A visit from the President of the International Women's Club, and Rotary proves that we are People of Action....

From the Pen of the President....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

We are on our way with our Rotary year. Thank you to those who donated to Rotary Foundation on 1st July - we have R2450 to start our giving.
I was contacted by Knights Pendragon Club, who asked us to join with them to help the Gerald Fitzpatrick Home for the Aged. Those members at last Friday's meeting voted to assist - I am sure others will agree. They have no emergency lights.
I took it upon myself to plan for our 5th Friday meeting - morning coffee at the Wilds, but on Saturday 30th.

https://www.jhbcityparksandzoo.com/services-facilities/nature-reserves-bird-sanctuary/find-a-reserve/the-wilds-nature-reserve

There is a lot of talk at times about membership, and lets face it, without members our club will suffer. I would like to adjust our focus to other important topics as well. Members who are serious about being Rotarians need to be part of a committee, take part in projects. As a hybrid club, we appreciate that 'online' is as good as in-person and I think we are doing pretty well, and thank you to you all . Committee meetings are hybrid too and the meetings should be short, to the point and at a convenient time. Chairpersons are obliged to send minutes ahead of our business meeting.

In August we will have an Assembly and can finalize our goals.
My goal for the year is to have fun - join me!! We can be successful at the same time.

Keep warm.
Ann

Last Friday....

 

...Our club invited International Women's Club President Helen Langridge to tell us a little bit more about this organization.

Helen has been a longtime member and the President of the IWC for the past three years. The club was originally established in 1967 as a lunch club to help newcomers to Johannesburg to settle into their life in a new city.

The IWC is first and foremost a friendship club bringing together women of all nationalities and walks of life. They meet once a month at the Bryanston Country Club, where they will have a guest speaker and have a chance to socialize, and they also have a monthly activity where they will visit a place of interest, this month for example they plan to visit the holocaust and genocide centre and the following month a pottery class has been organized. You can also participate in various other special interest groups like book clubs, travel club, garden club, MahJong and bridge club.

Although they are not a charitable organization, they do however participate in various charity drives throughout the year, like Santa Shoebox and blanket and animal food collections.

Like many organizations they too were hard hit by Covid and as a result they saw dwindling membership numbers, but slowly it starting to pick up again.

As a number of members are only here for a finite time and move on to other parts of the world or return to their country of origin, it means that the friendships that have been forged during their stay in South Africa are far reaching and often long lasting.

It was lovely that fellow IWC member Liz Wolhuter was able to join the meeting as well as being able to greet Rita Millan from Rotary Club of Northcliff.

As young Tutty Faber was unable to receive his 100% attendance badge at President Ann's induction, she pinned it to his chest at the Friday meeting. Well done Tutty!

Rotarians, People of Action.....

"Together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in our communities and in ourselves"

This past weekend Rotarians Costa Qually, Jean Bernardo, Sybille Essmann and Rotary Ann Shirley Eustace had the most profound opportunity to make a difference in a few hapless souls  lives, when we were invited to be part of a group of 11 volunteers headed up by powerhouse Marilyn Bassin of the Boikanyo - Dion Herson Foundation who had identified the Sivenathi Care Home in a community on the outskirts of Fort Beaufort, Eastern Cape which takes care of 36 severely mentally and physically disabled persons, who were in desperate need for specialized mobility devices. The other driving force behind this initiative was Ruth Stubbs of The Paige Project, who is a vastly experienced occupational therapist, specializing in the treatment of persons born with cerebral palsy. Kerry, a young comm serv occupational therapist, who singlehandedly heads up the OT department at the Victoria Hospital in Alice was our girl at the coal face who was tasked to identify the children and persons who would be receiving a wheelchair.

The preparation for this outreach started months ahead of time. The mobility devices had to be individually prepared and shipped down to the Eastern Cape. Our fellow Rotarian Anne Padmore employed all her connections to organize Value Logistics who transported the wheelchairs, equipment, 171 blankets and ePap, generously donated by the Croswell family and Marilyn Bassin. All free of charge!

