Worthy recipients receive Vocational Services Awards at Wanderers, Introducing our newest Inductee, Rosebank Rotary - People of Action and what are our members getting up to......

 From the Pen of the President....

A great big thank you to all members who were able to attend the meeting on Friday.  It was super to see several of those with whom we have had minimal contact for an extended period.  Many thanks to Ann and Josh for the efficient Zoom connectivity with those who could not attend in person.  Here’s hoping that we will return to in person meetings every week before too long.  Comments that I have had indicate that being able to chat to those next to you creates much a greater sense of fellowship and leads to a more enjoyable meeting.  So let us hope that the Covid pandemic continues to show a reduction in infections and mortalities.

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

There is no possession more valuable than a good and faithful friend  (Socrates)

Last Friday....

...after what seemed like an eternity, we finally had an  in the flesh meeting at Wanderers, and to mark the occasion we invited our Vocational Services Award nominees to receive their certificates in person and threw in an induction as well.

 It truly was a joyous occasion attended by 22 members, 5 Anns, 1 inductee, 4 award recipients and four visitors. Ann Hope Bailie arrived early to set up the Zoom connection and microphones for those members that could not be there in person, Gareth Hood managed to be part of the festivities via his mom's facetime and besides his vocational services award his number was also drawn out of the bag and he won James Croswell's lovingly reared succulent plant, which Sonja graciously accepted on his behalf.

Our Vocational Services Award recipients:

Marilyn Bassin, nominated by the Anns.

Marilyn is a Physiotherapist and a human rights activist who works with squatter communities as well as deep rural communities around South Africa.

Since the early 1990s she worked with terminally ill children fighting for their rights to medical care and the ability to die with dignity. She founded an NGO (Boikanyo the Dion Herson Foundation) in 2011.  This was after fighting for the rights of physically maimed children at Baragwanath Hospital for over 4 years.  She then moved on to work with very impoverished families in Protea South Soweto.  Initially she established a massive vegetable garden in a school which led to other programmes aimed at improving various facets of schooling.

Her physiotherapy background has led her to starting a programme of renovating and fitting profoundly disabled rural cerebral palsy children into special wheelchairs (also known as Madiba buggies).  ".  

Activism and being a voice to the voiceless has always been integral to her helping indigent communities.   She is a voice that speaks out against grave injustices, especially those impacting the poorest communities.  Just last month she secured running water for a school that the Department of Education refused to assist. 

Gideon Morar, also nominated by the Anns

Gideon started working at the Johannesburg SPCA in 2010. He always had a deep love and respect for animals, nature and all living things. After 2 years of harsh training, he became a qualified Animal Inspector and started working independently in numerous suburbs, townships and squatter camps. His mission was to confront and prevent Animal cruelty and neglect.  Despite the constant heartbreaks,  stress and fear he experienced on a daily basis, he continued this mission for over a decade.

There came a time, just before Covid 19 arrived,  when he decided to leave the SPCA and start his very own NPO. It has always been his dream to run an organization that is purely for the benefit of animals in need.  They provide animal welfare services, free of charge, to those that need it most.  Services such as parasite treatments, vaccinations, pet sterilizations,food, blankets, kennels, collars, leashes and various other medical services through different veterinary practices. They depend solely on donations to execute their work and goals.

Professor Shelley Schmollgruber, nominated by Melodene Stonestreet

Prof Shelley is a senior lecturer of intensive and critical care nursing at the University of the Witwatersrand. 

For many years Shelley has been involved in identifying worthy recipients of our Lester Connock Nursing Award.

She is passionate about her profession and especially training young nursing candidates.

She has generously offered to assist with our selection of Physio and OT as well as nurses when we once again resume our vocational guidance for matric students.

Sue Harwood, nominated by David Bradshaw

Sue has been a freelance writer-photographer for many years, proceeds from her photoshoots go to BAGS of LOVE and BAGS of LOVE too.She has also allocated funds from the sale of her fun book “Under the Rainbow” to needy causes she is involved in.

Sue's monetary award will go to the Tears Foundation.

Gareth Hood, nominated by Lyn Collocott 

Gareth's vocation as a teacher came to its full potential during hard lockdown when he returned back to South Africa from his teaching post in China and volunteered to become our designated quizmaster and spent hours compiling interesting and challenging questions for our weekly sessions, that expanded from inter-club challenges to cross country and cross border events.

