Cesare Vidulich, Leon Louw, a Brunch for the Brazilians and the Scourge of Hepatitis

Last Week


Cesare Vidulich talked about himself and it was fascinating.  These talks are much more interesting than 'My Job' talks because they have become very much where I come from , what my family was like etc.  Much more personal and really give us an insight into who are members are.
Despite his surname we were all under the impression that Cesare was Italian.  He is and he isn't because he was born on a small island off the Dalmatian coats that was Italian when he was born, became Yugoslavian after the 2nd World War and is now part of Croatia.

Many thanks, Cesare.

Our AG, David Price, visited us and with him came Candice de Carvalho.

I'll leave you to guess who's who.

It was also the monthly collection at Norwood Spar and congratulations to everyone because we were able to fill all the vacant spots and collect through-out Saturday and Sunday.  This is the Saturday 11.00 till 13.00 shift  whose photo appeared on Facebook, and Twitter and they held the record for collection for the day.....

This Week

Our guest speaker is Leon Louw of the Free Market Foundation of which he was the co-founder and

executive director.

The Free Market Foundation (Southern Africa) is an independent public benefit organisation founded in 1975 to promote and foster an open society, the rule of law, personal liberty, and economic and press freedom as fundamental components of its advocacy of human rights and democracy based on classical liberal principles. It is financed by membership subscriptions, donations and sponsorships.

The FMF was established to counter the steadily increasing intervention in the economy by the government of the time. Protectionism, high inflation, price controls, bureaucracy and relentless enforcement of racial discrimination all escalated during the 1970’s. In 1977 the FMF became a national body when it received the support of major institutions, including SACOB, AHI, NAFCOC, TUCSA, the National Black Consumer Union, and the National Consumer Union. Representatives of major companies played an active role in the reconstitution of the Foundation and commenced participation in its affairs.

The book, South Africa: The Solution (1986), by Leon Louw and Frances Kendall (a project initiated by the FMF) and the subsequent Let the People Govern by the same authors, provided all South Africans with positive proposals for a peaceful constitutional settlement, based on the principles of direct democracy upon which the Swiss government functions. These books and the follow-up work by the two authors had an undoubted influence on the negotiation process.

Next Week plus One Day

• The Quiz on Friday 16th November...don't forget. Victory depends on YOU!

• Brazilian Rotary Friendship Exchange Brunch 11.00 Sunday 18th November chez Wolhuter

This is being organised by James Croswell and the International Committee and he will give more details later but it will be a Bring Booze but not Food event.  It is imperative that you let him know how many of you will be there. so email him on jcroswel@iafrica.com

In 2010, Humberto Silva was getting ready to travel from Brazil to South Africa to watch his country’s soccer team play in the World Cup. When he went to get the necessary vaccinations, his doctor recommended he also be tested for hepatitis.  

Humberto Silva behind the wheel of a converted military ambulance in which two brothers, Fred Mesquita and José Eduardo, are traveling the world educating people about hepatitis.

Silva thought this was silly. He felt fine. How could he have hepatitis? When the results came back, he was shocked: He had hepatitis C. If he didn’t get treatment, his liver would fail and he would die. 

As Silva thought about how he might have contracted the disease, he remembered that when he was eight years old, he had received a blood transfusion after a surgery. If that was the source of the infection, it meant that the virus had been in his body for nearly 40 years, attacking his liver over and over.

Silva, a member of the Rotary Club of São Paulo-Jardim das Bandeiras, underwent treatment and is now free of the virus. And he knows much more about the disease. 

There are five main types of hepatitis, each of which involves a different virus that attacks the liver. The most serious are B and C. There is a vaccine for hepatitis B, which is spread through contact with blood or bodily fluids, but not for hepatitis C, which is spread almost exclusively by blood contact. There is, however, a treatment that eliminates the hepatitis C virus from the body; it costs around $120 per person. 

Roughly 325 million people worldwide live with some form of viral hepatitis, and the disease causes 1.34 million deaths per year. Globally, an estimated 71 million people are infected with hepatitis C, but only 20 percent of them have been tested and are aware of their status. For those with hepatitis B, that figure is just 9 percent.

In 2011, while he was being treated for hepatitis, Silva founded the Associação Brasileira de Portadores de Hepatite (Brazilian Association for Hepatitis Carriers), which opened a free clinic in São Paulo to test and treat people for hepatitis. “There is a finger prick test like the diabetes test,” he says. “In three minutes we can diagnose if people have hepatitis.”