Flights to East London had to be booked, accommodation organized, we needed a vehicle big enough to carry 11 persons plus luggage, food parcel donations had to be organized.... and the People of Action stepped up to the plate

We were indeed humbled to see how an impoverished community manages to survive with dignity and with what minimal resources they have to make do. There is no running water, electricity is sporadic and by all accounts the refuse removal is non-existent, the result of which was that we saw two of the children having been bitten by rats. As the care home did not have a First-Aid kit Dr Shirley Eustace headed for town to obtain an anti-biotic and buy the necessary resources to  clean  and bandage the offending sores.

Nevertheless it must be said that we no doubt made a difference to the quality of life of these desperate souls.

Please look at the makeshift wheelchair this young man had to make do with.

Before and after.

We also managed to refurbish a number of old wheelchairs . We even found one that had been donated by Rotary Great Britain & Ireland.

In between we also handed out much needed blankets, because it can get bitterly cold in that part of the world.

The caregivers are the unsung heroes of this care centre and as a small token of gratitude Boikanyo donated food parcels to them and their families. They also each received a blanket donated by the Rotary Club of Rosebank

This Friday....

...Join the meeting either in person or via Zoom when Roger Wedlake will educate us on Anti-Aging Part 2.

Please let Ann know whether you will be attending in person, so that Ann can order sufficient pizzas.

 

A Fitting Start to the Rotary Year - an Induction to remember

 From the Pen of the President....

1^st July 2022

Good evening everyone – thank you for being here to share this occasion and the first day of the Rotary year. I am honoured to be able to start the 68^th year of this Club as President.

IMAGINE ROTARY – our theme.

Imagine all the opportunities out there for us to be of service? Imagine Rotary getting bigger!

Imagine Rosebank starting another Interact Club? Or a Community Corp with the community of Charity Begins with Me. Imagine partnering with other Clubs and doing greater things!!

We are a hybrid club and will continue to be one – it takes some adjusting but we are able to be much more diverse if we really get it right. You know what they say about change.

While the emphasis is, as always, on attaining new members, I would like to honour those members who have been Rotarians for over 45 years. Not their age – age is just a number!!

Tutty Faber – 47 years

David Bradshaw – 46 years

Howard Johnston and Ken Stonestreet – 45 years

Rosebank has many members with a wealth of experience – I am here to learn from them all.

With COVID all but behind us, we can take off again and fly. And post COVID the need is almost greater than ever before.

Plans for the coming year are already in the pipeline – Careers Day, Youth Leadership course, Spruit Clean up, Rotary Exchange and Quiz fundraiser, online quizzes and skittles evenings. We will persevere with the cervical cancer initiative and continue to have fun as we go.

The goals I have saved on Club Central need discussion and agreement.

Polio Plus, Rotary Foundation, increase in members, joint projects, training and Action Groups.

The board for the year 2022/2023 is as follows:

Costa Qually - Foundation Chair and Executive Secretary

Mike Honnet – Secretary

John Symons – holder of the purse strings and keeper of gold!

David Bradshaw – membership, Almoner, Speaker Programme

Sybille Essmann – Public Relations and Community Service Chair

Lenore Terreblanche – International Committee Chair

Jean Bernardo – Youth Chair,

Lyn Collocott – Environment Chair “Madam Black Jack”

Sonja Hood – Fund Raiser and Social Fairy

Pam Donaldson – Club Services

Anne Padmore - Master Sergeant

Les Short – man with the knowledge and the stick/ or spoon

 

Thank you – Jean and Sybille for your help. Thank you  Josh and Ketya.

Thank you De La Salle for the venue!!

A club is only as good as its members – we have GREAT members so let’s be GREAT.

 

Last Friday...

