Be a Flamingo of Change, One mother of a project and a last appeal for our Quiz Fundraiser....

 From our President....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

Christmas decorations in the shops always make me panic – how does it happen that the year end rush is almost here already?

WH Davies wrote “What is life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare”. I learnt that poem at school, it is called LEISURE. I would have bet that it was written by Walter de la Mere – lucky it was not a quiz question!! Seriously though – do we take time off to smell the roses? To enjoy the small things? It is becoming an important part of corporate life to make sure employees have a “work life balance”.

It is so easy during this period of unusual “new normal” work hours to work harder and longer than before and not be as productive. Try to run your day - either you run the day, or the day runs you.

Take some time to enjoy the many shades of green after the beautiful rains, smell the roses, and watch for the Jacarandas which will be starting to bloom this month. When I was at university they said that if the Jacarandas were in bloom you should be studying, if the flowers were falling then it was too late to start!! I may have misjudged my timing a bit way back then and spent a lot of time smelling roses!

 “A poor life this if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.”

 Take some time to find the ‘pleasure’ in LEISURE.

 Ann.

 P.S. do not forget the Quiz!

Last week....

Sarah van Heerden (or Patterson) Rotary Africa's passionate editor titled her talk to us:

Sarah used this analogy to make a point:

• We do things differently
• We look different
• We are not the average Dick and Jane in the room
• And yet we do not celebrate these differences.

She urged us to be the flamingos among the pigeons.

• To lead by example 
• Our stories have the power to inspire action from others
• The intention in story telling is not for personal gain.
• It is how you tell your story that matters
• With passion and purpose, abandoning the clinical and professional tone
• We no longer talk at our audience, we engage and connect with them on an emotional level.

Sarah left us with a lot of food for thought. As Rotarians we are brimful of inspiring stories and if we don't "brag" about them, who will? Our very own Ramble is a platform, and Sarah promises that every story that lands on her desk will be published, albeit with her skillful editing.

 Rotarians, People of Action.....

 

DAY CENTRE AND TRAINING FACILITY

FOR PALLIATIVE CAREGIVERS

AT CHRIS HANI BARAGWANATH ACADEMIC HOSPITAL

Rosebank Rotary Club implemented a health service project with an environmentally friendly, recycled solution.

Rosebank Rotary Club, D9400 and D1260 (UK) clubs, together with Palliative Care leaders at CHBAH Hospital in Soweto ( 3rd largest hospital globally) gave support to the decisions of the 67th World Health Assembly for member Governments and countries to create a health policy to integrate Palliative Care, as part of the continuum of care.

This became the GG1531461 Palliative Care Project named “Bophelo” (Sesotho for “Here is Life”). A holistic, interdisciplinary, patient-centric model of care was established together with spiritual care training. The provision of spiritual, but non-religion-specific, support to terminally ill patients and their families was an important component of the project. The positive results enabled the Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care to advocate for spiritual care inclusion in South Africa’s National Palliative Care Policy.

Spiritual care is now officially part of providing health care interventions in South Africa. Also the very effective model of care, developed in the program, was included in the National Policy as a public sector provision of palliative care.

Yet another important component of the project was to reduce the need for hospitalization by giving comfort and quality end-of-life experience to terminally ill patients in their homes.

 It was established that using available community care volunteers is a cost-effective way of introducing and expanding palliative care to the huge community of Soweto with some 1.25 million inhabitants.

Volunteer Caregivers, called “Grannies”, continue to play a major role in supporting the provision of informal home care visits. They are an important source of support for the terminally ill and their grieving families. As the meeting room, used by the Care Givers was no longer available, they appealed to Rosebank Rotary Club to assist in providing a prefabricated building in the grounds of the hospital, to enable Caregivers to facilitate bereavement and family group meetings to give ongoing compassion, hope, comfort and social care to patients and the families of critically ill family members.

Given the capacity problems in the public health care system, the Club realized the Palliative Care Dept is likely to continue to rely on end of life care volunteers working in the community for a long time to come.

A decision was made to apply for a District Grant to recycle a sea container obtained from the Bedfordview Rotary Club, who run the Humanitarian Resource Centre.

There was a definite environmental benefit of repurposing and relocating a redundant 12 m steel sea container, whose original purpose was to ship thousands of library and school books, donated by USA Rotary Clubs, as resources for educational and literacy service projects.

For Rotarians concerned with shrinking their carbon footprint, a steel container conversion is a perfect Environmental Project, but the Club soon found themselves confronted by major challenges.

Rotarian Sonja Hood’s spouse Steven Hood, became involved making the project a possibility by contributing to the conversion and transportation of the 3 ton 12m long sea container. The Club is extremely grateful for this intervention.

Once the sanding, painting and fitting of the windows and doors had been completed by a commercial organization the container was moved to PP Kevin Wolhuter’s Kyalami Estate.

 

Here Rotarian Jerry Bernardo and John Hope-Baillie worked tirelessly refurbishing the interior. Jerry installed and painted the partitioning while John installed the numerous electrical fittings.

The collection of the container from Kevin’s home created great excitement, apart from the scurry of distraught rabbit families who had made their burrows under the container.

 It was a major battle to maneuver the crane truck and trailer in and out of Kevin’s driveway.

 Ann Pademore arranged the transport for the delivery to the Palliative Care Centre. But steam lines and electric cables traversing the Baragwanath campus created major restrictions. After several inspections it was decided to lift the container up and over the surrounding buildings.

The delivery to Baragwanath Hospital was outstanding. After a short unforeseen panic, caused by a Doctor who parked in the reserved offloading space, the entire operation took just over 9 “nail biting” minutes.

The robust truck fitted with a telescopic crane, with a reach of 29m, was able to hoist the container skywards, swinging it over hospital buildings, whilst maneuvering overhead electric cables.

 The precarious container was cautiously and accurately lower onto the plinth platforms built by Jerry.

 There was a HUGE sigh of relief, followed by an excited inspection by Dr Mpho Ratshikana-Moloto, Director of Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care, who expressed her sincere gratitude.

 

More fittings and furniture will be supplied by PP Jean Bernardo and Rotarian Sonja Hood. PP John Symons has donated a kitchen and Rotarian James Croswell will assemble and fit desks. Jerry Bernardo will handle plumbing connections for the water and electricity.

 

The Training and Care Day Centre will be completed shortly when the Club will present a Rotary signboard to the Centre. Covid-19 created delays to the hand over date of 10^th October to celebrate World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.

Dr Mpho’s research paper based on the benefits of Spiritual Care was published January 31, 2020 by American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She acknowledged  Rotary Club Rosebank and Rotary Club Hatfield in United Kingdom. Spiritual care provision given to 2,557 palliative care patients indicated the importance of the spiritual dimension in the palliative care of patients regardless of culture, religious tradition or spiritual belief.

 This has been an action-orientated service project that has engaged fully with the community, meeting their needs. Its success is thanks to many working together contributing their own special expertise. Rotary opens opportunities for members to implement sustainable service projects to improve the lives of people in a community. The Care Givers can continue to expand and create more opportunities to foster a culture of peace and compassion within the families and homes they visit.

Rotary work IS about positive peace, goodwill and understanding.

James Croswell,

 Chair International Service.

Rotary Club or Rosebank, Johannesburg, District 9400, South Africa

The Norwood Spar Food Collection goes ahead....

Covid 19 restrictions have made us all think out of the box, and though it was not possible to do our annual food hamper collection at the Norwood Spar in person, Dimi Georgiou graciously will be allowing the Rotary Club of Rosebank to have a trolley at the entrance for the next two months where patrons can donate non-perishable food items.

Save the Date.....

Fellowship into Africa, our monthly Social and and 16 days to our Quiz Fundraiser....

 From our President.....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

It is about moving with the times and accepting change – who would have thought 6 months ago that we would all be so used to this “new normal” (really tired of that term).

Friday afternoon – logging on to our computers for a SOCIAL meeting!! Discussing downloading an app in order to have our phone numbers handy!! We are not talking about shows or movies where we meet and chat, drink coffee and have dinner beforehand – we talk about Netflix, social media and online fellowship!!

I cannot wait for 21st October – we are having a REAL quiz, seeing people we have not seen for 6 months or more, ordering drinks and hearing laughter and the buzz of conversation. I think that is what I have missed – the noise of people! Let’s make the quiz evening extra special – please do your part.

As I write this letter, it is pouring with rain – we have had hail as well and a huge downpour, with the lightening and thunder that accompanies a good highveld storm – much needed and most welcome.

Now our gardens will ‘take off’, and the farmers will be able to turn the soil and summer is suddenly here.

So much to look forward to – ENJOY!!

Lots of love,

Ann

Bukoto Club Uganda v Rotary Club of Rosebank - A Quiz Night to remember...

It started off with a casual Wednesday quiz challenge against local clubs like Kyalami, Morningside and Fourways. We then ventured further afield to Newlands in the Cape and even took on the Rotary Club of Gabarone. Gareth Hood took on the task of quiz master, and the virtual Corona Trophy was awarded to the weekly winning team.

The news of our successful quiz evenings spilled across the borders and between David Bradshaw and Joanitah, the International Service Director of the Rotoract Club of Bukoto, Uganda the Mother of all Quiz Evenings was planned for the last day of September.

We had already said our sad farewells to Gareth, who was returning to his teaching post in China, but David managed to twist his rubber arm to make one final grand appearance.

Flyers went out to other Rotary clubs in Uganda and at 20:00 their time over 56 people logged into this Zoom event. It began quite formally, and most of the participants stuck to Zoom etiquette, but the chatline was abuzz and Gareth had a hard time convincing our Ugandan opponents not to disclose their answers in the message box. 

It was glaringly evident that this event was a highlight on the Bukoto social calendar and that Fellowship is a very important part of being a Rotarian. The virtual party went on long after the quiz ended.

We might have beaten the Rotoract Club of Bukoto, but they deserved 10/10 for enthusiasm.

Membership...

David Brashaw was sent the content of a talk about membership by PDG Grant Daly which he felt might be valuable to share with the Rotary family.

MEMBERSHIP – PIONEERS – FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Backdrop/Preamble: During the Covid 19 pandemic our focus has naturally been on Retention of members. Lockdown has affected us in so many ways;

Total reduction in socials/fellowship/fun

Reduction in earnings

It has been a time to reach out to those who have gone quiet. But it has also been a time of opportunities – We have realized that we can hold effective virtual meetings and invite speakers from all over the world. I attended Kelso Rotary club in Scotland with PRID John Germ as speaker. These opportunities have made us realize that things will never be the same again because we have embraced so many changes during the lockdown.

Unfortunately when ever we speak about Membership in Rotary we have to refer to the districts statistics. I will only share two numbers with you in that Rotarians forget them very quickly. In district 9400 the members per club (measured end August) was at 15,92 members/club. In district 9370 the ratio was 15,59 members/club. The RI minimum number of members to justify a district is 1100 and all three Southern African districts hover just above this threshold.

Now before I start sharing solutions with you I would like to share two very relevant true stories with you:

The first event was my zoom attendance at the Kelso RC in Scotland on 17 September 2020 where PRID John Germ was the guest speaker. John spoke about Polio and some of you might know that his father had polio so he speaks about polio with great passion. John explained that in 2007 Bill and Belinda Gates approached Rotary and he offered to give Rotary $50 million for Rotary to continue the fight against Polio. The directors of RI and the Foundation were absolutely intimidated by the offer and challenge. Bearing in mind that Rotary had taken up the challenge from 1985. They asked Bill & Belinda Gates “Why Rotary” and their reply was as follows:

Rotary have boots on the ground spread thru out the world.

Rotary have a Financial vehicle (The Rotary Foundation) that supports the projects carried out by the Rotarians on the ground.

Rotarians are passionate about what they do.

Rotary has a recognized 4 star rating as an organisation of excellent reputation and stewardship.

Rotary is non political.

Rotary can deliver projects effectively.

I think you will agree with me that the above reasons are compelling. With the world threat of three polio viruses and one of the richest men in the world to believe in Rotary, it was for Rotary to realize what a great organisation it was. As Rotary delivered and the incidents of infection reduced, so the donations increased from Bill and Belinda Gates and Rotary was stretched to some serious capacity in terms of delivery. $50 million became $100 million and so on, on the basis of matching our funding on a 2:1 basis. The message I have for you is that you belong to a truly great organisation that has stood the test of time. As individual Rotarians we need to realize this because the realization will come across to people we meet who know nothing or very little about Rotary and whom we invite to join our clubs. Our passion will be infectious. 