This was so successful that the ABPH opened four more clinics in Brazil, plus one in Mexico City, and has seen some 60,000 people. But Silva knew there were still tens of thousands of people who were unaware of the threat that hepatitis posed to their health, just as he had been. He wondered how he could reach them all. He established Hepatitis Zero, a worldwide campaign to identify and support people with hepatitis, educate the public about the disease, and aid in eradication efforts.

In 2015, the Rotary International Convention was held in Silva’s hometown of São Paulo. So he set up a booth there to test people for hepatitis. 

At the convention, Silva spoke to Rotary’s incoming president, K.R. Ravindran, who suggested that they form the Rotarian Action Group for Hepatitis Eradication. The action group launched last year with Silva as its founding chair. 

Since then, Argentina has embarked on a nationwide campaign, and countries including Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Korea, Mexico, and Nigeria have begun testing. Currently, the action group has hepatitis eradication projects in countries in the Americas and Africa. 

In the small African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, ABPH and the action group are working with Rotary clubs and the government to make it the first country to eradicate hepatitis. “We are going to test the whole population for hepatitis B and C,” Silva says, “and we are going to provide the medicine to the ones we find who are sick.” And that’s just one of the places where these organizations have projects underway. 

The action group is also setting up committees across Africa and recruiting ambassadors to publicize and coordinate testing in preparation for the Pan-African Week Against Hepatitis from 20 to 28 July. It is sending two testing machines to Africa and plans to organize another major campaign.

Silva hopes these will be major steps toward ridding the planet of the disease. “It’s not going to be easy,” he says. “But we are going to win. There are people who are standing on the edge of a cliff without realizing it. We’re going to tell them that they are sick and we are going to give them medicine. Rotary is going to do that.”   

Business, Quiz, Making up at an e-Club and welcome Sushil Gupta

Last Week
We had a very successful business meeting. We had one visitor, Laura Bos who must be the only person suggested directly from RI who has turned up for a meeting.  There was much hilarity when I introduced her as someone else....an existing Rotarian looking for a daytime club but has never materialised.
Laura was particularly interested in the Cervical Cancer Project that is being championed by Richard Moloney.  Not only is it a potential Global Grant Project but the African Union is interested in the project as having potential for the continent as a whole.
Laura has 10 years of experience as an international public health expert with a track record in strategy consulting, finance, supply chain management and health insurances. She has experience in a wide range of international, national, provincial and local government public and private sector projects in the health sector and beyond. Her passion is focused on healthcare innovation and delivery as well as competitive dynamics, which explains her interest.  She is particularly interested in Mother/Child Health Care.

This Week

Cesare Vidulich is talking about himself.  

These talks by members are extremely popular as we know so little about each other.  We do know that Cesare works exceptionally hard with the Interact Club at Highlands North and makes sure that a close contact is maintained with the club.
 We also know that he sings with the Italian Choir....but that's about all.

And we also know that he is married to Donny.




Quiz Night 16th November
So far we have two teams of 10 but there is still space if you wish to come.  Just be in touch with Pam Donaldson.

Spar Collection, Norwood this Weekend
Don't forget!

Making up at the e-Club

-You must visit the website of the Rotary e-club for a minimum of 30 minutes. Please note that this is 30+ continuous minutes. You cannot claim a make-up credit if you have 6 x 5 minute visits in a week. Many visiting Rotarians stay longer than the minimum 30 minutes because website content is very interesting and informative.

At that rate we could have 200% attendance without coming on a Friday at all

Fourth Indian to head global membership organization

NEW DELHI, (1 Oct. 2018) — Sushil Kumar Gupta, chair and managing director of Asian Hotels (West) Ltd. and owner of Hyatt Regency Mumbai and JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity, will begin his one-year term as president of Rotary International on 1 July 2020. 

Gupta, a member of the service organization for 41 years, belongs to the Rotary Club of Delhi Midwest. As head of Rotary’s global network of 35,000 clubs, Gupta aims to increase the organization’s humanitarian impact and club member diversity. 

"I’m humbled to join the distinguished ranks of those who have led this organization before me,” Gupta said. “I hope to leave a mark on Rotary that reflects selfless leadership and an unwavering commitment to service.”   

