potentially lifesaving pacemaker. The colleague consultations via telemedicine are having other unexpected benefits. “Our resident doctors are learning so much more that they are beginning to pass their exams with ease,” she notes.

During a follow-up visit to the Federal Medical Centre last October, Cook and Gude found the Nigerian team making good use of their new telemedicine capabilities. Those include a donated InTouch Health robot, a device that allows the remote physician to see and examine the patient and even hear the sound transmitted from a stethoscope to aid in making a diagnosis. 

“The need for telemedicine can never be overemphasized,” says Kemelagha. “Health care should be for everyone – for the underprivileged, for the underserved, for the remote areas – not just for the rich.” 

Lyn's Induction Dinner, the DG's Visit, Region 2 Dinner & New Zealand Rotarians help Leprosy Sufferers in Tanzania.

Liz Short (R) hands over to Shirley Eustace as Ann Presiden

Lyn Collocott's Induction Dinner







It's best said in pictures...the food was great as was the company.  We all had a great time.

Certificates of Appreciation to James Croswell, Mark Franklin & Neville Howes for their work on the Bophelo Baragwanath Palliative Care Project.  Marianne Soal was not present to receive her certificate.

Certificates of Appreciation to Lyn Collocott & Joan Sainsbury for their work for the Rotary Arts Festival

After all those jokes about 30 years of 100% Attendance at Discon, Ken Stonestreet received a certificate for 40 years!

Moira Katz

Dr Mark Potterton

Dr Pierre Vercueil

 Paul Harris Fellowships were granted to Dr Pierre Vercueil for his pro bono work as an ophthalmic surgeon with a special mention of surgery he has done on behalf of Rosebank Rotary Club.

To Dr Mark Potterton, principal of Holy Family College, Parktown for his services to education and specifically for his hosting, helping and assisting with our Rotary Careers Day for the past 3 years.

To Moira Katz, CEO of the SA National Children's Theatre  for the work she has done bringing live theatre to thousands of children, both rural and urban, throughout South Africa.

Peter James-Smith inducts Lyn Collocott as President of the Rotary Club of Rosebank Johannesburg 2017-18

DG Jankees Sligcher presents PJS with a certificate for the best weekly newsletter in District 9400 2016-17

President Bongani Sakhile Lunga of Highlands North Interact Club with supporters including Cesare & Donny Vidulich

The Club Board for 2017-18

This Week
It's the DG's visit and he will be having lunch with us before meeting the eClub.  We seem to be having DG Jankees Sligcher once a week at the moment and then he will probably vanish for the rest of the year.

Region 2 Dinner Friday 21st July

Our region stretches from Northcliffe through town to Sandton and Randburg so it is quite a few clubs.

The Dinner will be at the Lifestyle Centre in the Douglasdale Retirement Home, 28 Galloway Ave, Bryanston.

6:30 for 7:00pm

Cost R210 pp (bring your own wine or spirits.)

Dress Code Smart Casual

Some of us may like to attend this as GTC were strong supporters of the Rotary Arts Festival.  

I gather that there was a previous concert which I didn't know about.

Don't forget to take along your penny whistle or whatever your instrument is so that you can join in.  

I used  to be a very bad 4th 'cellist and learnt very quickly that as long as you move your bow with everyone else and don't press too hard nobody will notice. 

Cared for with love 

With the support of a group of New Zealand Rotarians, leprosy victims and their families in Tanzania are receiving the care they deserve.

Head of Ritaliza Secondary School, Sister Mary Masway, and Sister in Charge Upendo Rehabilitation Home, Sister Maryagatha Massae. 

When PDG Stuart Batty and the late John Somerville travelled to Tanzania in 2001, their journey took them to the Upendo Rehabilitation Home for Leprosy Sufferers in Maji ya Chai. The centre was home to 150 men, women and children, including widows of leprosy victims and families where both parents suffered the debilitating, though curable, condition. 
The Rotary Club of Arusha, Tanzania, established the home in 1995, providing accommodation for leprosy sufferers and their families. Prior to this, victims had been forced to scrape together a living on the streets and take up residence on a nearby riverbank. Upendo, which means “cared for with love”, improved their welfare considerably, though improvements were necessary to make facilities and resources accessible. 
John and Stuart asked how New Zealand Rotarians could assist the effort. The suggestion of helping the children of Upendo led to the launch of Project CHEF, an acronym for Clothe, House, Educate and Feed. Since then, many children have been assisted by the effort, such as Monica Maiko, who has been supported by the Rotary Club of East Coast Bays, NZ, since she was a baby, with the nickname “Happy”. 
Rotary oversaw the transference of Upendo’s management to the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood in 2003, who specialise in the care of the sick. Previously, the sisters would bicycle up the long and dusty road to Upendo each week to tend to the foot and leg sores of those with leprosy. Rotary’s offer to the sisters to take up residence at Upendo was happily accepted. In the years since, they have greatly improved living conditions and provision of health care services and hygiene education. The sisters, with Rotary’s support, further prepare the children for formal schooling and encourage residents to realise their potential, despite their circumstances. 
Thankfully, leprosy rates in the area have declined in the decades since Upendo’s establishment, with the facility instrumental in reducing incidence and spread. Today, Upendo has branched out to care for the poorest of the poor, as well as leprosy sufferers.
Monica is currently attending St Ritaliza Secondary School, a boarding school close to the Kenyan border. Stuart recently returned to Tanzania and was delighted to meet Monica, accompanied by Head Sister Agatha of Upendo. “New Zealand Rotarians can be proud of their contribution to helping children like Monica on their way to a now bright future,” Stuart said. C