A very successful Quiz fundraiser, Armchair Travel to an Indian destination, Club 100 October winners announced, and some interesting Rotary numbers...

 From the President's Pen...

Sadly, due to disruptive load shedding Costa was not able to produce his usual weekly message.

Hopefully we will be back on track by next week.

Your editor would just like to add an appeal that is close to David Bradshaw's heart:

Carol Lawrence, who is a resident of Ekklesia Old Age Home in Blairgowrie mentioned to him that their Charity Shop is in desperate need of re-stocking. They are looking for second-hand clothes, crockery and cutlery. If anyone has items to donate, please bring them along to Friday's meeting, alternatively contact David, who would happily collect.

Last  Wednesday....

Little did we know in March, when we set the annual quiz fundraiser date for October the 20th, that for the second year running we were uncertain whether we would in fact be able to hold what has become the highlight of our social calendar.

We persevered, we advertised and thank goodness Cyril put us back into level 1 lockdown just in time for us to once again have a most successful and enjoyable evening.

Quizmaster Larry wanted us to restrict the numbers to 80 people, but the bookings just kept coming in, and in the end 97 participants arrived on the night.

With World Polio Day being celebrated on the 24th of October we went all out to showcase Rotary's commitment to eradicating Polio.

Our fundraising queen Sonja Hood did a sterling job obtaining fabulous raffle prizes and a large portion of the night's takings can be contributed to participants digging deep into their wallets.

Every one will agree that the quiz questions were challenging, and that the ultimate winners certainly deserved their prize hampers.

Ultimately Rotary was the winner.

Last Friday...

... We were treated to some delicious armchair travel by Manan Mahajan, who is the managing director of the Orange Destination Management Company, a tour company in New Delhi, India, specializing in extraordinary trips throughout this vast, vibrant, colourful and fascinating country.

Manan chose to take us on a visual tour de force through the province of Kerala, which is an hour's flight south of Mumbai. 

It is not difficult to see why Kerala is one of the most popular tourist destinations in India, with its temperate climate and 600 km of unspoilt coastline, tranquil backwaters, wild life sanctuaries, hill stations and heritage sites. It  is famous for its charming houseboats, sprawling tea plantations, unique eco-tourism, Ayuvedic treatments and unforgettable culinary experiences.

It is considered one of the most progressive states in India, with 100% literacy and interestingly is led by the Communist Party of India.

Manan certainly inspired the travellers amongst us to put Kerala onto their list of travel destinations.

Some interesting Rotary numbers revealed....

After a Zoom/phone meeting with Annemarie re Membership Pioneers, David received a lot of stats including:-

 

Membership figures of every club in the World !!!!!!!!!!

 

Members might like to know that the PEOPLE’s REPUBLIC OF CHINA  HAS 29 CLUBS & 535 MEMBERS.

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION has 79 Clubs and 1050 Members,

ISRAEL has 59 Clubs and 1312 Members.

AFGHANISTAN has 3 Clubs and 35 Members.

IRAQ has 2 Clubs and 50 Members.

EGYPT has 124 Clubs 3033 Members.

 

TOTAL  WORLD FIGURES.         36.921 CLUBS with 1.195.325 MEMBERS

 

In District 9400

 

Rosebank is in the top 10  membership wise. The e-Club has 87 members. Johannesburg New Dawn 54, we are 6^th.

 

These figures are as at 14 October 2021.

This Friday.....

 

If you are able, please join us at Wanderers to induct Debi Lieberthal as a member and to listen to Roger Wedlake share what promises to be some interesting insights.

Please let Costa know whether you will be attending, so that he can pre-order our pizzas.

We are getting better at conducting hybrid meetings, so for those that cannot attend, please show your faces on Zoom.

A business meeting, The Palliative Care Department unveils the refurbished container and our members still hard at work making the Madiba Buggies ship-shape...

 From the Pen of the President....

 

A number of Rotarians were present at the handing over of the converted container at the Baragwanath hospital. This was the culmination of years of effort by James, Jerry, John Hope-Baillie, Kevin, and others. Yesterday, assistance was given in repairing and refurbishing Madiba buggies which will be distributed in the Venda district early in November. Once again  we will be collecting donations of food and money at the Spar in Norwood at the end of October and November and early in December. If you have not yet volunteered to attend one of the shifts, please do so as soon as possible. All these activities contribute to the current Rotary theme of “Serve to changes lives” and are greatly appreciated.

Thank you all!