Who remembers the presidential induction of 2020, when Jean Bernardo handed over the baton to Ann Hope-Bailie? It was during hard lockdown with the strictest of curfews, and only Jean, Ann and Paul Harris recipient Jennette Horner congregated at Ann's house for the ceremony. The rest of us witnessed it on Zoom. Last year 2021 we lived in hope that we could induct Costa Qually as president at a live ceremony. Sadly it was not to be as we were swept into the third Covid wave, and had to cancel in the last minute.

Once again Ann hosted less than a  handful of people at her home where she placed the presidential chain around Costa Qually's neck. 

How grateful we all are that last Friday we could have a fitting presidential Induction with all the pomp and ceremony this auspicious occasion deserves. 

The loadshedding gods looked favourably on our festivities and although we were prepared for all eventualities the lights remained on. 

We were honoured to greet PDG Jankees Schligcher and his lovely wife PP Judy from New Dawn, PP Grace van Zyl from Rotary Club of Johannesburg and her husband, PP Val Thompson from Rotary Club of Sandton as well as old friends of our club Peter and Jean James-Smith.

It was wonderful that two of our exchange students were able to join us. Tsjamo Nyato was accompanied by his very proud mom Johanna and aunt. Tsjamo will be going to France next year.

Emma von Benecke has been accepted on the Rotary Exchange Student program and will be going to Germany, and when she was interviewed her mother Michelle expressed an interest in joining Rotary, and it was fitting that incoming President Ann's first duty of office was to induct Michelle as our newest member.

PP and  Assistant Governor (AG) for our club  Jean Bernardo was our Master of Ceremonies for the evening and regaled us with some choice jokes and stories and made sure that protocol was observed.

She introduced the various members to toast our land - Howard Johnston, Rotary International - PGD Ken Stonestreet and to our Rotary Club of Rosebank - David Bradshaw. PP Costa paid a moving tribute to Jerry Bernardo, who passed away in August 2021 and PP Lyn Collocott was asked to say grace and only one person could recite the Four Way Test with the fervour it deserved and that was PP Melodene Stonestreet.

As part of outgoing President Costa's report he presented Ken and Melodene Stonestreet, Jean Bernardo, Ann Hope Bailie, David Bradshaw, Sybille Essmann and himself with 100% Attendance badges.

Furthermore, John Symons received a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition for his invaluable and ongoing contribution as treasurer and Board member of the club, and David Bradshaw was awarded the Jack Boswell's President's Trophy for the many duties and activities he has performed for the benefit of the club. Both well deserving recipients.

It did not come as a surprise to any of the members, but Sonja Hood was taken completely unawares when she was named a Paul Harris Fellow in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance given to the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations among peoples of the world. Well done Sonja!!

And the highlight of the evening of course was when outgoing President Costa  inducted our new President for the Rotary year 2022/2023 Ann Hope-Bailie and awarded her with the Chain of Office, which she will no doubt wear with pride.

The food was delicious, beverages, generously donated by Ann and Sonja, were plentiful, the fellowship was palpable and a good time was had by everyone!

This Friday...

We welcome Helen Langridge of the International Women's Club of Johannesburg,  

an organization which offers the hand of friendship, networking, socializing and support to newcomers and expats living in Gauteng South Africa.

 

The last Business Meeting of Rotary Year 2021/22, Who was the June Club 100 Winner?, and upcoming PE Ann's Induction Dinner...

 From the Pen of the President...

 

This will be my last communication of this nature as President for 2021/2022 and I would like to thank all Rosebank Rotarians for their many and varied contributions to the club during the past year.  It has been an honour and privilege to be your President and to have so many members serving to change lives in our communities.  Well done to you all!

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.   (Mother Teresa)

Last Friday...

...we met both in person at Wanderers and via Zoom for our monthly Business Meeting. These business meetings are aimed at keeping the members informed of the activities of various committees and decisions that might have been made at Board level.

If you want to keep abreast of what is happening in the Club and you have not been able to attend the meeting this is the one Ramble edition a month you should make a point of reading.

