A Quiz Evening to celebrate World Polio Day (and raise much needed funds) and a Coaching Master Class.......

 From our President......

 

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

 It has been a very busy week, Rotary-wise and on the home front. We had our very successful quiz evening on Wednesday which everyone really enjoyed – bettered our previous takings, thank you all. Then we had our speaker on Friday, Pat Dickson – most interesting talk – you need to be brave to retire these days!!

On Saturday morning I logged on to the Zumba class in aid of World Polio Day – gosh it was exhausting, an hour of continuous movement to not such great music – my opinion, but fun all the same, although my granddaughter would not join me!!

On Friday evening my son and his wife and family of three descended on Linden – talk about a whirlwind, the trail of debris, in every room – clothes, toys, wet swimming towels and fingerprints that look and most likely taste of Romany Creams. Love them one and all. The youngest was baptized on Sunday, after which the family arrived for lunch and swimming en masse – 21 adults and 9 children under the age of 7. Be careful what you wish for!!

The heat has been amazing, the swimming pool earning its keep and all is well with the world. Especially as I will be off to the Waterberg for a 4 day weekend and will miss you all on Friday!!

Thank God for the rain which has cooled the air. Good luck for the quiz against Rotary Club of Hermanus on Thursday.

 See you in November.

 Yours in Rotary.

 Ann

Quintessential Quiz....

Judging by last year's successful quiz evening fundraiser it was a no-brainer that we were going to have a repeat performance in 2020, and at the very first fundraising committee meeting the 21st of October was penciled into our events calendar.

But little did we know what obstacles this year was going to throw in our path. When the lockdown was promulgated at the end of March we still steadfastly believed that this would be a short lived crisis and that life will surely have returned back to normal by October.

We gamely kept the original date in our diary, and when we eventually got the green light that we could go ahead with the function, we all uttered a collective sigh of relief, albeit with a fair amount of trepidation.

How many participants could we accommodate? Would people dare to venture out? Covid Protocols? Social distancing? Sanitizing? Masks? 

Flyers were distributed, Sonja Hood feverishly gathered prizes and Parkview Golf Club was confident that their venue was Covid Protocol compliant. At one stage we feared we had taken on too many bookings but in the end we had precisely the right number of participants and many generous donations.

With immense support from Rosebank Rotary members, family and friends we managed to stage a truly extraordinary and rewarding event which no doubt will be the highlight of many a participant's social calendar for 2020. 

The much needed funds that were raised from the entrance fees and raffle tickets will go a far way in support of our charitable projects.

And it was particularly fortuitous and poignant that our Quiz  coincided with World Polio Day which was showcased royally on that evening.

Last Friday......

We were privileged to have Pat Dickson, a well respected life coach impart some valuable pearls of wisdom to us.

Pat, now 68 years of age and a former teacher started her career as a life coach 12 years ago, when others might have already had thoughts of retirement.

To her life is a journey, and she fervently believes that if you picture yourself idly sitting in a rocking chair "you will just die".

Older people these days are much more inclined to embrace technology and research shows that 52% are techno-savvy.

Her role as a Life Coach is:

- to make people make progress in their lives in order to attain greater fulfillment.

- to support her clients to face transition in their lives, whether by choice or it was forced upon them.

- to help clarify ones goals, identify obstacles holding you back, and producing strategies for overcoming each obstacle.

- to help you cope with fears and doubts that can come during great changes.

Areas of Life Coaching include personal, finances, health, relationships, connectivity and work-life balance.

Her coaching research has shown that:

- 80% of clients improved their self-confidence

- 73% of clients improved their relationships

- 72% of clients improved their communication skills

- 67% of clients improved their work-life balance.

And if only we could divide our energies equally to this Wheel of Life.......

This Friday....

We are looking forward to the induction of Lorenzo Locatelli-Rossi as a member of the Rotary Club of Rosebank and getting a virtual sightseeing tour around his newly adopted home.

A Business meeting, Momo sends greetings, Preparations for our Fundraiser....

