A surprising number of Rotarians present despite some being on duty at the Rotary Arts Festival.James Croswell gave us an interesting talk about himself. He really made me think of the luck of youth probably because we were innocent of the consequences or just took more risks.
His visit to Morocco on the spur of the moments on a South African passport sans visa really took the cake and how he managed to get out of the country "Thanks to a girl I met at Club Med..." who chatted up the official at the airport in Marrakesh so that he could just pick up his passport and jump on the plane is typical.
Thank James for such an interesting talk. You have also done some amazing civil engineering projects but we forgot those!
We also had a couple of visitors who had attended the Arts Festival and decided to come and see what we got up to. Alice Yang and Mike Maclachlan.
We look forward to seeing them again.
The Rotary Arts Festival Official Opening had taken place the evening before at Rosebank Mall and I have just under 150 photos of the event, many of them pictures of pictures.
I will sift through them in due course and send them to the individuals I recognise!
Because the exhibition is spread over two floors and quite spread out it was difficult to see how many were there.
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| President Lyn Collocott addresses us at the opening |
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| Jean Bernardo and Joan Sainsbury. The two Rotarians who have worked very hard at putting the exhibition together. Jean as chairman of the Arts Festival Committee and Joan organising the artists. The late change of venue was a huge problem for them and they miraculously pulled it off. |
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| Thembi Ndlovu busy processing a sale |
This Week
Pam Donaldson will be the next in our Rotarian chat series.
She is very elusive and I couldn't find a photograph of her anywhere so you will have to put up with Korky the Cat limbering up for the World Cup instead. instead.
We will rectify the omission this Friday.
As a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Ecuador seven years ago, Mary Elizabeth McCulloch volunteered at an orphanage that was home to both adults and children with disabilities.
She noticed that those who had trouble speaking – mainly because of cerebral palsy – were seated alone by the windows, and for the most part no one communicated with them.
Today, at age 26, McCulloch is founder and CEO of ProjectVive, a social enterprise company that has developed a low-cost device called the Voz Box, which allows people who have difficulty speaking to express themselves. The product launches this year in the United States and Ecuador.
Q: What did your experience in the orphanage inspire you to do?
A: After I returned to the United States and started at Penn State (graduating in 2016 with a degree in biomedical engineering), I began working on a low-cost speech generation device that would work in low-income and resource-constrained settings. I worked on it all through college, on evenings and weekends. Along the way, people joined my team, ProjectVive, to develop the Voz Box.
Q: How does the technology work?
A: Our technology is for people with low motor control, who can’t tap a finger on an iPad or keyboard. We have different interfaces: a glove that works when someone flexes a finger; a watch that senses motion so the wearer can raise their arm to click; or glasses that detect blinking. These work with an application called CoughDrop AAC, which has grids of letters, words, and icons the user “points to” with the interface devices. Our devices can also control other applications, so the user can go to YouTube or Facebook, chat with friends, or look for jobs.
Q: Who will this technology help?
A: Worldwide, there are 4.6 million people who can’t speak because of ALS or cerebral palsy. Too many people think that if they can’t contribute, it’s because they have nothing to contribute. But these disabilities aren’t reflections of cognitive ability or potential. We are empowering people with disabilities by giving them a voice and the ability to live out their life goals.
Q: What would the world look like if people with disabilities had a bigger role?
A: There are a lot of big societal problems facing the world today, and this is an untapped population of global problem solvers. Research shows that someone who has experienced adversity is more apt to make decisions to help others, to have empathy and sympathy. They are natural problem solvers.
Q: When will the product be available?
A: The launches are in May in the United States and in June in Ecuador. We won’t be exporting from the United States; we are helping local people make and maintain the devices, and training users’ family members and caretakers to take care of them. And we’ll make sure the devices are in the users’ indigenous language, as well as Spanish and English. We are looking for our next pilot countries to launch ProjectVive and give more people with disabilities a voice.
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