India’s 3,700 Rotary clubs and 146,000 members take action to address humanitarian challenges and implement sustainable projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children and grow local economies. More than $221 million awarded over the past several years through The Rotary Foundation has supported these programs. 

Last month, Dakoju Ravishankar, a real-estate investor and Rotary member from Bengaluru, donated $14.7 million to The Foundation. “People support Rotary because it is a trusted organization that supports communities through tangible projects,” Gupta said. “In fact, CNBC named Rotary one of its top 10 charities in the world. In India alone, Rotary has positively impacted our communities through polio eradication, installing sustainable and safe latrines, building schools, providing potable water, and countless good deeds.”

Gupta has served as president of the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India and on the board of directors of Tourism Finance Corporation of India Ltd. He was the president of Experience India Society, a public-private partnership between the tourism industry and the government of India that promotes India as a tourist destination. He is currently vice chair of the Himalayan Environment Trust and serves on the board of Operation Eyesight Universal in India. 

Jokes, Rotary Grub Club, Collection at Norwood Spar and More

Last Week
Social Meetings always bring out the worst jokes and we had a change of pizzas.  We normally alternate but last week we kept the Mexican and had a Margarita and a Regina.  Nobody complained so we will ring the changes more often.

Michael Hadjihambis won the bottle of wine. 
It looks as if Mike Honnet is going to share it

A well as Stewart Mutegeki we had two new visitors, Michael Hadjihambis from the Rotary Club of Nicosia-Salamis in Cyprus and Nigel Bellamy from the Rotary Club of Selibe Pikwe in Botswana.  Our Past District Governor, Jankees Sligcher had lent his moustache to Nigel and I for a moment thought that Jankees was visiting us.

President Jean, Nigel Bellamy and Cesare Vidulich listening to jokes.

Rotary Grub Club
Here are the Rosebank members and partners at Lau's Restaurant in Cyrildene last Thursday.

And the other table, mainly members of Johannesburg New Dawn.  

I added Jellyfish to the appetiser for my own amusement and most people enjoyed it.

Weekend Collection at Norwood Spar

We really do struggle to get enough people to man or woman these collections which is extraordinary for a club with over 40 members. It

is quite depressing.
With the four collections we should be able to give more to the charities we support at Christmas than we have ever managed with the previous collections at Makro and this much easier and we need fewer Rotarians yet it's a problem.
Please get hold of Costa Qually if you can help.

The Quiz 16th November
Don't forget to book with Pam Donaldson.

This Week
It's a business meeting so there isn't much to say other than it's important to be there to hear what is being done in your name.

Rotary Club of Vancouver Yaletown, British Columbia

Rotary Club of Vancouver Yaletown members Lejla Uzicanin (from left), Neil Mort, and Rebecca Donnelly.  

At first glance, everything about the Rotary Club of Vancouver Yaletown seems modest: its meeting space (a cozy conference room in the lobby of a downtown high-rise); its roster (11 members at the start of this Rotary year); even its short list of past presidents (several of whom have held the office more than once in the club’s 10-year history).

But Yaletown’s achievements are disproportionate to its size. The secret to the club’s success? Every member is an active member. 

“We’re a small club, but we do great things,” says Neil Mort, who is in his second term as club president. “They call us ‘the little club that could.’”

Indeed, the calendar that Mort projects onto the wall during a recent meeting is packed with activities: fellowship and service opportunities; networking, fundraising, and outreach events; and a celebration of the club’s first decade. 

Yaletown Rotary was founded in 2008 by Rotarians who wanted a structure that was more economical and convenient than their traditional clubs. They meet for one hour right after work, with no meal, and plan social activities and patronize local businesses together. 

The club is a favorite of out-of-town Rotarians. “We have visitors all the time because of our location,” says Jane LePorte, club secretary and youth services director. The Yaletown neighborhood sits at the southern end of Vancouver’s downtown business corridor, about a mile from where the cruise ships dock at Canada Place. High-rise buildings tower above street-level boutiques and sidewalk cafés. Restaurant menus reflect the city’s many cultures. A few blocks from the club’s meeting place, water taxis zip back and forth across the False Creek waterway to the Granville Island Public Market. A popular bike path parallels the park-lined shore. 