For many of us these quiz evenings represented the highlight of our week.

Also on Friday...

...we inducted our newest member Tayla Burger into the Rotary Club of Rosebank.

Her ties to Rotary began in 2012 when she went on Youth Exchange to Monticello, Minnesota USA.

She studied at Stellenbosch and did a BComm Honours in Industrial Psychology.

Now Tayla is a Key  Account Consultant for Allan Gray and is currently busy studying for a post-graduate Diploma in Financial Planning.

She is married to Daniel, she enjoys cooking and baking, organizing events and loves meeting  new people and exploring new places and restaurants.

Welcome Tayla, no doubt you will be a valuable asset to Rotary.

Rosebank Rotary members prove that we are People of Action....

It was fitting that a few of our members and Anns volunteered to assist Marylyn Bassin with a mammoth task.

Taken from Marilyn's Boikanyo Facebook page:

"This weekend was incredible. We renovated the 25 buggies (wheelchairs for profoundly disabled cerebral palsy children) that we are going to take to Thohoyandou on the weekend of the 5 November. The atmosphere was wonderful. We know the gift that we are about to give these lucky families, and that knowledge  kept us going. 

We will spend 2 and a half days fitting children at Donald Fraser and Siloam Hospitals.

The buggies came to us from The Paige Project, who collect condemned buggies from various hospitals and clinics in Gauteng.. They released 25 to us last week for reconditioning and redistribution. The denim covers were collected earlier today. 

Preparations for our weekend away are advanced: the foam has been collected, we are just waiting for lap straps, footplates, and tray tables. 

This is truly Gods work. The Hollywood Foundation NPC has funded so much of this project, the inspiration and goodness of this particular outreach comes straight from heaven. This one is a very special one."

Jerry Bernardo, this is for you. Your hard work in making the trays and footplates will be honoured and remembered.

--

Hats on for Children...

James Croswell's reports:

*Hats on for Children’s Hospice Care*

Our Palliative Care team at Baragwanath wearing fun hats participating in the #hatsonforchildrenshospicecare campaign by the International Children’s Palliative Care Network. 

The need for improved pain control and palliative care for children and support for their families is restlessly on- going.

On Friday we will be handing over the refurbished container. All are welcome to attend.

A number of us will be attending this ceremony on Friday the 15th of October at 10:30 am at Baragwanath.

Please let James know if you would like to attend.

Meanwhile.... What are our members getting up to?

Juanette McCrindle went walkabouts in the beautiful surrounds of Bad Pyrmont, 2 and a half hours south of Hamburg and shared these bewitching photos with us.

Now that our borders are opening again, maybe this could become a travel destination...

This Friday....

Our monthly business meeting.

Environmental challenges highlighted by our guest speaker and Team Rosebank takes advantage of relaxed lockdown restrictions...

 From the Pen of the President....

The presentation by Andrew Thatcher on grey water highlighted just how disadvantaged  some of the communities in our nearby vicinity are. It reminded me strongly that the efforts of people who are prepared to serve can change the lives of the needy in a positive and lasting way. The challenge will be to differentiate between requests for handouts with only short-term benefits and those that will have a sustainable impact, preferably through the continued involvement of the beneficiaries themselves. All Rotarians should be alert to identifying suitable potential projects in which the club can be involved during their routine daily activities. Feel free to raise any possibilities you feel deserve consideration during one of our meetings or directly with the appropriate committee.

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

Definition of flatulence – an emergency vehicle that picks you up after you have been run over by a steamroller

Last Friday....

...our guest speaker was Professor Andrew Thatcher, Chair of Industrial and Organisational Psychology at Wits. He works mainly in the area of Ergonomics (the study of peoples efficiency in their working environment) but that was not the crux of his presentation to us.

In light of Rotary's newest area of focus his talk was very relevant.

Andrew shared a very scary statistic with us; income inequality is calculated by the Gini coefficient and in 2020 South Africa came in with the highest score of all countries in the world, and nowhere is this glaring discrepancy more evident than right on our doorstep in Alexandra and the mushrooming informal settlements in its midst an on its borders.

