Establishment of the Southern African Foundation of Rotary Clubs, The Ann's in Action, and the first Quiz Challenge against Hermanus....

 From the Pen of our President...

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 I do hope you are all well and keeping a low profile?!

 Rotary life is taking off after the break and we have a flurry of meetings coming up. Please make a plan to be part of a Committee, attend the monthly meeting and be part of the projects we run.

 On Saturday morning you can relax at home and log in to the District Mid-year assembly – hear what other clubs are doing and how things are being handled across the district.

 Look out for ways to get involved, look for new ideas to introduce to the club.

 Keep in touch and hope to see you online!

 Yours,

 Ann

Last Friday....

PDG Greg Stathacopoulos (apologies for misspelling his name in last week's Ramble) was invited to give the Club some insights into District and Global Grants and  the formation of The Foundation of Southern  African  Rotary Clubs (https://fsarc.co.za/).

To understand the mechanics of the application and granting of District and Global Grants is by no means simple, and I am therefore taking the liberty to simplify Greg's presentation. 

Let's start at the very beginning:

1) Club Dues:

Every Rotarian pays an annual amount to their designated Club which covers

* Running cost

* District Dues

* RI Dues

* Rotary Africa Magazine

2) Funds raised from the public may not be used for running costs but will be used to fund Club projects.

Funds are raised by various fund raising efforts such as the annual Arts Festival, quiz evenings etc

Examples of Club projects would be:

* The annual senior youth leadership course, which is a three day weekend away with +/- 65 participants

* The College of Orientation and Mobility - White Cane Project, which is a division of the Guide Dog Association

* The Palliative Care Counselling Unit for patients at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital

3) District Grants:

Monies that District has available to fund District Grants come from RI and clubs apply for these grants. Assume that this year District will be receiving $23 000 from RI which becomes available on the 1st of July 2021. 

This amount is generated from funds that we as District, from all clubs, have sent across to RI (as our donations) which was then invested for 3 years, and comes back to District as a percentage of the returns achieved. 

An example of a District project was the refurbishment of the container for the Palliative Care Unit at Baragwanath.  This entailed:

* Completion of a Grant Application with a detailed budget as to the costs

* A Memorandum of Understanding

* A District Grants Report Form on completion of the project.

This was a huge project and funding came from various sources.

4) Global Grants: 

* Unless the project costs $30 000 or more you would not apply for a Global Grant.

*The project must be within the six (soon to be 7) areas of focus.

* We would approach an international club, who would donate $15 000 or more (that is what Greg mentioned as the possible participation of 18 German Districts who are willing to support projects in Africa)

* RI would then match that  donation Dollar for Dollar

* Funds that we have raised at Club level are not matched.

5) The Establishment of the Foundation of the Southern African Rotary Clubs (FSARC)

Most companies in South Africa and also beyond its borders  (Zimbabwe and Zambia) donate towards Corporate Social Investment (CSI), but in return they would need a Section 18A Certificate for this donation to be tax-deductible. This Section 18A Certificate can only be issued by a Public Benefit Organization (PBO) or a Non Profit Company (NPC).

The FSARC has therefore been registered as a PBO and NPC  and donations received from corporate entities can be issued the requisite Section 18A Certificate  and the funds can now legitimately be made available for approved club projects. 

 Quiz Challenges are back....

Our first quiz challenge of the year was against the Rotary Club of Hermanus. As the hosts they had to nominate the quiz master, and boy oh boy Quizmaster Mark certainly did not make it easy.

questions like:

What does a Blue Moon signify?  (Answer: When there are two full moons in the space of a month)

What wood is a cricket bat made of? (Answer: Willow)

What do Agrophobics fear? (Answer: pain)

What country has the Birr as its national currency? (Answer: Ethiopia)

What is the capital of Uzbekistan? (Answer: Tashkent)

What is a gudgon pin? (Answer: I have not got a clue!!!)

....stumped many a participant, and Team Rosebank was convinced that Hermanus had thumped us good and proper, but no!! We scraped through with a narrow win of 20.66 points against their 20.50.

So we are happy to announce that we have retained the Corona Cup.

Please join us for entertaining fellowship. Tomorrow we take on Benoni and Sonja Hood is our capable Quizmaster.

This Friday....

A business meeting.

A Social meeting to kick off the year and a few dates to save...

 From the Pen of our President Ann....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

 May 2021 bring to each one of you HEALTH, HAPPINESS, LOVE and LAUGHTER – never forget to laugh!!