As members joke around and discuss plans for their 10th anniversary party — which, it appears, will likely include either polka dancing or the use of a club member’s recently acquired karaoke machine — it’s clear that this isn’t just a Rotary meeting; it’s a gathering of friends. 

The club’s outgoing nature is reflected on its active social media accounts. Its Instagram page has more than 600 followers, and members recently used Facebook to launch a fundraising campaign called the Every Drop of Talent Challenge, which called on supporters to post a video of themselves performing their talent, then tag three friends to do the same or to make a donation. 

Another tip for small clubs? The Yaletown Rotarians piggyback on other groups’ outreach events, such as a Canada Day celebration put on by the Rotary Club of Lionsgate, which drew more than 20,000 attendees to a park in North Vancouver, a town across the harbor from Vancouver. Yaletown Rotary hosted a booth that featured a small pool filled with dirty water. “People came by and said, ‘What’s that?’” says Karen McDiarmid, membership chair and two-time past president. “We said, ‘Do you want to drink this water, or do you want to drink clean water?’ Then we’d get a conversation started.” 

The Yaletown club’s focus on clean water came after hearing a presentation on rainwater collection last year. The club decided to partner with the Rotary Club of Hurlingham-Nairobi on a project that aims to bring fresh water to four rural schools in Kenya via a rooftop collection system. 

“There’s a desperate need for water there,” Mort says. “They simply don’t have a water source that’s close by and sustainable.” During the dry season, children sometimes have to walk up to 20 kilometers per day to fill a 5-gallon bucket with water of questionable quality. “That’s all they do all day,” he says. “They don’t go to school.” 

At the Canada Day event, a volunteer face painter and a stack of coloring pages kept kids busy while their parents learned about the project. The back of each coloring page featured information and a link to the club’s fundraising page. “We decided as a group to commit to the project,” says Mort, who traveled to Kenya for a site visit last year. Other members are promoting the project on social media.

There are challenges to being a small club, but there are also advantages. Unlike some clubs that have time for only a few members each week to share their news and contribute “happy dollars,” at Yaletown meetings, every member shares a happy thought each week and drops some coins in a can. 

When everyone is engaged, a little can go a very long way.

Gavin Henry, Inter Club Quiz, Social Meeting, Christmas is Coming and Barging about on the Kennet & Avon.

Last Week
It's back to normal after the very successful Youth Leadership Course.

Our speaker was Gavin Henry, Chairman of the Bedfordview Community Policing Forum.  He became involved following a burglary at his own home.
I got the impression that Bedfordview was rather like the Wild West and dangerous to visit let alone live there.  From 6 police vehicles they are down to two one of which has a puncture that hasn't been repaired, the detectives, all 35 of them are sitting in a room little bigger than a broom cupboard as they have been evicted from the building where they used to be owing to non-payment of rent and so it went on.
He told us that we cannot rely on the police, that we have to be vigilant when driving home in case we are followed and we should turn our home into a fortress and then ensure that electric fences etc are working.  He also told us how few electric fences are turned on and how criminals check that they are functioning.  I was tempted to run round the neighbourhood and see if the criminal electric fence checking system works.  If the alarm goes off run away and then come back later.  If I was about 11 years old it would create lots of fun possibilities.

It was a great pleasure having our former Exchange Student from Alaska, Emily Longbrake,who is an  artist and designer and her husband Bill Jamison as guests as well as Stewart Mutegeki.

Stewart Mutegeki

Emily Longbrake & Bill Jamison

The Inter-club Quiz, Friday 16th November
Please be in touch with Pam Donaldson about this as soon as possible.  I know it's quite a long way ahead but Johannesburg Club are having to estimate the numbers coming and they have reckoned on 20 people coming from our club.  Last week Pam had heard from nobody....so you can see that I am as bad as everyone else!







Social Dinner in Cyrildene on Thursday Evening
Don't forget to book with me if you still want to come. 
There are 15 at the moment and we have booked for 20.

This Week.
It's a Social Meeting and it's also a Board Meeting.  One thing that you should always remember is that any Rotarian can attend a Board Meeting though if there is a discussion that results in a vote you can't vote.  In all my years of being on various boards I can only ever remember one vote!

Christmas Lunch

Friday 7th December.  We will try to book Parkview Golf Club again.

For years, Rotary Newbury has been running canal barge trips for charities in Berkshire and Wiltshire. This year, they took out guests over two weekends on the picturesque Kennet & Avon canal.

