Ringing in the new Rotary year with the Induction of President Costa Qually, Another international Quiz this Week, Mandela Day Quiz and Save the Date for a very Special Fundraiser, Ann's Club 100 June Winners

 From the Pen of our President.....

At the virtual induction meeting on Friday, there were several awards to members for their exceptional contributions to the club’s activities during the past year. Congratulations to the recipients - the awards were well deserved. I am also aware that most of our members have participated in various projects and events of the club. A great big thank you to all of you!  In addition, several members have made donations of their time, talent and treasure to worthy causes in their personal capacities and that were not necessarily linked to Rotary.

It is humbling and uplifting to witness the community involvement and compassion that our members demonstrate; particularly when many in society are concerned only with themselves.

Thank you to Past President Ann for her effective and efficient leadership that resulted in a successful year for our club.

I look forward to the continuing involvement of all members in the coming Rotary year.

Costa Qually
President

Tailpiece

He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at

Upcoming Events....

Weekly Quiz

This Wednesday 7th July at 19:00 our intrepid quizzers are one again venturing across the border when they take on the e-Club of Harare. Everyone is welcome to join.

About the club :- 

The Rotary E Club D9210 was charted 5 years ago on 30 June 2016. It’s goal was to bridge the gap between members who had migrated to other countries but still wanted to be a part of the district’s activities. In understanding that we wanted our members to remain active, no matter where in the world they found themselves, we set out to charter the first E-Club in the district. Currently we have members from all corners – Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, D.R.C., Tanzania, South Africa and U.A.E. We meet on Thursday’s on various virtual platforms and make it a point to do international outreach projects and social events.

Mandela Day Quiz:

The Rotary Club of Rosebank  would love to invite you to our first Mandela Day Online Quiz, coming up on Saturday, the 17^th of July at 19:00

This is a chance for the Mike Lamb’s and James Crosswell’s  to defend their title, and for the rest of us to try and take it from them! Space is limited, so do get your booking in as soon as possible! The quiz will take place on ZOOM from 19:00, and will last (about) 67 minutes and there will be 67 questions.

 

How to book:

Pay R67 per person into the Rotary  account, Reference Mandela Day Quiz - your name

We will then send the ZOOM link and other details next week so that everyone can join in!

Do not miss this event.....

Please invite as many of your friends, colleagues and associates to this not-to-be-missed event.

 

And now:

Last Friday....

Lockdown restrictions did not dampen the spirit of this year's Presidential Induction and it was heartwarming to see that so many of the Zoom attendees made an extra special effort and donned their glad rags and certainly looked the part.

Thank goodness our incoming President Costa was able to attend the ceremony in person.

DG Stella honoured us with her presence, and made a very special announcement that our very own Juanette McCrindle and her partner Rainer Bartram have both become Major Donors (Level 2).

This generosity was applauded by everyone and Stella emphasized the importance of Giving back to Society.

I have taken the liberty of publishing outgoing President Ann's speech verbatim (mainly for those members that missed the occasion)

She made special mention of the members we lost to Higher Service this year and they are immortalized in the in the In Memoriam section above.

President’s address

I have had a great year as President and I would like to thank everyone for your patience while I got used to the protocols and while we all got used to the online meetings.

It was very different – hybrid, virtual, online, challenging, sad, educational, emotional, but made one count your blessings and be grateful.

My looking back over the year is all about celebrating the members of Rosebank Rotary Club and saying many thank you’s – please bear with me.

We have such wonderful members in our Club. I would like to share with you a list of our longstanding members – you can only be in AWE of the number of years these gentlemen have served Rotary and the community – they are AWESOME>

Years in Rotary	Name	Date joined Rotary
47 years	Tutty Faber	Oct 23 1975
45 years	David Bradshaw	Dec 01 1976
44 years	PDG Ken Stonestreet	Jan 01 1977
44 years	Howard Johnston	Jun 28 1977
41 years	James Croswell	Jan 18 1980
36 years	Bernard Neuhaus	July 02 1984
36 years	Roger Lloyd	Aug 23 1984
33 years	Les Short	Dec 11 1987
32 years	Richard Tonkin	Jul 01 1988
32 years	Costa Qually	Oct 24 1988
32 years	Richard Moloney	Oct 24 1988

 

Many of our members have served in District in the past – currently we have Kevin Wolhuter, Jean Bernardo, Costa Qually and James Croswell flying our flag. You all do us proud.

