A Worthy Recipient of the prestigious Lester Connock Award, The Anns have been busy and Exchange Student Emma appears in the local German Newspaper....

 From the Pen of the President....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends, 

Not many public holidays fall on a Friday - this week we celebrate Youth Day. In Rotary terms we know a lot about working with young people and it is so rewarding.

The year is drawing to a close and we will be finishing off our big project on the 24th when we hand out close on 500 items of clothing, 5 boxes of books and some blankets to the folk at Charity Begins with Me. If you have sewing to complete or items to donate please get them to us by 23rd. 

The Rotary Club of Kendal so generously donated money to us as part of a District Grant for Boikanyo  - I let the cat out of the bag and called Marilyn - she was speechless. It does not happen often!! Great to know the money will be used for the next outreach. I have seen some of the recipients in photos - heartbreaking. 

Hoping to see you all at our induction dinner on 30th June - one thing we do well is party!!

The cold has hit....keep yourselves warm.

Ann

Last Friday....

Rotarian Les Short gave some insightful background  to the origins of the Lester Connock Commemoration Fund Award. During World War 2 Tara Hospital in Johannesburg was used as a recuperation centre for soldiers. One ward was set apart as a psychiatric ward. After the war Hymie Moross realized the need for the psychiatric ward nurses and medical professionals at Tara Hospital to get sponsorship for advanced training overseas. Lester Connock was a member of Rosebank Rotary and he chose to become involved in this project. Lester made sure that when Hymie Moross was no longer involved the project continued. The award is now called the Lester Connock Commemoration Fund Award in honour of this Rotarian.

The Rosebank Rotary club have sponsored a number of nurses who had previously proved to be outstanding leaders in their field to be sent to the UK and  Australia for training. In time, however. overseas training became exorbitantly expensive and the project changed direction to sponsoring students for training in the field of nursing in South Africa.

For the last 10 to 11 years, Shelley reported, the Rosebank Rotary club has been sponsoring the studies of outstanding second year Masters students at Wits Medical School.

 Last year’s recipient of the award, Zamakuhle Mguli, recounted how she had been researching in her Master’s degree the processes within oncology treatment at Milpark Hospital, especially the communication systems that involved ‘Navigators’. Zamakuhle explained that a ‘Navigator’ can be compared to a GPS system – it’s the navigator that ensures you reach your destination! The ’Navigators’, like herself, do everything in their power to remove any barriers in the treatment processes. She has identified some of these barriers in her research.

This year’s recipient of the Lester Connock award, Ntombikayise Kgosana, was accompanied by her supervisor Kerry-Ann Singarem, who attested to her protégé’s dedication and hard work in her field. Ntombi explained to the club that her Master’s degree is a Child Nursing Specialization, focused particularly on the neonatal patients. In the past, parents had been excluded from the treatment of these babies whilst they were in hospital. Ntombi believes strongly in a holistic approach to treatment and is campaigning for the inclusion of the parents in the hospital treatment processes from the beginning of the child’s life. She thanked the Rosebank Rotary Club for the award and sponsorship to further her research.

Blanket Drive update.

David gave an update on the successful Blanket Drive; there were generous sponsors. The club had a friendly rivalry with Morningside Rotary Club regarding Blanket Drives – but it was decided that we’d won this year. The logistics around the distribution of the blankets was explained.

'Charity begins with me’ project.

On 24 June 2023, the many items which were sewn or knitted at our two Sew-a-Thon events will be handed over to Stephan of  ‘Charity Begins with Me’ who made it his mission to make sure that 1500 children in the informal settlements in the Durban Deep area have something warm to wear this winter. The club members have worked hard to complete tops, tracksuits, blankets and beanies to donate to this charity  No doubt our endeavours will contribute to Stephan's ambitious target. .

Induction Dinner

The Presidential Induction Dinner arrangements are being finalized for the 30^{th of} June 2023. Please let Costa know whether you’re attending, for catering purposes.

Madiba Buggy Project

In July a team of volunteers which include The Boikanyo Foundation under the guidance of Marilyn Bassin and members of our Club is preparing to go down to the Jeffrey’s Bay area to custom fit specialized Buggies for cerebral palsy children and young adults whose mobility is severely compromised. This project will be run with the active co-operation of the Provincial Hospital in the area. Although most of the Buggies have already been refurbished President Ann made an appeal for two additional wheelchairs. 

 

Anns Activities....

Rotary Ann Hilary Humphries reports:

Rosebank Rotary Anns have recently been busy distributing knitted blankets, jerseys and beanies, as well as other winter clothes before the really cold winter weather sets in. The various charities we have supported are Charity Begins with Me, Door of Hope, Meals on Wheels, Dlala Nje (Ponte City), Acres of Love, Miracle Mission, Princess Alice Adoption Home and Woodside Sanctuary.

The knitted items are from our Busy Bee knitters at Golden Harvest, as well as the knitters among our own members and other donations.

 New clothing for the men, women and children at Woodside Sanctuary was purchased from funds raised during the year to help with their long “wish list” of needs.

The Anns were also happy to assist at the Rosebank Rotary sewing/knitting day to provide tracksuits, beanies etc for Charity Begins with Me, whose aim is to provide 1500 children with warm clothing. The day also proved to be a most enjoyable social occasion.

Rotary Exchange Student Emma makes it into the local Weißwasser Newspaper....

She shares what it is like living in Johannesburg with her concerns regarding safety and security and the challenges we are faced with loadshedding.

With her in the picture are her Rotary "parents" Steffen and Beatrice Noack.

In the past week Emma visited some picturesque parts of Franconia in northern Bavaria where she was on a very busy outreach with other Exchange students.

The distinct Franconian architecture is particularly evident in the cities of Nuremburg and Bamberg.

Next Friday...

...is a public holiday, Youth Day, and therefore there will be no meeting. The Rosebank Ramble will also take a break and the next edition will only be available on the 26th of June.