Fair weather favoured the guests and volunteer crews for the Rotary Newbury annual barge week which took place in September.

The week gave the Newbury Rotary crews the opportunity of giving local community groups a day out on the beautiful Kennet & Avon canal on sections between Great Bedwyn and Woolhampton and back to Bedwyn.

This year, the Rotary club entertained groups from Eight Bells Mental Health, Fairclose Day Centre, Kintbury Volunteers, The MS Society and The Polio Group.

The final leg between Hungerford and Great Bedwyn proved to be hard graft with low water levels causing two other boats to be marooned.

Not so with the Rotary team who managed to get the boat ‘Hannah’ back to base.

This is an annual event in Newbury Rotary’s community calendar in which the club uses a specially adapted barge from the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust (KACT) fleet.

This event fully demonstrates our Rotary community focus. We get great joy from operating the barge week and seeing the pleasure that this gives to those members of our local community and charity groups that join us.”

‘Hannah’ is a specially-designed, purpose-built, wide-beam canal boat which can be used by disabled, disadvantaged or elderly people.

It has wide-access ramps for boarding at the stern deck and a electro hydraulic lift down into the boat.

The extra width of the boats provides excellent manoeuvrability for wheelchair users and they all have special built-in facilities.

Since the late 1980s, Rotary Newbury has used one of the Kennet KACT Bruce Branch canal boats to treat local charities to day trips as part of their community programme.

To date, in excess of 200 day trips have been provided enabling more than 2,000 charity members to enjoy the tranquility of canal barge travel and the Kennet Valley scenery.

Irene Waters, the current Newbury Rotary President, said: “This event fully demonstrates our Rotary community focus.

“We get great joy from operating the barge week and seeing the pleasure that this gives to those members of our local community and charity groups that join us.”

Visitors, Rotary Youth Leadership Course, Quiz Prep, Security and Modern Slavery

Last Week

PP Lyn Collocott exchanges banners with John Palmer of the Rotary Club of  Akron Ohio

Monica Kiwanuka

We expected a small meeting with President Jean and other Rotarians in the Magaliesberg for our annual Youth Leadership Weekend so it was a pleasant surprise seeing how many were there to hear David Bradshaw talk about Rotary Friendship Exchange.  David us an enthusiastic member of the District Friendship Exchange Committee and the next Exchange will be with Mexico and you will all have received the notice direct from District.

We also hosted two visiting Rotarians and a student enquiring about short term youth exchange.

Masega Matiku

John Palmer from Ohio USA told us about the annual camp that his club runs for physically and mentally challenged children.

Monica Kiwanuka from the Rotary Club of Johannesburg North Central had dropped one of her children off in Rosebank and had time to spare so thought she would pay us a visit.

Masega Matiku, who is studying drama at National School of the Arts came to ask us about Short Term Youth Exchange only to discover the Youth Committee were all in the Magaliesberg.





Rotary Youth Leadership Course
President Jean has already written about this in her column and, as you know, we cannot publish photographs of minors without parents'consent if faces are visible.  Fortunately we do have permission to add pictures of the team.

But here are a couple of photos of the event....but not the fun ones!

Dinner Lau's Restaurant, Cyrildene

I have circulated everyone about this and so far two have responded.  Please come back to me as soon as possible.



Interclub Quiz Friday 16th November

A team consists of a table of 10 which can be anyone.  Obviously it would be us and partners or the Anns might like to have their own team including their partners.  Intelligent children would be very welcome as would intelligent friends.
It was hinted to me that Johannesburg Club reckon they would win easily because they have so many old knowledgeable members.  I don't really think we should get them away with that!
I wonder how many of them have heard of Drake, Eminem or Ariana Grande?

Please email Pam Donaldson pmmdonaldson@gmail.com with your list of those who are going for the honour of Rosebank.







Christmas Lunch
It will be on Friday 7th December this year.

This Week
It's a topic than concerns us all, Security and our speaker is Gavin Henry, Chairman of the Bedfordview Community Policing Forum.  As our own Costa Qually is the Chairman of the Rosebank Community Policing Forum it should make an interesting lunchtime.

Here is an article from the Bedfordview&Edenvale News that gives an idea of some of the things Gavin Henry is involved with.