 From our President....

 Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

There is a great TED Talk which I have posted on our Rotary Club of Rosebank Facebook page. If you are not a social media person, it is worth finding it on the web and listening to it –

  https://youtu.be/SPff-gC9w8g

 

It does confirm for me why I am a Rotarian and the benefits of belonging to a service organization. Although it is a little like preaching to the converted, it is worth sharing with friends and family. There is scientific evidence that people who serve are happier, live longer, have more tranquility in their lives and have more friends.

We are encouraged to see opportunity in everything – the COVID pandemic has offered our club new insight and an opportunity to change when and how we meet. The threat of a second wave means many of us should remain cautious. Thus the opportunity to be a club having members who only meet via Zoom and members who would be available to go back to Wanderers and cannot wait to get back!! But what if we do all our business on Zoom and meet socially at more convenient times and venues? I would love to hear some opinions and options from members?? Very aware of those members who do not join our Zoom meetings – we miss them.

Have a great week. Enjoy whatever you are doing.

Yours in Rotary,

Ann

A Business Meeting....

In a nutshell:

• It has been decided that we shall only have a wine draw when we have live meetings.
• As we have not needed to pay for our weekly lunches we ask the members to make a contribution to Every Rotarian - Every Year
• David, responsible for membership, has brought our former member Lorenzo back into the fold  thanks to our club wholeheartedly embracing technology and enabling him to join remotely. David is hoping to bring on two further members in this manner in the not too distant future.
• It is The Year of the Nurse and we shall be handing an award to the Palliative Care Department of Baragwanath as well as the Nursing College.
• Due to the Covid restrictions it was unfortunately not possible to host the annual Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA) weekend getaway, but an online seminar was held on Saturday 17th October.
• The annual food collection that we normally do at the end of the months of August through to November at the Norwood Spar will take place in a different format this year. 

Our Masego having the time of her life.....

Where is Momo?

She writes.....

I have finally got a moment to respond. I am so sorry it is so late, I have been in another province for the last 2 days. All the new presidents of District 3330 had an annual get-together with all kinds of activities lined up, singing dancing etc it was a 3 days get away trip to the Krabbi province.

My visit is going to be extended with an extra 3 days. One of the Rotary club presidents from the Trang Province asked if I could stay with her an extra 3 days at a neighbouring province and that's where I will be in the next 4 days.

 Again I apologize for my absence, it's only now that the country is settled travel wise with all the tourist attraction  now opening and my sponsor club and really anyone I meet along the way is trying by all means to get me to as many places as possible before I head home.

 Congratulations on the big induction, I remember Mr Lorenzo from the meetings that I did manage to attend.

  It is really great that he will be joining the club.

 Regarding the tickets, I was informed that I am going to be back in SA around the end of November, however nothing has been confirmed regarding tickets and an exact date.

 I really am enjoying every moment, and I cannot begin to imagine to even set foot out of the country.

Rotarians, People of Action....

A big thank you goes to all our members that have so generously donated and contributed to our prizes that can be won at our Rotary Quiz Evening that will be taking place this Wednesday the 21st at the Parkview Golf Club. We have had overwhelming support and  if it had not been for the Covid restrictions we could have fielded even more teams

This Friday....

Our speaker for Friday is Pat Dickson, and her talk will be:

"Repositioning your Future Self with Meaning & Purpose"

About Pat

 Pat Dickson qualified as a teacher before moving in to the Training and Recruitment arena. During a career spanning over 30 years Pat has had exposure to many organisations including call centres, financial services, banking & the hospitality industry.

To extend her passion for developing people, Pat qualified as an Accredited Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF) in 2008, and re accredited in 2011, 2014 & 2017.Pat has found success using The Results Coaching methods, with whom she trained and the GROW Model – courtesy of Sir John Whitmore.  