I had a call with DG Annemarie today and she is happy with our progress for the Rotary year so far – we are in line for a citation – YAY!! Thank you to you all!

We have some great speakers lined up and some important meetings to attend in the next few weeks.

Please do make an effort to attend and remember my house is open to anyone who does not want to be alone… you may come here to attend the weekly meeting or the District events.

Do not give up – we may have to meet predominantly on Zoom for the time being but, this too will pass!

I am a phone call away, my kettle is always on the boil and you are welcome!

Look forward to seeing you all in person or on line.

 

 Ann Hope-Bailie

Last Friday, a Social Meeting...

President Ann offered to host the meeting at her home for those members who wished for some face-to-face fellowship and sarmies; Lenore, Lyn and Sybille showed up but the others joined via Zoom.

Due to our Club's relationship with the Highlands North Boys Interact Club President Ann's ears pricked up when she read this open letter by old-boy Ben Horowitz published in the Daily Maverick last week. He aims to raise a substantial R350 000 from his fellow old-boys for his Alma Mater  and would this not be a wonderful opportunity for these young Rotary Interactors to get involved in "spending" the funds.

Ben Horowitz's open letter to the Highlands North Boys Matric Class of 1981

Ann has received about 1400 children's picture books in Afrikaans and German and was hoping that one of us would have a suggestion as to how best to distribute them to a worthy cause and possibly generate some funds for our Club coffers.

Our First Fundraiser for the Year.....

Please share this invitation with as many of your family, friends and colleagues as possible so that we can make sure that this event will be as successful as our previous Rob Caskie fundraiser.

To secure your Zoom attendance you may EFT payment to the following bank account:

Nedbank

Account Holder: Rosebank Rotary Club

Account Number: 1145 9991 23

Branch Code: 198-765

Reference: Your Surname - Caskie

This Friday....

Greg Strathacopoulos, Chair of the E-Club of Southern Africa will address the Club and give us some insights into the Establishment of the Southern African Foundation.

Quiz Evenings .....

And last but not least, do join us for our ever popular Zoom quiz evenings. Get hold of David Bradshaw on 083 461 6830 and he will include you on our Quiz WhatsApp group so that you are kept in the loop of upcoming challenges.

Jingling and Mingling at President Ann's, Trolleys full of Generosity at the Norwood Spar and a Certificate of Appreciation presented in the Year of the Nurse...

 Our President Ann rambling along......

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

Thank you to those who were able to join us on Friday evening – we were lucky enough to have 2 Past District Governors, 2 Past District Governor Anns, and 2 Assistant Governors with us!! What a lovely evening – and no rain!! Makes one realise what we have been missing for the past 8 or 9 months.

 We need to decide how and where we will be holding future meetings – I will be discussing this at Wanderers on Friday but in the short term one or two face to face meetings a month could be held at my house. We will also have scouts at the so called hybrid meetings to see how they go!

 Friday 11th will be our last official meeting of the year. Please do try and join from wherever you are – I know some of you are away already.

 I omitted to have an AGM before year end, so we will be having one in early 2021 – just a heads up, and I am probably in trouble!!

 School awards are being given out during the next week and our 2 Rotary Family Health Day certificates have been presented.

 Winding down has started – take it slowly.

 Ann

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....

Due to Covid restrictions the enthusiasm demonstrated for a formal Christmas Lunch this year was at best luke warm, but we all perked up when we received President Ann's generous invitation.

We were blessed with a balmy evening, and armed with platters and our favourite tipple we descended on the Hope-Bailie household, and was it not a sight for sore eyes to at long last see our Rotary friends in the flesh and not on a Zoom screen.

Ann welcomed us all with a few  heartfelt words, duty sergeant PDG Ken Stonestreet led us in Grace and PP Costa proposed a toast to Rotary, after which the party began in earnest.

 

The food was excellent, the company sublime and as a going home present Charlotte Croswell gifted us each a Spekboom plant.

Trolleys full of Generosity....

Thank you to all of you who volunteered your time to ask patrons of the Norwood Spar to put a food item in their shopping basket, the proceeds of which will hopefully go a long way to provide some Festive Cheer to our chosen charities.

The generosity was overwhelming and over the last 2 weekends we managed to fill numerous trolleys. 

Phuthaditjhaba in Alexandra, Frieda Hartley, The Candlelight Club and Charity begins with Me will all benefit from this drive.

In Celebration of the Year of the Nurse.....

In lieu of the annual Family Health Days which could not take place this year it was decided that instead we would pay homage to our selfless nurses in this the Year of the Nurse.