As Rotarians we are generally very selective of who we invite to join our clubs. This aspect leads me on to event no two. In the early 1990’s there was a certain Ravi Devalia who was an up and coming businessman in the textile industry in Lusaka Zambia. Once his business was established and doing well, he felt that he needed to also give back to the local community. He liked the idea of Rotary and approached the local main club in Lusaka to join. He was duly proposed and seconded etc. but on circulation at a club meeting he was black balled on the basis that the club already had a member in the textile industry. The rejection made him adamant and so with a few friends and the support of another club he established a club in Lusaka. The club was very successful and after a few years Ravi was nominated and selected as a district governor. He realized that there was a membership challenge in the district and also realized that the general profile of Rotary in his district was of white and Indian males. He set about changing it and succeeded in growing the district by 20%. For this he received an RI award. His advice and secret to his achievement was as follows:

·           Past District Governors were each assigned to weak clubs.

·           He instilled flexibility on the strict classification approach. Look for reasons as to how you can admit a person rather than how can we put up barriers.

·           He encouraged bringing in icons from the communities not represented in the various clubs. Further members followed their icon.

·           He emphasized the importance of being open with prospective members as to the implication of joining. Fireside chat.

·           He introduced a growth strategy where each club pledged their growth up front.

·           He encouraged clubs to act as pioneers in terms of membership growth. What do I mean by pioneers - Ravi quoted Albert Einstein – “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere”. Take risks on people and make it happen.

·           Deliver value and costs will not be an issue.

Solutions and ideas over and above the insights just shared:

Over the past 20 years Rotary International has brought about many changes in terms of opening up opportunities for membership. Moving on from the traditional club we now have the following:

·           Passport clubs

·           Satellite clubs

·           Corporate clubs (Johannesburg Chamber; German Chamber; Legal fraternity; large corporates for CSI; etc.)

·           E clubs

·           Cause Based clubs

·           Alumni Based clubs

·           Hybrid Clubs

At present district 9400 is experimenting with Veteran clubs and Diplomatic core clubs.

For clubs:

Step one – carry out an analysis to see if you have any barriers in your club that prevent people joining your club.

Step two – carry out a climate survey of your club. Health check.

Step three – what is your benefit statement (age appropriate).

Step four – interesting and fun meetings.

Conclude with Sharing a speech made by President, Rotary International, 1992-93. Clifford L. Dochterman in May 2006        

Grant Daly

PDG

Rotary District 9400

 

Tel:  +27 15 297 4615

Cell:  +27 72 071 8111

Fax:  +27 86 544 3209

Email:  dalyg@hillary.co.za

A Plea to support our Quiz Night Fundraiser and David Allen's Master Class on Body Language

 From our President....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

Perhaps it is due to the slow pace of the last 6 months or maybe I am becoming like my grandmother, but things are suddenly moving at a pace – I can hear her saying “Christmas is just around the corner!!” As we become more social, our calendars filling up to make up for lost time, it certainly feels that life is exciting and there are things to look forward to. Our quiz night at Parkview Golf Club on the 21st October for instance! As this will be one of our main fundraisers this year, we need to pull out all the stops. We need participants and prizes! (the type of items which can be added to hampers)! Of course Christmas also means collecting for hampers for the less fortunate – and yes, there are more of the less fortunate than ever before and it will be harder to get people to give this year. A good challenge!! Please do your part to assist.

Looking forward to summer, to rains, to meeting again and to lively meetings.

Stay safe, do not take your mask off yet!!

Till next week.

Ann

Attention, Attention! Save the Date.....

It is only a little more than three weeks to go until we host our fundraising highlight of the year. 

   Wednesday the 21st of October sees the return of our very successful Quiz evening to be held at the Parkview Golf Club.

The management of the Club has assured us that they are strictly adhering to Covid regulations, and as  a member of the club I can affirm that every visitor's health and safety is of paramount concern to them, and all necessary measures are in place. 

To ensure that this fundraiser is successful Sonja Hood, the Club's fundraising chair is making a heartfelt request for our members to rally their friends into teams of six and to support this worthy effort. In addition we are also planning to offer a Raffle and ask our members whether they could rustle up a prize or two, and any bottle of wine or hooch would be gratefully accepted for our prize hampers.

Last Friday....

we were entertained and captivated by international lecturer and leadership trainer David Allen, who shared his insights on the Art of Body Language.

He has been a police reservist for the past 25 years and is particularly sought after as a hostage negotiator.

His first question to us: How can one see that a person is lying?

Tell tale signs would be studying the persons eyes; if the person looks to the left they are telling the truth, looking to the right means they are lying. Pupils dilate when you lie, because of a burst of adrenaline, which also results in a dry mouth making the person lick his or her lips; they perspire due to their blood pressure going up. When a person distances himself from you it generally can be seen as a red flag. Watch whether the head movement is opposite to what they are saying.

