Claudine Ribeiro, Brooks Spector and Sustainable Farming...how Rotary can help.

Last Week

Claudine Ribeiro talked to us about the work done by the Johannesburg Parent & Child Counselling Centre.  The amount of work they do is extraordinary and the number of schools that want to avail themselves of their services fast outstrips the resources, both financial and peoplewise.
What did surprise me was how dependent they are on volunteers which also creates problems as
many students who assist are not going to be around for very long.
It's an extremely worthwhile organisation that has been around since the 1940's.
Also visting us was an intern from the JPCCC, Emelda Ralf.



 Jean Bernardo would like to know how many are attending the braai at the Youth Leadership Course on Sunday 8th October.

This Week
Our speaker is Brooks Spector on The Next Election.

Spector settled in Johannesburg after a career as a US diplomat in Africa and East Asia. 
He has taught at the University of the Witwatersrand, been a consultant for an international NGO, run a theatre, and been a commentator for South African and international print/broadcast/online media, in addition to writing for The Daily Maverick from day one. He says he learned everything he needs to know about politics from ‘Casablanca.’
 Maybe he's cynical about some things, but a late Beethoven string quartet, John Coltrane’s music and a dish of Pad Thai will bring him close to tears.

Rotary, Heifer program helps farmers provide healthier food to people in their own communities

Joe Carr bends over to pluck a handful of smooth, dark-green leaves, using a pocketknife to prune weak spots before bundling them with a rubber band and dropping the bunch into an orange crate. 

Eight neat rows of vegetables line the ground under a tunnel of greenhouse plastic, supported by a series of steel hoops.

“I got a little bit of bok choy here. It’s a favorite of a lot of the customers. Generally, I can get about $2 a bunch,” Carr says. “These are totally organic, no chemicals whatsoever, totally healthy, leafy green, and all the vitamins that go with it.”

Volunteers from Rotary and Heifer International built the hoop house, also known as a high tunnel, to let Carr extend his growing season, getting an early start on crops like bok choy and tomatoes. 

Carr is one of 24 farmers scattered across central and southern Arkansas who are engaged in small-scale sustainable agriculture to grow organic produce, filling an increasing demand for locally grown food.

Heifer has been using the small-scale agriculture model for decades to alleviate hunger and fight poverty around the world. The approach has the added benefits of being environmentally friendly and offering healthier food options.

That mission dovetails with Rotary’s mission to grow local economies and improve health, so it’s not surprising the two groups have teamed up on a number of occasions in the past 30 years to improve communities by helping families escape poverty.

The connection has strengthened because several Heifer employees are members of the Rotary Club of Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, the city where Heifer has its headquarters.

“Our values line up very well,” says Ardyth Neill, a member of the Little Rock club and president of the Heifer Foundation. “With Rotary, it’s Service Above Self and helping to serve others. Heifer has been working with farmers to be accountable, pass on their gifts, train other farmers, and work together in community. It’s learning to share and care, basic things that work well together.”

Sustainability is the latest trend

Sustainable agriculture, a hot trend globally, refers to a method of growing or raising food without harming the environment, while providing fair treatment for workers and supporting local communities.

In the United States and other developed nations, a lot of food production is controlled by large industrial operations, which produce cheaper food by focusing on a single crop and using specialized equipment to cut labor costs.

But advocates of sustainable agriculture say those operations can also damage the environment by using commercial fertilizers, heavy pesticides, and other chemicals. 

The corporatization of farming has also contributed to the failure of smaller family farms, increasing the poverty rates in places like rural Arkansas. 

In addition, people become more detached from their food. 

Nationwide distribution networks have resulted in food deserts in urban areas, particularly in the U.S., England, and Australia, where poor neighborhoods have little access to fresh produce and instead rely on less nutritious fast foods and packaged products.

Small-scale sustainable agriculture, on the other hand, tends to benefit communities by keeping things local. The money you spend on food stays in your community and helps your neighbor. Farmers maximize land use by planting multiple crops that replenish the soil and reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides. If needed, organic fertilizers are used that improve a plant’s root system. 

And many nutritionists say fruits and vegetables grown closer to consumers’ homes keep more of their nutrients.

Consumers are increasingly aware of these health benefits, fueling the market for local produce.

“There’s a phenomenon going on, really nationwide, about people becoming more and more concerned and thoughtful about where their food comes from,” says Sharon Vogelpohl, a past president of the Little Rock Rotary club and a volunteer on the project. “I’m a mother of two. That’s something that I take very, very seriously.”Jordan Beard, another Rotarian involved in the project, says: “I think people see that they can change their habit around how they eat, and it can make a big difference in their life and health. It’s connected with the idea of a more active lifestyle.”