Costa Qually
President

Tailpiece

I have reached the age where the happy hour is a nap

Last Friday....

...our monthly business meeting in a nutshell:

Ahead of the Committee Chair report backs Ann urged the members to update their personal details on ClubRunner as well as updating their Zoom link. To update your Zoom link you need to sign in, then click into the link at the top right hand corner, and then into "check for updates" - quite straight forward.

• President's report back: Costa had very positive feedback on last week's hybrid meeting at Wanderers. We will endeavour to have two in-person meetings per month - the social meeting at the end of the month and possibly the business meeting which is normally scheduled for the second Friday of the month.
• The Christmas shindig will be held at Ann Hope Bailie's on Friday evening the 10th December. Monetary contribution TBA, and vittles and drinks will be supplied.
• No Treasurer's report back as John Symons was not present.
• Attendance report back by Pam Donaldson: the numbers are fairly static at an average of about 24.
• Membership report back by David Bradshaw: Tayla Burger was successfully inducted in person  last week. Those members that took part in the Kyalami skittle evening and those that take part in our weekly quiz challenges will have met Debi Lieberthal, who has had her fireside chat and will be inducted in the near future.  Francois du Toit, previously a member of Rotary Hermanus has opted to remain a Friend of Rotary, but he will be receiving The Ramble, and will become involved where he can. David is making progress with creating a satellite club at Dainfern, but he has indicated that he cannot do this on his own, and asked for a fellow-member to please raise his or her hand and assist him.
• David does a sterling job as almoner and keeps in touch with Judy Powell, he has spoken to Bernard Neuhaus who will make every effort to attend the next in-person meeting, Elaine Margolius is spending Christmas with her daughter in the Cape, and it was great seeing Yvonne Franklin at the Delta picnic.
• International Chair report back by Richard Maloney: He is still pursuing the Cervical Cancer project avenues and is testing the waters with Carte Blanche. 
• Youth report back by Jean Bernardo: The Interact Club of the Highlands North Highschool only attracted 2 members this year, and next year the intention is to widen the scope of membership to grade 9's 10's and 11's, so as to nurture continuity. The committee will also see whether there would be interest in creating  EarlyAct clubs at primary schools such as Craighall and Rosebank Primary. There will definitely be a Careers Day planned for February 2022.
• Publicity Feedback by Ann Hope-Bailie: A big thank you to Lorenzo, who made it possible that the container handover at Baragwanath was professionally documented. No doubt we will be receiving the recording shortly which we will share via a link. Please also look out for an article on the hand-over due to be published in the Rosebank/Killarney Gazette within the next week.   We have also been receiving visitors to our Facebook page which Ann diligently updates. 
• Foundation report back by Les Short: On the 23rd of October there will be online District Training on Peace Scholarships. It was remarked upon that unfortunately many training sessions are only publicised last minute, which often means it is too late to fit them into our schedules.
• Community Services report back by Sybille Essmann: There was only one pressing item on the  agenda - the annual Norwood Spar "Festive Cheer" food drive, taking place on the weekend of the 30th/ 31st of October and a further two weekends on the 27th/28th of November and the 4th/5th December. There will be three shifts on the Saturdays - 9:00 to 11:00, 11:00 - 13:00 and 13:00 - 15:00. There will only be two shifts on Sundays - 9:00 to 11:00 and 11:00 - 13:00. Shift coordinator is Tutty Faber, and Sybille urges that every member makes an effort to volunteer for at least one shift.
• Fundraising report back: Sonja was not present at the meeting but let it be known that we are over-subscribed for the Quiz evening taking place this Wednesday the 20th of October. All the prizes for the quiz winners and for the Raffle have been beautifully wrapped, and even if you are unable to attend,  you can still purchase raffle tickets and your numbers will go into the draw. One ticket will cost you R20, and for every 5 tickets you will receive an additional ticket. 
• Environmental report back by Lyn Collocott: Lyn thanked Pam Donaldson for organizing a very successful picnic in the Delta Park.

The Palliative Care Day Centre and Training Facility at Baragwanath officially opened....

 World Palliative Care Day 2021 was celebrated on the 9th of October and it was therefore fitting  that it would coincide (give-or-take a few days) with the handing over of the refurbished container which the palliative carers will be able to utilize as a training facility and also as a sanctuary to relax and unwind.

