From the Pen of the President...
Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,
We are called on, presently, to be extra patient – loadshedding, water restrictions, low water levels in our reservoirs. It can be very trying for those living in Johannesburg – but, hey, we have a new mayor!! (yes, another one!!)
Looking on the bright side may not be easy – this is what we need to do – be grateful for all our many Blessings, look around at the beautiful shades of green and prolific gardens. We have fabulous parks to walk in.
I was inspired by the Eco Brick talk – lets go all out and fill those bottles – it really is something easy to get on with.
When I drive around in the city it strikes me that if everyone played a small part, then things could look a lot better – if every household, street group could clean up their own verges and pavements?? It makes me smile to see beautifully cut grass verges with weeds growing in the street!!
That is my beef for the week – have a good one!!
Ann
Last Friday...
.....We had the privilege of listening to Josephine Sidambe, a founding member and director of the Earthly Touch Foundation, a Non-Profit organization, whose main focus is the collection and repurposing of plastic waste into eco-bricks. At this stage they only have a presence in Gauteng.
Josephine has worked for over 20 years in supply chain management, construction, project management and facilities management for large companies.
Together with Diana Musara they are the driving force behind the eco-brick project of Khensani Collection in Diepsloot, where the very first eco-brick classroom was constructed in 2020.
Unfortunately due to loadshedding Josephine was unable to share a short but powerful YouTube clip which tells the story of the building of this classroom.
Josephine is on a constant drive to address and educate school children about how they can reduce and combat plastic pollution by making eco-bricks, thereby reducing their carbon footprint.
So far 10 schools in and around Gauteng are actively involved in making eco-bricks.
The Earthly Touch Foundation also works closely with the Diepsloot community where waste collection is non-existent and encourages particularly women and children to repurpose the tons of plastic waste that is produced daily.
Making a correct eco-brick is quite an art; the non-recyclable plastic waste that goes into the two liter plastic cooldrink bottles has to be solidly compacted and should weigh a minimum of 500g.
Community Services chair Sybille, who is herself very passionate about the eco-brick project thanked Josephine for her very insightful presentation and in keeping with environmental sustainability James Croswell presented our guest speaker with a spekboom plant.
Emma's Journey continues...
Emma reports that she has a wonderful host family; dad Steffen and mom Bea Noak, daughter Helene is 16 years old and Isabelle is 11. Her German is coming along very well but making new friends is quite challenging. Learning the periodic tables in German seems very strange to her.
She loves the ham and coffee but misses the South African "tjops" and steak.
It is bitterly cold and they have had quite a bit of snow, but despite the snow they cycle to school every day.
This is Emma tobogganing.
And after an outing in the snow what is better than to warm up with a mug of "Heisse Schokolade mit Sahne".
She has also started fencing lessons, which she enjoys tremendously and has acquired a fencing glove.
 |
Social Media highlights the good work RC Rosebank does...
The Rotary Club of Rosebank supports Charity Begins With Me not only because of Stephan Ferreira’s selfless work, but because of the dignity he is instilling in the Durban Deep community and his endeavors to uplift its people.
This is Stephan Ferreira's Facebook post which is worth sharing:
Every year our amazing friends at Norwood Spar have a trolley where people can buy and drop donated groceries for our other friends at the Rotary Club of Rosebank.
Many charities benefit from this initiative and we were again blessed to be on the receiving end as well.
Thank you to each and every person at Rotary Rosebank, Norwood Spar, and all the customers who made this possible!
A Visit to a Meeting of the Rotary Club of Newlands....
Last Monday evening the Ramble editor Sybille had the opportunity to attend a meeting of the Rotary Club of Newlands. Sybille knows PP Shan Biesman-Simmons, who roped her in to say the Fourway Test.
It was a lively evening made memorable by the visit of several Rotary members from the USA, who had read an article in their monthly Rotary America magazine of an educational project, the LEAP Science and Math Schools, that RC Newlands supports, with the wish to donate a sum of dollars for this worthy cause.
This Friday....
.... Should be very interesting as Ward Councillor Tim Truluck will paint a picture of what his job entails.
Let's give him a warm Rosebank Rotary welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment