Firlands Fete, In the Footsteps of Gandhi and Rotary & Human Trafficking

Last Week
It was a Business Meeting and quite a worthwhile one.  It's just good to see that the club is moving forward.
Les Short has been working away at a social programme which is something that has fallen by the wayside for the last year or two which is very important.

Firlands Fete

It was also Firlands Fete last weekend as the Home is closing. 
In 1923 eighteen boys were moved from the social farm in Driehoek to become the first residents of the Linden Boys’ Home. As the buildings were established 120 boys were accommodated in two dormitory style buildings. In the 1980’s the dormitories were adapted to form five separate cottages accommodating 12 boys in each cottage. In the early 1990’s the home was opened to all race groups and girls were admitted in order to keep siblings together.  Its closure really is the end of an era. I am sure the land is far to valuable for the Salvation Army to keep!
Sadly we will also lose Eddie de Vos as the Army is moving him to Cape Town. We wish him and Hazel well in the future and I am sure they will link up with a new Rotary Club there.

This Week

Our guest speaker is Alkis Doucakis. He is an interesting person and businessman.
The Doukakis Group manufactures curtain rods and fittings and was started as long ago as 1952 but I'm sure that's not what he is going to talk to us about!
He is also an amateur historian and in 2015 his book, In the Footsteps of Gandhi was published.  It is an excellent and well worthwhile book, if you can find a copy because it details Gandhi's relationship with the architect Hermann Kallenbach and the development of the suburbs around Norwood up to Linksfield Ridge.

Ashton Kutcher and Rotary address the global scourge of human trafficking

Actor and philanthropist Ashton Kutcher took the stage at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, to address a major human

rights issue: human trafficking and modern-day slavery.

Kutcher, who rose to fame in the early 2000s with a series of hit film and television roles, is co-founder of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, an organization that combats human trafficking and the conditions that enable it. Trafficking in humans takes many forms but includes forced labor and sex slavery. It is among the world’s largest illicit trades, with many of the transactions happening online.

“As a young man coming up in the public school system in the United States, I thought slavery was done, a thing of the past," Kutcher said. "When I realized this was happening – happening even right here in Atlanta, a hotbed for trafficking as a travel hub – I was floored, and set out to learn as much as I could about it.” 

Thorn specifically works to address sexual exploitation and the proliferation of child pornography online. By exploring and supporting new digital strategies for identifying victims, deterring predators, and disrupting platforms, Thorn helps lead the global conversation on trafficking – a conversation that’s continuing at Rotary’s annual convention.

More than 34,000 people, including Rotary members, partners, and friends from 175 countries and territories, have gathered in Atlanta this week to exchange ideas on how they can work together to improve lives in their communities.

Kutcher joined other prominent voices for a panel discussion on trafficking and how communities can combat it. Gary Haugen spoke about his work as CEO of International Justice Mission, a nonprofit that aims to strengthen local law enforcement and support survivors of trafficking.

Also at the panel, U.S. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee discussed the legislative framework that allows traffickers to thrive in plain sight, and survivor Rebecca Bender offered moving testimony about the abuse she endured in the United States.

Recognizing the role that vast global networks like Rotary play in sustainable social change, Kutcher encouraged attendees to join the fight.

“There’s an inbound pipeline to trafficking," Kutcher said, "and that is vulnerability and poverty,” two issues that Rotary addresses through humanitarian projects and partnerships. Kutcher cited the example of the foster care system in the U.S. “Kids going into this system don’t have someone in their lives that loves them, which makes them vulnerable to someone who reaches out and shows them that attention. That’s how traffickers get in.”

Haugen pointed out that Rotary is already connecting with vulnerable groups, building relationships, and improving lives.

“What’s clear is this issue is everywhere around the world,” Haugen said. “There are survivors like Rebecca back home in your neighborhood and your country. Educate, serve survivors, and encourage local law enforcement, and Rotary can change this in our lifetimes.”

Learn more about how Rotary and Thorn are working together to fight trafficking, and how you can help.

Costa Qually, a Zambian Rotary Visitor, Business Meeting and RI and a Visually Impaired Initiative.

Last Week

Our new member, Costa Qually, is no stranger to Rotary as he is a Charter Member of the Rotary Club of Parktown Excalibur.
He gave us what used to be a "My Job Talk" but now-a-days most people are jobless so he gave us an entertaining outline of his career as a chartered accountant and before.
It was quite fascinating as schooling and living has never been far from Wanderers so I am sure he will feel at home with us.