Farming around the world

The tools of small-scale sustainable agriculture look different around the world, but the principles are the same. Noel Mace, Heifer International’s program manager for Africa, explains that cooperatives play a crucial role in bringing together groups of farmers — many with both livestock and crops — and connecting them to markets.

“We are now developing more of a market-driven approach,” says Mace. “Historically, Heifer has spent a lot of time on how to bring poor farmers to a subsistence level where they can feed their families. But our mission is to end hunger and poverty, not to lessen it. Poverty is a big challenge without connecting to markets.”

How do we move you beyond a family-level production to participating with others in a market” that creates income and increases livelihood?

Heifer’s model also strives to increase women’s decision making and encourage groups to form common goals, because when a community faces poverty, everyone’s part in fighting it is crucial.

Africa has a strong dairy program, so much of Heifer’s work there flows out of milk. Tight groups of 15 to 20 farmers join with other groups in cooperatives that then have enough scale to access chilling plants and, ultimately, processing plants. The farmers then look to diversify further by using their milk co-op to sell avocados, lettuce, tomatoes, and other produce.

“If I am a consumer, I now can go to the co-op and buy milk, but also buy fresh fruits and greens, and I know it will have the same level of quality,” says Mace. “It’s really about marketing a brand, something I can rely on and know they will have when I go there.”

Mace believes the sustainable farming movement is driven internationally by a growing middle class that wants access to healthy food and can now pay for it.

“They don’t want the broiler chickens anymore with the huge breasts and giant legs. They want local poultry and are willing to pay two or three times more for it,” says Mace. “It creates a great opportunity for individuals to come together and produce poultry, vegetables, or fruits using sustainable methods and in a way this market wants.”

Figures & Form, the Flying Johnston...not Amy...Johannesburg Parent & Child Counselling Centre and Rotary's Disaster Relief Efforts.

Last Week

Joan Sainsbury brought a number of models who she works with at Figures & Form to demonstrate posing for portraiture and figure drawing and painting.  She also brought along examples of work done as well as portraits. We all enjoyed this meeting with a difference and I wonder if Joan has been successful in recruiting any of her fellow Rotarians either as models or potential artists.

Jack Young, Joan's husband was also there...or was he?

Whilst all this was going on Rotarian Howard Johnston was flying over Wanderers and looking down on us.

This Week

Our speaker this week is Claudine Ribeiro, Director of the Johannesburg Parent & Child Counselling Centre.  The Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre (JPCCC) is a counselling, training and development agency which provides short or long term therapy for adolescents, families, adults and couples and play therapy for children. Trauma, bereavement and crisis counselling are also offered and counselling is undertaken in numerous schools on a weekly basis in order to identify young people's problems early on and intervene where necessary.

We provide consulting, training and mentoring for schools and other organisations and educational, psychological and career assessments are undertaken for children and youth ranging in age from 2-25 years.

The Centre works with parents/caregivers and families in the community to strengthen their ability to care for their children and provides psycho-social support and development projects for families in difficult circumstances by providing them with opportunities to mobilise themselves to reach their full potential.

The Evolution of JPCCC

The Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre has a long standing history within the community, and hopes to continue providing support to families, children, and individuals in the years to come.

The Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre was established in 1944 as the Johannesburg Child Guidance Clinic to provide counselling and guidance for parents and children with emotional and developmental needs. For the past sixty-four years the service has gone from strength to strength, and now operates under the name of the Johannesburg Parent and Child Counselling Centre. Our services extend throughout Gauteng and we operate from premises in Soweto and Parktown.

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In line with modern Child and Family Care Philosophy and the Children's Act of South Africa, the strengthening and preservation of family life is the focus of our services to the community. Early detection of and intervention into challenges experienced by children and their families is vital to build capacity in families and communities.

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We deal with issues such as the psycho-social impact of HIV/AIDS and poverty on children and their families, bereavement, divorce, separation, custody conflicts, marital problems, bereavement, unemployment, depression, anxiety, work-related problems and other psycho-social and emotional difficulties.

Severe storms, an earthquake, and hurricanes are wreaking havoc across the globe from the United States and Mexico to South Asia and Africa. The Rotary Foundation and Rotary clubs in affected areas are helping bring emergency aid to battered communities. 

The Rotary Foundation is collecting emergency relief funds to help victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. 

Severe rainfall caused historic flooding along the Texas coast, including in Houston, the fourth largest city by population in the United States. About 6.8 million people have been affected by the hurricane.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma is in the Caribbean and headed for Florida and the Atlantic coast of the United States. Already, the storm has directly affected 1.2 million people and millions more are in its path.

“The power of Rotary is in the Foundation's ability to pull help from around the world while local clubs provide immediate relief in their own communities,” says Don Mebus of the Rotary Club of Arlington, Texas.

Rotary districts along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana are collecting emergency relief funds and providing immediate aid to flood victims. 

