Khulisa, Hatfield, Facebook, PlayPumps & Annemarie Mostert at the UN.

Last Week 
Lesley Anne van Selm, the founder of Khulisa Social Solutions spoke to us about her organisation.  She seems to have achieved a lot but the main emphasis of her talk was asking for mentors for individuals and, of course, money, which is not really a good approach for any Rotary Club.

She didn't bring a laptop so she was unable to show her presentation.  You may remember that we were told that speakers must use their own laptops as there is always a chance of a virus if a memory stick is used on another laptop.

This Week
It's the Rotary Club of Hatfield people. President Mukesh Patel and his wife Sujata as well as Frank Taylor who has a long association with our club through Brian Leech.  Our meeting will be very informal and there will be no long speeches.  The intention is for our guests to circulate, or for us to circulate so that everyone has a chance to chat to them.
Saturday sees a Bring & Share lunch at Shirley Eustace's home starting at about 12,30.  Please try and come.  I know it clashes with the Foundation Seminar and a couple of other things but we do need to entertain our guests.  The idea of the lunch is that anyone can call in, for no matter how short a period, as we are a not waiting for anything to come off the braai!  Don't forget that you will need to bring liquid refreshment.  Please contact Melodene Stonestreet to confirm your attendance.

The Hatfield people will be visiting our joint Global Grant Project at Baragwanath on Monday.

Our Facebook Page
You will see that Jean Bernardo has posted an interesting piece on our Centurion College Interact Club.  The point about Facebook is that it is instant and you have an immediate response.  It is a very powerful medium.  The problem with it is that you have to keep it up.  It requires no effort so please do add something or ask me to add it on your behalf.

PlayPumps
The Board approved the installation of a second PlayPump at Keatlholela Primary School in the Northern Cape which is currently being installed. This is the second pump that we have installed this year.

The PlayPump was invented in South Africa by Ronnie Stuiver, a borehole driller and engineer, who exhibited it at an agricultural fair in 1989.  Trevor Field, an agricultural executive, saw the device at the fair and licensed it from Stuiver.  Fields installed the first two systems in KwaZulu-Natal in 1994, and began receiving media attention in 1999, when Nelson Mandela attended the opening of a school which had a PlayPump. 
There was tremendous enthusiasm for PlayPumps on an international level but it is only in South Africa that they have been really successful owing to continuing maintenance and an understanding of their limitations.  Elsewhere in Africa water has not been properly tested prior to the drilling of a borehole, lack of maintenance and corrupt practices have given PlayPumps a bad name but here they are encouraged by the Department of Water Affairs and they are properly maintained.

Rotary @ the UN.....Annemarie Mostert of the Rotary E-Club of Southern Africa

ROTARY-UN CELEBRATION MIXES BUSINESS WITH DIPLOMACY

The Rotary Responsible Business honorees are, from left: Jean-Paul Faure, Stephanie Woollard, Mercantil Banco Universal representative Luis Calvo Blesa, Larry Wright, Annemarie Mostert, Suresh Goklaney, and Coca-Cola Pakistan representative Fahad Qadir. (Not pictured: Juan Silva Beauperthuy.)

Photo Credit: Monika Lozinska/Rotary International

Outside the United Nations building in midtown Manhattan stands an imposing sculpture of a man wielding a sword in one hand and raising a hammer with the other. It reflects a shared goal that Rotary and the United Nations celebrated at the organizations' annual meeting on Saturday, 12 November: to use our strengths and tools to build a more peaceful and just world.

The theme of this year's Rotary Day at the United Nations, "Responsible Business, Resilient Societies," emphasizes Rotary's role as a global network of business leaders using the tools of their trades to build stronger, more prosperous communities.

In his introductory remarks, Rotary International President John F. Germ drew the crowd's attention to the statue, "Let Us Beat Our Swords Into Ploughshares," as he set the tone for the day, which included breakout sessions and keynote addresses on aspects of responsible business, or the philosophy that for-profit enterprise can contribute to positive social and economic development.

"Here is where the UN and Rotary International are working side by side, equipping communities with the tools they need, and empowering them with the will to use those tools far and wide," he said.

Per Saxegaard, founder and chairman of the Oslo-based Business for Peace Foundation, gave a keynote address on the complex relationship between business and broader society, marked by both tension and opportunity. Despite the perception that profit alone motivates enterprise, he says, commercial success and social progress are closely intertwined.