The Johannesburg municipality does supply "essential services" like water and electricity, it has erected porta-loos that are serviced by "honey-suckers" which remove the "black waste" once a week, and PikitUp removes solid waste once a month. Because of space constraint it is impossible to put in a proper sewage system as it would mean clearing shacks, and this means that the grey water gets discarded  indiscriminately, ends up in the Jukskei which eventually makes its way into the Hartebeespoort Dam.

Another scary statistic: The presence of e-coli is counted in CFU (colony forming units) in 100 ml of water. Drinking water has 0 CFU, recycled water (used to water vegetable gardens) has 2CFU, surface water (in swimming pools) has 200 CFU, upstream from Setswala informal settlement on the Jukskei they counted 100 000 CFU, and >500 000 CFU downstream. In a separate Wits study they recorded 7 million CFU at Frankenwald downstream from Setswala.

It is with this seemingly insurmountable challenge in mind that Andrew and many other interested parties are trying to find a sustainable solution which the community will buy into and adopt. Any project has to be handled with great sensitivity and has to be incorporated into every day community living and activity.

Man-made or constructed wetlands might be the answer. Research has shown that indigenous weed plants have the ability to cleanse water and thus a pilot project has been started. "Wetlands"  have been built and planted with weeds harvested from the nearby river, with the objective that  the community can dispose of their grey water into these troughs.

Early indications are that Andrew and Team are establishing a presence and are becoming known and accepted in the community which is imperative if this project is to succeed.

A question was asked of Andrew: How could we get involved?

Andrew maintained that there is no lack of funding for this project, what is needed is advocacy, being vocal about the problem and making people aware, and treating the problem at source.

Indeed a  lot of food for thought.....

Skittle Rematch Team Rosebank v. Kyalami...

Team Rosebank was well represented last week at the skittles rematch organized by the Rotary Club of Kyalami  at the Swiss Club and fellowship definitely was the winner, because we all made a  lot of noise, ate hearty German food, but don't ask me which team was victorious.

Rosebank's Reach extends to the Cape...

David Bradshaw took time out of his holiday schedule to deliver much appreciated packs of Lego to the Anna Foundation in Stellenbosch.

The Anna Foundation was started in July 2005 by Anna Brom who was volunteering as a remedial teacher at a disadvantaged farm and township school in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Remedial education at these schools largely entailed teaching basic literacy (i.e. reading and writing) to learners of all ages. A vast number of learners aged 15 – 17 years, still attending primary school, were identified as unable to read at the level of an average 9-year old child. No special needs teachers are provided in these schools and no support supplied for these slower learners. It became clear that the need for greater support to these isolated and underprivileged schools in South Africa was crucial. Challenges faced by these schools include overcrowded classrooms, limited educational resources, lack of library facilities, language constraints, isolated geographical locations and poor transport availability. The Anna Foundation was created to provide support to these rural children and to provide them with a stimulating and uplifting environment.

Anna started by providing support classes in English and Maths to learners from Ipani Primary school. The school had no library facility so Anna started a library-in-a-box system, providing children with their first-ever taste of reading their own book. There were also no sports facilities at the school so Anna started a running group. These reading and running activities were then combined and became the start of the Anna Foundation’s 3Rs programme, namely Reading, Running and Right-ing. In order for children to become part of the running club, they had to read two books per week. The third R, Right-ing, was introduced to address the importance of positive self-esteem and self-worth, and help teach children different life skills.

The 3 Rs programme is currently implemented on farms and in rural schools throughout the Western Cape. Local women from these rural communities are trained in the 3 Rs programme and become responsible for implementing it on a daily basis. The Anna Foundation has been a registered non-profit organisation since 2005 and working on farms in the Western Cape since 2007.

This Friday....

Please join us as we honour pillars of our community that use their vocation to do exceptional work.

It is a face-to-face meeting at Wanderers where we will be joined by the award recipients and our soon-to-be-member Tayla Burger who will be inducted into the Rotary Club of Rosebank.

We shall of course also have Zoom link for our members overseas and those that cannot make the actual meeting.

Picnic in the Park, What are our members getting up to, Club 100 winners, and our Club gets a mention in the media......

 From the Pen of the President...