In revealing its plans for the year ahead, the Bedfordview Community Policing Forum (BCPF) said it expects 2016 to be as challenging as the previous year.

Chairperson Mr Gavin Henry said the goals and plans set by the forum cannot be achieved without the financial support of the community that it serves.

“We once again ask the community of Bedfordview to help sponsor us on a monthly basis. You will be given a section 18a certificate to deduct the amount you contribute from your taxable income,” said Mr Henry.

He said the forum plans to implement a new telephone system, which will record all calls to the sector vehicles as well as forward any unanswered calls to the management of Bedfordview Police Station.

“We believe this will bring accountability to the system and improve the relationship between the SAPS and the community,” he said.

Mr Henry said the BCPF is also looking into installing license plate recognition cameras on the main roads in the area.

After installation, the cameras will pick up known suspicious number plates and notify the police and local security companies of their presence in the suburb.

“We also hope to raise awareness of driveway robberies and home invasions, and subsequently combat this violation of our peaceful suburb,” said Mr Henry.

He said the BCPF would like to increase the number of patrollers on its books.

“These are the men and women who care for us and give of their time to be the eyes and ears of the police,” he said.

He said the forum has a wish to acquire a dedicated response vehicle for both patrolling and medical response in the area.

“This vehicle will be on the roads of Bedfordview, in close co-operation with both the SAPS and EMPD, keeping a lookout for suspicious activity and ready to react should there be a medical emergency in our area,” said Mr Henry.

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An estimated 40.3 million people around the world live in slavery involving either sexual exploitation or forced labor. A new partnership with Freedom United is giving Rotarians a chance to do something to stop it.

Dave McCleary was volunteering at a youth conference in 2012 when a young woman named Melissa explained how she had ended up in the sex trade.

She was living in a nice suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, when a young man knocked on her door and offered her a job as a model. The man turned out to be a pimp, who lured her into prostitution through a combination of drugs, threats, and coercion.

“She was from my town, and was living in an apartment where my wife used to live before we got married,” remembers McCleary, a member of the Rotary Club of Roswell. “After the presentation, a member of my club gave her a big hug. I asked how he knew her, and he said she used to babysit his kids when she was 12. That’s when I realized this wasn’t someone else’s problem. This is happening all around us.”

McCleary is now co-chair of the Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery, which has been coordinating Rotary clubs’ efforts to fight slavery since 2013. A big challenge for the group has been motivating clubs to act. The immense scale of the problem can be daunting. 

The Global Slavery Index estimates that, worldwide, 40.3 million people are subject to some form of slavery: bonded labor, forced labor, child slavery, sex trafficking, or forced marriage. 

“I think many people ask, ‘What can I do? What impact can my small club possibly have?’” McCleary says.

One answer could come from the group’s recent partnership with Freedom United, a nonprofit organization that has mobilized millions of partners, activists, and advocates through online campaigns to convince governments and companies to end slavery. 

Freedom United Executive Director Joanna Ewart-James and Advocacy Assistant Miriam Karmali hand out fliers at a flower show being held in London discussing the link between modern slavery and the sponsor of the flower show.

Through Freedom United’s website, Rotary clubs of any size can sign up to form “freedom rings,” which raise community awareness of slavery while sharing information with one another through an online platform. Freedom United helps the club plan a two-hour community event by arranging speakers that can include experts, survivors, and representatives of local nonprofits that are already fighting modern slavery. At the end of the event, people are invited to join the ring. The core team this creates then selects yearly projects to commit to.

“These rings are inspired out of a Rotary club but also pull from the larger community,” says Joe Schmidt, CEO of Freedom United. “We have a series of things they can choose to do. We ask them to keep it pretty simple and laser-focused on one particular project.” 

Schmidt, who advises Delta Airlines on its anti-trafficking strategy, met McCleary through Delta’s involvement with Georgia Rotarians, including during the 2017 Rotary Convention in Atlanta.

“Dave and I started to talk, and we recognized that there are maybe 200 to 400 groups just in the U.S. working on modern slavery topics. However, they are all disjointed with no common platform,” Schmidt says. “It sparked in us a connection between Freedom United’s interest in taking our massive online community down to the grassroots level and Rotary’s ability to provide hundreds of groups all over the world who would be foot soldiers in this fight.”