A huge thank you has to go to James and Charlotte Croswell who selflessly endeavoured to make this a memorable event for everyone who attended the ceremony. It was primarily an occasion to recognize and celebrate the volunteer caregivers, called "Grannies", who continue to play a major role in supporting the provision of informal care visits to the terminally ill in their own homes. Each "grannie" received a gift from James and Charlotte and every guest was also allowed to take home a lovingly wrapped succulent plant.

After thanksgiving, singing and speeches we all proceeded outside to officially hand over the refurbished container.

James Croswell, AG Jean Bernardo and Dr Mpho Ratshikana-Moloto, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care.

Rotary, People of Action hard at work once again....

There were still a lot of final touches that needed to be completed ahead of the refurbished Madiba Buggies being transported up to Thohoyandou. Jean roped in her family and Costa and Shirley proved they were not scared of hard work.

This Friday....

Manan Mahajan, Director of a successful tour company in New Delhi will enlighten us about travel in India. Not to be missed....

Worthy recipients receive Vocational Services Awards at Wanderers, Introducing our newest Inductee, Rosebank Rotary - People of Action and what are our members getting up to......

 From the Pen of the President....

A great big thank you to all members who were able to attend the meeting on Friday.  It was super to see several of those with whom we have had minimal contact for an extended period.  Many thanks to Ann and Josh for the efficient Zoom connectivity with those who could not attend in person.  Here’s hoping that we will return to in person meetings every week before too long.  Comments that I have had indicate that being able to chat to those next to you creates much a greater sense of fellowship and leads to a more enjoyable meeting.  So let us hope that the Covid pandemic continues to show a reduction in infections and mortalities.

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

There is no possession more valuable than a good and faithful friend  (Socrates)

Last Friday....

...after what seemed like an eternity, we finally had an  in the flesh meeting at Wanderers, and to mark the occasion we invited our Vocational Services Award nominees to receive their certificates in person and threw in an induction as well.

 It truly was a joyous occasion attended by 22 members, 5 Anns, 1 inductee, 4 award recipients and four visitors. Ann Hope Bailie arrived early to set up the Zoom connection and microphones for those members that could not be there in person, Gareth Hood managed to be part of the festivities via his mom's facetime and besides his vocational services award his number was also drawn out of the bag and he won James Croswell's lovingly reared succulent plant, which Sonja graciously accepted on his behalf.

Our Vocational Services Award recipients:

Marilyn Bassin, nominated by the Anns.

Marilyn is a Physiotherapist and a human rights activist who works with squatter communities as well as deep rural communities around South Africa.

Since the early 1990s she worked with terminally ill children fighting for their rights to medical care and the ability to die with dignity. She founded an NGO (Boikanyo the Dion Herson Foundation) in 2011.  This was after fighting for the rights of physically maimed children at Baragwanath Hospital for over 4 years.  She then moved on to work with very impoverished families in Protea South Soweto.  Initially she established a massive vegetable garden in a school which led to other programmes aimed at improving various facets of schooling.

Her physiotherapy background has led her to starting a programme of renovating and fitting profoundly disabled rural cerebral palsy children into special wheelchairs (also known as Madiba buggies).  ".  

Activism and being a voice to the voiceless has always been integral to her helping indigent communities.   She is a voice that speaks out against grave injustices, especially those impacting the poorest communities.  Just last month she secured running water for a school that the Department of Education refused to assist. 

Gideon Morar, also nominated by the Anns

Gideon started working at the Johannesburg SPCA in 2010. He always had a deep love and respect for animals, nature and all living things. After 2 years of harsh training, he became a qualified Animal Inspector and started working independently in numerous suburbs, townships and squatter camps. His mission was to confront and prevent Animal cruelty and neglect.  Despite the constant heartbreaks,  stress and fear he experienced on a daily basis, he continued this mission for over a decade.

There came a time, just before Covid 19 arrived,  when he decided to leave the SPCA and start his very own NPO. It has always been his dream to run an organization that is purely for the benefit of animals in need.  They provide animal welfare services, free of charge, to those that need it most.  Services such as parasite treatments, vaccinations, pet sterilizations,food, blankets, kennels, collars, leashes and various other medical services through different veterinary practices. They depend solely on donations to execute their work and goals.

Professor Shelley Schmollgruber, nominated by Melodene Stonestreet

Prof Shelley is a senior lecturer of intensive and critical care nursing at the University of the Witwatersrand. 

For many years Shelley has been involved in identifying worthy recipients of our Lester Connock Nursing Award.

She is passionate about her profession and especially training young nursing candidates.