"Societal needs define markets," he said. "I have met many entrepreneurs in my career, and they all have one thing in common: They see a problem, and they say 'I can fix that, and I can do it cheaper and better.' That is the engine of innovation in business. We need that energy to solve the problems at hand," such as hunger or illiteracy. He pointed to the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN's ambitious roadmap for eliminating poverty by 2030 and highlighted the opportunity for businesses to help achieve them.

Other speakers included UN Under Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Kim Won-soo and UNICEF polio chief Reza Houssaini, who provided an update on the polio eradication campaign.

John Hewko, general secretary of Rotary International, introduced eight Rotary Responsible Business honorees, six individuals and two corporate partners whose inclusive business practices are bringing employment, mentoring, education, and innovation to their communities.

The individuals honored were:

• Juan Silva Beauperthuy, Rotary Club of Chacao, Venezuela: For 25 years, Beauperthuy has helped keep disadvantaged youths on the right track through Queremos Graduarnos, an education program focused on mentoring and skill development, with support from his engineering firm. Today, the program serves more than 700 students in 18 schools.

• Jean-Paul Faure, Rotary Club of Cagnes-Grimaldi, France: To encourage young professionals and provide promising new businesses with training and funding, Faure launched a business contest called Le Trophée du Rotary. Now in its seventh year, the program has drawn support from a major bank and has kept past participants involved as mentors.

• Suresh Goklaney, Rotary Club of Bombay, India: Goklaney, executive vice chair of a large manufacturer of UV water purification systems, has led efforts to provide clean water in rural villages and impoverished urban areas throughout India. The project has also established centers where local women can sell clean water to generate income.

• Annemarie Mostert, Rotary Club of Southern Africa, South Africa: Mostert formed Sesego Cares, a Johannesburg-based nonprofit, in 2005 to offer education and job training, and to teach entrepreneurship and leadership development to women and children. She also worked with TOMS Shoes to provide 1.3 million pairs of its shoes to the country's poor.

• Stephanie Woollard, Rotary Club of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: After meeting seven illiterate craftspeople during a visit to Nepal, Woollard founded Seven Women to help Nepalese women make products to sell abroad. The program, which has trained and employed more than 1,000 women in the past decade, also teaches basic bookkeeping and computer skills.

• Larry Wright, Rotary Club of Taylor, Michigan, USA: A master gardener, Wright started his landscaping business with a bank loan in the 1970's. In 2013, he led an effort to adapt a microfinance model that had succeeded abroad to offer microloans, business classes, and mentorship to entrepreneurs in Detroit.

The business partners honored were:

• Coca-Cola Pakistan has supported the Rotary Pakistan National PolioPlus Charitable Trust since 2010 to promote polio prevention and awareness, particularly through publicity and projects to provide clean water, in one of the few countries where polio remains endemic.

• Mercantil Banco Universal supports a project that has trained 6,000 students in 40 universities across Venezuela in social responsibility and leadership, with the goal of encouraging students to use their academic knowledge to respond to the challenges of under-served communities.

In the afternoon, Rotary member Devin Thorpe spoke about the intersection of profit and purpose. Infusing a corporate program with a sense of social purpose pays off, he says, because it breeds loyalty and satisfaction among both customers and employees.

"When a purpose program is profitable, there is no limit to the good that can come from it," he said. "Corporations are made up of people. We in this room bear the responsibility to shape corporate behavior, it is up to each one of us."

Watch video coverage of the event on UN Web TV.

Welcome to Our New Rotarians, Khulisa Social Solutions, Entertaining Hatfield Rotarians and Polio Again.

Last Week
Damian Lahoud gave us an impassioned talk about Rotaract as the source of future Rotarians.  He is obviously a great evangelist for Rotaract.

James Croswell (Sponsor) and Jeannette Horner

We also welcomed Jeannette Horner into the club....last week we welcomed three other new members but I was unable to download the pictures......so a belated welcome to Patrick Ache, Roger Else and Cuthbert Gumbochuma.

Patrick Ache, Roger Else & Cuthbert Gumbochuma surround a tiny Club President

This Week

Our guest speaker is Lesley Anne van Selm, the founder of Khulisa Social Solutions.