During her career Pat has had exposure to Steve Drotter’s Leadership Pipeline model for managing performance and aligns herself to John C Maxwell’s “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”. In February 2012 Pat became a certified Science of Happiness @ Work Coach through the iOpener Institute, UK and in March 2013 a certified Talent Dynamics Performance & Flow Consultant, trained in the UK. She has over 1000 hours of coaching people in the areas of Leadership and Wellness guiding her clients through behavioural change, within the following business arenas:
Exxaro, Cadbury, Fedics, ABSA, TACC, Medscheme, Sasol, ICAS, TsogoSun, KPMG, Afrox

Be a Flamingo of Change, One mother of a project and a last appeal for our Quiz Fundraiser....

 From our President....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

Christmas decorations in the shops always make me panic – how does it happen that the year end rush is almost here already?

WH Davies wrote “What is life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare”. I learnt that poem at school, it is called LEISURE. I would have bet that it was written by Walter de la Mere – lucky it was not a quiz question!! Seriously though – do we take time off to smell the roses? To enjoy the small things? It is becoming an important part of corporate life to make sure employees have a “work life balance”.

It is so easy during this period of unusual “new normal” work hours to work harder and longer than before and not be as productive. Try to run your day - either you run the day, or the day runs you.

Take some time to enjoy the many shades of green after the beautiful rains, smell the roses, and watch for the Jacarandas which will be starting to bloom this month. When I was at university they said that if the Jacarandas were in bloom you should be studying, if the flowers were falling then it was too late to start!! I may have misjudged my timing a bit way back then and spent a lot of time smelling roses!

 “A poor life this if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.”

 Take some time to find the ‘pleasure’ in LEISURE.

 Ann.

 P.S. do not forget the Quiz!

Last week....

Sarah van Heerden (or Patterson) Rotary Africa's passionate editor titled her talk to us:

Sarah used this analogy to make a point:

• We do things differently
• We look different
• We are not the average Dick and Jane in the room
• And yet we do not celebrate these differences.

She urged us to be the flamingos among the pigeons.

• To lead by example 
• Our stories have the power to inspire action from others
• The intention in story telling is not for personal gain.
• It is how you tell your story that matters
• With passion and purpose, abandoning the clinical and professional tone
• We no longer talk at our audience, we engage and connect with them on an emotional level.

Sarah left us with a lot of food for thought. As Rotarians we are brimful of inspiring stories and if we don't "brag" about them, who will? Our very own Ramble is a platform, and Sarah promises that every story that lands on her desk will be published, albeit with her skillful editing.

 Rotarians, People of Action.....

 

DAY CENTRE AND TRAINING FACILITY

FOR PALLIATIVE CAREGIVERS

AT CHRIS HANI BARAGWANATH ACADEMIC HOSPITAL

Rosebank Rotary Club implemented a health service project with an environmentally friendly, recycled solution.

Rosebank Rotary Club, D9400 and D1260 (UK) clubs, together with Palliative Care leaders at CHBAH Hospital in Soweto ( 3rd largest hospital globally) gave support to the decisions of the 67th World Health Assembly for member Governments and countries to create a health policy to integrate Palliative Care, as part of the continuum of care.

This became the GG1531461 Palliative Care Project named “Bophelo” (Sesotho for “Here is Life”). A holistic, interdisciplinary, patient-centric model of care was established together with spiritual care training. The provision of spiritual, but non-religion-specific, support to terminally ill patients and their families was an important component of the project. The positive results enabled the Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care to advocate for spiritual care inclusion in South Africa’s National Palliative Care Policy.

Spiritual care is now officially part of providing health care interventions in South Africa. Also the very effective model of care, developed in the program, was included in the National Policy as a public sector provision of palliative care.

Yet another important component of the project was to reduce the need for hospitalization by giving comfort and quality end-of-life experience to terminally ill patients in their homes.

 It was established that using available community care volunteers is a cost-effective way of introducing and expanding palliative care to the huge community of Soweto with some 1.25 million inhabitants.

