Give Peace a Chance, Keeping Someone warm this Winter, Madiba Buggies are rolled out and Highlands North Boys High School receive a new classroom....

 From The Pen of our President..... 

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

I missed the meeting on Friday – thank you Costa for filling in for me,

Yesterday was devoted to mothers everywhere – and here, thanks to Helen Steiner Rice is a tribute….

A Mother’s love is something

that no one can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

 

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away . . .

 

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

even though the heart is breaking . . .

 

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

 

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation . . .

 

A many splendored miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God’s tender guiding hand.

 

Have a great week,

 

Ann

Last Friday......

Our meeting was "graced" by the presence of the very passionate Grace van Zyl, President of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg -  the Mother Club, and Rosebank being the Daughter Club, the second oldest club. 

The Rotary Club of JHB, being the 1st Rotary Club on the Continent of Africa (founded 25 April 1921, chartered 1 July 1921) is also the first Peace Builder Club in Southern Africa, inaugurated in November 2020. 

Going back in history, in 1931 the RCOJHB received a letter from the Rotary Club of Keokuk, Iowa with an invitation to symbolically smoke the Pipe of Peace – fast forward some 80 years the peace pipe letters were again brought to life  when contact was re-establish with over 100 Rotary Clubs still in existence. As a result District 9400  formed a Peace Builder Club Committee where the aim is to create more Peace Builder Clubs and promote an annual project that promotes peace.

 

 

 

Rotary has partnered with the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP) and offers an online curriculum for all Rotarians; this can be accessed on www.rotarypeaceacademy.org The IEP has 8 Pillars that promote positive Peace, which align to Rotary’s now 7 Areas of Focus.

As Rotarians we unconsciously promote positive peace in almost every project we take on and/or support.  The aim of becoming a Peace Builder Club is to consciously promote positive peace, create awareness and have an annual project or event specifically designed to promote peace and create awareness.  We all have a part to play in creating positive and sustainable peace.

 From a District perspective an International Human trafficking webinar is planned to create awareness on human trafficking and that this does not only relate to sex or drug trafficking.  Recent stats show that more than 40 Million people are human trafficked world-wide, South Africa stats show that 4 out of 100 people are human trafficked on a daily basis.  The webinar is in a planning phase and Grace would welcome more Rotarians to join their District committee.

If you should be interested to learn more about this initiative please contact Grace at grace@gracevanzyl.com.

We will be keeping 250 + souls  warm this Winter.....

As winter approaches the plight of so many needy people who will feel the chill becomes ever more evident and it was gratifying to see how many people opened their purses to support this year's annual blanket drive which we held this past weekend at the Pick 'n Pay on Nicol.

The final figures are not yet in, but we are confident that we will be able to supply about 250 blankets to various communities in the Gauteng area.

Thank you to the Rotarians, Anns and husbands and wives and children of Rotarians  who made this a truly successful project. We are most definitely People of Action!

Madiba Buggies roll out...

A while back Marilyn Bassin of the Boykanyo - Deon Herson Foundation - had received a consignment of 25 incomplete Madiba Buggies which needed trays and foot rests to make them functional. 

Could we help?

Jerry Bernardo, who is a whiz with his hands with the help of Costa Qually set to work and designed and built foot rests, struts and trays and delivered the completed items for assembly and ultimate distribution to well-deserving disabled children.

Another testament to People of Action!

Highlands North Boys High School receives a new classroom....

Last Friday Jean and Marianne from our youth committee were invited to attend the opening of "The Highlands North Class of '81  new classroom. They joined Vusi and Simpiwe, President and Vice President of the Highlands North Boys High School Interact Club and their liaison teacher Mimi van Deventer, who is a member of Rotary New Dawn.

President Vusi of the Highlands North Boys High School Interact Club poses in front of a plaque of all the '81 Old Boys who contributed to the building of the new class room. Can you see Cesare Vidulich's son Fabio's name on the list? (A bit small)  

PP Jean looks on and applauds as the ribbon gets cut.

A Special Invitation to join this Week's Quiz....