These were the report backs from the President as well as the various committee chairs:

President

• Discon went well, 7 Rosebank members took part · Next year’s Discon to be held in Swaziland in April. ·  Induction Dinner for our incoming President Ann on the 1st July, Cost @ R150 to          be paid into Club account · We will more than likely receive a citation as we have met all Rotary Goals set for        2021/2022 except for membership.  Gareth Hood has sadly resigned as attending virtual meetings from China came             with immense challenges, because Zoom does not seem to work there

Club Service

• Reasonable attendance figures for the month of June. We broke even with monies paid in for Friday pizzas Provided the costs do not go up the Board felt that we should keep the attendance money at R50.-
  Finance John had circulated his reports in advance of the meeting. Should any of the members wish to have insight into the financial reports please to contact John Symons. Suffice to say, that club finances are healthy and as reported in last week's Ramble our Foundation support was commended at District level Membership
  Michele Van Benecke will be inducted by Ann on Friday 1st July  at her induction evening. David is in discussion with various people that have shown an interest in joining the club, but it is too early to reveal names until there has been a firm commitment given  David's sterling Almoner Duties  Judy Powell is doing fine and sends her love.  Elaine Ok currently in the Drakensberg.  Roger Wedlake had a bit of a health scare. He was admitted to Milpark ICU with a heart         condition, but it has resolved itself and he is resting at home.   Bernard Neuhaus is in Cape Town and doing fine. David visited with Carol Lawrence. She has started making bead jewellery which one of the ladies in the retirement home will try and sell for her. ·        International  Richard Moloney has only just returned from Australia, so he has not been able to convene a committee meeting.  Still keen to pursue Cervical Cancer project and will persist in trying to establish contact with Checkers-Shoprite. Also been in touch with an NGO in Pretoria – Clinton Health Initiative.  The Rotary Club of Kochin in Kerala, India has shown interest in "twinning" with our Club. Our club would be interested in principle. David will investigate further steps. An intercountry committee, or ICC, is a relationship between two or more international districts or countries working together to increase fellowship and intercultural understanding, foster stronger ties between members, clubs, and districts from different countries, and establish networks across borders. They’re formed with the approval of district governors. You might work with an ICC to: Develop a sister or twin club relationship between clubs in participating countries Create a Rotary Friendship Exchange between two countries Cooperate on international service projects Share best practices for sponsoring new clubs and engaging existing members
  Youth Careers Day will be held on Saturday 30th July. Still need commitment from various professions. Invitations to various schools will be going shortly for the Senior Youth Leadership course taking place the weekend of 14th – 16th October.
  Publicity   A decision has been made to  cancel the Rosebank Rotary website.  At last week's District conference Rotarian Shereen Hunter, who runs a very successful     company African Brands Architects shared insights as to how to improve one's public image,  and Ann would like to concentrate on this in the new Rotary year.
  Fund Raising Sonja has a few ideas up her sleeve, but at this stage the only fixed fundraising event is a further Quiz evening at the Parkview Golf Club on the 26th of October.
  Community & Vocational Sybille shared that the Rotary Club of Randburg will be handing over the Khensani Collection EcoBrick project to our club, as their champion Diana Musara has resigned from Rotary and Randburg does not have capacity to run with it. They have already secured funding from various companies and have been in touch with the Rotary Club of Singapore for international collaboration 171 blankets that were donated in the Club's blanket drive were earmarked to go to the NGO Boikanyo, who do such sterling work with supplying and fitting cerebral palsy children with specialized wheelchairs, and they will take them down to rural Eastern Cape, to be handed out during a Madiba Buggy outreach in July.  ·

Environment

     

• ·       On the 17^th September Rotary Club New Dawn is spearheading a Braamfontein Spruit river clean-up which is to be held in is collaboration with other clubs and civic organizations. Ann H-B has put our name down for a certain section within Delta Park. 

• This Friday....   

• Finally, after two years of lockdown restrictions we will be able to celebrate PE Ann's Induction Dinner in the style we had been accustomed to.
  

T

DISCON 2022 ...

From the Pen of the President...