I would like to thank most especially our Assistant Governor Jean who I have on speed dial for her mentorship and support – she is a very special friend.

I would like to give the thanks of the Club to PP Peter James Smith who has transferred to a club closer to home. Peter thank you for your years of doing the Ramble, building up to what it is today – a winner in District. Thank you for all your hard work, leadership and friendship. We will miss you, your stories and hope you will visit us.

Although we had to adapt to new ways of working and thinking we have achieved a lot in the past year thanks to the efforts and generosity of club members.

My year started in the midst of lockdown – we made July ‘Mandela Month’ and collected food and money for hampers, some of which went to Charity Begins with Me. Everyone was doing their bit to alleviate some of the hardship resulting from lockdown and lack of work – donations to charities and persons both privately and through the club. And not all the donations came from members, but families of members too.

We cottoned on to online events and had 2 very interesting talks by Rob Caskie – Spionkop and Ernest Shackleton in Antarctica – fascinating story teller and some welcome money raised for our projects.

During the year Africa was pronounced Wild Polio free and the push is on to eradicate Polio from the last few countries – Rosebank donated R5000 to Polio Plus.

Rosebank Rotary Club donated R10000 to Rotary Foundation – there are also members who have made personal donations.

Our quiz night at Parkview Golf Club was a resounding success and we made R22350 – thanks to the fund raising committee and especially Sonja for her hard work. Thank you Sonja, not just for that evening but for all your hard work. Just a quick heads up, Sonja has got Clem Sunter to give us a talk in the near future – watch this space…

We have become the Quiz Club – recently we hosted our 50^th online quiz. Every Wed evening, thanks to David’s excellent organising we have a quiz, mostly against other clubs – I will not say we have got cleverer, but we are getting better at it!! It is a lot of fun. Thank you to our excellent quizmasters Gareth and Sonja – who have done the lion’s share of the questions.

2020 was the year of the Nurse and because we could not have our normal Rotary Family Health Days, we were able to give recognition to nurses – and there was never a better time than during the pandemic to be honouring nurses!! We recognised the Nursing Department at Wits Medical School and the nurses at the Palliative Care Centre. It is heartwarming to see what it means to people to be recognised and thanked.

We gave the annual Lester Connock award to a very interesting and deserving nursing student at Wits – R25000 to further her studies and share what she learns and implement her research.

Marianne has taken over the Interact Club at Highlands North High School. Thank you Marianne, having someone like you will benefit the young Interactors as you have such compassion and understanding when it comes to young people.

PP Les Short always looks like a softy but when we get out of line, we hear about it – thank you Les for keeping me on the straight and narrow.

Pam is active behind the scenes keeping tabs on attendance, with the assistance or Lenore and Les at times – Pam does travel a lot!!

Jeannette Horner never ceases to amaze us all. She has made over 5300  masks and 255 dozen rusks since lockdown began and COVID took hold, She also got people in her complex to provide soup packages when they were needed.

We missed out on SYLC, Careers Day, Art Festival, Vocational Service awards – but hopefully if and when, we get back to them in some format, they will be bigger and better than ever.

Momo – our Rotary Exchange Student returned last year in November from Thailand. She was already there when COVID began and opted to stay – she had a great year and proved to be a great ambassador for South Africa. Since returning she has given us some insights into what she learnt and also a demo of Thai cooking – a very entertaining evening. She is sick in bed right now with COVID.

Sybi and her Community Services committee have had the most to do over the past year – Spar food collection went ahead and we supplied our charities with food vouchers and groceries to the value of R27000. Thank you to those who manned the trolleys and donated.

We spent some of our money on a Jojo tank for Charity Begins with me for their food garden. Money was donated to White Cane Project for educating people to teach the blind.

Our new members – Lorenzo, Chrispin, Gareth, Anne and Charmaine. Ringing in the changes, we now have 2 e’members – in China and Italy. Chrispin had no sooner joined us and he was selected to train as a Peace Co-ordinator (one of 100 in the District). Anne and Charmaine were quickly in spanned by Sonja to fund raising!! Welcome to all, we love getting reports from around the globe – sometimes we have Germany, Italy, China and South African representation on our meetings!!

Thank you to Jean for making sure we feature in Rotary publications and the media. Both Jean and Sybille are responsible for us our name out there. The Rosebank Ramble being numero uno in District when it comes to newsletters!! YAY!!