Add caption

It seems that every week we have a visiting Rotarian and this time it was George Kanja from the Rotary Club of Maluba, Zambia.  Here he exchanges banners with President Lyn.



This Week 
It's a Business Meeting and President Lyn has said quite a bit about it in her weekly column.  I would just add that the two prime movers behind the proposed new Rotary Club........they decided that they should aim to be their own club rather than a satellite club.......will be visiting us for the Business Meeting partly so that they can see what we get up to and to introduce themselves.  Please make them feel at home.  Our Club is prepared to be the new club's sponsors.
I will be attending their steering committee meeting afterwards in Brixton as I am the District Governor's Representative for the new club's formation.

The Ramble
Some members have told me that they are not receiving the Ramble despite being on the address list.
I will be splitting the groups as that could be the problem.
If you are receiving it now and you missed out in the past please let me know.  If you are still not receiving this it's unlikely you will be reading this!

Our Club's continuing support for the White Cane Project is very much in line with Rotary's objectives:

Rotary partners with International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

Victoria Sheffield, vice president of International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and John Hewko, Rotary International general secretary, sign the partnership agreement.

About 80 percent of the world's 285 million visually impaired people have treatable eye diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Rotary and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) aim to promote eye health to underserved communities.   

Under the one-year partnership signed today by Rotary International General Secretary John Hewko and Vice President of IAPB Victoria Sheffield, Rotary clubs can partner with IAPB member agencies to provide access to continuous eye care and blindness prevention services such as eye exams, cataract screenings and treatment, and diabetic eye examinations and follow-up services. 

“IAPB champions the belief that in the 21st century no one should have to live with avoidable blindness or sight loss,” said Rotary General Secretary John Hewko. “Rotary also sees global health as a core priority. With IAPB’s expertise, and the power of Rotary’s volunteer network, we will strengthen our ability to transform the lives of millions of people who live with a visual impairment.” 

"The impact of blindness prevention efforts is lasting and has a palpable effect at the local level. This service partnership agreement will help eye care agencies and hospitals tie-up with local Rotary clubs to deliver positive, lasting eye care to local communities" noted Victoria Sheffield, CEO, International Eye Foundation and Vice-President, IAPB. “Eye care work will greatly benefit from the passion, energy, and support of Rotary members worldwide”.

IAPB’s mission is to eliminate the main causes of avoidable blindness and visual impairment by bringing together governments, non-governmental agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector to facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of sustainable eye care programs. 

Rotary members develop sustainable projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, and grow local economies. The recent partnership will help clubs further their efforts to provide disease prevention and treatment and maternal and child health programs worldwide. Over the past three years, nearly a quarter of a million people benefited from Rotary’s interventions for disease prevention and maternal and child health, supported by almost $100 million awarded through its grants programs.

Dr Azar Jammine, Costa Qually, Barry Rassin and a New Strategic Partnership for Rotary

Last Week
Dr Azar Jammine, Director and Chief Economist at Econometrix spoke to us on 'Rating Downgrades and the Implications'.

This is not a topic where I can even pretend understanding other than by appearing to concentrate and by nodding occasionally.  For me it was a brilliant talk because he made it all so clear and he pointed out how with the lifting of sanctions and careful management by government our GDP grew at a fantastic rate so that we rose from junk status to something like AAA - .  Then we were hit by the world economic crash when every country had to borrow money and spent it on infrastructure...except us where the loan was spent on salaries and increasing the size of the civil service and the parastatals.  From then on it has been downhill all the way.
Thank you, Azar, for clarifying the whole thing for me personally and I am sure many others as well.





We had two visitors who are potential Rotarians, Babani Xaba and James Byrne who was previously a member of Parktown Excalibur.  A pleasure to have you both with us. 







See the Anns' Page to see the latest project they are considering.


This Week



Our speaker this week is Costa Qually who is joining us from Parktown Excalibur where he was President in 2005/6.  He is an accountant and was with Deloitte for 47 years ending up as Deputy Chairman and Reputation & Risk Leader.  
He continued to consult to Deloitte after his retirement.  He is also a Past Chairman of the SA Institute of Chartered Accountants and currently Chairman of the Rosebank Community Forum.

Rotary launches a new strategic partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace

What do we mean when we talk about peace? Is it possible to measure peacefulness? What conditions foster peace, and how can Rotary help create them?

Rotary is addressing those questions and forming a strategic partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace, a leader in the study of peace and conflict.

