From our President's Pen....
All Rosebank Rotarians were encouraged to fill in a survey
at the end of 2020 – very similar to that which was distributed by RI. Testing
the temperature of the club – and we know something about temperature checks
and how important they are from recent months!!
Very few members returned a
completed survey – I was somewhat disheartened at first, and then thought it
through and circumstances and current events do have a bearing on how we feel,
so the level of complacency that is evident in the club seems quite
understandable.
We are ticking off the boxes of things we are required to do,
and we have elected office bearers for the coming Rotary year. Your President
Elect Costa Qually and Secretary Mike Honnet will both be the new guys on the
block!! With Rtn Richard Maloney receiving the baton from Rtn James Croswell,
the changes keep coming!! You know what they say about change!? And we do all
need a holiday!
I love being a Rotarian – how about you? Looking forward to
this coming Friday…
Yours in Rotary.
Ann
Last Friday.....
22 members and two soon-to-be members signed into the Club AGM.
President Ann reported back on the Rotary year so far and highlighted the club goals we had set ourselves at the beginning of the Rotary year last July.
In July nobody would have thought that 7 months into the year we would still be very much in the grips of the pandemic and that some of the goals are becoming increasingly difficult to attain. Everyone agreed that given the prevailing challenges it would be better to modify these goals and make them more realistic.
1. 40 members - The aim was to gain 9 new members, but who could have foreseen that 4 members would be called to Higher Service in just a few months. The goal has therefore been revised to a more realistic membership of 36, gaining 5 new members. Chrispin and Lorenzo were inducted in 2020, Anne Padmore and Charmaine Cleesmann are soon to become our newest inductees, and no doubt we will be able to induct one further member before the year is out.
2. Service project participation - in previous years to set a goal of 30 members would have been easily accomplished, but given the Covid restrictions and that many of our members are of a vulnerable age the goal was revised down to an achievable 20 members.
3.Rotary Action Group - revised from 1 member up to 5 members and so far James, David and Ann have joined Action Groups, and no doubt we should be able to encourage two more members to join.
4. New Member Sponsorship - Sonja Hood has been instrumental at wooing Anne Padmore and Charmaine Cleesmann to join and David Bradshaw was responsible for bringing Chrispin on board.
4. Discon Attendance - has been revised upwards from 10 to 15 attendees. It is the Rotary Africa Centennial International Conference on the 24th and 25th of April and as it will be a virtual conference there really is no excuse not to attend.
5. Leadership Development Participation - A goal of 5 had been set, and we have already achieved 3, so by the end of the Rotary year we can surely tick that off the list.
6. Rotary Foundation - R10 000 - achieved
7. Polio Plus - R5 000 - achieved
8. 2 major service projects - work in process
9. 4 Social activities - With our weekly inter-club quiz evenings we have exceeded this goal by far!
We have taken Fellowship to another level, reaching as far as Hermanus and Newlands in the Cape, Botswana and Uganda as our international opponents. James Croswell is our secret weapon.
10. 10 pieces of PR on social media. Our Facebook is active and we are planning in combining the website and the weekly Ramble in the near future.
11. 4 media stories about Club projects - Jean has submitted 3 articles to Rotary Africa so far.
12. Interact Club - Highlands North Boys High School - Marianne Soal has taken on this project
13. Youth Exchange involvement - our exchange student Masego (or Momo) recently returned from Thailand to report back to us in March.
Eco-bricks for the Diepsloot community.....
Mark Franklin had been passionate about the environment and recycling and had encouraged everyone in his circle of influence, be it at his Church or at Rotary, to help make eco-bricks for the Khensani Collection NPC in Diepsloot.
Khensani Collection NPC is a non-profit company who has been operational since 2016, providing assistance to the underprivileged in the Diepsloot community..
Khensani does extraordinary work with the youngsters in the area, offering
- teen mentorship
- after-school lessons in Maths, English and Science
- entrepreneurship programs
- coaching and career guidance.
In February 2020 Khensani Collection launched an Eco-Brick project to build an extra classroom as they had 40 students attending lessons in one classroom.
It took in excess of 10 000 Eco-Bricks to build the classroom, and the result is nothing short of miraculous.
Another classroom is planned and although only a drop in the ocean Mark had managed to collect about 50 bottles before he passed away, which Yvonne then passed on to Sybille. Fellow Rotarians and friends had added another 50 bottles to her collection.
She in turn made contact with Diana Musara, President Elect for the Rotary Club of Randburg who is the driving force behind Khensani and the Eco-Brick project. Last Friday afternoon a boot-load of ecobricks were taken to Diana who then took Sybille to Diepsloot to see firsthand what 10 000 Ecobricks can build.
Diana Musara is encouraging the Diepsloot community to assist in filling the eco-bricks with
non-recyclable waste and every eco-brick we can supply will eventually build a further much needed classroom.
This is community service on so many levels and a project we can all contribute to.
Let's collaborate with the Rotary Club of Randburg to add to this mountain of eco-bricks.
Please contact Sybille to collect completed eco-bricks.
We are saving the environment eco-brick by eco-brick.
Don't miss out on Rob Caskie's Tales of Adventure......