She has generously offered to assist with our selection of Physio and OT as well as nurses when we once again resume our vocational guidance for matric students.

Sue Harwood, nominated by David Bradshaw

Sue has been a freelance writer-photographer for many years, proceeds from her photoshoots go to BAGS of LOVE and BAGS of LOVE too.She has also allocated funds from the sale of her fun book “Under the Rainbow” to needy causes she is involved in.

Sue's monetary award will go to the Tears Foundation.

Gareth Hood, nominated by Lyn Collocott 

Gareth's vocation as a teacher came to its full potential during hard lockdown when he returned back to South Africa from his teaching post in China and volunteered to become our designated quizmaster and spent hours compiling interesting and challenging questions for our weekly sessions, that expanded from inter-club challenges to cross country and cross border events.

For many of us these quiz evenings represented the highlight of our week.

Also on Friday...

...we inducted our newest member Tayla Burger into the Rotary Club of Rosebank.

Her ties to Rotary began in 2012 when she went on Youth Exchange to Monticello, Minnesota USA.

She studied at Stellenbosch and did a BComm Honours in Industrial Psychology.

Now Tayla is a Key  Account Consultant for Allan Gray and is currently busy studying for a post-graduate Diploma in Financial Planning.

She is married to Daniel, she enjoys cooking and baking, organizing events and loves meeting  new people and exploring new places and restaurants.

Welcome Tayla, no doubt you will be a valuable asset to Rotary.

Rosebank Rotary members prove that we are People of Action....

It was fitting that a few of our members and Anns volunteered to assist Marylyn Bassin with a mammoth task.

Taken from Marilyn's Boikanyo Facebook page:

"This weekend was incredible. We renovated the 25 buggies (wheelchairs for profoundly disabled cerebral palsy children) that we are going to take to Thohoyandou on the weekend of the 5 November. The atmosphere was wonderful. We know the gift that we are about to give these lucky families, and that knowledge  kept us going. 

We will spend 2 and a half days fitting children at Donald Fraser and Siloam Hospitals.

The buggies came to us from The Paige Project, who collect condemned buggies from various hospitals and clinics in Gauteng.. They released 25 to us last week for reconditioning and redistribution. The denim covers were collected earlier today. 

Preparations for our weekend away are advanced: the foam has been collected, we are just waiting for lap straps, footplates, and tray tables. 

This is truly Gods work. The Hollywood Foundation NPC has funded so much of this project, the inspiration and goodness of this particular outreach comes straight from heaven. This one is a very special one."

Jerry Bernardo, this is for you. Your hard work in making the trays and footplates will be honoured and remembered.

--

Hats on for Children...

James Croswell's reports:

*Hats on for Children’s Hospice Care*

Our Palliative Care team at Baragwanath wearing fun hats participating in the #hatsonforchildrenshospicecare campaign by the International Children’s Palliative Care Network. 

The need for improved pain control and palliative care for children and support for their families is restlessly on- going.

On Friday we will be handing over the refurbished container. All are welcome to attend.

A number of us will be attending this ceremony on Friday the 15th of October at 10:30 am at Baragwanath.

Please let James know if you would like to attend.

Meanwhile.... What are our members getting up to?

Juanette McCrindle went walkabouts in the beautiful surrounds of Bad Pyrmont, 2 and a half hours south of Hamburg and shared these bewitching photos with us.

Now that our borders are opening again, maybe this could become a travel destination...

This Friday....

Our monthly business meeting.

Environmental challenges highlighted by our guest speaker and Team Rosebank takes advantage of relaxed lockdown restrictions...

 From the Pen of the President....

The presentation by Andrew Thatcher on grey water highlighted just how disadvantaged  some of the communities in our nearby vicinity are. It reminded me strongly that the efforts of people who are prepared to serve can change the lives of the needy in a positive and lasting way. The challenge will be to differentiate between requests for handouts with only short-term benefits and those that will have a sustainable impact, preferably through the continued involvement of the beneficiaries themselves. All Rotarians should be alert to identifying suitable potential projects in which the club can be involved during their routine daily activities. Feel free to raise any possibilities you feel deserve consideration during one of our meetings or directly with the appropriate committee.

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

Definition of flatulence – an emergency vehicle that picks you up after you have been run over by a steamroller

Last Friday....

...our guest speaker was Professor Andrew Thatcher, Chair of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at Wits. He works mainly in the area of Ergonomics (the study of peoples efficiency in their working environment) but that was not the crux of his presentation to us.