Volunteer Caregivers, called “Grannies”, continue to play a major role in supporting the provision of informal home care visits. They are an important source of support for the terminally ill and their grieving families. As the meeting room, used by the Care Givers was no longer available, they appealed to Rosebank Rotary Club to assist in providing a prefabricated building in the grounds of the hospital, to enable Caregivers to facilitate bereavement and family group meetings to give ongoing compassion, hope, comfort and social care to patients and the families of critically ill family members.

Given the capacity problems in the public health care system, the Club realized the Palliative Care Dept is likely to continue to rely on end of life care volunteers working in the community for a long time to come.

A decision was made to apply for a District Grant to recycle a sea container obtained from the Bedfordview Rotary Club, who run the Humanitarian Resource Centre.

There was a definite environmental benefit of repurposing and relocating a redundant 12 m steel sea container, whose original purpose was to ship thousands of library and school books, donated by USA Rotary Clubs, as resources for educational and literacy service projects.

For Rotarians concerned with shrinking their carbon footprint, a steel container conversion is a perfect Environmental Project, but the Club soon found themselves confronted by major challenges.

Rotarian Sonja Hood’s spouse Steven Hood, became involved making the project a possibility by contributing to the conversion and transportation of the 3 ton 12m long sea container. The Club is extremely grateful for this intervention.

Once the sanding, painting and fitting of the windows and doors had been completed by a commercial organization the container was moved to PP Kevin Wolhuter’s Kyalami Estate.

 

Here Rotarian Jerry Bernardo and John Hope-Baillie worked tirelessly refurbishing the interior. Jerry installed and painted the partitioning while John installed the numerous electrical fittings.

The collection of the container from Kevin’s home created great excitement, apart from the scurry of distraught rabbit families who had made their burrows under the container.

 It was a major battle to maneuver the crane truck and trailer in and out of Kevin’s driveway.

 Ann Pademore arranged the transport for the delivery to the Palliative Care Centre. But steam lines and electric cables traversing the Baragwanath campus created major restrictions. After several inspections it was decided to lift the container up and over the surrounding buildings.

The delivery to Baragwanath Hospital was outstanding. After a short unforeseen panic, caused by a Doctor who parked in the reserved offloading space, the entire operation took just over 9 “nail biting” minutes.

The robust truck fitted with a telescopic crane, with a reach of 29m, was able to hoist the container skywards, swinging it over hospital buildings, whilst maneuvering overhead electric cables.

 The precarious container was cautiously and accurately lower onto the plinth platforms built by Jerry.

 There was a HUGE sigh of relief, followed by an excited inspection by Dr Mpho Ratshikana-Moloto, Director of Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care, who expressed her sincere gratitude.

 

More fittings and furniture will be supplied by PP Jean Bernardo and Rotarian Sonja Hood. PP John Symons has donated a kitchen and Rotarian James Croswell will assemble and fit desks. Jerry Bernardo will handle plumbing connections for the water and electricity.

 

The Training and Care Day Centre will be completed shortly when the Club will present a Rotary signboard to the Centre. Covid-19 created delays to the hand over date of 10^th October to celebrate World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.

Dr Mpho’s research paper based on the benefits of Spiritual Care was published January 31, 2020 by American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She acknowledged  Rotary Club Rosebank and Rotary Club Hatfield in United Kingdom. Spiritual care provision given to 2,557 palliative care patients indicated the importance of the spiritual dimension in the palliative care of patients regardless of culture, religious tradition or spiritual belief.

 This has been an action-orientated service project that has engaged fully with the community, meeting their needs. Its success is thanks to many working together contributing their own special expertise. Rotary opens opportunities for members to implement sustainable service projects to improve the lives of people in a community. The Care Givers can continue to expand and create more opportunities to foster a culture of peace and compassion within the families and homes they visit.

Rotary work IS about positive peace, goodwill and understanding.

James Croswell,

 Chair International Service.

Rotary Club or Rosebank, Johannesburg, District 9400, South Africa

The Norwood Spar Food Collection goes ahead....