The club had 2 District Grants which we have closed and completed. James Croswell did an amazing job obtaining a container for the Palliative Care Group at Bara, managing the logistics around moving it more than once and keeping the records. Jerry Bernardo did a sterling job refurbishing the container with the help of John Hope-Bailie. Thank you James for your efforts. The thanks of the Club to John Hope-Bailie for his time and effort.

A huge, huge thank you to Jerry, not only for the container work but also for the Madiba buggies which he worked on. Thank you to Costa for your assistance with them as well. Madiba buggies are wheelchairs which have been retrofitted with a shelf to assist the disabled. They had been donated to deserving disabled children who had travelled for many miles from their rural homes with their care givers.

I had the pleasure during lockdown of visiting Bernard Neuhaus on the occasion of his 90^th birthday – if I can be like that when I am 90 I will be very happy. We do not see much of Bernard but he is there in the background.

Our other District grant was used to set up a group of ladies to sew masks and later other items in order to sustain themselves and their families. Thanks to Jeannette and Jean we have such a group of 5 ladies and it looks like it could be something which will grow.

Our youth programme took a dive due to COVID but we did manage to do some school awards and took part in the online RYLA event which went around the world for 24 hours, as well as the District RYLA.

We have had a great variety of very interesting speakers this year thanks to David – topics and characters too many to mention – always a favourite is the MY STORY told by Rotarians.

Fellowship an important part of Rotary – that always sounds very proper – it is actually just fun!! We spent a night playing kegel, we auction marmalade, we drink, eat pizza, we party and luckily our new DG is a person who believes in dancing and singing so roll on the next Rotary year!!

 Every year at this time we collect money to buy blankets for the needy. If you have ever stood around and asked for money from people you will understand that it is not easy – Roger will tell you!! Our collective collection efforts this year were very fruitful and we have been able to fulfil many blanket requests, close on 450 – and after tonight hopefully many more. Thanks to all involved in the blanket drive.

Thank you to all the members of Rosebank – I know I have not mentioned everyone by name but everyone plays their part. During this time there have been some members who for one reason or another have not been seen – but thanks to David we know where everyone is and how everyone is.

Thank you to the members of the board – Costa, thank you.

We say farewell to Judy Powell who has been with us for a long time and enjoyed many memories.

 I love being part of this club – Rotary projects are sustainable, we are not a charity and we do not just give money away BUT we listen to what people ask for and rally around when we get requests for food, clothes, wheelchairs, used furnishings – when there is a need no one questions it. You are all so generous and kind – that is why you are Rotarians.

 JERRY BERNARDO Just because we do not see him does not mean that he is not hard at work on something to do with one of our projects. Over the past year alone Jerry has spent countless hours on the refurbishment of the container and the Madiba buggies. There are many projects we have done as a club which depended almost entirely on Jerry. I cannot name them all but we all know that without Jerry his passion, innovation, perfection, unwavering effort many a project would not have succeeded. For just being you Jerry – the person you are and the person we love and value you for.. you are awarded a PHF +1. Richly deserved.

 DAVID BRADSHAW I keep saying Thanks to David, David did this and David did that – actually there is only ONE David in the club. As you saw, David has been a Rotarian for a very long time and for most of that time with Rosebank. David is currently THE membership committee, he is the Club Almoner, he organises the quizzes, he is involved in the Youth Committee and the Community Services Committee. 200% attendance – what can I say? Oh and the Speaker program co-ordinator – I have mentioned what great speakers we have. But David is the person who calls on all the members we do not see often and makes sure they are OK. David keeps up with the family of past members. David volunteers for everything the club does – he collects money, cleans rivers, delivers, fetches, carries. David you have such empathy for your fellow man – you are so kind, gentle and always happy – the board voted unanimously for you to get a PHF. A PHF +1 goes to you with all our thanks, love and respect.

 SYBILLE ESSMANN For the past year you have camped at my house, we have done the Ramble together, you join me for Zoom meetings and you became a regular for Monday dinner. You had your sadness during the year and never let it get in the way or get you down – you are caring, dedicated and hard working. Sybi you have so many hours in your day for Rotary since you became a member – your enthusiasm is inspiring. Nothing is too much trouble and you are willing to do what is necessary to get stuff done. Anyone interested in recycling and making EcoBricks – Sybi is your person – just make sure you have a few hours!!

The success of the Ramble has been noted and we are so proud. You richly deserve this recognition – please do not go away too soon!!