The institute has pioneered a conceptual framework for positive peace, which identifies and measures the attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. They include, for example, a sound business environment, a well-functioning government, and the free flow of information.

Through this partnership, Rotary will work with the institute to create:

• An online learning platform, with webinars and interactive tools, that Rotary members and Rotary Peace Fellows can use to build on their expertise. It will teach them how to apply new peacebuilding methods and mobilize communities to address the issues behind conflicts.
• Positive peace workshops, funded by global grants and hosted by Rotary clubs around the world, to provide training in the framework of positive peace. The goal is to foster community-based projects in peace and conflict resolution that are both practical and meaningful.

This partnership will enable Rotary members, peace fellows, and others to design and execute stronger peace projects and promote peace more broadly, which is crucial to meeting our humanitarian objectives in every community.

Barry Rassin, of the Rotary Club of East Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas, is the selection of the Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International for 2018-19. He will be declared the president-elect on 1 September if no challenging candidates have been suggested.

As president, Rassin aims to strengthen our public image and our use of digital tools to maximize Rotary’s reach.

“Those who know what good Rotary clubs do will want to be a part of it, and we must find new models for membership that allow all interested in our mission to participate,” he says. “With Rotary more in the public eye, we will attract more individuals who want to be part of and support a membership organization that accomplishes so much good around the world.”

Rassin earned an MBA in health and hospital administration from the University of Florida and is the first fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives in the Bahamas. He recently retired after 37 years as president of Doctors Hospital Health System, where he continues to serve as an adviser. He is a lifetime member of the American Hospital Association and has served on several boards, including the Quality Council of the Bahamas, Health Education Council, and Employer’s Confederation.

A Rotarian since 1980, Rassin has served Rotary as director and is vice chair of The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees. He was an RI training leader and the aide to 2015-16 RI President K.R. Ravindran.

Rassin received Rotary's highest honor, the Service Above Self Award, as well as other humanitarian awards for his work leading Rotary’s relief efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake there. He and his wife, Esther, are Major Donors and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.

Rassin’s nomination follows Sam F. Owori’s death in July, just two weeks into his term as Rotary International president-elect.

The members of the 2017-18 Nominating Committee for President of Rotary International are Anne L. Matthews (chair), Rotary Club of Columbia East, South Carolina, USA; Ann-Britt Åsebol, Rotary Club of Falun-Kopparvågen, Sweden; Örsçelik Balkan, Rotary Club of Istanbul-Karaköy, Turkey; James Anthony Black, Rotary Club of Dunoon, Argyll, Scotland; John T. Blount, Rotary Club of Sebastopol, California, USA; Frank N. Goldberg, Rotary Club of Omaha-Suburban, Nebraska, USA; Antonio Hallage, Rotary Club of Curitiba-Leste, Paraná, Brazil; Jackson S.L. Hsieh, Rotary Club of Taipei Sunrise, Taiwan; Holger Knaack, Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln, Germany; Masahiro Kuroda, Rotary Club of Hachinohe South, Aomori, Japan; Larry A. Lunsford, Rotary Club of Kansas City-Plaza, Missouri, USA; P.T. Prabhakar, Rotary Club of Madras Central, Tamil Nadu, India; M.K. Panduranga Setty, Rotary Club of Bangalore, Karnataka, India; Andy Smallwood, Rotary Club of Gulfway-Hobby Airport (Houston), Texas, USA; Norbert Turco, Rotary Club of Ajaccio, Corse, France; Yoshimasa Watanabe, Rotary Club of Kojima, Okayama, Japan; and Sangkoo Yun, Rotary Club of Sae Hanyang, Seoul, Korea.

John Berks, Australian Disaster Aid, Dr Azar Jammine and a Rotary Community Corps Project in Swindon, England

Last Week



John Berks gave us an entertaining talk about the radio stations he had been involved with and his battle to be even considered for radio.
The Club really enjoyed tales of people and programmes long since gone.

Here's an episode of Squad Cars to cheer you up.
Ah....nostalgia.

We had two visitors of note.  The District Governor, Jankees Sligcher, who was there on an unofficial visit and, in front of him, from Australia,Dave Tuzewski of the Rotary Club of Adelaide Parks.  He heads up the Disaster Aid Response Team which is a project of the Rotary Club of Endeavour Hills.

Disaster Aid Response Team

A key element of our disaster response is having trained volunteers on the ground.

This is the Disaster Aid Response Team (DART)

Role of the DART

The DART members are our local project managers in a disaster and have considerable responsibility to Disaster aid and our supporters.

