From the Pen of the President....
Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,
Seasons come and seasons go – winter has come!! You have some time to get those knitting needles clicking and finish off the sewing – our final work day is 27th May and then we must hand over our wares to the children who will benefit from our efforts!!
We had a successful Blanket Drive and many more people will benefit during the cold months from the blankets that our willing and generous community have sponsored. Thank you to those who went the extra mile over the past weekend.
We have still to confirm our venue but make no error – there will be an induction dinner!!
I have heard of a few members bringing a friend on 9th June – the more the merrier – we can sow what a good bunch we are!!
Anyone wishing to attend the induction and 50 year celebration of the Northcliff Club, please let me know.
Wishing David a happy and well deserved holiday. Welcome back to Margaret. Thinking of Hugh and wishing him a good conclusion to future plans.
To you all – wrap up warmly, keep well and see you soon.
Ann
Last Friday.....
....We were very pleased to welcome Margaret Dale back after her health has thankfully been restored.
She expressed her gratitude and attributes her recovery to the love an support she received from her Rotary Family during her convalescence.
Costa was then given the opportunity to report back on his experiences at this years District conference.
PE Costa Qually and Kevin Wolhuter and his wife Liz ably represented our Club at DISCON which took place from the 28th to the 30th of April at the Esibayeni Lodge, which lies halfway between Manzini and Mbabane in Eswatini.
The trip there was exhausting and took over 7 hours because of countless roadworks and getting lost en route, and seeing the entrance to the lodge must have been a welcome sight.
A Korean Choir was part of the opening ceremony and Joe Otin from Kenya was the Rotary International Representative (RIPRR). Joe was delighted to report that the Rotary membership in his home country is growing by leaps and bounds.
Costa was able to chat with him and apparently Joe has visited our Club on one of his sojourns to South Africa.
A large variety of topics were covered in the course of the conference.
Service projects touched on the work Rotary did during the Cyclone in Mozambique.
In the Empowering Girls segment the manufacture of reusable sanitary pads was discussed.
The Anns may only have 200 members but they are nonetheless very active.
Membership Growth remains a challenge, and it was emphasized that one needs to consider different types of clubs, and the importance of growing RotorAct Clubs.
A sobering discussion point was that only 44% of clubs donate to Rotary International.
Mental Health was put on the agenda, as there has been a marked increase in mental health issues since Covid.
During the Environment segment the River Clean Up Day was highlighted and that on one day a staggering 9 tons of plastic waste was collected.
But it was not all work, there was also time to visit the Canaan farming project, which was spearheaded by Ian and Janine Maxwell and is being supported by Rotary. Amongst other activities they have hot houses in which they grow vegetables and orchids that produce the highly sought after vanilla pod. They keep battery chickens that yield sufficient eggs to feed 4500 people a month. They have a carpentry and bead-making workshop that offers employment to nearly 260 people. They also look after 360 orphans.
A truly impressive endevour.
A visit to a Swazi cultural village was also very entertaining.
Of course the three evenings were filled with colourful activities; a meet-and-greet on the first evening where the delegates were given the opportunity to rekindle Rotary connections, the second evening had an African theme and the Gala dinner had its usual award ceremony and inductions of the incoming District Governor Riana Pretorius.
The venue for DISCON 2024 was announced. It is to held in Sabie; details to follow
Another very successful Blanket Drive proves that we are People of Action....
Every year the Pick 'n Pay supermarket on William Nicol Drive gives us the opportunity to display our Blanket Drive posters at their two main entrances and to approach their patrons for donations towards a blanket or two. This took place last Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the response the volunteers received was overwhelmingly positive.
Friday and Sunday we only had a two hour shift, and on Saturday we had three shifts, and in total we managed to raise R13 500 on our two Yoco point of sales machines and a further R7 000 in cash. Sonja Hood's company has pledged R10 000 towards this worthy cause and Pick 'n Pay Corporate have indicated that they will donate 100 blankets which we will be able to allocate to various charities.
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Thank you to Rotary Ann Penny Robinson and Friend of Rotary Liz Purvis for pitching in and look at John Symons doing his part, even though he recently underwent triple-bypass surgery; a true warrior.
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Emma shares her European Tour video with us....
Emma is finally back with her host family, and while the memories are still fresh in her mind she has made a short video of all the remarkable highlights of her once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Emma is also very proud of the impressive collection of badges she managed to collect for her Rotary blazer.
This Friday....
...is the third Friday of the month, which means it will be our regular Business Meeting.
Please join us if you can.
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