Khulisa has adopted a systemic approach to community development. It recognises that the typical approaches of governments and NGOs compartmentalise problems and deliver programmes which tend to address single issues in a non-cooperative and unsustainable manner. In response Khulisa has developed an approach which aims to address the challenges faced by communities in a more holistic and comprehensive manner. It aims to identify the systemic challenges in the society and community, and to overcome fragmentation of policy, systems and delivery through the mobilisation of local capacity. This approach requires that Khulisa develop a thorough understanding of the policy and operational challenges in service delivery, as well as understanding the socio economic, safety and developmental challenges experienced by people living in the community. Based on this understanding, Khulisa works collaboratively with multiple stakeholders to identify key projects which would have the highest impact in the system and which would demonstrate social change.

When turning to the requirements for building safer communities, the NDP call for the development of an effective strategy that takes into account the interrelated factors contributing to lack of safety and crime. These include the underlying root causes, such as poverty, inequality, unemployment and various motivations to commit crime; lack of social cohesion, inadequate care of children and a failure to accept and internalise ‘good’ societal norms; and the need to address the factors which create a vulnerability to victimisation – such as situational crime prevention measures.

For more information go to their website

The Hatfield Visit

Hatfield House

Frank Taylor, Mukesh Patel, the President of the Rotary Club of Hatfield and his wife Sujata will be visiting the Baragwanath Project next week.  They will be sharing lunch with us on the 18th and on Saturday the 19th Shirley Eustace has agreed to allow the Club to have a social event to chat to them properly.
We will meet at her house, 10, Wexford Ave, Westcliffe, and, rather than have a braai we will have a selection of salads,cold meats etc........a Bring & Share Lunch.  I have asked Melodene Stonestreet to coordinate this.  Lyn Collocott will be sending out a notice so that we know how many are coming.  Shirley has plenty of tables and chairs so we have no need to bring anything except our share and ourselves.

The Makro Project 3rd/4th December
John Symons has already sent out a roster for this.  I am sure that we will have little difficulty filling it for one weekend with shorter shifts required than in the past.

Rotary Careers Morning
As you will see we have changed the date to 4th March, 2017....Mark Potterton remembered it was half term!

ROTARY’S WORLD POLIO DAY EVENT LOOKS AHEAD TO ENDING THE DISEASE FOR GOOD

Dennis Ogbe, Paralympian and polio survivor, tells his personal story of the disease at Rotary’s World Polio Day event on 24 October 2016 at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Photo Credit: Rotary International/Alyce Henson

While the fight to eradicate polio suffered a blow this year when the virus re-emerged in Nigeria, Rotary leaders and top health experts focused Monday on the big picture: the global presence of the paralyzing disease has never been smaller.

The headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, served as the site of Rotary’s fourth annual World Polio Day event. Some of the biggest names in the polio eradication campaign were there to reflect on the year’s progress and discuss what’s needed to end the disease for good.

More than 200 people attended the special live program, and thousands more worldwide watched online. Jeffrey Kluger, Time magazine’s editor at large, moderated the event.

In a question-and-answer session with Kluger, CDC Director Tom Frieden talked about the latest developments in the effort to eradicate polio.

“We have the fewest number of cases in the fewest number of places in the world right now,” said Frieden. “We continue to make ground against polio, but we’re still recording cases in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria.”

The total number of cases worldwide so far this year is 27, compared with 51 for the same period last year.

Unfortunately, Nigeria slipped back onto the list of countries where polio is endemic this year, after cases appeared in the northern state of Borno, which was under the control of Boko Haram militants until recently. The World Health Organization estimates that the virus has been circulating in the region for five years. The country was on the verge of celebrating two years without any polio infections.

But this hasn’t stopped Rotary and its partners, who are working with the Nigerian government, Chad, Cameroun, and parts of the Central African Republic, from executing a sweeping emergency response. Shortly after the outbreak, a robust immunization campaign targeted about 1 million children with both oral and inactivated polio vaccines.

“Because the new cases were only detected due to ongoing surveillance efforts,” said Frieden.  “We shouldn’t be surprised to see more cases, because better surveillance means better detection of all polio cases.”

Polio eradication efforts continue to make progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, cases dropped from 13 in 2015 to eight so far this year. In Pakistan, they decreased from 38 to 15.

Frieden cited innovative tactics for reaching children in Pakistan who were often missed in the past. These include placing permanent vaccination sites at entry points to the country, provinces, and large cities. Rotary has funded the purchase of cell phones for vaccination teams, so they can send data to health centers immediately.