The most powerful earthquake in a century hit the southern coast of Mexico Thursday. At least 61 people were killed in the 8.1-magnitude quake. Rescue and relief efforts are expected to be hampered by floods and a dangerous storm surge off the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Katia moves into the area .

In Sierra Leone, torrential rains and a mudslide in August has killed more than 500 people and destroyed nearly 2,000 homes. An orphanage where more than 60 children slept was one of the buildings swept away in the slide on the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital.  More than 600 people are still missing.

As estimated 40 million people across India, Bangladesh, Nepal have been affected after massive floods hit the area last month. UNICEF estimates 31 million people in India have lost their homes, and 8 million people in Bangladesh and 1.7 million in Nepal have been affected.

Rotary's partner, ShelterBox, is providing support to families displaced by the storms. 

ShelterBox teams are working with Rotarians to assess the damage and provide supplies, housing and resources in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Panama, Nepal and Bangladesh.

In Texas, hundreds of light privacy tents were deployed to evacuation centers for families to use temporarily.

Linear B, the Greek Invasion, Joan Sainsbury tells us about herself and demonstrates Figure Studies. A Rotary Club's innovative approach to Membership.

Last Week

I guessed wrong!  I assumed that Alkis Doucakis would talk about his book.  So many people who have written books do in the hopes that someone will buy it.  Instead Alkis spoke about Linear B and its deciphering and how it is effectively the first non hieroglyphic writing and an ancestor of Mycenaean Greek.  How the tablets were discovered by Sir Arthur Evans during his excavations at the Palace of Minos at Knossos, Crete and their subsequent deciphering by the self-taught analyst Michael Ventris years later and his eventual realisation that they were an early form of Greek with the same monosyllabic characteristics.

It was a fascinating talk and I hope he returns to talk about Gandhi.

We really had a Greek invasion!

Gkolios Dimitrios, Apostolos Michalopoulos (Greek Embassy Counsellor), Costa Qually (Rtn), Georgius Vlachos, Fr Georgios Tsifitsis, Varvara Passiakou.

Niki Souris & Terry Anastopoulos

Martha Cavaleros

This Week

Joan Sainsbury's turn tell us about herself.  Last week she won the bottle of wine for guessing the amount of money in the Foundation Bottle...President Lyn hands it over.  

This week it's an exciting glimpse into the weekly figure drawing sessions at Figures & Form.

Joan Sainsbury and Bianca Rathbone will share various dress-up themes, introduce some of the models and explain a typical art morning for their 55 members.

A very brief overview of Joan’s career will precede the model demonstration plus… a collection of free, unframed figure drawings as gifts will complete the presentation.

Who knows…maybe this ’exposure’ will lure some of the Rotarians to try their hand…at art of course! 

The Rotary Club of Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA, merges features of brick-and-mortar clubs with e-clubs. 

Club members load medical supplies bound for Nepal

The Rotary Club of Stone Mountain in Georgia, USA, was facing a common problem: The membership was aging, and the club struggled to attract younger members. “When you recruit, it ends up being people like you, people in the same neighborhoods and who do the same kinds of things,” notes immediate Past President Margie Kersey. “It’s a stretch for us to ask our older members to recruit people in their 40s.

As an alternate to the 2016 Council on Legislation, Kersey followed closely the discussion of changes to membership rules. “When I saw they had removed the barriers between e-clubs and regular clubs, I thought, we can be both.”

The district was encouraging her to embrace the e-club model, but the club didn’t want to lose the fellowship of in-person meetings. The solution was to become a hybrid, preserving in-person meetings but making them available online. The club launched online meetings in February.

“We use an online video conferencing service,” explains Kersey. “Many members had already used video conferencing for business, so they knew the software. And with a camera on the computer or on the person’s phone, they can see you and you can see them.” The first meeting had two online attendees, and the number has climbed steadily. Now six to eight people attend online in any given week.

This new model made membership more manageable for some current members. “We have a real estate agent in the club who is very busy,” Kersey says. “Before hybrid, the meeting was hard for her. Now she can attend from wherever she is, using her smartphone. So it’s increasing overall attendance.”

And the club is seeing clear indications that this model will draw new members as well. “We have eight potential members, and the hybrid model is part of the appeal.” One potential member is a restaurateur who can’t leave his business during the lunch rush. Attending virtually would let him keep an eye on the restaurant and still participate.

This new model may even prove useful for older members who are contemplating moving for retirement. “They can continue to be members in Stone Mountain, even if they move to Florida,” notes Kersey.

Remaking the club meant rewriting its bylaws from the ground up. “We had to rethink many things,” recalls Kersey. “We put in a requirement for 18 hours of service a year.” But they are flexible on how that requirement is fulfilled. “You could do service for a club near you”

She is convinced that Stone Mountain has found the way of the future. “I think most Rotary clubs will be hybrid eventually, with members attending in person and online.”

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