David maintains that it takes a mere 30 seconds to make a first impression and that it all boils down to the body language you portray, does it create friendship and trust, or do you come across as a predator? You might immediately be attracted to the person and more often than not you just have a feeling of sheer indifference.

A good first impression starts with your greeting; a handshake shows respect and make sure to look the person in the eye. A smile is contagious and generates positive endorphins. Raising your eyebrows shows recognition and open palm gestures creates trust. Try to remember and use the person's name. And leave the cell phone!!

Fascinating topic!

International Fellowship in the form of virtual quiz evenings....

Last Wednesday saw us competing against the Rotary Club of Centurion, who we narrowly beat. Sadly our wonderful quiz master, Gareth Hood, who has kept us on our toes for the past few months announced that he would be returning to his teaching post in China within the next week. That elicited a collective "Oh No!!" but David managed to twist the young man's arm and he has agreed to make one last quiz master appearance this coming Wednesday when we take on the Rotoract Club of Bukoto in Uganda.Their International Service Director Joanita Nsimbe produced a flyer and put Gareth's picture in it and they estimate that 20 of their members will take part.

How about it Rosebank? Are you up for the challenge?

Please let David know.

Because there is an hour's time difference we are starting at 20:00 hours this Wednesday.

Chrispin's Induction in the Age of Covid, DG Annemarie's Virtual Visit and a Business Meeting....

 From our President...

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 2 milestones achieved – the DG visit and my first member induction – it all went swimmingly!!

The result - our goals need some minor tweeking - we will go into it in more detail soon.

It is really important for each club member to make sure Pam gets your make-ups, and that we record all Rotary related service hours and money donated/collected during Rotary service. You will be surprised how much you do – just continue to let us know!!

We made a decision earlier in the year when we stopped having face to face meetings that we would donate our lunch monies – please could you deposit any lunch money you may be able to spare into the Club account – reference it as ‘lunch’ or ‘EREY’ (Every Rotarian Every Year).

 As we move to level 1 of our lockdown, let us hope and pray that we do not experience any major resurgence – there is a positive atmosphere, spring in the air, the promise of rain and the hope of things improving – going backwards, we do not need!

 May the Lord keep you in His hand and never close his fist too tight!!

Till next week.

Ann

Last Friday....

Last Friday was a busy day. It was a scheduled business meeting,  DG Annemarie Mostert had announced a Club visit and we were also inducting a new member Chrispin Mathew Ngoie into the Family.

President Ann opened her home and invited those who could make it to witness Chrispin's induction in person.

It was a sight to behold as we all congregated around Ann's dining room table or at her kitchen counter, fired up our laptops and iPads, grabbed a sarmie and a beverage and settled in to the weekly Zoom meeting, which Ann was steering from her office.

First on the agenda were the committee chairs' report backs. 

In a nutshell:

•       David Bradshaw - membership - Lorenzo is due to be inducted on the 30th of October, and David is tirelessly working to recruit potential members that have shown interest, provided we continue the Zoom option going forward.
•        John Symons - Treasurer -  Unfortunately John could not make the meeting, but has assured that he would make the latest financials available if need be.
•        James Croswell - International - the container destined for the Palliative Care staff at Baragwanath is nearing completion, and will be transferred from Kevin Wolhuter's premises in the very near future. Sanlam has donated an assortment of furniture which will be fitted once the container has been installed.                                                                                                          The Cervical Cancer Project is still alive, and James is hoping that the incoming German DG for 2022  will lend a supporting hand. Sadly Covid has forced many a project to be put on hold.
•       Jean Bernardo - Youth - Interact – Marianne who agreed to take over the role of Champion from the late Cesare has been in contact with Mimi to introduce herself. It was decided that as not much is happening at the schools at present, we will wait until January/February 2021 to get going with the Interact club. Cesare and his son in Mozambique were involved with the schools' Old Boys in raising funds to repair the school's roof. Mimi is keen to have a ceremony and put up a plaque in his honour – again this will be in the 2021. It was decided that the committee via the Club will cover the cost of the plaque. Marianne has been busy assessing and chatting to various people about opportunities for activities for our Interact Club and also as a community project with the involvement of the youth. Collecting recyclable materials and getting points to be used for food vouchers is one of these. Suggest we also contact Pikitup and speak to Stephan Ferreira – Charity Begins with Me.                                                                                                             _--- SYLC – Jean and Ann are members of the district RYLA committee and it was decided to hold an online 2 hour session in lieu of a camp on the 17th October 2020. Tyrone Sharnock has agreed to take up a half hour slot.                                                                                                      
•       School Awards – Ann will confirm with the relevant schools if this will take place. 
•       Careers Day –  President Ann is  appealing to a willing club members for a new Champion. Who will put up his/her hand?
•     Les Short  - Foundation - We have two district grants (the container and the Covid 19 grant)that we need to keep tabs on and report back on.
•    Sonja Hood -  Fundraising  - With the country moving to Lockdown Level 1 on the 21st of September we can finally announce that the quiz evening, that was so hugely successful last October has been given the green light and it is all systems go . Sonja is appealing to the Rosebank members to please donate suitable items to fill our prize hampers.