The 2022 District conference was held at Bela Bela this past long weekend.  7 Rotarians from our club  and 3 spouses attended and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.  Our club received a certificate for being the club with the highest per capita giving to the Endowment Fund and a certificate for having a 100% per capita contribution to the Rotary Foundation.  Jean received a certificate for her services as an assistant governor and Kevin Wolhuter received a Paul Harris for his services as district treasurer.  The Rotary Club of Rosebank can certainly be proud of its members and its contribution to Rotary.  Thank you all!

Costa Qually
President

Tailpiece

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.  (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Last Week....

....the usual Friday meeting was cancelled, as quite a few members were attending the annual District conference (Discon) taking place on Friday and Saturday at the Forever Resorts in Bela Bela.

 The proceedings were televised via youTube, and it would have given those members who could not attend in person an opportunity to tune in and take part virtually.

After two years of virtual conferences, the excitement of having an in-person event was palpable, and the energy levels at  the Meet-and-Greet function on Thursday evening were off the chart. 

DG Stella Anyangwe greeted us in her inimitable manner and beautifully dressed in her Rotary attire.

After the formalities we retreated back to our chalet to celebrate Charlotte Croswell's birthday as well as David Bradshaw's 40th anniversary of his induction into  the Rotary Club of Rosebank, which both fell on the 18th of June. David in fact joined Rotary in 1976 as a young man in London.

The first day of the conference began with a moving flag ceremony to honour the four countries which form part of District 9400 - Botswana, Southern Mozambique, Eswatini and the northern part of South Africa. We were privileged to welcome RI President Shekar Mehta's emissary Peter Kyle and his lovely wife Margaret into our midst. They were blown away by the South African hospitality.

The content of the speaker program was thought provoking, relevant and inspiring, touching on all pillars of Rotary's areas of focus. Many projects from various parts of the District were showcased and the Rotary Club of Randburg took home the accolades for best project for their EcoBrick School in Diepsloot.

As President Costa already alluded to in his weekly missive, the Rotary Club of Rosebank also received a well deserved certificate of recognition which was handed over to him by RIPPR (RI President's Personal Representative - for those who don't do acronyms) Peter Kyle.

Kevin Wolhuter's well deserved Paul Harris recognition was presented to him at the glittering Gala Dinner on Saturday, and Jean, who works tirelessly behind the scenes as Assistant Governor looking after Morningside and Randburg, was recognised for her efforts.

Friday evening's themed event was Out of Africa, the venue was beautifully decorated and every single person made a special effort to dress the part. In the editor's humble opinion the Best Dressed trophy should undoubtedly have been awarded to DG Stella and her husband Carl. 

Everyone hit the dance floor as soon as the music started and great fun was had by all.

 The conference continued on Saturday with many more interesting talks and concluded in the evening with a glittering Gala Dinner which culminated with DG Stella ceremoniously handing over the chain of office to her successor Koekie Makunyane-Quashie (although she will still be in office till the 30th June).

DGE Koekie, who proudly calls herself "a Soweto girl" now lives in Eswatini with her husband PDG Kobla Quashie and they will welcome us to next year's DISCON which will take place in their home country in April 2023.

It would be remiss not to make mention of these special persons who were acknowledged for their tireless work within Rotary: Alice Meyer, District 9400 secretary, Wendy Damoes, RLI trainer par excellence and PP Grace van Zyl, who was instrumental in making this Discon 2022 a success.

This Friday...

... will be our monthly Business Meeting which you may either attend in person at Wanderers or via Zoom.

Please do not forget to let Costa know whether you will be attending in person, so that he can order sufficient pizzas for the attendees. 

Guest Speaker Richard Wadley enthralls us with tales of the Waterberg, we meet Charles Mphephu from the Alexandra Community Corp, Interclub Fellowship and Blanket Update....

 From the Pen of the President...

