Cyber Security, a Container for Baragwanath, Health Care for the Underserved and how Rotary helped a Person with Mental Health Issues.

Last Week

I seem to be missing Rotary a lot these last few weeks just through circumstances but Cyber Security was the issue and Adrian, son of Richard Tonkin being the speaker.  Many thanks to Ann Hope-Baillie for taking notes:

"The browsers that I recommend are Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge. I suggest that you switch on two factor authentication for your 
Google account to make it much, much more secure. Ditch those old web mail sevices like MWeb and Telkom as soon as is possible.

I would like to stress the point that your Online banking passwords should always be unique and not used anywhere else. It's a good idea to learn what your bank recommends regarding online safety and try incorporate the suggested practices.

I use NordVPN as my VPN service provider, although there are a few other good ones you could try, such as TunnelBear or Express VPN. Tom's Guide has an updated list and I trust their opinions. You should select a provider that can secure your mobile devices as well."

Never enter personal information in an email message when you don’t know the recipient.

Never enter personal information on a website provided as a link in an email message.

Never include personal information in an Internet forum, discussion group, or newsgroup message.

Never use the same password for all your electronic business.

Never divulge personal information to others over an instant message connection.

Never buy from an online store that doesn’t offer a secure, encrypted connection when you’re prompted for your personal information and credit card number.

Never download a file from a site you don’t trust.

Never allow a stranger to connect to your PC.

Lots of NEVERS!!! It is all about your name and contact details and your passwords!!!

The container refurbishment is on the way for the Baragwanath Palliative Care Unit...here's the team who are getting it done.

This Week

Dr Agatha Banga is going to talk about "The evolving role of technology in reaching the medically underserved – where is Rotary?"

Banga is a pediatric surgeon who works at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Her day starts in the hospital wards at 5:00 am where she visits her patients and leaves instructions for the day. She then does a handover meeting with consultants, registrars and medical offices to discuss the progress of patients overnight, theatre cases, and any emergency cases.

Banga is usually in theatre by 8:00 am almost every single day. On the days she is not operating, she attends to over 100 patients at the clinic. The Zimabawean native splits her time treating patients at the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, and until recently, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. 

“Surgery is not anything like Grey’s Anatomy, it’s more like a rollercoaster ride. You need to be more attentive, like essential things you need to do for patients such as take blood and do drips. Those are the things that ensure that your patients are ready for theatre and that your patients will do well after theatre,” Banga said.

Much like the Grey’s Anatomy character Meredith Grey, Banga makes her own scrub caps herself which she wears when operating on patients. She added, “It’s my way of being myself in the job that I have”.

As a medical student, Banga wanted to specialise as a paediatrician. She then took time off from clinical medicine and studied public health at the University of Cape Town as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar in 2015.

“At that time, I realised I discovered that surgery is a public health intervention and I looked at how many paediatricians are out there versus paediatric surgeons. Children are not little adults, and we actually need paediatric surgeons and not general surgeons to manage children,” Banga said.

A Fresh Start

At this year’s Rotary International Convention in Hamburg, Germany, Chris Wells won over a general session audience with a combination of high-energy showmanship and a serious message about mental health, drawn from his experience. A few years after graduating from college in 2011, Wells found himself depressed. “I’d felt a bit crap for months and months and months,” remembers Wells, now 29. “I was bored, negative all the time, stuck, not really doing anything. It was getting scary.”

Then two things happened that would change his life. First, a friend persuaded him to see a psychiatrist. Second, another friend introduced him to Jim Davies, a member of the Rotary Club of Market Harborough, who encouraged Wells to get involved with Rotary and suggested starting a Rotaract club. “I had no idea what to expect, but I was willing to try anything to not feel like this anymore,” Wells says.

Wells dived right into Rotary, helping found the Rotaract Club of Market Harborough in 2015. Soon the new Market Harborough Rotaractors were participating in a canned-food drive for local food banks, holding regular pub quiz fundraisers, and creating a support group for young stroke patients.

The club also held a night of comedy and music to raise money for a young man who had been accepted to a prestigious course at the National Youth Theatre in London but who couldn’t afford the fees. “I was like, ‘Right, we’ll have a Christmas concert in the middle of June, just to confuse everyone,’” Wells says cheerfully. “We raised more than enough money.”

The Market Harborough Rotaractors’ enthusiasm has proved contagious: Several new Rotaract clubs have been formed in the district.Meanwhile, with continuing professional help, Wells’ mental health has improved. “As soon as I had a purpose that wasn’t my own, life was a bit easier,” he says. As he said in his speech at the convention: “Rotary isn’t the cure for depression, and people suffering from it shouldn’t feel shy about seeking out medical and professional help. … But for me, Rotaract truly aided in filling in some of those dark and empty spaces inside.”