The Rotary Club of Rosebank thought it was fitting that we should present these Certificates of Appreciation to the two institutions that we have had very close ties with over many years.

Today President Ann accompanied by Melodene Stonestreet and Sybille Essmann paid a visit to the Department of Nursing Education to present Professor Shelley Schmollgruber and her staff with their Certificate of Appreciation.

And  that, as they say in the Classics, is that! This will be the last publication of the Ramble for the year of 2020. I think everyone will agree that it was a tumultuous year, but we survived it more or less in tact and we can only hope and pray that 2021 heralds new beginnings.

Festive Cheer at the Norwood Spar, Rotary Family Health Day Certificate Presentation, The Anns meet, and Momo returns from Thailand...

 From our President's Pen....

And just like that it is Advent, December, holiday season, time for a break, -  The Elf is on the Shelf - The Elf on the Shelf is a fun-filled Christmas tradition (2005) that has captured the hearts of children everywhere who welcome home one of Santa’s Scout Elves for the holidays in the run up to Christmas. The magical Scout Elves help Santa  by taking note of a family’s Christmas adventures and reporting back to Santa at the North Pole nightly.  Each morning, the Scout Elf returns to its family and perches in a new spot, waiting for someone to spot them. Children love to wake up and race around the house looking for their Scout Elf. They have to be good all month because the elf is watching them!! Works like a charm because Santa knows who is naughty and nice!! Parents just have to remember every night to move him to a new spot or they have some explaining to do!!

Thank you to those members who have volunteered at the Spar collections – we really have done well when we have been there in person. There are such amazingly generous people out there. We still need volunteers for this coming weekend – please assist – it is very rewarding.

The first of our Rotary Family Health Days certificates was presented to The Wits Palliative Care Program – they were very appreciative of the thought. Makes such a difference to recognize people – and so easy to do!

 December is Disease Prevention and Treatment Month, one of The Rotary Foundation Areas of Focus. COVID-19 has forced all of us to adapt. This is good, but we also need to change if we are to face the challenges not only for this year but also into the future.

  Looking forward to seeing a number of you on Friday night!!

 Have a great week.

 Ann

Last Friday......

If nothing else, our Club is flexible and goes with the flow. 

Chrispin,who was looking forward to sharing his story with us had connectivity issues and our weekly meeting ended up being a social get-together.

President Ann: "Did you know that it was on this day 33 years ago the Helderberg crashed?" And with that Reiner, who had joined the Zoom meeting with Juanette, far away in chilly Hamburg told us how he had survived 3 plane crashes, and James too had a narrow plane crash escape. James had also experienced a hair-raising hijack attempt on a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, with a bizarre evacuation that left quite a few of the passengers with severe injuries sustained when they were herded down the aircraft chute.

Lorenzo (in Italy): " Who would like to see some illegal posters that I managed to smuggle out of North Korea?"

Under the auspices of Unicef Lorenzo made numerous lengthy trips to North Korea in the 1990's and he regaled us with some fascinating tales of his experiences in this forbidden country.

Momo returns home from Thailand.....

President Ann, AG Jean and Sybille were at the airport this afternoon to welcome our Rotary Exchange Student Momo back from Thailand. She is very excited to be back home and we cannot wait to hear her give us an account of her year overseas.

A monthly business meeting, the Norwood Spar Food Drive, and Environmental Initiatives...

 From the Pen of President Ann.....

Today I have written 4 letters to potential students, dashing their hopes of getting funding for their studies abroad. It is not easy. My own son has been searching and applying for months to achieve his dream of studying overseas. It is tough – not their fault that this year has been such a stinker!!

 It can get quite exhausting – we either talk of the virus in terms of getting sick or in terms of money and the lack of it!!

 Roll on December – time for a welcome break for many.

 Let’s all make a decision about Christmas – keep it simple, full of meaning, keep it local and full of love!!

 Hope to see you here on the 4th Dec.

 Ann

Last Week...