“The virus is cornered, we just have to make sure never to let it out again,” Frieden added.

CELEBRITIES JOIN ROTARY’S GATHERING

Dennis Ogbe, a polio survivor and Paralympian athlete, told his personal story of survival. Ogbe contracted polio at age three at a clinic near his home in rural Nigeria while being treated for malaria.

Ogbe competed in the Paralympics in Sydney in 2000 and London in 2012. But he says the toughest challenge he’s faced is helping to rid the world of polio.

Shira Lazar, host of the show “What’s Trending,” gave a social media update during the live streamed event in which she announced that more than 3,000 World Polio Day events were happening around the world. In Pakistan, a huge End Polio Now message was illuminated at the Kot Diji Fort in the Khairpur district.

Video addresses came from Maryn McKenna, author and journalist, and new polio ambassador Jenna Bush Hager, chair of UNICEF’s Next Generation, a journalist, and an author. Hager’s father-in-law is a polio survivor.

Rotary, with support from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, also debuted a virtual reality presentation that transported attendees to the streets of India and Kenya, where they interacted with polio survivors and heard their stories.

“This is very good technology to put people in places where polio has affected so many,” says Reza Hossaini, director of polio eradication for UNICEF. “It’s important we see the places and people we are helping with our polio eradication programs.”

Earlier in the day, Frieden and Rotary International President John F. Germ announced major contributions to polio eradication. The Canadian government committed $10 million, and Michael Bloomberg, businessman, philanthropist, and former mayor of New York City, donated $25 million.

Rotary has contributed more than $1.6 billion to polio eradication since taking on the virus in 1979.

“We started this more than 30 years ago,” said Germ. “We’ve stuck with it all this time. And soon, we’re going to finish it.”

Rotaract, Interact, Visit by the Rotary Club of Hatfield and Shelterbox ready for Mosul Refugees.

Last Week

It was a social meeting followed by the Board Meeting.  The Board asked me to speak to Silversale about the usual lunch chaos.  I have done so but without any satisfactory result.
The alternative is to have platters of sandwiches on the tables but this would need everyone paying a set amount whether they eat or not otherwise it will be far too difficult to control as we never know how many people are going to order food.
I do recommend that you get your drinks from the bar before the meeting. Our waiter's primary responsibility is the Pizza Deck and that takes priority so if it's busy up there we will come a poor second.




This Week

Our speaker is Damian Lahoud, the District Rotaract Chairman.  He is Continuous Improvement Manager for McCormick South Africa and was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in Sweden where he studied applied ethics.  He has done a very good job promoting Rotaract in the District.

Rosebank used to have a Rotaract Club many years ago, Roger Else is living proof!





Highlands North Boys' High Interact Club

Cesare handing out Interact Badges

We have been very lucky to inherit the Club from Orange Grove and Cesare Vidulich has maintained the liaison with ourselves.  Without his enthusiasm the Club wouldn't be there. Two teachers are the ones who make sure everything happens and we are greatly indebted to Mimi van Deventer and Mr V Pillay for their support and the weekly supervision of the Club.

The Club is very active,  They had a blood drive last week and were very successful with their blanket drive at Norwood Mall and blankets as well as food are distributed at Ithumaleng Old Age Home on a regular basis.  They would like to start a vegetable garden at the school but the drought has postponed this initiative.

Rummage for Food with Mimi van Deventer & Mr Pillay

Visit by Frank Taylor & President Mukesh Patel and his wife Sujata from the Rotary Club of Hatfield, England.
They arrive on Wednesday 16th November and I will be collecting them from the airport and entertaining them for the evening
On Friday the 18th they will attend our normal Club Meeting and we have cancelled the Business Meeting so that we can devote the time to hearing from them etc.
Saturday 19th we will have a social event so that the whole club can spend time with them....and each other, wives, partners....all rabbit's friends and relations.  What that will be and where hasn't been discussed yet.

Schwabinger Stuben

I forgot the pictures from Schwabinger Stuben last week

A Starter

A Light Main Course

SHELTERBOX PREPARES FOR MOSUL REFUGEES

ShelterBox and its partner, ACTED, a French nongovernmental aid agency, have been preparing for weeks to get aid supplies ready so they can respond quickly as the battle unfolds in Mosul.

