A Business Meeting, Rob Caskie regales his audience, and Rosebank Rotary in the News...

 From the Pen of our President....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 We have one successful fundraiser completed so far in 2021 and ideas are rolling in for upcoming events! Thank you to everyone involved. Rob Caskie had us enthralled by his passionate relaying of the bravery and tenacity of the Antarctic expedition and Ernest Shackleton, in particular. It was a reality check indeed – lockdown and our COVID troubles pale into insignificance.

I had an email from District showing our club progress for the year – we are not only in the running for a citation, but have already earned one!! No need to take our feet off the accelerator though – let’s keep up the pace…..lockdown remains a calamity for many, many people – we can help, albeit in small ways.

I thought this was a good one : “if you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”

Have a great week ahead.

Yours in Rotary,

Ann Hope-Bailie

Last Friday.....

Our monthly Business Meeting in a nutshell:

• John Symons - Treasurer - Club Accounts are all up to date, balance of R7 250 comprising of lunch monies, miscellaneous donations paid in by members.
• Project Account, balance +/- R9 000 net from the Rob Caskie fundraiser
• Lester Connock  Bursary- It was agreed that a further R10 000 shall be paid across to the Amber Buys, in line with the previous year - R25 000.

• Sonja Hood - Fundraising - The Rob Caskie evening was a resounding success and it was agreed that the fee of R1000 paid to Terry Winship of Mudita Concepts, who acted as our Zoom host, was worth every cent. We raised a net R9 000 towards our club projects.
• Sonja has submitted the My School Card application, but there are a few additional requirements that need to be met.
• We will be booking the Parkview Golfclub soon as the venue for our annual Quiz Fundraiser in October.
• Sonja has a few other interesting speakers lined up for future events                                                                                       
•  David Bradshaw - Membership - Charmaine Cleesmann and Anne Padmore will be inducted on   Friday, the 5th of March.
• Gareth Hood, also an e-member will be inducted soon.
• James Croswell - International - There was a bit of confusion who would be installing and connecting  the electricity at the Palliative Care container at  Baragwanath, but it has now become Jerry Bernardo and John Hope-Bailie's job.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ann Hope-Bailie and Jean Bernardo - Youth -   The Rotary Club of Rosebank was invited to participate in this very exiting event and our President has spent many hours making a video which showcases the club's involvement in the Youth.   

• The Sun Never Sets in Rotary is part of a global event initiated by RID3232 running for 24 hours Feb 23rd 7.30pm to 24th 7.30pm IST, in celebration of Rotary’s Anniversary, Paul Harris birthday, World Peace & Understanding and Rotary’s investment in people

   

  D9400 is participating on 23 February 2021

   5:30 – 7pm D9400 RYLA

   7pm – 8:30pm D9400 Rotary Alumni

   Zoom Meeting ID: 937 9554 6774

   Passcode: 000552

• The Sun never sinks in Rotary                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
• Club Services - Pam Donaldson - The weekly average attendance has marginally improved to 18 members 
• Pam has asked for members to please notify her of make-ups.  

• Community Services - Sybille Essmann -
•  Sybille had sent through an article and photos to Caxtons for publication in the Killarney Gazette documenting the food order collection by Stephan Ferreira of Charity begins with me. At time of writing these minutes the article had been published on Tuesday 16^th February. Specifically highlighted: “Projects we get involved with have to be sustainable”

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•  David gave feedback on our club involvement with Rotary Club of Northcliff’s wheelchair project. This came on the back of our club paying R400 for a wheelchair for a pensioner Stephen Pyoos who lives at the Bertha Solomons Cottages Retirement home in Jeppe. Wheelchairs are donated and refurbished in Selby and then sold at an affordable price to needy recipients.
•  Jeannette gave feedback on the R1700 she and other ladies in her complex donate monthly to go towards groceries for Puthatidjaba, Charity Begins with Me and also Marianne Soal’s Rosettenville feeding project.                                                                                                              She had a meeting with Linda Twala of Puthatidjaba. He has a vision of creating a “retirement village” built out of old containers. As our club had refurbished the container for the palliative care centre at Baragwanath, it is a project we can investigate.                           
•  Blanket Drive: We will continue with this project, not quite sure about the logistics, which will depend on Covid restrictions. Sonja already has an “order” for 40 blankets.                  
•  Charity Begins With Me – Vegetable Garden Project – As it is unlikely that we will get a JoJo tank donated, the committee agreed that we will purchase a 5000 litre tank. Sybille had circulated an e-mail sent by Elandre from JoJo, who had suggested that we could purchase a “damaged” tank (dented or scratched, but otherwise sound) from their depot in Pretoria. Sybille will drive through this Friday afternoon (19^th) to investigate insitu whether it is a viable option.
• AquaBox   -  David has been in contact with Kevin Barkley in the UK. Needs further investigation due to imp
• White Cane Project – Melodene managed to get Elizabeth Louw from the College of Mobility and Orientation to present to us on Friday 29^th of January. They will receive a monetary donation, amount to be determined.  
• Ecobricks project in collaboration with Rotary Club of Randburg (Diana Musara). +/- 80 EcoBricks delivered to Khensani, an after-school centre in Diepsloot, they need over 10 000 bottles to build a further classroom.

Rob Caskie, the highlight of our Rotary Week......     

    

Although Ernest Shackleton is known to us as a Polar explorer, I don't think many of the evening's participants were quite aware of the harrowing ordeal that he and his team had to endure in the arctic ice and the sheer determination of the human spirit to survive.

Rob Caskie had us on the edge of our seats and the positive response we have received to this riveting presentation has been overwhelming.    

Thank you to all the Rotarians from our Club, fellow Rotarians from as far afield as Hermanus and Gabarone and friends of Rotary who made this fundraiser a resounding success.

Next Friday..... 

Professor Lucille Blumberg

Deputy Director of the Institute of Communicable diseases, of the National Health Laboratory Service, and Head of the Public Health Surveillance and Response Division, South Africa.

She is also medical consultant to the Emerging Pathogens Centre on rabies and viral haemorrhagic fevers.

She is a medical graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand and a member of the joint staff and is an associate professor in the department of medical microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch, Western Cape.

She has specialist qualifications in clinical microbiology, travel medicine and infectious diseases. Her special interests are in tropical diseases, travel medicine, malaria, the viral haemorrhagic fevers, an rabies.

She is a member of a number of South African expert groups including the Rabies Advisory Group, Malaria Advisory Group and National Advisory Group on Immunization, as well as the advisory group to the WHO on mass Gatherings. She was a member of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding Ebola.