 

JEAN BERNARDO.

Thank you for being my mentor, my support, sounding board, friend. It is almost impossible to walk in your shoes, I will have have to follow in your footsteps if I can!! – you are one in a million. Sorry I did not clean the silverware!!

  

COSTA QUALLY

With this collar, which bears the names of all the Presidents of our Club, including your own, I induct you as President of the Rotary Club of Rosebank for 2021 – 2022.

President Costa Qually, I present you with your President’s badge and the Club Charter.

On behalf of the members of your Club and all the visitors & guests assembled here tonight, I congratulate you and wish you a successful & rewarding year.

Fellow Rotarians, I present to you our new President, Costa Qually.

  

My Role as president

4 past presidents were ladies - that is a hard act to follow

I have to admit that I am somewhat apprehensive

o   many long-standing members of the club

o   many members are past Presidents

o   I am going to need ongoing support and commitment of the board and of club members

The club is working well and our existing club activities will continue

Thinking of the year ahead

The nature of Rosebank Rotary

A good number of our members are retired/semi-retired and have ranked for vaccinations

Fortunately, our newer members are younger and are still active in their careers

I hope that these new members will each have a long and distinguished role in the club and in Rotary

Our members have a mix of characters, skills and varying amounts of time available for Rotary activities

Our members also have varying beliefs, motivations and objectives in life

So, what is Rotary?  In my view:

Rotary is not a political organisation, but all Rotarians are vitally concerned with everything pertaining to good citizenship and the election of good people to public office

Rotary is not a charitable organisation, yet its activities exemplify the charity and sacrifices that one should expect from people who believe that they have a responsibility to help others

Rotary is not a religious organisation, but it is built on the eternal principles that have served as the moral compass for people throughout the ages

Rotary is an organisation of people pledged to uphold the highest professional, ethical and moral standards

Rotarians believe that worldwide friendship and peace can be achieved when people unite under the banner of service.

The current RI theme of “Serve to change lives” is one way of expressing this.

This Rotary year's goals - which is a work in progress - and Board members can be readily found on the right hand side of the Ramble.

On the night we also inducted two new members into the club:

Welcome to Sheldon Rampanapasi and Roger Wedlake. 

This Friday....

Promises to be another meeting highlight. Our guest speaker will be addressing us from across the Pond all the way from the UK

Mark Herbert is a former teacher and church pastor.

His company seeks to help release untapped leadership potential.

He is the author of the book: I’m (not) a Leader.

He is married to Steph and has  a son called Rafe.

They live in Surrey, South East England.

A Return to Virtual Meetings, PE Costa's Induction, DG Stella's Vision for the year ahead and "Joysterbay" wins the 50th Quiz Challenge

 From the Pen of our President.....

 

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 Locked down again!! I hope you are all well, keeping warm and keeping safe.

Saturday’s DG handover meeting was a joyous occasion with a number of people in our club being given a mention.

Our now famous Rosebank Ramble – started in this format by Peter James Smith and done so well now by Sybille is the best in the District!!

We have not one, but two AGs mentioned for their exemplary leadership – Jean and Peter, and Kevin was recognized for his service to District and his unwavering support.

The year ahead is going to be fun and there is lots to look forward to. Incoming Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta has announced the 2021-22 presidential theme – Serve to Change Lives. He has urged members to become more involved in-service projects, saying that caring for and serving others is the best way to live because it changes not only other people’s lives, but also our own.

Service is what we are all about but in these times, I think nothing truer can be said – now more than ever.

I hope to see you all on Zoom on Friday night with your glasses charged, ready to drink to the new Rotary year as I pass the baton to Costa.

Thank you all for a great year.

Ann Hope-Bailie

President - Rotary Club of Rosebank

Last Friday.....

With the Covid cases ever rising, it would have been foolish to meet at Wanderers and so we conducted our monthly social meeting from the safety and comfort of our own homes.

We were delighted to see some faces that have been absent for a while like Howard Johnston and Kevin Wolhuter, but there was also a touch of sadness, as this was Peter James-Smith's last meeting and in true form he left us with a hilarious anecdote:

When fiction becomes fact!

When I wrote my GCE O Levels in 1961 the one subject I hated was geography, partly because I couldn't draw maps.  Our special subject was "Africa South of the Sahara" about which my knowledge was sketchy. During the mock exams I made up a place in the Congo called Hwangu Hari and waxed lyrical on the cobalt mines there on the assumption that the master who marked the paper would probably have heard of neither. I got good marks for it. When the actual exam came round I obviously repeated my fiction.