A Business Meeting in a Nutshell

• President Ann has sent an e-mail to every member with a member satisfaction survey attached to it, and would like the results to be forwarded to her either by e-mail or otherwise as a hard copy; the deadline is Friday the 27th of November.
• As we no longer have a hard copy member information booklet it is imperative for each member to keep his or her personal information updated on ClubRunner.
• As Mark Franklin had been a member of Wanderers, President Ann will investigate whether they will still allow us to hold our weekly meetings there (once we are back to physical meetings)
• We will also explore the feasibility of hybrid meetings.
• Pam Donaldson - Club Administrator - reported that in the last month the Zoom attendance had dropped off to an average of 20 members per meeting. 
• John Symons - Treasurer - All subs are up to date (bar 1),
•  A net amount of R22 350 was raised at our Quiz evening in October.
• R5 000 will go towards Polio Plus (this was raised at the Rob Caskie fundraiser)
• Some members have donated their lunch monies which will go to Foundation
• $50  (+/- R800 depending on the forex rate) per member will go to Rotary Foundation (reduced from $100) made up from donations and funds raised; the balance will come from the Commemoration Fund.
• David Bradshaw - Membership - our target of 9 new members has increased to 10 due to the sad loss off Mark Franklin. Anne Padmore and Charmaine Leesman will hopefully be inducted in the new year, and David has quite a few potential members that he is working on at the moment.
• David has also been keeping in touch with members that are unable to join the Zoom meetings, and for that we are very grateful.
• James Croswell - International -  The container, which is now at its final destination at Baragwanath is close to completion. Only a ramp needs to still go in.
• There is renewed international Rotary activity in the fight against cervical cancer and James anticipates that we will be able to mobilize our involvement in the next year.
• Jean Bernardo - Youth - The Highlands North Interact Club has elected a President and a Vice.
• A plaque in honour of Cesare is in progress
• The RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) online seminar was very successful
• Masego, our Youth Exchange Student, arrives back from Thailand on the 30th of November
• Jean also is in charge of Publicity - for those who have read the latest Rotary Africa publication will have seen a whole page dedicated to the activities in our club with a picture of Costa and Jerry who refurbished 25 Madiba buggies, and our exchange student Momo presenting our club banner to her host club in Thailand. Jeanette Horner's mammoth achievement of sewing 3000 masks and 100 dozen rusks, and endless liters of soup also received an honourable mention. 
• 2021 Careers Day, which is a joint Youth & Community Services project - will be coordinated by Lyn Collocott in the new year.
• Sybille Essmann - Community Services & Vocational - 

• N.B.  final project for the year: 
• "Festive Cheer" food hamper collection will take place on Saturday 28th/Sunday 29th November and Saturday 5th/Sunday 6th December at the Norwood Spar in Grant Avenue. Three shifts of 2 hours on Saturdays and two shifts on Sundays, 2 volunteers per shift needed. Please liaise with Tutty Faber on fabertutty@gmail.com which shifts you would be able to help with.

       So far the roster looks like this:

• Melodene will be in charge of the 2021 Lester Connock Awards.
• Sybille and Lyn will coordinate the 2021 Vocational Awards, which will be presented in March. Please forward your nominations to them for consideration.
• Sonja Hood - Fundraising -  

Many of us already support the My School, My Village, My Planet initiative and in the new year Sonja will motivate for The Rotary Club of Rosebank to become a beneficiary. For our Club to become a recipient we would have nominate them as a beneficiary.

Watch this space, it could be very exciting!

• Environmental  Sustainability -  We are looking for a Champion who will step into Mark Franklin's shoes to take over this new Area of Focus.

This is what the Rotary Club of Newlands is up to with regards to Environmental Sustainability.

https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:75cb6583-03f6-4b31-9a21-d90cb35b5bd4

This Friday.....

Chrispin Mattieu-Kyungu has agreed to share his story with his fellow Rotarians and no doubt he has an interesting tale to tell.

Brooks Spector makes sense of the US elections, Norwood Spar Food Hamper collection, and in support of the Environment...

From the pen of our President.....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

We were all so shocked by Mark's passing this week - we will all miss his enthusiasm and jokes. Please refer to the "Obituaries" page on this blog where we will keep the wonderful memories of our departed friends.

What an interesting meeting we had last Friday – to understand the US electoral system and the mood in the US is a real bonus.

Please do fill in nominations for next year's officers - this process needs to be completed before year end.

This week you will also receive a survey to fill out - how healthy is our Club? It has been a tough year so far - hopefully, next year will be better.  Not sure it could be worse!!

Join us for our Christmas drinks and let us see each other's faces!!

Keep the faith...

Ann

Last Friday...

Brooks Spector making sense of the US Elections...

Spector settled in Johannesburg after a career as an American diplomat assigned in Africa and East Asia. Since then, he has taught international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, been a consultant for an international NGO, run a famous Johannesburg theatre, and been a commentator for South African and international print/broadcast/online media, all in addition to writing for The Daily Maverick from day one.