The role at the disaster Location includes:

• Identifying appropriate local contacts who can assist in identifying the areas where our aid will be most beneficial.
• Meeting with the communities that have identified  and determining their needs.
• Determining the best way of providing aid that meets the communities needs.
• Reporting the situation to the Disaster Aid Board so appropriate levels of resources can be allocated. (In many cases this may include approval for significant in country expenditure)
• Managing and monitoring the provision of aid.
• Reviewing the effectiveness of the aid

DART Member Requirements

DART’s are all volunteers They are required to contribute their time to:

• Travel, at short notice, for up to 2 weeks to respond to  Disasters. (travel and accomodation costs will be met by Disaster Aid)
• Be active in fundraising, including giving presentation to Disaster Aid Supporters
• Attend training sessions

Good health and a reasonably high level of physical fitness is required.

Applicants will be required to submit to a comprehensive medical before an application can be proceed.

Every effort is taken by Disaster aid to minimise the risk, however by necessity we expect them to perform in the difficult conditions of Disaster affected regions.

As many risks will still be present all prospective DARTs' should discuss their intentions with their families 

DART Training

Dart Training is typically over several days typically organised over around 2 - 3 weekends.

Although the cost of the training is met by Disaster Aid each trainee must meet their travel costs in attending the training days.

The training will include;

• Project management
• Managing personal safety.
• An understanding of the all the resources that we can deploy.
• Understanding the concept of 'Smart Aid'.

If the prospective DART successfully completes the training they will be invited to attend the first response while workig with a an experienced DART.  To see more see their website. http://disasteraidaustralia.org.au

 This Week

Our speaker is Dr Azar Jammine, Director and Chief Economist at Econometrix.  he will be talking on 'Rating Downgrades and the Implications'.

Dr Azar Jammine is Director and Chief Economist of Econometrix.  He has been in his current position since December 1985 and has established a significant profile in South Africa as an analyst and commentator on domestic and international economic affairs. Dr Jammine has conducted approximately 4000 presentations to leading client corporations and other institutions as well as at conferences dealing with the local and international economic environment. In this capacity he has been invited over the years by several corporations to serve as independent non-executive director.

Dr Jammine is a member of the National Advisory Council on Innovation, a body of experts appointed by the Department of Science and Technology. Academically, Dr Jammine obtained a BSc (Hons) in Mathematical Statistics and a BA (Hons) in Economics at Wits, followed by an M.Sc in Economics from the LSE and a PhD at the London Business School.

A Rotary Community Corps in Swindon, England

We headed down to the launch of Let’s Loop Swindon, an initiative which encourages businesses in the local area to make themselves more accessible to the hard of hearing. There we caught up with two of the members of the Rotary Community Corps who are working to launch this project to find out why it’s so important to them…

You may think that standing in a queue to buy a cup of coffee would never be a nerve racking experience. But that isn’t the case for Lin Barker, who was diagnosed with hearing loss a few years ago. Lin, and the 10 million other people who experience a form of hearing loss in the UK, are struggling to perform simply everyday tasks such as shopping at the local supermarket, due to a lack of functioning hearing loops in shops and businesses.

“Being hard of hearing is still a source of embarrassment for me, because shops often don’t have the appropriate equipment for me to be able to hear what the assistant is saying. I feel so nervous when I approach a till because I cannot be sure that when I get there I will be able to understand what is being said,” Lin describes.

It is experiences such as these that inspired Lin to join a team of Rotary Community Corps who are working together with national charity Hearing Link to encourage businesses in and around the Swindon area to have efficient working loops that the staff are trained to use effectively.

The Community Corp, which was set up by Tim Mason and the Click 4 Action eRotary club, has been heading into banks, pharmacies, shops, and many more to perform audits of their loops and signage to identify which businesses are performing well and which need improvement when it comes to their facilities.

This information is then passed on to Hearing Link UK and Swindon Borough Council who will then work together to try and encourage businesses to make themselves more accessible to those who are hard of hearing within the area.

Stephen Aftelak, another member of the Community Corp who suffers with hearing loss, explains: “There is still very much a stigma around hearing loss, and as a result many people are diagnosed late as they don’t want to admit that they are losing their ability to hear.

“We can change that Stigma and the first step is to make people with hearing loss feel more included in public spaces, by making it the norm to have working and readily available hearing loops.”