•  Sybille Essmann - Community Services - Sybille apologized profusely for not having been able to convene a committee meeting. The most pressing community services project would be the "Christmas Hamper" collection that was normally held at the Norwood Spar. Due to Covid donor fatigue it was felt that we could not justify foodstuff collection in August, but the plan is still to collect beginning and end of October and end of November. Sybille had a Zoom meeting with Stefan Ferreira of Charity Begins with Me, and a sustainable project that is close to his heart is the planting of a vegetable garden and the need for a water tank to harness water, which is in short supply. 
  
  
  
  
  

•  Mark Franklin - Environment - Mark is very passionate about the newest addition to Rotary's Areas of Focus has volunteered to head up this panel.

Chrispin's Induction

Chrispin originally stems from the DRC, but has been in South Africa for the better part of 15 years.He is a psychologist and is married to Nelly, who is a teacher. They have three children, aged 3,8 and 13.

His interests are fly fishing, music and computers and he is very keen to get involved in "Peace and Conflict Resolution".

This Friday....

Another Goodie - David Allen

Decoding Body Language

Being able to read a person's emotion and intentions through their body language gives your employees that extra edge in their personal interactions. David Allen's Decoding Body Language sessions will help you, your staff and your friends to easily distinguish between truth and lies. The benefits of this include an increase in confidence, and improved conflict prevention and resolution. Professionally, this allows a person to improve their sales skills and interpersonal relationships. This increased confidence can reduce anxiety and boost performance while contributing to a more productive and proactive work environment.

COVID - trials and tribulations, not much jubilation, but life must go on!!

 

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

I am your editor this week – Sybi has taken a short break due to a bereavement in the family and we wish her and her family well and keep them in our thoughts and prayers.

 Thank you to everyone who made our fundraiser on Wednesday night such a success – thanks to the committee, especially Sonja and David. Rob Caskie our story teller did not disappoint and regaled us with a gripping build-up and fascinating account of the battle at Spion Kop during the Great Boer War in 1900.

 During the past week Jean, Jeanette and I went shopping for materials for mask sewing – put some ladies together, and say ‘shopping’ and we kick up our heels!!

 

Richard Tonkin spread some cheer when he donated a wheelchair to Charles Potgieter and assisted Charles and his wife with some much needed money for necessities. Sadly it is not just the last 6 months that have caused hardship for people – some knew hard times already and COVID has just made it worse.

 

News from Masego our Exchange student in Thailand – Thank you Masego and regarding the dentist – rather you than me!!

“Good morning✨

Oh things are okay on my ,a bit busy and hectic with the new normal unraveling behind the scenes but okay. I apologise for being so quiet. My exchange is year is still amazing, we trying to squeeze up all the missed events and activities to make up for the time lost during covid.

Myself and my Rotary club have actually been, you could say touring all around the Southern region of Thailand to all the clubs in our southern district 3330, to welcome all the new club presidents. So as soon as that finished, I will be set to sharing the cervical cancer project as well as other Rosebank Rotary projects .

I'm going to make the most out the last few months here, quite recently as yesterday I came back from tooth surgery, my wisdom tooth had to be removed I will return to surgery the following week to finish off the operation.”

 

Our most recent Friday speaker, Marelise Jacobs has allowed us to share some of her words of wisdom – she spoke of conflict, confidence, communication and conviction in the corporate environment – so easily applied to home and hearth. Oh to remember what to say and when to say it!!