Photo Credit: Rotary International

The battle to take control of Mosul back from the Islamic State group continues.  The city is the group's last major stronghold in Iraq. But humanitarian aid agencies have known about the military offensive, giving them an unusual opportunity to prepare for the crisis.

"It is rare for the world to get early warning of a vast human catastrophe," says Chris Warham, chief executive of ShelterBox. "The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued a paper in July saying this would likely be the biggest humanitarian crisis of the year — and we better get prepared."

ShelterBox, Rotary's project partner for disaster relief, and ACTED, a French nongovernmental aid agency, have teams in the city of Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, 53 miles (85 km) east of Mosul. They have been working since July to get aid supplies ready so they can respond quickly as the battle unfolds.

"By tomorrow, 650 of the 3,000 tents that have been deployed to Irbil will arrive," says Warham. He estimates that, without the early notice, it would have taken ShelterBox at least two and a half weeks to gather these supplies.

Tens of thousands of people have already been displaced from Mosul and surrounding areas since March. The current round of fighting could last weeks or even months and is certain to raise that number, although it's unknown just how many people remain in Mosul and in which direction they might flee.

"Our aim is to get aid to displaced families as quickly as possible," says Rachel Harvey, operations coordinator at ShelterBox, who is in Irbil. "Giving people shelter and essential items such as a solar lamp, blankets, and a water carrier will allow them a degree of dignity and security to rest and recover."

Existing camps are already near or over capacity, so other possible sites are being readied. But Warham predicts that demand will almost certainly outpace supply, which could force many families to seek shelter outside managed camps in an inhospitable landscape during a season given to storms and below-freezing overnight temperatures.

ACTED and ShelterBox have partnered many times around the world. Most recently they worked together to help people in Haiti, where the deadly force of Hurricane Matthew caused a surge in cholera cases and left thousands homeless.

The Islamic State has controlled Mosul, the oil-rich capital of Nineveh province, since June 2014. Before the invasion, the city was Iraq's second-largest and one of its most diverse.

Follow ShelterBox on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates.

Committees & Time Problems, Dirndls, Play Pumps, 16 Years of Palliative Care at Baragwanath & Polio, the Last Hurdle.

Last Week
It was a Committee Meeting meeting with feedback to the club.  For some committees it's fine but for Community Service and Youth it isn't really long enough and no doubt they will go back to having meetings after a Rotary Meeting.
The whole point of attempting to keep things within the framework of the meeting is really for those who have to go back to work on a Friday afternoon.

Thursday Evening at Schwabinger Stuben

Even though this is before our normal Friday meeting you'll only get pictures next week...any dirndl pics I wonder.
It's really an 18th century maids dress but now is often a fashion statement and now made of less coarse material.
Incidentally lederhosen is also peasant working clothes but it has been replaced for work by a material invented by a Bavarian who set up shop in San Francisco, Levi Strauss.



Play Pumps
Brian Leech's enthusiasm for Play Pumps is infectious.  We've already put in one this year and now he has found the need for a second one.

Keatlholela is a primary school 45 km east of Kuruman, in the North West. It has 187 learners and 7 educators. Water used to be accessed from a borehole at the school but the pump hasn’t worked for 2 years so water is obtained from the community borehole ONE day a week so the school has to send a donkey cart to fetch the water. The school also relies on rain water which currently is non est. Result, children become dehydrated in the hot weather and the school has to close early and send them all home.   
The advantage of sponsoring this PlayPump is that it is relatively close to the first one that has been installed at Koning PS and the 2 can be visited together in one trip.
As for the Koning PlayPump, the cost of this PlayPump, tank, piping and installation is also R125 000. It would be a great help to the school if it could be installed before the year end so that it will all be in operation in the New Year when the hot weather really sets in.

What fascinates me is Brian's ability to find the communities that really need these pumps where the water is also potable.  It conjurs up an image of him seeking out the driest parts of the country, visiting  them and then saying "What about a pump?"  It fits in very nicely with RI's Areas of Focus.

16 Years of Palliative Care.

James Croswell, Marianne Soal and Mark Franklin represented the club at this event last Friday morning at Chris Hani Baragwanath.  Many thanks for doing so.  Here they are with Dr Mpho Ratshikana-Moloko....I like the convenient staircase!

This Week
It's a social meeting....Mark Franklin is sergeant,.........try and bring some better jokes than his!