Those who attended last year's quiz challenge against the Ugandan Rotoract Club of Bokomo will remember what fun it was. And this Wednesday the 12th we are having a repeat.

Let us extend some South African Fellowship and come out in our numbers. The more the merrier!

If you would like to join please let David Bradshaw know by Wednesday morning so that we can send you the Zoom link. 

This Friday......

Momo's Thailand adventures Part 2.

 

 

Welcome to our newest and youngest e-member, Brian Leech will be remembered and "Roslami" skittles Centurion....

 From the Pen of our President....

Dear fellow Rotarians,

I enjoyed our social meeting last week – not sure the pizzas are as good as they were pre-COVID??

Here we are in May – who would have thought that time could go as fast as my grandmother said it did? It does bring to mind a Bee Gees song about the “first of May”. May Day relates back as early as pre-Roman time in Britain and to Medieval times when Maypoles were in evidence. Some celebrate Spring, some celebrate Saints and many now observe Workers Day. No matter what you celebrate though, for us it heralds winter!! and it is definitely much cooler. Time to unpack those woollies and hot water bottles!

District 9400 are planning a Rotary Exhibition Centre, and it is going to be opened this year!! It would be nice to have a plaque on it with Rosebank’s name. In order for that to happen we need to buy some bricks. At R50 each they seem very reasonable…..25 bricks get’s one a plaque. How many bricks should we buy – one per member, one per year since we were chartered? Let me know what you think.

As the Rotary year winds down and the cold begins to bite, spare a thought for those not as fortunate as ourselves – if you are not working at the Blanket Drive, please think about donating a blanket or 2.

Have a wonderful week, keep warm and smile!

Yours in Rotary,

Ann Hope-Bailie

President - Rotary Club of Rosebank

Last Friday......

The last day of April was once again a hybrid social meeting where we invited members and guests to join us for pizza at Wanderers and it was another testament to the need for fellowship that 16 Rotarians and two guests attended in person while 8 more connected via Zoom.

Hybrid meetings are still a work in progress. The projector allows the attendees to interact with the "Zoomers" and besides the webcam the club has now invested in a better microphone, so hopefully the members connecting via Zoom will have a more inclusive experience.

We would appreciate your feedback.

Duty sergeant Marianne addressing us while James managed to raise a few hundred Rand by auctioning his home made marmalade.

Friday was indeed a special meeting because we had the pleasure of welcoming another e-member into the Rotary family. Sonja Hood's son Gareth, who teaches in China was inducted. He is our second e-member (or the third, if we count Juanette McCrindle who is still stuck in Germany).

Although China is 6 hours ahead of South Africa, Gareth will not have time constraints in joining our weekly lunchtime meetings as it will be 7 pm on that side of the Pond, and what better way to start the weekend.

A very emotional mother introduced her son and then looked on as President Ann read the charge and officially inducted Gareth into the Rotary Club of Rosebank. Everyone at the meeting stood to attention and then gave our newest and youngest member a warm round of applause.

Welcome!

Gareth is of course is no stranger to the Club as he was the quiz master at our weekly quiz challenges during hard lockdown. He had managed to return home from China and carried on with his teaching duties remotely. We were all very sad to see him return to his full time job once China had opened up again. He tells us that he had to go into 2 week quarantine and has so far undergone 8 Covid tests. The Chinese have got tracking and tracing down to a fine art which is done via your cell phone, and when you have been in a high risk area the colour on the Covid app changes.

Gareth lives in Hefei, an industrial hub with 8 million inhabitants, 3 hours west of Shanghai. He teaches English and History at a Canadian International School with over a 1000 learners from all over the world, even a few from South Africa. He clearly loves his job and being in China.

In Memoriam.....

We were very sad when we lost Brian Leech to Covid last year, and in his memory and his immeasurable commitment to Rotary, his partner Coragh Bedford-Shaw had a plaque put up in the Garden of Remembrance at St. Michael's Church in Bryanston.

He will not be forgotten.

"Roslami" takes on Centurion......