According to Schmidt, a ring in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, is planning an annual gala fundraiser, and one in Raleigh, North Carolina, is working on a walk/run to raise awareness. Another ring is organizing a “red sand project,” where volunteers sprinkle red sand in the cracks of city streets to represent all the people in the world who are enslaved. 

Ian Rumbles, president-elect of the Rotary Club of Clayton, North Carolina, heard Schmidt speak at his district conference in April. His club is in the beginning stages of forming a ring.

“What resonated with me was hearing about the amount of domestic slavery and the number of people forced to work in farm fields in my own state,” says Rumbles. “The fact that people in our country were modern slaves made me think that I can only imagine the amount of slavery around the world.”

Schmidt says Rotary’s experience with polio eradication makes it a perfect partner for this fight.

“Rotary’s patience in committing to a cause and its track record with polio have shown that Rotarians are willing to take mature, committed action toward long-term global change, even if it doesn’t give immediate gratifying results,” he says. “That’s the thing missing in the fight against modern slavery: large organizations who are willing to step into this thing for the long haul and eradicate slavery once and for all.”

Rotary clubs have been supporting anti-slavery organizations for over a decade. In one of the larger efforts, 14 Rotary clubs led by the Rotary Club of Dunbar, Lothian, Scotland, opened a vocational training center for trafficking survivors in Kalimpong, India, in 2015. The project was funded in part by a Rotary Foundation grant. The group plans to add  a home for women and girls freed from slavery. 

McCleary is hoping that the partnership with Freedom United will better lead to more. 

“The great thing about Rotary is that even though we are international, we are community-based,” he adds. “So if there’s a need in a community, we have Rotary clubs there to make it happen.”

Business, District Seminars, a Quiz, Rotary Friendship Exchange & Rotary Day at the UN

Last Week
It was a Business Meeting.  Here's the Board holding forth to the assembled multitudes.  I seldom take pictures at Business Meetings so here is the exception to the rule:

President Jean Bernardo

Mark Franklin (Commemoration Fund)

James Croswell (International)

John Symons (Finance)

Costa Qually (Community & Vocational)

Melodene Stonestreet (Membership)

Les Short (Foundation)

Ann Hope-Bailie (Secretary)

Joan Sainsbury (Youth)

And here, for the first time, is a picture of a happy wine winner, Pam Donaldson , who checks us in to the meeting.  Past President Lyn Collocott, in the background, is another Board Member.

Rosebank @ The District Membership & Foundation Seminar

It was also a weekend that saw our monthly collection at Spar Norwood...I don't have any pictures of that... and the club was well represented at the Membership/Foundation Seminar.

And here is our invitation to the Quiz.....more details will follow.  Just put the date in your diary.

This Week

David Bradshaw is an enthusiastic supporter of Rotary Friendship Exchange so we are looking forward to seeing the pictures of the ones he has been on......and naturally he is going to sell it to us.

Rotary Day at the United Nations celebrates two organizations’ shared vision for peace and highlights the critical humanitarian activities that Rotary and the UN lead around the world.

The event also honors people who make a positive difference in their community, their country, or around the world. Each year, about 1,000 guests attend.

Who attends?

Rotary Day at the United Nations is open to the public. The audience includes: 

• Rotary International president and Board of Directors, Rotary Foundation Trustees, other Rotary leaders, and Rotary club members
• Leaders from the United Nations 
• Experts from other nongovernmental agencies
• Renowned humanitarians 
• Young leaders who attend to exchange ideas, learn about the UN, and meet international leaders

Rotary Day at the UN 2018

Under this year’s theme of “Youth Innovation: Crafting Solutions to Emerging Challenges,” Rotary will honor six innovators who are under age 35.

More than 750 participants will attend the event on Saturday, 10 November, at the United Nations Information Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

Rotary leaders, UN officials, and humanitarian experts will educate and inspire participants to find innovative strategies for addressing humanitarian challenges at local, regional, and global levels.

General and breakout sessions will address the UN Sustainable Development Goals and how to harness the technological revolution for good, as well as young people’s role in creating change. A special session on the environment will highlight the importance of environmentally sustainable development and offer concrete actions that everyone can take to ensure a clean and healthy world.

The event will feature an Innovation Fair where Rotary clubs, businesses, and other organizations will exhibit humanitarian projects and cutting-edge technology that can help address the challenges we face.

The event is open to Rotary members and guests.