President Costa welcomes the attendees

The picnic breakfast we had at Delta Park last Saturday was attended by 24 people including friends, spouses and Anns. It really was great having a face-to-face in person function and I realise just how much we have missed by having Zoom meetings because of Covid restrictions. We intend to have physical Rotary meetings at least twice a month going forward but with a Zoom link so that our overseas members can participate. I am sure that it is everyone’s prayer for the Covid pandemic and related restrictions to end as soon as possible. I trust that everyone who intends coming to physical meetings will have been vaccinated.

Costa Qually
President

Tailpiece

The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new  (Socrates)

Last Friday.....

...was Heritage Day, and what better way to celebrate the day than having a picnic breakfast in the Delta Park. It was the perfect setting to introduce our proposed environment project to the club members and the Anns and their families.

Next to Environmental Centre you find the Sasol sponsored Sensory Garden as well as the Rand Water water wise garden. It is a beautiful spot which has been sadly neglected, but with a bit of effort and water we can hopefully restore it back to its former glory.

The breakfast was a veritable feast with fruit salad and yoghurt, homemade muffins and scones, sandwiches and chipolatas, brownies and John Symons even shared his birthday cake with us.

The fellowship was priceless and everyone agreed that this was just what the doctor ordered.

Meanwhile.....what are our members getting up to?

The Namaqualand flowers have been particularly spectacular this year and David Bradshaw and his family have had the rare privilege of enjoying the splendour at its very best.

The Rotary Club of Rosebank is commended by the Media....

A few months ago the Rosebank Killarney Gazette ran an article showcasing the delivery of the JoJo tank which was to store the very precious water needed for the community vegetable garden in the Durban Deep informal settlement.

Last week the Gazette ran a follow-up piece. 

This Friday.....

....we welcome guest speaker Professor Andrew Thatcher who will be giving us insights into green grey water treatment in informal settlements.

A business meeting, Fellowship in the Park, Skittles Challenge, have you booked your quiz table? and lots of training opportunities....

 From the Pen of the President...

Concern for our environment and the impact it has on everyone and our future is becoming an increasingly important topic that is receiving more attention and focus by influential and pressure groups. For example, a greater emphasis is being placed on “ESG” by investment funds and managers. This acronym stands for environmental, social and governance. How well companies and groups score on an assessment of their ESG ratings will impact on their ability to attract investments in future.

Pressure is building on banks and financial institutions to withhold or reduce their financing of projects that are detrimental to the environment and that contribute to global warming. For example, several banks are being requested to reduce or terminate the financing of coal burning electricity generating power stations.

That is why an emphasis on the seventh avenue of service by Rotary and the formation of an environmental committee within the club is a very welcome development. It is pleasing to note the response of many of our members who will be attending a breakfast and consideration of what we can do for the environment at Delta Park on Friday. I am sure that this committee’s activities will play an increasingly important role in our club going forward.

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

Definition of negligent: An adjective that describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightgown

Last Friday....

was our monthly business meeting.

Brief report backs:

• Attendance: Pam had excused herself for Friday's meeting but had sent in her report via President Costa. Attendance was slightly down in August, with an average of 23 members taking part in meetings via Zoom.                                                                                                               
• It was agreed that many of us are a little Zoomed out and  now that we are back at level 2 lockdown we will slowly start returning to Wanderers, the first in person meeting taking place on the 8th of October when we plan on honouring our Vocational Services Award recipients, and then again when we meet socially on the 29th. All meetings will however remain hybrid because of all our e-members and those members that work far afield.
• Finance: John Symons reported back that most members had opted to pay their annual subs in full, only a couple of members were paying in two instalments. John has paid across RI dues and the funds we as a club had committed to Polio Plus. 
• Membership: David attended all the way from Stellenbosch. He was happy to report that Tayla Burger will be inducted as our newest member on Friday the 8th of October at Wanderers.  There are a few potential members that David is communicating with, so watch this space.
• International: Richard Moloney has a number of projects that he and his team would like to explore: play-pumps, cervical cancer project and the compostable sanitary pad project.           
• And James shared the good news that we will be handing over the Palliative Care container that Jerry and John Hope Bailie had so caringly refurbished and installed on Friday the 15th of October. 
• Youth: As Jean was visiting with her family in Botswana  Ann Hope-Bailie was asked to report back. Sadly, due to factors beyond our control, the Senior Youth Leadership course will again not be taking place this year. But all efforts will be made to organize a really successful Careers Day at the beginning of 2022.  Ann has asked for club input as to which careers to showcase.         
• Ann would like to develop a website that school leavers can access to obtain information on careers, bursaries, job applications, how to write a CV and much, much more.
• Publicity: Club activity is mainly reported on in the weekly Ramble, and Ann updates our Facebook page at least two or three times a week. She urges everyone to please like and follow our page.  We will ensure that the unveiling of the Palliative Care Container receives adequate press coverage.
• Vocational & Community Services: Sybille had techno-troubles and was unfortunately on permanent mute, so had to rely on Costa to report back.                                                           
• The Vocational Service Award recipients have been invited to the ceremony on the 8th, and will be receiving R1 500 towards a charity of their choice. As this award is specifically for persons using their vocation to do exceptional work, it is felt that we should also introduce a Community Service Award for persons doing good work within their community.                                        
• The annual Norwood Spar Food Drive is to take place over two weekends at the end of October (30th/31st) and again at the end of November (27th/28th). We will shortly be asking members to volunteer their time to assist with these collections.
• Environment: Lyn and Ann met with Geoff Lockwood at the Environmental Centre in Delta Park and we are exploring the possibility of reviving the water-wise and sensory garden.           
• To celebrate Heritage Day and our environment we have invited members, Anns and their families to join us for a picnic on Friday the 24th. The response has been resounding and promises to be wonderful day of fellowship.
• 
  
  
  
  
• Fundraising: It is all systems go for our quiz evening on Wednesday 20th of October and so far we have already had over 50 bookings. Please do not leave your booking till the last minute.
• Even if you cannot attend the function we urge everyone to buy raffle tickets, you will go into the draw for some really wonderful prizes like a mid-week getaway at the luxurious 5 star Elephant Point on the banks of the Sabi River, a stay at the Cavern in the Drakensberg, Astral Chickens has donated a hamper worth R1 000, a Suunto sports watch and many many more.

Interclub Fellowship...

Everyone who took part in last year's skittle challenge between  the Rotary clubs of Kyalami, Centurion and Rosebank will remember what fun we had.

We have been invited for a rematch taking place next Thursday the 30th of September, so Team Rosebank - bring on your A game!

District Training...

The District Public Image Committee has put together a four-part course on Reputation Management. The course will be held via Zoom and is open to all Rotarians, Anns and Rotaract members. This educational opportunity will teach skills that will benefit us in our lives, our vocations and our volunteer service.

 

Please register for the training sessions and encourage your members, particularly your Public Image Chair, to join these interesting and relevant sessions.

 

Part 1 – What is reputation management? 18 Sep 2021    8:30- 10:00

Part 2 – What are the market expectations of a brand? 16 Oct 2021    8:30-10:00

Part 3 – How do you grow your reputation? 06 Nov 2021   8:30-10:00

Part 4 – What do you do when it goes wrong? 09 Nov 2021   19:00-20:30

 

Part 1 will look at the following: Managing a brand's persona, Highlighting the brand's strength, legacy, transparency and its promise. What is your ‘Brand Sense’ measurement?

 

Details of various District training sessions can be found on the District Webpage - Training 

 

Foundation Training....

 

Training Dates for 2021-2022 - All Training starts at 9 am 

 

 

25 September – Permanent Fund (PHF Society, Benefactors, Major Donors)

Time: 1 hr. (40 min presentation and 20 min questions)

 

09 October – Grants (Global Grants and District Grants)

Time: 1.5 hrs. (1 hour presentation and 30 min case study and questions)

 

16 October – Polio and VTT

Time:  70 min. 20 min each presentation, 20 min into 2 breakout sessions and 10 min plenary report back)

 

23 October – Peace Scholarship  and GG Scholarship

Time:  70 min. 20 min each presentation, 20 min into 2 breakout sessions and 10 min plenary report back)

 

30 October – The Rotary Foundation and Challenge Webinar

Time:  1 hr.

And some more District Training...

 

THE ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (RLI) provides quality education on Rotary Knowledge and Leadership Skills to Rotarians, Anns and Rotaract members.

 

These educational opportunities will teach skills that will benefit the members in their lives and in their volunteer service.