Rosebank joined forces with Kyalami - the "Roslami" team -  to challenge the formidable Centurion team who had ventured south across the Jukskei to a game of skittles.

Before Covid this had been an annual gathering, and we were thrilled that the old tradition had been resumed and an evening of laughter and competition was a tonic to the soul.

   Three Presidents: Ann Hope-Bailie, Pierre Rossouw and Sibylle Gussmann, and a jolly group photo.  

This Friday......

President Grace van Zyl of the oldest Rotary club in Africa, the Rotary Club of Johannesburg, will address us. She is a financial life strategist, entrepreneur, philanthropist and international speaker and will no doubt have an insightful presentation.

Sonja shares her Story, District 9400 hosts the Mother of All-African Centennial District Conference and JoJo has arrived at its destination....

 From the Pen of our President......

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

I am square-eyed!! I watched the various presentations and discussions of the Conference ALL weekend. What an amazing conference – exhibition booths, panel discussions and awards, very good presentations and an excellent selection of speakers. There were a few breaks in internet but took less than a minute to get back. The recordings will be made available on the District website and I highly recommend taking some time to listen to a selection.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday at Wanderers – if you have not decided yet, please come along – we have missed out over the past year and the pizzas are still good!!

It is already 3 years since we moved my parents into our home and out of theirs – I am still sorting out my Mom’s endless papers!! My mother was the Queen of Quotes and Sayings (on scraps of paper). I quite like this one, found on a coaster from a coffee shop – BE THE PERSON YOUR DOG THINKS YOU ARE.

Enjoy ‘Freedom’ on Tuesday and see you on Friday.

Yours in Rotary,

Ann Hope-Bailie

Last Friday.....

Sonja shared her life story.

On the  27th March Sonja turned 35 years old for the 16th time.

She was born in Durban and grew up in Pietermaritzburg and had a very convoluted family. She grew up thinking she had a mom and dad and a sister, but in her early teens she found out that she was adopted , and that her aunt was in fact her biological mother and that the father was unknown by choice; this meant that she had 3 sisters and one brother, two mothers and two fathers and that was just who she knew about.

Her childhood memories were of lots of cousins and friends but one thing she says she gladly left behind in her youth was camping – she came from a family of campers but as soon as she flew the coop, she knew that was one pastime she would never attempt again.

In 1988 she started working at FNB in Pietermaritzburg, and she found out coincidentally that Lynn Collocott had also worked in that self-same branch a few years before her.

There was no money to go to university but with a lot of tenacity she obtained her degree in 2005 and completed her honours in 2016 – this just shows that you are never too old to learn.

In 1989 she moved to Durban with Wesbank, which is the vehicle / fleet division of FNB and where her career and passion for banking and more specifically fleet management started.

She worked for First Auto for 21 years, in various roles and lived in many towns, Pietermaritzburg, Durban, Richards Bay, Empangeni, East London, Port Elizabeth, 2 months in Cape Town and even had a 6-month stint in Windhoek in Namibia. and finally, Johannesburg

Sonja was fortunate to travel to many countries and cities, but  Paris remains her favourite destination.

She eventually took a career leap and joined Absa where she remained a further 10 years and then for the last two years she has been consulting to Sanral with a major focus  on the Tolling solutions in South Africa  including e – toll.

Her career molded her and allowed her to meet various people who  have been instrumental  in defining the person she became,  especially in her leadership roles. 

But her biggest achievement and honour in life is her family! Her husband Steven is her greatest love story. Their two boys, Gareth and Josh have grown into two amazing young men and in her own words: “I still want to put them over my knee and brain them half the time, but how amazing it has been to see them grow and become the young men that they are.”

A major part of her life has always been to give back to the community.

She will never forget the first time she volunteered, albeit not willingly (she lost a bet), spending  time at the Ark, based at the bottom end of Point road in Durban, a halfway house for homeless and destitute families. Part of it housed a creche for children who lived there;  this creche operated 24/7 as it offered a free service to the “ladies of the night”, to offer care for their children in the evening, where the children were dropped off, were cleaned, fed and most times all their laundry was done as well. This was her turning point to do more for the community and taught her a profound life lesson at the tender age of 19. 