Covid 19 restrictions have made us all think out of the box, and though it was not possible to do our annual food hamper collection at the Norwood Spar in person, Dimi Georgiou graciously will be allowing the Rotary Club of Rosebank to have a trolley at the entrance for the next two months where patrons can donate non-perishable food items.

Save the Date.....

Fellowship into Africa, our monthly Social and and 16 days to our Quiz Fundraiser....

 From our President.....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

It is about moving with the times and accepting change – who would have thought 6 months ago that we would all be so used to this “new normal” (really tired of that term).

Friday afternoon – logging on to our computers for a SOCIAL meeting!! Discussing downloading an app in order to have our phone numbers handy!! We are not talking about shows or movies where we meet and chat, drink coffee and have dinner beforehand – we talk about Netflix, social media and online fellowship!!

I cannot wait for 21st October – we are having a REAL quiz, seeing people we have not seen for 6 months or more, ordering drinks and hearing laughter and the buzz of conversation. I think that is what I have missed – the noise of people! Let’s make the quiz evening extra special – please do your part.

As I write this letter, it is pouring with rain – we have had hail as well and a huge downpour, with the lightening and thunder that accompanies a good highveld storm – much needed and most welcome.

Now our gardens will ‘take off’, and the farmers will be able to turn the soil and summer is suddenly here.

So much to look forward to – ENJOY!!

Lots of love,

Ann

Bukoto Club Uganda v Rotary Club of Rosebank - A Quiz Night to remember...

It started off with a casual Wednesday quiz challenge against local clubs like Kyalami, Morningside and Fourways. We then ventured further afield to Newlands in the Cape and even took on the Rotary Club of Gabarone. Gareth Hood took on the task of quiz master, and the virtual Corona Trophy was awarded to the weekly winning team.

The news of our successful quiz evenings spilled across the borders and between David Bradshaw and Joanitah, the International Service Director of the Rotoract Club of Bukoto, Uganda the Mother of all Quiz Evenings was planned for the last day of September.

We had already said our sad farewells to Gareth, who was returning to his teaching post in China, but David managed to twist his rubber arm to make one final grand appearance.

Flyers went out to other Rotary clubs in Uganda and at 20:00 their time over 56 people logged into this Zoom event. It began quite formally, and most of the participants stuck to Zoom etiquette, but the chatline was abuzz and Gareth had a hard time convincing our Ugandan opponents not to disclose their answers in the message box. 

It was glaringly evident that this event was a highlight on the Bukoto social calendar and that Fellowship is a very important part of being a Rotarian. The virtual party went on long after the quiz ended.

We might have beaten the Rotoract Club of Bukoto, but they deserved 10/10 for enthusiasm.

Membership...

David Brashaw was sent the content of a talk about membership by PDG Grant Daly which he felt might be valuable to share with the Rotary family.

MEMBERSHIP – PIONEERS – FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Backdrop/Preamble: During the Covid 19 pandemic our focus has naturally been on Retention of members. Lockdown has affected us in so many ways;

Total reduction in socials/fellowship/fun

Reduction in earnings

It has been a time to reach out to those who have gone quiet. But it has also been a time of opportunities – We have realized that we can hold effective virtual meetings and invite speakers from all over the world. I attended Kelso Rotary club in Scotland with PRID John Germ as speaker. These opportunities have made us realize that things will never be the same again because we have embraced so many changes during the lockdown.

Unfortunately when ever we speak about Membership in Rotary we have to refer to the districts statistics. I will only share two numbers with you in that Rotarians forget them very quickly. In district 9400 the members per club (measured end August) was at 15,92 members/club. In district 9370 the ratio was 15,59 members/club. The RI minimum number of members to justify a district is 1100 and all three Southern African districts hover just above this threshold.