Last week, in the Business Maverick, I read that Glencor is about to re-open one of the world's biggest cobalt mines in the Congo.

 60 years later I'm right!

Our Queen of Fundraising, Sonja Hood, has managed a spectacular coup; she has approached futurist and scenario planner Clem Sunter, who needs no introduction, and asked him whether he would consider repeating his very successful presentation: Beyond 2021 - The World and South Africa - Latest Flags, Scenarios & Probabilities to our audience, and he has agreed!! A final date needs to still be confirmed, but it will more than likely be at the end of July.

An event not to be missed.

And another bit of good news: Mark Franklin acted as company secretary for  Millstream and they have very kindly agreed to donate R5 000 in his memory, as they knew how close Rotary was to Mark's heart. 

You are invited.....

Ann Hope-Bailie is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

 

Topic: Rotary Club of Rosebank - President's Induction ceremony

Time: Jul 2, 2021 07:00 PM Harare, Pretoria

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87004260204

 

Meeting ID: 870 0426 0204

One tap mobile

+27214268190,,87004260204# South Africa

+27214268191,,87004260204# South Africa

 

Could we respectfully ask that all attendees "buy" a blanket for R80  in lieu of the induction dinner.

AG Stella's Induction.....

DG Stella Anyangwe's induction was indeed a joyous occasion with many accolades and awards going to dedicated  and worthy Rotarians and Ann's and never a truer phrase was spoken when Stella said to PDG Annemarie "my success is your success".

Stella's message to us: We need to make Rotary fun! We need to sing, we need to dance!

The Rotary Club of Dar-es-Saalam clear winners of our 50th Quiz Challenge....

What a fun evening was had at our 50th quiz challenge, fought valiantly against opponents who were too clever for us. David is already organizing the rematch.

I'll leave you with three questions that our demanding quizmaster posed:

• What is the collective noun for ravens?
• What is the nickname for Dar-es-Salaam?
• What is Copraphobia?

You may google the answers!

Our monthly business meeting, Ringing out the Old and singing in the New and please join our very special 50th Quiz Challenge.....

 From our President's Pen....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

Today is the shortest day of the year – the winter solstice. But it does not mean it will get warmer from tomorrow – winter will be with us for some time yet!!

We are getting to the end of the Rotary year – and that is next week. What a year it has been. Who would have thought that after a whole year we would still be talking about lockdowns and pandemics and things actually getting worse!! We have been in some kind of lockdown for 462 days!! In the past year I have learnt so much – about people, patience, tolerance, understanding, empathy and humility. It has been the pandemic and the lockdowns that have been my teacher – valuable lessons indeed, sobering….

I had a call from Woodside Sanctuary – a request for blankets. Our blanket drive was very successful and we have allocated all the blankets we got money for. At Friday’s meeting we decided that the money that would have been spent on the induction evening would be donated for blankets instead and then we can assist Woodside Sanctuary. Please deposit your donations in lieu of the induction dinner into the Club bank account and reference the deposit as such. Woodside Sanctuary is a home for the intellectually disabled in Johannesburg.

Our induction evening will be a hybrid event – anyone who would like to come to my house to attend should please let me know – we will limit the number of attendees and take the necessary care.

“Marmelade auctions” – it seems we have a healthy debate. Let’s take up with it once we are meeting in person again.

All meetings will be via Zoom for the coming weeks.

Please take special care, keep warm and keep safe.

Yours in Rotary,

Ann

Last Friday....

If it's the third Friday of the month it must be a Business Meeting. 

1) Report back from David Bradshaw on Membership: The good news is that Roger Lloyd might be moving down to the Cape, but after seeing how Rosebank Rotary has embraced the New Normal and welcomed a host of virtual members from much further afield than Cape Town he has decided to remain a member.

Sadly though we shall be losing Judy Powell as a member, who has been battling to cope with remote meetings and feels she has lost touch with the Club.

Another sad farewell  will be said to Peter James-Smith, who has been a staunch member since 2014 although he has been a Rotarian since 1987. He will be transferring to a club closer to his home in Bedfordview - Knights-Pendragon. 