In light of Rotary's newest area of focus his talk was very relevant.

Andrew shared a very scary statistic with us; income inequality is calculated by the Gini coefficient and in 2020 South Africa came in with the highest score of all countries in the world, and nowhere is this glaring discrepancy more evident than right on our doorstep in Alexandra and the mushrooming informal settlements in its midst an on its borders.

The Johannesburg municipality does supply "essential services" like water and electricity, it has erected porta-loos that are serviced by "honey-suckers" which remove the "black waste" once a week, and PikitUp removes solid waste once a month. Because of space constraint it is impossible to put in a proper sewage system as it would mean clearing shacks, and this means that the grey water gets discarded  indiscriminately, ends up in the Jukskei which eventually makes its way into the Hartebeespoort Dam.

Another scary statistic: The presence of e-coli is counted in CFU (colony forming units) in 100 ml of water. Drinking water has 0 CFU, recycled water (used to water vegetable gardens) has 2CFU, surface water (in swimming pools) has 200 CFU, upstream from Setswala informal settlement on the Jukskei they counted 100 000 CFU, and >500 000 CFU downstream. In a separate Wits study they recorded 7 million CFU at Frankenwald downstream from Setswala.

It is with this seemingly insurmountable challenge in mind that Andrew and many other interested parties are trying to find a sustainable solution which the community will buy into and adopt. Any project has to be handled with great sensitivity and has to be incorporated into every day community living and activity.

Man-made or constructed wetlands might be the answer. Research has shown that indigenous weed plants have the ability to cleanse water and thus a pilot project has been started. "Wetlands"  have been built and planted with weeds harvested from the nearby river, with the objective that  the community can dispose of their grey water into these troughs.

Early indications are that Andrew and Team are establishing a presence and are becoming known and accepted in the community which is imperative if this project is to succeed.

A question was asked of Andrew: How could we get involved?

Andrew maintained that there is no lack of funding for this project, what is needed is advocacy, being vocal about the problem and making people aware, and treating the problem at source.

Indeed a  lot of food for thought.....

Skittle Rematch Team Rosebank v. Kyalami...

Team Rosebank was well represented last week at the skittles rematch organized by the Rotary Club of Kyalami  at the Swiss Club and fellowship definitely was the winner, because we all made a  lot of noise, ate hearty German food, but don't ask me which team was victorious.

Rosebank's Reach extends to the Cape...

David Bradshaw took time out of his holiday schedule to deliver much appreciated packs of Lego to the Anna Foundation in Stellenbosch.

The Anna Foundation was started in July 2005 by Anna Brom who was volunteering as a remedial teacher at a disadvantaged farm and township school in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Remedial education at these schools largely entailed teaching basic literacy (i.e. reading and writing) to learners of all ages. A vast number of learners aged 15 – 17 years, still attending primary school, were identified as unable to read at the level of an average 9-year old child. No special needs teachers are provided in these schools and no support supplied for these slower learners. It became clear that the need for greater support to these isolated and underprivileged schools in South Africa was crucial. Challenges faced by these schools include overcrowded classrooms, limited educational resources, lack of library facilities, language constraints, isolated geographical locations and poor transport availability. The Anna Foundation was created to provide support to these rural children and to provide them with a stimulating and uplifting environment.

Anna started by providing support classes in English and Maths to learners from Ipani Primary school. The school had no library facility so Anna started a library-in-a-box system, providing children with their first-ever taste of reading their own book. There were also no sports facilities at the school so Anna started a running group. These reading and running activities were then combined and became the start of the Anna Foundation’s 3Rs programme, namely Reading, Running and Right-ing. In order for children to become part of the running club, they had to read two books per week. The third R, Right-ing, was introduced to address the importance of positive self-esteem and self-worth, and help teach children different life skills.

The 3 Rs programme is currently implemented on farms and in rural schools throughout the Western Cape. Local women from these rural communities are trained in the 3 Rs programme and become responsible for implementing it on a daily basis. The Anna Foundation has been a registered non-profit organisation since 2005 and working on farms in the Western Cape since 2007.

This Friday....

Please join us as we honour pillars of our community that use their vocation to do exceptional work.

It is a face-to-face meeting at Wanderers where we will be joined by the award recipients and our soon-to-be-member Tayla Burger who will be inducted into the Rotary Club of Rosebank.

We shall of course also have Zoom link for our members overseas and those that cannot make the actual meeting.