Now before I start sharing solutions with you I would like to share two very relevant true stories with you:

The first event was my zoom attendance at the Kelso RC in Scotland on 17 September 2020 where PRID John Germ was the guest speaker. John spoke about Polio and some of you might know that his father had polio so he speaks about polio with great passion. John explained that in 2007 Bill and Belinda Gates approached Rotary and he offered to give Rotary $50 million for Rotary to continue the fight against Polio. The directors of RI and the Foundation were absolutely intimidated by the offer and challenge. Bearing in mind that Rotary had taken up the challenge from 1985. They asked Bill & Belinda Gates “Why Rotary” and their reply was as follows:

Rotary have boots on the ground spread thru out the world.

Rotary have a Financial vehicle (The Rotary Foundation) that supports the projects carried out by the Rotarians on the ground.

Rotarians are passionate about what they do.

Rotary has a recognized 4 star rating as an organisation of excellent reputation and stewardship.

Rotary is non political.

Rotary can deliver projects effectively.

I think you will agree with me that the above reasons are compelling. With the world threat of three polio viruses and one of the richest men in the world to believe in Rotary, it was for Rotary to realize what a great organisation it was. As Rotary delivered and the incidents of infection reduced, so the donations increased from Bill and Belinda Gates and Rotary was stretched to some serious capacity in terms of delivery. $50 million became $100 million and so on, on the basis of matching our funding on a 2:1 basis. The message I have for you is that you belong to a truly great organisation that has stood the test of time. As individual Rotarians we need to realize this because the realization will come across to people we meet who know nothing or very little about Rotary and whom we invite to join our clubs. Our passion will be infectious. 

As Rotarians we are generally very selective of who we invite to join our clubs. This aspect leads me on to event no two. In the early 1990’s there was a certain Ravi Devalia who was an up and coming businessman in the textile industry in Lusaka Zambia. Once his business was established and doing well, he felt that he needed to also give back to the local community. He liked the idea of Rotary and approached the local main club in Lusaka to join. He was duly proposed and seconded etc. but on circulation at a club meeting he was black balled on the basis that the club already had a member in the textile industry. The rejection made him adamant and so with a few friends and the support of another club he established a club in Lusaka. The club was very successful and after a few years Ravi was nominated and selected as a district governor. He realized that there was a membership challenge in the district and also realized that the general profile of Rotary in his district was of white and Indian males. He set about changing it and succeeded in growing the district by 20%. For this he received an RI award. His advice and secret to his achievement was as follows:

·           Past District Governors were each assigned to weak clubs.

·           He instilled flexibility on the strict classification approach. Look for reasons as to how you can admit a person rather than how can we put up barriers.

·           He encouraged bringing in icons from the communities not represented in the various clubs. Further members followed their icon.

·           He emphasized the importance of being open with prospective members as to the implication of joining. Fireside chat.

·           He introduced a growth strategy where each club pledged their growth up front.

·           He encouraged clubs to act as pioneers in terms of membership growth. What do I mean by pioneers - Ravi quoted Albert Einstein – “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”. Take risks on people and make it happen.

·           Deliver value and costs will not be an issue.

Solutions and ideas over and above the insights just shared:

Over the past 20 years Rotary International has brought about many changes in terms of opening up opportunities for membership. Moving on from the traditional club we now have the following:

·           Passport clubs

·           Satellite clubs

·           Corporate clubs (Johannesburg Chamber; German Chamber; Legal fraternity; large corporates for CSI; etc.)

·           E clubs

·           Cause Based clubs

·           Alumni Based clubs

·           Hybrid Clubs

At present district 9400 is experimenting with Veteran clubs and Diplomatic core clubs.

For clubs:

Step one – carry out an analysis to see if you have any barriers in your club that prevent people joining your club.

Step two – carry out a climate survey of your club. Health check.

Step three – what is your benefit statement (age appropriate).

Step four – interesting and fun meetings.

Conclude with Sharing a speech made by President, Rotary International, 1992-93. Clifford L. Dochterman in May 2006        

Grant Daly

PDG

Rotary District 9400

 

Tel:  +27 15 297 4615

Cell:  +27 72 071 8111

Fax:  +27 86 544 3209

Email:  dalyg@hillary.co.za