Since then, she has been part of various communities, focusing on enabling people in various ways, however mostly to educate on how to start uplifting themselves, by establishing bank accounts, budgets and often just being an ear. And as Sonja says - teach them to fish and not giving them fish

After she moved to Johannesburg she got involved in a number or charities and eventually became the driving force behind the JHB North region of Santa Shoebox for a period of 7 years, a very special initiative which collects shoe boxes containing 8 “gift” items, and which are handed out to vulnerable and less fortunate children of various communities at Christmas time.

In 2019 she was invited to attend Rotary meetings and subsequently joined Rotary of which she says she feels very honoured to be a Rotarian.

I believe in forming and continuously working on friendships and keeping my business networks alive,

Her story is not yet complete, and she looks forward to creating, living and experiencing the next chapters, continuing to love life and embracing all those who are part of it.

Being Part of The All-Africa Centennial District Conference......

Last year it was with great excitement that we had put our names down and paid our deposits to attend Discon in Maputo, Mozambique, but of course Covid 19 shattered  our best laid travel plans.

And little did we know that the pandemic would still rule our lives one year on.

2021 was to be a very special year for Rotary and District 9400 - We were celebrating 100 years of Rotary's presence in Africa.

DG Annemarie Mostert and her team with the help of DGE Stella Anyangwe pulled out all the stops and hosted a world class virtual conference that they can be more than proud of.

The caliber of speakers was phenomenal and every area of focus, including the Environment was highlighted and showcased.

Many of us  had planned to attend in person this year, seeing that the festivities would have taken place on home turf, and of course we were there virtually.

The presentation that resonated the most with me was that of RI President Nominee Jennifer Jones. She tells of the importance of telling our story, much like our Sonja shared her story with us last Friday.

 Our stories are what makes us unique.

 If you have not heard her powerful contribution, please click into the following link and listen to her story.

Jennifer Jones - Rotary International President Nominee 2021/22 address

 

DGE Annemarie and DGE Stella added gravitas and poise to the proceedings and it was a poignant  and proud moment when the old guard rang in the new. 

The Durban Deep Community can finally water its Vegetable Garden......

Thank you Charmaine Leesman, for volunteering the help of your  nephew to collect the 4750 liter water tank from the JoJo factory in Rosslyn Pretoria and delivering it at the site where a new vegetable garden can be planted now that the JoJo tank has finally been installed.

This Friday......

Join us in person at Wanderers or via Zoom for a social meeting and our second e-induction of Gareth Hood who will be signing in all the way from China, 6 hours ahead of us.

Our monthly Business Meeting, a very successful EcoBrick Building Event and Countdown to the Centennial Conference....

 From the Pen of our President......

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

 Many thoughts have come to mind since our meeting on Friday:

I have been putting together a history of the club for the Rotary Club of Johannesburg (our mothership)– first thought, Rosebank Rotary Club is AWESOME!!

I have gone through many photos and put them into a video, there must be hundreds more – where are they? Lets get them all together.

I have been watching the fires raging in Cape Town with great sadness – thought, we need to be grateful and enjoy what we have!!

I watched the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon – thought, we REALLY need to count our Blessings and enjoy what we have!!

Who are you going to share the Ramble with this week?

Please join those of us attending the Centennial this coming weekend – District is still offering tickets until Thursday.

 Yours in Rotary,

 Ann Hope-Bailie

President - Rotary Club of Rosebank

Johannesburg

Last Friday.....

... was our monthly Business Meeting with report backs to the Club by the Board, thereby keeping its members in the loop.

• Attendance - monitored diligently by Pam Donaldson. On average we had 21 members attend the weekly meetings, a slight decrease from the previous month. 
• Membership - David Bradshaw might have been on a well-deserved  break in the Cape, but he did submit his report, which our Prez presented. 