Post-retirement, Spector has also been a Bradlow Fellow of the SA Institute of International Affairs and a Writing Fellow of the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Advanced Studies.

Only half humourously, he says he learned everything he needs to know about politics from the film,  "Casablanca." Maybe he's increasingly cynical about some things, but a late Beethoven string quartet, John Coltrane’s music, and a steaming bowl of so-to ayam (one of Indonesia's great culinary discoveries) will bring him close to tears.

Brooks unpacked the complex topic of the 2020 elections of the oldest democracy of the world, which has had us spellbound with its farcical twists and turns that has left most people shaking their heads in shear disbelief  at what should have been a straightforward win for Joe Biden.

He won the popular vote as well as the electoral college by a huge margin, but President Trump insists that this was a fraudulent win, and is waging numerous lawsuits disputing the results in states of Pennsylvania an Arizona, and forcing a recount of all ballots in Georgia, where the margin was less than 0,5%. But despite all of Trump's postulations the general consensus is that this was the cleanest election in history.

A week after the election President Trump still will not issue a concession statement and people are beginning to question the man's emotional stability.

His staff is not allowed to look for another job, and if found to do so would get fired on the spot.

The funding for the transition process has not been made available and notes of congratulations have not been transmitted.

Brooks maintains that the outcome of who wins the majority of the Senate seats will be pivotal to whether Joe Biden will be able to push through his agenda.

First and foremost he will have to deal with the Pandemic and beat the virus.

He will want to maintain the Affordable Health Care Act, which has seen 20 million extra people now on Health Care.

He wants to invigorate the economy by improving infrastructure such as rebuilding airports and harbours and roads.

There will be a huge emphasis on the environment, and he will rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization.

Why did Biden win the election? The virus was the key.

Spreading Festive Cheer....

 

Every year the Norwood SupaSpar has graciously allowed our Club to ask their patrons to support our annual food drive in support of various charities which are close to our heart.

 

Sadly this year with Covid restrictions still very much in place we have had to resort to placing a lone trolley at the entrance in the hope that shoppers seeing our poster would drop a non-perishable food item into said trolley. Unfortunately this was not hugely successful, and the Community Services committee has therefore decided that we shall give it one (in fact two) last concerted effort and send out the troops on the last weekend of November, the 28th and 29th as well as the first weekend in December, the 5th and 6th, to make sure that we can provide some festive cheer to those less fortunate than us.

We will be circulating a roster (Virtual) at this Friday's meeting and we urge our members to please put down their names for a shift or two.  

In Support of the Environment....

 Look at what was delivered to me on Friday..... My very own 'Rotary in the Environment' bracelet collection. Each unique bracelet represents a conservation.

Fellow Rotarian Shan Biesman-Simons from the Rotary Club of Newlands in the Cape posted this on her Face Book page.

It is one of their projects which they are supporting with their partner, Relate Trust. Buy some for yourself...and perhaps as stocking fillers or other gifts??

Please help us raise funds for these causes by ordering a box of 10 bracelets at just R350 incl VAT and delivery (US$30 outside of South Africa). Go to:

https://www.relate.org.za/.../rotary-in-the-environment...

Causes supported are:

Rotary Youth Camp, Glencairn (Rotary project)

I am a Water Warrior (Rotary project)

SANCCOB

Endangered Wildlife Trust

Endangered Wildlife Trust - Ocean Project

Endangered Wildlife Trust - Birds of Prey

Endangered Wildlife Trust - Wild Dog Project

Endangered Wildlife Trust - Guard Dogs for Conservation

Honorary Rangers of SA National Parks

Elephants Alive

#rotaryrelate #relatebracelets #braceletsforgood #newlandsrotary #rotaryintheenvironment #wearandshare

A Social Meeting, Rotary Action Group Explained, Momo's countdown in Thailand, Service in Action and an Eco-Brick challenge....

From the Pen of President Ann.... 

 

Dear fellow members and friends,

 

Gosh so much time spent in front of CNN in the last week – somehow it feels good to know that sense has prevailed in the US!! However, the virus is busy raising it’s ugly head again – just in case we get complacent.

 We had a discussion during Friday’s meeting about those Club Goals which need updating – one of those is the number of members who belong to Rotary Action Groups. I never knew there were so many, and one needs to choose with care as some of them have a price tag! Most of them are just a subscription to a newsletter and a chance to share a common interest with fellow Rotarians and non-Rotarians as well. I have subscribed to the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group. I encourage you to try one.