We will however be acquiring two new members. Roger Wedlake:

A brief resume:

• He is married to Molly and has 2 sons and 2 daughters
• He is a scientist and has a PHD in Physics from Reading University
• His main hobby is Chemistry
• He was a member of the Rotary Club of Parktown Excalibur for a number of years, which club terminated several years ago

A few of you will have met Sheldon Rambanabasi who did a sterling job recently acting as our quiz master, who will also be inducted alongside Roger.

 

2) Les Short reported that the Sewing Project Report had been submitted.

Sadly we will not be eligible for a Global Grant this year, but we now have whole year to plan for a worthy project to get our teeth into.

3) Pam Donaldson, who's portfolio includes Club Service and Attendance informed us that the average attendance for the past month was 21, and that unfortunately it has been decided that given the rampaging Third Covid Wave we would not be holding any in person monthly social meetings at Wanderers, and will be reverting back to Zoom only-gatherings.

4) Youth & Publicity reported back by Jean Bernardo: Marianne Soal has volunteered to get more involved with the Interact Club of Highlands Boys High School and has some exciting ideas which she will share with us in the near future.

As Rotary Africa is a recipient of our weekly Rosebank Ramble, Sharon Robertson has often used articles which she feels might be of interest to a wider public in their monthly editions. She has asked Sybille to pen an article about our Blanket Drive for publication.

5) Sonja Hood's portfolio is Fundraising.  The annual quiz  on the 20th of October might still seem a  far way off, but we still need many more raffle prizes. 

Sonja has made contact with the well known scenario planner and strategist Clem Sunter, who has agreed to do a Zoom presentation on The Covid Economy - Beyond 2021. 

Because of the nature of the topic Sonja would like to actively market this to corporates.

Sonja has also agreed to take over the planning of the Art Festival and at present she is awaiting feedback from the Rosebank Mall for proposed suitable dates.

6) The Community & Vocational Services Committee chaired by Sybille Essmann is hard at work distributing blankets to communities in need, but the blanket production has hit a snag, but hopefully we will soon be able to resume getting blankets out there.

Because of Lockdown restrictions we were unable to present the annual Vocational Awards last year, but Covid permitting we are aiming at having an Awards ceremony at the end of September (date to be confirmed) and call on all members to please give it some thought  and submit nominations for worthy recipients before the end of July. 

Ringing out the Old and Singing in the New....

Do not forget to join DG Annemarie Mostert this coming Saturday the 26th of June at 11:30 as she hands over the baton to her successor Stella Anyangwe.

Although it will be a virtual installation we have been asked to all make sure we have a glass of bubbly at hand to wish our new  

District Governor for 2021/22 all the very best for her no doubt challenging  year ahead. 

For purposes of ease...

REGISTER HERE

The 50th  Quiz Challenge should not be missed....

May we introduce you to the Rotary Club of Dar-Es-Salaam Oysterbay. They are a young club, having only been chartered in 2009. 

They are a growing, dynamic and diverse club, who like to go by the name "Joysterbay" as their motto is to have fun while they serve.

The Club has won every conceivable award this year: Club of the Year,Youth Service Award, Community Service Award and Membership Growth Award. They have won more awards than any other club in Tanzania and also their District.

They will be our worthy opponents and we want to give them a warm South African welcome.

Please join us on Wednesday the 23rd of June  via Zoom at 19:00 (There is an hour's time difference)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83378053474

Meeting ID: 833 7805 3474

One tap mobile
+27875503946,,83378053474# South Africa
+27875517702,,83378053474# South Africa

Dial by your location
+27 87 550 3946 South Africa
+27 87 551 7702 South Africa
+27 21 426 8190 South Africa
+27 21 426 8191 South Africa
Meeting ID: 833 7805 3474
Find your local number: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcX4kLSybQ

Everyone is welcome!!

This Friday....

.....Will be a Social Meeting. For those that have been enjoying the interaction of the last few face-to-face social  meetings it will be disappointing, but as we deal with the Third Wave and the fact that none of us have been fully vaccinated we need to take every precaution to stay safe and healthy.

Pam's Memoirs worthy of a book, Madiba Buggies and blankets distributed in Nongoma and a Quiz Milestone.....

 From the Pen of our President..

 

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

My favourite meetings are when we hear from our own members – getting a glimpse of a person’s past is fascinating and interesting. It is almost like sitting and having someone read you a story – the best of times!!