The official launch of Let’s Loop Swindon was held at the National Trust Headquarters in Swindon and was attended by representatives from a number of the organisations that are involved including the Chief Executive of Hearing Link UK, Dr Lorraine Gailey, the leader of Swindon Borough council David Renard and the Business Development Manager of leading loop manufacturer Contacta, Andrew Thomas. It follows the launch of other similar Let’s Loop schemes across the country, including a particularly successful campaign in Eastbourne.

Tim comments: “I am very proud of all the work that has been put into Let’s Loop Swindon by both the Rotary Community Corps and the supporting organisations. We have the opportunity to really make a difference to the lives of people affected by hearing loss in this area and if we all pull together we can persuade local businesses to make a change.”

Click here for more information on the Let’s Loop Swindon initiative.

Box Out

What is a hearing loop?
A hearing loop consists of a physical loop of cable or an array of looped of cables which are placed around a designated area, usually a room or a building. The cable generates a magnetic field throughout the looped space which can be picked up by a hearing aid

Fact File

• 10 million people in the UK suffers hearing loss
• 3.7 million are of working age
• 6.5 million are aged 60
• 2 million people use hearing aids
• 800,000 are severely or profoundly deaf

Business, Visitors, John Berks and a Rotary Peace Fellow in Bogota

Last Week

It was a Business Meeting and as President Lyn was away PP Jean Bernardo ran the meeting.  It was a good start to the Rotary Year with a number of interesting projects in the pipe line.

We had two visitors, Christine Kasebe-Sata from the Rotary Club of Lusaka Central.  Here Jean Bernardo is swopping banners. .....it's nice to see that she had the same lack of height problem that I had as President when it comes to presenting something!

Thandi Madsonela also visited us basically to see what we get up to and it was great pleasure to have our honorary member, Past District Governor Peter Margolius present.

This Week

Our guest speaker is John Berks of Radio 702 fame.  Robin Binckes has just written a biography of him called "What a Boykie!"  I am not sure whether Robin will be with us. 

A story of determination and guts of a boy 'born with a wooden spoon' in his mouth, who managed through perseverance and sheer will power to turn that into one of silver. Born the third child of hardworking, honest Jewish parents in Krugersdorp in 1941, a nervy, hypochondriac who broke into a nervous rash whenever he felt uncomfortable or stressed, the boy was a total disaster, academically promoted to higher classes only because of his age. From an early age John would listen to the radio at any opportunity that presented itself, spending hours perfecting the mimicking of great commentators, holding a tablespoon up to his mouth as he spoke, setting his mind on a career in radio. Through a series of coincidences his lucky break finally came and he was employed by the fledgling commercial station LM Radio in Lourenco Marques (Maputo). From a stammering, stuttering insecure young announcer, he quickly blossomed and began to make his mark on the station. Sent to Australia by the legendary David Davies to study commercial radio John brought back the secret and pattern of success of commercial radio in Australia, which became the blueprint for broadcasting in South Africa. His radio career spanned 40 years, included working on LM Radio, SABC, Springbok Radio, Radio 5, Capitol Radio, Swazi Music Radio and 702 is legendary. Pioneering modern radio in South Africa, he broke new ground in radio broadcasting through his hilarious parodies of situations, phone calls to unsuspecting victims, his 'characters' such as 'Jan Sweetpak' and others, his humour and development of talk shows and techniques used by many today. He developed 'Theatre of the mind' and took it to new heights, with a vision to push for talk radio at a time others said it would fail and changed the face of broadcasting in South Africa. 

Rotary peace fellow applies lessons to life in Bogotá

As a child in Bogotá, Colombia, Lucas Peña was shocked to learn that violence between government forces and insurgent groups prevented his family from visiting relatives elsewhere in the country. 

Years later in college, he studied the conflict from what he calls an “academic, analytical point of view.” 

Only after graduating and joining the effort to demobilize ex-combatants did he really begin to understand the issues behind the violence that has plagued the nation for decades. (In February, members of the country’s largest insurgent group began surrendering their weapons as part of a peace deal with the government.)

Thanks to the Rotary Peace Fellowship, Peña earned his master’s degree in conflict, security, and development at the University of Bradford in Bradford, England, in 2015.

He now works for the World Wildlife Fund as a specialist in land governance. A member of the Bogotá Capital Rotary Club, Peña encourages other Colombians to become peace fellows. And it’s working: Five peace fellows were selected from Colombia for 2017.

Q: After college, you began working with the Organization of American States Mission to Support the Peace Process in Colombia, helping monitor the demobilization process of right-wing groups. What did that process entail, and what was your role in it?