 Please also go and make sure your login to ‘My Rotary’ is alive and well!! Move on to Learning Central and take a course!! We are encouraged to do regular training.

 Calendars are filling up and it is that time of the year already – less than 50 days to Christmas!!

 Enjoy everything you do.

 

Have a good week.

Ann

Rotary Action Group explained...

Rotary Action Groups are independent, Rotary-affiliated groups made up of people from around the world who are experts in a particular field, such as economic development, peace, addiction prevention, the environment, or water.

Action groups offer their technical expertise and support to help clubs plan and implement projects to increase our impact, one of Rotary's strategic priorities. This support includes helping clubs find partners, funding, and other resources. Action groups can also help clubs and districts prepare grant applications, conduct community assessments, and develop plans to monitor and evaluate their projects. Read more about these activities in the Rotary Action Groups annual report.

Anyone who wants to share their expertise to make a positive difference can join an action group. Only Rotarians, Rotaractors, and Rotary Peace Fellows can serve in leadership roles.Contact a Rotary Action Group to:

 Contact a Rotary Action Group to:

Get expert advice on planning and implementing service projects, including those funded by Rotary Foundation district and global grants

Connect with potential project partners, both within and outside of Rotary

Get help fundraising and obtaining resources for projects

Join a Rotary Action Group to share your expertise and make a difference in projects outside your club or district. To get involved, look at our directory and contact the action group you're interested in.

Rotary Action Groups by Area of Focus...

Promoting peace

Domestic Violence Prevention
Peace
Slavery Prevention

Fighting disease
Addiction Prevention
Alzheimer's/Dementia
Blindness Prevention
Blood Donation
Diabetes
Family Health/AIDS Prevention
Health Education and Wellness
Hearing
Hepatitis Eradication
Malaria
Mental Health
Multiple Sclerosis
Polio Survivors

Providing clean water and sanitation
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Saving mothers and children
Clubfoot
Reproductive Maternal and Child Health

Supporting education
Basic Education and Literacy

Growing local economies
Economic Community Development
Disaster Assistance

Supporting environment
Environmental Sustainability

Action groups that work in more than one area of focus
Endangered Species
Food Plant Solutions

Momo's last few weeks in Thailand...

Momo writes...

 "It is currently midterm break, so school is closed, I have already said my goodbyes to the school, and it was very emotional.  I recently joined a cooking class to learn how to cook the Thai cuisine😊😊 so that was very exciting and has been keeping me busy. And I am killing it in the kitchen now.  I will give the Rosebank members a Thai cooking demonstration via Zoom when I am back home again.

 In terms of coming back: Singapore airlines is currently closed and that was the airline I was supposed to be coming back with. So, Terry informed me that they are currently looking for other alternatives.  I have been advised that I will be leaving Hat Yai on the 29th of November, but so far that is all I know.

 Oh, and this part was supposed to be a surprise at the airport, but I guess it is out now. My hair has been falling out for the past 5 months because of the humidity here in Thailand, so I finally accepted defeat and cut off all my hair😹😹😊 Surprise!!!!!. "

 Service in Action....

For 40 years, Ashoka has found exceptional Changemakers from around the world and guided them to grow unexpected ideas into transformative social progress. Ashoka’s network enables over 4,000 social entrepreneurs to learn from one other while creating faster, more impactful large-scale change. Venture and Fellowship, the core of Ashoka’s work, identifies leading social entrepreneurs with transformative ideas and provides them with the support and community they need to thrive.

 Charlotte Croswell has put together a few lines about Rosebank Rotary Club’s involvement with the late Dr Basil Kransdorff who was an Ashoka Fellow.

He was recognized because of his innovative solution to hidden hunger by developing e’Pap - a “Miracle Food” which is able to address the most extreme cases of nutrient deficiency because it contains a precise balance of 29 food-state nutrients in bio-available forms that are easily absorbed by the body.

Rosebank Rotary Club partnered with Dr Basil Kransdorff, an Ashoka Fellow, to promote the benefits of e'pap. 

I was so proud to have known him and have ever since been a enthusiastic supporter of e'pap.

An Eco-Brick Challenge...

In last week's Ramble edition we shared Mark Franklin's environment vision with you and gave you a simple tutorial in the art of making a solid eco-brick.

Sybille has a collection point and as you can see the eco-bricks are rolling in.

We are still a far cry from building a class room, but it is a start and we are challenging every Rosebank Rotary member to make one eco-brick before the 4th of December and to bring it along to President Ann's year end shindig. 

Lest you did not pay attention to last week's lesson, here it is again...