1. Gareth Hood (Sonja's son, who teaches in China) has had his fireside chat and will be inducted on Friday the 30th of April. He will become our second e-member (unless we count Juanette, who is a bit of a hybrid)
2. Rui Lopez, who was introduced by PP Jean will have his fireside chat shortly and will be next in line to be inducted.
3. Roger Wedlake - used to be an Excalibur member and is very keen to join Rotary Club of Rosebank.
4. David has been very busy drumming up enthusiasm at Dainfern with the aim of forming a satellite club. So far there are 8 potential members. He is also looking at Steyn City and Jackal Creek Estate.
5. He visited Carol Lawrence, who has settled in nicely at Ekklesia Park in Blairgowrie.
6. David plans on picking up Peter Margolius for our next hybrid social meeting at the end of the month, and reports that Hugh Rix and James Byrne are also looking forward to coming to the meeting at Wanderers.
7. Jean and Ann visited Judy Powell

• International - James Croswell reported back that he had spoken with Dr Mpho, who heads up the Palliative Care Department at Baragwanath, and he is hoping that we will be able to do a formal handover of the refurbished container at the end of May.                                                                                                                                                                                            James also dispensed with an interesting snippet of information, that one no longer would have to pay a subscription to join an Action Group, and he is encouraging Rotarians to join an Action Group like HEWRAG                                                                                                                         
  
  
  
• Youth - AG Jean reported that the InteractClub of Highlands North Boys High School had voted for a President and Vice President, but that it was still quite difficult to arrange meetings as only the Matric class attends school daily. They are planning a Blood Drive and organizing a Blanket Drive at the Norwood Spar. They are looking for project suggestions for Mandela Day.                                                                                                                                                                                               District RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) will this year again be an online course                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
  
  
   

• Publicity - Thanks to our weekly Ramble going to Rotary Africa and also District we have been getting regular exposure in the monthly publications.
•  Foundation - Les Short - Not much longer for the Grant reports to be finalized and ultimately submitted, which is a prerequisite if we want to apply for a further grant.  
• Fundraising - Sonja Hood and a few others of us (over 200 people to be exact!) attended an enthralling Zoom presentation organized by the Rotary Club of Helderberg in the Cape - Clem Sunter - topic: Beyond 2021 - The World and South Africa - Latest Flags, Scenarios  and Probabilities. She is exploring the possibility of inviting Clem to present to a Rotary Club of Rosebank fundraiser.                                                                                                                                                                                        Although our annual Quiz evening is still a few months off, please give some thought to donating prizes for the  Raffle.
• Community Services - Sybille had done a sight inspection of the Durban Deep vegetable garden to determine where the JoJo water tank we are donating to the community will be placed.                                                                                                                                                                                    
  
  
  

The intended area is walled and well secured and there is ample space to establish a sustainable vegetable garden.

The existing vegetable garden is thriving, but there is no space to expand at its present position.

The annual Blanket Drive has been confirmed and will take place at the William Nicol Pick 'n Pay on Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th of May, there will be three shifts of two hours each on Saturday and two shifts on Sunday. We need 4 volunteers for each shift  as we have to man two entrances and Costa has circulated a spread sheet for members and friends to put their names down.

And the meeting ended with Sybille taking a video of the Zoom attendees singing a hilarious Happy Birthday to the Rotary Club of Johannesburg who are celebrating their Centenary in April.

President Ann has painstakingly converted it to a wonderful tribute.

Ecobricks Galore...

On Saturday the 17th of April the Rotary Club of Rosebank was represented at an event in Diepsloot to celebrate the beginning of a very ambitious ecobrick community centre building project.

This was in support of Diana Musara, President Elect of the Rotary Club of Randburg. 

We have reported on the Khensani Collection NPC in previous editions of the Ramble. It is a non-profit company who have been operational in Diepsloot since 2016, providing assistance to the underprivileged.

They do extraordinary education-focused work with youngsters in the area, offering teen mentorship, after school lessons in maths , English and science, entrepreneurship programs and coaching and career guidance.

They are now planning on building a further two classrooms as well as a library and a gym, and all of this with ecobricks. 