A: At that time, the paramilitaries were laying down their guns, demobilizing their combatants, and participating in judicial processes. This was in exchange for spending only five to eight years in jail. As part of the demobilization process, the government had to issue identification to the ex-combatants, because without identification, they couldn’t re-integrate into society. The government provided them with health insurance and education, too. 

What I did was report on their security conditions and the re-integration process of the ex-combatants. I did that by talking to people – local government officials, military, police officers, victims.

Q: How does your current work at the World Wildlife Fund pertain to peace?

A: We are working toward a policy for the provision of land to peasants who live in natural parks in Colombia. The peasants’ lack of land is what made them go to the national parks and live there illegally. There’s plenty of land in Colombia, but the good stuff is already owned; less than 1 percent of the population owns more than half of Colombia’s best land.

We expect the public-policy response will include the provision of land, but it also has to ensure that the peasants will be given productive land, as well as the means of making that land productive. Solving this problem is part of the peace accord that the Colombian government has reached with FARC [the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia], the biggest guerrilla group. 

Q: What did you learn from your time as a Rotary Peace Fellow?

A: Peacebuilding is not only a matter of local communities, not only a matter of national government, and not only a matter of the international community; it’s a mix of all those levels. Another thing I learned is that the world itself is getting safer, in that the number of people killed in conflicts has decreased proportionate to the population. It’s a very long and slow process, but the world is becoming more secure.  

Annette Jahnel, Ties, a Business Meeting, Anns' Appeal and the Sad Death of RI President Elect.

Last Week

Annette Jahnel spoke to us about here travels and the books she writes to keep her travelling.  I think the main purpose of her visit was to try and sell books.
We were subjected to a bit of pseudoscience about DNA changing which it does all the time by mutating as it's a living organism but if it really changed to the degree we were led to believe it wouldn't be much use in criminal prosecutions.  I couldn't quite come to grips with what she was talking about maybe because I am always dubious of  'unique revelations' and 'research' that consists of chatting to odd people.








President Lyn presented Cuthbert Gumbochuma with a tie.

I'm not sure why.  We have a lot of these semi-obsolete articles of male attire in stock and he certainly won't be wearing it with this shirt!  Well, I hope not!








This Week
It's a Business Meeting.  We are reverting to the old format.

Appeal from the Anns

The Rotary Anns have been making up “comfort bags for victims of abuse and rape and donating them to NGOs that deal with such matters.  We include among other things a small towel and a face cloth. We try to keep the cost as low as possible in this on going project and this is an appeal to the Rotarians to give towels and face cloths that are getting old to the Anns for the comfort bags project. 

We also plan a book sale later this year and a jumble sale – so please, if you have anything to donate, you can hand it over to Les Short at a meeting. 

The Rotary flags in front of Rotary International World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, and Rotary offices around the world fly at half-staff this week as friends and colleagues mourn President-elect Sam F. Owori, who died on 13 July from complications after surgery. 

With an engaging smile and a calming voice, Sam put everyone he talked to at ease, says Hilda Tadria , a member of the Rotary Club of Gaba, Uganda, and a close friend of Sam and his wife, Norah. 

“I call it the ‘Sam Smile,’” says Tadria. “It made him very approachable and easy to talk to. I think his smile is one of the things Rotary and his friends will miss most.”

Sam, who had been elected to serve as president of Rotary International in 2018-19, would have been the second African Rotary member, and the first Ugandan, to hold that office. He joined Rotary in 1978 and was a member of the Rotary Club of Kampala, Uganda.

“No matter the situation, Sam was always upbeat, always joking around and putting everyone else in a good mood,” says Tadria.

One of the admirable things about Sam, Tadria says, was his love and devotion to his wife. They met in primary school in Tororo, Uganda. Sam described Norah Owori as beautiful, well-educated, and full of character. 

“He adored Norah and always put her first.” Tadria says. “They were best friends and partners for life. It was very sweet to see them together. They never left each other’s side.”

Sam was highly respected in Uganda, Tadria says, for his high integrity and consistent ethical standards. Those qualities, she says, are important in a Rotary president. “He was a man everyone could trust.” 

She adds, “He preferred listening to speaking. It’s one reason he was so well-liked.” 

The road to president-elect

Like many members, Sam was invited to Rotary by a persistent friend. “I did not want to go,” he cheerfully acknowledged years later. “I had no interest. But I had respect for my friend, so I went. And when I got there, I was in shock. The room was full of people I knew.” 