The theme this month is Rotary Fellowships – the quote reads: “What binds Rotarians together is a unity of desire and a unity of purpose to serve society and to serve mankind….a unity in diversity” Past RI President CPH Teenstra 1965. Rotarians are all so different, one organisation with people from all walks of life with different backgrounds and shaped by different times and cultures – yet we make wonderful friends and are able to work together.

According to the dictionary FELLOWSHIP is a NOUN

1.     companionship, company

2.     community of interest, activity, feeling, or experience the state of being a fellow or associate

3.     a company of equals or friends : association

4.     the quality or state of being comradely

 Is it the fellowship or the unity of purpose that binds us together? Whatever it is, we are stronger together!!

My thoughts are with those who are ill or recovering – please reach out if there is anything I, or any fellow member, can do – you are not alone.

Please keep safe, stay healthy – this too will pass.

Yours in Rotary.

Ann

PS – we are looking for someone to take on the Blanket Drive for next year – any volunteers?

Last Friday.....

One of the most compelling and fun meeting topics we have at our Club is when members are given the opportunity of letting us have a glimpse into their personal lives.

When Pam Donaldson joined the Rotary Club of Rosebank nearly 20 years ago, she was by no means a stranger to the organization. Her father had been a Rotarian for more than 50 years, and mom had been a dedicated Ann.

Pam speaks fondly of her young years in rural Rustenburg where dad started a successful dairy which was awarded a Dairy Maid ice cream licence, which must be every child's dream come true.

She and her beloved brother were shipped off to boarding school in Johannesburg, Pam to St. Mary's and John to St. Johns. She forged lasting friendships with her 12 fellow-boarders which have endured to this day.

She studied languages at the University of Natal - German, Dutch and French - and then returned to Rustenburg to teach for a year, but at age 22 she joined a tour of Europe and that is how her love affair with travel started. After 8 months traipsing  through the UK, Ireland and Spain (she remarked that she hated Paris!) she returned home and joined American Express in 1970.

Travel was quite formal in those days, and she remembers that she wore a hat and gloves to her interview. She was lucky to have had a very good mentor, her German boss, and when he resigned to head up TFC and needed 2 people to accompany him to set up a tour operator office for South African tourists in Washington she did not hesitate to take on the challenge. 

Cherry blossom time in Washington

Sadly the office closed down after 9 months, and she headed home after a 3 week sojourn in beautiful Brazil. 

A stint at Grosvenor Tours, which offered intellectual tours, then Musgrave & Watson, considered the most prestigious travel agency in its heyday, which merged with Castle Marine and was eventually taken over by Rennies, followed by 15 happy years at Rosebank Travel, then Travel Solutions and Prestige Travel.

She reminisces about crossing the Atlantic on the Concorde, the unforgettable trip on the Eastern Orient Express, a most interesting culinary experience (not necessarily good) on the Russian Waterways and tragically losing good friends on the Helderberg. Her list of travel destinations is endless, but her favourite country remains Norway and her most memorable trip took her to the Antarctic (which she did with Jack, a year he passed away).

She met her life partner Jack in 2003, and with that she bade farewell to the travel industry, so that she could spend time with him as he had already retired, and travel for fun and not for business.

It also gave her the opportunity to join Rotary and be in a position to give back.

Madiba Buggies and blankets delivered to grateful recipients....

 

This past weekend Jerry and Jean were planning on accompanying Marilyn Bassin, who heads up  Boikanyo (The Dion Herson Foundation), to the Nongoma Therapy Department and the Nkonjeni Hospital Ulundi in Natal, to assist with the fitting of 15 of the Madiba Buggies that had so painstakingly been restored by Jerry and Costa. They had been donated to deserving disabled children who had travelled for many miles from their rural homes with their care givers.

It is common knowledge that Jean and Jerry tested positive for Covid, Jean luckily had no symptoms, Jerry sadly ended up in hospital where he is thankfully recuperating well, but of course they were not in a position to join Marilyn.

Boikanyo is also one of the recipients of this year's Blanket Drive, and Marilyn took along 20 donated blankets and towels from the linen section of the Humanitarian Centre. 

Marilyn reported back that there are so many desperate souls in the rural areas and with the plummeting temperatures these blankets are lifesavers.

We celebrate our 50th Quiz Challenge....

With the heavy Lockdown restrictions that came into play at the end of March last year we had our first Quiz against Kyalami on the 21 May.

I acted as Quiz Master for the first few Quiz’s before Sonja’s son Gareth took over and took it to another level.