Claudio Marangonic, a teacher at St Davids Marist Brothers and his wife Jane, who teaches at St Mary's are both  passionate about the environment and had been encouraging their learners to make ecobricks, but it was only when they were shown pictures of the Khensani classroom that they realized that there was purpose in their commendable endeavours. They were therefore very excited to bring a group of their students to this ecobrick making event.

Sybille is also planning on getting  an article published in  the Killarney Gazette to showcase this ambitious project with the emphasis on St Davids and St Mary's  challenging other Johannesburg Schools to beat their record of 500 completed ecobricks. 

There were many groups involved involved in making this day a success and Sybille even picked up a rake and helped fill a bag with the volunteers from Move a Million,  a passionate group of activists that want to make a difference.

The youngsters left that day with a sense of achievement, knowing that their future ecobrick endevours will be going to a good cause.

Countdown to the Centennial.....

Please heed DG Annemarie Mostert and our President Ann's call and attend this weekend's Centennial Conference. The programme is jam-packed with the most amazing speakers and promises to be the best district conference ever.

This Friday......

Sonja Hood shares her story.

The S.A. Ambassador to The Holy See is our Guest Speaker, Fellowship = Skittles, Club 100 and Tutu Desks.....

 From the Pen of our President....

They say there is no time like the present – enough of the history then!!  Let’s celebrate our Africa Centenary – what amazing speakers the organisers have invited to address us!! I hope you have all considered attending – it would be great to have a huge showing of Rosebank Rotarians. Hear from RI, Bill Gates, Ndlovu Choir, Soweto String Quartet, Tito Mboweni, and and and….topics and panel discussions covering our 7 levels of service.

Day 1 program and Day 2 programs – follow the links!!

I loved hearing from Ambassador George on Friday – there are structures and people in high places who can motivate and assist us in our Rotary service – Rotary does open opportunities indeed.

 

Tutu desks – please go back to your Rotary Africa magazine from February and read about this amazing project – as a club we agreed to donate $100. Great example of collaboration with outside community organisation and Rotary clubs. We have completed our 2 District Grant projects and are looking to find something like this to get involved in – please let us have your ideas and contacts.

 

We would like to know who receives the Rosebank Ramble and we would also like to send it to more people so please let us know who you send it to and tell us who we could add to the list!!

The more the merrier!!

 

Have a wonderful week – take special care!!

Last Friday.....

we were very privileged to have had the South African Ambassador to the Holy See address our weekly meeting. 

His Excellency George Johannes was bestowed a knighthood, and became a Knight of the Order of Pope Pius IX in 2018. He is the first South African to be honoured in this manner and is also the first South African to have been formally received by both Pope Benedict and then by his successor Pope Francis.

George, as he humbly asked to be called by us was educated by the Holy Cross Sisters at St. Augustine's in Parow on the Cape Flats, but then went into exile in the dark days of Apartheid and mobilized for peace and justice.

He studied and lectured in Cork, Redding and Manchester and returned to South Africa to join Mandela's government in 1999.

Interestingly South Africa only established an Embassy at the Holy See in 2016; before that it was represented via Bern in Switzerland.

He explained that the Holy See is the government of the Vatican, the smallest country in the world. There are 184 countries represented at the Vatican.

It is the biggest Non-Governmental Organization in the World and sends in excess of R1,5billion in aid to Southern  Africa destined for social and humanitarian projects, irrespective of religion.

His ambassadorial function is very complex. Besides overseeing a multitude of projects he is also very instrumental in mediation; he was part of a negotiation team sent to Ruanda and Burundi, and also mediated with Qaddafi after the tragic incident when the PanAm Flight 103 was shot down over Lockerbie in Scotland, as well as negotiating with Frelimo and Renamo in Mozambique. 

The Pope is very aware of the Islamic threat in Mozambique and the atrocities committed in Sudan and George is considered a trusted advisor in matters xenophobia and the ongoing plight of migrants and refugees. He has been appointed to a special commission to make sure that Covid vaccines are distributed equitably to the poorer nations.