 

Rosebank are the reigning Corona Cup winners and our Quiz program is getting interesting – Swaziland, Uganda on the agenda. We are so grateful to Gareth Hood for being our Quizmaster Extraordinaire!!

Upcoming quiz evenings are:

Wed 23^rd September. Rotary Club of Centurion

Wed 30^th September Rotaract Club of Bukoto, Uganda

Wed 7^th October Rotary Club of Morningside

 

The COVID story this week is personal and close to home…….from Sybille

This is the story of my precious twin sister Sabine who passed away suddenly of a massive heart attack last Friday.

She did not die of the Corona virus, but she definitely was a Covid casualty.

Last year Sabine was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and underwent chemo which was successful, but she was of course very vulnerable and her family wanted to protect her as much as possible and they in fact went into isolation 3 weeks before actual lock-down.

Sabine’s life were her husband, two sons, her daughters’-in-law and of course her 5 grandchildren, and she was blessed to have a huge circle of wonderful girlfriends who she loved and who in turn loved her dearly.

At the beginning of lockdown the novelty of not seeing your family and friends brought out all sorts of different coping mechanisms. We downloaded an app called Houseparty and for a while it was fun to have frequent face-to-face chats but as the months wore on that too became less and less often.

It became evident that only seeing your husband 24/7 and not being able to hug your nearest and dearest caused a huge amount of anxiety, so much so that her doctor prescribed drugs to keep her on an even keel. She certainly tried to embrace mindfulness and spent many patient hours with her intricate coloring-in-books.

She had a wicked sense of humour and she was responsible for most of the “joke of the week” inserts in our Ramble, which I had commissioned her to find for me.

Sadly, because she was such a positive being we did not realize what a huge toll the lockdown restrictions were actually taking on her physical wellbeing, and in the end her tiny heart could not cope with the strain anymore.

Covid is such an insidious enemy and it is imperative to look after your mental health as well as protecting yourself from the virus.

Dear Sybi - "Those we hold closest to our hearts never truly leave us, they live on in the kindness they have shared and the love they brought into our lives."

Take great care everyone,

Till next week.

Ann

President Ann's colourful Life Story, the Rob Caskie Fundraiser on the 9th, and another Covid story....

From our President...

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 When I was preparing to tell my story at Friday’s meeting I was looking through photos and realized that many more photos are taken now due to cell phones and digital cameras than were ever taken when I was young. It seems like people are always snapping and posing these days – if you do not have a photo, it did not happen! Do you know how to take a ‘selfie’? “Research shows that taking lots of pictures can actually get in the way of us naturally remembering what we experience. Before you take your next photo, pause and take in the details of what you are seeing.” (thanks Pam)

I am looking forward to our story-telling event this week – I love a good story. I remember clearly having books read to us as children and I loved listening to stories on the radio. Have you ever listened to a book while on a journey in the car? Nothing like it!!

Please read the latest Rotary Africa which should be in your email mailbox – Mark Franklin says “The stories of young people whose lives were changed by Rotary, and who then made major life commitments to Rotary are wonderful."

There is such a lot to read – where to start? Make sure at least some of what you read is positive – there is such a lot of negativity around.

No one ever injured their eyesight by looking on the bright side.

Smile through the coming week.

Ann

This Week...

Given the restrictions of the Covid lockdown our Club has been very limited with what we could achieve in terms of Fund Raising. However, our committee has not let this stop them and they need a huge round of applause and all the support we can give them in their sterling efforts.

We have had overwhelming support from members of other clubs and Friends of Rotary, but sadly it has to be said that the take-up from our club has been disappointing.

It is not too late to R.S.V.P. 

The banking details are as follows:

Rosebank Rotary Club

Nedbank

Account number 1145 9991 23

Clearing Code 198 765

Reference: Your Surname - Caskie

This Friday...

Marelise Jacobs - Confidence and Conviction

Marelise Jacobs is an experienced problem-solver who helps new and established companies to re­new and focus their brand message. Converting chaotic ideas into one coherent message is just one of her many talents. As a graphic designer and brand consultant, Marelise has worked with organisations and companies across the world which has taken her designs to numerous countries including the United States, South Africa, Brazil, Madagascar, and many more. Marelise believes in the power of making decisive decisions and communicating your intentions effectively. She has been running her graphic design studio for over four years after spending eleven years in the, often chaotic, publishing industry where she learned many virtues, including patience. Apart from being a business owner and speaker, Marelise is also an accomplished illustrator, facilitator, and wife.