The District conference takes place from Thursday this week until Sunday morning.  It will be a great opportunity to meet new friends and have fellowship with those we know.  There is no doubt that participating in Rotary events, projects and meetings makes Rotary more meaningful and enjoyable and provides a sense of self-worth.  I encourage all our members to participate in our activities to the extent they can reasonably manage.  You can make a difference and serve to change lives!

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too. (Voltaire)

Last Friday....

....was a hybrid meeting at Wanderers and via Zoom, and it is encouraging to see that slowly but surely members are starting to return to the in-person meetings. We will however continue offering the hybrid option to ensure that members like Lorenzo, living outside Rome, Juanette in Germany and those working a full time job are able to partake in club activities. It also broadens the scope of being able to invite guest speakers who otherwise would not have been able to address us.

We were finally able to welcome Charles Mphephu to our meeting. Charles, a very proud Paul Harris Fellow, heads up the Alexandra Rotary Community Corp and in last week's Ramble we were reminded to bring along much needed items on their wishes/needs list. Besides two computer hard drives there were reams of A4 paper, clothes and also a big supply of much need sanitary pads.

A very humble Charles expressed his gratitude to all. 

A few months ago David Bradshaw had ventured into the Waterberg for a few days where he had the good fortune of meeting retired geologist and author Richard Wadley who is an expert on the area. He generously gave of his precious time to share his love of the history, fauna and flora of this diverse eco-system with David.

Richard kindly agreed to make the long trek to the Joburg Metropolis to address our Friday meeting in person. As part of Rosebank tradition our names went into a draw, and the prize was a jar of homemade lemon relish made from Sybille's rich and ample lemon harvest, which Richard was lucky enough to win.

Richard's knowledge of the Waterberg is encyclopaedic and an hour was certainly not enough time to do this most interesting topic its due justice. 

He touched on the various migrations that had headed into the area from the south as well as the north, but it was evident that throughout prehistoric and more recent times the Waterberg was always very sparsely inhabited. 

We were regaled with tales of fascinating characters who had resided in and around the Waterberg and who had added to the colourful tapestry of Waterberg lore. All this and so much more can be found in Richard Wadley's book The Waterberg Echoes, a 832 page tome published in 2019.

The book is beautifully illustrated with innumerable photos, drawings and maps which are testament to Richard's great love and respect for this small piece of paradise he calls home.

Kyalami/Rosebank/Centurion Fellowship....

Last Thursday the three Rotary clubs of Kyalami, Rosebank and Centurion once again got together at the Swiss Club in Vorna Valley for an evening of laughter and good-natured rivalry, where we were randomly divided into two teams with the aim of knocking over a sequential number of skittles lined up at the end of a very narrow bowling alley. Not as easy as it looked and a lot of hilarity ensued.

Our two PE's  (President Elects - for those that don't do acronyms)  Ann Hope-Bailie and Jan Jalloh from the Rotary Club of Kyalami. May our great fellowship continue.

Thank you to President Pierre Rossouw for making these events happen.

Quick Blanket Update....

As the temperatures drop it is imperative that the much needed blankets are distributed as quickly as possible.

Thomas Thornsson from the fledgling Rotary club of Dainfern distributes blankets to the Thabo Mbeki community, destined to be given to bed-ridden elders.

The mountain of blankets on the left were distributed to people who lost their homes in shack fires in Diepsloot. They were collected and donated by members of the International Women's Club.

This Friday.....

....There will be no club activity as a fair amount of members will be heading to Bela Bela for the annual Discon.

See you all again for the monthly business meeting on the 24th of June , which shall be a hybrid meeting at Wanderers and via Zoom.

A Prostate Cancer Awareness Presentation, The Alex Rotary Community Corp Needs List and Save the Date for our President Elect Ann's Induction....

 From the Pen of the President.....

It is a relief and wholesome soul food to be involved with people who are honest, have no hidden agendas and who care about society and the environment. News broadcasts and the media are littered with reports of dishonesty, corruption, crime and selfish interests. Involvement with Rotary helps me to retain faith in mankind and in what can be done to help make ours a better world and to help people in the need. Thank you to all our members for your contribution.