On the 23rd June we will hold our 50th Quiz having met against 16 other Rotary Clubs in South Africa plus Gaborone in Botswana and the Rotoract Club of Bukoto in Uganda . We have also had “In-house” quiz’s, Ladies v Gents Quiz and 3 club Quiz evenings.

To celebrate our 50th Quiz night we will have as our Opponents from District 9211, the Rotary Club of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, known as the Joysterbay Club “as they have fun as we serve”. They are expecting to have 20 members take part in the Quiz.

Talking of members, they started the Rotary year with 58 members and are currently sitting on 93 and hoping to reach 100 by the end of the month. This has won them the Rotary Club of the Year award in their district.

This Friday......

A Business Meeting.

Our Guest Speaker Paul Channon enlightens us about the Alexandra Education Committee initiative, Service in Action and Save the Date...

From the Pen of our President.... 

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

There is so much going on at the moment – got to have your wits about you to keep abreast of the load shedding, the lockdown, the weather, the politics, the vaccines, the diet, the exercise and the tablets!!

Quite exhausting isn’t it?? And none of that has anything to do with Rotary!! We have DG Annemarie’s handover meeting (26th June), and we have our own induction (2nd July) coming up – do you have them diarized??

You have heard about Rotary Discussion Groups? Discussion Groups | My Rotary There are so many options – surely something will ‘tickle your fancy’!! Take a look at all the options available and get involved – you may enjoy reading what other people are doing, thinking, or discussing and you could join in.

Have a wonderful week – see you all on Friday

Keep safe and be ‘in the moment’!!

 Yours in Rotary.

 Ann

Last Friday.....

....We were privileged to be addressed by Paul Channon, who is the Director of the Alexandra Education Committee.

The AEC was founded in 1996 and its  mission is to uplift the standard of education for children from the Alexandra township through offering high school bursaries, academic support programmes  and school teacher training.

In 2020, despite the challenges of Covid, their 33 matric learners on bursaries attained a 100% pass rate, and 91% achieved a university entrance! In fact the average marks were the highest they had been in 5 years. 

Other noteworthy achievements:

• offering Saturday and Holiday School programmes
• 100s of Alexandra primary school teachers trained in the gateway subjects
• Strong mentorship and sponsor support for "bursars"
• A very active Alumni Association - over 400 alumni, many holding professional positions.

The focus of the AEC is to identify high school learners of promise from the township of Alexandra who come from households of very limited means.

It is their intention of increasing the number of bursars significantly over the next 5 years, and they are constantly evaluating the quality of schools they send their bursars to, as well as investigating new possibilities. In respect of the schools they use, the AEC contributions are heavily subsidised by the schools themselves.

Their sponsors are asked to commit in supporting a child throughout high school from Grade 8 through to Matric.

The bursars attend Saturday Schools for lessons in Maths, Physical Science, Accounting and English.

Bursary placements for 2020 were at very diverse schools around Alexandra and it was great to see that Highlands North Boys High School had accepted 26 scholars into their bursary programme.

Bursary selection is a difficult and time-consuming process. Last year 350 applicants applied for the 176 places, and each application has to be evaluated in terms of the AEC criteria, namely, living in or close to Alex, having academic potential and being in a household of very limited income. Most of the candidates attend a Grade 7 Academic Enrichment Programme offered on a Saturday morning, where their progress is assessed throughout the year.

Furthermore the AEC also runs about 30 teacher workshops a year in Maths, English and Science to teachers in and around Alexandra. This is a much-valued and well-attended programme which strengthens education in Alex for maximum impact beyond their core business of selecting talented children for bursaries.

As an NGO the AEC receives no State funding and they are therefore fully dependent on donor funding. The offices and classrooms of Waverley Girls High School are utilized for the AEC Saturday programmes and teacher workshops.

What an inspiring initiative, worthy of being promoted and receiving public support. 

Greetings Mr Dave.....

 

Just wanted to let you know that we collected Tony’s wheelchair on Friday. We would like to say a very big thank you to Rotary on his behalf. Thank you for carrying the community of Alexandra on Eagles wings for all these years. You are the pillar of our township.

 We keep discovering more and more people that are in need and we are hoping and believing that Rotary will be able to come through for us.

 Yours forever in community service

Gcina Twala

Save the Date.....

And this Friday.....

Pam Donaldson will have the opportunity of telling us a little bit more of her story.