The more Sam saw of Rotary’s good work, the more enthusiastic he became. He is largely credited with the tremendous increase in clubs in Uganda: from nine in 1988, when he was district governor, to 89 today. His friends called his enthusiasm “the Owori madness” — to which he mildly replied, “If it is madness, I would be glad if more people would catch it.”

Sam described himself as “an incorrigible optimist” who chose to see the best side of everyone and the bright side of any situation. Gentle in manner, unfailingly modest, and quick to smile, Sam is remembered as “Smiling Sam,” says RI President Ian Riseley. 

John Smarge, who was selected by Sam to be his presidential aide, called Sam a “rock star” among Rotary members. “In just the two weeks he was president-elect, you could see how much he was loved,” Smarge says. “The Rotarians in Uganda view him as a national treasure.”

Smarge adds, “He spoke with quiet confidence and simple complexity.” 

Sam brought an unyielding sense of right and wrong to his work as chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Governance of Uganda, to his previous work with the African Development Bank and other institutions, and to his work with Rotary. 

Sam, who was one of 15 children, attributed his deep ethical sense to his upbringing, and particularly his father, who had been a school principal and then a county chief in Uganda. “He was a very strict disciplinarian,” Sam remembered, “and when he became chief, he ran that county like a big school — with a ruler. He insisted that everything was done the right way.” 

Sam’s Rotary career spanned some of Uganda’s most difficult years, including the dictatorship of Idi Amin, who was deeply suspicious of Rotary and often sent agents to spy on Rotary meetings. “Sometimes people came as guests, and you wouldn’t know exactly where they were coming from or who invited them,” Sam said later. “We always welcomed them. We had nothing to hide.”

Prominent Ugandan Rotary members, including Sam’s own manager at the bank where he worked, were picked off the streets by Amin’s forces and killed. Many Rotary clubs closed and most members withdrew: from a high of 220 members, Rotary membership dropped to around 20. 

One day, Sam recalled, a member was taken right in front of Sam’s club. “We had just finished our meeting and were standing in front of the entrance of the hotel. He got picked up right there in front of us. Two guys threw him in the truck of a car and we never saw him again.”

Undeterred, Sam was back at his meeting the next week.  

An avid learner, Sam held a graduate degree in labor law from the University of Leicester, England; a business management degree from California Coast University; and a management graduate degree from Harvard Business School. 

He served Rotary in many capacities, including RI director, trustee of The Rotary Foundation, regional Rotary Foundation coordinator, regional RI membership coordinator, and RI representative to the United Nations Environment Program and UN-Habitat. He was a member or chair of several committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee, the Drug Abuse Prevention Task Force, and the Audit Committee. 

Sam and Norah became Paul Harris Fellows, Major Donors, and Benefactors of The Rotary Foundation.  

Sam is survived by his wife, Norah; three sons, Adrin Stephen, Bonny Patrick, and Daniel Timothy; and grandchildren Kaitlyn, Sam, and Adam.

Major Tom.....oops Tim, Annette Jahnel & the best comments I have read on Rotary Projects for a long time.

Last Week
I had .....and still have...flu so I was unable to attend the meeting.  One advantage is that I can write the Ramble in bed.  This has made me think about the future of Rotary and the eClub, at least, could have an in bed meeting. It's a thought.

Tim Truluck flanked by James Croswell & Obakeng Moloko

Many thanks to Lyn who sent me a report plus pics of last Friday's meeting.  Here is what she had to say:

Tim Truluck, the current Councillor for  Rosebank gave an interesting and informative talk to the Club last Friday.

He told of some of the challenges  of an almost overnight transition from opposition to being the majority in the Council.

He advised members on how to log water and electricity faults with the Council.

He also suggested that people log on to Twitter, as this is one of the  the best ways of communicating with the Council re faults.

 

Mike Lamb presented a banner from the Rotary Club of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.

He entertained us with some of the background to the banner.

This Week

Our speaker is another motivational speaker, Annette Jahnel.  I doubt whether flu will allow me not to be motivated again  The puffing below will show you what I mean.  A quick dip into Plato's Republic would be a good antidote. 