George speaks to the pontiff regularly and he told us a snippet of information which explains why the Pope so often has a pained expression in photos. It seems he suffers terribly from sciatica and is often in terrible pain as a result.

This soft-spoken and unpretentious gentleman gave us a lot of food for thought, and our President Ann formulated it accurately: Ambassadors are normally political animals but in George's case his vocation is humanitarian, which epitomizes all the ideals Rotary stands for.

It would be wonderful if we could host George in person one day.

Fellowship....

Last week David Bradshaw received the following e-mail from Peter Kastner.

 

Hi All

 After a most unpleasant enforced break in our tradition we are back, planning our next bowling competition with your club, and have booked the skittles alley at the Swiss Club on Thursday 29 April. Please bring your strongest team and supporters, we’ll do the same, with the thought in mind that this time we have a score to settle!

Arrival time will be as usual 6:30 for 7:00 pm, a R50 bowling participation fee, cash bar and individual choice of items from the Swiss Club’s menu.

Please let me know if you can accept the date of our invitation and send us a list of your participants a week before the event.

We like to assure you that Covid19 sanitary measures will be observed and very much look forward to this fellowship evening with you.

 

Kind regards,

 Peter Kastner

Rotary Club of Kyalami

Club Administration Director & Youth Officer

Cell      082 776 5033

Email  kastner@

Throughout the last year of lockdown David has been tirelessly organizing our weekly Zoom quiz challenges which have become the highlight in many of our lives and thus other clubs in the area are reciprocating in kind

It goes without saying that not only are we quiz masters, but are keen to show our expertise at other pastimes.

Please put your hand up and let David know if you would like to join the team.

It's all in the spirit of Fellowship.

 

Club 100.....

The monthly winners of the Rotary Ann's fund raising initiatives are always published in their dedicated page above, but Lis Short has made us aware  that they still have a few tickets to sell.

This month the first prize of R300 was won by Celia Hughes D'Aeth, who is Lis's sister and a friend of Rotary. She lives in the UK, but she is now a avid participant of our weekly quiz challenges.

The 2nd prize of R150 was won by June Virtue's domestic help Anah Mozile. 

As they say in the Classics, if you do not have your line in the water, you cannot catch a fish.

Please click into the Rotary Ann's page to see the banking details if you would like to still participate.

2011 saw the official launch of the Desmond Tutu Tutudesk Campaign as an international outreach to multi-tiered donors wishing to provide learners with Tutudesks across Africa and the World. The Tutudesk Campaign geared towards both children in school and those displaced by conflict and disaster. 

Whilst our work remains true to assisting shortages in school environments, the Tutudesk is now recognized globally as a viable solution to emergencies with new sponsorships from UNHCR for displaced children.

This project has changed lives and Rotary has been instrumental in driving this program, and in this spirit the Rotary Club of Rosebank has agreed to donate $100 towards keeping the momentum going.

This Friday......

A Board Meeting.

A successful hybrid meeting and Rotary Fellowship at its best.....

 From the Pen of our President.....

Dear fellow Rotarians and friends,

 

What a happy time we had on Friday – it was so good to see you and please bear with us, we will get better at hybrid meetings – lapel microphones, hot seats and roving cameras – the scope is enormous!!

On with the history lessons –

Women in Rotary. The predominantly dependent status of women in western societies changed irrevocably during World War II as women filled occupations previously the domain of men when the men were called upon to serve in the armed forces. This change accelerated with the growth of the feminist movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout the course of nearly seven decades of Rotary’s history has run the thread of the debate of women as members, yet the first constitution of the Chicago Club #1, adopted in January,1906, makes no reference to gender, referring only to “persons.”

In 1911 an all-women club existed in Minneapolis and between 1911 and 1917 an all-women Rotary club existed in Duluth, Minnesota alongside the men’s club.  In 1912, the board of directors of the Belfast, Northern Ireland club discussed the advisability of electing women to membership or allowing them to attend weekly luncheons. The club records of that period indicate the board considered it undesirable to elect women to membership or have them at the weekly luncheons. In that year, also, Ida Buell of the Duluth women’s club spoke to the 1912 Duluth Convention seeking support for women’s clubs. The Convention discussed the admission of women and rejected the idea. The RI Boards of 1914-15 and 1915-16 disapproved of Women’s Auxiliaries but the Board of 1916-17 held no objection to them being formed. In 1918 the Board refused recognition of them.

