Isn't it annoying when a speaker cancels at the last minute especially when it has been organised well in advance. Maybe it's a bit like some people who accept invitations when in fact they really mean "Yes, we would love to come unless something better turns up".No Dalene Naude so Mark Franklin stepped into the breach and gave us a very interesting talk about a book he was reading entitled Affluence without Abundance - the Disappearing World of the Bushmen by Dr James Suzman. It was a fascinating talk
Suzman was the first social anthropologist to work in Namibia's eastern Omaheke among "Southern Ju/'hoansi" where he exposed the brutal marginalisation of San that had lost their lands to white cattle ranchers and pastoralist Herero.
In 1998 Suzman was appointed to lead the landmark study, The Regional Assessment of the Status of the San in Southern Africa. Based on an ACP/EU resolution.
Suzman later led an assessment by the Minority Rights Group International to assess how Namibia's ethnic minorities had fared in the first ten years of Namibian Independence. The subsequent report was published in 2002. Emerging during period of political upheaval in Namibia, it led to calls for the better protection of ethnic minorities in Namibia. The Namibian Government rejected the report's findings and the President, Sam Nujoma, accused Suzman of amplifying "ethnic tensions".
In 2001, Suzman was awarded the Smuts Commonwealth Fellowship in African Studies at Cambridge University.
Suzman later established a program to establish opportunities for Hai//om San to benefit from tourism revenues in Etosha National Park. Suzman was also involved in the dispute that arose as a result of the illegal relocation of Gwi and Gana San from Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Suzman was highly critical of the Botswana Government's actions and, later, Survival International's campaign which he claimed undermined ongoing negotiations between the Botswana Government and a coalition of organisations supporting the evicted San. Survival International, in turn, criticised Suzman and members of the negotiating team lead by Ditshwanelo, The Botswana Centre for Human Rights of complicity with the Botswana Government.
In 2007, Suzman joined De Beers where as Global Head of Public Affairs he developed De Beers award-winning sustainability functions. He resigned in 2013.
In 2013 Suzman and Jimmy Wales teamed up with Lily Cole to launch Impossible.com at the Cambridge Union. In the same year he was invited to deliver the 2nd Protimos Lecture at the Parliament Chamber of London's Inner Temple.
This Week
Our speaker is Varsha Sewpersad. Varsha Sewpersad is the senior audiologist and practice owner at Speak Today, Hear Forever Practice (STHF), who prides herself in implementing research proven practices within all services offered by STHF.
Having worked within hospitals, specialised preschools, remedial schools, medico-legal teams and private practices in South Africa and Dubai, Varsha has gained extensive and valuable experience within the fields of speech therapy and audiology.
With a great passion and desire to improve the quality of lives of individuals with speech, language and/or hearing difficulties, Varsha qualified with her Honours Degree in the Bachelor of Communication Pathology at the University of Pretoria and further went on to obtain her Master's Degree in Audiology at the University of Witwaterstrand. Varsha is a published author and enjoys conducting research to increase her knowledge in the field.
Careers Morning Saturday 10th March
I have sent out reminder emails to all those who participated last year and already confirmations are coming in. I also sent a notice to all club members. Mark Potterton and I will be meeting this week to finalise participating schools and tertiary institutions. Watch this space.
Thanks to The Ramble we are ahead of any local publications when it comes to the latest news from Rotary International. Our incoming DG Charles Deiner is there in San Diego. See below:
2018-19 RI President Barry Rassin wants Rotary members to Be the Inspiration
Rotary International President-elect Barry Rassin laid out his vision for the future of the organization on Sunday, calling on leaders to work for a sustainable future and to inspire Rotarians and the community at large.
Rassin, a member of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, unveiled the 2018-19 presidential theme, Be the Inspiration, to incoming district governors at Rotary’s International Assembly in San Diego, California, USA. “I want you to inspire in your clubs, your Rotarians, that desire for something greater. The drive to do more, to be more, to create something that will live beyond each of us.”
Rassin stressed the power of Rotary’s new vision statement, “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change — across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” This describes the Rotary that leaders must help build, he said.
To achieve this vision, the president-elect said, Rotarians must take care of the organization: “We are a membership organization first. And if we want to be able to serve, if we want to succeed in our goals — we have to take care of our members first.”
Rassin asked the incoming district governors to “inspire the club presidents, and the Rotarians in your districts, to want to change. To want to do more. To want to reach their own potential. It’s your job to motivate them — and help them find their own way forward.”
Progress on polio
Rassin noted that one source of inspiration has been Rotary’s work to eradicate polio. He described the incredible progress made over the past three decades. In 1988, an estimated 350,000 people were paralyzed by the wild poliovirus; just 20 cases were reported in 2017 as of 27 December. “We are at an incredibly exciting time for polio eradication,” he said, “a point at which each new case of polio could very well be the last.”
He emphasized that even when that last case of polio is recorded, the work won’t be finished. “Polio won’t be over, until the certifying commission says it’s over—when not one poliovirus has been found, in a river, in a sewer, or in a paralyzed child, for at least three years,” he said. “Until then, we have to keep doing everything we’re doing now.” He urged continued dedication to immunization and disease surveillance programs.
Sustaining the environment
Rotary has focused heavily on sustainability in its humanitarian work in recent years. Now, Rassin said, Rotarians must acknowledge some hard realities about pollution, environmental degradation, and climate change. He noted that 80 percent of his own country is within one meter of sea level. With sea levels projected to rise two meters by 2100, he said, “my country is going to be gone in 50 years, along with most of the islands in the Caribbean and coastal cities and low-lying areas all over the world.”
Rassin urged leaders to look at all of Rotary’s service as part of a larger global system. He said that this means the incoming district governors must be an inspiration not only to clubs, but also to their communities. “We want the good we do to last. We want to make the world a better place. Not just here, not just for us, but everywhere, for everyone, for generations.”
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