Annette is a new age nomad, a pusher of boundaries, a catalyst, a destroyer of boxes, a peaceful anarchist and a questioner of every thing. Annette would like live in a world where borders and boundaries were only figments of the imagination, language was a universal think tank and shiny small things were exciting only to magpies. Annette would like to live in a world where the mind advanced faster than the computer and the only thing that governed us was our own self-control. Annette does not care for fashion or shoes she does not know the latest fancy restaurants or hip words, although she knows a lot of words and uses them in a variety of interesting and exciting ways. Annette doesn’t believe that all is right with the world. Or that technology is the answer to everything. Annette thinks bunny huggers are as dangerous as dolphin hunters and that the only way forward is to evolve and the only way to evolve is to pay as much attention to our brains as we do to our biceps. She believes human evolution can only take place in the human mind and that humans should pay more attention to thinking than shopping. Annette thinks, a good think is a great way to pass the time and that having a truly original thought is as good as it gets. When she leaves people happier and more inspired than when she found them she believes she has done well. Annette sees rainbows in dews drops and value in a carpenters hand made chair but none in a banker’s lair. She knows to step lightly in deserts and other people’s lives and beliefs. She knows she knows nothing and is quite happy to admit it, having discovered that it is the best way to learn something new everyday. And despite not having many pairs of shoes or in fact much stuff at all she doesn’t feel in the least deprived as she believes the pursuit of wisdom is far more exciting than the pursuit of stuff. Join her on a little trip around the planet and experience the world through her eyes because above all, Annette sees thing differently.

Rotary member and author Marilyn Fitzgerald stresses the importance of community involvement for sustainable service projects.

Rotary members, volunteers, and donors are usually excited to talk about successful projects. Marilyn Fitzgerald, a member of the Rotary Club of Traverse City, Michigan, USA, draws inspiration from a far less popular topic: failure.

A clinical psychologist and author, Fitzgerald has spent years studying economic development projects in poor countries, where well-intentioned efforts to improve lives sometimes backfire. Now she travels the world to consult on projects and speak to Rotary clubs about sustainability and lessons from her fieldwork. We caught up with her at One Rotary Center, where she had addressed Rotary staff.

Q: How did you come to focus on sustainability in projects?

A: Looking back on international projects I’ve been involved with, I realized that they often created a dependency on the Rotarians, outsiders coming into a community with money and good intentions. I asked myself why projects no longer existed, why the people we wanted to help weren’t carrying on like we planned. I started to realize that those people were not included in project planning, and that’s not sustainable.

What does it take for people to sustain a project themselves, and go on without our help? It’s about getting away from the charity model, where we give things away, and getting into the opportunity model, where we empower people to carve their own paths out of poverty.

Q: How does that work?

A: I work with microloan programs that provide entrepreneurs with capital to start or invest in a business, and the programs I work with always incorporate an educational component. People sometimes don’t know how to count or even the cost of the goods they’re selling. They can get themselves into terrible financial trouble.

It’s amazing to watch in the field: You teach financial literacy, and the people that will listen and learn are the youth and the mothers and grandmothers, the core of the community. In the past we’ve given loans mostly to men and learned when we give a loan to a man, he gets some money, develops a business, and often leaves his family. Women tend to take better care of the money and share their skills with the community.

Q: How do we define sustainability with respect to humanitarian work? 

A: There are two main areas of humanitarian aid. One is relief aid, and we don’t expect for that to be sustainable; we expect to take people out of dire straits and help them get back on their feet. Development aid has to do with people being able to do something for themselves, so they’re not dependent on us. It’s a simple litmus test: What will happen to these people if you walk away today?

I was involved in a scholarship program in Indonesia where I was raising $72,000 a year for 1,200 kids to go to school. I didn’t think too much about what would happen if I didn’t show up [with the money] one year, because I planned to keep showing up. You know who thought about it? 

The mothers and the children — every year they worried if I was going to be there or not. That wasn’t a sustainable source of income for tuition and we had to change our approach. Income from livestock eventually helped that community become more self-sufficient.

Q: What steps can Rotary clubs take to make their projects more sustainable?

A: The first step is to involve the community you want to help; talk to the people who live there about their priorities.

In Guatemala, I worked with women who lived and worked on a city dump. A group of Rotarians came in with the goal of providing shelter for these women and their children. But the houses they built were four miles from the dump, and it wasn’t practical for the women to stay there during the workweek.

One woman later told me she had never asked for a house, that she was used to living outside, and what she really wanted was an education for her children. Do you know how much cheaper that would have been than building houses?

As Westerners, we often think we know the answers, we know people need clean water. What we forget to ask is whether they think they need clean water. Does what you’re offering matter to them? If not, you have to go back to the drawing board and come up with something that will matter.