The 1921 Convention in Edinburgh, Scotland produced the Standard Club Constitution in which Article 2, Section III stated “A Rotary Club shall be comprised of men . . . “

In 1978, the Rotary Club of Duarte, California, USA, invited three women to become members. The RI Board withdrew the charter of that club for violation of the RI constitution. The club brought suit against RI claiming a violation of a state civil rights law that prevents discrimination of any form in business establishments or public accommodations. The appeals court and the California Supreme Court supported the Duarte position that Rotary could not remove the club’s charter merely for inducting women into the club. The United States Supreme Court upheld the California court indicating that Rotary clubs do have a “business purpose” and are in some ways public-type organizations.

On 30 March, 1987, the US Supreme Court heard an appeal by the Board of RI against the California Court of Appeal decision and on 4 May handed down a 7- 0 unanimous decision affirming the California Court of Appeal decision, ruling that Duarte could not discriminate against members because of gender. Duarte had the final say in the matter when on 23 June, 1987 Dr Sylvia Whitlock was inducted by DGE Dr Kim K Siu as the first woman Club president in the history of Rotary. In January 1989, the Council on Legislation voted to change the Constitution and By-laws to permit the admission of women into Rotary and on 1 July1995 Mimi Altman of the Deerfield, Illinois club became the first woman District Governor of District 6440.

The rest, as they say, is history!

I will be thinking of you all during this coming week – wishing you Easter Blessings at this time of rebirth and joy.

Stay safe and take care,

 

Ann

 

Last Friday.......

In the last few months we have attempted a few Friday meetings where President Ann invited us to meet in person at her home, but last Friday was our first attempt at a fully-fledged hybrid meeting.

It was our monthly social get-together, so it was an ideal opportunity to test the waters..

It was emphatically evident how starved our members were for camaraderie and fellowship that they had been denied for the past year, and it was heartwarming that 19 of us turned up for a most entertaining hour. And of course the much-missed pizza was a further bonus.

Only five members joined the gathering via Zoom, and their feedback as to how they experienced the meeting would be greatly appreciated. This is a learning curve for all of us.

Ann had brought along the projector and her laptop and the Zoom attendees were amplified onto the big screen for all of us to see. A webcam with built-in microphone was placed in a strategic position so as to capture what was going on in the meeting room, but the Zoom participants remarked that they could only hear the person speaking, when they faced the camera. We will have to invest in a proper microphone, which Lorenzo generously agreed to donate.

Jean was tasked to admit the Zoom participants to the meeting and manouver the webcam so as to capture as much as possible of the activities for them.

Lenore was deputized by Pam to document the attendees and to collect the lunch money.

During lockdown James had been very industrious and had made homemade marmalade, a jar of which became an auction item. It eventually went to the highest bidder, Richard Tonkin.

Sybille brought along a completed EcoBrick sample and also one in the making and gave a demonstration of how to compact non-recyclable plastic and foil and other suitable material into a 2 liter coke/fanta bottle.

Our first hybrid meeting was by no means perfect but it was our first step back into some form of normality and we will get better at making it a valuable experience for virtual and physical participants.

It is a work in progress.....

Happy 90th Birthday Bernard!!

What the heck is Petanque?

The Rotary Club of Rosebank is hard to beat when it comes to quiz challenges but can we also show our prowess at other activities?

The Rotary Club of Kyalami invited us to  a “Pétanque” Fellowship Meeting last Sunday 28th March at the Morningside Country Club

Those not familiar with the term Pétanque, might know the game as Boule or Boccia, played on sandy pitches in the sunny outdoors.

Jean, Sybille, David and Liz Purvis represented Rosebank valiantly and walked away victorious.