 

Last Week....

Last Friday our President Ann had the opportunity to share her story with the the Club that she has been a member of since 2005.

I always wondered why John, her husband of 40 years called her Pinks, but in her opening statement she revealed that she had loooooooved the colour pink from a very early age, and so the nick-name stuck.

Her dad had been in the army and her mom was an air hostess, but they then established themselves on a farm situated 16 km away from Vanderbijlpark where she and her siblings grew up in idyllic surroundings. 

After Ann matriculated in 1973 she was fortunate to be chosen as a Rotary Exchange student and spent an enriching and formative year in New Zealand which was the beginning of her future journey with Rotary.

She chose a career in nursing and a shortly after getting married to John they spent a year in Braunschweig Germany where John had been transferred to by Siemens.

She was blessed with three children (2 boys and a girl) and worked as a night nurse which must have been very hard for a young family. Eventually she changed tack completely and did a marketing and public relations course, worked as a caterer and then joined Microsoft, where she worked for 18 years.

Ann's interests are eclectic, from exploring her ancestry and collecting antiques, to entertaining and cooking, she has a passion for travelling and has been to Australia, the USA, she's ski'ed in Italy and Canada, loves hiking (she has conquered the Otter Trail), she reads and enjoys board games and has knitted truly intricate blankets for her grand children.

And throughout her story it is evident that FAMILY is everything to her.

Lorenzo's Covid Story.....

ITALY AND THE DEADLY VIRUS

 As early as January the media started reporting about a flu virus that was prevalent in the north of Italy; that it had come from China and seemed to be seriously deadly. My reaction was that in the past in Asia these “flu endemics” had come and gone. But the news was insistent and it was serious. I then surfed the internet for information on “flu” cases in Italy and found The International Journal of Infectious Disease had published a study that between 2013-2017 on average about 20,000 people die of the flu, mainly due to an ageing population and fragile state of the elderly. At this stage Italy had not reached 20,000 deaths.

 Having said this, simultaneously politics was playing its role by steering the nation to the right side of the road. The government with the Ministry of Health and the experts did all it could to take hold of the wheel and was battling to come up with clear line policies, owing to the fact that this was a new battle never imagined before. On the other hand, the right-wing party thought it a good opportunity to put up a fight  because their supporters, the populists, saw this as the perfect opportunity to fight for “freedom” of suppression. The strong hold of the right-wing party is the North, especially Lombardy, the province that was most and still is the hardest hit; they were totally against distancing, wearing a mask and totally against closing down businesses. One of the striking moments came when the government decided to make many illegal migrants legal, a move that did not provoke any kind of outcry. The right-wing party opposed this in parliament and failed, so its leader and party members had to change and adhere. By now the virus had spread, and fast!

 Italians in general are individualistic, especially from Rome down but in this case, everyone was shocked and all toed the line. Italians stayed home punto e basta and they became very inventive through in particular the arts, by singing or playing musical instruments from balconies that truly gave moments of spiritual upliftment, showing off the Italian creativity. YouTube  proved to be one of the greatest innovations, bringing people together and also making people famous for whatever act they created.

 Besides distancing, masks, disinfecting hands and gloves at all times, only one person of the family was allowed to venture out of home/apartment for shopping or, if urgent, accompany a person for medical reasons. Before leaving home you had to fill in a specific form in which you had to confirm where you were going and the police/carabinieri were around to stop and check and sanction those who did not conform.

 But the most devastating consequence has been for the elderly folk of which Italy has a very high percentage. Those that survived lived at home, many alone, in silence in their apartments with no visits allowed. Every morning at 7am the Pope from Saint Martha Chapel said mass and gave a most interesting homily. Sunday masses were streamed by almost all churches as the young parishioners practiced their YouTubing knowledge. On the other hand, this period caused an increase of 30% divorces that most likely were in the pipeline. Overall, like many nations, this virus gave us a moment to pause and reevaluate our daily life and innovations.

 Today we are still obliged to adhere to social distancing and wearing a face mask when in closed spaces while disinfecting is optional. No more gloves and filling in forms. Although people still adhere to these rules, often they are forgotten and although we are not out of the woods yet, it seems to be under control. But the future is unknown, and Italians are aware of the dangers of another lock-down. Now we must simply stick to the rules, hope, and pray.