Apropos contributions: Charles Mphephu from the Alexandra Rotary Community Corp will be attending this week's Friday meeting and if anyone would like to contribute to their wish list, please would you bring along your donations.

Costa Qually

President

Tailpiece

I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot, together we can do great things!

(Mother Teresa)

Last Friday.... 

.... our guest speaker was the CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Andrew Oberholzer.

At the time of the meeting the editor of this newsletter was at the wheel of her vehicle, motoring down to Verlorenkloof, which is situated on the Crocodile River on the Eastern escarpment of Mpumalanga.

Her co-pilot Ann Hope Bailie was however able to log into the meeting via Zoom on her mobile, so at least we were able to listen to a most informative and enlightening talk.

Pathological conditions of the prostate and in particular prostate cancer are rarely spoken about in public forums and it is health advocates such as Andrew that have made it their life mission to create awareness not only amongst men, but also their affected families.

The prostrate gland is located at the origin of the urethra, the tube that carries the urine out of the body. It is roughly the size of a large walnut.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in South Africa

Risk factors are:

•              Age - the risk of getting prostate cancer increases with age

•              Family History - the risk of getting prostate cancer increases significantly if an immediate relative (a brother or father) has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and if a man’s mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

•              Race - Black African men are 60% more likely than white males to get prostate cancer and more than twice as likely to die from the disease.

 

Men who have at least 21 ejaculations per month have a 20% reduced risk of prostate cancer.

 

There are usually no symptoms in the early stages of the disease which is why screening is so important.

If detected in the early stages the cancer is curable, once it has spread (metastasized), the cancer is no longer curable, and treatment is aimed at slowing disease progression.

 

What Screening Tests should be done to screen for prostate cancer?

The Prostate Specific Antigen Test (PSA)

The PSA test is a blood test that gives an indication of whether something is wrong with your prostate. If your PSA result comes back high it could be cancer or it could just be an infection. The PSA test is not 100% accurate which is why it is preferable to also have a digital rectal exam.

Digital Rectal Examination (DRE).

This is a simple test that takes less than 30 seconds for a doctor to perform. The examining doctor inserts a gloved and lubricated finger into the rectum so that they can feel the prostate for any abnormal lumps, hardening or other signs of prostate cancer.

September has been declared Prostate Cancer Awareness month.

 This Friday....

....We are privileged to welcome another renowned guest speaker to address us.

Richard Wadley: mini-biography, January 2022

 Richard is a retired geologist, mineral economist and mining company executive who has lived with his wife Lyn (an archaeology professor at Wits University) on a small game farm on the scenic Waterberg plateau in Limpopo Province since 2005. Born in London in 1947 to parents on long leave from colonial India, Richard moved with his family to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1953 and was educated there, before completing his degrees in South Africa. He became involved in mineral exploration and lived with his family for several years in a caravan or remote rustic homes in Namibia and the Cape Karoo before eventually relocating to Gauteng.

The couple took early retirement from their paid careers 17 years ago to enable them to move to the Waterberg, where they had invested in a small property. Since doing so, Richard has been involved with several local community organisations, including serving as chair of the Waterberg Nature Conservancy and of the board of the Waterberg Academy, a small non-profit independent school. He has also been active in a municipal community forum, the local fire protection association and an agricultural union, and recently joined the board of the Lapalala Wilderness School, a non-profit institution focusing on environmental education for rural school children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In 2005, Richard began to gather material for his growing interest in the history of the Waterberg region, much of which had never been formally or accurately compiled.  Thirteen years later, this work culminated in a book, Waterberg Echoes, which was published in 2019.

Lyn, who contributed the chapter on archaeology in the history book, remains a highly active researcher and esteemed member of the international archaeological community through her continuing association with Wits. In 2021, she and a group of other local enthusiasts in wild flower photography took advantage of Covid lockdown restrictions to compile and publish a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated guide to the wildflowers of the Waterberg region.

Save the Date.....