 

RLI is a recommended program of Rotary International, is not compulsory and RLI is open to all Rotarians, Anns and Rotaracts.

 

We offer six (6) in-person, facilitated and small group courses. The Certificate course 1,2 and 3 and the Graduate course A, B and C

 

These courses include the following topics:

• Rotary Basics
• Leadership
• Service, Foundation & Public Image
• Membership & Volunteers
• Diversity
• Effective Public Speaking

 

These are the upcoming courses:

 

• Sat 9 Oct 2021 -     RLI Certificate part 1 and RLI Certificate part 3 (2 separate venues)

• Sun 10 Oct 2021 -  RLI Certificate part 2 and RLI Graduate part A (2 separate venues)

 

Time:  8:00 - 15:00

 

Cost:  R250 per person per course/day

This fee will include fun, fellowship, refreshments, lunch and the training manual.

 

Bank details for RLI courses: Rotary 9400 E-commerce, Standard Bank, Fourways Crossing Branch 009953, Account No 242 609 473. REF: RLI + Your Name. Please send the proof of payment to Wendy Damons on wendylindsay12@gmail.com

 

Venue: Ducks Country House – Henley on Klip

We will be adhering to Covid-19 regulations and the venues are well ventilated rooms

 

Accommodation is for your own account. You can contact the venue to book your accommodation.

DG Stella visits with us remotely, The Anns at Woodford Sanctuary, Book your Quiz team and let's celebrate Heritage Day.....

From the Pen of our President.... 

The unexpected reactions to two events in the recent past have indicated how much more we are impacted by what happens to others in similar circumstances than by the events themselves. The first was a pretty positive event but the person involved was upset because he learned that several others who experienced the same event had received a greater financial benefit.  The second  event was the loss / destruction of valuable assets. The person concerned was fairly positive, indicating that many others had suffered far greater losses and faced a more challenging future than he did, so he had much to be thankful for.  It made me wonder what the reactions would have been if there had been no knowledge of similar events experienced by others.

I suspect that I too may well be influenced by knowing what has happened to others who have experienced similar circumstances – rather than making an objective and independent decision.

Costa Qually
President

Tailpiece

To find yourself, think for yourself  -  Socrates

Last Friday...

... the Rotary Club of Rosebank was  graced by the presence of our District Governor Dr Stella Anyangwe and her successor Koekie Makunyane-Quashie.

DG Stella  has been in her position for two months and she has certainly hit the road running. To her it feels as though she has been at it for two years already. 

Stella is a Cameroonian by birth and studied to become a medical doctor. She decided that it would be better to prevent than treat, and therefore obtained a PhD in Epidemiology. She became a Global Health expert and served the WHO for 17 years, eventually retiring in 2013.

She is married to a Professor at Law, and they have two children, both living abroad. She has one grandchild, who she sadly has not been able to meet yet because of lockdown.

Stella has been a Rotarian since 1995 and her husband also recently joined the ranks.

She is presently a member of the Rotary Club of Pretoria West, but in the past had been a Rotarian in Zambia, the Congo,Nigeria, Seychelles an Mali.

Before meeting with us she had already familiarized herself with our club goals and projects, and in her words had not taken so many notes with any other club.

She felt that our club goal of growing our membership by 5 new members was very pedestrian, and it was very evident in her address to us, that she was aligning her district goal of growing membership from 1160 to 1300 to that of RI President Shekhar Mehta, who coined the phrase "Each One bring One". His ambitious goal is by the end of his tenure in June 2022 to have grown the worldwide membership by 100 000. 

She did however concede that it is also important to attract the right person into the Rotary fold.

She is passionate about diversity, equality and inclusion.

DG Stella commended our club for our commitment to "giving" -  towards Polio eradication and the "Every Rotarian, Every Year" initiative, and also for giving of our valuable time.

Stella urged us to dream big and try and come up with a long lasting and sustainable service project of scale. She told us of a  $2million Global Grant that had recently been awarded for a cross border project involving Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana in the eradication of malaria. 

She would like our club to plan and host at least one practical and action-oriented Rotary Day of Service during the 2021-22 Rotary year. The event should address a challenge facing our community that fits in one or more of Rotary’s areas of focus and bring together volunteers from within and outside of Rotary.

DG Stella left us with one last overarching thought: ENJOY ROTARY!!