ROTARY’S WORLD POLIO DAY EVENT LOOKS AHEAD TO ENDING THE DISEASE FOR GOOD

Dennis Ogbe, Paralympian and polio survivor, tells his personal story of the disease at Rotary’s World Polio Day event on 24 October 2016 at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Photo Credit: Rotary International/Alyce Henson

While the fight to eradicate polio suffered a blow this year when the virus re-emerged in Nigeria, Rotary leaders and top health experts focused Monday on the big picture: the global presence  of the paralyzing disease has never been smaller.

The headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, served as the site of Rotary’s fourth annual World Polio Day event. Some of the biggest names in the polio eradication campaign were there to reflect on the year’s progress and discuss what’s needed to end the disease for good.

More than 200 people attended the special live program, and thousands more worldwide watched online. Jeffrey Kluger, Time magazine’s editor at large, moderated the event.

In a question-and-answer session with Kluger, CDC Director Tom Frieden talked about the latest developments in the effort to eradicate polio.

“We have the fewest number of cases in the fewest number of places in the world right now,” said Frieden. “We continue to make ground against polio, but we’re still recording cases in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria.”

The total number of cases worldwide so far this year is 27, compared with 51 for the same period last year.

Unfortunately, Nigeria slipped back onto the list of countries where polio is endemic this year, after cases appeared in the northern state of Borno, which was under the control of Boko Haram militants until recently. The World Health Organization estimates that the virus has been circulating in the region for five years. The country was on the verge of celebrating two years without any polio infections.

But this hasn’t stopped Rotary and its partners, who are working with the Nigerian government, Chad, Cameroun, and parts of the Central African Republic, from executing a sweeping emergency response. Shortly after the outbreak, a robust immunization campaign targeted about 1 million children with both oral and inactivated polio vaccines.

“Because the new cases were only detected due to ongoing surveillance efforts,” said Frieden.  “We shouldn’t be surprised to see more cases, because better surveillance means better detection of all polio cases.”

Polio eradication efforts continue to make progress in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In Afghanistan, cases dropped from 13 in 2015 to eight so far this year. In Pakistan, they decreased from 38 to 15.

Frieden cited innovative tactics for reaching children in Pakistan who were often missed in the past. These include placing permanent vaccination sites at entry points to the country, provinces, and large cities. Rotary has funded the purchase of cell phones for vaccination teams, so they can send data to health centers immediately.

“The virus is cornered, we just have to make sure never to let it out again,” Frieden added.

CELEBRITIES JOIN ROTARY’S GATHERING

Dennis Ogbe, a polio survivor and Paralympian athlete, told his personal story of survival. Ogbe contracted polio at age three at a clinic near his home in rural Nigeria while being treated for malaria.

Ogbe competed in the Paralympics in Sydney in 2000 and London in 2012. But he says the toughest challenge he’s faced is helping to rid the world of polio.

Shira Lazar, host of the show “What’s Trending,” gave a social media update during the live streamed event in which she announced that more than 3,000 World Polio Day events were happening around the world. In Pakistan, a huge End Polio Now message was illuminated at the Kot Diji Fort in the Khairpur district.

Video addresses came from Maryn McKenna, author and journalist, and new polio ambassador Jenna Bush Hager, chair of UNICEF’s Next Generation, a journalist, and an author. Hager’s father-in-law is a polio survivor.

Rotary, with support from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, also debuted a virtual reality presentation that transported attendees to the streets of India and Kenya, where they interacted with polio survivors and heard their stories.

“This is very good technology to put people in places where polio has affected so many,” says Reza Hossaini, director of polio eradication for UNICEF. “It’s important we see the places and people we are helping with our polio eradication programs.”

Earlier in the day, Frieden and Rotary International President John F. Germ announced major contributions to polio eradication. The Canadian government committed $10 million, and Michael Bloomberg, businessman, philanthropist, and former mayor of New York City, donated $25 million.

Rotary has contributed more than $1.6 billion to polio eradication since taking on the virus in 1979.

“We started this more than 30 years ago,” said Germ. “We’ve stuck with it all this time. And soon, we’re going to finish it.”

Paul Botes, Rotary Family Health Day, Roger Else gets stuck in, Committees and Haiti.

Last Week

As I surmised, Graham Pugin wasn't in a fit state to come and talk to us having been shot in the mouth with a rubber bullet but we had almost a gala lunch with Joan Sainsbury bringing Petra Oelofse and Paul Botes and his wife.

