From the Pen of our President....
The unexpected
reactions to two events in the recent past have indicated how much more we are
impacted by what happens to others in similar circumstances than by the events
themselves. The first was a pretty positive event but the person involved was
upset because he learned that several others who experienced the same event had
received a greater financial benefit.
The second event was the loss /
destruction of valuable assets. The person concerned was fairly positive,
indicating that many others had suffered far greater losses and faced a more
challenging future than he did, so he had much to be thankful for. It made me wonder what the reactions would
have been if there had been no knowledge of similar events experienced by
others.
I suspect that I
too may well be influenced by knowing what has happened to others who have experienced
similar circumstances – rather than making an objective and independent
decision.
Costa Qually
President
Tailpiece
To find yourself,
think for yourself - Socrates
Last Friday...
... the Rotary Club of Rosebank was graced by the presence of our District Governor Dr Stella Anyangwe and her successor Koekie Makunyane-Quashie.
DG Stella has been in her position for two months and she has certainly hit the road running. To her it feels as though she has been at it for two years already.
Stella is a Cameroonian by birth and studied to become a medical doctor. She decided that it would be better to prevent than treat, and therefore obtained a PhD in Epidemiology. She became a Global Health expert and served the WHO for 17 years, eventually retiring in 2013.
She is married to a Professor at Law, and they have two children, both living abroad. She has one grandchild, who she sadly has not been able to meet yet because of lockdown.
Stella has been a Rotarian since 1995 and her husband also recently joined the ranks.
She is presently a member of the Rotary Club of Pretoria West, but in the past had been a Rotarian in Zambia, the Congo,Nigeria, Seychelles an Mali.
Before meeting with us she had already familiarized herself with our club goals and projects, and in her words had not taken so many notes with any other club.
She felt that our club goal of growing our membership by 5 new members was very pedestrian, and it was very evident in her address to us, that she was aligning her district goal of growing membership from 1160 to 1300 to that of RI President Shekhar Mehta, who coined the phrase "Each One bring One". His ambitious goal is by the end of his tenure in June 2022 to have grown the worldwide membership by 100 000.
She did however concede that it is also important to attract the right person into the Rotary fold.
She is passionate about diversity, equality and inclusion.
DG Stella commended our club for our commitment to "giving" - towards Polio eradication and the "Every Rotarian, Every Year" initiative, and also for giving of our valuable time.
Stella urged us to dream big and try and come up with a long lasting and sustainable service project of scale. She told us of a $2million Global Grant that had recently been awarded for a cross border project involving Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana in the eradication of malaria.
She would like our club to plan and host at
least one practical and action-oriented
Rotary Day of Service during the 2021-22
Rotary year. The event should address a
challenge facing our community that fits
in one or more of Rotary’s areas of focus
and bring together volunteers from
within and outside of Rotary.
DG Stella left us with one last overarching thought: ENJOY ROTARY!!
Have you booked your Quiz Team??
It is official. Now that we have gone down to level 2 lockdown restrictions we are allowed to accept all table bookings and we urge you to put together your dream team of up to six people and come and enjoy what will surely go down as a highlight in your social calendar.
Please pay your entrance fee into:
Rosebank Rotary Project account
Nedbank
Account number: 1145-9993-36
Branch Code: 198-765
Swift Code: NEDSZAJJ
Reference: Quiz + surname
Heritage Picnic in the Park....
Spring is in the air and we invite our Rotarian family and friends to join us for a picnic in the Park.
Where? Delta Park (Exact location TBC)
When? Friday the 24th of September
Time? 9 a.m. (or thereabouts)
Please let Pam Donaldson know (cell 083 320 8689) if you would to be part of what promises to be a fun, fun, fun day.
This Friday...
... A business meeting.
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