Have you booked your Quiz Team??

It is official. Now that we have gone down to level 2 lockdown restrictions we are allowed to accept all table bookings and we urge you to put together your dream team of up to six people and come and enjoy what will surely go down as a highlight in your social calendar.

Please pay your entrance fee into:

Rosebank Rotary Project account

Nedbank

Account number: 1145-9993-36

Branch Code: 198-765

Swift Code: NEDSZAJJ

Reference: Quiz + surname

 

 Heritage Picnic in the Park....

Spring is in the air and we invite our Rotarian family and friends to join us for a picnic in the Park.

Where?  Delta Park (Exact location TBC)

When? Friday the 24th of September

Time? 9 a.m. (or thereabouts)

Please let Pam Donaldson know (cell  083 320 8689)  if you would to be part of what promises to be a fun, fun, fun day.

This Friday...

... A business meeting.

 

The Peace Pipe Project, Alex fire victims need our help, Join our Heritage Day Picnic and save the date for our annual Quiz fundraiser....

 From the Pen of our President....

The powerful message from the presentation of Yogi and Tony  at our meeting on Friday on the “Peace Pipe Project” brought to mind the various WhatApp groups of which  I am a member. So often, a positive or encouraging message on the group triggers similar responses from other members and so helps build goodwill and better friendship.  We all have the power to be the spark that ignites the fire of positivity. I am reminded of a quote by John Wesley:

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

It is pleasing and encouraging to observe that many members of our club demonstrate these attributes. Bless you all!

Costa Qually
President

Tailpiece

WRINKLES: Something other people have, similar to my character lines

Last Friday....

The first time we heard about the Keokuk Peace Pipe letters was when PP Grace van Zyl, from the Rotary Club of Johannesburg addressed us a few months ago. David, who organizes our Friday programmes subsequently approached the two men, who are the driving force behind the project to speak to us: Tony Conn, all the way from across the Big Pond and Yogi Reppmann from his home town of Flensburg, Germany.

Now that is the power of technology. Would we have ever dreamed of something so ambitious had we not been forced to embrace new ways of communication.

In 2016 a loosely bound dusty book was discovered in a bank vault in Keokuk and it contained 196 letters from all over the world which had been sent in response to a letter that had been penned in 1931 by the Chairman of the Rotary Club of Keokuk, Jewett Fulton and sent to 496 non-English speaking Rotary Clubs all over the World.

“In 1931 the Rotarians in the city of Keokuk, Iowa must have sensed that dark clouds were brewing in the world, and especially in Europe. They thought about the namesake of their city, Chief Keokuk, and his peace pipe. Their invitation to other Rotary Clubs to join them in smoking the peace pipe was more than a symbolic gesture.“

The result is a 330 page glossy publication which can be purchased for $30, the profits of the sales will go to various peace building and conflict resolution  projects.

The story is intriguing and  if you missed the presentation on Friday or would like to listen/watch it again you are welcome to click into the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL5kZI7ODfIKeokuk Peace Pipe Letters

Starved of fellowship a few of us once again descended on Ann's home to attend the Zoom meeting and also celebrate Melodene's birthday.

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An impassioned letter from Linda Twala....

If anyone would like to donate or assist in any small way, please contact Sybille Essmann (082 601 0180) or David Bradshaw (083 461 6830) to arrange drop off or collection.

Heritage Day Picnic Invitation...

Last Saturday a few of us ventured into the Delta to have look-see, and came up with the wonderful idea of having a Spring Picnic on the Friday the 24th of September to celebrate Heritage Day and share fellowship, fresh air and fun in the sun.

All Rotarians, Ann's, their families and friends of Rotary are invited. Would this not be the perfect occasion to invite a potential member to experience the power of  our Rotary family?

Please let Pam Donaldson know if you and your family would like to attend (083 320 8689 or e-mail pmmdonaldson@gmail.com)

Save the date for our annual Quiz Fundraiser.....

Bookings are now open. Please circulate this invitation to friends and family and let's make this a fundraiser to remember.

We would be very grateful if you could assist with prizes for our Raffle. 

This Friday....

DG Stella Anyangwe will grace us with her presence. It will be a Zoom meeting, and it would be great if as many of us as possible can show her our Rosebank hospitality.