Mark Franklin, as chairman of the Arts Festival Committee, presented him with a certificate for the most paintings sold at the Rotary Arts Festival.

Friday was also one of the Rotary Family Health Days which meant that some of our members weren't present as they were 'tending the sick'.  Melodene and Ken Stonestreet gave us a run down on what they had been doing in conjunction with Morningside Club in Diepsloot the day before which was well organised and a tremendous turn out of people.  Melodene felt that two people's lives were saved because they had been checked at the clinic and were immediately packed off to hospital.  That in itself made it worthwhile.
In contrast Mark Franklin had a disappointing time in Ivory Park with Kyalami Club.  He didn't feel it was advertised properly as they had very few people turn up compared to last year.

In our club one of the requirements for membership is for a prospective member to help on a Rotary Project.



Roger Else wasted no time in doing his community service.  He kindly dedicated his Saturday
morning to helping Lebohang Sithole and Jan Tshikhuthula, co-founders of the newly established EditionVary Print Studio, at the Parkhurst Recreational Centre.  

Two things needed doing:

•  The delivery of a much needed metal cupboard for keeping valuable printing paper and other supplies under lock and key.  
• And the fixing of the entrance door to the studio for the added security of the Printing Press so generously donated to Edition Vary by the Club as part of its support to the arts community by developing a business development, training and educational project. 

This Week.
It's our Committee Meeting week.  I printed out a number of large labels to put on the tables relating to the committee.  Most of them vanished.  If you feel you need one, committee chairmen, just bring one along.  If you feel it is unnecessary, don't bother.

Rotary Careers Morning.
We have set the date for Saturday 25th February, 2017.  Last year we had 325 Grade 12's and this year we are anticipating a lot more and we have already added a number of extra vocations such as Printing and Physiotherapy.  Because we are anticipating greater numbers there will be food stalls and a number of 10 minute talks that learners can attend when they wish to.  Logistically it requires more careful planning because of numbers and we have already started.

Don't forget to book with me for Schwabinger Stuben next week, Thursday, 27th!

ROTARY AND SHELTERBOX ON THE GROUND IN HAITI

Staff from ShelterBox and the United Nation’s World Food Programme help unload a delivery of ShelterBox supplies at Les Cayes harbor in Haiti, where tents are likely to be used to help health professionals screen and treat cholera victims.

Photo Credit: Alexis Masciarelli

Even as parts of Haiti were still recovering from a catastrophic 2010 earthquake, Hurricane Matthew tore through the impoverished island country 4 October, leaving hundreds dead and many more homeless.

The Category 4 storm affected an estimated 330,000 people in Haiti, including 6,400 who were moved to temporary shelters. Extensive damage to main bridges and other transportation networks have left some areas cut off and vulnerable. Torrential rains have resulted in flooding and landslides. And contaminated water supplies threaten to lead to a surge in cholera cases and other waterborne illnesses.

A ShelterBox response team of volunteers from Canada, England, New Zealand, and the United States traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, last week to assess the damage and decide how best to help people. ShelterBox, an independent charity, is Rotary's project partner for disaster relief.

Working with Rotary members, government authorities, and other relief agencies, ShelterBox is focusing on the cholera outbreak in the southern region of the island and emergency shelter. A shipment of ShelterBox supplies arrived in Les Cayes, in the south of Haiti, on Wednesday, which likely will be used to help health professionals screen and treat cholera victims.

"We hope to provide ShelterKits along with other crucial supplies like solar lights, mosquito nets, water purification units, and water carriers. All of which will help in the fight against cholera," says Chris Warham, chief executive of ShelterBox.

With wind speeds reaching 155 miles per hour, Hurricane Matthew is considered the worst storm to make landfall in Haiti in more than 50 years.

STORM'S PATH HITS UNITED STATES AND CANADA

The destructive path of the hurricane cut through communities in Florida, Georgia, and South and North Carolina, USA, and as far northeast as Nova Scotia, Canada, causing flooding, severe damage, injury, and death. Rotary members are working together to provide emergency supplies and help families find shelter.

"Rivers are still rising and expected to crest on Sunday," says Rusine Mitchell Sinclair, governor of District 7710 in North Carolina. "We'll work with our neighboring districts to provide relief once the flooding has peaked and we can get in to assess what's needed."